Knowing Brother-Chapter 39

The process of convincing Mrs. Choi was not difficult. For Mrs. Choi, who had always worried about whether Seolwoo would be seen as an underdog at school, Daeyoung’s appearance—showing that his misunderstanding had been cleared—was like that of a savior.

Mrs. Choi actively pushed for Seolwoo’s transfer. The necessary documents, including medical certificates, a doctor's opinion, and a history of Seolwoo taking the high school equivalency exam due to his illness instead of attending elementary school, as well as a meeting with the principal of Hyeongil Middle School, which Daeyoung also attended, were all arranged. Seolwoo’s transfer was approved after the first midterm exams, following discussions between the school principals and the examination committee.

During this process, Seolwoo’s curiosity only grew. Mrs. Choi made excuses, saying she would tell him the truth a month after the transfer, but...

Seolwoo learned the secret elsewhere.

Seolwoo realized something.

Indifference and lack of consideration are like violence. The world outside what Seolwoo knew was immensely vast, and the people outside tended to be indifferent.

Some hurt others without malice.

Some love people for no reason.

And like how real and fake can coexist, so do such people coexist in the world.

It was just an ordinary afternoon after school.

On his first day at the new school, he greeted his classmates and had an okay day. Daeyoung came to check on him, and that helped him blend into the class quickly. After the dismissal bell, he had a meeting with his new homeroom teacher.

The new teacher seemed like someone who only took care of what was necessary. After exchanging a few obligatory questions and answers, he was about to leave the teacher’s office when he overheard a conversation between the homeroom teacher and another teacher.

“The reason for the transfer is illness? What’s wrong with the kid?”

“They say it’s epilepsy.”

“Ah, that thing that’s been renamed from epilepsy?”

“They had surgery when they were very young, so they haven’t had grand seizures at all. Only occasional partial seizures, so it seems fine.”

“Really? I didn’t know there were different types.”

“Partial seizures make the person space out, their eyes lose focus, and their movements stop. Sometimes they’ll tap their hands, smack their lips, or collapse and fall asleep. At a glance, it seems like they’re just lost in thought, but they’re actually unconscious. The way their movements freeze, it’s like a robot.”

“They’ll have to be careful about that at school. It might look strange to the other kids. Isn’t there also a restriction on employment? They can’t drive either, since you never know when they’ll lose consciousness.”

“It’s strange to compare a kid’s illness to a robot, huh... The mom’s kind of... uncultured, I guess? She’s super young. She’s probably... an unmarried mother.”

Seolwoo deliberately stood next to the slightly open door and listened until the end.

It was just passing gossip. Light conversation. For them, Seolwoo’s story was nothing more than that.

He almost went outside in his indoor shoes. Changing into his sneakers, he left the school and went straight to an internet café.

For two hours, he researched. When a person didn’t follow the doctor’s advised precautions, “malfunctions” could happen, especially under stress or fatigue. Even partial seizures could lead to breathing difficulties in severe cases.

Most of what the teachers said was true. To obtain a driver’s license, a confirmation letter from a doctor stating that no malfunction had occurred in recent years was required. When disclosing the condition during employment, about 60% of people were rejected, and if their condition became known at work, about 40% were fired. Although, except for some untreatable patients, most could live normal lives through surgery and medication, those with such conditions still faced significant discrimination in employment and marriage.

The reason Mrs. Choi even created fairy tales to deceive Seolwoo was out of a wish that he wouldn’t trap himself in that reality too early.

She fought and clashed with Seolwoo, hoping that this wouldn’t turn into fear or frustration. She wished he would find out a little later, when it would be a little less painful.

That was also the case with the dangerous brother in the two-story house.

He probably heard the “secret” from Mrs. Choi when he took Seolwoo on a cart to the mart’s tasting corner. Seolwoo had once had a malfunction in front of Daeyoung when he was extremely tired or under intense stress from an elderly, foul-mouthed neighborhood chief.

Daeyoung must have seen it.

Seolwoo, staring blankly... his eyes unfocused as he gazed at something. He didn’t respond when called, unconscious, frozen like an android robot, like a character in a painting.

And yet, Daeyoung chose Seolwoo. Why?

Seolwoo walked with shaky steps to the track and field room. On days when Daeyoung wasn’t at the sports academy, he often hung out there. As expected, club music echoed down the hall. Daeyoung was sitting with a group of younger schoolmates, chuckling in a sinister voice.

When Seolwoo tapped on the window of the track room, Daeyoung immediately jumped up and opened the door.

