* * *

Swish.

“Ugh!”

Damn it. This clueless guy. I wanted to smack him hard like my mom used to, but I feared that would really give away our presence to my second brother.

When I stayed still, his fingers trailed along the curve of my lower back, making me shudder.

My vision blurred momentarily, and I ended up burying my face between Taeshin’s shoulder and back.

Gasp. I grabbed Taeshin’s clothes tightly and swallowed the moan rising from my throat.

Unable to speak for fear of being heard outside, I pinched Taeshin’s fingers, but he only burrowed deeper and didn’t stop.

I’ll explain later! Ignoring the noises outside, Taeshin was focused solely on escaping my embrace, his touch eliciting a groan from me. His hot hands brushed my skin, making my hair stand on end.

“I’ll go down in a bit. Room 22, number 6. Got it.”

“Jinwoo hyung.”

“I’m on my way. I’m hanging up now.”

I heard the voice of our fourth brother entering the bathroom. Clenching my lips, I listened to the footsteps of my second brother washing his hands and leaving.

Even after hearing the steps fade, I waited a long time in silence. In the meantime, Taeshin continued playing, resting his chin on my shoulder and fiddling with the hem of my shirt.

Smack!

“You idiot! What if we had been caught!”

“What?”

“That was our brother just now! Jinwoo hyung!”

“Oh, it was Jinwoo hyung?”

As I unleashed my pent-up anger with a smack on Taeshin’s back, he blinked innocently. Frustrated, I got up, fixing my disheveled appearance.

“If we’d been caught, we would’ve been dead.”

“Why?”

“Why do you think! Jinwoo hyung always freaks out without reason!”

After dealing with Jinwoo’s tyranny for 11 years, Taeshin still hadn’t picked up on the danger. Shaking him off, I straightened my clothes.

“Don’t you remember the first time you visited our house, and Jinwoo hyung greeted you with ‘Is this a human?’ That shockingly rude comment? Or how if we were just a little late coming home from playing outside, he’d make us write reflection papers for not knowing the dangers of the world? Or how he’d bang on our doors telling us to be quiet even when we were calmly playing games in our rooms? And don’t forget, just a few months ago, he told us to study and date people, but if we dated each other, we’d be dead!”

“Hmm.”

“If we’d been caught just now, he would’ve freaked out, asking why we were slacking off in the restroom instead of being at the ceremony.”

Recalling all of Jinwoo’s unfair and oppressive behavior, I straightened my outfit while Taeshin stood up and followed suit.

Jinwoo’s unreasonable tyranny was a daily occurrence. A few days ago, we were having hot samgyetang for dinner when our third brother, who lives alone, came home.

Dropping a shopping bag on the sofa, he came over and ruffled my hair, asking if I’d been gaming all day.

‘So what? I’m a college student now, so I have a free pass for games.’

‘You’ll get scolded by Jinwoo hyung. You should be more discreet.’

‘Don’t talk about such gross things while we’re eating.’

As he smoothed down my now-messy hair, I bit into a chicken leg, but unfortunately, Jinwoo also came home then.

The third brother greeted him while I waved with the chicken leg in my mouth.

‘Moon Sunwoo, who told you to eat with food in your mouth? That’s disgusting.’

Of course, Jinwoo couldn’t pass up the chance to pick a fight.

Despite being 14 years older than me, my eldest brother was mature and reliable, but my second brother Jinwoo, who was only 12 years older, had none of those qualities.

Despite the two brothers being only two years apart, their personalities were shockingly different. While I got along well with my other brothers, my antagonistic relationship with Jinwoo was entirely due to his nastiness.

As I pouted, Jinwoo clicked his tongue, and the third brother handed him the shopping bag.

“It must have been difficult to get, well done.”

“Pay me back later. But what are you going to use it for?”

The second brother, who took out the wine box from the shopping bag, bombarded me with a TMI I didn’t want to know, saying it was for his upcoming anniversary with his lover.

Are you kidding me? Who in the world would date Moon Jinwoo? Did they sold their country five times in their past life? Or maybe they’re not dating willingly and are being blackmailed?

I squinted at Moon Jinwoo while holding chicken breast. Surely, his personality isn’t that bad.

