# Chapter 5
Taking a deep breath, I slowly looked to the side. Min Sihu, who had somehow moved far away from me, was tilting his head with a grin on his face.
‘Wow… this two-faced bastard…’
I secretly soothed my pounding heart.
Even a scene from a horror movie couldn’t be more chilling than this. I got goosebumps from the fact that my name “Haejun” was properly called from the same mouth that had been spouting nonsense like “kyaa” and “Jooni” until now.
As I just gaped at him, Min Sihu beamed and tilted his head.
“Haejun, don’t tell me.”
“……”
“You can’t open the door?”
The smile and the drawn-out end of his sentence were creepy. Not wanting to reveal my nervous expression, I reflexively averted my gaze. I grabbed the doorknob, trying to control my trembling, pale hands.
‘This novel… was it horror, not romance?’
Min Sihu had a smile on his face that made it impossible to guess what he was thinking.
His question about whether I knew how to open the door could have been mockery, but I couldn’t help feeling extremely tense. Because I truly didn’t know how to open the door. After all, I was someone who had suddenly become a character in a novel.
‘What would happen if Min Sihu found out that I’m not really Seong Haejun?’
An anxiety I hadn’t considered until now suddenly burst from my pocket. I became terrified. An ominous feeling churned in my solar plexus.
‘What if they find out I’m not the real Seong Haejun…?’
Seong Haemin might go ballistic demanding his brother back. These guys could easily take on 100 people with just 4 of them—they could turn a person into fish jerky without breaking a sweat. If that happened, I couldn’t even guarantee my own safety.
But even if they beat me, would the real Seong Haejun come back? They’d just be taking out their anger on the wrong person. I didn’t even know how I ended up in this novel. I was a victim too.
“Jooni. Do you know why Sihu walked you home today?”
“No.”
So it wasn’t just him following me around, but actually escorting me. Though I answered obediently, my head was in chaos.
“Haemin asked me to.”
“Haemin did?”
That was unexpected. I tilted my head and looked up at Min Sihu.
Min Sihu was smiling crookedly. Gone was the bright smile from before—now only one corner of his mouth was lifted, making me shudder. He wasn’t fourth-dimensional; he was like a psychopath from a movie.
“Haemin said you might have forgotten your door code since you moved recently. Looks like he was right.”
“Huh?”
I blinked in confusion. Min Sihu’s accusatory, aggressive words had the opposite effect of their intention, actually reassuring me.
So that was the situation? How fortunate!
However, Min Sihu’s shocking next words made my mouth clamp shut like a clam.
“You have no idea how much Seong Haemin worries about you. That guy only thinks about you. When he goes drinking, he worries about Seong Haejun. When he rides his motorcycle around the Han River, he worries about Seong Haejun. Even when he’s about to fight the top dog from another school, he worries about going home and making sure Haejun gets fed. All because of you…”
“……”
Like dripping candle wax, my complicated thoughts slowly hardened. It wasn’t because his psycho-like appearance gave me goosebumps, and while it was surprising that Seong Haemin cared for me that much, I didn’t have time to be shocked about that.
Every word he uttered was a real blow.
They’re only 17, but they drink alcohol, ride motorcycles around the Han River, and routinely fight top fighters from other schools?
These lawbreakers!
“Since I first met Haemin, he’s seriously only worried about you. But to have such a cold twin, really…”
“……”
“Unlike Seong Haemin, I’m different, Seong Haejun. Even if you are his brother…”
Min Sihu, who had been rambling, paused for a moment. Like a colorful canvas turning black and white, the smile disappeared from Min Sihu’s face. The day, just entering mid-March, was still cool.
“I can’t stand by and watch you making my friend Seong Haemin suffer.”
“……”
“Even if you’re the twin that my friend cherishes, my friend is more important to me.”
“……”
“Haemin cares about you, so I’m letting it go this time, but this is a warning.”
Ugh…
“Seong Haejun. Don’t make Seong Haemin suffer.”
Arghh!
Goosebumps spread all over my body.
My hand tightened around the doorknob. If I didn’t do that, I felt like all my extremities would curl up and I’d end up like a well-grilled squid.
