Ten years ago, at Seoul First University’s Magnolia Hall.
Between the ashen winter sky, magnolia trees before their buds had sprouted rose high. So that’s why it’s called Magnolia Hall. Woojae left behind this simple observation as he readjusted his grip on his carrier.
The old carrier scraped against the ground, making an unpleasant sound. As he climbed the not-very-high front steps of the dormitory, he lifted and carried the carrier with one hand. The carrier, which could be said to contain all of Woojae’s belongings, was nevertheless not very heavy.
Having arrived on the very first day of the dormitory move-in period, and in the early morning at that, the surroundings were quiet. There was no reason to move into the dormitory early when you had a warm and comfortable home to leave behind. Of course, Woojae, who had no warm and comfortable home, made the wise choice to move in quickly.
Entering through the open entrance, he saw a gate resembling a subway turnstile. Since he was just moving in and didn’t have a card or anything for entry, he couldn’t pass through.
“Ahem!”
Woojae deliberately cleared his throat to make his presence known as he looked around. Before long, an iron door in the corner opened and a middle-aged man who seemed to be a security office employee appeared. The man with an extremely ordinary appearance walked out while adjusting his slightly crooked cap.
“Ah, you’re a student moving in? You came early. Come here and stand in front. So I can take your picture.”
“A picture?”
“Mmhm, outsiders aren’t allowed in.”
The explanation-less remark was somewhat difficult to understand, but Woojae just nodded. Elderly people generally don’t like to talk at length. The security guard gestured to Woojae and opened the emergency door next to the turnstile. When he stood where the guard pointed, he could see small writing on a piece of paper that said ‘Look straight ahead.’ As Woojae was reading the text, a click sounded softly.
“You photograph really well. It came out nice, didn’t it? Must be because you’re handsome.”
When the security guard moved aside slightly to show him the monitor, he could see himself with an expressionless face captured on screen. I’m not sure, but I think the camera did worse. Woojae nodded roughly with a blank expression.
“Gotta give you the key. Oh right, do you know your student number?”
When he recited what he’d memorized, the security guard nodded. After the sound of keyboard tapping, he let out a small exclamation.
“Ah, so you’re that rumored beta student. Welcome. If you need anything, ask me. I’m a beta too.”
Woojae nodded at the security guard’s words that felt friendly.
Woojae let out a small sigh, having thought there would be rumors about the first beta student to enroll since the school’s founding, but not expecting even the dormitory security guard to know.
It was he himself who’d made a big deal to get admitted, but he hadn’t wanted to become this famous.
“You need to take this. The small key attached is for the closet, and the entrance here and the room door open when you hold up the card with the number on it, so you can’t lose that. If you lose it, your roommate has to change keys too, so you’d have to pay double for the keys. Got it?”
Woojae reflexively gripped what was placed in his hand tightly. Because he thought it would be terrible if he lost it. For Woojae, who was only twenty years old this year, the scariest thing was none other than money.
What the security guard handed him was a card key with a small key attached. After confirming it was marked ‘2709-2’, Woojae pressed the elevator button.
What kind of guy will my roommate be? It didn’t take long to reach the 7th floor on the elevator. Woojae walked down the fairly long corridor and stood in front of room 2709, the second-to-last room. Just as the security guard ahjussi said, when he scanned the card key, it made a tacky beep sound along with the sound of the door unlocking.
Before he could feel satisfaction at the scenery inside the room that was more spacious and comfortable than expected, he felt empty. Because he thought of the younger sibling he’d left behind. Since his younger sibling also attended a boarding school, they’d left home together, but he couldn’t help feeling like he’d left them alone.
– We’re calling once a week.
– That’s annoying……
– I wanted to do it once a day but cut it down because you’d find it annoying, so this is as low as it goes.
– ……Fine.
The voice of Nari, his younger sibling who’d been sullen as if Woojae’s excessive worry was annoying, came back to him. His one and only blood relative whom he cherished so much he worried a breath might blow them away or a squeeze might crush them, yet Nari found it quite annoying that their oppa overprotected them.
– If anything happens, don’t think about the time and call right away.
– You take care of yourself, oppa!
In a society where invisible discrimination existed, Woojae, who’d applied to Seoul First University with a beta’s body, seemed to be a worry for his younger sibling Nari as well. He felt ashamed. Making his young sibling worry—he wasn’t qualified to be an oppa. Woojae answered Nari’s worry resolutely.
