Chapter Text
Ringgg!
The school bell rang, signaling the start of class. Students who had been happily chatting around the school grounds immediately began flooding back into the building, trying to reach their classrooms before the teachers did.
Among them were two teenage boys with identical faces and striking red hair walking side by side down the hallway.
One had shoulder-length red hair and wore his school uniform with near terrifying perfection. Not a single wrinkle could be found on his clothes. A pair of square gold-rimmed glasses rested neatly on his nose while a book remained tucked under one arm.
His appearance rested somewhere between handsome and beautiful. Sharp eyes and a defined jawline gave him a masculine edge, yet his slender frame and elegant features softened the impression considerably. Combined with his permanently blank expression, he gave off the aura of someone difficult to approach.
His twin brother, meanwhile, looked like the exact opposite.
His shorter red hair was intentionally messy, his uniform shirt untucked with the top two buttons left open, exposing part of his collarbone alongside a silver necklace decorated with a red apple pendant.
He walked lazily with both hands shoved into his pockets, greeting classmates as they passed with a bright smile entirely unlike his brother’s emotionless face.
Same features.
Completely different atmosphere.
The two were Rok Soo Henituse and Cale Henituse—the pride of the Henituse family and arguably the most recognizable students in the school.
Despite only being born five minutes apart, their personalities couldn’t have been more different.
Rok Soo Henituse, the older twin, was quiet, introverted, and generally followed rules unless he found them personally inconvenient. Rumor had it his greatest ambition in life was to become a wealthy slacker living comfortably somewhere in Roan.
Meanwhile, Cale Henituse ignored rules with the confidence of someone who believed they were merely polite suggestions.
He was cheerful, dramatic, extroverted, and an extremely frequent visitor to the faculty office. Rather than feeling embarrassed about it, Cale proudly claimed the teachers simply missed him too much to stay away.
Surprisingly, this ridiculous logic worked on people far more often than it should have.
There were certainly students who complained about his shameless personality, but absolutely nobody could sincerely call him ugly.
Cale himself remained blissfully unaware that anyone who insulted his appearance somehow ended up verbally destroyed by Rok Soo within the next five minutes.
Rok Soo always insisted he was merely defending his own face since they looked identical.
Nobody believed him.
Likewise, Rok Soo never discovered that half the allowance mysteriously appearing in his wallet every month actually came from Cale.
Cale simply knew his twin loved money and decided supporting his future slacker lifestyle was a worthy investment.
The twins continued walking toward their classroom in comfortable silence until Cale finally broke first.
“Hyung, I heard we’re getting new classmates today.” He tilted his head slightly. “Do you know anything about them?”
Rok soo adjust his glasses, he glance a bit at Cale with His expression made it loud and clear: 'I don't know, and I don't want to know.'
Looking at the exact copy of his own face, Cale pouted a bit before sighing like an old man. "Al-hyung didn't tell you anything??? Really? Not even that puppy of yours, Han-hyung?"
Rok Soo simply shook his head. Then he paused, processing what he had just heard. He looked at his twin with a hint of horror on his face. After a moment, he spoke up.
"Who is whose puppy! Don't say such terrifying things, dongsaeng. And I also forbid you from calling them 'hyung'! With no exceptions!"
Seeing that dark expression, Cale only shook his head, feeling amused. "Well, he always follows you around like some kind of puppy, so I thought you tamed him or something." Cale shrugged indifferently.
Then he continued, his confused expression reflecting in his twin's glasses. "Why can't I call them hyung, but you can? Besides, Alberu is our sworn brother, isn't he?"
Rok Soo sighed and reached out to grip Cale’s shoulder. His grip was surprisingly firm and strong. Cale stopped in his tracks, looking at his twin, not quite understanding what was going on with him.
"Cale. Dongsaeng. Don't. Ever. Call. Them. Hyung."
Rok Soo frowned slightly.
Because hearing Cale call someone else “hyung” irritated him more than it should.
Because Cale already had an older brother.
That was enough.
Unfortunately, saying any of that out loud would absolutely result in Cale accusing him of being overprotective again.
So instead, Rok Soo simply adjusted his glasses and repeated flatly,
“Just don’t.”
Cale’s lips twitched when he saw that specific look—the 'I will smack your head if you even think about refusing' look—combined with Rok Soo's signature scammer smile.
In the end, Cale could only nod, too dumbfounded to respond. 'Well, as long as my twin is happy,' he thought.
Satisfied with the answer, Rok Soo loosened his grip and continued walking, with Cale following a step behind him.
Perhaps Rok Soo was a bit too pleased, because several students flinched whenever they caught sight of the smile on his face. They couldn't help but think, 'Who is the unlucky person about to get scammed today?'
Cale noticed this and curled his lips, letting out a low chuckle. This was nothing new to him, but he still found it hilarious whenever Rok Soo entered this specific phase.
