By Zephyria The teacup slipped from Ki Jae-eon’s hand. The teacup that fell to the floor let out a short scream and rolled away pathetically. Swish- the tea soaked the floor, and Ki Jae-eon’s upper body also slumped. Everything happened in an instant. Haa, keuk! The man, covering his lips with the back of his hand, continued to have painful seizures. The irregular breathing and trembling body made one forget that he was ‘Ki Jae-eon.’ Haa, ha! In the end, sticky saliva flowed down the back of his hand. He was in a complete panic, forgetting the obvious fact that he had to swallow his saliva.
“Haa, haak… Heok!”
Ki Jae-eon convulsed and clutched his chest. He was hyperventilating.
Keok-! His face turned blue.
With this, the weakness he had been suppressing was revealed to the world.
However, the guests of Heavenly Land, who were supposed to be happy, showed an unexpected reaction.
They didn’t laugh at Ki Jae-eon’s desperate appearance; instead, they froze. The appearance they had just been cackling with was nowhere to be found, and they blankly stared at the collapsing man, forgetting even to breathe.
“Cough! Haa, heok… Wek!”
“What…….”
Dalsak. The words that barely flowed out, breaking the long silence, were all that was said.
Their eyes were full of confusion.
Why were they acting so hypocritical after stimulating him to death?
The reason was surprisingly simple.
‘I didn’t know it would be this bad.’
That’s right. Surprisingly, that was all.
Sadly, that’s how people are.
They even judge the pain of others based on their own standards.
If the intensity is 1 in their standards, they think that others are the same.
Therefore, they live with the error of thinking of someone’s fall as just the end point of their own meager imagination.
That’s why they carelessly touch and poke at it.
Without knowing that it will eventually collapse from that small wound.
So, it was natural to be surprised. No, they had to be surprised. They had to be surprised, shocked, and scared. Facing a tragedy that exceeded imagination was like that.
“So, some water-!”
“Is there anyone there!”
Even though they were the ones who came to bring down Ki Jae-eon for their own personal gain… as if to prove that they didn’t have the evil to drive a person to death, everyone moved to save him.
“Exorcist Ki Jae-eon! Slowly, slowly breathe….”
Just as someone grabbed Ki Jae-eon’s arm, who had already lost half his mind and was staggering, and was about to shout outside.
Creak- Kwang!
The sliding door opened, and a disheveled man appeared before them. It was Ki Jae-ha, full of the outside wind.
“Ki Jae-eon!”
He grabbed the shoulder of the person who was trying to support Ki Jae-eon as if to break it and immediately pulled him away. He squatted down and wrapped his arms around his younger brother. Jae-eon? Jae-eon, hyung is here. Yeah, it’s okay. His hands, as big as pot lids, carefully caressed his younger brother’s unfocused face.
“-Ki.”
“Just leave.”
His broad back heaved so much that his white shirt was stretched taut. Ki Jae-ha warned in a low voice without looking back at them. Get out and leave. A sinister aura emanated from him. Even the muscles under his thin clothes were twitching. You could really feel that he was gritting his teeth and holding back.
“Because I’m not being rational right now, ……not being rational.”
“……”
“Go.”
The people exchanged glances with each other, then hesitated and turned away.
Among them, the last one to step out hesitated and moved his lips, then left a careful word, “I’ll… wait for your call,” and closed the door.
Ki Jae-ha didn’t answer until the end. He completely ignored the uninvited guests and only took care of his younger brother.
“Haa, heueu.”
“……It’s okay, it’s okay. Hyung is here.”
Even though it wasn’t okay at all, Ki Jae-ha kept repeating that it was okay. It was like he was advising himself, not Ki Jae-eon, to ‘keep his head straight.’
He leaned his back against the wall, sat his younger brother between his legs, and repeatedly patted and stroked him until his breathing calmed down. It was a wide embrace that made Ki Jae-eon look small.
“Haa, ugh-!”
“Throw up. It’s okay. It’s better to do that to feel better.”
He accepted everything from Ki Jae-eon like that.
After a commotion and some time had passed.
“Eldest young master.”
Creak- A servant with white hair sprouting opened the sliding door and brought herbal medicine. Ki Jae-ha said, “Just leave it there,” and then gave a weak smile as if he was finally relieved.
“It’s a complete mess.”
