By Zephyria 
Hae-min lowered his voice, trying to sound as calm as possible.
“Hae-jun.”
“…Ah.”
Called by name, Hae-jun reflexively averted his gaze. Then, realizing he was gripping the other’s arm so tightly it was bruising, he flinched and released his hand. Seeing this, Hae-min continued.
“I… I didn’t know….”
His words came out stammering. He had tried not to show his agitation, but his voice, heavy with emotion, trembled. The tears he had been holding back welled up in an instant.
“I didn’t know you felt that way so strongly….”
Seeing Hae-min’s flushed face, Hae-jun gasped.
“Hey, hey, h-here, tissues!”
Hae-jun, stuttering like a broken cassette tape, finally moved. He quickly looked around, grabbed some tissues from nearby, and handed them to Hae-min.
“D-don’t cry! Why are you crying!”
Holding the tissues he received carefully, Hae-min continued to shed tears. Hae-jun’s worried face drew closer. Hae-jun pulled out another handful of tissues and wiped Hae-min’s cheeks himself. At that intimate distance, Hae-min felt an urge to weep aloud.
His tear-soaked, damp hand clasped Hae-jun’s pale, dry one desperately. Hae-jun, his hand held, looked surprised.
“Seong Hae-min?”
“I’ll explain everything…”
So please don’t make that face again… Hae-min bit his lip, tears falling drop by drop.
Hae-jun, flustered and unsure what to do, gently patted his back. With that clumsy but warm comfort, Hae-min’s tears slowly subsided.
Looking down, Hae-min panted intermittently, his lips trembling.
He wasn’t sure if he was searching for words or lacked the courage to start, he thought to himself.
“…Last year, some high school sunbaes came to see me.”
Hae-min explained as concisely as possible.
The sunbaes came and told Hae-jun to enroll at Seoyeon High School. Hae-min had no choice but to follow the sunbaes, on the condition that they wouldn’t touch Hae-jun. That’s why he couldn’t quit being one of the Four Heavenly Kings.
Even after hearing the story, Hae-jun remained unresponsive. He looked as if his blood had dried up. Seeing Hae-jun’s motionless figure, Hae-min nervously crumpled the tissues.
Hae-jun’s lips, which had been frozen like a wax figure, suddenly twisted.
“Why….”
His voice, dry and cracked, was sharp. Hae-min flinched instinctively.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“…….”
“Were you going to keep hiding it if I hadn’t asked? Did you think I’d be happy that you were doing this alone? That I’d be grateful you were doing it for me? That’s not it. Why did you think it was better to bear it alone, without telling me? I don’t appreciate it at all!”
He absorbed the torrent of anger that erupted like a waterfall. Even if Hae-jun had yelled at him without reason, he would have accepted it all, but Hae-jun, though he didn’t want to lash out, couldn’t stop. His face looked like he was digging into his own chest. No matter how tough he tried to appear, his twin was soft-hearted.
“Hae-jun, I just….”
Slowly, like a curtain falling on a stage, his eyelids blinked languidly.
Hae-min searched for words to soothe his younger brother. But his heart, softened by tears, was easily stirred. Without a chance to hold back, his honest feelings rushed out, seeking the light.
“I thought if I just did better… I’m sorry.”
Hae-jun’s mouth snapped shut. His expression was bewildered. Hae-min felt his eyes welling up again.
I didn’t mean to make excuses…
He knew he had cried so much earlier, so it wasn’t his turn to cry again, but the troublesome tears gathered, ignoring his will.
Seeing Hae-min’s face getting wet, Hae-jun snapped back to attention, as if doused in cold water. He then pulled out another large wad of tissues from the dispenser.
“Hey, hey. No, it’s me who’s sorry for getting angry.”
After hearing the apology, tears poured down like spilled pebbles.
Hae-jun looked distressed, so Hae-min had to stop. Hae-min tried to suppress his tears with his palm, but Hae-jun stopped him. Soft tissues, brought closer, wiped his eyes again. The touch was delicate, like a gentle knock on a door.
“Don’t cry anymore, it makes me upset. Seeing you cry really upsets me.”
“Sorry…”
“It’s not your fault. I’m the one who’s sorry.”
“Still, sorry…”
“Stop saying sorry.”
“But…”
“Just say ‘okay’ instead.”
“Mhm. Okay.”
Hae-min followed Hae-jun’s words like a child and nodded. His face relaxed. Hae-min couldn’t let go of the affectionate gaze directed at him. Just seeing the warmth on Hae-jun’s face brought him a sense of peace, as if by magic.
Tears streamed down from his unblinking eyes like a faulty faucet. He looked utterly ridiculous.
“I’m going crazy… What’s with that face? I want to show you a mirror.”
Finally, unable to bear the comical sight, Hae-jun let out a hollow laugh. Seeing Hae-jun laugh, Hae-min also giggled, mirroring him. It might have been foolish, but he laughed involuntarily. Family was like that, needing no further explanation.
