Reborn as the Protagonist's Brother
"Friend." A young man from South Korea, Seo Moon-yu-cheon, stared at his friend Kim Ho-cheon with a grave expression. "Do you really think this makes any sense?"
Kim Ho-cheon nodded with a hollow look. "Yeah, it doesn't. How the hell did the story end like that?"
Their eyes both drifted to the web novel glowing on the computer screen. Titled Academy Hero Chronicles, it was a standard academy story featuring a heroic protagonist. Its popularity sat somewhere in the middle ranks of the site, yet Seo Moon-yu-cheon and Kim Ho-cheon had genuinely enjoyed it. Four heroine candidates! The two of them, who loved power-fantasy stories, had spent countless hours debating which girl would become the official wife. Readers in the comments had done the same.
"And this is the result," Seo Moon-yu-cheon muttered in disbelief. Everyone had speculated which heroine Seo Moon-hyun would end up with. "Not Lee Se-na, the healing-type girl who's been with him from the start. Not Princess Arian from another world. Not even Yoo Eun-chae or Yee Eun-chae, who were actively pursuing him. What kind of nonsense is this?"
"Exactly. Kang Mi-hyun? Some random character who suddenly appears and he does a complete 180 for her? What was the point of all the emotional buildup with the other heroines?"
"It's ridiculous. Seriously."
That was the last thing Seo Moon-yu-cheon remembered.
* * *
'Is this real?'
Right now I was an infant whose brain hadn't even fully developed, yet I remembered everything. Because I was a reincarnator.
'When did I die?'
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't recall dying. I had simply gotten angry at the novel, lain down on my bed, and fallen asleep.
'Did the house collapse while I was sleeping or something?'
The question lingered, but instead of obsessing over something I could never answer, I focused on understanding my current situation.
"Seo Moon-jin. From now on, your name is Seo Moon-jin."
A man with a cold gaze spoke while looking down at me, and I realized my name in this life. My previous name had been Seo Moon-yu-cheon, so now it was just one character shorter and missing the "yu."
'His hair color is unusual.'
What caught my attention was the blue hair of the man I assumed was my father. His appearance also felt strangely familiar, though I only understood why the following year.
"Your name is Seo Moon-hyun."
Unlike the cold tone he had used with me, the man spoke to the newborn with clear affection.
'Seo Moon-hyun!'
It was the exact name of the protagonist from Academy Hero Chronicles, the novel I had read in my previous life.
"I was worried because the eldest was born without any magic power, but thankfully the second son turned out properly."
I hadn't been completely certain from the name Seo Moon-jin alone, but hearing this confirmed everything. The magic-power measurement, the fragments of conversation I'd overheard, and the existence of Seo Moon-hyun himself left no doubt.
'It looks like I've reincarnated into Academy Hero Chronicles.'
In the original story, Seo Moon-jin had been little more than a minor extra. His only real role was as a disposable villain.
'A tragic villain at that.'
His actions had been detestable, but his backstory was pitiful. After the age of magic began, the Seo family rose rapidly in South Korea and became one of the most influential martial clans. They commanded a guild filled with heroes and possessed enormous wealth. Born as their eldest son, Seo Moon-jin had the misfortune of being born without any detectable magic power.
'In this world, magic power is almost always innate.'
There were ways to awaken it early, but if someone had none at all, nothing could be done. And the body I now inhabited had possessed no magic power according to my past-life memories.
'How unfortunate.'
My black hair was further proof. In a world where most people's hair color changed under the influence of their magic power and where attributes were hereditary, black hair was considered a curse—unless one possessed the rare dark attribute.
'But I do have a special power.'
Seo Moon-jin's ability was unusual even by the standards of this magic-filled world. However, it required using a virtual-reality game, and fulfilling that condition would take time. The stronger the ability, the longer it took. I couldn't prove it midway through either.
'This is a one-time opportunity.'
If I settled for a weak version of the power, I could obtain it immediately. But doing so would waste the single chance I had and lock away infinite potential. In the original story, Seo Moon-jin had never understood his own ability, so he obtained only mediocre strength, had his potential sealed, and burned with hatred toward the family that abandoned him. He eventually sided with villains and died a miserable death opposing his younger brother, Seo Moon-hyun.
