Knowing Brother-Chapter 57

We had dinner together at a nearby kimbap restaurant and then went to the park. The gym in Seol-woo’s neighborhood overlooks the entire city, but here, all you can see is a few trees and a road. Seol-woo Choi put a mini fish-shaped bread in his mouth and pedaled the exercise equipment with his feet.

“Congratulations on your independence. But what about the rent?”

“Your family is doing well, hyung. I will be grateful for your concern.”

“......You didn’t talk about independence because of my final exams?”

“If you mess up your finals, you’re going to be in a bad mood for months. You did it for the sake of the future.”

“Hey, I’m not so mentally weak that I can’t even listen to you talking about leaving home.”

Won Dae-young, a senior in high school, is now preparing for the special athletics admissions for Seoul National University. Even though the assault case was concluded through mutual agreement, he was worried that the malicious school violence committee's lawsuit against him would cause him stress. The verdict will not be overturned, but the lawyer's fee will not be in the range of two hundred. No matter how well-off he is, he will not be happy about spending a large sum of money. Could it be that the conflict with his family has grown because of this incident?

“I didn’t know that the reason I didn’t respond to texts properly and was blunt at school was because of stress.”

“No, it’s not because of stress....”

While talking, Won Dae-young seriously glanced at Choi Seol-woo and shook his head as if he was shaking his head. After finishing his speech, he changed the subject. He lifted his body high by placing both arms on the horizontal bars and nodded to his trouser pockets without showing any sign of difficulty.

“If you’re curious as to why it’s stuck in the corner of the house, come here. Take it out yourself and look through the texts.”

Choi Seol-woo approached him, nagging him, and took his cell phone out of his pants.

Choi Seol-woo, who was looking through the list of texts, doubted his eyes. At the top of the list was a text message confirming a reservation for a ‘DNA test for paternity for submission to the court.’

“.......”

“Your second son, who is causing a lot of trouble with truancy, school violence, and fights, may not be your biological son, so submit a paternity test. Inheritance disputes are this dirty, Seolwoo.”

Choi Seol-woo licked his lips, which had lost their blood.

“...No, what? Does that make sense? What kind of paternity test are you suddenly doing without any evidence? Don’t you need some kind of evidence to support a lawsuit?”

Won Dae-young looked into the distance, leaning on the horizontal bar with both hands for support. He seemed to be contemplating whether he should even talk about this. After a long silence, he opened his mouth with his breathing still intact.

“It seems like it’s been a long time since my mother had an affair with someone.”

“.......”

“Black box, CCTV, text messages. There’s a lot of evidence. If you go back to when the two of you first met, it was before I was born.”

“.......”

“I asked her if she really got married because of her wealth, and if that’s why she had children, endured violence, and never divorced despite having a loveless marriage. She said that’s just how it is. Who gets married for love? Realistically, I don’t know. Was your father any different? He also got married because of his family’s decent conditions.”

“.......”

“That’s true. Everyone meets people for profit, you know.”

The moment he agreed with his conclusion, Choi Seol-woo seemed to understand a little bit about the invisible string that connected them. It was crookedness. A twisted mind that looked at the world and people crookedly. Choi Seol-woo had always thought that the world that made them lie was very wrong, so she could deeply agree with his words.

“Tsk, I didn’t mean to bring this up. Damn it.”

At the same time, Choi Seol-woo's heart became wet. This was because he felt Won Dae-young's sadness, which was hidden by his handsome appearance, pretentious personality, ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) and the title of national track and field team member. Won Dae-young's sadness, which no one in the world knew about, soaked his heart.

Choi Seol-woo asked in a wet voice.

“Why? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“What are you talking about? The world doesn’t want me to be sad.”

“.......”

“People don’t want Won Dae-young in sorrow. Right?”

The tip of my nose tingled at the words he repeated so nonchalantly. He muttered, still holding the horizontal bar with his strong strength and keeping his upper body upright.

“I’d like to know at least once what it feels like for people who have a family group chat.”

As Won Dae-young spoke in passing, Choi Seol-woo reached a point where he couldn't bear it. He couldn't just leave it without saying anything. A late spider landed on Won Dae-young's shoulder. Choi Seol-woo looked at the sunset and spoke.

“I agree that the world doesn’t want sad people. But at least, I don’t, even if other people don’t. I want a sad Won Dae-young. There’s a demand for it, there really is. It sounds weird, but that’s what I mean. I’m totally okay with a sad Won Dae-young!”

Won Dae-young stared down. After a while, he jumped down from the horizontal bar with a brisk movement, grabbed Seol-woo's backpack, and dragged him out of the park.

“Sing me a song.”

Choi Seol-woo was always by his side, breathing in and out his loneliness that even a half-hearted smile could not hide. The loneliness that Won Dae-young felt was also like breathing to Seol-woo.

So Choi Seol-woo sat in a small coin karaoke room and held the microphone.

The song selection is also Buzz's song.

