Chapter I

Chansung clenched his fist. How dare the old man once again tricked him into attending the same school with that weasel. He had thought that this kind of nuisance ended the day Taecyeon began university two years before him, but apparently he was wrong. He should have known the old man enjoyed pestering him this way and would do things like this. What does he want to achieve anyway? Had he made it clear enough that Taecyeon would always be what he truly was – an intruding bastard to him. Why would his old man still maintained his delusion in thinking that by making them go to the same university, they would somehow patch things up and be buddies? He had tried doing that by making them attend the same school all the way from primary school until high school and never achieved anything. Why restart that project now? The more Chansung thought about it, the more irritated he became. He was more than fine at his old university and content with the fact that Taecyeon lived thousands of miles away from him in Germany. And now once more he had to put up with that scoundrel and at the same time be uprooted from his home to come study under the same roof with him.

The roads of Cologne passed by him in a blur. Chansung had visited Cologne when he was 6, on a trip around Europe with both his parents. That was back when Taecyeon had not showed up at his home and his mother still had a shred of happiness with his old man. Now, after all these years, he finally came back. He did not want to look at the streets. It was not because he feared it might trigger some memories but rather because he was still very annoyed and cranky after hours of flight. He just wanted to get some rest and put up with all of this tomorrow. Surely he would encounter Taecyeon at some point. But for now, the luxury of sleep at his private apartment shadowed the prospects. Maybe after a few hours of sleep he would go to some bars. After all, there was no such annoyance that a few gorgeous girls could not fix.

...

As Chansung laid in bed at night, beside him another one of his tall and big-bosomed "conquests", he found that sleep seemed to evade him tonight. Previously sex had been a good way to shoo away his problems and displeasure. But now it seemed that not even that could make him forget the fact that his father once again meddled with his life. One would have thought that the man showed his care for Chansung this way but Chansung knew better. His father did not care in the way that people would assume a father should care for his son. Hwang Dong-il just wanted to exert his influence on Chansung and rubbed it in that yes, Chansung would always be placed behind all the glory that was Taecyeon.

Ok Taecyeon. No, the bastard had before long shed away his lowly origin. He was Hwang Taecyeon now. No longer was he the son of a drunkard. He was now a son of Hwang Dong-il, one of the Republic of Korea's finest. Chansung remembered the day his father brought Taecyeon home. He was a scrawny little boy who was the same height as Chansung although Chansung was two years his junior. Chansung recalled with aggravation how he had befriended that poor looking boy immediately, affectionately calling him "hyung" and shared with him all his toys. Little did he know then, that boy or better yet, that bastard would be the source of the end of family life as Chansung had known it. His mother, angered at the fact that her husband spent more time with a shell of a woman than he ever spent with his own wife, left both her husband and her son behind for a new life in Belgium. From then on, his life was a constant series of disappointment. Before the arrival of Taecyeon, it was already hard to get some quality time with his old man but he and his mother still managed to at times. And after his arrival, Hwang Dong-il became even more distant with his son. There were many times that he was foolish enough to set himself up for a big letdown. His father at first was negligent, partly due to the fact that he was busier with all the fuss over his merger. But after that, he did not bother to revert back to being a dad. Instead, his secretary was assigned with all the fatherly duties for him. The difference between Chansung and Taecyeon was that father bothered to actually cared about Taecyeon's education. They made small talks, something Chansung could never do. The fact that his mother left because of his father caring about that boy and his old flame more than his own family did not endear Hwang Dong-il to Chansung at all. That, coupled with the reality that Hwang Dong-il seemed to favor his adopted son more than his own enraged Chansung even further. They drifted apart, which made Chansung act out in an attempt to anger his father. But it only served to make him even more distant from him. The way Chansung saw it, Hwang Dong-il had long become indifferent to the son he had with a tramp of a wife he married. Yes, he once referred to his ex-wife with that derogatory term. In Hwang Dong-il's eyes, there was just Taecyeon, the golden boy, who was unfortunate enough to have an abusive drunkard of a father and a mentally unstable mother. Chansung knew that Han Ki Hae, Taecyeon's mother, was his father's first and deepest love. She was transferred from Chungcheong's shabby mental hospital to the most state-of-the-art hospital in Seoul immediately after his father found out about her and her family after some years of no contact. Hwang Dong-il occasionally visited her there and probably lavished her with more attention in each visit than Chansung had ever received collectively his entire life.

