The Aftermath

Alex and Min-Ah returned to their home, and though the man wanted to be there for his girl, and help her overcome the emotional trauma she had suffered earlier in the day as a result of a relentless bullying campaign. He was immediately sequestered by his father and stepmother.

"Alex, we need to talk…"

Despite the unusually stern tone in John's voice, Alex was not the least bit concerned with what he had to say, and tried to walk up the stairs with Min-Ah. However, he was blocked by his father as he did so. Realizing that the man was going to force him to have a conversation, Alex sighed heavily before telling Min-Ah to go clean up without him.

"Min-Ah, go get yourself cleaned up. I will be upstairs in a bit to speak with you."

Min-Ah did not bother to resist her Oppa's orders, and instead obediently went upstairs to do as the man said. Once she was out of earshot, Alex glared at his father with a menacing gaze before speaking with an equally stern tone in his voice.

"What do you want?"

Though John was slightly intimidated by his son's callous remarks, he stood firm and pressed forward with his intentions.

"Your mother and I wish to talk to you about you recent behavior?"

At first Alex thought that Chae-Yeong may have betrayed him and confessed to what they did in her car during his first day at University. But judging by the uncomfortable look on her face, as well as the fact that she immediately spoke against her husband, Alex quickly realized this wasn't the case.

"Your father wants to talk about how you stole his credit card…"

The words "your father" were emphasized by the mature Korean beauty, as if to silently say she had no part in this, and was just here for moral support. John did not seem to notice this, and was quick to add to what his wife had said.

"It is not only that, we also believe you have been behaving inappropriately with your stepsister. Then there is the matter of your motorcycle. Do you mind explaining to me where you got such a vehicle? Needless to say, you have crossed some serious boundaries, and this chaotic behavior needs to stop now!"

Alex smirked when heard what his father had to say before confidently refuting the man's words with an arrogant tone in his voice.

"Inappropriate with my stepsister? I'm just being friendly. If Min-Ah doesn't have a problem with how I treat her, then neither should you. She may still be in high school, but she's also an adult in case you haven't noticed. If she doesn't want me to be so chummy with her, then that is her choice to make, not yours! As for the motorcycle, it was a gift from a friend, and that's all you need to know about it. It's really none of your business."

Technically, what Alex had said was true. Min-Ah was an adult, and could easily tell Alex to stop if she wanted him to. As for the motorcycle, it was not exactly a lie to say that he had received it as a gift. Though a reward would be a more accurate term. And upon seeing that Alex wouldn't budge, John gritted his teeth before speaking further about his son's recent behavioral issues.

"Oh, and I suppose you have a justification for stealing my credit card as well! Mysterious gifts, and flirting with your stepsister is one thing, but that is outright theft, Alex, and I will not tolerate it in my house!"

Though John didn't seem to notice it, Chae-Yeong frowned when she heard this, before muttering her disapproval of her husband's choice of words under her breath.

"Well… It's really my house…."

It was because John did not hear this that he continued on his rant, as if he had not just been insulted by his own wife.

"Now, do you see why your mother and I believe you should see a therapist? It is clear that the divorce between myself and Diana is causing you to lash out. Luckily for you, the wife of one of my co-workers is a licensed therapist who specializes in dealing with troubled youth. And because of this, I have set up an appointment with her so that she can get to the root of your problems and fix them!"

Alex was about to protest his father's words, but much to his surprise, his stepmother had spoken first. She was almost hysterical when she shouted her refusal to her husband's suggestion.

"No! Absolutely not!"

Both Alex and John were shocked by this sudden outburst. But to Chae-Yeong, it was fairly reasonable. First of all, her husband had brought up the name of his ex, who was Alex's biological mother. This was something that made her envious. But then he just had to make an appointment for Alex where he would be alone with another woman for an hour, where just about anything could happen between the two of them. Chae-Yeong could not tolerate such a thing, especially since she had started to see Alex as a man.

