Chapter 172
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 172
“We’re back!”
I had given up on sleep and was tossing and turning when the members returned home earlier than expected, looking relatively unscathed. It seemed they had only shown their faces for an hour or two out of politeness.
However, one seat was empty.
“Where’s Kang Yi-chae?”
He was nowhere to be seen.
“Um, Yi-chae’s at the company. Said he had work to do.”
Knowing his personality, he usually would have been the first to insist on an after-party for the members or would have locked himself in his room to play games.
“…Well, alright.”
I knew I couldn't just leave Kang Yi-chae be, but poking at him now felt like it would only make things worse. I decided to postpone the matter for later.
After greeting the exhausted members, I headed back to my room.
In the end, I spent the night wide awake, alone in bed. Late the next afternoon, I rubbed my tired eyes, got ready, and headed out.
I arrived at a restaurant serving clean, traditional Korean course meals. After being led to the private room I had reserved over the phone, I leafed through the menu while waiting for my guest.
A moment later, the sliding door burst open.
“Hyung!!”
“…Whoa, damn, you scared me.”
I stared at him, wondering where on earth he’d learned such manners, but Seo Ho-jin just twitched his eyebrows and approached me.
“Why the hell haven't you been picking up your phone?”
Despite his expression and the volume of his voice, his tone was surprisingly cautious.
“Because it’s a hassle.”
“……”
Seo Ho-jin glared at me in response to my indifferent reply.
I ignored him and pressed the call button to order our meal from the staff.
Seeing my nonchalance, Seo Ho-jin’s cheeks trembled as if he were suppressed by rage.
“…Right, what kind of conversation did I expect with that thing? Let’s endure, Ho-jin. You’re doing great, Ho-jin. You’re the best.”
“That thing? You want to die?”
For a second, the way he muttered to himself reminded me of Jeong Da-jun.
Even as my eyebrows twitched, he didn't say anything more and plopped down in the seat across from me.
At least he looks fairly normal.
I had wondered if I’d need to comfort him today, but seeing him talk fine and even grumble a bit put my mind at ease. It meant he had the mental capacity to be annoyed.
“Hyung, so, you know…”
“Let’s eat first.”
Right on cue, the staff entered and laid out a full spread of food on the table.
When I picked up my spoon first to cut him off, Seo Ho-jin hesitated for a moment before picking up his chopsticks with a sigh.
His pout was still prominent, but he made sure to clear his plate.
“Is it good?”
“…Yeah, it’s good.”
After swallowing a spoonful of soup, I watched him until his bowl was reasonably empty before asking, “How’s your health?”
“Can’t you tell? I’m completely cured.”
He was well past puberty, yet he seemed exceptionally prickly today. As I lifted a side dish with my chopsticks, a shopping bag caught my eye in the corner of my vision.
Seeing the leaves and petals peeking out, I realized Seo Ho-jin had actually bought a bouquet of flowers.
You really bought them?
Where else would you find a hot-blooded guy in his twenties who actually buys flowers just because his brother told him to?
Feeling a mix of amusement and embarrassment, I scratched my head.
As I weighed when to tease him about it, I suddenly remembered receiving a similar gift from him a long time ago.
Back then, there had been a letter too.
I had kept a few petals pressed inside that letter. I wondered where I’d put it.
Is this his version of filial piety?
Seo Ho-jin had a tendency for that. He couldn't quite distinguish between things that happened between parents and children and things that brothers usually did.
I was lost in useless thoughts, imagining him eventually giving me carnations, money-pulling tissue boxes, and money bouquets in the name of "filial duty," when Seo Ho-jin slammed his soup bowl down on the table.
“I’m done eating. Let’s talk.”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
It was obvious. He was going to bring up the leak.
“Was it okay?”
Since I was the one who did it, of course it was okay. Even if he knew my personality, he probably never imagined I’d go as far as doing something like that.
“Of course.”
Even with my answer, the worry didn't fade from Seo Ho-jin’s eyes.
“What about you? Are you okay? Are you keeping your promise not to talk about me outside?”
