Chapter 59: A Brother’s Vigil

“Choi Haesu. I know everything that happened.”

“……”

“If you don’t want to talk, then keep quiet. You don’t have to answer.”

What pulled Haesu’s hazy mind back was someone’s voice, one that seemed to look down on people far too easily.

A careless pair of hands noisily straightened the bedding where Haesu lay.

He swallowed the saliva that had gathered in his mouth.

He did not know why he had been holding it there in the first place, but he had been afraid that if he swallowed anything, he would immediately throw it back up.

The nauseating feeling was so unbearable that even turning his head felt violent.

Even being generous, the look in his eyes could not be called pleasant.

“Where am I?”

“Your house. You don’t recognize it?”

He felt irritated.

Probably because it sounded like nagging.

There were not many people in the world who could so openly scold Choi Haesu for acting like an idiot despite knowing everything.

“But it’s been a while… Hello.”

“Yeah. It has been a while…”

The other person looked flustered by Haesu’s sudden greeting.

It was not as though Haesu had greeted him for any particular reason.

That person was far from a welcome sight.

Whenever they met, unpleasant memories came back to torment him.

It felt as if the man were mocking Choi Haesu for being pathetic and still trapped in his younger days.

It was only a greeting offered to avoid having a long conversation with a face he had not seen in a while.

Soon, he pulled a chair over and sat beside Haesu.

The closer he came, the more Haesu could smell alcohol on him.

Even when Haesu abruptly raised a hand to cover his mouth, the man merely crossed his arms as if he did not care.

He even added an explanation Haesu had not asked for.

“I had plans, but because of you, I had to come here.”

“……”

“Why is it always like this when I see you? Why does it always have to be when you’re sick and suffering, Haesu…”

Now this person casually treated Choi Haesu like a patient.

When had Haesu ever complained about being sick so often that he deserved to be spoken to like this?

Haesu’s eyes immediately sharpened again.

Arguments began boiling up from his throat, fueled by thoughts that ran ahead on their own.

But Choi Young, who had no intention of hearing Haesu’s answer, cut him off.

“Haesu, do you remember who you were with?”

Did he really think Choi Haesu would not remember something that had happened only a few hours ago?

He had been walking, and by chance, he had run into Kwon Seha.

It felt like no matter what Haesu said, no one would believe him.

Stubbornness settled around his eyes.

That man would probably look at him as if he were pathetic.

Haesu was afraid he would scoff if he said he had simply gone out for a walk.

Even if he explained that the sky had been unusually clear and the weather had been nice, the man might angrily say that none of it justified Haesu running away from home.

It was because Haesu had spent too long living like a fool.

Far too long.

Even this person, who had spent much more time apart from him than living with him, could see straight through Choi Haesu’s thoughts.

“Hyung.”

They shared blood.

If their parents had never separated, Haesu would have called him his brother forever.

They would not have had to live apart.

Whether they liked it or not, they would have seen each other every day under the same roof.

Choi Haesu had someone like that.

He often thought Haesu was pathetic.

And yet, on days like this, he would wipe Haesu’s sweat away without hesitation, as if it were not disgusting at all.

He had a talent for behaving one way and then another, leaving Haesu confused.

Choi Young had been looking down at Haesu, who had once again sunk into his own thoughts.

He swallowed heavily.

It hurt him that he could no longer find the calmness that had disappeared from Haesu’s eyes.

His throat tightened, and the corners of his eyes grew hot.

Haesu, whom he was seeing for the first time in months, was still the same.

It would have been better if he cried like he had when they reunited years ago.

But he did not even do that anymore.

His dry, exhausted eyes looked confused by Choi Young’s presence, but soon lost interest.

There were many things Choi Young wanted to ask while Haesu stared out the window.

“Why?”

“You keep asking things when you’re not even curious.”

Had he been eating properly?

If he had, then why did his wrist look so thin that it could be held in one hand?

What kind of days had made him wander again?

Had he managed to avoid the people who hurt him?

Choi Young wanted to ask all of it.

He did not want to know why the person who had met Haesu and handed him over was Kwon Seha of all people.

Haesu would not want to talk about it.

Those were the things Choi Young was more curious about than these meaningless questions.

“You’re not curious about anything anyway…”

“……”

“Have you been well?”

Even before Choi Young could ask, Haesu had become defensive.

Assuming that other people were not curious about him also meant that Haesu himself did not want to say much right now.

At some point, Haesu had learned how to act like a normal person.

So he thought that asking after someone he had not seen in a long time was enough.

From the beginning, he did not think the reason Choi Young had come here was important.

“What about you?”

“Me? I’ve been alright.”

“Okay… Then that’s good.”

Still, it was not difficult to go along with him.

That much was Choi Young’s role.

For a moment, Choi Young wondered about someone who would usually rush in with fierce concern whenever Haesu was involved.

Had Lee Doyoon and Haesu fought?

Lee Doyoon had never been able to hide how much he liked Haesu, to the point that it was ridiculous Choi Young did not know.

He did not know the details and had no intention of asking, but one thing was certain.

Something had happened between the two of them.

He did not know why Lee Doyoon had not come himself and had instead asked Choi Young to find Haesu.

But after seeing Haesu in Kwon Seha’s arms, none of it seemed important anymore.

He was simply grateful that he had kept in periodic contact with the person who was practically Haesu’s emergency contact.

“Seha left?”

“Yeah. He left.”

“He left. He should leave. Of course he should leave.”

Haesu was right.

Kwon Seha should be gone.

