The Choi Brothers

🍵Chapter 2🍵

Standing before the wrought iron gates of VanTae’s School and University, Soobin paused.

The university rose like a polished monument to ambition. Tall stone buildings washed in pale morning light, banners fluttering with the crest of KT Corporation, students flowing in waves through the entrance. Laughter, chatter, rolling suitcases, parents giving last-minute lectures. It all blurred together, yet Soobin stood still, chest tight, heart thudding with a cocktail of excitement and unease he couldn’t quite swallow.

This was it.

VanTae’s wasn’t just a school. It was a legacy machine.

A single institution that swallowed childhood whole and spat out adults polished for power. Pre-primary at two years old, tiny uniforms and oversized backpacks. Primary school games that quietly turned competitive. Middle school rankings posted like public verdicts. High school where sleep became optional and reputation became currency.

And now university. Five long years. The final forge.

Yeonjun. Soobin. Beomgyu.

They had grown up here. Same hallways. Same classrooms. Same expectations pressed into their spines like invisible hands. Other students came and went, but the Chois were constants. A package deal. Everyone knew their names before learning their faces.

Not just because they were smart.

But because they were Choi.

Behind the prestige, Soobin knew what VanTae really was. He had seen it. Felt it. The whispers in locker rooms. The bruises hidden beneath long sleeves. Relationships that crossed lines and were buried with money. Hazing disguised as tradition. Pregnancies quietly transferred to “overseas programs.”

Power protected power.

And the Chois had too much of it.

“Hey, hyung.”

Soobin flinched slightly as an arm slung around his shoulders from behind, pulling him out of his spiral.

“What are you staring at like that?” Beomgyu asked, grinning up at him, eyes bright like he’d just downed three energy drinks. “You look like you’re about to fight the building.”

Soobin let out a soft laugh, shaking his head. “Nothing. Just… thinking.”

“Dangerous hobby,” Beomgyu teased. “Especially for you.”

Soobin nudged him lightly. “Says the guy who never thinks.”

Beomgyu gasped dramatically. “Lies. I think all the time. I’m just excited, okay? University, hyung! No uniforms! No curfews! Freedom!”

Soobin smiled, watching his younger brother practically bounce in place. Beomgyu looked fearless standing there, like the world was a playground instead of a battlefield.

“You ready for this?” Soobin asked quietly.

“Absolutely,” Beomgyu said without hesitation. Then he leaned closer, lowering his voice. “And if anyone even breathes wrong around you, I’ll end them.”

Soobin sighed. “Beomgyu…”

“I’m serious.”

“I know you are.”

What Soobin didn’t know was that Beomgyu already knew more than he let on. About the seniors. About the underground clubs. About who to avoid and who to never trust. His web of connections ran deeper than Soobin imagined, woven from late-night chats, overheard rumors, and favors exchanged in silence.

Beomgyu had promised himself something long ago.

No one touches my hyung again.

“Come on,” Soobin said, forcing brightness into his tone. “Let’s go inside. Yeonjun hyung should be waiting.”