“That’s good then.”
If you removed the mischievous smile and childish playfulness that Yeon Taeju wore, you got Yeon Seongju. Seongju had no particular expression, contrary to what he’d said. With an indifferent face, he walked toward the living room first.
“Are you feeling better?”
“There’s no one here to piss me off.”
“You shouldn’t say that about Father.”
“I was talking about big hyung.”
“Are you living here alone?”
Yeon Seongju made a big circle around the living room. He acted as if he couldn’t even hear Taeju’s words. Taeju didn’t care about his big brother’s dismissal and plopped down on the sofa where he’d been sitting originally.
Only Iseo was caught in the brothers’ power struggle where intense sparks were flying.
“I’m living with him.”
At those words, Seongju let out a slight snort. That look was truly identical to Taeju. Iseo unknowingly widened his eyes and stared at Seongju.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
Seongju, who had been looking at the sea visible through the window, leisurely turned around and looked at Taeju. Taeju sat comfortably with his back slumped against the backrest as if this were his own house. Thanks to stretching both arms out on the sofa, he looked very comfortable yet also indifferent to the situation.
“Something good.”
Taeju winked at Iseo, who was standing blankly between them.
“What nonsense.”
“It’s all meaningful and significant talk.”
“Iseo-ya, do you have something to drink?”
Again, Seongju asked Iseo without pretending to listen. Only Iseo hurriedly answered while clutching his startled chest.
“Ah, yes. Would you like coffee?”
“Sounds good.”
As the employee hurried off to prepare tea, Iseo sat next to Taeju.
“Please sit.”
“Mm.”
Seongju responded with a low hum instead of words. Seongju, who sat across from Taeju and Iseo, unbuttoned his jacket as he sat on the sofa. He was wearing a suit.
“You must have come from the company.”
Iseo said, looking at the shirt buttons done up to the neck and the tie. Taeju’s body tilted slightly toward Iseo. Again, Iseo had his back off the backrest, sitting with his spine straight.
As Taeju’s body leaned toward him, Iseo only now remembered what had happened before. He’d sat next to Yeon Taeju for no reason.
“That’s right. I’m a working man, after all. You heard from Muju, about our situation.”
Taeju’s arm that had been on Iseo’s side slipped behind his back and touched beside Iseo’s buttocks. Iseo straightened his back even more and sat at the very edge of the sofa as much as possible.
“Yes.”
“I know you’re not interested in company matters. But think about how difficult the situation must be for us to ask you for this.”
Seongju spoke politely and gently with a face resembling Yeon Taeju. Iseo felt a strange sensation. He leaned forward slightly and continued in a low voice.
“If you could purchase inventory from Seokrim Electronics on a level that wouldn’t be too burdensome, it would help us a lot. When I looked into it, it seems the Seokrim Electronics president who took office last year is someone from aunt’s side. What do you think, Iseo-ya?”
Both corners of Seongju’s mouth pulled up symmetrically on each side. His striking eyes curved slightly. They were eyes similar to Yeon Taeju’s. The corners were long and slanted upward. Gorgeous when smiling, fierce when expressionless.
“I’m not sure.”
Iseo stared directly at Seongju, slightly drawing out his words. Then a short snort came from beside him.
“Look moderately. My eyes are rolling again.”
Ah, a low exclamation burst from Iseo’s mouth. Without realizing it, he’d been spacing out and staring at Seongju. Iseo hurriedly pulled his gaze down and swallowed dry saliva.
Taeju, who had whispered quietly in Iseo’s ear, stood up from his seat. Iseo’s face quickly turned toward Taeju.
Seongju watched Iseo with no interest in whatever Taeju was doing.
“Iseo-ya.”
“Ah, yes.”
Iseo answered Seongju while following with his eyes as he walked behind Seongju.
“What do you think? About what I said.”
Taeju crossed his arms and walked around the sofa where Seongju sat. Iseo couldn’t properly hear Seongju’s words because his gaze kept leaning toward Taeju.
“Family should help each other. Right, Iseo-ya?”
