And there I was thinking nice it would be to have a hot bath before slipping into a coma...

Sighing loudly, Sungho checked his side view mirrors before easing his car into the next lane. Dull aches wrecked his body, and he was actually looking forward to the comforting softness of his bed back home. His business talk did not go well the previous night, and he had walked away with a small bruise at the left corner of his mouth and another one by his right eye.

While the initial few punches that he had taken from the sudden attack were rather painful, it was certainly less painful than what his attackers had suffered. Four of the men were hospitalised from various bone fractures inflicted by Sungho while another two were in the mortuary after suffering fatal gun wounds, courtesy of Sungho's men.

The fight had stemmed from the client's unhappiness over the some of the terms in the contract, terms which the man eventually agreed to after some persuasion. Turns out that having a gun pointed up his chin was the only persuasion the noncompliant man needed.

Sungho wasn't a person who likes resorting to violence and bloodshed during business discussions. Violence was the old way, and the new generations preferred brains over brawl. Besides, guns are always messy and fighting painful. Yet there are still times when good old violence still worked best.

Damn... That bruise is going to show... Sungmin's really good at picking the wrong time... Where is that cursed sunglasses?

Glancing into the rear mirror, Sungho groaned inwardly. There had been attempts to powder down the one by the corner of his mouth after an emergency purchase of a concealer at a nearby departmental store but the one by his eye was too angry a bruise to conceal. Usually he's not one to bother covering up his injuries - everyone who knew Lee Sungho knew that whoever inflicted those injuries were in a much worse state.

But it was different this time round. He was unwilling to let his brother see those bruises. The tidy and gentle boy made him feel uncomfortable, a reminder of how different the worlds they lived in were. He felt like a pollution, an outcast in Sungmin's world. If he could, he wished he never had to see him again. Yet, he could not bring himself to reject the invitation when Sungmin called him about an hour ago.

"Sungho... Are-Are you busy right now?"

"Sungmin? Are you okay? Why do you sound so weird?"

"I...I don't know..."

"Where are you? I'll come find you,"

Sungmin sounded really weird over the phone... Had he been crying? Did the inevitable happen?*

Picking up speed as he stepped down harder on the accelerator, Sungho weaved his car skillfully through a whole horde of slower drivers. Anxiety filled his heart at the lifelessness in Sungmin's voice, a clue as to whether or not what he feared most had happened.

Aish... Ah Yonni! If I can get my hands on you... I'm gonna pluck out every single bone in your body! What did we Lee family ever do to you? Why must you inflict such misery on us?!

Yonni was the only person Sungho could pin the blame on. If only a control chip could be inserted into her non-existent brain, both brothers would not be in such misery now. With anger boiling deep in his heart,Sungho was apprehensive of the unspeakable terrors that his father might unleash upon him if the worst should happen. However, he was even more worried about how his older brother was going to handle the rejection.

Father isn't going to let this go easily... How should I contain the situation?

Pulling his car to a stop by the sidewalk, Sungho hopped out after making sure the bruise by his right eye was well-concealed by his sunglasses. Sungmin was nowhere in sight as he scanned the busy weekend streets. Going by his hunch, Sungho began in the direction of a nearby alleyway.

He soon found Sungmin sitting at the bottom of a flight of stairs, with his head buried in his arms which were hugging his knees tightly. Hesitating, he wasn't sure what he should do next. When he heard Sungmin over the phone, he was so worried that all he wanted was to find his brother. However, now that his heartbroken brother was right in front of him, he suddenly lost his tongue.

"Sungmin,"

Raising his head slowly, Sungmin's face was all blotchy and red, the tearstains on the sleeves of his shirt a telltale sign that he had been crying. He stared at Sungho silently for a couple of seconds before burying his head again. Unsure of what he should do next, the younger brother sat down slowly next to Sungmin.

I should at least say something... Ask him what happened? No... That would be a little too insensitive... Talk about something else? But there's nothing to talk about? Maybe I should just sit here quietly...

"She'd said it,"

"Wh-What?"

"Yonni. She choose Leeteuk-sshi over me,"

Sungmin's sudden muffled statement had thrown Sungho off balance for he did not expect the silent boy to speak so soon. The older boy had not bothered to raise his head to look at the younger one, speaking instead with his head still buried. Deeming it fit that he should at least show some form of concern, Sungho raised his right arm slowly before he hesitatingly laid a couple of comforting pats on Sungmin's back.

