Where It All Began

[Song of the Day: INFINITE - Can U Smile? (Original Ver.)] "You know that I will always be here for you. I mean, I will be here for you always as a friend, right?" He said sadly as he cupped her face.

"Yes, I know it." 

He tried to smile to keep the pain he felt inside. "So, this is how things will end, but I wish for your happiness."

Thank you was the only answer which escaped from her lips. These words broke his heart miserably. These words were the ones he did not expect to come, but it resonated in every corner of his ears painfully. He wanted to pretend like he was deaf. He wanted to be deafened by the love that he had for her, so that the pain inside his heart would not be as agonizing as hell. It was hard to pretend like the pain was nothing.

The harsh truth was excruciating. The reality that his love seemed to be unrequited. The breeze caressed the sadness of his heart. He wished to disappear at that moment. The man was standing frozen as he felt the numbness throughout his body. He was in deep pain. It felt painful, yet he forced to flash a sincere yet bitter grin on his face.

'Is it only the words Thank You? You keep on telling me that. What else? Sorry? I have taken much of those phrases. Is it impossible to have something more?  I want to see your genuine smile. I want to smell your scent. I want to touch your soft hair. I want to caress your tender-looking face, but all I can do is to watch you from afar. All of these will never happen, even in my dreams. I can only be this kind of person to you, but I can never be the person who you truly love.' The man thought hopelessly.

The man took a glimpse of the woman’s shadow as she walked away. Disappointment and regret were buried deeply in his mind. The tears of dejection were visible on the corners of his eyes. It was the most painful feeling he had ever experienced. It was the bitter feeling of rejection. He had no choice, but to surrender on the war of love. Setting her free was the only thing he could ever do. Love was never enough. It was never enough because he, himself was the one who conceded pathetically in the end. 

"Naneun baboya! I must have gone insane to let her go like this, but I hope I will find mine soon too, my destiny.” The man let out a big sigh. A sharp pang of remorse made his heart clench. Letting his eyes close as he let the cold breeze caress the numbness of his heart, he muttered, "Why am I so stupid? No, that is not right. I have always been stupid."

"NAM WOOOHYUUUNNN!" A scream resonated through the corners of the room. It was an old woman's voice which sounded louder than a chicken's crow. It was a Monday morning during that time. The young man was sleeping deeply, not even aware of the responsibility that he has to fulfill.

The young man mumbled, "Mmmmm?"

"For Pete's sake! You child! Wake up now! Are you not going to be man enough like your half brother? Ireona! Aish! This child! Nam Woohyun! I swear, I will kick the hell out of you if you will not get up from your bed!"

...Man enough like your half brother.  His ears heard these words clearly, and these set as an alarm echoing in his mind.

He opened his eyes gently. The young man let a yawn escape from his mouth. "See, Ommoni? I am awake. I actually. Uhmm. I woke up early awhile ago but I ended up napping again because it was just 3 am." 

"Oh? Cheongmal?"

"You do not have to repeat hyung's God-like attitude. Hyung's perfection has already sounded generic. I have had enough of it. I got it, okay?" The young man muttered in a serious tone.

Soon, noticing how his face turned blue, she apologized, "Sorry about that, son." The old woman bit the bottom of her lips.

She said, "Anyway, you have to get up now. Your harabeoji is expecting you to come on time for work. You do not want him to scold you for ages, right?"

The young man grumbled, "Then what? He will brag again about my PERFECT  brother, and then show how useless I am and why I should not exist in this world. Come on! Nothing changes, Mom. Aigoo! I cannot seem to do anything right when it comes to him."

The woman heaved a sigh, and said, "Do not lose hope, my dear son. He will soon see you differently too."

"Cut the stupid drama off, Ommoni. I will head to the office after I take a bath. You do not need to remind me of every single detail. I get so scared with your explosive screams." 

"Okay, my son. The car is ready outside. Hwaiting!" His mom cheered as she pumped her arms.

"Whatever!" The lad rolled his eyes as he headed to the bathroom.

She was on her way home when she heard crashing things and there was a commotion which seemed to be going on.

The young lady grunted, "What the hell? Aigoo! What are these persons in our neighborhood up to now?" 

Not knowing that a fiasco was going on, she continued walking towards their house. Her eyes widen when she saw her younger brother, Sungjong running like someone was chasing him.

"Sungjonggie, what happened? Why are you running? Did something bad happen?"

"Noona, the mafias are—" His voice was trembling. Apparently, he was scared. The young man was unable to say the last word because he hardly tried to catch his breath. Beads of sweat continuously dripped down his face.

"Mworago? Tell me! Wae?"

The young man cleared his throat and spoke up afterwards, "Appa has yet not paid his debt to them. That is why!"

"You mean that the annoying chaotic sounds come from our house? CRAP! Tsk! Those damn debts! Was he already badly beaten by those thugs?"

"Yes, those sounds are from our house. Uhmm. Beaten? No, not yet. I guess. Umma has been throwing them anything she can see around our house."

"Algesseoyo. Hold this for a while, baby. I will show those punks the taste of hell." She twitched her fists as she handed him her bag.

