Chapter 405
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 405
There was no fanfare, nor were there any flashy sound effects.
I stared blankly at the final message on the screen before asking in a low voice.
“...Is it done?”
[Yes.]
The system window spat out a blunt answer and, unlike its usual self, offered no further explanation.
“...This is it? The end?”
As if in confirmation, the box with the word ‘Yes’ flickered.
For all the serious mental agonizing I’d done, the immediate reality was hollowly calm.
I pressed my palm against my throbbing forehead before pushing myself up.
I wanted to check on Seo Ho-jin. Whatever the outcome, I was the one who had set this in motion, so I had to take responsibility for the results.
Realizing the world outside had grown quiet, I softly pushed the bedroom door open.
The clock on the living room wall pointed to 4:00 AM.
The members seemed to have fallen asleep while watching a movie; they were sprawled out all over the floor and the sofa.
I moved as stealthily as possible to avoid waking them, passing by Jeong Da-jun, who was clinging to Kang Yi-chae and mumbling in his sleep, and headed for the front door. As I was quietly putting on my shoes, I heard a rustle behind me, followed by a low, husky voice.
“Where are you going?”
Kang Yi-chae pushed himself up halfway, shoving aside the maknae who was practically using him as a mattress, and let out a long yawn. His sleeping habits were clearly no joke, as his hair was sticking out in every direction.
“You’re awake?”
“I asked where you’re going.”
“Home for a bit.”
“...Ah, right. Because it was Ho-jin’s birthday yesterday?”
Kang Yi-chae looked at me with half-lidded eyes and frowned.
“...Wait, you’re going out like that?”
Following his gaze downward, I finally took note of my attire. I was wearing a black turtleneck and cotton trousers.
I awkwardly smoothed down my clothes and was about to take off my shoes when Kang Yi-chae beat me to it. He scrambled up, grabbed his own padded coat and scarf that had been tossed aside, and threw them at me.
“Wear these. It’s cold out. It’s snowing. Like, really cold.”
“...”
“Oh, right. Take an umbrella too.”
Watching him grumble and repeat himself in a daze before flopping back down to sleep, he actually looked his age for once.
“...Thanks.”
I threw on the coat, wrapped the scarf around my neck, grabbed an umbrella, and added a belated word of thanks.
Once outside, I pressed the elevator button and requested a KakaO Taxi through the app. The biting dawn air seemed to clear my head a little.
By the time I reached the first floor, the taxi had already arrived.
I climbed in and pulled out my phone to message Seo Ho-jin, but I’d forgotten to charge it. The battery was dead, and the screen wouldn’t turn on.
“Whew...”
I felt unusually scatterbrained today.
I rubbed my chin and turned my gaze out the window.
Thick snowflakes were still falling relentlessly.
Perhaps that was why everything felt so detached from reality.
I got out of the taxi at the entrance of the apartment complex and opened my umbrella.
Walking along the pristine white path where no footprints had yet been left, I passed the bench where my maternal uncle had once sat and headed toward the house.
Standing before the door, the anxiety I’d been suppressing began to crawl back up.
I clenched and unclenched my fist once before punching in the passcode.
1, 2, 2, 3...
At the sound of the lock disengaging, I grabbed the handle and opened the door. The entryway light flickered on automatically. The living room beyond was pitch black.
Since it was late, he was likely asleep, so I called his name cautiously.
“Seo Ho-jin.”
There was no answer.
I called out again as I opened the door to his room. Finding it empty, I let out a sigh and plugged my phone into the charger by the bed.
Maybe he went out for drinks with friends.
Should I have waited until I was with him to trigger the reset?
With that thought, I sprawled out on the bed.
“...He could’ve at least left the heat on.”
The only thing I could do now was wait for him.
Just as Seo Ho-jin had always done for me.
.
.
.
My eyes snapped open. My entire body felt heavy and sluggish, as if I were submerged in water. The lack of sleep over the past few days was finally catching up to me.
I tried to clear my foggy consciousness with a sigh and fumbled around for my phone. The charger must have been loose; it was only at about 10%.
[Metropolitan Heavy Snow Advisory Issued.
Expect icy roads due to snowfall and cold wave. Please be mindful of pedestrian and traffic safety.]
[Traffic congestion is expected during tomorrow’s morning commute. Please use public transportation if possible.]
I swiped past the unimportant notifications and opened my messages to see the most recent one.
[Puppy: Hyung hyung hyung hyung hyung Ho-yun hyung hyung hyung hyung]
It was definitely The Dawn’s group chat, but it was filled almost entirely with the maknae’s messages.
[Puppy: Ho-jin hyung came to the dorm!!!! He was looking for you!!!!!]
[Puppy: But when Yi-chae hyung said you went home, he ran right back out ㅠㅠ....]
[Puppy: Also... is something wrong with Ho-jin hyung? He looked like a ghost... We were so shocked we told him to at least take an umbrella....]
