Chapter 371. Searching for the Lost Younger Sibling (5)
Meanwhile, Kang Hajin, the eldest son of the Kang family, who had no clue about his younger sibling’s considerate circumstances (if he had known, he might have been moved to tears), thought to himself:
“I don’t know why my brother was mad, but hey, at least he’s fine. What a relief.”
“Thanks for the food!”
“Yeah, eat a lot.”
He was currently feeding his younger brother. On the table was freshly cooked rice, along with some homemade side dishes that their mom had just delivered, courtesy of Hawon.
Holding chopsticks in one hand and resting his chin in the other, Hajin raised his eyebrows as if he wasn’t satisfied.
“I said I’d take you out for something delicious.”
“It’s hot outside. And Mom’s food is tastier.”
“Well, sure… but since you’re here in Seoul, I wanted to treat you to something nice. Your brother earns good money, you know.”
“I know. You blew through my tuition money after all.”
Hawon answered nonchalantly, picking up a bite of spicy dried squid and placing it on top of the white rice before taking a big mouthful. Watching his brother chew thoroughly, Hajin looked on with satisfaction, only for Hawon to shoot him a glance that signaled how burdensome it felt.
Quick to catch on, Hajin swiftly shifted his gaze and began eating too. He had skipped both breakfast and lunch due to a lack of appetite, but thanks to his brother, he was finally having a proper meal—a secret he kept to himself.
“Why did you change your number?”
Hajin started asking questions again after Hawon had eaten about half of his rice. Though sudden, Hawon seemed prepared, pulling out his new phone from his pocket and giving it a little wave.
“The screen on my old one shattered, so I changed it this time.”
“Then why didn’t you just get a new phone? Why change the number too? You’ve been using that number for a while, haven’t you?”
“The phone company said we could get a discount by bundling the bills with Mom and Dad’s, so I changed it entirely.”
“Oh, in that case… alright.”
Hawon’s straightforward answers made Hajin nod without suspicion. After all, his younger brother had always been meticulous and reliable, so Hajin trusted that he had handled things well this time too.
But the questions weren’t over yet.
“Then why didn’t you check KakaoTalk? If your account changed, it would’ve shown me an ‘unknown user’ message. Your profile picture stayed the same, so I had no idea.”
“Ah….”
Hawon, who had been answering Hajin’s questions without missing a beat, now hesitated, trailing off. Searching for the right words, he finally responded, though a bit delayed.
“My account’s the same, but I’ve been busy. I only installed the app on the new phone, but haven’t logged in. You know I’ve been crazy with finals prep.”
“Then how are you contacting other people? Through texts?”
“I call Mom and Dad anyway, so that’s no issue. As for school stuff, my classmates relay the info. I’ll log in soon enough.”
“Alright. I haven’t had much time to check my phone either. These days, sasaeng fans keep finding out my number and sending messages—it’s getting annoying.”
Yeah. Actually, it’s because of those sasaeng fans.
That’s what Hawon wanted to say, but instead, he swallowed those words down along with a spoonful of rice.
The day after the festival, his phone had been bombarded with endless messages from sasaeng fans who somehow found out his number, and that’s how his phone ended up broken. But he decided not to tell his brother.
“I’ll probably make a new account soon, and things will settle down after a while anyway….”
He didn’t want to burden his brother, who was already busy with various things. It was something he had expected ever since his brother decided to debut as an idol.
Even today, Hawon had been hopping between friends’ apartments, avoiding the possibility of being followed from school, and finally made it home to their family’s house after a long time.
If he told Hajin about all this, his soft-hearted and overly thoughtful brother, who also had a bit of a fragile mental state, would likely overthink the situation, lose sleep, and be consumed with worry. Knowing how extreme Hajin could be, there was even the possibility he might impulsively start a livestream saying something like, “Don’t mess with my brother!” and blow things out of proportion.
As much as Hawon appreciated his brother’s care, the last thing he wanted was to be mentioned again in that way.
So, for the greater good, Hawon withheld most of the story, revealing only half of the truth.
“Anyway, I’ve been really busy lately. I finally went home after a long time, but Mom said I needed to bring you these side dishes, so that’s why I’m here.”
“If you finally went home, you should’ve rested. You probably took public transportation, right? Lugging that heavy stuff around in this heat.”
“I had an appointment in Seoul later this evening anyway, so I stopped by. Plus, I just took one bus, so it wasn’t too bad.”
“Really? Well, that’s good then…. What time’s your appointment? Want me to drop you off?”
“Drop me off? You don’t even have a car.”
“Hey! I do have a car and a license! It’s just a company car, that’s all!”
“Yeah right, like I’m going to show up to a friends’ hangout in that massive company van. I’d rather die.”
Hawon’s plea to avoid attracting unnecessary attention shut Hajin up with a click of his tongue.
“When I get a new car, I’m definitely going for a simple, inconspicuous, and common domestic model.”
Of course, Hajin wasn’t quite bold enough yet to splurge on a new car. And if word got out that a second-year idol had bought a new car, rumors would inevitably start spreading among fans, like, “Has that jerk caught the celebrity bug and started dating?”
But that was a story for another day.
Realizing that all this had been a pointless endeavor, Hajin felt both relieved and exasperated. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind, and he shot upright.
“Wait!”
“Geez, you scared me.”
“Why didn’t Mom say anything? She didn’t tell me you changed your number or that you were bringing me side dishes! She knew everything but didn’t say a word!”