Ki Jae-ha muttered self-deprecatingly. It wasn’t really an tone that expected an answer.
However, the servant bowed his head and uttered flattering words, “You’re always perfect.” Ki Jae-ha widened his eyes for a moment, then burst out laughing.
“Perfect……. It’s an overstatement, but I don’t like it.”
Then he looked at his younger brother gently.
“It squeezes people too much.”
His eyes were overflowing with affection that he couldn’t express.
The servant paused for a moment at the sight of the two.
That’s because he had stayed in this house for a long time, but such a friendly scene was very rare……. No, it was the first time. He thought they were dry with each other, but brothers are brothers. The servant softened his wrinkled face and smiled as if he were looking at his young grandchildren.
“Yes, then…….”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
The door closed again.
Ki Jae-ha looked down at the object placed on the wide ceramic bowl.
This thing, which looked like a cigarette, was a type of herb that was burned and smoked.
‘It would be better to boil it and feed it to him…….’
But he couldn’t do anything in his current state.
He made Ki Jae-eon lean against his broad chest, and then picked up the herb with his freed hand. The series of steps of putting the rolled herb in his mouth and lighting it with a match was very smooth. Maybe it was because he was a smoker. Ki Jae-ha flicked the match to put it out and exhaled the smoke. The unique bitter smell of burning dry leaves filled the room.
“Jae-eon.”
He put the herb between his index and middle fingers and brought it to his younger brother’s mouth.
“……Eueu.”
“Yeah, bite it.”
“…….”
“Ah-.”
When he tapped the pale lips with the herb, he naturally opened his mouth.
“Do you know how to do it?”
Ki Jae-eon mumbled and sucked in the herb. The poisonous scent made his weakened body heave greatly for a moment, but soon he was steadily puffing away.
“That’s right.”
Only after burning the entire herb did Ki Jae-eon’s breathing return to normal. However, he was sweating from exhaustion and fell fast asleep. The steady sound of even breathing was heard. Ki Jae-ha let out a relieved laugh. When he first received a call from Grandpa Dongi -the guide- saying, ‘They’re from Heavenly Land, and it’s only the younger young master,’ he thought his eyes would pop out……. Aigoya, he tilted his head back and spat out a thick curse.
“Aish, you sons of bitches. I hope you fall on the street and break your balls.”
Why the hell are you barging into a kid’s house when he’s alone? Mumble, mumble. The complaints continued incessantly. Ah, if Aunt finds out about this, it’ll be a disaster. Should I tell her, or not? The thought of his mother storming into Heavenly Land after learning the truth, and his father blowing his top for disgracing the Family, made his head throb. Most of all, he was worried about his mother and father clashing. Hmm, either way, it’s going to be a mess. Ki Jae-ha looked up at the ceiling and raised the corners of his lips. But his eyes were as fierce as if he could slaughter someone.
“It’s not like my brother is a monkey in a zoo.”
But even as he cursed, he wondered if he was qualified to curse others.
Because there was a time in the past when he, too, had lived as if Ki Jae-eon was a talisman.
“No, he wasn’t a talisman…”
Ki Jae-eon was a person.
A person who laughed, cried, endured, and collapsed.
‘Just, a person.’
But he realized that too late.
He only knew after his brother was hurt and broken.
Ki Jae-ha slowly lowered his head, pressed his forehead against Ki Jae-eon’s, and muttered.
“I won’t forget it anymore.”
I’ll be a real brother, I promise.
When he opened his eyes, it was already late at night.
As he slowly raised his upper body, the blanket covering him slipped down.
Come to think of it, the room is his own room.
‘Who moved me?’
He was blankly sorting out his thoughts when something caught his eye.
“…?”
A small note placed next to the pillow.
Ki Jae-eon picked up the note and looked around, then moved his hips closer to the window. The faint moonlight illuminated the note brightly. It was written there in neat handwriting:
[Don’t worry, nothing will happen. -Brother-]
Just that, without any unnecessary words.
At that moment, a faint memory flashed through his mind.
-‘Jae-eon.’
A kind voice.
-‘It’s okay, everything’s okay.’
A hand patting his back.
Ah, it was his brother.
Not someone else… it was his brother.
Just like that day when he protected him from his father.
This time too.
“It was Jae-ha, hyung.”
The hand holding the note tightened.
Yes, this was definitely… being ‘loved.’
So obvious that it was hard to ignore.