* * *

“I didn’t know… I only realized after seeing your message. Is this for real? Who told you? Was it Dad?”

― Yeah, your dad told me. You and Baek Jinwoo, you’re not related at all. Not a single drop of blood is shared. Why do you think Baek Jinwoo has been acting nice to you all this time? He’s just trying to use you!

‘He wasn’t pretending to be nice; he was genuinely good to me.’

Jingyeom watched the raindrops fall, just like his heart felt heavy.

― That guy we saw at the cafe? He’s a director at their company, right? I mean, two rich people are into you, so isn’t it obvious they’re trying to get involved with you? They probably want to secure their piece of the pie!

‘How can someone think like this?’

It was a level of nonsense that didn’t even deserve a response.

― Your dad’s desperate to find you. If you can’t come by yourself, we’ll come pick you up.

“We?”

― Dad and I, we’ll come pick you up.

Jingyeom squatted down, resting his eyes on the wet grass pressed down by the rain.

When he first saw the message, the shock made his head spin, but hearing Jeong Sanho’s voice oddly cleared his thoughts.

“You must be mistaken. If Jinwoo wanted to take advantage of me, he would’ve handed me over to a loan shark ages ago. There’s no way he would’ve kept me around, not with how much I’ve cost him…”

― That’s only because he found someone else who can squeeze more out of you! There’s no other reason for him to keep you! Dad even told him he’s taking you back, and Jinwoo hasn’t responded in two days!

“…Dad told Jinwoo that?”

― Yeah. When he didn’t hear back, he tried to file a missing person’s report with the police, but they wouldn’t take it because you’re an adult man. They said to wait a bit longer since you might’ve just run away. Where in Korea could you be where there’s no cell signal? That bastard must be hiding you on purpose.

Jingyeom’s grip on his phone tightened.

Jinwoo’s sudden arrival had been odd, like something had happened.

Turns out, something had.

Knowing Jinwoo, he likely came to prevent Jeong Sanho from taking him, rather than hand him over to Baek Myeongjun.

Realizing that his words weren’t getting through, Jeong Sanho suddenly changed the topic.

― Do you even know what kind of eyes that bastard looks at you with?

“Stop calling Jinwoo a bastard!”

― Are you seriously defending Baek Jinwoo right now? Incredible. But what are you going to do? He doesn’t see you as a brother.

“…What?”

― What do you think it means?

When Jingyeom didn’t answer, Jeong Sanho’s laughter deepened from the other side of the phone.

― That bastard is into you! The way he looks at you isn’t like a brother at all. He likes you. Isn’t that disgusting? He’s been beside you all this time, looking at you like that.

“…Sanho, stop talking nonsense.”

― Don’t believe me? Everyone knows except for you. Why do you think Dad wants to take you away? It’s because he can’t stand you being around Jinwoo any longer!

Jingyeom couldn’t find the words to respond. He opened his mouth, then shut it tight.

He should’ve laughed and dismissed Sanho’s claims, but he couldn’t.

His eyes burned, as if he had been crying for hours.

He pressed his hand hard against his eyelids.

He wasn’t in a situation where he should cry, but it felt like the tears were threatening to spill, so he bit down hard.

‘Was that why Baek Jinwoo has been so devoted?’

Even among family, if someone acted as badly as Baek Jingyeom did, any affection would’ve disappeared.

But Jinwoo endured everything, accepted everything.

Jingyeom had always thought there must be a reason for it.

Even between brothers, Jinwoo’s level of dedication had been remarkable, to the point where it made people shake their heads in disbelief.

‘…And I’m the only one who didn’t know?’

The faces that suddenly came to mind weren’t Jeong Sanho or Baek Myeongjun, but Suhyeok and Wonbeom.

They’d been closer to the two of them than anyone.

If what Sanho said was true, then those two surely knew as well.

A hollow laugh escaped Jingyeom’s lips, and he hung his head.

― Are you listening? Hey, Baek Jingyeom!

“…Yeah. I’m just… surprised.”

― I told you. That bastard isn’t normal. So, where are you? I’ll come get you right now. Just tell me where.

“…Wait, I have something I need to ask.”

― What?

“Does Jinwoo know? That we’re not real brothers?”

― Of course he does. Dad told him ages ago. That’s why it’s so creepy. He knew you weren’t brothers, but he still stuck around, pretending you were twins. He kept up that lie the whole time.

Jingyeom’s heart wasn’t just pounding; it hurt like it was being wrung out.

His breath trembled as he barely managed to exhale.

‘He knew? He’s known for a long time? Baek Jinwoo, why…?’

Surprisingly, he didn’t feel any bitterness about Jinwoo not telling him this massive truth.

Jeong Sanho must’ve wanted him to feel betrayed, but instead, it made him understand everything Jinwoo had done.

And all he could feel was concern for the wounds Jinwoo must’ve suffered.

His heart ached with sympathy for him.

