02 | WOO WOO

Baekhyun

Cold and tired and totally done for the night. That’s me.

“I’m home!” I beam as I hop into the apartment, stomping my boots on the mat to dust off any residue of the slushy snow. I take my boots off and put them on the shoe tray before walking through the short hallway that leads to our living room. I nearly topple when I stepped on one of my brother’s toy collections. “Jaehyun, keep them in one corner, please?” I ask as I pick it up.

“Yes, bud.” My brother stands from the couch and rushes to me. He headbutts me right on the chest and I catch him in my arms. “Okay okay, I missed you too, buddy. Now, don’t try to distract me, clean up your cars first and then get ready for bed soon.” I tap him on the back to motion him to the corner by the couch.

Once I know I can leave him, I walk straight to my bedroom which I share with Jaehyun. I throw my duffle back on the floor by my single bed before collapsing on it myself. Oh god, I’m exhausted—ouch! I quickly sit up as I feel a sharp solidity hit my back when I lied down. I turn my head to look down at the bed and saw another car toy. I pick it up and threw it across the room, on Jaehyun’s bed. Okay, now I can just lie down for a minute before I have to—”

“Baekhyun? You’re home, son? Can you help me with something? My new blood pressure monitor doesn’t seem to work.” My dad comes into the room and I quickly get up.

Uh-oh, I just got him a new one. Did I get a busted one? Ugh, that was on sale, my life. “I’m coming.” I get off the bed and follow him out to the kitchen. I sit on the chair of the dining table and start fiddling with the machine. “How was work?” My dad asks me.

“Well, you know—same , I was pretty busy but—Jaehyun, can you lower the volume of the TV? It’s eleven o’clock, buddy.” I lean all the way back against the chair to get a good glimpse of the living room. I switch my focus back to the machine in my hands again and start pressing the buttons, hoping I’d figure it out just by doing that. I reset it a few times and I even try to flip the batteries, for no apparent reason. I have no clue what I am doing at the moment.

“Oh, for ’s sake—I’m so sorry, I think I got a broken one. I’m gonna get another one tomorrow, I promise. I’ll see if I can get a refund of this, cause this was on clearance so I don’t know—but even so, I’ll get you a new one.” I look up at my dad who only chuckles.

“That’s fine, I don’t mind. Don’t rush, Hyun.” He said in between coughs. “Anyway, I brought your truck to the shop after my dialysis. Your brakes were squeaking and the mechanic said they might need to get replaced soon. Don’t forget, okay? It’s important.” He informs me.

The moment I heard the word replace, I feel the rush of anxiety sweep through me. Oh god, that requires money. Safety requires money, a lot of them.

“Well, I don’t use it for work anyway and Dad, you should avoid driving when you’re going for dialysis, that’s not good for you. You never know what could happen. Just take the train, it’s so much safer for you.” I reply as I sneakily check my bank account on my phone. I hate worrying him. , looks like I would have to use my credit card again if I ever have to get the brakes replaced—God damn it. I literally just keep taking what I put in it every month. I bet my credit score is not looking pretty.

“Yes, I do take the train most times but yesterday, your brother wanted to go to the bookshop to pick up some stationeries, he ran out of envelopes too.” He tells me.

I turn to him with a frown. “I just got him the fifty-piece value pack two weeks ago, he finished all of them? How many letters did he send this week?” I can’t help but laugh. “I’m gonna hear it again from Aunt Sooyoung, she’s gonna be flooded with mails, her mailbox wouldn’t close anymore,” I say as a joke. Well, not really. It’s true.

Not only does my brother send hand-written letters to Aunt Sooyoung, my dad’s sister, he also sends letters to the caretaker of the cemetery where her mother is buried. Jaehyun believes that someday, there would be a way to send them to the other side—yes, that other side. His fate towards today’s technology is remarkable but far-fetched. There’s no point arguing, really. Aside from that, he also sends hand-written letters to companies of his favourite television shows—either to thank them, give reactions to certain episodes including the reruns or to complain. He’s not a big complainer but he complains when there’s a sudden character change.

It doesn’t end with that. Jaehyun also knows everyone in this building and he sends them hand-written letters too, sometimes cards for holidays or birthdays. I believe he sends letters to his former classmates in his high school, the kids from the special needs department, of course.

Last but certainly not least, he sends love letters to his girlfriends—let me make this clear, his girlfriends are from K-pop girl groups so obviously, they’re not really his girlfriends but I can’t tell him that. I have to suffer the consequence of having to figure out how to send the letters to these entertainment companies. Trust me, it’s a hassle but at the end of the day, it makes my brother happy so I’ll deal with it.

Yup, that’s my busy boy. And he’s ing adorable and intelligent.

I turn towards the living room again and smile when I saw my brother throwing the car toys in their proper bin. “Hey, bud. Where’s my letter? I haven’t gotten one this month.” I ask.

Sometimes, he does send me and our dad letters too but obviously, he doesn’t need to mail them. He just hands them out to us personally.

Like the good boy that he is, he rushes to me and hands me a letter. “Thank you, damn I’ve been waiting for one of these. You got so busy with your letters, I thought you forgot about me, bud.” I grin as I pinch one corner of the envelope to tear it open. “Bud no, bud. The flip, on the flip, open it properly.” He stops me and takes the envelope back.

“Okay okay—I will, I promise.” I snatch it back before carefully opening the envelope the way it should be opened. Without waiting for me to read it anymore, Jaehyun walks back to the living room.

My dad taps on the shoulders. “Anyway, I had to order takeout today because we haven’t gone to the grocery store. There’s still a leftover Bulgogi in the fridge that Jaehyun didn’t want to eat, you go eat it instead, son. I’ll go to bed now.” He presses a kiss on the top of my head before walking away.

I watch him leave and I smile. “Good night, Dad,” I say before focusing my attention back on the letter. And I start reading it.

Dear Bud,

Thank you for always working hard for Dad and me. Thank you for buying me cars every week and thank you for being my brother. Thank you for buying me socks all the time and thank you for playing with me and watching TV with me. I want to build cars with you on Saturday. I love you, Bud. Don’t drink a lot, it’s not healthy. I want you to be alive as long as Dad. Tell your customers not to drink a lot, it’s not healthy.

Love,

Byun Jaehyun

I laugh as I read the last sentence. “Hey, you want me to lose customers? I’m literally useless without offering them alcohol, bud. You’re silly.” I tease as I glance at him in the living room. He has fallen asleep there on the couch. “You and your socks, you need to stop throwing them away like they’re disposable. Then I don’t have to buy you socks all the time.” I hear myself whisper but the smile on my face only widens.

Yeah, my brother thinks socks are for one-time use only because they smell at the end of the day when you remove them. The smell bothers him a lot. I always find his socks in the garbage bin. Some are salvageable when I find them but some are not so I always have to buy him new ones.

I put the letter back in its envelope and slide it in my pocket before standing up. I walk to the living room and turn off the TV before clearing up the rest of the toy cars at some areas. The cords of the portable heater, DVD player and the Wi-Fi modem are all tangled up in one corner and instead of fixing them at this late hour, I just kick them away under the couch. I’ll take care of that tomorrow.

I turn to my brother and gently rub his arm. “Bud, sleep on your bed, come on.” I try to wake him up. He groans, his face crumpling in dismay. “Actually, no, have you brushed your teeth yet? Wash your face first too. And then go to be