Among the recommended karaoke songs, I chose this one because it has a high range and I thought it would be the funniest when sung by a tone-deaf person. Personally, I also found the lyrics touching.

- Don't go back to the person who abandoned you.

To Won Dae-young, Choi Seol-woo's singing ability seems to be the only 'real' joke. He held his stomach and laughed.

He laughed so hard that the veins in his neck stood out, so hard that his breathing became difficult, he swore occasionally, and he swallowed his breath backwards. Won Dae-young's eyes were red as he laughed. Whether it was laughter or sadness, only he knew.

Anyway, Choi Seol-woo was happy that he could make Won Dae-young smile with his song.

I sweated so much at the karaoke that I went to Won Dae-young's room. It was the beginning of a midsummer tropical night. After taking a shower, I put on the t-shirt and gym shorts that Won Dae-young gave me.

Choi Seol-woo, who came out of the bathroom, looked around. He had opened his school uniform to go home and wash it, but he couldn't see it. Won Dae-young, who was throwing clothes on a hanger, pointed to the washing machine.

“I have some extra at home. I’ll bring it to you tomorrow when it’s dry.”

I lay face down on the cushions, watching my uniform being washed in the drum washing machine. It was already ten o'clock at night.

On the first day of moving in, I was worried that it would be lonely. It wasn't like I became independent for a good reason.

Won Dae-young's gym uniform was too loose for Choi Seol-woo, revealing her legs. Choi Seol-woo, who was lying face down and shaking her legs alternately, spoke nonchalantly.

“Hey. I’m going to sleep. The test is over.”

Choi Seol-woo was better than anyone at hiding his feelings in front of Won Dae-young, so he was able to ask without feeling awkward.

“I have an appointment. I’m going. Who’s coming to visit?”

“No. I was thinking of making plans if I was bored. Go to sleep.”

Won Dae-young responded calmly.

Thump... thump... Choi Seol-woo was not confused whether she was excited about her first sleepover or nervous about being in the same room with Won Dae-young on a late night. Of course, it was the latter. Choi Seol-woo moistened her dry lips.

Won Dae-young, who had been busy organizing his luggage, passed by Choi Seol-woo and threw the windbreaker over her buttocks.

“I can see it all, you punk.”

"ah."

It wasn't like he would even look at her. Choi Seol-woo, who threw his clothes back in a fit of rebellion, sat up straight. He decided to fiddle with his phone until he got used to the awkwardness a little. He pulled his backpack and took out his phone. There was a reply to the message he had sent to Ha Young-seo without Won Dae-young knowing while eating dinner.

[Youngseo]

[I have something to ask you about Daeyoung's school violence lawsuit. Can we meet tomorrow?]

[Don't tell your brother!] 7:18 PM

Global Dance Goddess Ha Young-seo: [Let's meet tomorrow? At an audition??] 9:34 PM

Global Dance Goddess Ha Young-seo: [It can't be a secret from Dae-young oppa, of courseㅠㅠ It broke and I haven't contacted him..] 9:35 PM

I don't know how much the attorney fees for responding to the appeal will be, but I decided to contribute a little bit to the litigation costs.

I made up my mind while talking to Won Dae-young earlier. I owe him a lot of money anyway, including my cell phone and tuition. I thought about asking for money from my aunt, Seong-ja, who was close to Mrs. Choi. But I guess I could raise about two million won? If I beg and say I’ll pay it back later when I get a job.

I asked to meet with Ha Young-seo's parents because they had consulted with a school violence lawyer. I put my phone in my bag because I was worried that Won Dae-young would see the message, but I doubt he would have searched through my bag while I was washing up.

I looked inside the bag, but I didn't feel anything suspicious. I sent a reply while Won Dae-young was cleaning up the boiler room.

[In front of the lawyer's office. When is a good time for you?] 10:12 p.m.

In the bag, there are also 500 won coins that I exchanged in advance in case I had to go to a coin karaoke. I stuffed them in a ziplock bag and stuffed them in a way that didn't look good. I didn't want to get caught, so I pulled the backpack close to my body.

Won Dae-young closed the boiler room door, glanced at Choi Seol-woo, and raised the corners of his mouth.

“Do you have anything hidden in your bag? Did you prepare a condom or something, if you’re going to stay out all night?”

“That crazy guy....”

Seol-woo got up from his seat to divert his attention from the bag.

“What should I do? Should I help you unpack?”

“No. It’s all over.”

As he said, he didn't have much luggage. 70% of his luggage was sportswear and track and field-related sports equipment, 20% was casual clothes organized by brand, and 1% was home training equipment, various toiletries, and detergent. Among the extremely simple luggage, there was a Jenga game set. When I pointed out the unexpected existence of Jenga, Won Dae-young threw the box.

“Oh, this. Jeong Tae-hoon left it behind. Should we play with this?”

Jeong Tae-hoon is a friend of the national reserve team who used to come to the board game cafe with Won Dae-young. He said he came to help move earlier and left behind something. Won Dae-young poured the Jenga sticks on the floor.