My Brother's Return and the Alpha Male Project
I have one younger brother. Honestly, I basically raised him myself. Back then, I was already as mature as I am now, and even though I was still a toddler, my baby brother—who was even younger and cuter than anything—well, how could I not want to take care of him? I changed his diapers, played with him, taught him Hangul and English… and after raising him like that, a certain desire took root in me. I wanted to turn him into an alpha male. By that point I’d already realized, staring into the mirror, that my own looks were far from ordinary, so I figured my brother would be similar. These days I’ve given up on the idea, but back then I desperately wanted to live vicariously through him as the ultimate alpha male.
“Sis, can’t I do taekwondo?”
“No. See those older boys over there? That’s where you’re going.”
So instead of letting him go to what was basically a daycare-style taekwondo academy, I sent him to a jiu-jitsu dojo.
“I want to do puzzle club after school…”
“If a genius is someone who achieves things without effort, then sadly, Aseong, you are not a genius.”
“Huh? I’m not a genius?”
“However, if a genius is someone who achieves things through hard work, then Aseong, you can become one.”
“Sis, what does that even—”
“Join the baseball team and become Suzuki Ichiro!”
During elementary school I basically shoved him off a cliff called the baseball club. Our school’s baseball team was so famous that kids transferred in from other schools just to join. And my brother Kim Aseong, who inherited my physique from my child-model days (the same physique that would later blow up the domestic modeling industry), adapted beautifully and shone on that team. The jiu-jitsu training he’d started in early elementary probably helped a lot.
Then many years and many incidents later… After he’d adapted but ultimately lacked real talent for baseball, he got scouted by an idol agency, trained for three months, and ran away. After that he completely bombed his first CSAT, declared he’d only focus on studying, and entered a boarding academy in the countryside. That same brother is now sitting right in front of me.
“So you’re saying you’re doing a stream, sis?”
“Yeah. And who the hell just walks into someone’s room without knocking?”
At my glare, my younger brother Kim Aseong, who was kneeling on the floor, scrunched up his face.
“This used to be my room, you know.”
“....”
“I heard the computer running, so I just came in.”
Well… I had no comeback for that. After he left for the retake academy, I immediately turned his empty room into a streaming setup.
By the way, I never turned off the mic. I’d already told him not to say my real name, and I was talking to him partly to explain the situation. After all, if a male voice suddenly appeared and then the mic stayed off for a long silence, people would get the wrong idea, wouldn’t they?
“Ahem. So… when did you get back?”
“Me? Today.”
“You should’ve said something when you were coming back, tsk…”
“I left you a message though…”
“....”
Oh, did he? Haah… Right. I was streaming, so I probably didn’t check my phone.
“Hmm… If you were coming, you should’ve come for Christmas. Are you just here to hang out? How’s studying going?”
“…? I don’t go to the academy anymore.”
“?”
I tilted my head in confusion. He doesn’t go anymore? Why? For a second, memories of his idol trainee days flashed through my mind. The kids had told him his face wasn’t good enough for debut, so he’d stormed out after only three months. The little punk… couldn’t handle it.
By the way, while Aseong’s physique is just as impressive as mine, unfortunately his facial features are a bit different. That missing percentage is what kept him from succeeding as an idol.
“Did you run away again or something…”
The moment I asked, remembering that time, Aseong’s face crumpled.
“What are you talking about? Didn’t you hear I did well on the CSAT?”
“Huh?”
“That’s why I quit the academy and came home.”
The way he looked at me like I must have forgotten made me turn my eyes away in embarrassment.
“Ahem… hmm…”
“Wow…”
“No, I did hear about it.”
It only just came back to me now. Mom had casually mentioned that Aseong did really well on the CSAT. But I haven’t exactly been sitting around doing nothing—I’ve been busy. I even went on a business trip yesterday. And most importantly…
“You did well on the test but didn’t come straight home, so I forgot…”
It’s almost the new year. If the guy who supposedly aced the CSAT never came home, of course I’d forget.
“Wow… so that’s why the room looks like this?”
Aseong pointed around the room with his mouth hanging open. Because I’d turned it into a streaming room, soundproofing panels were plastered everywhere. A massive desk held the streaming PC and the broadcasting PC, while yoga mats and all kinds of game and manga merch were scattered behind it.
“Where am I supposed to sleep?”
