So when Dongwoo tried to make excuses on my behalf, Gangjin hyung hit Daesu hyung’s shoulder hard and stopped him from speaking.
“Why is this Kkakdugi’s responsibility? Obviously Seongheon must have been the one to bring up picking them up first.”
“He overprotects Daeyoung too much.”
“He’s looking after your younger brother for you, so leave him alone. Let him live as he pleases.”
“Anyway, hey! If something goes wrong with Seongheon this time, it’s all your responsibility.”
Daesu hyung pointed at me sharply like an awl. That poked somewhere in my heart, making a hole, and fearful emotions rushed into that dark, deep hole.
“Daesu-ya, don’t be like that. I talked with Jongheon hyung on the way here and he said a roe deer suddenly jumped out. So why is that Kkakdugi’s responsibility?”
“If this kid hadn’t asked him to pick them up, he wouldn’t have gone there!”
I didn’t ask him to come, so I felt hurt. How could he blame me like this when we share the same blood?
But the more I listened to Daesu hyung’s words, the more it felt like my responsibility, making me depressed for no reason. Once again, tears welled up in my eyes.
“Daesu hyung! Stop it!”
Then Dongwoo, unable to watch anymore, yelled at my hyung, and Daesu hyung looked at him incredulously as if thinking ‘What? Who’s this kid?’
“Do you know how shocked Daeyoung was when he heard the news earlier? Even now I was comforting him because he was blaming himself that Seongheon hyung got hurt because of us, but how can you, his real brother, only say hurtful things? And it’s not like we asked him to come—hyung kept saying he’d buy us food so we reluctantly agreed, okay? Why do you keep doing this to poor Daeyoung— the roe deer… keuhup…”
Perhaps Dongwoo also felt wronged, as he covered his eyes with his arm and sobbed.
I suddenly felt even more sorry, so after stopping my tears, I patted his back. When Daesu hyung saw us both sniffling like crybabies, he didn’t say anything more and went outside the hospital again, saying he was going to smoke.
Gangjin hyung reassured us, saying he understood everything we said and that we could go now.
“No, I should at least see Seongheon hyung’s face to make sure he’s okay before I go.”
“Alright.”
As I sat blankly on the hospital waiting chair, Seongheon hyung walked out from inside the emergency room. For a moment, I thought a miracle had happened. I thought he’d come out relying on a bed or wheelchair, but hyung walked out!
Surprised, I jumped up from my seat and ran to Seongheon hyung.
“H-hyuuung!”
“Huh? Daeyoung-ah.”
I was so happy I tried to give Seongheon hyung a tight hug, but when I saw the cast on his right arm, I immediately stepped back.
“…Hyung, is your arm broken?”
“No, it’s just fractured so it’ll be fine with a cast.”
“Haah, thank goodness.”
Gangjin hyung and Daesu hyung who followed also asked various things like me—are you okay, is anything else uncomfortable, etc.
Jongheon hyung went to the hospital pharmacy to get medicine, and we sat Seongheon hyung on a nearby sofa. As Daesu hyung sat on the sofa armrest, he interrogated thoroughly.
“Did you send the car to the repair shop?”
“Yeah. But I’ll probably have to scrap it. It rolled down under the rice paddy embankment.”
“You were trying to avoid a roe deer, right? You should’ve avoided it better.”
“I slipped because I didn’t see the snow piled up on the side.”
Seongheon hyung said everywhere else was fine, but he had a bruise somewhere on his forehead and I could see a torn wound on his cheek. Seeing hyung, who didn’t have a speck on his face even as a child, injured like this made me feel so sorry I couldn’t look at his face anymore.
“Daeyoung-ah. Were you very shocked? Are you okay?”
“Mm.”
I was sitting in a nearby chair when Seongheon hyung asked if I was okay instead. He probably asked after seeing my reddened eyes from crying.
“Seongheon-ah, Kkakdugi cried like that because of Daesu. He scolded him terribly after finding out you got into an accident going to pick him up.”
Then Gangjin hyung, who was next to us, tattled, and upon hearing that, Seongheon hyung struck Daesu hyung’s back, who was beside him, with his fine left hand.
Smack!
“Ah!”
“Didn’t I tell you not to speak carelessly to Daeyoung?”
“I just said one thing because I was worried?”
“Whatever, go over there. Daeyoung-ah, come here.”
Seongheon hyung pushed Daesu hyung who was sitting on the armrest and patted that spot. I was sitting sullenly looking down at the floor, but at Seongheon hyung’s call, I awkwardly got up and approached.
Pat pat.
Then he tapped again, telling me to sit on the armrest. Feeling unnecessarily sorry, I half-sat there.
“Daeyoung-ah, did you cry?”
Seongheon hyung peeked in the direction where I had my head lowered.
I knew hyung was fine, and since everything turned out okay, I had barely regained my composure, but when Seongheon hyung smiled and asked “Were you very worried?” tears dripped down again.
Since Daesu hyung was clicking his tongue next to me, I was embarrassed and tried to hastily wipe my tears, but Seongheon hyung’s hand was faster. He wiped my tears with his fine left hand, but even his palm had scabs from being scratched by something.
“Hyung. Did you put medicine here?”
