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The Rebellion of Brothers
Even if your father is the Vice President of Wonjae Electronics and you’re a genius at everything like Yongjae, there are still things beyond your control. It was the year Yongjae entered the third year of middle school, when he was 16 years old, the day Jeonggwan’s family left for Hong Kong on summer vacation.
“Dad! I want that!”
“Jeongwoo, aren’t you full yet?”
“Nope!”
Unlike Yongjae, who had visited Hong Kong once before with Junjae and Jeonggwan before Jeongwoo was born and wasn’t particularly interested in Hong Kong street food, Jeongwoo, who inherited Jeonggwan’s hearty appetite, was immediately captivated by all the food upon arriving in Hong Kong. Jeongwoo, pulling on Junjae’s hand, was nearly the same size as his brother despite their five-year age difference, and Junjae found this so adorable that he spent the whole day filming him with his camera.
“No, Won Jeongwoo. You’ll get a stomachache if you eat any more.”
“I won’t get a stomachache!”
“And you’ve already had too many sugary foods today. It’s not good for your body’s balance.”
“I don’t care about that!”
“That’s why I’m telling you. Stop eating.”
Unlike Yongjae, who lived within set boundaries and was naturally well-behaved, Jeongwoo was exactly like Jeonggwan, if not more so. Everyone suspected that he had become an optimistic bulldozer—an upgraded version of Jeonggwan’s personality—due to the comfort that came from abundant wealth from birth and never having to worry about others’ opinions, being the only second child.
While Yongjae needed to understand things intellectually before acting, Jeongwoo would act first and think later, making them complete opposites. Because of this, they had clashed over everything since they were very young. In reality, everything Yongjae said was correct. Sometimes Yongjae would present such irrefutable logic in arguments with Jeongwoo that even Jeonggwan and Junjae were amazed, and this was one of those times.
“Ah, hyung is just small, that’s why! I can eat more!”
“Your argument makes no sense. I’m small because I eat less? Despite that, I get a balanced daily nutrition. Besides, height isn’t just about nutrition but also genetics, so there are many people who don’t grow tall no matter how well they eat. And being 171 cm in the third year of middle school is perfectly normal. It’s average. If anything, you’re excessively tall for a fourth grader.”
“…Anyway, I can eat more!”
“And what I’m explaining is about volume. Your stomach doesn’t have the capacity to handle more food. It’s already exceeded its limit. But you’re trying to forcibly stretch your stomach by eating more. Do you want to end up like last time when we went sledding, and you ate four packs of ramen, got indigestion, and couldn’t do anything but go home?”
“…Hyung talks too fast.”
“I’m telling you to practice self-control. We need to eat dinner later too. And you’ll want snacks after dinner as well.”
“But I want mango juice right now!”
“Why don’t you understand that you’ll only be able to take a sip or two before you can’t drink anymore? That’s such a waste. You might think that with our parents’ wealth, one mango juice is nothing, but we need to look at the bigger picture. Just walking down this street, how many bodyguards are around us? That’s how much attention we attract. Why don’t you understand that our every casual action becomes fodder for gossip?”
Yongjae tilted his head as he looked at Jeongwoo, as if he truly couldn’t understand. If Jeongwoo could really eat more, Yongjae wouldn’t have stopped him. But Yongjae knew how much Jeongwoo normally ate and that he had already exceeded that amount. And at this time, Yongjae, being an alpha dominant, thought he would naturally inherit the successor position and was paying even more attention to his image. Just a 3rd-year middle schooler.
In any case, Yongjae’s words to his brother were sincere advice, but Jeongwoo took it as his brother interfering with him in everything. And though he might be inferior to the genius Yongjae, Jeongwoo had inherited Jeonggwan’s EQ and fiery personality, so he wouldn’t back down easily.
“Hyung really knows one thing but not the other.”
“How do I know one thing but not the other?”
“We could just buy one glass of mango juice and share it between our dads, you, and me! We’ll be walking down this street anyway, and walking helps digestion! Then people outside will think, ‘Wow, they’re sharing a large mango juice as a family? How humane!’ and feel more friendly toward us. Why don’t you understand this?”
“You’re the one who doesn’t realize how selfish that thinking is. Our family has already eaten to capacity. Why on earth do you think that I and our dads would want to drink it with you?”
“You’re the selfish one, hyung! Why do I think you all would drink it with me? Because we’re family! And this is our first time coming to Hong Kong together! We came to have fun! Right, Dad?!”
“What kind of nonsense…”
“Enough-.”
Finally, Junjae stepped in to settle the fierce argument between the two brothers. Jeonggwan was suppressing a smile as if to say “Look at these two,” looking back and forth between the brothers, while Junjae decided to offer the wisest solution to what seemed like an endless debate.
