“Same?” Kim Sunggyu stared at the simple term until his eyes and brains hurt. “That’s all? Don’t tell me, there’s more somewhere?” The lad questioned himself as he got up to search for any markings around the pole, like a dog chasing his tail until finally, he ended up squatting before the writings again. “This person isn’t easy….Same, she said,” he hummed to himself until he finally accepted what was before him. “Fine, if she won’t say more then I will,” he leaned in, holding the chalk, and his tongue hanging out from the corner of his lips as he focused.

Under the afternoon sky, the latter was left alone to write as he pleased. He still had an hour before the bus driver gets off their lunch break and continued with transportation lines. Sunggyu was a man ready for summer though he wore jeans with torn holes around his knees and a loose white shirt, much bigger than his body size. “There,” he said before leaning away to admire his work, “now she’s bound to reply with more than just a simple ‘same’,” he said. Sunggyu stood and pocketed his hands as he looked around the empty road. “Seriously, if she answers with only one or two words then I’m going to find her and confront her,” he mumbled to himself as he paced back and forth. Once the three o’clock bus was to his side, Sunggyu quickly boarded it.

Once Sunggyu was dropped off in his neighborhood, the lad had his jacket wrapped around his back and hanging by his shoulders but didn’t put his arms through the sleeves. As he closed in on the front gate of his house, he heard arguing. He sighed aloud to prepare himself for what he was about to witness. It came as no surprise once he pushed the door open and found a man clinging to an older woman. “Please help me this once!” The young man begged.

“Let go of me!” The woman screamed, trying to break the younger and stronger from hanging onto him. Once they noticed Sunggyu’s presence, they quiet down immediately and the younger came running toward Sunggyu.

“Brother, brother please help me,” the youth begged, with desperation in his voice as he grabbed onto Sunggyu’s bare arm.

“What did you do this time?” Sunggyu asked with a tired tone.

“Nothing big brother, I promise!” The younger lied.

“Nothing yeah right! Sunggyu don’t you dare show him even a coin of your money. That loser brother of yours went and slept around with some young girl who took all of his money AGAIN. It’s like he never learns,” the woman said loudly.

“Aunty! I told you that wasn’t it!” The youth cried.

“Then what is it?!”

“Y-you know my ex-w-wife,” he stuttered, Sunggyu sighed at the mention of her.

“Did she blackmail you again? Why are you always making mistakes and getting caught by her for money?” Sunggyu pressed.

“It’s unfair to me too big brother! That wench followed me and had someone followed me! P-please big brother, if she reports me for touching an underage girl then it’s at least ten years for me big brother,” the man whined.

“Then go! Spend ten years in there and come back out you troublemaker!” the woman shouted before leaving the scene and heading toward the second floor of the two-story building.

“Big brother, please,”

Sunggyu sighed heavily, “How much is she demanding for?”

“O-one thousand…,”

Sunggyu thought his ears were going to fall off, “One thousand?!”

“I tried to get her to shorten it more but she only shorten it to one thousand…,”

Sunggyu pulled away from the lad, “Aunty’s right, just go so they can lock you up,”

“A-ah big brother,” the youth tried again to grab at Sunggyu’s arm, “I-I don’t want to, please help me this once,”

Sunggyu heft a sharp sigh, “I’ll talk to aunty but if you cause any more trouble for us then don’t even come home,” he threatens. A premature smile spread across his brother’s face.

“Y-yes brother, I won’t do anything to cause you more trouble anymore if you help me out this time,”  Sunggyu’s heart grew heavy as he prepared himself and started toward their house. As he climbed the stairs he kept looking back to see his younger brother waving him off on the ground. “Fighting big brother,” his brother whispered to give him strength and support. Sunggyu sighed and his head to the side once he was at the door. Inside he could see how his aunt was cleaning up the meal she was trying to have from earlier before his younger brother showed up to ask for money again.

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