Woo Gyeongun adjusted the duffel bag on his shoulder and looked up at the school on the hill.
“When are they ever going to fix this damn school? At this rate, Gyeongun’s gonna become a martial artist.”
He really wanted to just turn back down the hill, but because Seo Hojin had asked (read: threatened) him to bring the major textbook he’d left behind, Gyeongun was now trudging up the slope, dripping with sweat.
A while later—
“Ah, that bastard Seo Hojin.”
After fighting the urge to give up about a hundred times, he finally grabbed the book from the student lounge. Then, once he reached the street where he was supposed to meet Hojin, he threw down his lumpy bag and squatted on the curb.
[Me: Hojin-nim~~~ When are you coming? haha]
[Me: You said you didn’t want to climb the hill, so I brought your book for you!!]
No reply.
As expected, Gyeongun sighed and complained for a while before habitually opening YouTube. He scrolled past gaming and political shorts, until one made him stop.
【To the song we love, still playing
On the old, slowing radio
Let’s dance as if it’s forever】
Huh?
He blinked at the title — “Kang Ichae’s new upload: The Dawn’s self-composed track – a jab at the agency?”
‘That’s Seo Hojin-hyung’s group.’
The short featured scenes that looked like The Dawn’s music video, and the comments were full of speculation: “Even if it’s self-composed, there should be credits if it was edited.” / “This is Seo Hoyun’s editing style.”
Then, near the end of the short, one image filled the screen with large text over it.
【The objects shown in the video aren’t props — they’re The Dawn’s personal belongings】
【From worn sneakers to stained mugs, traces of The Dawn remain】
【Could this be a message to their agency?】
“...Message?”
The video already had about two thousand comments. Curious about why it was so popular, Gyeongun opened the comment section — and was hit with a flood of Korean and English posts.
[Ah, my heart’s pounding, seriously pounding.
They can’t say it officially,
but this is a tribute for Noeul.]
[No way WH would let this slide.]
[You think Kang Ichae uploaded this for fun?
This guy never drops a self-composed track unless it’s album material. If not, it goes straight to the trash bin.]
[Sorry, but how neglected were Noeul for everyone to worship one self-composed song like this?
└To the end of the world, we’ll worship them.
└└To the song still playing on the old, slowing radio, let’s dance as if it’s forever.]
As Noeul flared up online, Woo Gyeongun tilted his head again.
‘Why is everyone so mad?’
Isn’t releasing a self-composed track supposed to be a good thing?
Curious, he searched more, and soon found WH’s press release that came out a day later: “The Dawn’s surprise self-composed track ‘Define’ revealed...” / “Confirmed to be an unreleased song gift for fans.”
But the public’s response was cold.
Even though he’d had to repeat a year, Gyeongun had trained his ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) brain on endless LSAT reading passages. So, even amidst the flood of complicated info, he quickly understood what was going on.
[They’re shaking the tree.]
The Dawn had released a self-composed track without agency approval, causing a stir before contract renewals.
Fans, realizing the company had neglected them, were growing more and more furious.
[I’m about to destroy everything.]
[Revolution time, my blood’s boiling, f***.]
[Let’s go!!!!!!!]
Still, Woo Gyeongun couldn’t quite get it.
‘Why would an agency neglect their idol group?’
Everywhere you looked in Korea, Seo Hoyun’s face was on billboards.
Even someone like him, who couldn’t care less about idols, knew: “Oh yeah, that idol who’s basically promoting the nation abroad.”
They had to be raking in massive profit—so why neglect them?
As he frowned, his phone vibrated.
[Bad Bastard: Got plans.]
[Bad Bastard: Just leave it in the student lounge.]
“......”
You son of a bitch...
But remembering all the emergency tutoring sessions Hojin had given him, Gyeongun wiped away a tear and texted back, “Haha okay!! You must be busy!!”
He patted the dust off his knees and started to get up—only to feel someone’s gaze.
Maybe people were staring because a grown man was crouched on the sidewalk like a fool. He was just starting to feel embarrassed when he realized the gaze wasn’t on him exactly—it was slightly off.
Following it, he saw a man standing right beside him, arms crossed, cap pulled low.
