Brother Knows Best

Joonmyeon stared at the woman in front of him, who was looking at him as if he was a stranger to her. Her eyes glinted coldly. “Joonmyeon… welcome home.”

“I’m home,” he replied softly, “mother.”

Perhaps it’d all been a mistake. Maybe he shouldn’t have gone back home, back to his mother and father, back to his brother.

As the youngest son, he always had a lot to live up to. His older brother was always the star in the family. While his brother got all the love and affection for being naturally smart, Joonmyeon was left in the shadows to try to even live up to the high standards his brother set up.

Junsu was smart.

Junsu was handsome.

Junsu was sociable.

Junsu was perfect.

It wasn’t fair to Joonmyeon, who’d had to work so hard to find himself. He had to study for hours on end just to make it into the top ten in high school. He had to go through multiple incarnations of himself just to find his own sense of style. He had to work himself out of his shy nature just to make friends.

He had to work so hard just to find himself and become the Joonmyeon he was.

Junsu didn’t have to do anything to be perfect.

And Joonmyeon hated it.

He hated that his stupid older brother, who was older than him by only four years, was able to get ahead of him in that amount of time. Junsu had gotten into Seoul National University in order to study business, while Joonmyeon had decided to go to Yonsei to study law and to take a few business classes on the side.

But in high school, Joonmyeon had wanted to pursue a different dream. He wanted to be an actor, to star in all those high budget films and walk the red carpet with other stars.

In his third year of middle school, at age fifteen, he’d auditioned for the school play, alongside Baekhyun. Being only a second year, Baekhyun was made an extra, as well as Joonmyeon’s understudy, while and Joonmyeon got the lead male role in the play. Although Baekhyun had been disappointed, he’d understood why.

When Joonmyeon’s parents found out, they were nothing short of furious. They had grounded their son, forbidding him from joining the play for another rehearsal, as well as even seeing his friends for a month.

He’d gone to bed crying that night, skipping dinner in fear of facing his family.

It was when they were still close, the two brothers. Junsu snuck food onto a small tray, along with Joonmyeon’s favorite cookies for snacks. He’d lain with his younger brother, listening as he sobbed, and told him just why their parents had been so angry.

Joonmyeon learned just what their parents did for a living.

His father was almost never home because he worked at a small magazine company that focused mainly on style icons and new fashion. Eventually, the company grew bigger and bigger. Joonmyeon’s father got promoted multiple times, until eventually, he owned a good majority of the company. He was the CEO of the company, at least the branch in Seoul, and helped to spread it to other countries.

The company, called FINE, expanded to create their own brand of fashion, designing clothing, shoes, and accessories for their consumers. The clothing was fashion-forward, but affordable, and with the first fall line, the company became one of the top fashion companies.

They expanded to more expensive, dressy clothing and began catering to some of the hottest stars of the era. FINE became a household name within a matter of years, with Joonmyeon’s father’s name labeled on the front of the magazine every time.

This was, of course, before both Junsu and Joonmyeon were born.

After a few years, their mother and father grew used to a certain lifestyle. It wasn’t exactly fair, per say, that they decided that their children had to become just as successful in business.

The minute Joonmyeon was born into the world, his path was decided.

It wasn’t fair.

“You’ve come here, asking for money?” Mrs. Kim drawled in disbelief.

Joonmyeon nodded, his hands properly folded over his lap, his legs crossed. “Yes, mother. I’m going to be doing something to further my studies… and it requires a little extra money.”

His mother frowned. “What exactly will you be doing with this money, Joonmyeon?” She daintily crossed her arms, her polished fingernails tapping on her sleeve.

He faltered. He hadn’t thought this far ahead.

“A-As part of my law studies… they require a… a, um… service project of sorts. So-So I need the money to help someone. I’ll be using it for a good cause.”

He cursed himself for stuttering in front of her.

Her eyes narrowed even further. Clearly, she wasn’t buying into what Joonmyeon was trying to ask for. “How much would you be spending?” she demanded, watching him for any hints that would give away his true reason for asking for money.

Joonmyeon lowered his eyes, fearing for the worst as he choked out his