Everything was finally starting to make sense.

‘…Jinwoo did it all because he loved Baek Jingyeom.’

Jingyeom had always wondered why Jinwoo built such walls around himself in ‘Gray’.

Turns out, there had been this hidden reason.

If he had known all this from the beginning, he might’ve been able to help Jinwoo, or at least not be so frustrated now.

Thinking about how his oblivious actions might have held special meaning for Jinwoo only made the pain worse.

Even at the moment when everything he thought was true about their relationship was being denied, Jingyeom’s first thought was how difficult it must’ve been for Jinwoo all this time.

‘Did Jingyeom know? Is that why he was so cold toward Jinwoo?’

He couldn’t ask the person directly, but Jingyeom felt sure that Jingyeom must’ve known.

‘…My head hurts.’

Too much information had been crammed into his brain recently, and it felt like it was about to overload.

The cold from being outside might be making him feel worse.

― Hey! How many times do I have to ask? Where are you?

Jeong Sanho’s loud voice echoed, and Jingyeom grimaced.

“…You should think through what you’re saying first.”

Jingyeom had always thought that Sanho spoke thoughtlessly, but today he had reached a new level.

“There’s a contradiction in what you’re saying, Sanho.”

― What? I can’t hear you well because of the rain!

“You said Jinwoo’s using me to make money. But now you’re saying he’s into me? So, which is it? Is he using me, or does he like me?”

― Uh? …Uh, yeah! It’s both!

Hearing Sanho’s flustered voice, Jingyeom chuckled and slowly stood up.

He stumbled, his back hitting the window.

The sound woke Jinwoo, who blinked his eyes open.

Alarmed, he shot up when he saw the empty space beside him.

He didn’t need to search for long.

He spotted Jingyeom standing against the glass door.

His relief was short-lived.

The phone in Jingyeom’s hand, and the dark house, made something seem off.

Jinwoo quickly got up from his seat.

He opened the door beside the glass and stepped outside, only to hear the words that made his eyes widen in shock.

“I didn’t realize two things could exist together. I’ll call you later. Right now… my head hurts too much.”

“What do you mean later? Just give me the address, I’ll come get you! Ah, how many times do I have to say it?”

“I’m hanging up.”

Ignoring Jeong Sanho’s shouting, Jingyeom pressed the call-end button.

Then, slowly, he turned his head.

Standing frozen in place with the door open was Jinwoo.

“…So, the phone works.”

“…”

“I was scared there might be a blackout. But turns out, there’s something else I should’ve been really scared of.”

Jingyeom grimaced, a throbbing pain pulsing through his head for a while now, as he slowly walked toward Jinwoo.

Standing in front of him, he placed a hand on Jinwoo’s arm.

“I’m cold. Let’s go inside and talk, okay?”

Jingyeom’s body, chilled from the cold wind, felt like ice.

Jinwoo rushed upstairs, grabbed a blanket, and tried to warm Jingyeom up.

Normally, Jingyeom would cling to him, whining about the cold, demanding to be closer.

But this time, he just sat quietly, head bowed.

Jinwoo, unsure of what to do, kept stealing glances, noticing how bad Jingyeom’s expression was, and his mind ran wild with all sorts of thoughts.

Earlier, it seemed like Jingyeom had been on a call with someone, but the rain was so loud he couldn’t hear the other person’s voice.

‘Was it his father? …Jeong Sanho? Who the hell was he talking to…?’

With no idea what Jingyeom had been told, Jinwoo couldn’t be the first to break the silence, so he kept watching him carefully.

The lights had been flickering for a while before the power finally went out.

Because of the blackout, the signal blocker must’ve shut off, allowing Jingyeom to use his phone.

The irony of the situation was dumbfounding.

They had set up this place to be in a signal dead zone, but the moment the power went out, the phone connected.

He never thought he’d be in a situation like this.

He had always known Jingyeom carried his phone, but he thought as long as they stayed within the blocked radius, there was no need to take it away or hide it.

But now that things had turned out this way, he deeply regretted not doing so.

It felt like more than ten minutes had passed since they sat facing each other in the living room, and still, neither of them spoke first.

Finally, Jingyeom broke the silence.

“Sanho got a weird message. I didn’t want to believe it… but Dad got the same message too.”

Jinwoo closed his eyes tightly.

His expression said, ‘So, it’s finally happening.’

Seeing that, Jingyeom’s face crumpled like he was on the verge of tears.

He couldn’t fully understand just how hard this had been for Jinwoo, but even in this moment, seeing him trying to read the room, Jingyeom’s heart ached.

In those few moments of silence, he debated countless times whether to speak or not.

Part of him thought staying silent was the only way to preserve their relationship, but he also knew that Sanho was bound to tell Jinwoo sooner or later.

It was probably better to clear things up now, before any misunderstandings could fester.

He wasn’t really Baek Jingyeom, after all…

* * *