The man wore a black mask that covered half his face. Definitely not an ordinary passerby. Gyeongun recognized him instantly.
“...Gasp.”
The man looked down at him, then lowered his mask with a half-smile.
“I was waiting to see when you’d notice.”
“......”
Holy crap.
It was his pain-in-the-ass friend’s older brother—Seo Hoyun.
He looked exhausted, maybe straight from a schedule, but his face still seemed to glow.
“Ah, hello!”
“Have you been well? Studying hard?”
“...Yes, of course!”
He couldn’t exactly say, ‘Your brother torments me daily!’ so Gyeongun just smiled nervously and studied him.
He was obviously here for Hojin, but Hoyun made no move to leave. He just stood there quietly, watching him.
‘Terrifying...’
The air felt strangely heavy, that same intimidating aura as always.
Normally, Gyeongun would be chirping away like a noisy chick, but now he couldn’t meet his eyes.
Hoyun tilted his head slightly, hands in his pockets.
“I’ve got a question. Mind if I ask?”
“...Please, go ahead!!”
“How’s Hojin doing these days?”
How’s he doing?
Blinking in confusion, Gyeongun stammered out an answer.
“Uh... he’s studying well.”
“......”
“...He’s popular?”
He swallowed the part about still being an asshole and peeked up cautiously. Hoyun stayed silent, thinking.
“I see.”
His cracked voice carried a subtle emotion that Gyeongun couldn’t read.
Before he could figure out what to say, Hoyun exhaled lightly and murmured, “Thanks for saying he’s doing well.” Then he reached into his pocket.
“...Hyung?”
He was pulling out—his wallet.
“—Woo Gyeongun!!!”
And there came Seo Hojin, sprinting toward them with a horrified expression.
“Hy-hyung!! Hyung! Please, stop! Hyung!!”
He was pale as a ghost, practically begging as he reached them.
“Wow, thanks, Gyeongun. You brought the book for me! What a wonderful friend. You’ve proven your loyalty, and now you should head back to study! Quickly!”
“......”
“The sun’s setting soon, it’s dangerous!!”
Was he rapping or something?
His eyes were shouting: Get lost now. Don’t you dare take money from him. Please, for the love of God, don’t.
Hoyun’s eyebrow twitched. Feeling the tension, Gyeongun tried to slip away before getting caught in the crossfire.
“Uh... then, you two enjoy your meal—”
“Gyeongun-ssi.”
“...Yes? Y-Yes, sir?”
Hoyun called out to him.
“If you ever need anything, contact me anytime.”
“......”
Hojin was glaring daggers, so Gyeongun quickly nodded and hurried off.
His heart pounded from the sheer intimidation of being between them. But honestly—
‘Wow, he’s still insanely cool.’
What kind of brother looks like that?
That calm but commanding aura, that quiet charisma. Like the type who’d forgive any mistake with a soft smile...
As Gyeongun reluctantly walked away, he heard their voices behind him.
“What a shame, Hojin’s gotten even uglier.”
“He’s always like this. Always...”
...He must’ve misheard.
***
“Wow, look at the date today. Is it already allowance season or something?”
Eating with Seo Hojin was never easy. He talked a lot. Like, endlessly. I half-covered one ear and flipped through the menu, then handed it to the waiter who came in.
“From here to there, one of each, please.”
“......”
He stared at me like, is this real life? But since I’d been eating with Min Jiheon often lately, this had basically become my standard.
If you’re an adult man, you should eat at least this much, right? I nudged Hojin’s leg under the table.
“You can’t handle this?”
“...I’m sorry.”
Apparently he took that as shut your mouth, because he clamped his lips shut and just watched me.
“So... you’re filming a drama, right?”
“Movie.”
“Huh? What about your group?”
“Preparing that too.”
“Is that even a schedule a human being can handle?”
“Everyone lives like this.”
I replied lazily and took a sip of tea. Hojin frowned.
“...Even so... how are you managing group activities? Isn’t your agency a mess right now?”
So that news reached him too.
I clicked my tongue and set down the teacup.
The contract renewal talks were almost done—just one missing piece.
‘The Daepaseong CEO.’
Once I secured that bastard, it would be over. But it wasn’t easy.