“Jeongwoo. You should listen to your brother. As you said, we’re family, so we’ll buy just one glass of mango juice and share it as you want. However, we’re only listening to you because we’re family. Don’t become arrogant and think the world will always bend to your will when similar situations arise in the future.”
In truth, the world would indeed revolve around Jeongwoo’s wishes, but Junjae and Jeonggwan’s educational philosophy was different. They had raised Yongjae that way too, and it was the right approach. So normally, Junjae and Jeonggwan should have refused to buy the mango juice and said, “Yes, your brother is right. You need to learn restraint.” But Junjae was a complete fool when it came to Jeongwoo. Because Junjae was crazy about his second son who looked exactly like Jeonggwan and found him too cute, he pretended to take Yongjae’s side while subtly taking Jeongwoo’s side.
“Yes!”
“You should answer properly, Won Jeongwoo.”
“Yes-!”
“…”
But Yongjae saw through it all. He had been pretending not to notice all this time, but he knew that Junjae unconsciously favored Jeongwoo more. Of course, it wasn’t that Junjae loved him less. From the moment he could form memories, Junjae had given him unconditional love. They had many memories together before Jeongwoo was born, and even after Jeongwoo’s birth, Junjae continued to trust and support him more as the eldest son. But there were things that couldn’t be helped.
Yongjae knew that Junjae’s cheeks would rise higher when Jeongwoo acted cute, calling “Dad!” with a face identical to Jeonggwan’s. Unlike himself, who would create a PowerPoint presentation following the 5W1H principle to explain why he needed something, how he would use it, and what efficiency it would bring, when Jeongwoo would simply rub his head against Junjae’s side and act cute to get what he wanted, he was unavoidably cuter. Just as Yongjae himself received more affection from Jeonggwan than Jeongwoo did, since people said he was the spitting image of Junjae.
But even while knowing these unavoidable truths, Yongjae still felt hurt by Junjae. It was the fate of being the firstborn. Knowing that it was natural to share the parents’ love that he had monopolized for five years, understanding it intellectually but finding that his heart couldn’t accept it.
“Yongjae, what are you doing? Let’s go!”
“…”
Yongjae’s eyes grew heavy as he watched Jeongwoo and Junjae running hand in hand toward the mango juice shop in the distance. Jeonggwan, not noticing this, squeezed Yongjae’s shoulder once before walking ahead, and suddenly Yongjae was hit with what people call “third-year middle school syndrome.” A kind of adolescent phase where you think, “No one understands my feelings!”
“Yongjae…!”
So right there in the middle of the Hong Kong night market street, Yongjae turned his back on his family and ran in the opposite direction. Jeonggwan, startled, rushed after him urgently, but Yongjae quickly disappeared into the crowd.
“What? What happened?”
“No, the child suddenly…!”
Junjae, alarmed by Jeonggwan’s cry, came back with Jeongwoo, abandoning their trip to the mango juice shop. Seeing Jeonggwan standing alone with a shocked expression and no Yongjae in sight, Junjae quickly assessed the situation and handed Jeongwoo to Jeonggwan before diving into the crowd to search for Yongjae.
“Where did hyung go?”
“…Wow. Our Yongjae runs surprisingly fast. And here I thought he only read books all day.”
While Jeonggwan seemed dazed by Yongjae’s sudden departure, he was actually surprised by how fast Yongjae could run. Someone might ask, how could he not be alarmed when a child disappeared? Of course he was alarmed, but since approximately one-quarter of the people around that street were Yongjae’s bodyguards, and there were plainclothes security personnel who surrounded and ran with Yongjae when he suddenly took off, Jeonggwan wasn’t too worried about Yongjae’s safety. Moreover, with the person he trusted most—Junjae—immediately pursuing Yongjae, Jeonggwan wasn’t overly concerned. He simply stroked the head of his youngest, who was grabbing his hand and staring with surprised eyes at where his brother had disappeared.
“Don’t worry. Your brother probably just wanted some time alone.”
“…Is hyung angry because of me?”
“I don’t know. Let’s ask him later. Let’s quickly drink the mango juice, just the two of us, and finish it.”
“…I’ll drink it later.”
Jeongwoo was dejected. It was true, as his brother had said, that he was full, and it was also true that he had been greedy. But Jeongwoo had also been stubborn because he was angry at his brother for constantly dismissing his opinions. Moreover, he had tried to make the situation go his way by acting cute to Junjae, who usually granted all his requests.
But he hadn’t expected his brother to react like this. Jeongwoo felt remorse, thinking that his brother might be angry because he had been too cunning and stubborn. So his appetite vanished, and his lips drooped. Of course, he knew that his brother would be fine with the bodyguard uncles around, but he was still worried.
He feared that Yongjae might stop being his brother. That he might stop caring about him. Though only 11 years old, Jeongwoo knew in this moment that his brother was more important than mango juice.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
