Fucked.
Seo Hojin coughed as if he were about to die, covering his mouth and lowering his head. To raise his gaze now and meet his brother’s face would be no different from suicide.
‘Damn it.’
Even without looking, he could feel the murderous aura pouring out from in front of him with every nerve of his body.
‘I misspoke.’
From the joke about getting pocket money, to bringing up the Kang Giyeong prosecutor incident, to saying, “You had it harder than the relatives did”— even so, Seo Hoyun had let it all slide generously.
A few years ago, he wouldn’t have been able to say even the word “money” before being executed on the spot. But now, Seo Hoyun only showed mild displeasure, sighed, and silently listened, as if acknowledging his own faults.
He even still fed him like usual, watching fondly while pushing food into his mouth, so when Hojin laughed, thinking, “Wow, my brother’s in a good mood today,” that was all there was to it.
And then—
“You’ll handle things well on your own.”
He even said that.
It was something Hojin had never heard before in his life.
That’s why, all giddy for no reason, he ended up saying something he shouldn’t have.
“...Uh, hyung.”
With trembling hands, Seo Hojin carefully put down his spoon. Then, forcing his brain to work despite the panic, he spoke again.
“About what I said earlier—”
At that moment, the door slid open.
“Are you enjoying your meal, sir? Here, have some steamed egg on the house!”
“......!”
A savior appeared.
It wasn’t the server from earlier but a middle-aged man who looked like the owner, smiling brightly.
“Oh my~, my staff was making such a fuss I wondered who it was, but isn’t this our Seo Hoyun? My youngest daughter’s a huuuge fan of The Dawn!”
“...Really?”
Celebrity Seo Hoyun smiled politely as he asked back.
Good god, to think someone could suppress Hoyun’s wrath even for a moment. Noeul truly was the strongest fandom in the world! While Hojin shed tears of gratitude inside, the owner slipped him a piece of paper and asked casually,
“By the way, aren’t you shooting another drama soon?”
“If I do, will you watch it?”
“Oh my, of course! I’d love it if you could do a sequel with that actress, Yoo Jia.”
But that didn’t mean Seo Hoyun wouldn’t still kill him.
While the two chatted cheerfully, Seo Hojin kept his mouth shut. Even when the owner waved and said, “Come again, so I can see that handsome face more often~,” he didn’t dare move.
All he’d gained was fifteen more seconds of life — now it was just time to await the execution.
“They’re generous. Let’s eat this and head out.”
“...Huh?”
Seo Hoyun spoke in a calm tone. Startled, Hojin lifted his head slightly, blinking.
‘What the hell?’
His brother looked completely normal.
Lifting a spoonful of the steaming steamed egg, Seo Hoyun looked just like usual.
“You’re not eating?”
“...Uh, no... aren’t you going to say anything?”
When Hojin finally asked after a long hesitation, Seo Hoyun frowned as if puzzled.
“Say what?”
“.......”
“Isn’t the conversation over?”
Over?
Speaking as if it were nothing, he wiped his mouth and got up.
Hojin hurriedly shoved a spoonful of steamed egg into his mouth, following him out with the uneasy feeling that he’d get indigestion.
After chatting and laughing with the staff while paying, Seo Hoyun turned back.
“Seo Hojin. Want me to give you a ride?”
“Uh... I’m heading to school anyway, so... I’ll walk.”
“Yeah? All right. See you.”
Hojin blinked blankly as he watched his brother pull out of the parking lot and drive away.
“...Huh?”
That’s it? That’s really it?
‘Is that guy really my brother?’
In the past, he would’ve said, “What the hell was that toy you were talking about? What did you even want? You little shit—” and charged at him with eyes blazing. But this time, Seo Hoyun simply left cleanly.
Left alone in the underground parking lot, Seo Hojin scratched his head.
“Wow...”
His brother had changed.
“...He’s mellowed out a lot.”
Well, time had passed, after all.
If he’d even grown generous toward people he used to see as enemies, maybe that just meant he’d gotten stronger.
His heart was still pounding from the tension, but still— it was a good thing.
“...Impressive.”
...Was he maybe a little disappointed, though?
***
[He really said that?]
“Yeah.”
A few days later.
It seemed like Seo Hoyun had been worried about him not eating properly, so Hojin decided to cook for himself and stopped by the supermarket.
One hand carried a heavy bag filled with law textbooks, the other held his phone— cumbersome. He shoved the bag into the cart and picked the phone back up.
[He just brushed it off like nothing happened?]
“I’m telling you, he did.”