It was a line that seemed like it had “I’m being serious now” written on it. My stomach churned and my head spun. I wanted to throw a handful of salt at him like exorcising a ghost. I felt nauseous.
“Anywayyy…”
After finishing his speech, Min Sihu smiled brightly, just like when we first met. It was a pure, innocent smile, as if he were a baby.
‘…Is he a thug?’
Goosebumps rose on top of my already goosebumped skin. It felt like I would soon be sprouting chicken feathers, not just goosebumps.
“As Mini requested! Sihu will open the door lock for you before leaving! Kyaa, Sihu definitely brought Jooni home safely, right?”
Min Sihu smiled sweetly, opened our door lock as if it were his own home, and pushed me inside. Just before the front door closed, I saw Min Sihu waving at me with a bright smile.
As soon as the door closed, my legs gave out and I collapsed.
‘Maybe I should sprinkle some salt…’
But I realized I didn’t even know where the salt was. I had no choice but to catch my breath right there. The mental damage was immense. Maybe being physically beaten would have been better?
Until we arrived at the apartment, having him stick by me and chattering was just annoying and bothersome, but after that “epic line★” he’d dramatically delivered, I was literally stunned. It was truly a touching friendship.
Fine, live however you want.
‘Just please exclude me from that touching friendship!’
Will there ever come a day when I can adapt to this crazy world? I hate it so much.
I got up and headed to my room. I was so mentally exhausted. My future in this novel looked bleak—how was I supposed to survive? It seemed I needed to go to bed early to preserve my mental health.
***
“Haejun, are you asleep?”
I must have been sleeping tensely, because I immediately woke up at the voice calling my name. But not wanting to reveal that I was awake, I stayed still. I thought that if I didn’t move, he wouldn’t do anything stupid and would just leave.
“Haejun…”
Seong Haemin murmured my name longingly. The smell of alcohol wafted from his mouth.
‘What great behavior for a student…’
Thinking about the ridiculous threats I’d heard from that Min Sihu guy earlier, my blood pressure rose suddenly. It was all this guy’s fault! I was furious at the person who had come to my side.
But I couldn’t just blurt out these complaints. I was just silently grumbling to myself.
“Haejun…”
His voice calling my name became increasingly tearful, until it eventually sounded like he was sobbing. It was disconcerting.
‘Why are you crying?!’
Why is he acting like this after drinking? I was torn between getting up to pat his back and tell him not to cry, or just continuing to lie there.
“Haejun… my precious… brother…”
…….
At Seong Haemin’s voice, delicate as a crushed leaf, my sarcastic thoughts gradually subsided. It was difficult to maintain any kind of mockery. I kept pretending to be asleep.
Why was this character Seong Haemin so obsessed with family? Was it to emphasize a more pitiful and tragic situation in the setting? I could only guess.
‘But I’m… not your brother.’
I felt suffocated by a truth that could never be revealed, even if the world collapsed. What would happen if someone who cherished his brother so much found out I wasn’t really his brother? What should I do?
“Please… live long… and healthy…”
Anyone listening would think he was a much older brother supporting his adorable younger sibling. They were twins the same age as Seong Haejun, so what was with this level of brotherly love? Getting drunk, crawling home, and crying while clinging to his brother at night?
As I continued to pretend to sleep, Seong Haemin lightly kissed my forehead and staggered out of the room.
As soon as I heard Seong Haemin close the door and leave, I opened my eyes wide. I pulled up my sleeve and wiped my forehead where his warm lips had touched.
This was truly an incomprehensible novel.
Seong Haemin was consistent. Every morning when Seong Haemin asked me, “Want to go to school together?” I invariably replied, “No, I’ll go alone.”
I wanted to draw a line and tell him to stop pretending to know me, but each time, Min Sihu would pop up in my head saying, “This is a warning…★ My friend is more important to me…★” so I always ended up responding mildly.
‘How long do I have to keep this up?’
I headed to school, sighing heavily. Still, in one corner of my mind, I hadn’t completely abandoned the thin thread of hope that today might be normal.
At least until some weird guy picked a fight with me.
“Hey, who the fuck are you?”
In my opinion, the problem was taking this crappy bus. I had forgotten the fact that many incidents in the 2000s happened on school buses during commute time.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
