By Zephyria 
As befitting a wealthy madam, the people she associated with were of a similar breed. People who lacked for nothing and envied no one, people who had lived their lives on a smooth, paved road for all to see… In such a gathering, it was only natural that the topic of their children’s success would inevitably arise.
To his mother, Eun-ha was nothing more than a burden of a son.
When he was young, he seemed to have been his parents’ pride in his own way. Throughout his school years, he never once let his rank at the top of the school slip, and even during puberty, he never once engaged in the common act of rebellion. This was only possible because he had a reasonably decent home environment to support him. There was his mother, who always supported him both materially and spiritually, and his father, who was greedy and strict but had never unfairly wielded his power or position.
Since his sister had also grown up smoothly without any major deviations, Eun-ha’s family had truly never known anything but stability. Of course, there were short-term frictions caused by minor incidents, but that was all. There had never been a major event catastrophic enough to be irreparable.
Then, everything changed after he was completely cast out by his father due to his sexual orientation. He clashed with his father daily and was frequently beaten unilaterally. The frozen atmosphere of the house showed no signs of thawing. While fighting with Eun-ha, his mother simultaneously fought with his father to protect him. In the process, the relationship between his parents also deteriorated significantly.
His sister, deciding that there was no benefit to staying long, began making definitive preparations for the study abroad trip she had been considering; from around that time, he had almost no memory of having a conversation with her. They exchanged formal contact occasionally, as if out of obligation, but that was it. He presumed that she secretly resented him. Although she didn’t openly express her thoughts or feelings, it was an inner sentiment that was not hard to guess. From her perspective, she had suddenly been plunged into the muddy waters of family strife despite having done nothing wrong. It was only natural for her to develop negative feelings toward the brother who was essentially the cause.
Therefore, it meant that the daily routine of the whole family facing each other for a normal meal, as they once had, was something they could never, ever have again.
Yet, his mother seemed to believe it could still be reversed. That it could be recovered. That they could go back to how things were. To those days when there were no problems at all.
And for that to happen, she believed she had to reform her son.
That meeting a good woman and entering a plausible marriage was the only way to stitch back together the tattered family relationships.
That guiding him back to the right path was the only way to appease his father’s wrath.
Reform. Guidance… Eun-ha’s expression cooled indifferently as he readjusted his grip on his phone. If such a thing were possible, Eun-ha would have been the first to lead the way. Just as much as his mother couldn’t let go of him, just as much as she loved him, Eun-ha actually felt the same.
No matter how much she forced him or nagged him, it was impossible to make the impossible possible.
If he tried, he could probably put everything aside and have a marriage that merely fit the mold. But wouldn’t that be unfair to the partner in its own right? Eun-ha did not want to ruin an innocent woman’s life for the sake of his mother’s wishes. Having a certain expertise in ruining himself, Eun-ha absolutely loathed living with the guilt of having wronged others.
‘I understand.’
…What? You understand? Did you just say you understand?
‘Yes.’
……Honestly, do I really have to get this upset for you to…
‘Please cut off my card. I’ll get the house sorted out soon. But I think it’ll take a bit… if you give me about two weeks, I’ll have it emptied by then.’
……Y-Y-Y…
“Ya—! Lee Eun-haaa!” He pulled the phone far from his ear at the sharp scream that seemed ready to tear through the receiver. He did so with a familiar lack of emotion, but feeling a gaze, he turned his head to see Yeon-jun sitting on the sofa right next to him. Eyes that looked up at him with utter innocence, asking what was happening.
Mom keeps telling me to find a marriage partner. She’s saying things that aren’t even funny. How long is she going to torture me like this? I’m exhausted, really…
It was a topic he wanted to vent about in a small way, but he knew it was something he shouldn’t say. Since there was no way he would comply with his mother’s demands, it was a story that didn’t need to be reported in the first place. Not necessarily.
Eun-ha shrugged as if it were nothing, while sinking into gloom at the thought of the ‘house.’
That feeling persisted until today. Staring blankly into the void, he roughly gauged what kind of scary and terrible things would be lurking in that house.
Just imagining it made him feel nauseous. After being immersed in gloom for a while with a poor complexion, Eun-ha soon began to rationalize it, halfway by force. He told himself it might actually be a good thing. He had always been willing to clear things out anyway. He decided to just dispose of everything and throw it all away this time. To never look back in that direction again. To live like that…
He let out a weary sigh. Feeling a headache coming on, he cleared his mind.
* * *
Spending a few days in such a restless mood, the morning of the trip arrived quickly. Since some people had schedules, they agreed to arrive at the destination individually according to their own timing. Eun-ha left work earlier than usual and returned straight to the officetel. Since it was a two-day, one-night trip, there wasn’t much to pack. Carrying the luggage he had roughly prepared, he headed to the parking lot.
The one behind the steering wheel was Yeon-jun. The previous night, he had declared that he would drive him to the destination. Of course, Eun-ha had tried to stop him. Asking why he would do something so cumbersome and laborious. The boy replied that it wasn’t cumbersome at all, nor was it labor. He said it was solely for his own personal gain.
Something about wanting to reduce the time he spent apart from his Hyung even by a little… While mumbling such cringeworthy things, Yeon-jun had been sitting there, hugging Eun-ha in his arms like a teddy bear. Perhaps because of that, he felt exceptionally like a child, and Eun-ha secretly swallowed a laugh before finally unable to resist the impulse and vigorously petting his head. It went without saying that he had to spend a somewhat strenuous night as punishment for that.
Thanks to that, his lower back was slightly stiff. Feeling a bit sorry about that, and because Yeon-jun pushed his opinion by saying he absolutely had to drive his Hyung, Eun-ha had no choice but to surrender.
Thus, he headed toward Gapyeong comfortably in the passenger seat. The highway during the ambiguous daytime hours wasn’t crowded. The weather was sunny, making the monsoon rains of a few days ago seem irrelevant.
It meant his mood naturally lifted. The sense of speed as they raced smoothly down the open highway brought a refreshing feeling.
Eun-ha, who had been leaning back languidly as if washing away his fatigue, suddenly looked beside him and chuckled.
“You’ve gotten really good at driving now.”
“Highways are easy.”
Despite saying that, his driving skills had improved considerably in the meantime. To the point where he no longer had to worry.
Yeon-jun, glancing sideways, returned his gaze to the front and reached out. He began to fiddle with Eun-ha’s hand. Eun-ha asked casually.
“What are you planning to do until tomorrow?”
“I don’t know… maybe sink into sorrow while thinking of Hyung?”
“What is that even supposed to be?”
“What should I do, I miss you so much.”
An absurd laugh escaped at the tone saturated with gloom. In fact, over the last few days, Yeon-jun had often been depressed. For the same reason as now.
“Anyone watching would think we haven’t seen each other for a year…”
“We’ve never been apart for this long before.”
“How is this ‘long’…”