Knowing Brother-Chapter 40

Seol-woo Choi opened a window that was much higher than the other houses. The dawn sky seen from the semi-basement room was even more distant. Mrs. Choi, who had been listening to their conversation with a worried face, expressed her doubts about the silence that continued for a long time. Seol-woo gestured to Mrs. Choi to be quiet.

Just like when he had a few minutes of silence with Won Dae-young before, there was a mysterious ability between them to talk without saying anything specific. Was this an invisible bond? Or was this the way people with sharp teeth naturally communicate?

After listening to his silent words for a while, Seol-woo opened his mouth.

“Should I go now?”

- I’m out of breath. Come and play.

The address Won Dae-young had given him was a funeral parlor in the basement of a famous hospital.

Perhaps he had vaguely anticipated it. He had been preparing for the fact that the end of his father would not be a happy ending since he had kicked him out of the two-story house.

However, the pain of loss was not reduced by being prepared. It was a truth that Choi Seol-woo, who did not create precious beings in order to not lose precious things, could fully understand.

The man’s life ended by stepping into a high void with no place to stand. The apparent reason was a traffic accident, but he found out after overhearing the woman talking to the police.

The grand and spacious funeral hall was even more empty because it was the middle of the night. Won Dae-young, wearing mourning clothes and an armband on his arm, was standing in front of the mortuary tablet. He laughed at Choi Seol-woo, who had come in with a few soy milk bottles. His laughter made his heart ache. So, he ignored his excuse that he had called Choi Seol-woo because he was bored without any visitors.

“You want me to stay here? Isn’t that a nuisance?”

“No. I can’t because I’m bored.”

It happened to be the Golden Week holiday. So Seol-woo ate and slept at the funeral hall for three days.

Won Dae-hyun seemed to be burdened with hating the time that had come upon him. However, Won Dae-young was different. When his mother was busy with various matters, Won Dae-young mostly took charge of the reception.

In particular, when his school friends and teachers visited and helped with the funeral, he was moved to tears, but perhaps in order to maintain his dignity at school, he was comforting his friends instead. He even smiled warmly as he saw them off.

Seol-woo quietly watched Won Dae-young, who was struggling.

It was early in the morning when there were no visitors. Since there was no room in the inner room of the funeral, the two of them slept with their heads facing each other between the tables. Won Dae-young played a prank on Choi Seol-woo, who was trying to sleep with a blanket wrapped around him. Seeing his smiling face again made him feel sad.

Seol-woo took Won Dae-young to the back of the funeral hall.

“Hyung. You don’t have to smile in front of me. Seriously, don’t smile at me, hyung.” freёnovelkiss.com

“.......”

“It’s sad to see. If you’re in pain, just say it.”

“Stop it.”

“Daeyoung hyung. You can cry. You really can cry.”

“Choi Seol-woo, stop.......”

Seol-woo lifted his arms and hugged Won Dae-young tightly.

Won Dae-young cried for a long time that day.

That was a secret that Choi Seol-woo had engraved deep in his heart, so it’s hard to talk about in detail.

The shoulders in his arms shook violently. When he felt the collar of his shirt touching his face getting wet, he let out a sigh-like sob.

Won Dae-young sobbed. It was the first time he saw his tears, so he wasn’t surprised or embarrassed. When he cried with his whole body shaking, his heart was filled with the thought of wanting to hug him for the rest of his life. He hoped his loud cries spreading through the secluded alley would last a long time.

Won Dae-young said this between sobs. ‘I killed him. I chased him away... ... because of me... ... .’

Could the pain he felt really be a weight that could be called guilt? Choi Seol-woo would never be able to completely understand his pain. Saying that he understood Won Dae-young’s pain was arrogant. Teaching him to ‘not think like that’ was also arrogant.

Seol-woo whispered, ‘I’m sorry I don’t fully understand your sadness. I’m sorry. But I know it’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. I’ll keep your secret for the rest of my life. I can promise you... So cry more... ... .’

Won Dae-young didn’t ask, ‘Why are you crying?’

That day, when they kept Won Dae-young’s tears, which no one had seen, even himself, a secret, a silent bond was formed between them.

It was a magic that made no tragedy dark.

— We are on the same side.

Three days after the funeral, the National Athletics Competition was held, in which Won Dae-young participated as a representative of Seoul.

Life is really a mess. How dare he throw such miserable darkness into his life right before an important competition. It was a major competition that also served as a selection for promising athletes, so if he missed it, he would have to wait until next year. If he was selected as a promising athlete, he would receive full support from the association. It was a position that any young person who dreamed of a future as a sports athlete would want.

“Dae-young. Can you run? Don’t push yourself too hard, let’s aim for next year, okay?”