Chewing on a candy, Hojin spoke with Kang Ichae over the phone. He’d quit smoking a while back, but his mouth still felt empty if he didn’t chew something.
[...You sure that’s Seo Hoyun?]
“That’s what I’m saying. Doesn’t he seem like he’s changed to you, too?”
[Hmm.......]
Ichae sounded thoughtful, humming low.
[He has been kind of different lately. Even when he tried to get us all to live together at the dorm, he caught me off guard by being unpredictable... but he was still annoying, you know. That’s who Hoyun hyung really is.]
“.......”
[So honestly, I don’t believe you.]
“Me neither.”
A brother who let things slide no matter how much his younger brother mouthed off?
Wasn’t that the same “soft and gentle hyung” Woo Gyeongun had described?
When Hojin saw Gyeongun making a fuss about how nice his brother seemed, he’d scoffed, thinking he was crazy— but now that he thought about it, maybe the guy hadn’t been completely wrong.
[You’d better not let your guard down.]
Yeah, well.
While Hojin made a grimace, Ichae clicked his tongue and changed the subject.
[By the way, I heard he had a company dinner yesterday. Got dragged around by the higher-ups until dawn.]
“Yeah? Did he come back to the dorm today?”
[Not home. Looks like he went straight to another schedule.]
I see.
Well, his brother had been living a busy life anyway— nothing surprising there.
After thinking for a moment, Hojin asked,
“So... how’s your group activity going?”
[Oh, that?]
Ichae chuckled.
[No need to worry.]
His tone carried a hint of confidence.
Feeling oddly warm inside, Hojin said “Okay” and hung up.
He tossed things into his cart at random and pushed it toward the register. There was a lot to do today.
‘Go back home, cook, do laundry... and study.’
Now that he’d gotten back to his normal life, he had to study hard again.
When he returned home, the sight of completely unfamiliar material left him stunned. His head felt empty— like all the knowledge he’d built up had vanished. But since law school was busiest this time of year, he had to grit his teeth and push through.
That was, after all, the best way to ease his brother’s worries.
Walking briskly, he suddenly caught sight of the kids’ corner near the register. Normally, he wouldn’t have given it a glance, but something about it caught his attention this time.
He had lied to Seo Hoyun, saying, “Ah, I barely even remember the relatives now.”
‘Of course I remember.’
He remembered those childhood days vividly.
After their parents’ accident— during the time when Seo Hoyun had lost his mind— Hojin had been left with relatives for about half a year. It wasn’t much; he just hadn’t eaten properly. He’d heard plenty of crap and gotten a few emotional scars, but the real reason he cried back then was simple— he’d wanted to go back to Seo Hoyun.
‘Yeah, I cried.’
From the moment he got to live with his brother again six months later, the relatives no longer mattered.
No point chewing on useless memories.
But Seo Hoyun took that matter as something deeply insulting— as if he felt guilty for not being there beside Hojin.
Maybe that was why.
“Isn’t there anything you want?”
Whenever they passed the toy section at the supermarket, his brother would always ask that.
But Seo Hojin knew how thin their wallet was, and he didn’t want to whine to a college student who was already exhausted from all his part-time jobs.
“...No? Not at all?”
So whenever Hojin shook his head and hurriedly tried to push the cart away, Seo Hoyun would snicker, push his hand off the cart handle, and flick his forehead.
“Right. You’ve grown up.”
But the look on his brother’s face, when he glanced down at him from above, was still «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» clear as day in his mind.
On those nights, he’d sit smoking until morning too.
“Mmgh.”
Pushing the cart, Hojin scratched his cheek.
“I really didn’t need it.”
Why had his brother felt so guilty?
Honestly, he wasn’t their parent— so why did he try so hard to act like one? Hojin could never understand that part of him for as long as he lived.
‘Even recently, he’s still like that.’
Relatives?
After watching his brother die more than once, did anyone really think he’d still care about that kind of crap?
Facing the relatives was so dull he could barely keep from yawning. When he ran into them, his small pleasure was to sneer, “Wow~ you came again? Must be nice having so much free time. If you’ve got that much spare time, maybe try volunteering?”
He wasn’t a normal college student— the only thing Seo Hojin still had to worry about was his pain-in-the-ass brother.
‘Seriously ridiculous.’
Thinking of Seo Hoyun’s uneasy expression whenever relatives were mentioned, he smiled faintly. After paying for his groceries and heading home, his phone started ringing just as he neared his building.
“Kang Ichae?”
He answered while waiting for the elevator.
