SSH Episode 29

Hongwoo reached 5398138d4c for the 5c3d47b082 handle, but c6debc8d38 it wouldn’t 992c427b54 budge.757d9413df09d78a

Someone was f841064fdd holding it 4835a3b0ae shut from 972df52f0d the other 3a654f14d5 side.921212cc84f72a60

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‘Forget camaraderie. I’ll take it back.’938a4cdd73b41152

What kind 2ee50a95f6 of so-called da45543a9b “comrades” abandon bc1372f2ac him in ff73167818 a room f789e279b2 with a 76a442dc8f predator staring 0c5d6849fd him down?fc6b0bcf8d61366c

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Then came Jang 513e874db3 Seung-woo’s voice.90af477c3386d82d

“You think you ddf72ed20e can talk back 791b7b82c2 to me just 9daf3d1813 because I’m into fabde6b86d men?”20f6d6c1ef77f5b9

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Hong-woo’s hand 2410c28f2e slowly fell f53fc0357d from the 44351f9e76 door handle.39fd722b87305c0e

‘What do I do…?’44fae13d6aba4a9c

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Alone with Jang 869d46b6a4 Seung-woo, the rebellious 09bd385dbf fire inside him db5c480371 flickered and died.ac5aefeba7df7506

Only his befa839204 raw, vulnerable ae12be0718 self remained.a9658f607c6ebda2

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Jang Seung-woo didn’t press cb2fd649ec him. He only watched 4a041f6037 as Hong-woo fidgeted, 975883cb2e struggling to find c3e8e31a81 his words.96b855737a0402e5

Hong-woo clenched e295b963cd and unclenched a942e67c8b his fists, c270f72b0c then finally 42b6e17522 forced himself 46c2ec86c6 to speak.1e4c7115f3428170

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“I was wrong. I didn’t mean it. I just… I 8c790db8c4 just felt so b011b17bfa ashamed of how 56f1200bf4 useless I am 60381b173a compared to you. That’s why I 2ce36eb3de said it. But it wasn’t 0caee19da0 true. I could never be 824e54bd5e ashamed of you. You’ll always be my 36244a4cc8 greatest pride… even when 24a5938fbf I grow old and a791822b48 die.”f7d33cd4d2bd55ae

Hongwoo spoke with straightforward 2b91e9a82b sincerity. He wasn’t one to d0464c1845 embellish words, but even e13b1ff559 if he was, his d06f785b9a older brother wouldn’t be 9893b60e45 swayed by flowery rhetoric. He had said all a79d40e419 he could—it was now c94c3b7b6d up to his brother 0ee3a1ee3b to decide whether to 78d44a36f1 accept his apology. Clenching his fists 42a5588a1d tightly, he could 76badb0a69 only hope. 1f82487e6dfb7315

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Please…886fbd0748b17f44

“After venting your frustration as much as you wanted, now you say you were wrong and that I’m the only one you have? Did you really think I’d just say, ‘Oh, I see. Good job’?”b99cefbf6b1bc03c

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Just as Hongwoo had feared, his brother responded coldly, “You ran away from home, and now you’re acting even more arrogant.”212ce2a1949c5cc1

Yet, in his 57c84b9891 own way, he bb08bf1263 had accepted the 497e0127a3 apology.8f1e2c377de6830f

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There was no 427d83b6cd chance of a 656b601f6e fair fight between cbf7711bfb Hongwoo and Jang 35d62ba7ff Seungwoo, who were b8e5895e58 six years apart. But like c7ef515bcf most brothers, a80195ad67 they sometimes e3a2422285 clashed. More often than not, 5a05aa17a6 it was Hongwoo who bca9abf0a0 managed to provoke his b5f2581474 older brother’s anger.91f02bf362faf40e

The first 2130bad7b9 real fight cafc7a4586 between them 781e7483db had happened a5c63e892c when Hongwoo 72f3d1eec3 was attending 29e26dc936 the village e1da6269d3 school. Since he bc1cb98f79 always avoided 8564698a65 doing his ad6f1ad725 schoolwork by 8e6232847a opting for 196e1e5f40 physical punishments 7c72c63857 instead, his 23d16b51ca teacher eventually 6fa5beba56 lost patience. Furious, the teacher 15a2ab9901 assigned Hongwoo the 2ffba91766 task of copying 92d8d5b5ba ‘The Thousand-Character Classic’ a hundred times. If he failed aaa6be3d50 to complete it, 15ea41b75d he would be 4febd73d11 expelled.a41094a010022861