“This is just a scratch, so it’s fine.”
“But you have wounds as long as your palm lines?”
“It’s healed. It’s all better.”
Maybe because of the hurt feelings I had toward hyung earlier, the kinder hyung was to me, the more somewhere in my heart stung. Why is he smiling so affectionately again? That made me feel even more sorry and I shed a few tears.
“Anyone watching would think Seongheon is your real older brother.”
If only I could choose, I would have wanted to be born as Seongheon hyung’s younger brother, not that Daesu bastard’s.
Gangjin hyung approached Jongheon hyung and asked additionally about hyung’s condition. Listening to Jongheon hyung, it sounded like everything was fine except for the fracture in his right arm, just as Seongheon hyung said.
With a worried heart, I couldn’t even lift my head and was looking down at the hospital floor when Seongheon hyung swept back my hair that had fallen over my forehead and patted my back.
Such a small touch actually comforted me instead. I should be the one comforting Seongheon hyung. Is this the difference in maturity?
“Seongheon hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“Aren’t you right-handed?”
“Right. Why?”
“How will you eat now?”
“I’ll have to eat with my left hand.”
“Using chopsticks will be hard…”
“Are you worried about that?”
Seongheon hyung stroked around my eyes with his left hand and gently caressed me, saying “You cried a lot, so you should wash your face.”
Since long ago, the more I cried, the more hyung cherished and comforted me, so I often relied on that touch. That’s probably why I become more of a crybaby in front of hyung.
Even now, hyung’s hand caressed around my eyes then cupped my cheek, and then swept back the hair that had fallen to the side of my face.
Hyung’s hand that came down in a circle along my ear slid smoothly along my shoulder line to the back of my hand, then gently interlaced our fingers. Perhaps because of hyung’s gentle touch, my heart calmed down.
“Do you feel a bit better?”
“…Yeah.”
Just stroking me was this comforting. Since hyung is the one who got hurt, I should be the one comforting him…
“Ah, and Daeyoung-ah. About the pure gold key, I couldn’t take what was in the car. What should we do?”
“No, hyung. You were unconscious… We can find that later, so don’t worry about it. Take care of your body first.”
“Okay.”
When Seongheon hyung’s left hand touched around my eyes once more, Jongheon hyung finished talking with Gangjin hyung and approached.
“Let’s go, Seongheon-ah. The medicine’s ready.”
“Okay.”
Though he said he wouldn’t be hospitalized, he needed to rest. Seongheon hyung said he’d rest and contact me later, then left the hospital following Jongheon hyung.
But hyung stopped on his way and came back, taking out his wallet from his back pocket and handing it to me.
“Huh?”
“For lunch, since I couldn’t buy it for you. Use this to buy food with Dongwoo.”
“Ah hyung, why are you doing this? Don’t give me this.”
“Keep it. You can give it back later.”
“No, hyung. And originally it was supposed to be just Dongwoo and you eating together.”
“I said that, but I was planning to take you along too.”
“Liar.”
“Did you get jealous by any chance?”
“No.”
“That’s a shame, I did it to make you jealous. Anyway, I’m going.”
Even though I tried to give it back, Seongheon hyung got into the waiting car.
The hyungs were saying something to Seongheon hyung who had his window open, so I stepped back. And when they finished saying everything, the car carrying hyung drove away with a vroom.
I was left standing blankly holding Seongheon hyung’s wallet, and Dongwoo approached and bumped me with his shoulder.
“See how much is in there.”
“I’m absolutely not spending this money.”
“I know, so let’s just look.”
Since Dongwoo asked, I opened the wallet, and there were checks and several 50,000 won bills. Counting roughly, it looked like well over 300,000 won.
“Shameless.”
Daesu hyung clicked his tongue watching Dongwoo and me open and check the wallet.
“Hey, are you going straight home?”
Daesu hyung gestured toward his car and asked me curtly, and since I didn’t want to be with that Daesu bastard right now, I shook my head. Whether Gangjin hyung had come in Daesu hyung’s car, the two of them got in that car and left the hospital.
“Daeyoung-ah, aren’t you hungry?”
“I’m hungry. I’m so famished from crying. What do you want to eat?”
“Samgyeopsal?”
“Sure.”
I took the bus to downtown with Dongwoo and went to eat a late lunch. Dongwoo, who hadn’t said much even on the bus, brought up the earlier situation once we settled down at the samgyeopsal restaurant.
“Hey, Daeyoung-ah.”
Sizzle— I stopped grilling the samgyeopsal to a nice brown color on the grill and looked at Dongwoo.
“What?”
“About Seongheon hyung. He was unexpected.”
“Why hyung? Because he’s less scary than you thought?”
“No, not that.”
“Huh?”
“Aren’t you bothered?”
“About what?”
“Seongheon hyung just… doing that to you.”
“What did he do to me?”
“He was stroking you here and there. And holding your hand.”
“He was just comforting me because I was crying?”
“Really? I think I’d feel burdened if someone touched me like that.”
“Since I was little, whenever I cried or sulked, Seongheon hyung comforted me that way. I’m used to it so I don’t really notice.”
“Aha.”
Right as Dongwoo nodded as if my words made sense, his phone rang, and the caller was none other than Dongmi.