He was harmful to Haesu.

After receiving Doyoon’s call, Choi Young had hurriedly taken a taxi.

When he arrived, the fiancé of the person he had just met stood there.

Only a few hours earlier, Choi Young had seen that man’s name printed beside someone else’s on a wedding invitation.

And Haesu had been resting beside him, breathing evenly with his eyes closed.

Sleeping people did not lie.

Choi Young was not generous enough to simply watch Kwon Seha bring Choi Haesu home.

Even while seeing it with his own eyes, it was difficult to accept the sight of Kwon Seha and Choi Haesu together.

Feelings he could not understand surged inside him.

Choi Young wanted to mutter a curse under his breath.

“He insisted he wouldn’t go to the hospital, so I brought him home. It would be better if someone stayed beside him. He showed signs of hyperventilation for a while.”

Remembering those words made his face twist.

That one sentence had been like magic.

After hearing it, Choi Young no longer cared why Kwon Seha and Choi Haesu had been together.

More accurately, he no longer had the room to ask why Kwon Seha was here instead of beside Yoon Jiwoo.

From the moment he heard Kwon Seha’s words, all he felt was anxiety.

Thinking that Haesu had not fallen asleep of his own will made his blood run cold.

His suspicious gaze toward Kwon Seha quickly became a luxury.

The moment he saw Haesu’s pale face, he wanted to scream.

“I was with Seha. I didn’t go looking for him on purpose.”

The thin body suddenly turned toward Choi Young.

It seemed Haesu had finally organized his thoughts and was trying to answer Choi Young’s question belatedly.

Choi Young was still leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.

To meet Haesu’s gaze as he lay sideways on the bed, he lowered his eyelids.

“Okay.”

Haesu frowned at the short, indifferent reply.

He seemed wronged, as if the answer he had carefully gathered the courage to give had been dismissed.

That was not it.

Choi Young simply could not manage a stronger reaction through the heaviness in his chest.

It hurt that Haesu could not read the sadness in his lowered eyes.

“It’s true. I’m not lying.”

“I know.”

“I’m telling you, it’s true!”

When Haesu finally shouted, Choi Young stood up.

He wanted to say that he could not bear watching Haesu desperately explain something Choi Young already understood without needing every detail.

But he could not say that.

Choi Young walked over and sat carelessly on the floor beside Haesu.

His indifferent but firm voice finally gave an answer.

“Haesu. I know. You did well.”

“……”

“It’s okay. Calm down. I don’t doubt you.”

After that, Haesu did not try any harder.

Even after raising his voice, he did not look satisfied.

Choi Young almost let out a deep sigh, but all he did was shake his head a few times.

The breath he held in continued to rot inside him.

Still, he had no hobby of provoking someone who had gagged at the smell of alcohol on him.

“Go back to sleep. I won’t talk to you, so do something about those dark circles under your eyes.”

“You’re not going home?”

“I’ll wait until you wake up. Eat something while I’m watching. You need to eat to take your medicine. If you refuse then, I’ll chew it up and put it in your mouth myself.”

“Why aren’t you leaving? It’s already night.”

Choi Young and Choi Haesu exchanged words without thinking much about them.

Haesu stared at him with a questioning look, but Choi Young did not explain further, as though he could not be bothered.

“You’re saying strange things. What time is it anyway? Where’s my phone?”

Haesu’s muttering as he walked closer was nothing special, yet Choi Young could not bring himself to listen.

His anger had already begun climbing to the top of his head.

Choi Young pulled the blanket up to Haesu’s neck and turned to leave the room.

“Hyung, do you have someone you like?”

An unexpected question struck the back of the exhausted man’s head.

Wondering what Haesu meant by it, Choi Young turned to face him again.

Perhaps Haesu had a talent for draining people’s energy.

After throwing out such a sudden question, he buried himself deeply in the pillow and stared straight at Choi Young.

The step Choi Young had turned around for felt pointless.

“What are you talking about now?”

“Do you have a lover, or someone you live with?”

Choi Young let out a hollow laugh.

Haesu was looking at him with wide eyes, as though he had seriously asked him that question.

Was this the kind of conversation they had failed to have even during their teenage years, only to have it now?

“If you do, go home. I don’t want to get in your way.”

Haesu tilted his head as he continued speaking.

His words made Choi Young clench his teeth.

So that was why he had asked such a ridiculous question.

He had asked because he wanted to call himself a burden so easily.

Choi Young did not like that at all.

He closed his eyes tightly and struggled to control the anger rising inside him.

He wanted to tear apart and kill everyone who had hurt Haesu.

“There’s no one like that. Stop worrying about strange things.”

“……”

“And stay quiet until you fall asleep. Close your eyes and count sheep or something.”

At his brother’s click of the tongue, Haesu briefly looked wronged.

He muttered that it was fine if that was the case, and asked why Choi Young was getting annoyed.

Then he quickly pulled the blanket over his head.

Soon, Haesu disappeared beneath it.

“Okay. Anyway, if you’re busy, go. I’ll be fine alone.”

“……”

“Sorry for bothering you so much. But meeting Seha today really was an accident.”

“Haesu, I told you to sleep.”

“Okay, I will…”

Haesu fell silent the moment Choi Young urged him to.

The end of his words, accepting the end of the conversation, sounded faint.

Choi Haesu knew nothing about how difficult it was to pretend not to notice that.

He was sad so easily, then hid himself beneath the blanket.

I can also keep the chapter titles in a consistent style for the next parts.

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