Seeing his childhood room completely taken over, Aseong asked with a hollow expression. I was feeling awkward too when suddenly I remembered something our wise mother had said.
‘Aseong’s room? Hmm, just clean out the storage room and give him that~’
“Oh! The storage room!”
“Huh?”
“I emptied the storage room and moved all your furniture in there.”
“What?”
Just to clarify, the house our family lives in is a detached country home that I, Kim Ahyeon, bought with the money I saved up since my child modeling days. It’s not in Seoul, but it’s a pretty white two-story house in a well-connected area of Gyeonggi-do. There are four rooms on the first floor and three rooms plus a terrace on the second, so we had plenty of spare rooms—including the storage room and my walk-in closet. I suddenly remembered that I’d converted the storage room into Aseong’s new bedroom.
“Why didn’t you just stream from the storage room instead of…”
Well… it’s the second-largest room on the second floor, right next to mine, and most importantly, the view from the window is incredible. In the mornings you can watch office workers heading to work on the road right in front of the house. The feeling of looking down at people who stayed up all night gaming before dragging themselves to work… it’s just unbeatable.
“A-anyway, didn’t you look for your present?”
Of course I couldn’t say that out loud, so I smoothly changed the subject.
“Present?”
“Yeah. You think this noona wouldn’t have bought her little brother a gift?”
“W-what is it?”
At those words, Aseong—who had been trembling with rage—stopped shaking instantly. This kid… he really is materialistic.
“Okay, everyone, I think that’s enough explanation, right? I’ll mute for a sec?”
I said that and turned off the mic. At this point, no one would doubt that he was my brother anymore.
“What’s the present…”
Whether the mic was on or off didn’t matter to him. Our brother, who has zero interest in internet streaming and barely understands it, stared straight at me with sparkling, expectant eyes. Unfortunately, however…
“Sorry. I actually didn’t buy anything.”
“?”
During that business trip when I just wanted to get home as fast as possible, would I really have bought something? Roselia seemed to have bought a bunch of stuff, but sadly none of it was from me.
“W-wow, ugh!”
Realizing he’d been had, Aseong made a completely drained face. He was clearly furious, but since I’d been like a goddess to him since childhood, he couldn’t even raise his voice.
“You can leave now.”
I felt extremely satisfied as I waved my hand dismissively. After all, how many diapers did I change for this kid?
“But…”
“Oh, and take one of the watches from the display shelf. It’s your CSAT gift.”
Still, I should at least give him a proper CSAT present. He’s at the age where he cares a lot about fashion, so he’ll probably wear a nice watch everywhere.
“...Yes, older sister. This unworthy younger brother shall now take his leave.”
Anyway, the suddenly polite Aseong quietly closed the door and disappeared.
Tap tap.
“Can you hear me?”
I turned the mic back on to resume the stream.
“The present? I didn’t give him one.”
“It was a lie, obviously.”
“Who are you calling brother-in-law? Anyway, shall we get back to the game? The dodge penalty is finally over.”
There was a small incident, but it was resolved well enough. I started the game again.
A few days have passed since my brother came home. Our household went from three people to four, but not much has really changed. He originally lived here and only left for a year, and I mostly stay in my room anyway. If anything’s different, it’s just that things are a little more convenient.
“You’re back?”
“Why’d you call me?”
“Go buy me coffee. A low-sugar latte.”
I casually handed him my card. The café right in front of the house is really good, but they don’t do delivery.
“Ugh, no. Last time you—”
“On the way back, stop by the convenience store and buy whatever you want too.”
“Yes ma’am. Should I get a low-sugar cake as well?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“By the way, why didn’t you come straight home?”
As I was handing him the card, something suddenly occurred to me.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Mom told me you left the academy right after taking the CSAT?”
Aseong had been preparing for the retake at a boarding academy in the countryside. Apparently he’d cleared out his dorm room the moment the test was over. I was curious why he only came home at the very end of December, so I asked…
“Ah, I broke up with my girlfriend.”
“Huh?”
“I was originally staying at her place—she was a noona I met at the academy… After we broke up, she kicked me out.”
“Give that back, you little shit.”
“Huh?”
I snatched the card I had just given him right back. This punk who’s been living the sweet life thanks to his amazing noona… I guess the ten-year alpha-male plan was never going to work after all.