By Zephyria 
“I came all this way and ate an expensive meal just to hear this. Though I didn’t expect much to begin with.”
“Soo-kyung. Having someone on your side is important. I’m telling you this for your own sake, so this kind of attitude is disappointing. Your father wouldn’t like it either…”
“You don’t need to worry about my father. I never had anyone on my side to begin with. That’s why I’m like this. You’re talking as if you were on my side all along.”
Cha Soo-kyung died because he had no one on his side. That’s why I’m here now. If even one person in the family had looked after him, would he have died like that? I refuse to have you pretend to be on Cha Soo-kyung’s side now.
The eldest brother fell silent for a moment at my firm attitude. The woman clinging to him rolled her eyes, gauged the atmosphere, and stepped away for a moment before reappearing.
“Why is the mood like this? Let’s have a drink, do some good stuff. Let’s have fun. Relax, relax.”
“…”
What a person who completely fails to read the room.
The woman poured white powder onto a wide tray and ostentatiously pulled out a card.
“Now is not the timing to bring that out.”
“No? But this is really good stuff.”
“Shut up and stop interfering.”
Hyung pushed the woman’s head away with his large hand. It was too hard of a push to be called playful—the woman staggered with a slapping sound—but as if it weren’t the first time, she just smiled sheepishly and brushed back her messy hair.
“Brother-in-law, please drink comfortably. That’s why I called you. Soo-kyung, shall we talk for a moment?”
“Let’s do it here.”
“We aren’t even family yet; how can we discuss family matters here?”
“You were calling him brother-in-law until just now.”
“Still, there are things a brother and sister need to discuss privately. Brother-in-law can wait a moment, right?”
Hyung stood up unsteadily and looked down at Kwon Yi-kang. Kwon Yi-kang, who had been leaning back on the sofa, stared up at the eldest brother before turning his gaze to me.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Don’t finish it in one go, though. That would be boring.”
As I whispered while kissing his cheek, Kwon Yi-kang replied playfully. I told him to unconditionally take my side, and now he’s even using sweet words. I think he made a few grating remarks in the beginning, but there was no sign of that now.
They say couples fight a lot when they date. Well, we did fight a few times. But it seems we’re evolving through it. Of course, the problem is that I show no signs of evolving and only Kwon Yi-kang is evolving.
Anyway, it seems fighting in a romantic relationship isn’t always bad. I began to slightly understand what people mean when they say you grow stronger through fighting.
“Okay. Just don’t get too close to that woman.”
“Leaving you behind?”
Kwon Yi-kang snorted as if it were an absurd suggestion. Not a single shred of doubt crossed my mind. Words like ‘cheating’ or ‘affair’ absolutely did not suit Kwon Yi-kang. He was certainly different from the eldest brother. My eye for people is impeccable.
I pulled my cheek away from him and gave his lips a firm kiss. The eldest brother clicked his tongue at the sight, but this level of skinship between lovers is nothing to be ashamed of. I was even more brazen than an average person, and it certainly wasn’t the place for a man who cheated after marriage to be clicking his tongue.
“Come out.”
Hyung urged me as he opened the balcony door. His words were predictable, so I followed him with a leisurely pace. As I closed the balcony door and looked back at the living room, I saw the woman bringing her nose to the powder she had neatly crushed with the card.
“There are really a lot of druggies in this country.”
Just how hooked on drugs is she to do that in front of a guest? Or perhaps the eldest and the younger one only recognize me as a sibling in this regard, so their guard is down. They really take turns showing me unsightly things.
“It’s not that big of a deal.”
From a normal person’s perspective, it’s not common, but I guess it is for these people. Isn’t drug enforcement in Korea very strict? I think I’ve seen news about celebrities getting caught for drugs occasionally, but maybe that’s limited to celebrities. I wish they’d crack down on chaebol families too. Then there would be plenty of people to lock up.
There was a table on the balcony, which was landscaped like an outdoor garden. The eldest brother plopped down and gestured to the opposite chair.
“What do you want?”
“Pardon?”
I questioned him, doubting my ears. He asked what I wanted? I’m the one who should be asking that. He’s the one who called me here, and he’s the one who must want something, so why is he asking me?
“I’m asking why you’re being so uncooperative.”
“Ah. I thought my ears were malfunctioning. When have you ever seen me be cooperative? This is so out of character.”
“Yes, it’s not out of character, but still, I’m offering to be on your side; is there a need to be so sharp?”
The eldest brother pulled a silver case from his pocket, put a cigarette in his mouth, and held the case out to me.
“I’m good.”
At my light refusal, he lit the cigarette without further word. Unlike the smell of tobacco, there was a distinct pungent odor, and I realized that what he was smoking wasn’t a cigarette, but marijuana.
I shouldn’t have cursed the woman inside.
