“What happened with that weird person?”
“Who again?”
“That man wearing sunglasses.”
Lee Haram kept pouting as he spoke.
“He was just cursing at hyung and everything…”
“Gunho. Cursing? Who?”
When my adoptive mother showed interest, I once again blocked Lee Haram’s lips that had jutted out several inches.
“There’s a strange team member in our group project. We had a little argument.”
“Oh my. Is it resolved?”
“Yes. You don’t need to worry.”
After smiling and bowing my head to the adults, I looked back at Lee Haram.
“Haram. Let’s talk about that later…”
“Krrrrr.”
“…”
He’s sleeping.
The guy who had been continuously dropping bombs was face-planted on the dining table snoring.
“I’m sorry, Haram has a low tolerance for alcohol. Haram, if you’re going to sleep, go home and sleep.”
Pretty boy’s father shook Lee Haram’s body looking embarrassed.
Come to think of it, he was a kid who preferred cola over beer and water over soju.
“My room’s empty, so I’ll let him sleep there.”
In the end, I piggybacked Lee Haram and brought him to my room.
Although a lot of luggage had been removed, the inside of the room was kept clean without a speck of dust.
Especially the certificates I had received and the frames with photos sparkled like they were brand new. Had my adoptive father been taking care of them?
“…”
Inside the frame was a photo of my adoptive parents, me in a high school uniform, and young Seolheon.
I was momentarily captivated by the youthful-looking face.
“Mmm. Hyuuuung…”
Just then, Lee Haram rubbed his forehead against my shoulder while sleep-talking, snapping me out of my reverie.
After laying the drunk on the bed and carefully covering him with a blanket, I returned to the living room.
“The more I see him, he really is the spitting image of Haram.”
People were already in full bloom conversation centered around Alejandro.
My adoptive mother saw me entering the living room and said to him.
“Oh, Alejandro-ssi. You said you were already acquainted with Gunho, right?”
Alejandro answered in Korean.
“Yes. He’s truly a kind and sharp person. Just as I heard from Haram.”
“Hoho. I have a lot to say too. Haram is so sincere and pleasant. Now that I see it, maybe it’s because he takes after Alejandro-ssi…”
“No. Gunho-ssi is the one who…”
It was hard to listen to more flattery, so I returned to my seat and put on my coat. The pheromones that had been gradually filling the room were also becoming burdensome.
“Oh? Gunho. Leaving already? Why don’t you have a more intimate talk with Dad after such a long time…”
When my adoptive father spoke in a voice full of regret, my adoptive mother slapped his forearm and mouthed the word ‘pheromones.’
“Ah, ah! R-right. Hahaha! Our Gunho also has a lot to study like Seolheon! Good luck with your assignments! Fighting!”
That awkward acting is worse than not doing it at all.
Both my adoptive mother and I let out deep sighs, but fortunately Haram’s parents didn’t seem to mind much.
“Gunho. Contact me later.”
“Yes, I’ll be going first.”
Just as I was exchanging greetings and turning around, Alejandro stood up from his seat.
“Ah! I had gifts for everyone, but I forgot I left them next door.”
He then smiled at me and added.
“I have something for Gunho-ssi too. Do you have time?”
* * *
“…This is the gift?”
A box of brand-name chocolates brought from Spain,
A crude lizard-shaped ornament.
A keyring with red pepper and ham dolls attached,
And a tourist T-shirt with ‘I ♡ Spain’ written on it.
Alejandro spread out the four-piece gift set and smiled proudly.
“The passion of Spanish people. It’s all contained here.”
“…”
I muttered quietly while looking at the lizard and pepper keyring that sparkled frantically under the ceiling light.
“Made in Turkey, Made in China…?”
“Cute, right?”
“…Yes. It’s cute.”
It was quite multinational for a Spanish gift.
The one he separately prepared for Seolheon had a similar composition to mine. I wonder if Seolheon will actually wear this T-shirt.
Looking at the cute gifts that didn’t match his dependable appearance, it seemed like Lee Haram took after him in this aspect.
“Thank you for the gift.”
“<It’s rather I who should be expressing gratitude.>”
Alejandro raised the corners of his mouth while speaking comfortably in English again.
“<I’m very grateful not only for the VivaPlay-related matters, but also for being a good neighbor to Haram and my husband in Korea.>”
I pressed the pink ham doll repeatedly for a moment, then asked him.
“<Alec-ssi. If it’s okay to ask a personal question, may I ask something?>”
“<Of course.>”
“<How did you come to Korea? Is there a project tied to the headquarters or something?>”
“<Are you interested?>”
Suddenly Alejandro leaned his head in and his eyes sparkled, so I immediately answered.
“<No. Not at all.>”
“<…I see.>”
The excited look in his eyes quickly turned dejected.
“<Since it’s internal information after all, it would be difficult to readily tell you even if you’re Gunho-ssi.>”
“<Then you don’t need to tell me. It was just simple curiosity.>”
Just as I was about to head to the entrance holding the four-piece gift set in my arms, Alejandro said.
“<Have you thought about the proposal I made before?>”
He looked at me as if observing me for a moment, then continued.
“<If you accept, you’ll nominally join as a regular employee. Since you’re also proficient in English, there shouldn’t be much difficulty adapting to the company. Do you happen to have any study abroad experience?>”
“<No, I just self-studied languages separately because I thought they’d be useful…>”
“<That’s impressive.>”
VivaPlay is a place where talented people from all over the world flock to because of its overflowing popularity. Just having the CEO personally come out to scout was already a tremendous privilege.
But.
“<Ah. By the way! After that, I’m thinking of immediately granting you executive-level authority.>”
“What?”
