An aristocrat gentleman had to constantly present himself without any blemish or flaw, for judgemental eyes were watching his every trail. Woohyun returned to the country home to change himself into the attire of the rich; he brought it in case such meetings were to take place. Then he excused himself for the day, going off with Sungjong towards the Iris Pub.   When they were far enough from the house, Sungjong burst out into a contumelious laughter in the most inexorable manner. “Are you aware of the way you looked? How ridiculous. I am ashamed to be your acquaintance,” he then spoke with the sharpness of his tongue.   “As always, you still take pleasure in insulting others. It isn’t an attitude one should possess as a scholar, especially with the subject of your study,” Woohyun spoke calmly, taking no offense to the younger man’s words. He was far too used to it.   This seemed to quieten Sungjong a little, pulling his eyebrows into a stern frown. “Theology doesn’t require its scholar to possess the purity of a sinless saint, such man no longer exists. Besides, my words weren’t one of insults; they were truth. You had milk dripping off of you!”   Woohyun maintained the smile on his lips, knowing it helped him build his patience. “From the same mouth that praises God you can’t utter insults. You can’t throw toxic into a clean river and expect it to remain untainted by the filth.”   “Are you quoting verses from the Bible against me? Do not forget I am the one studying theology. The Bible is my daily bread, and with it I shall gratify my spiritual hunger.”   “You may speak as holy as the priest, but your attitude shows the authenticity of your heart.”   Sungjong squinted his eyes, looking at the man walking beside him with a feeling of disdain. “I never quite liked you, Mr. Woohyun.”   “Yet, the greatest commandment is to love your neighbors as you love yourself,” Woohyun reminded with a singsong voice, knowing the other was out of arguments.   The rest of their journey was filled in peaceful silence. One made occasional commentaries about the sunny weather or the latest political trends which Sungjong had never been interested in.   They arrived at the Iris Pub located at the side of an alleyway. Once inside, the two spotted Sunggyu, Sungyeol, and Myungsoo already seated at a table at the back. The three gentlemen had a small glass in front of them as they confabulated with merry laughter.   “Good day, gentlemen. I hope we aren’t too late to join the gaily occasion,” Woohyun greeted after ordering a drink for himself. Both he and Sungjong took their seats, receiving an acknowledging nod. It felt too cold and distant in juxtaposition of the loud cheers Woohyun would receive at the house.   As Sungjong sat down beside Sungyeol, the elder brother threw his gaze away to the other side. Something was amiss. Their relationship was one that needed mending, though no one knew what had fed this distance.   “Mr. Myungsoo, it is such a pleasure to meet you again. I haven’t had the chance to greet you during your wife’s party last time. By the by, it was an exquisite evening,” Woohyun started his lavish sweet talking, motioning his fingers to emphasize the greatness of the event.   “Thank you, Mr. Nam. My wife tells me you had selected a… very interesting guest. You became quite the talk after she made her grand exit, and you yourself took off not long afterwards,” Myungsoo spoke calmly with no hint of any excessive emotions. He was a judge, trained to remain neutral at all times to not present any biased opinions to others. His expressionless emotion was a weapon of self-defense, but he was, in fact, observing.   “She is the subject of our meeting today, isn’t she?” Sunggyu interrupted, sharing a furtive nod with Myungsoo before proceeding. He now turned to Woohyun with interest, though his eyes appeared far too lazy to show any curiosity. “I must firstly engage you in several questions, Woohyun.”   “If such has to be done to prove my loyalty, so shall be it,” Woohyun answered, gulping down his glass. There was nothing he had to fear, knowing there were no crimes he had trespassed.   “How close have you gotten to the orphans?” Sunggyu spoke, wincing his eyes and twitching his lips in slight disgust. He spoke of the orphans as if they were filthy animals.   “I have made quite some progress. The orphans have taken a liking in me,” Woohyun spoke proudly, knowing the information would please his partners.   “How about Jang Dongwoo and his sister themselves? Were you able to bond with them?” Sunggyu continued his interrogation.   “I see no hindrance to my relationship with either of them,” Woohyun stopped, pausing himself here. In fact, he knew Hyunmi’s sullen hatred for the rich could become an obstacle as much as it could cause his failure. Then again, he would like to believe she had softened up toward him, or perhaps, stopped including him within the cumulative group she constantly fumed over.   “Good. Then I see no reason for any objection if we were to hurt them,” Sunggyu continued, the corner of his lips curving upward to a malicious smirk.   “Hurt them?”   “Would you be against it?”   “What sort of pain were you thinking of inflicting?”   Sunggyu stayed quiet, observing Woohyun’s unusual reaction. The small delay in his answers accounted to his hesitation towards the idea, thus suggesting he had grown more fond of the orphans than he admitted. Then again, Woohyun was never on par with Sunggyu’s ambition the way Sungyeol was. Sungyeol had nothing to sacrifice, not even caring for his own brother Sungjong. Woohyun, though he appeared arrogant at times, possessed the frailest heart. For that reason, Sunggyu could never promote him.   He interrupted the tense atmosphere by exerting a merry laughter, seeing the frown form on Woohyun’s face. “How foolish of you to think we shall resort to such measures! It will only bring us shame. No, we have gathered today to confirm our options with Mr. Myungsoo.”   “Indeed,” Myungsoo interjected calmly, not joining Sunggyu’s joyful mood for he had no reason to laugh along. His focus was strictly on his work as he retrieved the documents. “As the law states, a property may only be owned by a male individual. Even at a time when Mr. Jang wishes to hand over the house, no one else has the right to protest against it, not even his sister.”   Sunggyu observed Woohyun’s expression, noting his knotted eyebrows and arched lips; a solemn look of confusion trying its hardest to solve a puzzle. “You understand what this entails, do you not?”   “Certainly, even I could tell,” Sungjong said proudly.   “Hush! You shall better keep your opinions to yourself. Your voice isn’t needed for our consideration,” Sungyeol immediately shushed his younger brother, showing no mercy in his firm tone.   Woohyun noticed the small flicker in Sungjong’s gaze, his pride crumbling into an abyss of shame. He had seen this pattern repeated countless of times, and every single time, searched for an aversion to take the shame away from the young man.   “What does it mean?” Woohyun feigned his inability to comprehend.   “It means your sole focus should be to convince the retarded brother into signing a deal,” Sunggyu laid it out for him, straight and harsh. He shoved one of Myungsoo’s documents closer to Woohyun; the legal contract outlining the ownership of the country house.   “A retarded brother? I have never heard of such a thing! Let me walk back with you again, Mr. Woohyun. I wish to greet the clown!” Sungjong said delightfully, cackling to himself a sardonic laughter. He was quick to recover from his brother’s pitiful remark.   “I pray he shall harm you. The lunatic isn’t caged in a way he should be,” Sungyeol cursed his own brother.   “Your words are too harsh,” Woohyun immediately spoke.   “Is that so?” Again, Sunggyu couldn’t help to make his observations, detecting the growing weakness of their current plan. This wouldn’t do. “Woohyun, I suppose it is time for you to return to the orphanage. You musn’t keep them waiting, or they shall harbor suspicions.”   “Our meeting must be kept short, I suppose. Until we meet again,” Woohyun spoke, bidding them adieu as he got up on his feet.   “Well, take that good for nothing lad with you. What are you waiting here for? Go with him, you lousy ratbag!” Sungyeol addressed this speech to his younger brother, always so fond to promote their feud in public.   “E… Excuse me, then, I bid my farewell,” Sungjong stammered, not daring to spare his brother a glance, quickly trailing after Woohyun who waited by the door of the Iris Pub.   “You needn’t be so rough on him,” Myungsoo reminded. “He is only a boy.”   “And that is his greatest sin; to exist in a world where his presence is unwanted!” Sungyeol exclaimed with a bounce of his fist, the table trembling at his retaliation.   “Now, now, away with your anger. We must focus on our real purpose of gathering,” Sunggyu said, a malign grin deploring his lips. “As I feared, Woohyun isn’t suitable for the task we presented him with. But let us wait and see how far his endeavor takes him before we need to lend him a hand.”   ***   Woohyun maintained a steady pace behind Sungjong, watching the younger boy drag his feet on the ground like the death, kicking pebbles away from his dejected path. The journey ahead would be a long and dreaded one had they remained in sil