♚ ♔ ♚

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

In the lavish office situated on the top of the building, Yoon Do’s father was conducting a private meeting. The two men, who had scheduled the appointment, promised Chairman Jung they had an opportunity to make him a ton of cash as long as he was willing to put his faith in them. Since he was one of South Korea’s best businessmen, Jung Byung Jik decided he would hear them out. How could he pass up on a chance to make a profit? After the proposal to privatize Guk Il Medical Center and change it into a commercialized business had been rejected, Byung Jik had suffered a huge loss. Once news had been leaked that he participated in such a scandalous act, his company had received an ample amount of backlash from the public. Company stocks had dropped but recently things were starting to pick up again.

Although he should be focusing solely on maintaining the company, his selfish nature did not allow him to. Once he had listened to their pitch, Chairman Jung realized that this was his ticket to becoming possibly the wealthiest man in the country! Trying to monopolize the pharmaceutical industry wasn’t an easy task but if he was the one trying to do it, it wasn’t impossible. Byung Jik’s greed was ultimately taking him down the same corrupted path he had walked nearly a year ago, but if it was for money he would do anything. In the capitalistic world they lived in, money was the most important thing a person could own. With it the opportunities were endless just like the sky.

The meeting concluded with firm handshakes and wide grins. Chairman Jung’s personal secretary then showed the guests out. While he was sitting at his desk, Byun Jik leaned back into the imported leather armchair and started to fiddle with his fingers. His eyes were fixated on the expensive painting mounted on the wall across from him but his thoughts were elsewhere. He had to succeed this time around. There was no other choice. If he managed to take control of both the production and distribution of the medicine in the country, he’d never have to set foot into this office ever again! He could finally retire without having to worry about anything. Now all he needed to do was get his only son on board. With an intelligent doctor by his side, how could this go wrong?

* * *

Hyun Woo parked the scooter on the side of the road and swiftly hopped off. He grabbed the pizza box stowed away in the container attached to the back of the vehicle and hurried up the stairs of the apartment complex. His arm extended out toward the buzzard but before he could press the button to notify the customer of his arrival, the door swung open. On the other side of the threshold, he was greeted with the sight of a girl who was still donned in her high school uniform. She seemed a little flustered and didn’t dare to make any kind of eye-contact with him. Hyun Woo wasn’t positive if she was the person who had ordered the pizza until she held the bills out toward him.

“You can keep the change,” she declared as she snatched the box from him and bolted up the staircase. Since she was in a rush, she tripped going up and nearly fell onto her face! Thankfully, she caught herself in time. Hyun Woo’s mouth fell ajar. He was about to ask her if she was okay when he saw her stand tall. He heard her grumbling under her breath and before he could get a word out, she left him behind. Well, he’s seen stranger things while he was out on the job and, without a second thought, the boy shrugged it off. He had more deliveries to make.

Hyun Woo pulled into the tiny lot in front of the pizza joint, removed the helmet and headed inside with the keys to the scooter. The owner, a man by the name of Man Dong, was seated at a table with a calculator, notepad and pen in front of him. He was going over the earnings for the day and once he noticed the boy’s presence, he stopped what he was doing and looked at him. “You can go home now. Good work,” he said.

“Yes, boss. Have a good night.” Hyun Woo handed him the keys and then exited the building. As he was walking back home, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He wasn’t a psychic but Hyun Woo already knew who it was. There was only one person who’d text him at this hour. To his expectations, it was no one other than Ha Yun. This time she didn’t inquire him of his whereabouts as she typically did. Instead, she simply told him to warm up the soup in the fridge if he was hungry and to wash up before he went to bed. Of course she included a smiley face and the text caused his lips to curl upward.

To an outsider, it may not look like it but Hyun Woo’s love for both of his sisters was immeasurable. He worshipped and admired them. Like their father, they were his role models, his heroes. They were the people he looked up to; the people he aspired to be. Because despite the hardships they’ve endured and the curveballs life would constantly throw their way, they’re still living life optimistically. Never has he seen them lose hope no matter what unfortunate situations they might find themselves in. But Hyun Woo wasn’t naïve.

He was aware of how difficult it must have been for them to support the family, especially with their father’s medical bill being so large. They didn’t have to say it out loud for him to know. And it was during times like these that Hyun Woo realized just how blessed he was to have such amicable and diligent siblings. He couldn’t even begin to tell you how many people praised Iseul and Ha Yun. Even his teachers from high school, whom he encountered from time to time, still spoke highly of the girls. Back then they’d often draw comparisons between the three of them as well. Hyun Woo was always labeled as the black sheep of the family of course, yet he never resented Iseul or Ha Yun for it. If anything, he was proud because it proved he was not the only one who saw how incredible his sisters were.

He wasn’t be able to do much for them now since he only had a high school diploma to his name but Hyun Woo wasn’t going to throw the towels in. He wouldn’t be Kim Sang Uk’s son if he did. Besides, working part-time gigs wasn’t that bad. It was keeping the fact hidden that was tricky. He didn’t want either one of his sisters finding out about it or else they’d be extremely upset with him. They wanted him to attend to college in order to further his education and even though doing so would make them happy, Hyun Woo couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Tuition wasn’t free. Nor were the books and course materials he’d have to purchase. If he was selfish and decided to attend college, he’d be placing yet another burden on their shoulders. Sure he could work as well to help cover the expenses, but his sisters didn’t want that. They preferred him focusing all of his attention toward studying instead. However, Hyun Woo no longer wanted them to bear all of the responsibilities, which was why he was doing this. The money he made from working wasn’t much but it was something. He didn’t like tricking them like this but he had no other choice. If his sisters found out the real reason of why he didn’t have the desire to go to college, they’d probably blame themselves for it even if it wasn’t really their fault. That’s just how they were.

♪♪♪ Due to the fact that the buses stopped running after 11:30, Hyun Woo had to rely on his own legs to make it back home. It was a pretty long trip but he’d grown accustomed to traveling by foot. Plus, this was probably nothing compared to what Ha Yun experienced almost every single day. He’s never once heard her complain either so what right did he have to? It took him approximately an hour and a half to reach his destination and when he entered the house, he discovered Iseul waiting in the living room with a tiny candle perched on the coffee table.

“She’s not back yet?” he questioned.

Iseul, who was half-asleep, yawned and shook her head. As the eldest child in the household how could she go to bed without checking whether or not her siblings had returned home safely first? She couldn’t. For the last couple of months since Ha Yun had moved back to Seoul, this was what she’s been doing. She’d wait until she could hear the front gate creaking open before she darted into the room and pretended to be asleep. Of course her little sister wasn’t aware of this. If she did know, Ha Yun would hav