1.
The Lion Kim"Jung Chanwoo" Chaera was waiting for her brother on the school gate. The class had just end and so did her work; she drove all the way from gangnam to Incheon just to picked up her little brother. "Let's go"
Chanwoo smiled to her than turned around and faced his friends. They seemed to be close, close enough to did a group hug for the last time before Chanwoo officialy stop being their classmate as he must transferred to a new school in seoul. "I'll come and play on holidays!"
He ran all his way to the black sedan and his sister on the side, he knew that she never like the term waiting. She was dressed in a clean shirt and a pastel chino pants. As for what kind of person she was, she was someone who liked everything to be fast and perfect, and so It was the standard which Chanwoo has to live by for the 18 years of him living with her. "Sorry, my friends were holding me up a litle"
"No that's fine, but we do have to go now, I'm already late for my meeting" She opened the door for Chanwoo and let him to got in first. "Put the seatbelt on"
The first thing that chanwoo did once he got into the car was looking back, checking on the passanger on the backseat. "Hey Jaeahn, how are you?"
Chaera sighed, he couldnt help but to turned around and smiled at the baby on the back. "Jaeahn seems to be missing you quite a lot lately, thats why I decided to bring him with us"
"Really? What does grandma say?"
"She's happy ofcourse, I mean, It was supposed to be like that since the first place"
"Well... but how about your job? will it be okay, I mean you know the reason why--"
"Yes Chanwoo, Everything will be fine. I'm starting fresh and from now on i will try my best to be your older sister, and a good mother for Jaeahn"
Chaera and Chanwoo werent the kind of siblings who talked about a lot of things. During the ride, they were rather having their own minds as Chanwoo put his earphone on to made him self asleep and Chaera was too busy to drive her fastest while still being legal to Seoul. Jaeahn was also asleep and that was why no music was put on during the silent ride. It was always like that.
Particulary for Chaera, she has more thoughts in her head. She was waiting for a call from her boss, and that was why she kept on looking at her phone at every redlight. "I don't like it..."
"Aren't you going to tell me what's this new job all about?" Chanwoo was a bit curious, he had been awake for some times and could easily noticed the gestures that his sister made in every stops.
"uh? uhm, yeah, sure" Chaera quickly put his phone away. "Private sector" Chanwoo wanted to know more, but he knew that his sister wouldnt let him know, their relationship was just like that. "My client, You'll meet them"
Inside, he was asking;' what do you mean?' because after so long, he could finally know more about what his sister was doing to pay for his tuitions. "I will? where are we going to live now?"
"In their house".
The car stopped in front of a tall big black gate on one of the gangnams street. Anyone could tell that the house was huge, even slightly bigger than the other ones on the area. With a guess from the outside, the house seemed to be minimalistic and ecofriendly, there were lots of trees to be seen covering the house. Not long after that the gate was opened and the mystery was revealed. The house was indeed big, minimalistic and green, it was built into about four levels, it was tall. The car went straight to the garage, and the volkswagen they rode was nothing compared to the collection inside. Sportscar, hummers, escalade, the garage totally owned the groundfloor with an unbeliavable luxury.
"Noona, we're going to live here?"
"Yes"
Chanwoo carried his nephew with him as soon as he was awake. He immediately followed Chaera to wherever she went, starting from taking the stairs on the garage which led to the inside of the house. Chaera seemed to be in hurry but Chanwoo was filled with so many questions. Just what was her sister doing all this time?
He went inside the place for the first time as Chaera let the door opened for him. He was in some kind of a living room, a very big one with a 90inches plasma TV as the trophy. The room was in between the garden of the front side and the pool on the backyard. Guests must take a stairs up to entered the house from the front door as the room was located on the second floor. The ceiling was high, he could see the balcony of the third and even fourth floor. There were plenty of rooms on those floors, said the doors that was seen.
"Chaera noona! Hyung is looking for you!" Someone appeared from one of the arch, from the kitchen. "Hyungs are in a bit of trouble-- ah, are they your brothers?" His eyes were then set to Chanwoo and Jaeahn. He approached them, in a friendly steps. "Hey, I'm Kim Donghyuk! Nice to meet you both "
"I'm Jung Chanwoo and this is Jung Jaeahn" He nodded carefully, he could tell that the person before him werent like him, he was not ordinary.