“Transfer student. You look fancy. Buy me a toast? Special toast, or else you know I won’t eat, right? Let me see how your wallet’s doing. Only 5,000 won? No mom or dad cards? Only a student ID? Ah, Hyeongil Middle School, Class 1-4, Choi Seolwoo... Daeyoung’s friend! Shit, I’m sorry, I messed up!”

He showed off their friendly bond with a playful joke in front of his friends, but as soon as they went outside, his expression stiffened.

His gaze fell on Seolwoo’s lips, which had no color at all.

“Daeyoung hyung.” freeωebnovēl.c૦m

Under the dim evening sky, Daeyoung blinked.

“When did you know?”

Seolwoo’s question ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) came without any information given, and Daeyoung wet his throat before answering.

At that moment, if Daeyoung had just given an ordinary response, Seolwoo’s feelings would have remained gratitude.

If Daeyoung had just said something like “It’s been a while,” or if he had just joked, or if he had been embarrassed but brushed it off, or if he had done his usual thing and said, “What does it matter, I’m here at this school, everything’s fine!” and weaseled his way through it.

Seolwoo wouldn’t have felt the urge to care for Daeyoung.

But Daeyoung opened his mouth, which had been shut tightly, and said this:

“I should have told you earlier, before you got shocked.”

“......”

“I’m sorry.”

What...?

At those words, tears poured out. Daeyoung embraced Seolwoo and patted his back twice.

It was the first time he had decided to care for someone. And also the first time he had had that decision taken away from him... Seolwoo couldn’t help but treasure him. At this point, it wasn’t even a matter of choice anymore.

“What... what are you apologizing for? You’re not the one who should apologize.”

“Are you crying?”

Daeyoung lifted Seolwoo’s chin. His vision was blurred, unable to see properly. Seolwoo’s teary eyes made it impossible to gauge Daeyoung’s expression. As Seolwoo swallowed his runny nose and let out a torrent of tears, it was just the beginning of the dark evening shadows.

“Where did you hear this? From the hospital?”

“No. The teacher’s office.”

When Seolwoo briefly shared what he had heard in the teacher’s office, Daeyoung’s hand on his shoulder tightened. The trembling fingertips signaled the approach of another malfunction. At that moment, Daeyoung placed his hand on Seolwoo’s nose, feeling the irregularity in his breathing.

He said: It’s okay. It’s okay.

Seolwoo’s mind became fuzzy with the thick scent. Yes, in front of Daeyoung, even if he stopped functioning for a moment, he would be safe. Seolwoo closed his eyes for a moment.

After some time, miraculously, his breathing calmed.

If Seolwoo hadn’t vented his frustration like this to Daeyoung, he might have ended up smashing his school supplies and wrecking his rented room.

The sky was getting darker. Daeyoung was still smiling with eyes full of shadows.

“By the way, that teacher... which bastard was it?”

The homeroom teacher showed up the next week with a full leg cast. The brake on the bicycle he usually rode malfunctioned, and he had fractured his hip while jumping off. The brake wire was loose, and while there were suspicions that someone had intentionally tampered with the bolts, the culprit couldn’t be identified until the cast was removed.

The students crowded around and wrote messages on his cast with markers. Daeyoung also wrote something.

[Get well soon^^ - 大Yeong.]

When Seolwoo asked about the accident, Daeyoung answered only this:

“They say that if you fracture your hip, you have to have surgery. How many weeks of a cast do you think it’ll take? Tsk. The wounds you’ve received will last much longer than that.”

That day, the two of them became accomplices, sharing each other’s sins and alibis. Even if they were judged in the gates of hell, they would have no words to say. Seolwoo, who had turned a blind eye and been an accessory to his revenge, was also an accomplice.

No matter how embarrassed Daeyoung felt doing something shameful, Seolwoo would stand with him against the criticism.

No matter how bad Daeyoung acted, Seolwoo would gladly stand by the side of evil.

Even if Daeyoung fell into the muck, Seolwoo would laugh and roll with him.

What is this?

Same side. Best friends. Close friends.

A few days later, in the early morning, Seolwoo woke up to Daeyoung’s sudden phone call.

It was 1:30 in the morning, a time when there was no reason for Daeyoung to be calling Mrs. Choi’s phone.

Mrs. Choi, still looking half asleep, handed the phone to Seolwoo.

“...Daeyoung wants to talk. He said his father passed away.”

Seolwoo took the phone with trembling hands. Daeyoung’s kind voice asked:

Were you sleeping?

“Yeah.”

After that, Daeyoung remained silent for a while. The dark night sky, thick with cigarette smoke, was vivid in his mind.