"And Kyuhyun stood on her side... How could he stab me in the back like this...What did I do wrong? What does Lee Parkteuk have that I don't?"

Her heart, my brother... Her heart...
 

Deciding that Sungmin had done enough mopping, Sungho grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. Surprised, Sungmin did not put up any resistance even when his brother began dragging him down the alleyway after him.

"Come on, I'll bring you to a place that will take all your sorrows away,"

Minutes later, they were seated comfortably in the stylish Spyder of Sungho's. While the driver was warming up the engine, the passenger was exploring the car. Sungho tried his best to mask his amusement as Sungmin cautiously ran his fingers over everything, examining first the ceiling, the windows, the seats, and finally the dashboard. 

"Did my car pass the test, Mr Inspector?"

Abandoning all pretenses as Sungmin withdrew his hands hastily and settled back into his seat at the sudden question, Sungho burst out in laughter at the guilty look on his face.

He looks exactly like a child who got caught stealing cookies from the counter... How could An Yonni not love a face like this? Pabo-nika?

That was the only thought that was running through Sungho's mind as he stepped down on the pedal. Silence resumed in the vehicle as each brother immersed into their own thoughts. Sungmin was feeling more at terms with reality, but it did not lessen the pain a bit. Compared to Yonni, Sungmin was more resentful towards Kyuhyun. Of all the people to sell him out, his cousin was the last person he would ever expect.

"The movie, the meal, the chance to relax... They were all lies!"

"Hyung... This is for your own good!"

"How could you, Hyunnie... I trusted you..."

Blinking back against the tears that were threatening to fall again, Sungmin took a deep breath to calm his aching heart down. However, no matter how hard he tried, the events of the day stubbornly replayed again and again in his head, making him relieve the heartache again.

"Sungmin-ah, where are you taking me?"

Following without any resistance, Yonni allowed Sungmin to lead her away from the café where Kyuhyun had brought Sungmin to meet her as per her instructions. Sungmin kept a firm grip on her arm, and was pulling her along purposefully, as if he already had a destination in mind. As curious as she was, she couldn’t get a good look at the surroundings for she was already having trouble keeping up with the boy.

Finally, after more turns than Yonni could keep track of, Sungmin finally came to a stop. Bending over to pant while supporting her body by pressing both of her hands at her knees, it took almost an entire minute for her to catch her breath. When she eventually looked up, she found Sungmin looking around with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Do you remember this place?”

“W-What? Here?”

“This was where we first met… Where you bumped into me...”

Shoulders slumping slightly when he saw no sense of recognition in her eyes, Sungmin was rather disappointed as he was hoping that their first meeting would be as meaningful to her as it was to him. Yonni however, simply glanced around half-heartedly before attempting to speak again.

"Sungmin...I-I have something to-"

"You know, I'd just realised you've never address me as oppa before,"

Interrupting the stammering girl, Sungmin flashed a sad smile at Yonni before lowering his head, kicking absentmindedly at a loose pebble nearby. Yonni's already guilty heart wrenched even further at the pitiful sight before her.

"Sun-Sungmin o...Sungmin oppa..."

"Haha... Seems like you need more practice... It's not as natural as when you address Heechul hyung, or Le..."

Hesitating, he found it hard to get the name "Leeteuk" out of his mouth. The name that had snatched his first love away from him. As he looked up at Yonni, he tried his best to smile at Yonni again, feeling pained for the tears that were welling up in her eyes. Sharing the same feelings, Yonni was having second thoughts about the rejection as she saw the forlorn look in Sungmin’s deep orbs.

Sungmin... An Yonni! Why are you such a bad girl? Who are you to break his heart? Can I really do this?
 

“You don’t have to say it… I know what you are going to tell me…”

`

“Sungmin…”

“It’s all right. I understand… I already knew it since the first time I met him. The way you look at him is… Different…”

“Sungmin, you’re a wonderful boy… I’m sure there’re lots of girls outside that are more suitable for you…”

“If I was truly that wonderful, you would have chosen me, won’t you?”