Donghyuk noticed that Chanwoo was around the same age as he was, due to the uniform he was wearing. "You will be my classmate too, So I hope we can be a good friend" He offered him his right hand. "Which I know we will"
'will? will i go to the same school as him?'. nevertheless, Chanwoo received the friendly greetings that Donghyuk gave to them.
Chaera was glad that the first person That chanwoo met was Donghyuk. "Donghyuk can I ask you a favour? please show them the room, I need to see your brothers immediately"
"Sure, No problem. come with me"
"No, no, look, we can't do that! these numbers aren't good enough to supports the decision we are about to make"
"But we don't have any other option, There's no other way, Hyung!"
"Oh come on, there's always another way-- bobby, what are you doing?"
"What?" The only guy who weren't arguing turned his seat around. He was bored by the arguments his hyung and dongsaeng made so he decided to just play some music on while shuting them off. "I wasnt listening"
"Oh, come on, hyung! You know that this is important!" The guy in the beanie exclaimed, almost yelled.
"Don't blame me for not paying attention, you guys were talking about numbers and stock! I could barely understand a word!" Jiwon--also known as bobby shrugged, defended himself. "If its people I still can follow but, this is money we're talking about! I can only spend them and make them with my own way!"
The oldest out of three of them was usually to be the quitest, but at time like those, he couldnt. "Jiwon, have you called Chaera? We kinda need her now"
"I did! Look, i've been calling her for the past 30 minutes" He showed them his call log, "She is, she is supposed to pick her family today right? she must be on the way'
Right before any of them started to raise their tones again, the door was knocked as it was also followed by the long awaited voice. "It's Jung Chaera"
The beanie guy was the closest one to the door and so he was the one who opened it for her. "Chaera! where have you been"
"I'm so sorry, Hanbin, Jinhwan, Jiwon," She addressed all three of them first. "I was picking up my brother and there was an accident on my way to his school"
"Are you okay?" Jinhwas asked, "I mean, no problem, we were just evaluating the number"
Chaera walked towards the empty desk on the side, no words in between. She placed her laptop there and started to work. "About those numbers, There's something weird about it, I just found it last night"
Bobby got up from his chair, he believed that he wasn't needed anymore. "Well you can at least answer my call Chaera, these two people were about to tear each other's--"
"Calls? I didn't receive any call," Chaera had stop typing. She grabbed for the phone on her pocket and made sure that she wasn't lying. "Look, No calls"
Hanbin snatched his hyung's phone and compared it with Chaera's. "Did you change your number?" He called for her phone but nothing happened.
"I don't, and my signal is full" Then Chaera tried to the reverse, she made the call. Oddly, Bobby's phone rang. "That's weird... can I see the phone?" She asked for it and so they gave it. Chaera placed the cellphone on the table first before she took out her survival kit. The first thing she did was taking out the simcard and write down the serial number on her laptop as she started to do her magic; "That phone is bugged"
"Do you like football?" Donghyuk opened the door for them. Chanwoo's new room was even bigger than the apartment he had live with his sister before. It was well equipt, One queen size bed on the left and a single bed on the right, with a babycrib next to the bigger bed. There was a couch, a TV and two desks on each sides. He could tell that the right side was newly added, the bed, the desk, the drawer and even the bookshelfs. The suite looking room looked better than any room he had ever seen which was even more confusing for him. "Do you play any instrument?"
"I play football, but nothing serious" Chanwoo saw most of his stuff were already there. "uhm, No, I learned piano once but then quit"
"Really?? why! I play piano! our room is not that far, maybe you can hear me playing from here" He was somewhat excited. "Don't worry Jaeahn, I play classical, so it might even help you to sleep"
"You have a piano in your room?" He felt a bit stupid for asking that.
