The whole situation was so dramatic that I started laughing. Kris and Kai looked at me like I was crazy. Which, in a way, I suppose I was. Crazy from the combination of stress and lack of sleep. But my laughter was real laughter, deep and loud. I wasn’t hysterical, not by a long shot. I laughed and laughed, a disconcerting sound that eventually subsided as the initial shock wore off. 

Kris opened and closed his mouth several times. Sometimes, the beginnings of sentences would work their way out, only to die at his lips and be replaced by new incomprehensible mumbles. He had so many questions that he didn’t even know where to begin. Eventually, he settled for the simplest one.

“Where’d you get all this?” Kris asked, so incredulous that he forgot to sound angry.

“That’s my business,” Kai said evasively. He drummed his fingers against his thigh, and then suddenly stopped. He must have realized how suspicious this would have all seemed to someone as cynical as Kris. Hurriedly, he went on to say, “And believe me, the money isn’t counterfeit. If I wanted to screw you over, no way I would do something so stupid that could be traced back to me.”

If Kai’s plan was to reassure Kris of his good intentions, it failed miserably. If anything, Kai’s preemptive defensiveness only made Kris even more guarded. Whatever curiosity had been sparked by the envelope fizzled out completely. Kris pursed his lips, preventing any more questions from slipping out.

If he’d had any less self-control, he might have asked,

              Why are you doing this?

                             Who are you, really?

                                           What’s in this for you?

                             Why do you care so much about us?

              How can you possibly be so generous with money, but live in a dump like this?

But instead, Kris just looked down at the envelope in my hand and shook his head. “We don’t want this.”

He made it to the door before he realized I hadn’t followed him. “May, we’re leaving. Now.”

He stalked out, and I knew that I was the one who had to decide.

I turned the envelope over in my hands, reveling at the unfamiliar weight of relative wealth. I had never held so much money in my hands. Even when we had been rich, we had only had flimsy plastic credit cards. Credit cards were what new money had. This solid cash – this was old money.

 Kai caught my eye and smiled. I had a lot of pride, but I was not quite as proud as my brother.

I smiled back and walked out of Kai's apartment with seven million won.

My brother was in his bedroom when I got back. I could hear him agitatedly pacing around. Ten steps, then a pause. Ten steps. Pause. Repeat.

“Kris,” I said, letting my voice travel through the door. “I’m going to say something to you and I need you to listen. Don’t interrupt.”

He took a long pause before he started pacing again. I took that as a sign of agreement.

“We’ve had a tough night. We’ve talked about a lot of things. And I think that we both know – yes, you know too even though you won’t admit it because you’re stubborn like that – what the best option is. The only option, really, if we want to move on with our lives. I’ll have my own common sense and if I need him, I’ll have Kai too. I’ll be safe – the people you work for, no matter how shady they are, they won’t risk their whole operation just to get back at a low-level messenger. I won’t stay out late at night and I’ll do well at school. I’ll apply to the best universities and make you proud. Promise.”

The sound of pacing stopped once again. But Kris didn’t open his door.

I swallowed. "And I'll wait for you, whether it takes two months or twenty years. Until I go to university, you'll know where to find me. And if I go abroad, I'll come back every six months to this apartment."

I paused. The words came out again, for the second time in less than a day. For some reason, they were harder to say this time around.

"I love you, big brother."

There was nothing else left to be said. I set the money on the kitchen table and went to bed.

When I woke up, it was Saturday evening and the heavy night was setting outside my window. On my way to the kitchen, I paused by my brother’s open door.

His room was bare. His bed was stripped and his closet was empty.

The money was gone too. In its place was a strawberry pie. It was still warm.

I took the pie over to Kai’s. We ate it slowly, because we both knew that it would be the last bit of sweetness we’d taste for a while.