Chapter 51
Nothing unusual happened during the meal, but what was more unusual was that there were no texts or calls from Yoon Cheong until the meal ended.
I had sent him several messages, but he hadn’t even read them. Whatever kept him so busy made me frown involuntarily.
This guy doesn’t have his notifications turned off, so he’s not just ignoring my messages.
I’d seen him change his settings to prevent chat windows from popping up on his black screen because he found it annoying, so there’s no way I could be remembering incorrectly.
As I kept staring at my phone, Ji Yeohoon seemed concerned and looked at me.
“Hyung, still no contact from Yoon Cheong hyung since earlier?”
“Yeah, nothing. What is he doing that’s keeping him from responding? Is there really that much paperwork?”
Moving documents shouldn’t be such a hard task for someone like him, but there was still silence even after enough time had passed for him to finish.
Is this bastard deliberately not contacting me?
At first year of high school, isn’t he in the middle-to-late stage of puberty?
What kind of secret is he keeping that’s preventing him from contacting me?
Since staring at my phone continuously wasn’t great, I put down my chopsticks and stood up, leaving my half-eaten cutlet.
“Should we go see Yu-min now?”
“Hyung, are you done eating? There’s still meat left.”
“I’m done. Do you want more? Should I order more for you?”
“No, that’s not it. I just thought you should eat more. If you’re not eating more, I won’t either.”
It’s been a month since my little sibling was born, so that’s why I’m taking Ji Yeohoon with me. If the baby had just been born, I wouldn’t have even thought about going.
Knowing how fragile newborns are, I was particularly cautious about visiting.
We left the restaurant, caught a taxi, and headed home.
On the way home, when we seemed to be about halfway there, I took out my credit card in advance, and only then did I look at my ringing phone screen.
“It’s Yoon Cheong hyung.”
Looking at the screen that displayed ‘Yoon Cheong,’ I turned to Ji Yeohoon and smiled brightly.
“I’m not answering.”
Let him worry for a while too.
I flipped the phone over to silence it and pressed the hold button, making Ji Yeohoon laugh out loud.
He didn’t like how I kept worrying and couldn’t even eat properly.
Well, Ji Yeohoon doesn’t seem to behave this way in other situations, but with me, he’s almost always smiling and quite jealous, so I expected he’d be excited when I treated Yoon Cheong this way.
He kept talking to me and entertaining me even without Yoon Cheong around, so I did it partly to make him laugh a bit.
I left a message for Yoon Cheong to come to our house, so even if I don’t answer his call, he’ll know to come.
Still, I thought I should call him back once we arrived home.
I just thought about it.
If he doesn’t come, there’s nothing I can do about it.
As we were almost arriving and could see the house in the distance, now Ji Yeohoon’s phone started ringing.
“Why don’t you ignore it like I did?”
“I can’t do that, hyung.”
“Why not?”
He held up his phone as if to show me.
After not answering, the phone vibrated for a while before turning off, and then a flood of chat notifications came in.
Usually, Yoon Cheong would send messages either in one long text or just a couple of messages, but most of these messages were short sentences.
But the messages he was sending to Ji Yeohoon now seemed like he’d thrown away his usual self, as all kinds of short sentences appeared and disappeared as notifications in a short time.
[Yoon Cheong> Not answering?]
[Yoon Cheong> I know you don’t put your phone on silent or vibrate.]
[Yoon Cheong> Stop ignoring me and answer right now.]
[Yoon Cheong> You bastard, hurry up.]
[Yoon Cheong> You’re with Moon Soo-young, aren’t you.]
[Yoon Cheong> Stop messing around and answer.]
[Yoon Cheong> You crazy bastard.]
The fact that he’s still using proper spacing in the midst of all this makes him seem even crazier, you crazy bastard.
“Where did his usual personality go?”
“This hyung is always putting on an act, I’m telling you. You’ve got Yoon Cheong hyung all wrong. That hyung is never really quiet.”
“And you—”
“I’m always the same with you, aren’t I?”
“You’re also always putting on an act.”
“Me? No, I’m not.”
Ji Yeohoon looked like he was hearing this for the first time.
I think you put on more of an act than Yoon Cheong. When I stared at him, Ji Yeohoon innocently blinked his eyes.