“Moon Sunwoo, did you make samgyetang out of a turkey? Why are you eating something so huge?”

“This is chicken, and I can eat it all.”

“Eat it all, my foot. You tiny thing, eating like a pig and then getting sick and needing to be carted off.”

“Pff, Jinwoo hyung, that’s an old story. It was over 10 years ago.”

The third brother, bringing up a time over 10 years ago when I overate and got a stomachache, made Moon Jinwoo glare at me menacingly.

I secretly supported the third brother and snorted. Except for that one day he mentioned, I had no history of suffering from indigestion.

Feeling hurt by the second brother’s scolding, I pouted. But I wasn’t one to throw my spoon and cry, so I kept eating my favorite samgyetang.

Still, I was resentful, so I glared at the back of the second brother’s head, vowing to smash the wine bottle he loved so much.

“So today is that day, huh?”

I quietly opened the door and peeked out. The bathroom was empty, and only the soft lighting was working.

“It was room 6 on the 22nd floor, right?”

“Why there?”

“Didn’t Moon Jinwoo say it was for his anniversary with his lover? If they’ve booked a room, it’s obvious when it is.”

I left the bathroom and took the elevator down to the lobby.

“What are you planning to do?”

Lee Taeshin, who followed me, asked as he watched the floor numbers go down, and I answered solemnly.

“I need to repay a debt.”

“A debt?”

“Do you know how much Moon Jinwoo nagged during the last heat wave? He told me not to even think about going out or meeting anyone and to stay hidden in some remote place like Pyongyang or the US. That jerk. I took my suppressants properly and stayed quietly at home, but he was the one making a fuss.”

Grinding my teeth as I recalled the annoying history, I looked at the lobby.

I could just tell them my brother’s name and pick up the key card for room 2206.

Checking if the second brother was around, Lee Taeshin, standing next to me, asked.

“Should I get it for you?”

“What? You… yeah, sure.”

Excited to repay the grudge I held against the second brother, I nodded right away.

Lee Taeshin would be more effective than me.

As I stuck close to the marble wall of the elevator and answered in a slightly timid voice, Lee Taeshin smiled softly and ruffled my hair.

“I’ll be right back.”

He said and walked briskly across the lobby. Watching him speak to the staff at the front desk, his back looked impressive.

The staff said something, and Taeshin replied. After a short exchange, the staff looked tense and handed over the key card.

Nice! I couldn’t help but clench my fist in excitement.

Taeshin approached the elevator with the key card. I quickly grabbed his wrist and pressed the button for the 22nd floor repeatedly.

“What did they say? How did you get it?”

Pressing the 22nd floor button, I hurriedly asked, and Taeshin handed me the key card.

Seeing the number 2206 embossed in gold, I cheered.

“I just mentioned Jinwoo hyung’s name and asked for the key card.”

“Really? You didn’t say much?”

“Not really. The only thing I refused was their offer to escort us to the room.”

Taeshin answered as if he didn’t understand. The staff’s expression didn’t look good when he handed over the key card, but maybe it was because the front desk lighting was dim.

“So, what exactly are you planning to do?”

“I’m going to steal the wine.”

We got off the elevator on the 22nd floor and headed straight for room 6.

“Even a dog is left alone when it eats!”

Grinding my teeth as I recalled the resentful scolding and tear-soaked samgyetang, Taeshin tilted his head as if he didn’t understand. I waved my hand, saying he wouldn’t get it, and used the key card to open the door to room 2206.

Entering the room, we saw a spacious suite. The mood lighting led us to a table in the middle of the living room.

Thinking that Moon Jinwoo intended to enjoy this atmosphere with his lover made me feel like throwing up. Ugh.

The table was adorned with flower arrangements, gently flickering candles, some light refreshments, and two bottles of wine in a wine bucket.

“Oh, this is it!”

“Did you find it?”

“Yeah, yeah!”

It was definitely the wine that the third brother had given to the second brother. I quickly grabbed it, took Taeshin’s wrist, and hurried outside.

Worried about getting caught, we took the elevator and pressed a random floor.

My heart was pounding. Feeling anxious that the second brother might come after us with a fierce look, I glanced back to see only Taeshin smiling behind me.

* * *