[Puppy: (Crying emoticon)]
[Puppy: Anyway, we tried to look out for him... Don’t get mad at us later.......]
My heart began to thud violently against my ribs.
I sat up and checked my missed calls.
[Damn Little Brother]
[Damn Little Brother]
[Damn Little Brother]
[Damn Little Brother]
[Damn Little Brother]
[Damn Little Brother]
There were several calls from Seo Ho-jin.
I rubbed my stiff face with one hand and dialed his number. It didn’t ring for long.
“Hello?”
There was no voice on the other end.
However, when you’ve spent over ten years raising and looking after a living being, certain skills develop naturally, whether you want them or not.
“Hello? Seo Ho-jin?”
[...Yeah.]
One of those skills was the ability to sense my kid’s mood just from the slightest shift in the atmosphere.
The damp, heavy tone of his voice snapped me into full alertness.
“What’s wrong? What’s going on?”
I stood up abruptly and hurried out of the room, asking urgently.
“Seo Ho-jin, where are you?”
Just as I was bracing the phone between my shoulder and chin while shoving my feet into my shoes, the door lock chimed.
[...In front of the house.]
Seo Ho-jin’s voice came through the speaker and the hallway at the same time. A moment later, the door swung open to reveal my brother, covered in snow, wearing nothing but a white sweatshirt, black track pants, and plastic slides.
“...Are you crazy?”
He looked like he was trying to freeze to death.
Seeing the ice crystals clinging to his eyelashes, I grabbed his arm in a panic and pulled him inside.
“You didn’t even take an umbrella? You’re soaking wet—”
“—Hyung.”
I was about to launch into a lecture about his state, but Seo Ho-jin lifted his head and called out to me.
“I’m going to say something really weird, but you can’t call me crazy. Don’t laugh, and don’t interrupt me. You have to listen until the very end.”
His tone was firm, but his voice held a note of desperation. He licked his lips repeatedly, his chest heaving as if he were incredibly nervous.
“...We aren’t the same age. The accident with our parents didn’t happen when we were twenty; it happened when we were ten.”
His eyes, meeting mine, began to shimmer with moisture and tremble.
“You aren’t some celebrity. The hyung I know was someone who lived for overtime, someone whose safety I could only confirm after dawn had passed. Someone who never listened, no matter how much I told him to take care of himself—”
His nose crinkled as if he were choking back a sob.
“—But he’s the person I love most... my PD-nim...”
In the end, Seo Ho-jin couldn’t finish his sentence and clamped his mouth shut.
I watched him quietly for a moment before revealing the truth lightly, as if to shift the heavy atmosphere.
“You’re right. You might not have known, but I’m your hyung.”
“...”
“I am your brother.”
I gave him an answer reminiscent of a famous sci-fi masterpiece.
Once the words were out, seeing Seo Ho-jin’s bewildered expression made me feel sheepish, and I scratched my cheek.
It’s over.
The thing I had longed for so much had finally happened.
I still wasn’t sure if it was the right choice, though.
“...Ahem. Anyway, you idiot, it’s freezing out there. It’s practically the North Pole. Why are you wandering around like this?”
I tried to change the subject, brushing the snow off his head and shoulders to shake off my complicated emotions, but a strained, gritted voice leaked out of him.
“...Hyung, why are you only telling me this now?”
I raised an eyebrow slightly, then lowered it when I spotted the tear tracks on his cheeks.
“Why only now...?”
At that moment, a wave of certainty surged from within, washing away my lingering anxiety.
I knew that whatever Seo Ho-jin said next would be the answer to whether I’d made the right choice.
“What really makes me mad is that I don’t even know why I forgot. But you should have told me! If I was acting like a dumbass, you should’ve kept reminding me until I got it through my thick skull!”
Even if it was about losing our parents at ten, or having to survive hardships under a mean older brother... even if it was stuff that seemed useless for the future.
The past was precious to Seo Ho-jin, too.
Just as it was to me.
“I knew something was weird. I know exactly what face you make when you’re having a hard time, and for a while now, that’s the only face you’ve had when you’re with me. And I was the only one who didn't know anything, like an idiot...”
Looking at his face—which reminded me so much of the young Seo Ho-jin who looked like he was about to burst into tears at any second—I reached out, brushed his damp hair back, and gave him a small smile.
“Uh... Hyung...”
“...”
“...Hyung is sorry for being a little late.”
I added the sentence I had been hesitating to swallow.
“...I mean, for being late for your birthday.”
Seo Ho-jin’s face crumpled instantly, and the tears finally began to fall in heavy droplets.
Sobbing breathlessly, he couldn’t even lift his head, yet he shoved my chest hard.
“You’re so annoying...”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Hyung, you’re seriously the worst...”
He buried his face in my shoulder and began to mumble apologies over and over.
But since I wasn’t exactly a perfect adult myself, I couldn’t find a wise way to comfort him. I simply whispered a small “Happy Birthday” into his ear.