I thought about Kim Sunghyun and Sung Jiwon, who were probably sweating it out in the countryside right now, and shrugged.
“It’s fine. I just need to find the orchard.”
“...What?”
I ignored Hojin’s puzzled face and sipped my tea again.
‘Really nothing unusual.’
While making meaningless small talk, I looked quietly at him.
‘...Doesn’t look like he’s lying.’
Still, lately I’d been feeling something off about Seo Hojin.
Ever since he’d regained all his memories, he’d been trying hard to return to normal life.
He couldn’t remember a single thing he’d studied before, so he clenched his teeth and forced it back into his head. Yet he always smiled and said his body felt lighter.
But what bothered me the most was that he sometimes slipped up when he spoke.
A while ago, when I stopped by home, he was peeling a tangerine and watching TV when he muttered,
“Hyung, didn’t you do an ad there before?”
“No.”
“Oh... huh? Not anymore, then?”
Whenever that happened, he’d go quiet right away, and I’d pretend not to notice.
‘Look at him mumbling his way out.’
Having lived through countless loops, Hojin was obviously confused.
When I was trapped in that editing room last winter, even I thought, what a goddamn insane place.
So how must it have been for Hojin, stuck there for so long?
‘It’s a wonder he’s still sane.’
The moment we met today, he’d scanned me up and down as if checking my condition. Even now, while talking casually, he was still observing me.
I found that habit disturbingly similar to my own.
“...Hm?”
When had he gotten so tall?
I watched him silently, thoughts tangled up, and he tilted his head.
“...Why are you staring at me all greasy-like—ouch!”
“Your tone.”
“Ugh, that hurts, seriously....”
After one more kick to the shin, he finally shut up.
When the waiter opened the door to bring in our food, I asked,
“You studying hard?”
“I have to. Who knows? If I become a prosecutor, I could quote Vile Trial one day.”
...The prosecutor in that movie kills himself at the end, you idiot.
“...Cough.”
Hojin choked mid-bite, then caught my expression and hurriedly gulped water once he realized the implication.
“A-ack, no! That’s not what I meant! I didn’t mean it like that!”
“......”
“Wow, a slip of the tongue! A slip! I’m sorry! I slipped!!”
This little bastard’s trying to trigger my trauma again...
I could feel my face icing over even without looking in a mirror. Hojin was practically defending himself for his life.
Still, this much... I could let slide.
Because I was a good older brother.
I carved the word “patience” into my soul and passed him a dish. He quickly took a piece of the deboned fish, and I moved on to the next question.
“Any relatives contacting you?”
“...Feels like a loaded question.”
“They did, huh.”
“So it was a trap...”
Hojin scratched his head, sighed, and finally confessed.
“...Yeah, they do. Not sure how they got my number.”
He said it with no emotion, poking a piece of sweet-and-sour pork with his chopsticks.
“But I don’t really care. Because...”
He whispered seriously,
“Out of everyone related by blood, no one made my life harder than you did.”
“......”
Yeah, you little shit...
I couldn’t even deny it. It annoyed me, but I wasn’t in a position to talk, so I sighed and poured some water.
“...Then you’ll get a nice fat compensation if you sue.”
“Huh?”
He blinked, surprised by my tone. I spoke flatly.
“You’ll handle it fine.”
“......”
“You’re like me.”
He always thought he took after Mom, but really, he took after me.
Just like that time he’d said it to me on the bridge.
“...Yeah.”
Hojin looked at me, smiling as if genuinely happy.
“Don’t worry. Nothing serious happened.”
I bet.
I swallowed down the sting in my chest and kept my face calm while he went right back to chattering.
“Anyway, they said I look healthier now. That I’ve grown up enough that you don’t have to cry and beg for toys anymore, haha.”
He laughed as he chewed a piece of sweet-and-sour pork.
“Hyung, this place is really good—”
Then suddenly started coughing.
“...Cough.”
“......”
“Cough, cough, cough—ack—cough!”
...You see, the thing is.
I had already engraved “patience” three times.
“...Toys.”
I stared at my little brother for a long moment, then slowly set down my spoon and enunciated each word.
“Don’t have to buy them anymore?”
Hojin looked at me with a face that screamed I’m so fucked.
