Youngbin stirred awake, throat parched and head slightly aching. His heart was racing as he remembered a similar situation from months before. He scrunched his eyes shut a little more tightly; afraid that what would welcome him would be a white, empty room.

“Open your eyes,”

He heeded the voice, annoyed at how it still had power over him. He lifted his head slowly, fixing his gaze at the figure seated behind the familiar oak desk.

“D-Dad-“ he croaked.

His father merely looked at him – eyes filled with so much judgement; mouth curled in disapproval. He met his father’s gaze head on even though every nerve in his body is telling him to bow his head.

The sound of the door opening and closing broke the heavy silence.

“Hyung,” Chani appeared beside him, carrying a huge glass of water. “Please drink this,” he lifted the glass to Youngbin’s lips and tipped it. Youngbin downed the glass in two gulps, feeling a little better than he did a while ago.

“How are you feeling?’ Chani asked, standing nervously between the two of them.

“A family reunion huh,” he replied not bothering to hide the venom in his voice.

Chani flinched and immediately glanced at their father who just smirked at the comment.

“A few months ago, you wouldn’t talk that way if I’m in the room,” their father said.

“A few months ago, I was your only son and heir,” Youngbin retorted.

Chani flinched at that and took a step back. Their father stood up and approached a small cabinet; opening it to reveal all kinds of alcohol. He poured something onto a glass and drank it.

“Chani is..,” he started. “He’s really your brother.”

Youngbin glanced at Chani who just bowed his head as if in admission.

“I… when he had him, SF Group was in very dangerous waters. Your uncle wanted the CEO position for himself and you knew how he had connections in the black market. If he takes the CEO title – our company would be involved in illegal dealings and I couldn’t have that. I knew it was gonna be dangerous for the both of you so…” he paused, taking a deep breath.

“I asked your mother to leave me and to raise Chani in France secretly. The divorce was just for show. Your uncle… he would kill you if it means he gets to have the position for himself.”

“So Chani was what? A back up plan in case I got killed? Just so that precious seat in the company can remain in your power?” Youngbin said. He was shaking - with anger or disgust, he couldn’t even tell the difference.

A suffocating silence followed, and every breath of air felt like a noose tightening on Youngbin’s neck.

“Then why reveal him to the world now? Uncle Hyun died a few years ago. There was no one else who’ll inherit the company,” Youngbin asked.

A part of him understood why his father had done that – all his life, Youngbin was taught about the responsibilities of being the next CEO, the importance of keeping SF Group afloat, the honour and prestige that is expected from him.

“It was a test,” his father replied. “I have to make sure you’re willing to do anything to keep the power in your hands..,”

He looked almost sad but in the next moment, the cold stance and glare are back in his father’s eyes. “You ran away, Youngbin. Do you know how disappointed I was with you?! You left without even demanding me for answers... I thought you would run to your mother. I was hoping she would tell you everything. Instead I-,”

“What the ! Do you realize what you even did to me, dad?!” Youngbin shouted. “Do you know how useless I felt at that moment?! All my life, I followed you. I threw away my dreams just to follow in your footsteps. I did everything you wanted me to and just like that- You-You destroyed everything I was and everything I have ever known!”

Youngbin was breathing hard after the outburst but he felt lighter – better.

“I-I’m sorry,” his father said.

“Wow, I didn’t know you knew how to apologize, dad?” Youngbin replied. It was the first time in all his life that he heard his father utter those words.

“Well, I’m done with everything,” Youngbin said. He started to walk towards the exit.  

“Hyung,” Chani said. Youngbin turned to look at him. Chani looked unsure and hesitant but the resolve in his eyes were unnerving. “Hyung, i can’t do everything by myself. Please… stay and help me. Help us,”

“With what?” he asked.

“We need you, Youngbin. Most of the people still think Chani is a bastard even though I’ve proven time and again that he is my real son… They want you in position,”

“Ah there it is,” Youngbin huffed. “You’re just afraid that your perfect little company will be ruined, right? This – telling me the truth isn’t really for my benefit… It’s all still for you,”

“Hyung, please,” Chani pleaded.

The rejection was almost on the tip of his tongue but Youngbin thought of something – someone- and he would need all the money and resources to make it happen.

The first few weeks being back in the mansion is a bit jarring for Youngbin. Somehow, he has learned how to live with what little he has, cutting back on his wants just so he could provide himself with food and clothes and a roof over his head. And coming to terms with the fact that he has a brother – that he had always had a brother – wasn’t that easy of a feat.

