F39

Late at night, after dropping Siwoo off at his house, Yeonho had a lot on his mind as he walked back. Just imagining what might happen to Siwoo at home made his stomach churn. He pictured Siwoo being verbally abused by his mother, his father breaking his ribs with a golf club, and Siwoo, unable to endure the pain, slitting his wrists…

“Ugh…”

As soon as he arrived home, Yeonho rushed straight to the bathroom and vomited. The worry and love he felt were so overwhelming that they manifested as a physical reaction. Siwoo probably didn’t know just how deeply Yeonho cared. He didn’t know that every night, Yeonho dreamed of holding him safely and warmly as he fell asleep.

Yeonho couldn’t recklessly urge him to cut ties with his parents. Siwoo seemed to have done everything he could throughout his teenage years to escape their abuse. He’d taken photos of his injuries, collected medical records, and kept numerous counseling reports. But every time, he ended up giving in. Yeonho fully understood how hard it was to break away from one’s family.

His desire to have Siwoo completely to himself only grew stronger, and Yeonho began nurturing a dream of his own. Once he inherited the family business from his parents, he wanted to take Siwoo away from his family and give him a life without lack, as his own.

He’d originally planned to leave the business to his older brothers and live freely as the youngest son, doing what he wanted. But after meeting Siwoo, that dream had changed. If his parents were willing to give him his share, he was going to take it.

Of course, for now, it was just a dream. He was only twenty, after all, and had to do what he could from where he was. That meant cherishing Siwoo and loving him with all he had.

He never showed just how torn up he felt inside when he was in front of Siwoo. Every time he managed to hold it in, he felt he was growing up a little more.

***

With Seong Junhee’s arrival, the quiet routine Yeonho and Siwoo had kept for nearly half a year was completely shattered. Yeonho now had an official guardian, and Junhee hired a professional housekeeper to handle the cleaning and cooking. Siwoo could no longer comfortably set foot in the house.

The night Junhee moved in, Siwoo couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Yeonho, but he didn’t trust that stepbrother of his. Something about the way Junhee looked at and treated Yeonho felt off.

That subtle, unpleasant feeling was something only he – someone who loved Yeonho – could sense. Of course, he wasn’t entirely convinced Junhee’s feelings were romantic. He figured it was probably his own overwhelming jealousy that was the real issue.

The next day, after Junhee left for work, Siwoo visited Yeonho’s home. The door lock code had been changed, and since the card key had been taken without Yeonho’s permission, he rang the bell instead. As soon as Yeonho opened the door, Siwoo pulled him into his embrace. Yeonho didn’t smell like that man. He smelled only of the scent Siwoo loved.

“It’s been a while.”

“I missed you.”

He whispered his longing and kissed him. It had been five days since they last saw each other, too many things had come up because of the housing issue. Since they first met on February 23, this was the longest they had gone without seeing each other. As if he had missed him just as much, Yeonho clung to Siwoo and leaned his full weight against him.

Today, Siwoo was planning to take Yeonho, along with his clothes and books, to the new place he had prepared. The previous tenant had moved out three days ago, and Siwoo had spent those three days filling the apartment with all the necessary furnishings. He hadn’t even told Yeonho the address, he wanted to show him only after the place was fully ready.

While Yeonho packed his things, Siwoo instinctively tidied up his room. That’s when he noticed something on the bookshelf he hadn’t seen before: a large, thick photo album.

He felt it would contain memories with Seong Junhee and opened it with some tension. He had opened it with a bitter mindset, but as he flipped through the pages, his heart gradually softened. It seemed to be an album made by Yeonho’s parents, full of childhood memories. There were photos of the three brothers smiling affectionately together.

Siwoo smiled warmly, but not for long. Sprinkled throughout the album were pictures of Yeonho in Junhee’s arms, growing visibly older in each shot. After the photos ended, the album contained keepsakes from Yeonho’s childhood, including a letter he had written to Junhee.

Junhee hyung, I love you.
You’re my favorite person in the world.
I’m going to marry you when I grow up.

He had no intention of blaming a letter written by a child, probably in lower elementary school, whose parents were too busy to spend much time with him. The problem wasn’t Yeonho. It was his older brother, who had brought this into the house and shown it to him.

