Warning: There is a bit of confrontation between the father and Yongguk and I just want to warn before hand so I don't get in trouble

When I had gotten home I sat my bag down silently at the door. I took off my shoes and socks and made my way slowly down the hall of our little apartment. Not far down on the left I was met with a living room that held an empty atmosphere. I took a couple steps farther and then looked to my right to see my brother looking out the window over the sink. He was standing up straight so I wasn’t too worried then my father knocked me out of his way into a broken doorway. I yelled as my arm fell down the door and slid down the door getting caught with splinters. My scream had prompted my brother to look and see me in pain. He came to my side immediately, brushing past my father who walked to the fridge, and saw my arm in the door. I slid it out some splinters staying in the door other staying in my arm and I had been given a scar right above my elbow but only an inch or two long.

“Dammit” I groaned

My brother had held my arm tenderly and eyed it. His eyes had eyes brimmed with tears filled with hate and sorrow. I raised my good hand to cup his cheek and swiped away the tears.

“Guk”

“I know Nam”  I said trying to mimic the warm smiles that Junhong would show me to make me smile then my father called us .

Yongnam began trembling a bit from maybe anger or shame or maybe sorrow and that was my queue to get him out of there but of course with my luck it wouldn’t be that easy.

“Yongguk” my father said “did you get my booze?” he said through a loose smile “Heard you could get me some high grade stuff” my old man laughed

“Well who ever told you that is a dirty ing liar” bowing my head a bit

“Boy I’ll have you know it was your mother that told me you’ve been holding out”

 I stepped in front of my brother “I know” I said with an evident pleased smirk on my face.

My father had tried to strike me and I stood firm to take it but my brother had pulled me out of the kitchen and dragged me out of the kitchen and dragged me to our room. He threw me to the other side of the room and locked the door. Then he got the chair from our desk and quickly put it under the knob. A moment later the knob jiggled and the door was banged on and I watched my brother shake staring at the door.

My brother is the older of the two of us but he hasn’t developed the thick skin he needs to get through the life we had been condemned to.  He was haunted by the yearn of loving parents, of a good home, of some kind of peace. And the fact that we didn’t-wouldn’t have it, tortured him. When my father had stopped his advances into our room I stepped out from the corner and I walked over and saw the poor boy crying. I saw it in his eyes then, him cursing our parents in his mind. I wouldn’t try and save them from his scorn or hate; it would be easier to hate them. The pain they would subject us to wouldn’t come to much of a surprise, but I saw the fight he had. Only thing I hoped for was it would get through to him that it wouldn’t happen.

He got the kit and started prepping everything and I sat on my bed.

“It’s senseless” he said under his breath threading the needle

“It’s always senseless Nam, that’s how our family works” Nam hadn’t liked that and pricked me with the needle “Ow Nam!”

“You had it coming, it’s your own fault” he said with a bowed. He held my arm and he sat there for a moment just looking at it

“Nam,” I said “look at me”
My brothers eyes filled with tears that broke my heart looked at me. They pleaded with me for some kind of relief. They pleaded, with almost every sense of the word, for some kind of mercy from this life.

“This is no one’s fault but theirs” I said taking my good hand and wiping his tears away “Now how about you get to sewin’ your ol’ busted up brother’s stiches?”

My brother chuckled and wiped off his face “Ok Guk”

We went through the motions we usually had when my brother had to give me stiches. It hurt bad and took a while cause I had splinters that time too. I remember combing through my brother’s features. He was a frail compared to me. His arms were slim and fingers were delicate, he was becoming my physical opposite if you didn’t include looks and height.  His hair was grown a bit longer than mine and was a little darker. I’d watch his eyelashes touch the fringe of his bangs and saw how different we were. That’s not to say that I thought we were exact reflections of each other and I hadn’t noticed till just then, but looking at him he just looked heartbreakingly delicate.

“You should eat more Nam, you’re getting puny”

“Shut up” he said pouting “don’t make fun of your older brother Yongguk”

Our night went on like that as it always had but that night I had offered the space next to me. Nam was still bothered and I knew that he’d like to sleep with me from time to time, and though he had decided against it at first he was sound asleep in little time. He was shaking and I pulled my brother close and he mumbled something about making some bear pancakes for him in the morning. He was half asleep but I had no problem with the thought of making it for him. He liked when I did little things for him, he’d appreciate the pancakes in the morning.

I put my sore arm on my side and I was just about to go to sleep when I got a text.

[Junhong: Hyung I was just checking on. I can’t really talk or txt but I wanted to at least say good night :}]

I had smiled at his kind gesture and thanked him and went to sleep. I went to sleep with a smile on my face which was uncommon and that night I hoped that I could keep it all through the next day. But looking back what should I have expected with my luck?

So I put up another chapter! The comment I had gotten inspired me and it kind of just came.Well here it is. Enjoy 

p.s. this chapter is  1,000 words short compared to the last chapter