Then a familiar, amused voice came through.
[You really already took care of the uncle situation?]
“...Hyung?”
The voice on the other end wasn’t Ichae’s. It was Seo Hoyun’s.
[I met with the uncles after hearing your story. Not just that con-artist uncle you gathered evidence on before— you won’t be getting any more calls from the others either. Even got their promise they’ll pretend they never saw you if they ever run into you again.]
“...Oh, uh... okay?”
[Is there anything your brother can’t do?]
...That sounded less like a promise and more like a threat.
In this area, he really hadn’t changed one bit. Hojin chuckled faintly as he stepped into the elevator.
“So you called just to tell me that?”
Any trace of disappointment vanished in an instant.
His brother still cared about him.
Standing in front of the door, Hojin pinned the phone between his shoulder and ear as he tapped in the keypad.
“You really are something. You’re busy, you could’ve just told me next time.”
[Ah, you’ll see me soon.]
“You mean, you’re coming?”
But when he swung the door open, he paused in confusion.
“...?”
Cold air drifted in.
Looking closer, the veranda window was open. The blackout curtains hung low, the dark room faintly stirred by wind that made the fabric whip violently. Hojin took off his shoes, stepped inside, and shut the window, still listening to the phone.
“When?”
Uh, but why did the apartment smell so much like alcohol—
And then it happened.
Just as he slid the window fully closed, a strange chill crept up his spine.
“Now.”
Not from the phone— the gentle voice came directly, right beside his ear in real life.
As if struck by lightning, Hojin froze, still holding his phone, and slowly turned around.
In the darkness, a face was visible— stripped of all warmth.
“...Hyung?”
He hadn’t seen him when he first stepped inside; now, he stood completely still. Seo Hoyun sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, and beside him was a huge, unidentifiable box.
Pulling a lollipop from his mouth, he asked softly,
“You’re home?”
His voice was gentle, but his expression didn’t move a muscle— only his eyes followed Hojin’s every step.
Frozen, Hojin lowered his phone slowly and stepped back.
“Why are you so late? I’ve been waiting a long time.”
“.......”
Of course he had. Seo Hoyun had been sitting there in the dark, silently watching him. As Hojin’s vision adjusted, his brother’s shape became clear.
He was rubbing his fingertips together, like he was rolling an invisible cigarette.
‘He’s drunk.’
But not just any kind of drunk.
Seeing him collapsed at the front door, or pulling his wallet out to hand him pocket money— that was familiar.
But this was different. The smell of alcohol was thick enough to sting his nose, yet his pronunciation was perfectly clear.
“...What brings you here?”
This was that kind of drinking— the kind that came when he was in a foul mood.
The kind that only appeared when Hojin had done something truly unforgivable.
‘Get a grip.’
It was dangerous to deal with him now.
‘Get him out first.’
Get him out, talk later.
Even as fear from the depths froze his limbs, Hojin forced a casual smile.
If he showed even the smallest opening, Seo Hoyun would tear into him.
“...Didn’t expect to see you so soon. Thought you were busy with schedules?”
“.......”
“Still, it’s... uh, nice to see you. Yeah.”
...Good.
He was still listening quietly, at least.
The air around them grew taut, stretching thin— but the man was drunk.
A drunk like that, he could probably reason with and send away.
“But sorry, if it’s not urgent, can we talk later? I’ve got a class soon, just need to drop off my stuff and head—”
—KWAANG!!!
Hojin couldn’t finish.
Because his brother had kicked the enormous box.
“Kyaaahhh!”
He screamed, stumbling backward. From the torn box spilled a mass of unknown objects.
Crashhh—!
“Wh-what....”
“Where are you going.”
Clatter! Crackle— something black rolled across his foot. He stared dumbly at the floor, unable to tell what it was.
“You cried, didn’t you.”
“...What?”
As he stepped back in shock, a sharp pain pricked his foot.
“Ah...!”
When he lifted his heel, he finally saw what it was.
Tiny toy pieces.
Turning his stiff neck toward the fallen box, he saw the cover: a colorful mobile, a massive space battleship— and in bold English letters, [The toy with the highest piece count in existence!]
11,237 pieces.
Estimated playtime: about 17 hours.
“I bought it.”
“.......”
“So, Hojin, stop crying and...”
Seo Hoyun gently kicked one of the toy parts with his foot, resting his chin on his hand. Then, finally, he smiled.
A clear, radiant smile— gleaming with madness.
“How about we build it right here, in front of your brother?”
Hell had arrived.