Sungmin tried hard to keep his voice from cracking. The last thing he wanted was to look like a wimp right now. He was a man, and men do not break down in front of the girls that they like. They have to be tough and strong, so the girls would be willing to go to them for protection. Although his heart was hurting so bad he was surprised blood wasn’t spewing from his mouth.

The tears that Yonni had been trying her best to hold back fell at Sungmin’s words. The effort that he was exerting to mask his pain was clear as day to Yonni. The suffocating pain in her chest, the pounding in her ears, ever single second consisted of excruciating pain wrecking her entire body. Ever since she decided she was going to reject Sungmin, she was already mentally prepared that it wasn’t going to be an easy feat. But, she never expected it to hurt this bad.

Maybe Sungmin matters more to me than I had realized… But… It IS Leeteuk oppa that I like… What is this I am feeling? If my heart belongs to Leeteuk oppa, why does this hurt so bad?

“Sungmin… I’m not worthy of your affections… Don’t like me…”

I don’t like you, Yonni… I love you…

Before he knew it, Sungmin’s fingers were reaching out to wipe off the tears flowing down Yonni’s sad face. However, he hesitated before they touched her. He watched in turmoil as Yonni’s eyes darted back and forth between his fingers and face. Then, as if reading the dilemma he was facing in his heart, Yonni took a small step back as she wiped off her own tears using the back of her hand.

“Yonni… Promise me something. Since you have made a choice, promise me you will fight with all your might. Okay?”

“Sungmin… Forget me okay? I’m… I’m not worthy of your pain… Stop liking me… It’s okay if you hate me too… I just don’t want you to feel any pain because of me…”

“If… If Leeteuk-sshi tells you that he doesn’t like you, that he actually likes someone else… Would you stop liking him?”

“…”

“Your silence is my answer,”

Closing his eyes in an attempt to block off the mental replay, Sungmin willed his mind to go blank.  Wanting to find a distraction from the pain that plagued his heart, he turned around and studied the man beside him closely.

The resemblance was just about the only thing they shared. While Sungmin was fair and lean, Sungho was more tanned and well-built. Sungho's well styled blond hair was also vastly different from Sungmin's neat black crown.

Which high-school does he go to? Is dyed hair allowed?

However, what struck Sungmin the most was the look in Sungho's eyes. The cold, uncaring way he looked at everything and everyone. It was a look that only people who had undergone a lot would have, not one that you will find in a teenager barely 16. Sungmin had a gut feeling that Sungho was hiding more about himself that he was letting out.

"Is there something on my face? Why do you keep staring at me?"

Trying not to flinch from the hostile tone which Sungho had adopted, Sungmin averted his eyes immediately and lowered his head, choosing to stay silent lest he said anything that might aggravate his brother even more.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice... I'm just not comfortable with people staring at me,"

Using one hand to steer the wheel, Sungho patted Sungmin's shoulders apologetically. The harsh tone he adopted was an instinctive reaction that was horned into him from all the fiesty people he had to deal and work with. He regretted it the instant he saw the hurt look that flashed past Sungmin's face.

"It's okay... it was wrong of me to stare too... I'm sorry..."

The rest of the journey continued in an awkward silence as both brothers simultaneously gave up trying to find a topic to kick start the conversation. Luckily, it did not take too long for them to reach their destination. Throwing his car keys to the valet who came up to greet them as they stepped out of the car, Sungmin was surprised by the haughty look that appeared on Sungho as soon as he laid eyes on the bowing valet.

"Good evening, Mr Lee! It's a pleasure to see you here again!"

“Hmm. I want my car in the same condition as it is now when I get it back. Don’t think I haven’t heard about you crashing a patron’s car into the wall last week when you drove it after a dozen beers,”

“Of course, Mr Lee. I don’t even dare to dream of scratching your ri- WOAH!”

Jumping away from the pair of brothers, the valet was extremely surprised to see Sungmin. As Sungho was a regular, he had recognized the infamous Young Master Lee even though he had sunglasses on. What shocked him was the neat and tidy boy beside who shared the same face. However, before he could get to the bottom of the mystifying occurrence, the cool one had started leading the studious one through the entrance.

What is this place? Sungho seemed to be a regular… Is this a place we should be at? Oh gosh… What have I gotten myself into?