– Nari-ya, don’t worry too much.
– How can I not worry? Don’t get in fights, please.
– I got it.
Woojae chuckled, recalling the last conversation he’d had with Nari.
‘Treating oppa like a fighting chicken.’
Even during his school days there were about two or three omegas or alphas per class, so Woojae hadn’t worried much. No, he’d decided not to worry. Because worrying wouldn’t change anything.
When he threw open the window, he could see a procession of fancy cars entering the dormitory entrance. Woojae sighed lowly at the sight. It’ll be okay. To not become an embarrassing oppa to his only sibling, and to succeed in this society, and thus to change this shitty country, he had to clash head-on with discrimination.
***
People called alphas and omegas New Humans, and betas Old Humans. The emergence of New Humans happened quite long ago. True to their name as New Humans, they far surpassed betas, the Old Humans, in every aspect. Thus betas naturally came to form the middle and lower classes of society.
Woojae, who was born between beta parents, was also a beta. It was lamentable. He was confident that he was inferior to neither alphas nor omegas in appearance or ability, but there would be unavoidable inherent limitations.
The New Humans had even gone so far as to create their own solid society. Seoul First University was also one of those results. This prestigious school with over 150 years of establishment history accepted no one but omegas and alphas as students, and among them it was a university attended by New Humans raised in distinguished families.
Moreover, it was quite an old-fashioned school with a school rule that all freshmen must stay in the dormitory during the semester. The reason beta Woojae came to enter such a place was simple.
– I want to apply to Seoul First University.
– Woojae-ya, your grades are really good, but that place……
– I already looked into it. There’s no explicitly stated rule that betas can’t be accepted. Everyone just got scared and didn’t apply, so they couldn’t get in. I think it’s a challenge worth attempting.
Because they were fundamentally superior to betas in intelligence as well, it was very difficult to beat alphas or omegas beyond the matter of constitution. Nevertheless, Woojae, after bloody effort, took first place in his entire school, a public school where the two humanities coexisted. For three years straight. While even working part-time jobs, at that.
His mock exam scores also competed for 1st or 2nd place in the region, so he was all the more confident. A university that any old riffraff attended wasn’t what Woojae wanted. He had to go to the nation’s best university.
– Then let’s put it as first choice, and apply to other places too.
– I don’t have money to write applications. I’m only applying there.
– Woojae-ya!
His homeroom teacher seemed to genuinely worry because they were quite fond of Woojae. But there was also greed in not actively stopping him. Being first in the entire school made one a somewhat different existence from other students. Moreover, Woojae wasn’t an ordinary kid. He was clearly a prodigy. Maintaining those grades while even working part-time jobs without any private education was close to impossible.
The reason the homeroom teacher was upset was because Woojae was trying to apply only to Seoul First University. Eventually they even tried to persuade Woojae to try other places too, saying they’d pay for the application fees. How much could a public school teacher’s salary even be……
Woojae ultimately refused his tear-inducing offer. And after bloody effort, he miraculously obtained an acceptance letter from Seoul First University.
[Congratulations. You have been accepted.]
That clichéd sentence that had appeared on the monitor was still vivid in his memory. So effort finally bears fruit—he almost cried because he was so happy. And in just two days, a banner with Woojae’s name was hung at the school.
– This…… amazing kid!
The homeroom teacher, who’d run to Woojae’s house in one breath after hearing the results, even choked up while hugging Woojae. Even at this time, Woojae was drunk with a sense of victory.
‘Right, what can’t be done! I’m someone who’ll make it after all!’
Until he received a phone call from the school that was closer to a notification.
– What did you say?
The call that began with congratulations on his acceptance soon took on an ominous air. And that ominous air soon approached in precise form.
[I’m sorry, but ‘beta’ students cannot move into the dormitory.]
Woojae froze solid at the direct discrimination he was experiencing for the first time in his life. He couldn’t even settle his trembling lips.
– ……Why?
The dean teacher on the other end of the line only repeated like a parrot that there was no dormitory for beta students, so there was no space for Woojae to move in. No, even a parrot would probably say more varied things than that. He absolutely couldn’t accept this. This was clear discrimination.
[Because there’s no dormitory?]
– There are two male student dormitories there, so does it make sense that there’s no room for me?
[Those are dormitories for alpha students and omega students. There’s no dormitory for beta students.]
– No, I’m saying I don’t mind!
[Even if you don’t mind……]
In the end, Woojae attempted to make it a public issue.
