Seunghyun closed his eyes as he placed an elbow atop the flat manila folder opened on the desk. He used his right hand to smooth the premature wrinkles of his forehead as he tried to calm the headache throbbing his temples. It had been six months since he returned from his three-year stint in the military. He was still discovering things his idiot little brother ed up on during his absence. If only his father wasn’t such a spineless home-wrecker, then Seunghyun'd have not an attention seeking half sibling.

    “Impressed?” Yifan said from his seat opposite the older man, to which Seunghyun didn't know if he was joking or not. He let out a sigh and opened his eyes to stare at the floor, suppressing a yell he so wished to scream. The mixed Chinese boy was only three years his junior, but was as clueless as a middle school student to the elder. He lifted his head and leaned back in his chair, arms falling along their respective rests on either side. He maintained a cocky grin, satisfied that his “successes” stressed  his older brother.

    “I-I,” he started but couldn't phrase it. “How are you still alive?” he said in his deep voice.

     Before his enlistment, Seunghyun made his ties to the Yakuza, the biggest Japanese mafia, well known to his family. Despite the rough history between the two, it was a new era, and the man liked living in the present, not holding useless grudges. Their father approved this and praised his son such a smart partnership. Their loyal men being noticeable among the country’s masses yes, but the best mindless followers in Asia. It was obvious this was the priority ally for his company and their business so far had gone fantastic.

Yifan hadn’t given him a proper reaction to the decision, not having spent much time with his older brother due him being raised with his mother in the mainland. So yes, the younger’s aims to connect with the Triad, China’s main mafia, made sense considering his nationality. But it was a total disloyalty to his father’s side of the family and interpreted as a personal attack on Seunghyun himself. Plus there had been rumbling of distrust with China and how they strict they liked to keep things in public. Plans with them were confusing and over-drawn, even with the simplest of tasks. 

    “While you played with guns, I took action,” Yifan said and the other knew he one day regret those words. The elder remained reclined as he couldn’t bring himself to look his brother in the eyes. He let his mind roam over the non-existent excuses he could come up with to forgive the other’s missteps. After a silent moment the creak of furniture brought his attention back to the awaiting boy in front of him.

    “And what is that?” he asked, holding a laugh as the younger clasped his hands in attempts to appear mature. Even though they didn’t grow up together, Seunghyun had spent a few vacations with him and knew several of his little tricks Yifan was lazy to hide.

    “Things that improved my country’s economy, that helped my people rebuild and regain a stance as a major power on a global front,” he said, tiptoeing around specifics.

    “China is the biggest country in the world, others will forever recognize them regardless of what they do,” Seunghyun said. He wondering if the younger picked the right decision in dropping out of university to help with the family business. He was spacey and distant, making the eldest’s lingering worry of a learning disability his brother resurface. Maybe if he spelled out the question for him, the other may give a solid answer with logic. He wanted to forgive him, but the little idiot always made it hard. 

Seunghyun calmed himself enough to piece together how to explain a few of the many ways Yifan ed him. "So, threatening Korean powers under the label of the Triad, cutting off trades between my country," he emphasized in a mockery of the brother’s earlier statement. "and Japan, straining personal relationships with my friends while I was unavailable to make any statements. Among other stupid recorded in basic paper files," he said gesturing to the papers across his desk and the designated file cabinet on the opposing wall. "Accessible to any idiot who wants to looking at them."

    “There’s a lock,” Yifan said.

     Seunghyun felt his blood boil. This their first proper meeting after years, maybe that’s why the younger was acting mature. The elder was not having it. The older brother paused, his mouth still cracked from his last words as he made eye contact with the boy. Thick tension piling the atmosphere drove a deeper wedge in their relationship as he rolled over to the middle right drawer of the grand workspace.

    The office was Yifan’s designated part in their father’s house. A simple sweep over the elder did months ago gave him confidence in the random trinkets his brother had stashed around the room. He opened the cabinet and picked up one of the M-80s, never questioning why Yifan had them. But found it stupid due to the delicacy of his security with secret information he had in the workspace. The younger cocked a brow as the little explosive came into view. Seunghyun reached into his suit pocket and pulled out a basic silver metal lighter.

     He flipped the top up and lit the firework, tossing it across the room, knowing the clean wooden flooring could withstand the small reaction. The M-80 flew and contacted the third of five drawers, each secured with their own simple number dial lock. Once the fuse reached its end, the explosive rested upon the middle handle. The bang sending it flying and blowing off the neighboring devices, even damaging the furthest two on the first and fifth levels. Seunghyun withheld a grin as Yifan looked back at him annoyed.

    “While I love the man, our father is a cheapskate. Trust nothing he’s contracted those cheap laborers to bu