“<The base annual salary will be set at a level commensurate with that, and I’ll secure stock options as much as possible within the range the HR team allows.>”
My mouth fell open at the unexpectedly radical proposal.
“<I’d like to adjust the detailed figures after further discussion, but is there anything additional you’d like or any areas you feel are lacking? Please feel free to speak.>”
“<N-no. Isn’t this too radical? For a student who hasn’t even graduated yet…>”
“<I heard that the business plans Chairman Baek has proposed so far, and even the recent ideas related to the Viflix business expansion, were all your opinions, Gunho-ssi.>”
Alejandro looked at me with serious eyes.
“<I think that’s sufficient.>”
“…”
That loose-lipped old man. Just how much did he tell him?
Multiple thoughts came to mind at once.
But they couldn’t be organized at all, only scattered here and there.
“<…Since it’s still before graduation, I’ll consider it slowly.>”
“<Yes. There’s still time after all.>”
Even at the roundabout answer, Alejandro replied in a gentle voice.
“<I’m planning to stay in Korea for at least several more months. It seems the project will be longer than expected. If I had my way, it would be perfect if your insight could be added to that project, but since you’re an outsider for now, I’ll stop here.>”
I suddenly thought of the handsome face that would be knocked out in the room by now.
Once, when he was worrying about his career path, he had expressed the burden of the family business his father had built.
“<By any chance, is Haram…>”
“<My son is a child with many talents, but I know very well that he has no interest in management and planning.>”
He seemed to immediately understand the intent of my question and answered right away.
“<I want Haram at least to live doing what he wants without reading people’s faces.>”
And he slightly raised his head and turned toward a certain room.
It was the old room Haram used to use.
“<Not living as a fugitive like me. Freely.>”
…A fugitive?
When I raised my head at the casually left remark, Alejandro smiled as if it was nothing.
“<I misspoke. Please don’t mind it.>”
That smile looked a little bitter.
“<Contact me anytime you change your mind. My number is always open to you, Gunho-ssi.>”
* * *
[Title: I fought with my younger sibling. What should I do?
Hello. I’m living with a high school senior sibling with quite an age gap.
Since some day, they’ve been talking less and seem to be deliberately staying out late to avoid running into me.
I recently learned about aspects I didn’t know, so I’m a bit bewildered… When they were young, they were so kind, gentle, and thoughtful…
How can I restore our relationship?
Seeking advice.]
I scrolled down.
Replies started appearing less than a minute after posting. It was almost real-time.
[Anonymous 1: Younger sibling??? From the way you talk, sounds like a parent lololololol
Anonymous 2: They hit puberty, just leave them alone
└ Anonymous 1: A high school senior in puberty, what bullshit
└ Anonymous 3: The kid looking different… everyone wears a mask anyway, so there’s nothing strange about it, right??
Anonymous 4: You need to write in more detail for us to give advice or not
└ Anonymous 1: They probably did something wrong but left that part out lol
Anonymous 5: OP seems to have empty nest syndrome. You said there’s an age gap, did you perhaps raise your sibling too controlling? As a reaction to that… (continued)]
Deep sighs kept coming out.
There were comments I wanted to refute, but honestly there were also comments that hit close to home.
I took a sip of coffee and left a reply directly to the person who wrote somewhat seriously.
[The age gap is about 6 years, and I didn’t raise them controlling…]
“I’m back.”
“…!”
I barely swallowed a scream.
“Y-you’re late today too?”
“Yeah.”
I immediately shoved my phone into my pocket and looked at Baek Seolheon.
Perhaps because the weather had gotten warmer recently, he was only wearing a white shirt and uniform pants without a jacket.
That appearance momentarily looked like an adult in a suit, making him feel unfamiliar.
“How’s the academy, did you look into it well? I’ll pay for the tuition…”
“I’m discussing it with Mother, so don’t worry about it.”
Don’t worry about it. That’s something I’ve been hearing a lot lately.
Is it somehow automatically translating to ‘Mind your own business’… or is it a delusion caused by my guilt?
‘After saying you’d follow everything hyung says regarding entrance exams and everything.’
I felt a little hurt but didn’t show it.
Just being interested in inheriting Baekil Pharmaceuticals was more than I could ask for.
“Seolheon.”
I asked Seolheon who was about to enter his room.
“Did you… meet with Baek Jeongwoo?”
Should I ask or not. After long deliberation, I eventually mentioned that name.
Baek Seolheon stopped walking and only turned his head to look at me.
Feeling awkward to make eye contact for no reason, I lowered my gaze to the floor.
“…Did you hear something?”
“He said nice to see you.”
Baek Seolheon answered dryly.
“That’s all.”
At those words, I unconsciously let out a sigh.
“That’s a relief. …Ah.”
I covered my mouth belatedly, but my true feelings that had already slipped out had entered Seolheon’s ears.
“Is there something you don’t want revealed?”
Baek Seolheon looked down at me with an expressionless face, his hand on his waist.
“I’m not interested. Even if I heard it, I’d let it go in one ear and out the other.”
“…”
“That’s enough, right? I’m going.”
His voice, his eyes.
They all had distance.
Even though it was a distance that could be reached in just five steps.
In the living room filled with silence, a notification sound rang out with a ding.
[Anonymous 6: If it’s not like you fought and cut ties, it might just be the natural process of growing distant as you age?]
Replies kept coming.
[└ Anonymous 1: For real lol just let your sibling live their own life. They’re a stranger anyway, aren’t they?]
At the last comment, my scrolling thumb froze.
‘…We’re strangers anyway.’
It felt like I could hear Baek Seolheon’s voice.
“Am I… being excessive?”
I pressed the corner of my phone against my brow.