The coach suggested that Won Dae-young rest after his father’s funeral. However, Won Dae-young insisted that he would run no matter what. Even Choi Seol-woo could not stop him from his stubbornness.

Won Dae-young’s mother and older brother could not go to the competition together due to family financial issues, so Choi Seol-woo decided to accompany him. No matter what, it was right after his father’s funeral, and Won Dae-young pushed himself hard, staying up all night for three days. During that time, the competitors must have been perfectly conditioned and trained.

So Choi Seol-woo bought a dartboard at a stationery store.

If he put laxatives in the water that his competitors drink, he would get caught if he did something wrong, and if he changed, it would be a big deal, and if he got caught, it would be embarrassing for Won Dae-young. Instead, he decided to do something that no one would know about.

The method Choi Seol-woo chose was to secretly curse his competitors.

Eom Ju-bin from Gyeonggi Middle School. I don't mean anything bad. I'm sorry. I hope you live long and prosper.

Eom Ju-bin, 000, 000 during the game... He wrote the names of several competitors on paper and stuck them on the dartboard. He shot darts from afar until the paper was punctured and the names were no longer visible.

With the hope that they would make a mistake. With the hope that they would be nervous.

Swish! Swish! The dartboard hanging on the wall shook until late into the night.

The next day, the team arrived in Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk on a large bus. Since the game starts in the morning, he arrived at the hotel the day before and unpacked. While Choi Seol-woo opened the books he had packed and studied for the final exam, Won Dae-young sweated at the training center.

- 2013 KBS National Athletics Competition and National Young Athlete Selection Competition!

- Lane 2, Seoul. Won Dae-young from Hyungil Middle School.

It was the first time he had seen a track and field competition in person. However, he wasn't very nervous. The coach had expected that Won Dae-young would have a hard time getting good results anyway.

Choi Seol-woo also prepared a ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) chocolate as a consolation gift in preparation for that. Eat this and cheer up. It'll be okay if you do well next year! He also thought of a word of consolation.

- Now, the game begins!

Seeing the player named Eom Joo-bin, who he had cursed at until late at night, made him feel sorry. But there was nothing he could do... Choi Seol-woo was on Won Dae-young's side, and Won Dae-young had the handicap of his father's death... .

Choi Seol-woo, sitting in the audience, waved both hands vigorously toward Won Dae-young. He also made a trumpet with his hands and cheered. He was embarrassed because he didn't know anyone in the audience, but he couldn't lose to Eom Joo-bin, who was cheering with his whole family.

- Ready. Ready. Start!

Won Dae-young runs. Summer was born on Won Dae-young's body, which was radiating strength on the dark brown track.

- Won Dae-young, a dark horse who had stood out since the last Sports Festival. He had a hard time against Gyeonggi Middle School, which was strong in track and field.

Until then, Choi Seol-woo might have looked down on Won Dae-young.

He had a slightly different evil inside him than Choi Seol-woo.

It was a hotter and stronger power than the heat of the track that was hot enough to burn the soles of his feet.

The viciousness he possessed made his peers bow down to Won Dae-young, and sometimes even Choi Seol-woo had a hard time with him. Even though he was my closest ally, he sometimes felt distant.

At that moment, the power that was hard to even approach was released. The will to win that no one could break. What Choi Seol-woo came to awe of was the vicious flame that only Won Dae-young possessed.

- He breaks during the game! Won Dae-young of Hyungil Middle School comes in first place in the 400m middle school boys' division!

This is ridiculous. How, how could Won Dae-young, how could he do that?

Did the curse really work... ...?

- This is a new middle school record... !

What on earth was he thinking at the starting line? What emotions and will did he aim for right before the starting gun rang?

Love. What does a fourteen-year-old know?

Even the adults who mock him like that actually know. Some kids who opened their eyes to the world early know love better than they do.

At that moment, when he looked at Won Dae-young, who had suffered perhaps the most horrific pain in his life and crossed the finish line in first place, a feeling that was clearly different from before captivated Choi Seol-woo.

My heart raced more than ever when I saw that being.

I couldn’t stand the fact that he was so lovable.

That was how clearly he could be defined. Someone said that love is something that gradually fades, but at least for Choi Seol-woo, it wasn’t.

He wasn’t confused or confused. Choi Seol-woo wanted to have him completely, like crazy. She wanted Won Dae-young to be more than just on the same side, but to be her own, and to only show her secrets. She wanted Won Dae-young to smile without being hurt. Even in this moment of victory, she hoped that the kid who was smiling painfully would be happy by Seol-woo’s side.

For Choi Seol-woo, who had a rule of never making something precious in life, this was love without a doubt.