Not long after, their walk finally came to an end.
Cale immediately pushed the door open with unnecessary force.
BANG!
“GUUUD MORNING, EVERYONE! Did anyone miss me? The most handsome guy in this entire school has finally arrived! Ahh, don’t stare too hard, I know my beauty is overwhelmi—”
“Cale!”
His speech was violently interrupted by a black-haired girl rushing toward him with pure desperation in her eyes.
Han Sooyoung one of his partner in crime, and also his manager wanna be friends grabbed both his shoulders.
“Tell me you finished the homework!”
That successfully caught his attention. After a full minute of processing her words, Cale let out a sharp gasp.
Han Sooyoung, who was just about to beg for Cale's homework, froze in her tracks. Her eyes narrowed. "You... finished it, right? Cale? Cale???"
In response, Cale snapped his head toward his twin, who had already seated himself at his desk and was pretending to be fast asleep.
"...We had... homework?" he stuttered, looking around the room.
Several classmates immediately groaned.
“Oh, they’re doomed.”
“Mr. Eruhaben is going to kill them.”
Before Cale could even panic, Han Sooyoung stole the spotlight. She rushed over to Cale and shook his shoulders so hard he practically felt dizzy, yelling right in his face.
“NOOO! CALE, TELL ME YOU’RE JOKING!” she wailed dramatically while shaking him hard enough to rattle his brain cells. “MY BEAUTIFUL, INTELLIGENT, RELIABLE CHICKEN WINGS, YOU CANNOT BETRAY ME LIKE THIS!”
“I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT THAT NICKNAME MEANS!”
“It means you were my LAST HOPE!”
The classroom erupted into laughter.
Even Yoo Jonghyuk looked mildly entertained.
Han Sooyoung finally dropped to her knees and grabbed the edge of Cale’s uniform pants dramatically
She was on the verge of tears, whispering frantically, "No... I can't copy to another student, they are not as perfect as this red haired bastard… and there's no way I'm asking the other red-head twins, i’ll end up losing my entire allowance for this day…”
Before Cale could react, a hand suddenly grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him one step away.
Rok Soo stood between them with an unreadable expression.
“…Ah,” Han Sooyoung said immediately.
The entire class went quiet.
Rok Soo’s gaze slowly lowered toward the hand still gripping Cale’s trousers.
Then back to Han Sooyoung.
He said nothing.
Which somehow made things worse.
Han Sooyoung instantly let go.
“W-Wait,” she said defensively while scooting backward across the floor. “I wasn’t trying to steal your brother! I just needed academic support!”
“That is NOT what cheating is called,” someone yelled from the back.
“Cale looks traumatized.”
“I am traumatized!” one of the students in the back replied.
Cale’s sweatdropping expression must have been incredibly entertaining, because many of their classmates chuckled at the drama unfolding. Even the perennially cold Yoo Jonghyuk had a small smile tugging at his lips. Heck, even that creepy as blonde guy who was so deeply religious was looking over with amusement.
'Just you wait, Adam! I will find a way to hide your precious cross!' Cale thought viciously. Before taking his attention back to his friends.
'Poor Sooyoung, what did she even do to make hyung so angry?' Cale wanted to ask, but looking at his brother's terrifying face, he swallowed the question.
Honestly, Rok Soo knew she meant no harm.
But she had been shaking Cale hard enough to qualify as attempted murder, and no it's not older brother biased…
How was he supposed to ignore that?
A small tug on his sleeve interrupted his thoughts.
Rok Soo looked down.
Cale frowned slightly.
“Hyung. You’re scaring her again.”
“…She was shaking you too hard.”
“HE FORGOT THE HOMEWORK!” Han Sooyoung yelled from the floor. “MY FUTURE WAS COLLAPSING!”
“That sounds like a you problem,” Rok Soo replied calmly.
“YOU’RE BOTH TERRIBLE!”
Yoo Sangah sighed before helping Han Sooyoung back onto her feet with the exhausted grace of someone who had clearly done this before.
Meanwhile, Rok Soo dragged Cale back toward their desks.
“How did you forget the homework?” he asked while sitting down. “Were you gaming all night again?”
Cale immediately looked guilty.
That alone answered the question.
Rok Soo narrowed his eyes slightly. eyeing Cale suspiciously, checking for eyebags or anything worse
It wasn't a surprise for Cale to play games all night. And with whom? He always played with Choi Jung Soo, their senior, and Yoo Jonghyuk. How did he even know their senior? Well, Cale was a massive extrovert. Of course he had his ways of getting to know upperclassmen. Heck, if someone told Rok Soo that Cale knew every single student in the school, he would probably believe it.
It was just that Cale never usually forgot their homework, so this unexpected slip-up concerned him.
Maybe he should have a conversation with Jung Soo later...
...
Meanwhile, in another classroom, Choi Jung Soo suddenly sneezed loudly, drawing judgmental glances from all his classmates.
