Chapter Text
Renjun’s life felt like a bad reality show—one he never signed up for.
To his left, a group of girls buzzes about Taeyong Lee, a senior and the student council president. Taeyong is the kind of guy who makes Einstein look like he is slacking off. He's extremely smart and attractive. Teachers adored him, peers practically worships him, and he could probably charm the socks off a statue. Everyone calls him God’s favorite. I mean, how else could someone be both a genius and ridiculously good-looking at the same time? It's downright unfair. The boys in school grumbles about it, while the girls would have gladly formed a cult in his honor if it meant he’d look their way.
Right in front of Renjun, another group gushes about Jaehyun Lee—Taeyong’s younger brother and a second-year student. He'd heard that Jaehyun hung with the school bullies, and whether or not he actually bullied anyone is up for debate. But guilt by association works like a charm in high school. Not that it bothered the girls; all they could focus on is his looks. “He’s the perfect first love!” they'd squeal, as if he had a trademark on romance. Jaehyun is just another entry on the “God’s Favorites” list.
Sighing deeply, Renjun turns to his right, where another mix group of boys and girls are practically swooning over Mark Lee, the youngest brother in the trio. Mark is a first-year like him. He had skyrocketed to popularity simply by being Taeyong and Jaehyun’s younger sibling. Apparently, good looks ran in the family, along with brains and athleticism. So despite being a freshmen, he's already a regular on the basketball team, surrounded by his entourage of equally popular friends—because, of course, popular kids sticks with their own.
Renjun rolls his eyes, casting disapproving look at his so-called friends. They weren’t exactly his ride-or-die crew; he hadn’t been close to any of them before, and they hadn’t bothered to befriend him in middle school. But here they are, the only group that would tolerate him. He couldn’t very well walk through high school as a total outcast when he's already dealing with enough of that at home. So, he begrudgingly tolerated their obsession with the popular trio even though he's so sick of hearing those three from their mouth every single day.
“I swear, Mark was so cool yesterday! I wish I could’ve seen his face from that angle, but even his back is handsome,” Aerie sighs dreamily. Renjun nearly gags. Seriously? His back?
“For real, I thought I was going to faint,” YangYang agrees with her, dramatically fanning himself despite the chill in the air. Renjun isn't sure if YangYang is gay or bi, but it was hard to miss his very public admiration for Mark.
“Jaehyun was amazing too! He’s like a one-man team! No wonder he’s the ace, and he’s so handsome,” Dejun butts in, his voice dripping with admiration. Great. Now they are back on Jaehyun. Renjun rolls his eyes.
“Oh right! You went to watch soccer. I would’ve gone, but the basketball game took priority. I mean, I like Jaehyun, but I’d rather watch Mark,” Says Haerin as she expertly curl her lashes. Pretty girl, but her obsession with Mark needs serious examination.
“Same! I like the older brothers, but Mark is my favorite,” YangYang says while nodding vigorously.
Renjun stares at them in disbelief. What is wrong with these people? Why can't they talk about normal things like every other normal high school students out there.
“What about you, Renjun?” Dejun suddenly turns to him. His eyes is sparkling with curiosity. “You never join in when we talk about them. Which of the three do you like?”
Renjun nearly chokes. “As a matter of fact, none,” he answers quickly, making sure to emphasize the word. “I don’t get your fanboying, fangirling, or whatever it is—but I respect it.” He says, voice dripping with sarcasm, and Aerie and YangYang giggled like he’d just told a stand-up joke.
“Maybe Renjun’s ideal type isn’t one of the brothers,” Haerin teases him while dabbing blush on her cheeks. “Could be Jeno, Jaemin, or even Donghyeok.”
“Or it could be a girl! Jimin or Minjeong, maybe,” YangYang adds with a wink. Renjun groans internally. Their theories were utterly nonsensical.
“I don’t have a thing for any of them,” He states, struggling to hold himself from snapping at them. “They’re just normal people, like us.”
“Are they, though? They look like God’s favorites, especially those brothers,” Dejun retorts, eyes is sparkling with awe.
Patience, Renjun, patience. He keep reminding himself just as Mark and his friends stroll past their classroom. The room quicky erupts in squeals, and Renjun freezes when Mark looked his way. For a split second, he feared he’d say something, but thankfully, Mark only shot him a glare before looking away. But that doesn’t stop his friends from freaking out.
“Oh my god! He looked this way!” Aerie shrieks. Like literal shriek.
“He did, right? I wasn’t imagining it!” Dejun squeals while shaking Aerie so hard he is actually scared she'd lost her head or something with how hard he's shaking her.
“I think he looked at me!” YangYang chimes in, brimming with delusion. Renjun always wondered where that confidence is coming from.
“Stay delusional, Yangie,” Haerin says dryly.
Renjun shakes his head, staring at them in disapprovingly. If only they know Mark had just thrown him a dirty look—probably because he was still peeved about the burnt dinner from last night. Yes, Mark Lee: childish, spiteful, and definitely not the perfect angel they painted him to be.
How does he know this? Because Mark, along with Taeyong and Jaehyun, is his brother. Yes, those so-called “God’s favorites” are also his own brothers, an unfortunate twist of fate.
For ages, he had wanted to keep this relationship under wraps, not out of shame, but as a survival tactic. Back in middle school, once word got out that he's related to Mark, Jaehyun, and Taeyong, he was bombarded by attention that would make any pop star jealous. Classmates swarmed him like seagulls at a beach picnic, and he quickly learned that his life had morphed into a bizarre episode of a reality show.
Gifts rained down on him: candy, notes, even a stuffed dinosaur one kid insisted would “totally connect him with Mark.” Seriously? A dinosaur? They weren’t even in the same league! Renjun often felt like a VIP pass for a concert he didn’t want to attend. Everyone seemed to think he was some golden ticket, a way to get closer to the famous trio. It was like walking around with a neon sign that read, “Use Me as Your Stepping Stone to Fame!”
He just wanted to survive the school day without feeling like a contestant on a game show where the prize was his brothers' attention. He didn’t even have their attention! All he wanted was to blend in, but instead, he was the center of attention, dodging questions like he was in a dodgeball tournament. “What’s Mark’s favorite color?” “Does Jaehyun really have a secret talent for cooking?” “Can you introduce me to Taeyong?”
The pressure was so intense that he started carrying around a notepad to jot down fake answers. “Mark loves purple,” he’d write, “Jaehyun bakes cupcakes on Wednesdays,” and “Taeyong collects vintage spoons.” At least that way, he could deflect the endless inquiries with some ridiculous trivia while trying to maintain his sanity.
In his mind, keeping their relationship a secret had seemed like the best way to avoid the madness. And Renjun intends to keep this secret for the remainder of high school.
He should’ve known his brothers wouldn’t be able to keep a secret for long.