"Yes" Ofcourse he would, he was rich. "Uhm, the toy that I ordered for Jaeahn has not arrived, it should be here by today, but I still havent got a call from the store"
Chanwoo put his nephew down and let him roamed around the room. He looked like he didnt need one, the room was already like a playground for him. "I think my sister brought most of his toys from our grandma's house, but it's still in the trunk"
"Okay, Let me get that--"
"Oh, no it's okay, I'll get it myself later" Chanwoo insisted that He shouldn't. "Beside, Jaeahn looks sleepy so I'm just going to change his clothes and put him into sleep"
Donghyuk just stood by the door as he watched his new friend being very carring towards the baby. Chanwoo opened his backpack and Jaeahn clothes was even already there. " Your brother is very lucky to have you"
"My brother?" Chanwoo turned his head at him. "I don't have a brother, It's just me and my sister"
Donghyuk squinted, "huh?" he was both shocked and confused. "Jaeahn is not your brother?"
"No..., he is my nephew, Haven't she told you? Jaeahn is Chaera's son" It was easy for chanwoo to change the baby's clothes, his real challange was to make him asleep.
"She have a son?".
Before Chanwoo wanted to explain more, Donghyuk was already gone. "I was like that too, two years ago, Jaeahn. But now, I'm so happy and proud to be your uncle" He muttered.
"Someone has been tracing the numbers that Jiwon contacts. I can shut it down, I can block them but then they will know that we know they're bugging his phone" Chaera explained, as the three brothers were all speechless. "To most number they can even listen to his conversation but I have put on a protection to my number, Jinhwan's and Hanbin's so that's why I was unable to receive your call" She returned the phone back to the owner, but not the simcard. "I didnt think that they would bug his phone, but now I know that I made a mistake and I'm so sorry, that won't happen again--"
"No, it's not your fault. I clearly said that I want your help for my phone and Jinhwan hyung's only," Hanbin just stood there, thinking. "But why, why would they bug you hyung?"
"I have no idea! I'm like the least important person in this family" Bobbyclerly had no idea. As he shrugged, he placed his hands onto his pocket and started to wonder around. "I dont touch those things again, I'm clean now, I dont even party this month! I was doing what you told me hyung, get out of here, and stay away from trouble" the more he talked, the more upset he got. "Look, I even quit drinking! I'm like a saint compared to you guys now!"
"Relax, hyung, we don't put the blame on you either" Hanbin made sure his hyung got it. "wait, how about donghyuk, what about his phone?"
Chaera confirmed, "It's okay, I just cheked it. Donghyuk's phone is different, Through the acces that you gave to me I can see all his activity, do you want the transcripts?"
" to be the minor," Even though he was a few steps away from them, bobby could still listen to everything they said.
"No, like what I told you, keep it for yourself unless there's something that we need to know" Jinhwan refused. "wait, is there anything??"
"There's nothing there, he doesnt have any sns and his business is only with you all"
Hanbin scracthed his hair, it became itchy as he felt somehow furious. "That kid, he still doesn't have any friends, huh?"
"Come on, we all have been there, it's just a phase. He'll ge through it" Bobby tried to chilled him down. "You know what, this is crazy, I'm out of here. I am not going to touch my phone unless its all clear. I'm like mad at you both, I told you, do your own business and stay out of mine--"
"Yeah we'll take care of this Jiwon!" Jinhwan raised his voice, loud enough to made bobby stopped walking any closer to the door. "Just stay out of trouble and breath"
Bobby turned around, only to made sure his brothers listen; "No, you guys are the real trouble"
Chanwoo was just finished to bring the last box into the room when he realized that Jaeahn was missing. Jaeahn couldnt sleep and so he let him play around with his toy inside the crib. But after five minutes he left him, the baby was gone.
He looked around the room first, in case he was hiding on the small gaps. But jaeahn trace couldnt be found in the room and the bathroom. Chanwoo had to expand his search in that big strange house that he barely know. "Jaehahn! Where are you?"
"Those airhead, dumb ers, I gotta get out of here before I become as crazy as the--" bobby felt like his feet just bumped into something. He lowered his eyes, and found the wanted baby. "Well hello kid, what's your name?" He kneeled before jaeahn and level his eyes with his. "You look like someone I know-- wait, am I your uncle?!"
"Jaeahn! Jaeahn! Jae--" after awhile, chanwoo got reunited again with his nephew just before jaeahn crawled up to the stairs which led to the third floor.