He waved his hand dismissively and muttered an apology, his mind racing with a single question.
'Who the hell is talking trash about me behind my back?'
...
"Umm, well hyung... it's just that I found a new game, so I've been grinding all day and forgot about it... I swear it's not because of Jung Soo or Jonghyuk! You can ask them!" Cale explained quickly, scratching his neck nervously while avoiding his brother's gaze.
'A half-truth and a half-lie... whatever, I can grill him about it later.' Rok Soo finally showed Cale some mercy, pulling out his homework notebook and handing it over.
"Here. Copy the answers quickly before Mr. Eruhaben gets here."
Cale’s eyes sparkled instantly.
“Hyung, I love you.”
Before Rok Soo could respond, Cale had already thrown himself at him in a quick hug before immediately stealing the notebook and frantically copying answers.
Rok Soo stared silently at the top of Cale’s head for a moment.
Then he sighed quietly and adjusted his glasses.
Honestly, this was Cale’s fault for weaponizing affection so effectively.
By the time Cale finished copying the final answer, the classroom door opened. The timing was so perfect that Cale couldn't help but shudder.
He stole a glance toward a blonde figure sitting with a perfectly straight back and an unceasing smile. The boy's baby-blue eyes scanned the room like an amused spectator.
Cale didn't quite know when he had started fearing that guy. Perhaps it was when the guy didn't even blink at Cale's teasing, merely smiling back with the serene grin of a priest, asking if Cale wanted to listen to his preaching because he supposedly thought Cale was an excellent candidate.
Cale distinctly remembered that he had never run so fast in his entire life after that encounter.
Shaking his head, Cale focused his attention on the teacher like everyone else, completely unaware that his subtle reaction had not escaped the blonde boy sitting in the corner.
Right on cue, Mr. Eruhaben announced that they had new classmates. In response, Nearly the entire class groaned.
“Another one?”
“Our class is already chaotic enough.”
“We still have Cale and Sooyoung!”
"Shut up. Don't make our new classmates feel like garbage, you ungrateful punks." Mr. Eruhaben slammed his ruler against the blackboard, eliciting a collective flinch and immediate silence from the room.
"How vicious..." Cale heard his twin mumble quietly, and he nodded in agreement. “He is indeed extra vicious right now…”
After a tense minute, Mr. Eruhaben called the new students inside.
Cale’s eyes practically lit up. He stared at the two individuals walking through the door with immense curiosity.
Beside him, his twin merely sighed, adjusting his glasses and staring lazily at the front of the class.
"You can introduce yourselves now, kids."
Hearing that, the two teenagers nodded. One of them, who had calm brown eyes, motioned for the other to go first.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Kim Dokja. I like novels and comics. I hope we can be friends." Kim Dokja finished his brief introduction and bowed politely. The rest of the class, including Cale, warmly returned the greeting.
Then, with a nod from Mr. Eruhaben, the last student stepped forward. He placed his right hand over the left side of his chest and offered a slight, refined bow, instantly drawing intrigued looks from the class.
"Good morning. My name is Klein Moretti. I am from Tingen. It is nice to meet you all." He smiled politely. The murmurs in the room grew louder as the students realized Klein was a foreigner.
It wasn't entirely unusual, considering this was a prestigious national school, and they already had the two Henituse twins as prime examples of striking, non-traditional looks. There's also a beautiful kind lady in other class who have tittle as dazzling gem of backlund. Surely this kind of greeting is not that surprise for them.
"Nice to meet you too, Kim Dokja, Klein Moretti. Now, you may take any available seats you like."
Mr. Eruhaben gestured toward the empty desks in the room. Dokja and Klein nodded in response. The duo walked over and sat down together at a desk near the window toward the back-left corner—just one row away from Cale and Rok Soo. By coincidence, they were all seated in the exact same column.
The moment they sat down, Cale immediately turned around to introduce himself. He couldn't help but think that Kim Dokja’s subtle smile strongly resembled Rok Soo's. 'They would probably have a really good friend dynamic...'
Meanwhile, Klein’s polite, perfectly measured smile reminded him of Lee Soo Hyuk's professional demeanor.
Unfortunately, he didn't get any time to chat further. Mr. Eruhaben's eyes locked onto him, a chalkboard eraser gripped firmly in his hand. The silent threat successfully forced Cale to spin back around and focus entirely on the lesson.
He remained blissfully unaware of the slight twitch in Klein’s polite smile, and the quiet chuckle escaping Kim Dokja.
Beside him, his twin stared at him with a thoroughly deadpan expression before casting a look toward the two newcomers. For some reason, Rok Soo felt a sudden wave of dread, as if his ultimate dream was slowly being carried away by someone else...
Shaking off the bizarre premonition, Rok Soo adjusted his glasses and thought fiercely, 'i will achieve my slacker life, no matter what!' before he began taking notes in his book.