“You need to meet them, Daehyun.”

“And what if I say that I don’t want to? You can’t force me to do something that I don’t want.”

“Daehyun, please don’t be stubborn this once. Mom cried every night, thinking about you, lying in comatose state. Now you’re awake, but you’re saying that you don’t want to see your parents?”

“Maybe they’re the ones who made me grow up like this! Separated from my own family since I was a teenager, shouldn’t I have the rights to be stubborn? Stop talking as if you care about family, Jiwook hyung. You won’t care if I’m dead. The only thing you care about is your stupid business,” he shouts at his older brother’s face.

“Fine, maybe you’re right, maybe I don’t care. But I know that deep down inside; mom and dad care about you. Just forget about the past and meet them.”

“You’re asking me to forgive and forget, that easily? Don’t you know how much I’ve been through just because I have no one to call as my family? It’s easy for you because you live at home as if you’re the king! You’re mom and dad’s favourite son, so it’s easy for you to say that.”

Jiwook sighs and massages his temples. Out of all the stubborn people he has met in his life, his own brother is the worst. Stubbornness must run in the family. When he says he doesn’t want to, it means he really doesn’t want to. He looks at the face that looks exactly like his, only younger, and more vibrant. The feeling of anger that he contains before suddenly vanishes. He was once like Daehyun, stubborn and hotheaded.

“They’re really sorry, Daehyun… During the one-month period that you’ve been lying at the hospital, mom realized that she was wrong. She wants to apologize, Daehyun. Just, please meet her. I can’t bear to see her in that state, especially. She was begging me to ask you to meet her. Pity her,” he says slowly.

“You’re just saying that to win over me. But what do I get once I get there? Insults and hurtful words? No thank you, Jiwook hyung. That home might be heaven to you, but it’s hell to me. Just understand, hyung.”

“You’re wrong. It’s not heaven anymore,” he says, starting to sound regretful.

Daehyun looks at his older brother, creases forming on his forehead. “What do you mean?”

“Hyunshik keeps coming back home drunk, everyday. Mom keeps crying when she sees him lying on the floor because of too much drinking. Once, dad threatened that if he doesn’t stop his drinking habits, he would… hand over Hyunshik’s shares… to you. That made him really mad and he almost hit mom. Thankfully, I managed to stop him before he landed his hand. Mom’s condition got worse when she received the news that you’re in coma. Hyunshik is still with his drinking habits.”

Daehyun doesn’t reply, instead he looks away. He bites his lips as the image of his mom appears in his mind. He doesn’t want to admit it, but he misses his mom a lot. The woman that always manages to stop his crying when he was small, the woman who would smile whenever he achieves something, and also the woman who would hug him when he’s scared.

“The reason they sent you away is not because they hate you. They just… they don’t want you to turn out like us. I mean, look at me, Daehyun. I don’t have a personal life. All I think about is business, business and business. I never had time for my family or myself. Look at Hyunshik, he keeps getting drunk and fooling around with girls. Both of us are destroyed. We’re not the sons that can make mom and dad proud. You’re the only hope for them. Just so you know, mom cried a lot when they sent you away.”

When Daehyun doesn’t reply again, Jiwook smiles sourly and taps Daehyun’s back lightly. “Think about it, yeah? To be pretty honest, I miss what we used to be. I miss those days when the only reason we would fight was because of childish things. I miss what we used to call… family.”

Daehyun keeps silent again.

“Come back home, Daehyun. If you don’t want to, just stop by to meet mom and dad. I promise you, they’ll be happy when you’re there. They miss you so much. I… miss you too,” he says those words heavily.

“Get… Out… Of… My… House… Just get out of my sight! How dare you ask me to forget what I had to face easily!”

Jiwook, tired from arguing, just follows his brother’s orders. Before he gets out, he throws the car keys he was holding onto the sofa. “Your car was damaged badly, wasn’t it? Just in case you decide to change your mind, there’s a new car for you waiting at the parking bay. Although I do hope that you change your mind. I’ll get going now, I’ll ask Mr. Hoon to pick me up.”

The door shuts, leaving Daehyun alone in his apartment. When he’s sure that his brother cannot hear him anymore, he says slowly, “I miss what we used to be… too.” With that, he breaks down into tears, releasing the bottled-up feelings he has been keeping all this while. He realizes that his ego was too big. He doesn’t know whether it was because he grew up that way, or it’s because his own self. All that he knows is, he misses his family, and he’s dying to meet them.

…

“Am I supposed to know him?”

“Did I knock my head and lose my memory?”

“Was he a frequent visitor at the hospital?”

“Did we pass each other before, but I was too occupied that I didn’t even recognize him?”

“Did I do anything wrong towards him?”

Jiyoon verbalizes every single question that’s going through her mind right now, but she receives no answer. The doctor in front of her, or rather the person who she treats as a brother, is only listening. He doesn’t make the effort to produce any sound, or gives any answer to the curious lady. Instead, he just shakes his head while closing his eyes. Finally, he speaks up.

“No, you don’t know him and you’ve never met him. Your memory is perfectly fine, and I’ve only met him a few times. So he’s not a frequent visitor at the hospital. In fact, he didn’t know that his late girlfriend was suffering from the disease.”

“Oh, that’s… sad.”

“If you think that’s sad, just leave it alone. It’s no use trying to figure out who he is. He doesn’t have any relation to you, so you don’t have to worry about him. You have your own life, and he has his own.”

“But why does he act as if he has already known me for a long time?”

“Jiyoon, I said just leave it alone, okay? I told you to not worry about him, or anything related to him. He just woke up from coma, so he must be confused. I don’t want to hear you talk about him, ever again!” the doctor stands up, picks up the empty glass in front of him and storms towards the kitchen.

Jiyoon is perplexed, as Yongguk never raises his tone when he’s talking. She always knows him as a gentle doctor, and one who would never even step on an ant. She notices that whenever she opens up the topic about Daehyun, he would ask her to stop. Jiyoon knows she’s starting to annoy him, but she needs to know what’s happening. And now, it seems like there are too many questions unanswered. Did something happen between the both of them, until Yongguk doesn’t even want to talk about Daehyun?

At the kitchen, Yongguk dumps the glass he was holding into the sink. His chest rises up and down; he’s struggling to keep his breathing steady. It’s going to be hard if Jiyoon keeps asking about Daehyun. He’s starting to regret the decision of bringing him to his house to meet Jiyoon. If Jiyoon doesn’t want to give up her questions regarding Daehyun, his life might not be peaceful anymore. Not that it was before, anyway.

He realizes that the secret he was struggling to keep before might not be safe anymore.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------So here's chapter 26! I finally made a poster... a horrible one xD But I'm quite satisfied because I did it myself. I apologize for my horrible editing skills! Thank you for reading up until here and do anticipate for the upcoming chapters hehe.