Chansung's thoughts jumbled. Sometimes he thought that would it be easier for him back in the days if Taecyeon was indeed his father's flesh and blood? At least if that is the case, Chansung had not lost his own father to a stranger. His date for the night stirred in her sleep, breaking Chansung away from his train of thoughts. Her beautiful features were barely visible in the dim light. Well, at least she got a good sleep out of this tonight. All the lovemaking must have gotten to her. Chansung tried closing his eyes and avoided the complicated topic of his home affairs altogether. He should get some sleep, tomorrow would be a long day. Even if he did not care much, he would want to be presentable for his first day at his new university. After all, he has a reputation to keep.

…

The first few days of orientation came and went away like a blur. One thing for certain, even if Chansung did not enjoy the same extent of popularity he had back in his previous university in Seoul, he could still utilize his charms to get attention of girls. With boys, especially in the Korean community, he could just flaunt his wealth and right on cue, they attended to his every need like dutiful minions they were. After all, if there was ever anything that he was grateful towards his absent father, it was the fame and the wealth that came with his status as the son of the most esteemed car magnate of Korea.

He did get glimpses of Taecyeon at some point. Taecyeon, to the extent of Chansung's knowledge, volunteered his service to newcomers. He was especially attentive to new Koreans who had never been to Europe before. And them, being mere sheep, fell under his charms and swooned after his every move. Chansung was annoyed, but not too much. After all, everyone knew that Taecyeon was adopted and little did they know about the affection Hwang Dong-il bestowed on him in private. And he was well-known as being straight-laced and uptight anyway. Or in other words, he was known to be a stick-in-the-mud. Thus, in the minds of sycophants, hot and vapid gold-diggers, he was not a good target to run after. For Chansung who had little experience in the department of true friendship and love, and who deemed himself practical enough to consider those trivial, having minions and airheads surrounding him, catering to his wishes are far more entertaining and comfortable anyway.

There was a get-to-know event among Korean student which initially Chansung did not even bother to come. There would be lame introduction anyway. He was quite satisfied with the friends he had already made. There were a few local students whose backgrounds were quite similar to him. There were a number of other Caucasian friends who knew how to party just the way he liked. And then there were minions and airheads who he hung out with for daily entertainment.

As luck would have it, the Korean girl he was going out with that week decided that she would like to catch some attention among their Korean student community in Cologne by bringing the most eligible bachelor-Chansung to the event. Chansung groaned. "Why did you bring me here huh, Seung Hee? Is this your idea of a great surprise?" He was quick to remove her hand from the crook of his arm while ignoring her huff. He knew what she was trying to do, flaunting him as a trophy in front of everyone. Normally he would say that he was used to this scenario. But today, he just did not feel like it. He did not want anyone to blindside him by bringing him to a lame event. He thought about getting out but the sounds of cheery noises caught his attention. It turned out that Taecyeon had got himself a little army of fan girls.

"Taecyeon-ssi, how did you get that internship in your second year? You must share your tips with us!"

"Sunbae-nim, tell us how you manage to do so much with your time."

The group of fan-girls bombarded Taecyeon with questions. As per usual, Taecyeon gave them a tense smile and humbly addressed himself as just a hard-working person and tried to reply their questions one by one. And that somehow made Chansung on edge once more. In his eyes, Taecyeon, the phony, was acting like a saint again. He decided to observe a bit. Popularity with girls had been Chansung's forte. And now, it seemed that the status-quo had a glitch here in this community. He did not want Taecyeon to take another thing away from him, even if the girls he attracted were not Chansung's type at all. Now when he came to think of it, those girls were the typical well-rounded and modest girls that he used to avoid like the plague before. First and foremost, they were not what conventional society would deem attractive. Second, they did not know how to loosen up and have fun. But actually there were not many appealing prospects among the community anyway. That means, Seung Hee and the likes were quite few. Chansung decided to stay and maybe redefine the status quo here, even if it means injecting himself in the middle of the geeky group.