I had no intention of meeting such a foolish end. If I could become the strongest being in this world with ease, why would I struggle needlessly?
'Even if I can't prove it...'
Even without proof, I thought that perhaps, since they were my biological parents, they might give me one chance. But they didn't believe me.
"Nonsense. If you fail to awaken magic power by your fifth birthday, you will be expelled."
Seo Moon-kang-hyuk, my father in this life, declared it mercilessly. He showed genuine paternal affection toward Seo Moon-hyun, who had been born with magic power already awakened, but he treated me as a shameful son and discriminated against me in every way. From meals to every privilege the household offered, I was excluded. The only reason they hadn't thrown me out immediately was the slim hope that I might awaken magic power late, so they waited until I turned five. But I couldn't prepare on my own, and in the end I was cast out.
"From today onward, you are no longer my son."
After speaking those cold words, Seo Moon-kang-hyuk surely erased my name from the family register. Seo Moon-hyun, though my younger brother, never once came to see me. Raised with every advantage the clan could provide, he treated me as little more than a servant. He never openly insulted or mistreated me—after all, he was the righteous protagonist—but the kindness one shows a servant is different from the warmth a younger brother should show his elder.
Seo Moon-hyun's attitude would never change, whether ten years or seventeen years passed. Though he was portrayed as a just hero, his true nature was something else entirely. In fact, it was fortunate he didn't try to kill me outright. Given who he really was, I was someone he should have eliminated without hesitation.
'Just you wait.'
At the age of five, suddenly abandoned in the world, I endured brutal hardships while grinding my teeth. I swore I would make the Seo family suffer and take my revenge.
* * *
"I'm hungry."
Only six hours after being expelled, I was already suffering from starvation. Since there was no immediate way to get food, I tried to recall as much of the original story's knowledge as possible.
'First, I have to survive.'
To survive, I needed to make full use of everything I knew from the novel. In a world crawling with villains, a child left alone was as good as dead. The Seo family had probably planned to have villains dispose of me quietly. A five-year-old wandering alone would be an easy target for hidden villains to kidnap and make disappear without a trace. Human trafficking was no distant rumor in this world.
'I refuse to die like that.'
I would survive. With that resolve, I prepared myself for the trials ahead.
* * *
"You little brat! Why are you so slow?"
"Agh!"
…My resolve proved meaningless as I was beaten until tears threatened to fall. But what could a five-year-old actually do? Even this exploitative daily wage felt like a blessing. The kinds of labor a child's body could handle were limited, and the pay was far below minimum wage. Because I insisted on receiving it daily, I at least got something—half of what I should have earned. If it had been monthly pay, they would have worked me to the bone for a month and then sold me into trafficking rather than hand over the money.
'Damn it. At least the owner here has some conscience.'
The place I worked was a secondhand-goods shop. I had chosen it because the owner appeared in the original story and his personality had been described in detail. An orphanage? There was a ninety-nine percent chance I would be kidnapped by villains there. It wasn't bragging, but my appearance already showed the makings of a handsome boy worthy of being the protagonist's brother. I would stand out immediately in an orphanage, and some villain women had twisted tastes for young boys.
'I can't go to an orphanage. I have to stay here to survive.'
Appealing for help anywhere else would only get me sent to an orphanage. The shop owner, at least, wasn't the type to send me there as long as I worked hard. He might have been the sort who could sell someone into trafficking, but he did pay the daily wage once the condition was met.
While enduring this backbreaking labor, I cleaned the shop and, in my spare time, pulled weeds in the small garden behind the owner's residence. Even after finishing the weeds, there was no rest. I also had to manually separate the seeds from the fruits harvested from dungeons that the shop sold as a side business.
'These seeds are supposedly very nutritious.'
The fruit called "Dawn" tasted good even when eaten plain, but once the seeds were removed and turned into seed wine, the flavor became famously excellent. So after peeling the fruit and juicing the flesh, I had to use tweezers to carefully extract every seed and set them aside.