You know, I saw that you saved Yoon Cheong’s number as ‘Yoon Cheong’ and not ‘Yoon Cheong hyung.’
I was looking at him, finding it both funny and absurd, when the phone rang again.
I reached out my hand, took the phone, and pressed the call button.
Contrary to my expectations, Yoon Cheong’s voice wasn’t loud.
I thought he’d yell right away since he often raises his voice when fighting with Ji Yeohoon.
– Why aren’t you answering the phone, you cra—
“You were the one who didn’t contact me first, you crazy bastard.”
– …Moon Soo-young?
“What kept you so busy that you couldn’t contact us? We’re already at home.”
– Really? It won’t take me long to get there either. The Association isn’t far from there.
“I figured you’d think that, so we just came ahead. But do you have more work to do? Did they assign you more tasks right after you finished?”
– It’s not like that. I said I’d help out more.
“Are they paying you?”
– Yeah. Not as much as a Gate, but still.
“Honestly, if you get paid as much as a Gate conquest for just a little help, that would make you a scammer. I didn’t raise you like that.”
– …You didn’t raise me. What about Ji Yeohoon?
“He’s right here.”
– That bas— I mean, can I talk to him?
“No, you can’t. Keep listening.”
Yoon Cheong’s voice, which had been raised as if he was very angry when the call connected, had settled down to his usual tone.
No matter how I look at it, these two fight like real brothers.
“We were supposed to go see Yu-min today. Why did you make me worry by not contacting me?”
– It was nothing. They just asked for some help, that’s all. It’s not like it was dangerous.
“Still, your parents always tell me to take care of you guys, so shouldn’t I at least check what you’re doing?”
– I’m not a child. And you’re not my parent either.
Yoon Cheong let out a pretty big sigh.
I know you’re not a child, but isn’t it natural to worry when someone who’s usually nearby is suddenly not around?
Then you should contact your parents regularly and report to them properly so they don’t have to contact me all the time.
When I was halfway through my nagging, Yoon Cheong closed his mouth, and Ji Yeohoon, seemingly feeling guilty, grabbed my hand saying he’d pay for the taxi, telling me to put away the card I had taken out.
“I don’t care about who pays, but don’t pretend you’re not doing the same, Ji Yeohoon.”
“Hyung, I just want to see Yu-min quickly~”
“Don’t change the subject.”
He’s cute because he’s good-looking, but I had no intention of stopping my nagging.
As we got out of the car, I switched to speakerphone, as if this was a good opportunity.
“Would your parents worry or not?”
– They would…
“Ji Yeohoon, you answer too.”
“They would…”
“Then should you contact them regularly or not?”
– I should.
“Ji Yeohoon, don’t pretend not to hear, answer again.”
“I will. I’ll do better from now on.”
“Then should I worry when I can’t contact you or not?”
– You should.
“Ji Yeohoon, what about you?”
“I guess so. But I’ve never been out of contact.”
“Shut up.”
When I talked to Yoon Cheong, Ji Yeohoon pretended not to be involved, and when I asked Ji Yeohoon, he seemed to be not listening based on the atmosphere over the phone, so I asked them one by one.
I’m not sure how my request to contact me so I wouldn’t worry turned into a lecture about not contacting their parents, but after talking for a while, I felt relieved.
As my face seemed to soften a bit, Ji Yeohoon, who had been standing a little distance away unlike his usual self, now casually wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his head close to the phone.
“I’m going to play with hyung. Yoon Cheong hyung, you can play with paper. I’m hanging up!”
– Hey, you b—
Ji Yeohoon pressed the red button with a click.
Yoon Cheong’s voice seemed to echo for a moment before disappearing along with the screen.
“You really…”
“What?”
“Nothing, I just like how shameless you are. Keep being that way.”
“Really? Okay.”
What’s with the “Really? Okay.” This guy wants to take all my sarcasm as compliments.
I was speechless, but I just walked forward with a resigned face.
The problem was that this guy had no intention of letting go of my arm.
“It’s uncomfortable,” I said, tapping his hand, and he reluctantly let go but then grabbed my hand.
Since he kept trying to use his face to get his way, I pinched and stretched his cheek before opening the door to the house.