Furrowing his brow in confusion, Hajin voiced his frustration. But Hawon, letting out a sigh as if it was obvious, replied.
“Don’t you know Mom by now?”
“……”
“It was obvious Mom was just pretending not to know to make you reflect. She knew that I’d see you soon at the dorm, so it would all come out eventually.”
“Why would she do that! My heart nearly stopped!”
“Because she must’ve thought it was funny to see you flustered.”
“…”
“You know Mom loves teasing.”
…Ah, Mother.
In that moment, it became painfully clear just where the Kang family’s eldest son had inherited his mischievous nature from.
* * *
After finishing their meal, Hajin took care of the dishes. Meanwhile, Hawon wandered around the dorm, inspecting the place. Though he’d seen parts of it during video calls with his brother, there was still a difference between seeing it in person.
“…”
He didn’t know exactly which room belonged to whom, but the decor and personal items made it easy to tell. As soon as he entered what was obviously his brother’s room, he noticed a photo frame hanging on one of the walls and gave a small exclamation.
“…Oh, this was from that time.”
It was from the final live broadcast of *Maze Miro*. In the picture, his brother was wearing an embarrassingly sheer back-revealing top with leather pants, gazing at the falling confetti from the sky. The photo was edited so vividly that as soon as Hawon saw it, it felt like the air and even the scent of that day came flooding back, bringing a faint smile to his lips.
My brother is loved.
Even from just that one photo, the depth of it was palpable. Hawon was relieved by the realization. He also felt like he understood why Hajin had chosen to hang this particular pre-debut photo in his room among so many others.
Hawon’s gaze naturally shifted to the adjacent spot.
“…Huh.”
Next to his own picture, Hajin had also hung two other frames, one slightly smaller than the other. One was a family photo taken during Hawon’s graduation, and the other…
“You agree it’s well drawn, right?”
…was one of his drawings.
A hurried sketch he had submitted to a flea market, depicting a golden hill beneath a blazing red sun.
Hajin, having finished the dishes, approached Hawon and looked at the *’hurried’* drawing with satisfaction.
“Man, I really love the skies you draw.”
In that moment, a sense of pride and warmth filled a corner of Hawon’s mind, which had been clouded by recent stress and fatigue.
‘I am loved.’
Just as he had always been proud of all of Hajin’s moments, he realized that Hajin, too, was proud of all of his.
But since Hawon still wasn’t good at expressing his emotions, he simply gave an awkward smile and muttered a half-hearted reply.
“…No, it’s not that great. I could’ve done better.”
“Alright, then I’ll be waiting for an even better piece next time.”
“I’ll charge a high price, so you’d better start earning more.”
Hajin chuckled at his younger brother’s playful retort as he walked over to the clothes rack. It was time for him to head to the company and prepare for recording.
While changing, Hajin glanced at Hawon, who was still exploring the room, and asked,
“But seriously, are you okay? What if word spreads among your classmates that you’re my brother?”
“Oh, that.”
Though Hajin had asked the question out of genuine concern, Hawon didn’t seem to be bothered. He answered casually while carefully examining a figurine that clearly belonged to Doha, hands clasped behind his back.
“It doesn’t matter.”
“Why? You usually hate stuff like that.”
“People already knew since I first enrolled. Everyone who needed to know already knew, so it’s no big deal.”
“Huh…?”
Hajin, who had been pulling a loose t-shirt over his head, looked puzzled by this. Hawon shrugged and continued.
“Did you think there are no fans of your debut at my school?”
Hawon recalled the freshman welcome party back in February.
Hawon, who had no interest in alcohol and no talent for drinking, just like his brother, had no intention of attending. But a friend who had also passed the art academy with him had begged him to go, so he reluctantly went.
“As we went around introducing ourselves, I said ‘I’m Kang Hawon,’ and as soon as I did, two girls gasped. They said they suspected I might be related to you because I looked like you, but when I said my name, it confirmed it for them.”
“So…”
“Still, no one’s directly asked me about it yet, so it’s been unofficial until now. But at this point, it’s more or less semi-official, I guess? Besides, people in our department are so busy with assignments and projects that they don’t have the time or energy to bother me. We’re crazy busy. Like, insanely busy. Too busy to care whether the person sitting next to them is an idol’s sibling or their grandparent.”
“…”
“Do you even know what an art student’s life is like? We stare at paper all day until we can’t even tell the front from the back anymore, rubbing it with our fingers until our eyes feel like they’re going to pop out. And when you tell someone in a liberal arts class that you’re an art student, they go, ‘Oh, can you draw my portrait?’ Do you know the agony of losing what little social skills you had left because of people like that? Do you?”
“…Alright, fine. My bad.”
Hajin quietly put on his pants, sensing the frustration in his brother’s voice. But despite staying silent, his mouth couldn’t resist delivering a second and third punch.
“But then! I could’ve just said during your festival that this is the school my brother goes to, couldn’t I…?”
“What…?”
“I mean, since everyone already knows, I could’ve just… said it! Casually! That my brother goes here…!”
“What…?”
“Never mind, sorry. I didn’t say it. I didn’t. Calm down. Relax your face, man. You look scary when you make that face, just like me.”
No wonder I’m so scared of Seo Taehyun. It’s because he reminds me of Hawon….
Realizing that the source of his fear might have always been tied to memories of his brother, Hajin shut his mouth.
The original was always the scariest.