The real Hae-jun began to ask him about various things. He was very proactive, as if he had decided they needed to talk today. Hae-min no longer avoided answering. His hands, clinging to his family like a child afraid of letting go of his parents’ hands, were firm.
“When those delinquents first came, did you contact our parents, the school, or the police?”
“I didn’t think of it.”
“Really? Hmm, I guess that’s possible. Who were the sunbaes who came then? Yeon Su-hwan?”
“No. Sunbaes from the year above Su-hwan hyung.”
“Don’t you beat those guys?”
“Not anymore. But if the sunbaes had seriously intended to harm you, I might not have been able to stop them on my own…”
“Those guys graduate next year, right? Can you quit being an iljin after that?”
“I don’t know.”
“Why? Do the graduated sunbaes still contact you?”
“There are cases like that…”
“No, then are you mortgaging your whole life? Were you going to endure all of that?”
“I hadn’t thought that far…”
“Agh!”
Hae-jun clutched his throat as if he might faint and gritted his teeth. A prominent vein stood out on his slender jaw. Seeing Hae-min shift uncomfortably like a scolded puppy, Hae-jun waved his hand, checking his expression.
“I’m not angry at you. But you have to think about your future too!”
Hae-min only thought, Getting angry must be bad for his health… but to him, Hae-jun looked adorable. While he worried about Hae-jun getting angry, he was also happy that his twin was getting angry for him, and for no one else.
“Okay. But even if the sunbaes disappear immediately, I can’t quit being one of the Four Heavenly Kings.”
“Why?”
“Because of Jae-hyung.”
“Jeon Jae-hyung?”
“Ah, this is related to why Jae-hyung is part of the Four Heavenly Kings…”
“What? His younger brother’s situation?”
“…Jae-hyung told you?”
“Yeah.”
Hae-min’s eyes widened.
Jeon Jae-hyung, who wouldn’t open his mouth no matter what unless he wanted to, had talked about himself?
But then he quickly looked away again. Considering how Jeon Jae-hyung usually treated Hae-jun, it wasn’t surprising.
“The brother of the guy who lynched Jae-hyung’s younger brother is the Yeonmyeong High’s Top Dog who ranked first in last year’s ranking battle. He’s been doing things like that, relying on his brother, but being the top dog in the ranking battle… I can’t do anything about it.”
They were wicked guys. While the person who lynched Jeon Jae-hyung’s brother was the Yeonmyeong High’s Top Dog’s younger brother, the Yeonmyeong High’s Top Dog himself was no better than them. Despite having many grudges against him due to his behavior, everyone found it hard to confront him because he was the top dog.
Until now, Hae-min and the Four Heavenly Kings had been striving to defeat that person in the ranking battles. They had increased their forces and prepared for gang fights. The rivalry with Jeseong High School had also been helpful in this process.
After hearing the explanation, Hae-jun looked bewildered, then rested his chin on his hand, lost in thought. Hae-min always wondered what thoughts filled that small head. Hae-jun tapped the desk rhythmically.
“Regardless of the circumstances or current situation… once the issues with the sunbaes are resolved, you can quit the Four Heavenly Kings, right?”
“Jae-hyung…”
“So, assuming that problem is also resolved.”
Hae-min could sense it keenly. Hae-jun had made a decision. And it seemed to be in the direction Hae-min feared.
He urgently tried to stop Hae-jun. But as far as Hae-min knew, Hae-jun was the type to see things through once he set his mind to them.
“But Hae-jun, I don’t want you to be in danger…”
“Hey. I don’t want to be in danger either. But.”
Hae-jun chuckled as if Hae-min was worrying about trivial things.
“I can’t stand it because I don’t want you to be in danger.”
Hae-jun’s gaze was fixed directly on him. His serious resolve was directed at Hae-min. The hands holding each other tightened.
“Let’s solve this problem together.”
Let’s change your future.
① Resolve Yeonmyeong High’s Top Dog
② Resolve the 3rd-year sunbaes
→ Seong Hae-min can quit being an iljin
By the ranking battle (late July?)
The memo remained in the same state for several days. I wracked my brain.
Students from another school, and sunbaes!
The situation had unexpectedly escalated.
No, it was naive to believe that all problems would be solved just by persuading Seong Hae-min.
To my suggestion that we solve the problem together, Seong Hae-min nodded without even asking how. He was consistently loyal. Thinking that this guy had been struggling alone made my insides churn.
To think that Seong Hae-min was acting as one of the Four Heavenly Kings because of me… The moment I heard that, I hated being Seong Hae-jun.
Past events also began to fit together like puzzle pieces.
The Four Heavenly Kings telling me, a stranger, to treat Seong Hae-min well, Seong Hae-min secretly entering my room drunk and crying “Let’s stay healthy for a long, long time,” and the recent ‘gatherings’ at the hospital!
Although Seong Hae-min never admitted it, I had a hunch that the traffic accident might also be related to those sunbaes.