“Be careful. You’ll end up dead. Did the younger brother’s death not give you any sense of urgency?”
“Did you know?”
“Do you think I wouldn’t know something you know?”
In this household, the only ones who wouldn’t know why the younger one died would be the employees and the Omega father. Of course, if I hadn’t been at the scene of the accident, I would have remained ignorant.
“Who told you?”
“Who told you, Hyung?”
At my question, he only gave a smirk. This guy’s motives are truly dark. Did he have a tail following the younger one? If so, he would know I was at the scene, but since he’s silent, it’s more likely he planted someone with Chief Bae. Or perhaps his attendant brought the news. Or the possibility that Father only told the eldest brother.
“I don’t know what you’re so dissatisfied with, but calm your temper. Aren’t you acting out because you have Hosan behind you? When you marry, family background is power. People don’t look down on you because of the Hosan name, and that guy is readily agreeing to marry you because of it.”
“You must think Hosan is something truly great. A big hospital? There are plenty of them. How many hospitals are there in Seoul? Even if it’s your own family, have some objectivity. What would a son of Hwang Seong gain from a Hosan background to cling to a marriage?”
Hosan Hospital and Hwang Seong Group. Even a random person on the street would laugh at such a comparison. Only the Chas of Hosan Hospital were pretending not to know.
“Kwon Yi-kang would have liked me even if I weren’t a child of Hosan Hospital, but just the son of a private clinic. Hosan doesn’t even enter his line of sight. So don’t try to frame it as an equal exchange to gain something.”
Hosan background, my foot. From Kwon Yi-kang’s perspective, Hosan is a background he’d likely shudder at and want to crush. Considering what Grandfather and Father did, it’s a miracle he doesn’t spit at the mere mention of the name Hosan.
“What do you gain by belittling our family? There’s a limit to how much you can disgrace the family by being blinded by an Alpha.”
“I’m not belittling it. I’m just speaking objectively.”
Where on earth does that confidence come from? I can’t understand how Grandfather and Father educated their children to act as if they own the world just because they have one measly hospital.
“No matter how many thorns you set up, it doesn’t change the fact that you are a child of Hosan Hospital. If you marry that man, Hosan and Hwang Seong will eventually be linked.”
And the eldest brother seemed to quite like that. He acted boldly, claiming that as long as I didn’t give up on the marriage with Kwon Yi-kang, we would eventually be linked as in-laws, whether I liked it or not.
If Hosan Hospital is so great, why doesn’t he just rule the world with that one hospital? Why does he try so desperately to link up with Hwang Seong? He’s like a fool who doesn’t even realize he’s spouting completely contradictory nonsense.
“You only treat me as a child of Hosan Hospital at times like this. Why weren’t you like this normally? Then, out of gratitude, I might have said a few words to Kwon Yi-kang to get along with you. Who knows? I might have thrown you the whole loaf of bread instead of crumbs.”
Of course, that would never have happened, but it was a carrot I threw out to make him imagine a happy scenario.
“The great hospital director will never, ever grant permission for the marriage. If it reaches Grandfather’s ears, it’ll be even more of a disaster than now. Either way, whether he grants permission or not, I’m going to live with Kwon Yi-kang. If I’m lucky, I might even be removed from the family register.”
“…Why?”
“If you’re so curious, why don’t you ask your father? Why don’t you try saying what you said earlier while you’re at it? That you agree with our marriage. Ah, maybe you can’t. What if he doesn’t give you the hospital director position? You’ve been telling everyone it’s yours now that the younger brother is dead; what would happen if that flew away? Out of fear of that, you’d better keep your mouth shut.”
“Do you think I was walking on eggshells around Cha Dong-hu? It was mine anyway, so there was no need to go around saying it. Even if I didn’t say it, everyone else knew. Only Dong-hu couldn’t accept it. That brat was never any threat. It wasn’t a position he could have ever aspired to in the first place.”
The eldest brother laughed, exhaling the smoke he had inhaled deeply, as if he’d heard something hilarious. Seeing his smirk linger, it seemed the drugs were working well.
“A brat who did nothing but cause trouble, a brat who had no ability but only greed, a brat who was timid and full of fear. Watching him fall apart was quite entertaining. The way he struggled to make his presence known, as if some small hope still remained.”
“Wow, he’s still your dead brother; you could have spoken a bit more kindly. The deceased would be upset if he heard this.”
“All he knew how to do was hang around and do drugs; it was pitiful to see him struggle to surpass me out of greed for something far beyond his ability. Every time that happened, he’d seek drugs, lose his judgment, and seek drugs again. It was like a repeating loop.”
“That’s how people who do drugs are, I guess.”
Yes, it was a foretold conclusion. Because I knew that, I had followed him out of anxiety. Even so, I was one step too late. Feeling a surge of regret, I reflexively relaxed my clenched fist and exhaled.