Seo Ho-jin nodded slowly without a word.
“That’s a relief. Keep doing that.”
In this industry, even if you tried to hide it, privacy essentially didn't exist. Even if people looked at me with sympathy and favor now, there was no telling when that would turn into a sharp blade.
Furthermore, there was no reason to attach the label of "orphan" to Seo Ho-jin, who was living a perfectly good life as a university student and class representative.
I just wanted the kid to have ordinary days. Today, tomorrow—days that were no different from any other.
This should be enough.
Seo Ho-jin was healthy, and he was eating well in front of me.
The faces of my members flickered through my mind for a moment, but I quickly brushed them aside. I was about to move on, relieved that it was a good conclusion, when—
“Was there really nothing wrong?”
Seo Ho-jin gave me a suspicious look.
“I’ve been damn healthy.”
“Really? Truly? Swear to heaven?”
“You’re persistent. Why, are you worried?”
I was honestly flustered by how he was hounding me, unlike his usual self. Instead of making excuses, I decided to ease his anxiety.
“It’s a thing of the past, Ho-jin.”
I spoke with a face that looked truly unbothered.
“It doesn't mean anything anymore.”
When I even offered a faint smile, Seo Ho-jin lowered his gaze.
Underneath the table, I nervously flicked my fingernails and took a sip of water to moisten my throat. My conscience was trying to barge in at the most inconvenient times. After all, I was the culprit who had dug up an incident that could have been passed over quietly.
I was also the one who made Seo Ho-jin make that face.
“Oh, right. I got some time off this time.”
With Shining Star Season 2 over and a new album preparation ahead, I was given a short break. I thought I’d head home for a bit and enjoy a lazy lifestyle.
“Let’s go see our parents together for the first time in a while, and if you need anything, let’s go shopping.”
I felt like I’d been too indifferent toward him lately, so I spoke with an uncharacteristic softness that made my skin crawl.
“And if there’s anything you want to do, with Hyung…”
As I continued awkwardly, I was struck with horror.
Tears were streaming down Seo Ho-jin’s face.
“…!!”
Wait, why?
“Hey, uh… why are you crying?”
Normally, I would have laughed and teased him, but I was so blindsided that I could only ask in a daze.
Seo Ho-jin glared at me with bloodshot eyes.
“Hyung, you’re a really good liar.”
“…!”
I instinctively flinched and pulled back. My heart, which had been beating slowly, began to race as I wondered if I’d been caught as the one who spread the news of our parents’ accident.
Seo Ho-jin wiped his eyes with his sleeve.
“Da-jun called me. He said you were acting strange.”
“…What?”
“He said you weren't in your right mind for days after the leak. That you were living like a daze, like someone who’d lost their soul, and that you couldn't even sleep properly. He asked if it was okay to leave you like that.”
“……”
“He even said you overexerted yourself every time you were sick.”
Even as Seo Ho-jin snapped at me as if interrogating me, the first thing that registered in my mind was the fact that I hadn't been caught as the leaker.
At the same time, even though I knew he did it out of concern, a sense of betrayal toward Jeong Da-jun crept up.
“Why is Jeong Da-jun calling you?”
“Is that what’s important right now?”
Seo Ho-jin’s expression began to crumble. Since my problems at work had never affected my family before, I felt a headache coming on from this unprecedented situation.
Ha, I shouldn't have brought him to the dorm…
“He’s just being dramatic.”
I clicked my tongue in annoyance and ruffled my hair before letting out a long breath.
“Don't go contacting people from my work and listening to stuff like that.”
“…I don’t want to.”
You don't want to?
We had already finished talking about these matters years ago. And now he was saying he didn't want to?
I wanted to say something, but I felt guilty for what I’d done, and I didn't want to be harsh to my crying brother. I summoned every ounce of patience I had.
“You can just hear it from me. It only gets annoying when people around us get involved.”
“I said I don’t want to.”
Shit.
“You want to die? Why are you being so stubborn?”
Right, what was I thinking, acting like a kind brother?
“Just ignore whoever contacts you, and tell them you don't have a brother, you brat.”