“I’ll see you there,”

There was no hint of familiarity or warmth between the two of them then. It was just business – pure and simple. The moment he heard Inseong’s strained voice, he knew.

It’s been a year since everything happened. A year since they started to track down Dawon. Youngbin didn’t even need to convince Inseong and Jaeyoon, they just showed up one day telling him that they’ve picked up a trail a asked for his help.

Youngbin stepped out of the car, one hand gripping a duffel bag tightly while the other was loosening his tie as he walked towards the house. The sound of the waves crashing on the rocks, the scent of the sea in the air – never in his entire life did he think that he would step into this house once more. Still, Youngbin thought that this would be the perfect place to finish everything.

He knocked three times on the wooden door and waited. It opened a minute later and he was greeted by Inseong.

“Hey, it’s been awhile,” Youngbin said shaking the other’s hand.

Inseong merely nodded and gave him a smile before stepping to the side. Jaeyoon greeted him then, a firm handshake and a quick hug.

A beat – a few seconds of them just standing around and looking at each other with meaningful glances.

“He’s there,” Jaeyoon said, pointing towards the room at the end of the hall – the one where Youngbin stayed in that fateful day a year ago.

“We’ll be outside if anything happens,” Inseong quipped as they all walked towards it.

It was only a few steps towards the room and yet Youngbin felt that it was a long corridor. He tried to calm his mind, breathing in and out. Jaeyoon and Inseong were flanking him and somehow, that made the tension all the more palpable.

“You look like ,” Youngbin said. He crossed the room slowly, keeping his eyes on the guy.

A year had passed and Youngbin was expecting to see the blue-eyed, silver-haired Dawon that he came face to face to the last time.

Dawon sat up, wincing as he did so. His face and arms were marred with scratches and bruises, some of them still fresh. There was a pang of nostalgia as Youngbin was reminded of the very first time they met. But that faded as easily as it came.

“So, you found me,” Dawon said. His voice was a bit strained. “What can I do for you?”

Youngbin placed the duffel on top of the bed and ped it. Inside were bundles of money – 1 million US dollars in cold, hard cash. Youngbin dumped everything on the bed covering the lower half of Dawon’s body in bills.

“The truth, Dawon-ssi, I need you to tell me the truth,” Youngbin said.

Dawon’s face was usually a mask but this time, Youngbin could see the hurt in his eyes – as if he himself had laid hands on the guy. But Youngbin didn’t let that get to him, he needed answers. He needed closure.

“What do you want me to say?” Dawon said, his voice was soft and a little bit raspy.

“When you approached me, was it my father’s doing or was it you?”

The guy sighed. “It was your father. Hwiyoung contacted me a few weeks after you ran away. At first, it was just to keep an eye on you but your father got scared. He wanted someone close – someone who can physically help if needed. And so I devised of a way to get to know you,”

“Then why did you lie when I confronted you?”

Dawon sighed. “That’s just what I do, okay? There’s no deep and meaningful reason behind me lying,” he replied almost annoyed.

“And the kidnapping? Was it really you?”

“Oh, hahaha. Funny story,” Dawon replied sheepishly. “I forgot to call off that operation, god I’m so stupid sometimes”

“What?”

“It’s one of the scenarios I thought of, you know – a kidnapping. And then a stranger goes and saves you and then you two get close and be best friends. I can’t really call it off then coz they already have you and you’ll probably get suspicious and find out everything about it so, I played along,” Dawon replied in one breath.

“Okay, this is giving me a headache,” Youngbin said, massaging his temples. He swept some of the bill of the bed and sat down. 

“Did it mean anything to you? The friendship? The things we’ve been through?” Youngbin asked in almost a whisper.

The time he spent away from his family and all the money was one of the hardest he had ever been through but it was also the best. Working at the coffee shop had somehow humbled him and it taught him a lot of lessons. And the friendships he managed to foster, with Mina, Chulmin, Inseong and Jaeyoon – those relationships are the most genuine he had ever experienced.

But with Dawon…

Dawon who he treated as his own brother…

The silence was stifling and Youngbin was even afraid to glance at Dawon. The seconds went on and on until,

“No. This is just a job for me.” Dawon answered with a steady voice.

Silence.

“Well then, I guess that’s it,” Youngbin said standing up. “Goodbye, Lee Dawon-sii,”

“Goodbye, Kim Youngbin-ssi,”