Bobby was then as surprised as chanwoo, more strangers were found in house. "Ah, you look so much like her," he said. "Then you must be the brother and this kid is the son of our lovely chaera"
Chanwoo just gulped, unlike donghyuk, there was something a bit different about the guy. "Yes, I'm Jung chanwoo and he is my nephew, Jung jaeahn"
"Kim bobby, nice to meet you" bobby lured his hands as he tried to see whether the little boy like him or not. He did, jaeahn quickly jumped into bobby's arm and let him carry his small weight. "This guy is so cute, and you, young man, you better change your clothes cause we never eat dinner with a soaked awful highchool uniform"
He wasn't sure on how to react to that. Chanwoo knew that bobby was older than him and somehow, more powerful, and much more anything than him. "I'll get change"
"Wise decision my son, in the mean tine , me and my new friend jaeahn will be waiting here!"
Bobby waited for chanwoo before he took his guests downstairs. It didn't took him long to wait, he would guess that chanwoo was in hurry to change his clothes as he was still not trusting him with his the baby.
He took them to the backyard, as the three of them sat by the poolside while the sun was still in sight. "So chanwoo, tell me more about yourself then I tell you mine"
"Umm," where should he start? "I'm on my last year of highschool now, I was born and raised in incheon, my parents got divorce before I was even born and then my mom died right after she had me and so until chaera got this scholarship for her studies in the city we lived with our grandmother"
"I see" bobby just nodded. "And you are younger than your sister by?"
"Three years"
"So you are 18?"
"Yes"
"But weren't your sister went abroad for her studies?"
"Yes but I chose to stay in incheon and finished my middle school, she sent me money though, during her left, then she came back not long after I started highschool and we started to live together again"
Bobby tried to connect the dots; "Let me guess, she came back with jaeahn?"
A slight smile was pulled from his cheek, "not necessarily, jaeahn was born six months after that"
"Interesting" for bobby, chanwoo's story was a good way to be a distraction for his conflicted minds. "You should make a novel out of that"
"No, it's nothing like that at all.. Our lifes are indeed unique but there were no drama or anything, my life had always been peaceful"
"You're the south to my north then" Bobby continued, "my life is usual but full of drama"
Chanwoo wasn't sure whether the house that he was going to live in was 'the usual' ones.
"I mean, my family is just your ordinary chaebol, wealthy and famous, hedonistic yet philantropic at the same time family. we earn, spend and donates money as if we breath them. have you seen my brothers? They are all good looking and lots of parents want their child to married one of them" chanwoo could imagine what he was talking, "of course you know the Lion Kim groups, right? Well, here I am, I am one of those lion Kims"
The lion Kim, everyone In Seoul would've heard of that name. Lion Kim was a company that led the hospitality & lifestyle industry. Restaurants, cafes, clubs, retail, fashion line, most of the hottest place in not just korea, but also china japan and some other more country in the world were owned by that group.
"From magazine or like online sources, Of course you've heard about the little lion, right? Well its actually little lions and those lions are my brothers, jinhwan and Hanbin. Ever since our dad decided to quit this world and live in peace, which was... When, five years ago? Yeah, around that time, he gave all of his business, the people who he had led for more than 30 years years, his assets, everything that was under his name to a kid; Jinhwan hyung was only 20 back then" His hand reached for something on his pocket, a pack of rolled tobacco. Bobby took one out of the twelve and was about to light it up until he realized that Jaeahn was sitting beside him. He threw it away to the closest trash can that he could, which was about five meters away from him. "Score," He only moved his hand for that. " Jinhwan and Hanbin are gifted-- or cursed with intellegence, leadership skills and all materials that made them the perfect Kim while I'm just, me,"
"Hyung," After a while, Chanwoo wanted to say something without being asked. "Hyung you like music don't you?"
"eh? How do you know?" Bobby clearly had a headphone tangled around his neck, and somehow the way he dressed screamed 'hip-hop'. "Yeah, I like making music, trust me, I'm excellent at it and I also raps"
"So you and Donghyuk like to collaborates?"
Bobby shook his head; "Not really, you see, he play pretty music and I write some dope lyrics, you get me?"
Chanwoo nodded.