“Little hyung is one thing, but really, big hyung is a born businessman.”
Taeju, who suddenly intercepted the conversation between the two, spoke in a moderately rhythmic voice. He sat on the armrest of the sofa on Seongju’s side and narrowed his eyes.
“If you have nothing to do, go upstairs.”
“‘Family,’ you say that so casually, right?”
Taeju tilted his head diagonally to look at Seongju, then naturally threw his gaze to Iseo in front of him. Iseo’s face hardened at his words. Yeon Taeju had hit fairly close to the center of the target.
“Yeon Taeju.”
“When was it, didn’t you educate that little kid you brought in that his mother was a gold-digging whore?”
“I told you to go upstairs.”
“Ah, ah, was that something the Seok sisters did? I think big hyung was there too. No, did big hyung just completely ignore Seok Iseo?”
“Yeon Taeju, stop being a dog and shut up.”
Seongju ground his teeth and muttered quietly. Taeju’s mouth corners rose up as if they’d split. It had been really long since he’d heard Yeon Seongju curse. He must really be desperate.
“Didn’t big hyung have little hyung lock up Seok Iseo? I think I rescued him several times.”
Seongju took a deep breath as if suppressing his anger, closing his eyelids deeply. The closed eyelids trembled.
“If you don’t want to get beaten to death, stay still.”
Suppressing his anger ended in failure. Seongju’s eyes flashed open and he immediately grabbed the collar of Taeju sitting beside him and yanked him. He wanted to properly beat that grinning face.
He had no idea whose son this bastard was. If he was bowing to someone who wasn’t even worth it, then as his younger brother, he should join forces together, but instead he was throwing shit like this.
“Even back then, those people of a certain age were so petty.”
Taeju, for whom threats of beatings no longer worked, grinned and said it right to Seongju’s face.
Seongju, who had been fuming, roughly threw down the collar and bent forward at the waist, pulling his body forward. Among his pale face, the area around his eyes was particularly flushed red.
Taeju brushed off his t-shirt that had stretched from being grabbed a few times.
“Iseo-ya, the things that happened when you were young were all things I did without knowing better. That was the atmosphere back then. An outsider with a child too. And not just any family.”
Seongju rested his elbows on each knee and continued speaking rapidly while catching his breath several times. It was worlds apart from the polite, low voice he’d used earlier. He continued speaking rapidly as if being chased.
Taeju still sat on the armrest, staring intently at his big brother’s left profile.
“If it hurt you, I’m sorry, but it’s all in the past, isn’t it?”
Taeju still smiled. It was amusing to fluster and humiliate his big brother who was always overbearing and threatening.
Taeju casually turned the gaze he’d thrown at his brother forward. But Seok Iseo’s face looked so fragile it seemed like it would shatter at the slightest breeze.
Taeju was puzzled. Why is he making that face? Even if it’s past history, if he received an apology, shouldn’t he feel somewhat satisfied?
“You’re not bothered by something like that, right?”
“No.”
“Right. Anyway, please really think about what I said. It’s not that difficult for you.”
Only then did Seongju seem to regain his composure, showing even a hint of a smile. Taeju’s face quickly became blank. The grin he’d been wearing completely disappeared, making him expressionless. The situation quickly became boring. Taeju drummed his upper arm with his fingertips while his arms were crossed.
Naturally, he expected words of agreement to come from Seok Iseo’s mouth. Seok Iseo would politely tell big hyung he understood, and Yeon Seongju would leave triumphantly having achieved his intended purpose. That was what Yeon Taeju imagined would happen next.
“I’ll think about it. But.”
“Yeah.”
“Don’t expect too much. Not because of past events, but because I don’t want to be involved in business or family matters.”
Seongju’s face froze solid. It was tantamount to refusal. Yeon Seongju had bent low and come in, spending time and effort, and all he got was ‘I don’t want to be involved.’
“From now on, if it’s about something like this, don’t come looking for me. My answer will be the same.”
Yeon Seongju’s face twisted viciously. He twisted his lower jaw until his jawbone seemed dislocated. He shot up from his seat.