"No! Wait! Noona! What are you?~" The young man muttered in shock. "Oh, heavens!" 

 

The presentation which was held at the conference room was successful. The set of board of directors gave the young man a round of applause right after his presentation.

"As expected from you, Mr. Kim. It is incredible!"

"Gomapseumnida, Director Jung." The young man gratefully said as he bowed down.

One of the board of directors asked him, "We are looking forward to the progress of this project. So, when will it start? Also, when is its target date of completion?"

"It will start after a week or two. We are pitting for the project to finish as early as we can. I would not want our company to waste funds for nothing." He explained with a smile curving on his lips.

Another director complimented the lad, "Well then, we will be entrusting the project in your hand. Keep up the good work. It would not be a surprise if it will be a success. It is good that your grandfather molded a man like you. You are as perfect as you are for the position."

The lad once again bowed his head, and said, "Thank you, Director Min. So, is the meeting adjourned?"

Everyone gave him hands again for his wonderful work. He impressed the Board of Directors once again for his credulous and amazing ideas.

No, I stand corrected. It was NOT ONLY ONCE but ALWAYS. He was born to be smart and professional. He never failed everyone's expectations. This was the reason why his younger brother awfully envied and extremely hated him.

After a while, everyone started standing from their seats. They all congratulated him for his flawless presentation a while ago.

A member of the board of directors said, "Please tell your grandfather that if he has spare time, I would like to sit with him for a dinner soon."

He politely bowed down and assured, "Nae, I will. Gomapseumnida, Director Hwang." Director Hwang just gave him a pat on his shoulders as he left.

A young man trailed inside the conference room and agitatedly apologized, "I'm sorry I am late."

"But, you always are late." The younger man's older brother monotonely said.

"So, what about the meeting?"

"Woohyun, I took your place instead. It has been already finished. You were one and half hour late. I guess you do not understand the basic rule of our business yet. The company waits for no one, neither for you." The older man said monotonely took a glance on his watch.

The younger man uttered, ''But, what about—"

"Are you asking about the presentation? Well, it went fine. I used my own presentation. I am a step prepared, for I am not expecting you to be one." The older one taunted.

"Hyung, if you will just chew me out again, I am telling you that I have had enough of it from mom, dad and our grandparents."

He shook his head, and answered back, "No, I actually will not. I am in a good mood today, dongsaeng."

The younger man retorted in disgust, rolling his eyes, "I obviously know you would take my place. My great hyung will be able to handle the company alone. Besides, I do not think anyone from the board will agree to my ideas. They will probably just laugh their asses off on it, right?" 

The older man maintained his composure though he was actually pissed off by his younger brother's words. He stood behind his younger brother and gave him a pat on his shoulder. "What is with that self of yours again? If I were you, I would rather keep my mouth mum, and show all of them what I have gotten with my actions. Any complaint will not give you your best shot. Let them know your capabilities. Prove yourself to them, and most especially, prove yourself to me." The last words were given emphasis by the older man. They sounded as a challenge rather than a threat. 

Soon, it went into a major silence for a while.  

'This bastard is challenging me. Huh?'  Woohyun thought as he shot his brother a dangerous glare. 'You'll gonna pay for this!'

"Oh, anyway, I need to go now. May I excuse myself to you now, Woohyun-dongsaeng?" The older one broke the tension between them with a forced smile, then he left the room afterwards.

"He called me dongsaeng? How ingenuine of him again." Woohyun whispered in annoyance.

'Prove yourself to them, and most especially, prove yourself to me.' These words were echoed in his mind.

Deep in his thoughts, Woohyun grunted, 'That damn statement! Does he think I will not fight back against him? Who does he think he is? He just feels strong, for everyone is on his side. He will regret challenging me like this! You rascal! Naega shirheo! I will hate you for the rest of my life!'

A man who was holding a bat threatened as took a glimpse of the anxious man who stood after him, "Who do you think are you fooling?"

"Can't we just talk about it? I am willing to pay. I just don't have money right now. Please, I beg you." His voice shivered as he stopped one of the mafias from hitting him a metal bar.

"Let my husband go!" An old woman fumed in anger she threw things towards them.

"Damn! Shut up, you blabby woman! Do you want me to beat you?" Another shabby mafia member threatened as he held a grip of both arms of the woman.

"Let me go, rascal!" The woman shouted as she wiggled her arms.

He yelled, "Haist! You sure want a lesson, don't you?" 

The shabby-looking mafia member was about to hit the woman, but something hit his face hardly. He yelled in disgust, "Damn! Who the—?"

A woman appeared out of nowhere and confidently answered back, "Ahjussi, it is me. Wae? Do you have any complaint?"

"Who are you, Miss?"

"I am just the daughter of the woman who you are supposed to hit, ugly Ahjussi!" The young lady blurted as she gave the shabby man a deadly glare.

The man was taken a back. He raved, "Tscch! You called me ugly? You have such a pretty face but a sharp tongue, feisty little lady!"

"I do not let anyone lay a finger to my mom. So, do not ever think you are an exception." She uttered darkly. After a while, she started beating them.

One of the men shouted, "How disdainful!"

The youn