"Have you meet all four of us? dont you wonder why we looked so different?". Chanwoo then lightly shook his head, cause if there were really four of them than he had just meft half of those four. "Well, Jinwhan and Donghyuk, they are my half brother, they came from one mother, which was the first wife of our father and then I am Hanbin's older brother. so here's the story; Our father married Jinhwan's and Donghyuk's mother and then they had Jinhwan. Father was young, have tons of money and in so much power so it was easy for him to sleep with any other woman including my mom, so they had and then I was born about a year after Jinhwan was born, Jinhwan's mother got angry and so they got divorced and father married my mother, not long after that Hanbin was born, but I thing they had a fight or something which made them divorce, Mom went to the states But I have never contacted her until now and also a few months after Hanbin was born Donghyuk was also born, so apperently Father was cheating on his ex wife with his ex wife, but the first ex wife decided that she was done with those kind of life marrying father for the second time was out of the list. Jinhwan's mother died on 1998, and so ever since, Jinhwan and Donghyuk had started to live with me and Hanbin. in conclusion I look exactly like the old man, imagine a 60 years old bastard with my face and a white hair with more hideous wrinkles drinking a wine and live in capri or somewherewith god knows how many women he's currently with well I just hope that now he know how to use a concom... and Hanbin looks like my mom, that's why he is handsome. Ive seen a photo of Jinhwan's and Donghyuk's mom and she looked a lot like Jinhwan, Donghyuk is also her with a little sprinkle of the old man"
For the rest thirty seconds after that, Chanwoo couldnt even blink an eye. "whoah,"
"Yes Kid. Sorry to blabbered it out, it's none of your business I know but I just need to remind myself that whatever is happening right now, its all his fault" Bobby got up and strecthed a bit, sitting around wasnt really his thing. "That hormonal and lustful Kim Saja rich old man who couldnt keep his thing on his pants"
Someone stopped bobby from saying more about his father, "Ah, there you are, Bobby, dinner is ready" It was Jinhwan, and his call from the door. "Let's eat-- ah, you must be Chanwoo and jaeahn!" Knowing that There was not only his brother there, Jinhwan the walked out of the house to joined them on the porch. "hey, I'm Kim Jinhwan"
"Jung Chanwoo" From what bobby had told him, The jinhwan that he saw was more... subtle, somehow, then what he had imagine. He gave a very calming and friendly aura. "My pleasure to meet you"
"No, please, fell free to call me your hyung" Jinhwan lowered his back so that he could offer his hand to Jaeahn, "Hey jaeahn, your new toy has arrived, you can check it on your room later"
"Thank you"
"No need," Jinhwan smiled at him for one more time before he turned around and went inside. "Come on, I dont like to eat cold food"
Bobby clucked, humming his way back inside. "Let's go Chanwoo".
"Hyung," As soon as he got Jaeahn on his hands, Chanwoo didnt want to be left behind. "hyung, can I ask you something?"
"please just ask. formality doesnt work on me-- well, but you still have to call me hyung"
The more he talked, the more easy it was for Chanwoo to fell less confused and in questions. Something about bobby made him feel in ease. "Hyung are you close with your brothers?"
"huh?" For a second he stole a glance at the guy beside him. "Well, I wouldnt say that we're very close but we surely love each other way more than we love the people who made us"
"Chaera, Let's go, Dinner is ready" Hanbin sat on the recliner while he waited for the other person on the room. Amongst the tall bookshelfs, a big round table and some desks, Chaera looked bussiest than the papers on his desk that were still waiting to be signed. "Chaera,"
"Give me five minutes, I think I can access the server" She didnt care. a note to herself from herself, she made a big blunder that day and she had to fix it. "I think i can tell you who bugged Jiwon's phone"
"Come on, we all know that it's gottabe the oldman" He pointed at the painting behind him, the one that looked like it was bobby with a gray wig.
"No, the receiver came from here, from seoul, your father is still in greece, right?"
"I guess? I dont know, he just follow what ever girl he finds attractive" Hanbin got up and stood beside her. "Chaera, I know that you havent eat a lunch either. Let's go downstairs and eat--"
"Got it," Chaera clicked the enter button and the resut was finally shown.
Hanbin had became curious too, ofcourse, he shoved his head in so he could take a look at the screen too. and the name that was written next to a seriaal of number","
"Soon Yunhyeong"
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