“…Ha.”
Hearing that, Seo Ho-jin tilted his head as if he were dumbfounded.
“Then you should also act like you don't have a brother and stop caring about what I do.”
“…??”
“No, why don't you just tell me to cut ties?”
My blood pressure rose at his extreme retort.
“Stop talking bullshit. Are you crazy?”
“Why? Do you think that’s not possible?”
It seemed Seo Ho-jin was equally pissed off.
“What would change if we cut ties anyway? Even now, I find out news about you through entertainment articles. Do you know that I get texts about my tuition more often than I get a call from you?”
The words came pouring out of him.
“Hyung, I even turned Da-jun down when he asked if I could come over just once. Because I thought you’d hate it. Because I thought you’d tell me yourself someday.”
Seo Ho-jin, who had been suppressing his emotions, squeezed his eyes shut.
“But you never contacted me once.”
“……”
Seo Ho-jin stood up, teeth clenched, and let out a small breath.
“…Lately, I’ve been staring at my phone every spare second I had. Just in case you might call.”
I couldn't say a word; I just stared blankly at my brother’s outburst, feeling like I’d been pummeled.
“And when a text finally came from you first…”
Seo Ho-jin, who had been struggling to calm down for a long time, wiped his wet eyes again with his sleeve and glared at me.
“What? ‘Hyung won’?”
“……”
“Floweeeeeers?!”
Ultimately failing to stay calm, Seo Ho-jin grabbed the bouquet that had been neatly tucked in the shopping bag and hurled it at me.
Thwack!
“Ack!”
“Fine, shit! Here are the flowers you were singing about!”
“…!!”
“Congratulations on your fucking number one win!”
The bouquet that hit me square in the face slid down, and petals fluttered all around.
“…Wh-what.”
I gaped at the words that had come out of Seo Ho-jin’s mouth for the first time in his life.
Aside from the physical pain, I was so bewildered that I could only stammer before jumping to my feet.
“Shit? Shiiiiit? Are you done talking? And you dare hit your brother?”
“Yeah, I hit you. What? You got a problem?”
“Where did you learn to speak like that?!”
“Where do you think? Who do you think I’ve been watching all my life?”
Right, you learned the useless stuff perfectly, you brat.
I pressed my hand against my forehead, which was burning with anger.
“I don't want to see your face for a while. Don't come home.”
“You crazy bastard, that’s my house!”
“I changed the front door code.”
“What?!!”
My blood pressure was hitting the ceiling at this continuous rebellion. I was clutching the back of my neck when Seo Ho-jin pulled money out of his wallet and slammed it onto the table.
“I’m leaving. Forget my face, just call me once in a while.”
“What—what! Hey! Hey!! Get back here right now!”
And then he bolted.
“Hey, Seo Ho-jin…!!”
I couldn't even raise my voice properly because I was a public figure.
I wanted to drag that damn brother back right now and give him a few good noogies, but I could only let out a series of sighs before collapsing back into my chair.
“Wow… ha, haha….”
I let out a hollow laugh, unable to believe the series of events that had just unfolded.
“Does that brat really think we’re the same age?”
‘You got a problem?’ That brat said that to his brother…!
“Damn it, I raised him wrong. Ah, my blood pressure…”
I looked at the petals scattered on the table and flicked them away with my finger. As my anger subsided, only regret remained.
I picked up the bouquet, put it back in the shopping bag, and chewed on Seo Ho-jin’s words.
I shouldn't have met him.
“Ah…”
I just wanted to feed him a good meal and see his face. It seemed he had been under a significant amount of stress as well. Thinking that made my stomach ache, and a groan escaped me.
“The brat is exactly like me when it comes to his temper…”
I grumbled and downed the half-empty glass of water. Now, even the regret sank to the bottom, and a different emotion peeked its head out.
He still doesn't know.
In any case, Seo Ho-jin didn't know. He didn't know that I was the one who spread the news about the accident.
So, even though my brother had cried and made a scene, instead of worry, concern, pity, or guilt toward my parents…
This naive fool.
Shit, I felt relieved first.