“Mom, we’re home!”
“Shh! Yu-min is sleeping.”
Mom’s voice was very quiet as she put her index finger to her lips.
Gate conquests for student ability users were mostly on weekends.
The classes at our school are fewer than at regular schools, but the primary duty of a student is still to attend school and study.
Of course, it was good that, thanks to this, we could easily get permission to go home if we had time left after a Gate conquest.
“How long has he been sleeping? Did he just fall asleep?”
“It’s been about 10 minutes now. He’ll wake up again soon because it’s feeding time. Hello, Yeohoon, it’s been a while.”
“Hello.”
“Where’s Cheong?”
“He’s doing something else today. The Association asked for his help, so he hasn’t been in proper contact since morning. I told him to come straight here when he’s done.”
“That’s because his ability is so good. Telekinesis, I’m so envious of that, you have no idea.”
The door to the room where my little sibling was sleeping was carefully closed.
I wanted to peek in but couldn’t, so I just kept my eyes on the door. Meanwhile, Mom handed drinks to me and Ji Yeohoon.
“He could have just sent these right in front of us. Wouldn’t have needed to move them with a tray.”
“Mom, you really are envious of telekinesis, aren’t you?”
“Yes. When our car tire got stuck the other time, I wished Cheong was there so badly.”
“The tire got stuck? How did that happen?”
“Before Yu-min was born, we went to visit your maternal grandmother. I said I was worried because it was raining, and sure enough, we got stuck in a rice field.”
“So what did you do? How did you get it out?”
“We called roadside assistance.”
I could definitely see why she would have wanted Yoon Cheong at that time.
Ji Yeohoon, who had been listening to Mom’s story, nodded.
“I feel the same sometimes.”
“Really? I thought you two were always fighting.”
“We don’t fight every day… The other day, when I ordered a new computer and was moving it, it was heavy, and I really wished Yoon Cheong hyung was there.”
That’s ridiculous. Ji Yeohoon might not have telekinesis, but he could easily lift a computer with one hand.
These bastards, every time I ask, they say they don’t get along, but they use each other for everything they can.
When would Yoon Cheong miss Ji Yeohoon?
Based on what Ji Yeohoon was saying, Yoon Cheong probably felt the same way.
Missing each other only when they need something.
“When do you think Yoon Cheong misses you?”
“When he goes to a Gate. I’m 100% certain.”
“But Ji Yeohoon, I think he’s missing you right now.”
“…Why would that hyung miss me right now?”
I told Ji Yeohoon, who was making a face like he had goosebumps, that it was obvious.
“Because of how you hung up on him. Look, speak of the devil, here he comes.”
Yoon Cheong was pacing outside with a grim expression.
Mom noticed that he couldn’t ring the bell for fear of waking up sleeping Yu-min, so she opened the door for him.
“Cheong, come in quickly. They’re both inside.”
“I saw Yoon Seong-jin from my class flying through the air every day.”
“Ahh! Yoon Cheong!”
“I never thought I’d see something similar with a different person on the weekend.”
Ji Yeohoon flew through the air.
Looking at Ji Yeohoon, who seemed ready to unleash a torrent of curses, and Yoon Cheong, whose face was flushed with anger, I pointed my index finger at the door.
“My little sibling is sleeping, so could you go outside to fight?”
Yoon Cheong, while keeping Ji Yeohoon suspended with his power, politely greeted my mom.
He composed his expression as usual, and after greeting my mom, he immediately went outside.
Just as the door slammed shut, the sound of a baby crying could be heard.
See, you woke him up, you bastards.
“Oh my, Yu-min seems to have woken up. Do you want to see his face?”
“Shouldn’t we comfort him first?”
“It’s just sleep crankiness, it’s fine. I need to feed him formula anyway. Go wash your hands.”
Whatever was happening outside was no longer my concern.
My sibling, whom I’d only seen in photos until now, was crying in front of me—I didn’t care if those two were fighting outside or not.
Still, since it was noisy outside, I opened the window a little.
“Fight quietly. We can hear everything inside.”
My beautiful little sibling says you guys are too loud.
You’d close your mouths if I told you that your noise is making him sad.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