Siwoo closed the album and slid it back into place. He closed his eyes for a moment to calm himself, then smiled brightly as if nothing had happened and took the bag Yeonho handed him.

Yeonho had assumed Siwoo had rented a small one-room apartment and was completely caught off guard by the state of the actual place. It looked like a newlywed home. A three-bedroom apartment with brand-new furniture and separate study rooms for each of them. The bedroom had a queen-sized bed, and even the bedding was perfectly prepared.

But what caught Yeonho’s eye most was the kitchen, lined with frying pans in every size, just like the ones he always used. Hoisting the biggest and heaviest one, he asked,

“Hyung… are you secretly rich?”

He didn’t know much about Siwoo’s family, other than that his parents were company employees. He’d dropped him off near his house several times, but never figured out which building was his.

Of course, he’d noticed from Siwoo’s belongings and the car he drove that he lived comfortably. But he hadn’t expected anything like this.

While peeling peaches for Yeonho in the kitchen, Siwoo laughed in disbelief.

“No, I’m not rich. My grandmother passed away and left me an inheritance. I used that to get this place.”

“Seriously? You better not be rich!”

Yeonho, who had every intention of stealing Siwoo away from his parents and keeping him for himself, suddenly panicked. If Siwoo turned out to be a chaebol, it would throw a wrench in his plan.

“Why not?”

“Because then you wouldn’t be able to marry me! You’d need an heir! You’d have to marry someone else!”

Yeonho banged the table as he yelled. Laughing, Siwoo speared a peach slice with a fork and fed it to him.

“Don’t worry. I’m not marrying anyone else. Even if I lose my head, that’ll never happen.”

“I was going to steal you from your parents and adopt you as my son.”

Siwoo kissed Yeonho’s pouty lips. They were sweeter than the peach juice smeared on them.

In truth, Siwoo’s parents ran a midsized construction company, he wasn’t a chaebol. Without lying, he had used the cash inherited from his grandmother as the deposit and leased a spacious apartment for two years. It was a bit much for a student, but he wanted to live here with Yeonho during that time. After graduation, he planned to move to an even better place with Yeonho and start a life together.

He hated the thought of Yeonho feeling cramped or uncomfortable while visiting him, especially compared to the home Junhee had arranged. In a way, it was about pride. Without even realizing it, while preparing this home, he found himself wanting everything to be better, bigger, nicer, more expensive.

After feeding Yeonho another piece of peach, he asked,

“Yeonho. Do you really want to marry me?”

“Yeah. But… I hope you come to me with nothing but the clothes on your back.”

If this playful proposal from Yeonho sounded too much like what he’d once written in that letter to Junhee, was that just in Siwoo’s head? Probably. The rivalry he kept feeling toward Junhee, it was definitely a problem with him.

“If that’s what you want, I’ll come to you empty-handed. I’ll keep that promise.”

It might have sounded like a joke, but Siwoo was serious. He was asking too much of someone who was only twenty. Who in their right mind wanted to trap their first love for life? That’s why he had warned Yeonho, more than once, only come to me when you’re ready for the weight of this love.

Looking slightly gloomy, Yeonho sprawled on the sofa and fiddled with Siwoo’s phone.

“Hyung, can I ask you something?”

“Yeah?”

“Do your parents run a business? Sorry if I’m overstepping. You don’t have to answer.”

“They do.”

“Oh… I see. Thanks for telling me.”

He let out a small sigh. The reason Yeonho asked was to figure out just how much pull Siwoo had within the Kim family, how possible it would be to steal him away. Yeonho knew exactly what it meant to be the child of business-owning parents.

His own had always said they’d eventually pass on their resort, golf course, and residence hotels to their children. As the youngest, Yeonho had the most freedom compared to his older brothers. He was also free from the pressure of marriage or continuing the family line. If not for his stepbrothers, he probably would have grown up as the “only son.”

In reality, the chances of Siwoo cutting ties with his family were low. Still flipping through Siwoo’s phone, Yeonho eventually fell asleep, and dreamed a nightmare.