Because of this, John's glare shifted to Chae-Yeong, where he was just about to question why she had suddenly protested his suggestion. However, before he could do so, Alex sighed before shockingly accepting his father's demands. Obviously, as an attempt to conceal his stepmother's reasoning, which he knew fully well involved her developing feelings towards him.

"Fine, I'll see the fucking therapist! Are you happy now? In case you haven't noticed, there is currently more important shit that I have to deal with!"

After saying this, Alex did not even wait for an answer from his father, and instead ascended the staircase in search of Min-Ah. As for Chae-Yeong, she came up with some bullshit explanation about appearances being the primary reason for her concern regarding her stepson seeing a therapist. Which successfully covered her ass for the time being.

---

While Alex was speaking with his parents about going to therapy due to the sudden shift in his behavior. Min-Ah was cornered by her older sister Su-Jin, who was resting in her room, when she noticed the girl walk by. She immediately became outraged by the fact that her sister had been crying. Mistakingly believing that Alex was responsible, and as a result she quickly interrogated Min-Ah about what had happened.

"Min-Ah? What's wrong? Did Alex do this? I swear to God I'll gut that fucker myself if he dared to lay a hand on you!"

However, Min-Ah quickly shook her head, and cleared up the confusion as she defended Alex and his actions.

"No, it wasn't Alex! In fact, he defended me!"

This news stunned Su-Jin, who demanded answers from her little sister.

"Min-Ah, tell me everything!"

Thus, the two girls had a brief conversation about what had happened throughout the day. Su-Jin was stunned to find out that Min-Ah had already been dating a boy, despite not even holding hands with him or kissing yet. But what was perhaps the most surprising of all was despite already having a boyfriend, Alex had so swiftly won over Min-Ah's heart after appearing in her life.

And though Alex might be partially responsible for the bullying that Min-Ah had received, it was primarily the result of her own actions, especially the fact that she had not broken up with Ji-Ho the moment she started developing feelings for her older stepbrother.

Because of this, Su-Jin could not entirely blame Alex, and actually felt envious that he had stepped forward to defend her little sister's honor. Something Su-Jin previously thought was out of Alex's character. After all, in her mind, he was a deadbeat, an asshole, and a lecher. Yet he had done something for her little sister that her own boyfriend could not do for her, and that made Su-Jin feel incredibly jealous.

Before Su-Jin could lecture her little sister about her actions, which ultimately resulted in this mess, Alex burst through the door with a rather panicked expression on his face. He had looked for Min-Ah in her room, and the bathroom, and yet he couldn't find her.

But when he found the girl was with her sister, he sighed heavily in relief, before hugging Min-Ah tightly, all the while in front of Su-Jin.

"I'm sorry Min-Ah, the old man wanted to talk to me about something and wouldn't take no for an answer. Are you alright?"

Min-Ah gently nodded her head, while nuzzling it in her Oppa's broad chest. There was a warm tone in her voice as she spoke her thoughts aloud.

"I am now…"

The rather wholesome scene only caused the envy which Su-Jin felt to inflame. It was clear that these two were in a relationship that Su-Jin herself deeply desired to have. And yet her own boyfriend felt wholly inadequate when compared to Alex at this moment. Upon realizing this, Su-Jin became angry and forced the two love birds out of her room.

"Out! Now! Both of you!"

Without even waiting for a response, Alex smiled, and said the words that Min-Ah was looking forward to.

"Come, let's get ready for bed. After today's events, I bet you could use a good night's sleep."

With that said, Alex and Min-Ah went their separate ways for the night. At least until everyone else was asleep. Where Alex once more approached his little stepsister's room. However, tonight, he did not try anything with her. The last thing Min-Ah needed after being called a whore and a slut was to feel like one. Thus, he simply cuddled with her instead, while dressed in a pair of pajama bottoms.

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Thank you for reading my novel, if you wish to read a more serious story with an intricate plot, and complex world building, as well as a decent sized harem, and a few smut chapters. Please check out my two other novels: Tyranny of Steel, and Interstellar Age.