"Here. Today's wage."
Even while suffering through this exploitation, what kept me going was the daily pay the owner handed over. But I couldn't just accept the money.
"Thank you. I'll work even harder to repay the kindness you've shown by hiring me."
"Good. At least you know your place. I did you a favor."
The owner, who had a considerable ego, basked in my flattery. His expression reminded me of someone from the novel—Seo Moon-hyun—but compared to that guy, this man was practically a saint.
"Yes!"
So I forced a smile and kept working. The villains weren't the only danger. Knowing Seo Moon-hyun's true nature better than anyone except Seo Moon-kang-hyuk, I lived every day with the fear that I might die at any moment.
"Ugh…"
After a full day of heavy labor, my body ached. I worried that it might break down, but I pushed the thought away. Once I succeeded in obtaining power, I could repair my body as much as I wanted.
'Just a little more… I have to keep saving money.'
Although I had come here because I knew its location, I was also aware of other, far kinder people from the original story who would have taken me in. The problem was that I didn't know where they were.
'I need to find them.'
* * *
Ten years passed.
"Finally, the time has come."
I stood before the mirror and took in my reflection. A boy with slightly unruly black hair and somewhat empty eyes stared back, yet his features were strikingly handsome. As the elder brother of the protagonist Seo Moon-hyun, Seo Moon-jin naturally possessed an outstanding appearance. But while Seo Moon-hyun gave off a gentle aura, my own face looked like it belonged to someone with a bad temper.
'I've laid the groundwork.'
After being expelled from home, I had truly struggled to survive. I had no other choice. Going elsewhere risked being trafficked and ending my life in an instant. This place had been relatively decent, and the shop owner's tendency to rationalize that he was a good person for paying wages had made it possible.
'It took a lot of effort to find them, too.'
After saving enough money, I had approached an elderly couple who appeared as extras in the original story. Believing they were kind-hearted, I had gone to them despite my wretched appearance. The couple, who ran a small flower shop, took pity on me just as they had in the novel and gave me a place to stay. Knowing they weren't wealthy, I never expected them to employ me, but over time they sympathized with my situation and offered me work under better conditions than the exploitative shop.
'Thanks to them, I secured the funds.'
It had taken time, but that was all the preparation I needed.
"Status window, open."
The content was extremely simple, yet the status window now floated before me. That was only natural—my ability allowed me to copy the stats of a character I had raised in a virtual-reality game.
'I even used cheat codes and the editor to max everything out.'
Because overly powerful abilities took a long time to integrate, I had been forced to live as an ordinary person for ten whole years—until I turned fifteen. But now that I was fifteen, I had finally broken free of that limitation. With this power that had at last become mine after so long, I could begin building my influence.
'Strength and intelligence are at SSS rank, but…'
Unlike vitality and magic power, strength and intelligence had SSS as their displayed maximum. EX was considered beyond ranking and treated as infinite within the game. Realizing infinite vitality and magic power was relatively easy, but infinite strength and intelligence were impossible. Even so, the displayed ranks didn't limit growth—talent could continue improving without bound.
"I probably won't need to check this again."
Since the window didn't provide detailed explanations, there would be little reason to open it in the future. The game that served as the foundation for this ability wasn't particularly impressive anyway; I had only chosen it because it was an overpowered virtual-reality title.
'I've done a lot for them, so I should repay the favor.'
The place I now lived in was no longer the tiny room the elderly couple had kindly lent me. Following my advice, they had invested in coins and stocks that would rise in value. In their later years they struck it rich, purchased a fine mansion, and even bought a smaller one for me. Still, this was a transaction, and I wouldn't consider the debt repaid simply because they had become wealthy thanks to me.
'The memories are too vivid.'
The moments when I had been expelled by the Seo family at five years old and suffered, the moments when the elderly couple had shown me kindness—everything remained as clear as if it had happened yesterday. It was the price of losing the ability to forget after synchronization. Because of it, I could never forget either revenge or gratitude.
'For elderly people, nothing is more valuable than health.'