“Oh~ SunWoo-ah~!!” JungHwan greets excitedly as his eyes curve into two little crescents.

              SunWoo responds with a small smile emphasizing the dark bags that are starting to grow visible under his eyes. His mind is too occupied to generate a reply. He wonders if the sarcastic boy from the precinct yesterday is the same jovial boy in front of him right now, except it really is him. It takes SunWoo moments before realizing that he is actually giving an unintentional stare to the now staring back boy.

              “The food will get burned!” JinYoung exclaims as he untangles JungHwan’s embrace and dashes back to the kitchen. This breaks the building awkward tension. JungHwan walks to SunWoo and plops down on the empty gap between SunWooo and the hand rest of the sofa. ‘Seems like everyone in this room didn’t get enough sleep last night’ SunWoo thinks to himself as he watches JungHwan discharge a yawn.

               “So you’re the one who took Ahjumma’s place” it is JungHwan who initiates a conversation.

              Ahjumma? Must be the previous owner of his unit. “I’m gonna miss Ahjumma” SunWoo notices JungHwan’s down expression as he looks at the boys direction. “She always gives me food and cooks for me” JungHwan adds staring down on his intertwined fingers. SunWoo chuckles making JungHwan look up to him.

              “Did I say something funny?” JungHwan asks innocence masked on his face.

              “Are you sure you’re older than me? You give off a vibe of a seven year old” SunWoo mocks earning a pout from JungHwan.

              “What about you? You’re just a squirrel pretending to be a detective” SunWoo’s eyes and mouth widen at the scorn he got. He scans JungHwan’s feature for a comeback and finds a perfect one.

              “And the duck talks” that is definitely his proudest retort but receives a flying bag in return. SunWoo yelps in pain.

              “Yah, I think you’re forgetting that I’m a visitor” SunWoo reminds caressing his stomach that obtains the sudden assault. “Respect JungHwan, respect” JungHwan is still glaring at him.

              “How did Hyung even get to invite someone like you?” JungHwan asks in disbelief stressing the last three words.

           “Someone like me? I even-” SunWoo stops before he can finish. He is going to say how someone like him is actually a Good Samaritan who is trying to help only to remember that JungHwan have no idea he tries considering the case.

               “You what?” JungHwan asks impatiently.

             “I even helped your brother, you should thank me for that” he really did actually. Who knows how long JinYoung’s been sleeping out there. “He was sleeping on the hallway when I arrived, I woke him up and he offered me breakfast” he explains

              “And you accepted the offer” JungHwan adjoins “Well it’s free food, I guess I’d do the same” he assures.

              “JungHwan about-”

              “It’s time to eat!” JinYoung yells as his head peeks from the kitchen door, a bright smile plastered on his face. This cuts SunWoo off as both boys on the sofa turn their heads to the call. JungHwan turns back at him immediately.

              “Were you saying something?” he asks. SunWoo shakes his head and releases a nervous laugh which he hopes JungHwan doesn’t notice. He is about to open up the case but it’s a rude breakfast topic.

              JungHwan eats silently serving as a listener to JinYoung and SunWoo’s conversation. With the path of discussion he knows where things are going to end up, he simply knows his brother too well.

              “I heard that engineering universities really give students one hell of an intellectual stress” SunWoo says in awe after hearing that JinYoung is a senior engineering student.

              “It gives you all stress possible, I’m telling you” says JinYoung rolling his eyes and showing exaggerated gestures as his chopsticks point to SunWoo. “What course are you taking anyway?”

              The end of JungHwan’s chopsticks stays stuck on his closed lips as he nervously gulps still staring down on his rice bowl.

              “Ahh, no, I’ve graduated a year ago. I recently just started working in Seoul”

              JungHwan pretends to be eating peacefully and uninterested on the topic. “I’m a detective. I actually met JungHwan at the police station” there he says it. JungHwan feels like he’s going to melt under JinYoung’s heavy stare or death glare but he does not look up anyway. This time, only his rice bowl entertains his vision but it seems like the little rice are turning into little JinYoung eyes so JungHwan has to convince himself that he’s not yet that high to see such things.

              JinYoung clears his throat “Ahh, a detective~ my brother is just so friendly meeting all kinds of people, he even wants to befriend the High Commissioner, can you still remember that, Sandeullie~?” JungHwan interprets that as devil’s call. “My little Deul is not really an inconvenience to you, is he?”

*High Commissioner – highest ranking police officer

                SunWoo looks at JungHwan who is still buried in deep thoughts about his rice bowl. “He’s not an inconvenience” says SunWoo seeing how much of scaredy-duck JungHwan’s become “not at all” SunWoo adds despite those words being against the truth.

              JungHwan looks up to SunWoo, pout turning to a smile, then to JinYoung “Hyung, hear that? I even vowed to never return to the station, right SunWoo?”

              “So you really did go to the station” JinYoung states and JungHwan looks back down to his rice bowl munching another chopstick-full of rice and realizes how he’s only been eating rice the whole meal. “If Mom hears about this, you know what’ll happen, right?” JinYoung threatens.

              “Goodbye dream school” JungHwan replies and his look mirroring defeat.

              JinYoung turns to SunWoo with one of those motherly smiles “Sorry for that. How’s the food anyway?”

              They are back at the hallway as SunWoo bows in gratitude to the welcoming brothers.

              “You can ring the bell if you need something, I’ll be occasionally staying at my university but you can bug Sandeul anytime” says JinYoung pulling the sulking JungHwan to his side.

              “I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you very much” SunWoo bows once again then walks back to his unit which is in all actuality just a few meters away from JinYoung’s front door. As he opens the door, he looks back and sees JinYoung happily waving a goodbye, the last thing that catches his vision before going in is JungHwan who is staring at him quite intensely. SunWoo enters and closes the door.

              JungHwan offers to wash the dirty dishes, which is one of the few house chores he can do right. His hand clutches the bubbly sponge as he swipes the plates or that one particular plate rather continuously for almost a minute. JinYoung is sitting somewhere behind him also not saying a thing.

              “Deul, the color of the plate is already fading” remarks JinYoung but JungHwan still doesn’t say anything and simply changes the plate on his hand to a glass.

              “Sorry, Hyung” JungHwan finally says after a while “But I’m now certain that I’m not going back there anymore, sorry” he apologizes continuously. He hears the metal chair creak along the marble floor, footsteps walking to where he is. He flinches when a sudden hand ruffles his hair and sees JinYoung behind him – with a smile.

                “Stop moping, I won’t scold you, I won’t tell Mom either” JungHwan turns off the faucet the moment he hears that and spins his body fully to now be facing JinYoung.

                “Really?” his voice is a mix of glee and anxiety.

                JinYoung gave a reassuring nod “But I don’t know how many times I have to remind you, you have me and Mom. We’re here for you. Just let go of it, okay?”

              “Ne” JungHwan affirms.

               “Now finish the dishes, I have lots of movies with me, let’s have a marathon” JungHwan goes back to washing, his cheekbones stuffed due to his wide grin and JinYoung walks away to arrange the TV for a movie session.

              A coat hangs beside the door. The place is built in a minimalistic view but it looks a little too bare that without the room divisions, it’ll simply look like a box of marble and cement. SunWoo places his bag on the office chair then proceeds to pulling off his tie and ing his black long sleeve shirt together with the rest of his clothes, carefully tossing them to the laundry basket. The glass door slides open and close. His muscles flex under the multiple strikes of warm water against his fatigued body. Despite the fog filling the bathroom, his mind is legitimately clear.

Fourteen years ago, a family went sailing on their yacht along the coast of Incheon.

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