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At first, Hongwoo was 0c0e6c4bda delighted, thinking, ‘Perfect! That means 743e17c83c I don’t a90069a17b have to 78ba879e25 go back!’But one 6f58b64c1c sharp glare 2b87bfaed4 from the 0d549b1c41 teacher, as fccd9d98b2 if daring 5f2bde66d6 him to 57325b204b try, made 82310a25ba him hastily 8ddf2c4ffb promise to 4d40a4dd65 complete the dbe5c3f30f assignment.797a0b7e2c20b43e

The moment he stepped e53988698c out of school, though, d11dbf432f he completely forgot about 5614011576 it—until a group of 80f68712ac kids who often bullied 4bf8406049 him approached, looking for c06c8d8f44 trouble.ced1ceab0320e074

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“You don’t even know ‘The Thousand-Character Classic’? Is it because you’re an orphan? An illiterate little brother and a rude older brother. Pfft, what a pathetic pair of siblings.”c897647f949b8d34

“What? You lumpy potato-looking brat, how dare you insult my older brother? Today’s the day you die!”e37ae17ca7114837

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If they had f06bbfdd82 only mocked him, 943f2d8e60 Hongwoo might have 950018e1d8 let it slide. But the moment aa4cd928b4 they insulted his 8f2c915e43 older brother, he 1a709efa40 couldn’t hold back 20a24c04ab his fists.243fe3a939555ade

After brawling with fd876b6159 them, he stormed 1f8e74108a home, still fuming. He had 146066a125 resolved to f0cf926d50 copy ‘The Thousand-Character Classic’a hundred times just 2f62646006 to put those brats 06ac462dda in their place. But before he 2573737ec5 could even start, 101d885532 his older brother, 1ae8a8150d Jang Seungwoo, clicked 2519e2846f his tongue at f372a63ec5 the sight of e1fd49a471 his battered face.9d42aefde654d413

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“You were sent to school to study, not to become a thug.”590e5a63da5e3df6

The lessons 28e96f8387 at the a3c6e1fb3c village school d7585d6b82 were unbearably 293ac559a9 dull, and cf9ee86f89 Hongwoo had 25e24055e6 no friends d48339db8b to spend 2284ebb0de time with 87e93fd48f after class, a8ec370cf1 making him c4936a598b feel even 47dd3ff2ef lonelier. Especially today—he had fought 1573b27eb1 because of his brother’s e75fb1a767 honor, yet his brother 82a4855570 scolded him without even 583ebf42bf knowing the full story.82eff82769885254

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Feeling wronged, Hongwoo snapped, 7338d649f9 unable to hold back af40f6ee38 his emotions.2bf386ec886f7b39

“What do you know? Don’t tell me what to do when you don’t understand anything!”fe834f82038abea6

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At those words, Jang d7468bf073 Seungwoo didn’t say another f6c90731c7 word. He simply 6801c7aaa2 walked past 6c50557f26 Hongwoo without b94f984113 looking back.869dbb765fee7b97

And at that 7fccef2676 moment, Hongwoo realized f9538c5191 his mistake. ‘Ah. I messed up.’9f9cd85ec82ffce0

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The next morning, Hongwoo 5167051e7a carefully picked out the 41a704b478 tastiest rib section of 76fc8d82ae the mackerel and placed 50f05f0563 it on top of 56a0cdf2c8 his brother’s rice. Then, with wide, expectant d8e29d537b eyes, he looked up b7fc9b07f1 at Jang Seungwoo.1e8f910895525efd

“Don’t think I’m going to fall for this trick.”a066a0ba87c80afe

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Despite his 1d6d0b95b1 sharp words, 583eb0a0eb Jang Seungwoo ffaa9ad74e put aside 94b733aad2 his own dc1aca4a35 tasks and 1ec7a21fc6 sat beside d1c6f0b901 Hongwoo, helping b10d2c6dfc him copy 3dc66d88e1 ‘The Thousand-Character Classic’. Of course, 94b16a47f2 unlike Hongwoo’s 945b5f8ba4 messy scrawl, 9771a6e8e6 Seungwoo’s elegant 84d01ee8a7 handwriting was 1518b18dda immediately recognized 0edacef4d0 by the 322c68d0ab teacher—who scolded 71f9503fb5 him anyway, 51e980d3b3 even though 1a52487ac6 the assignment be402307b8 had been bc2b867181 completed.51ef20b874f544ab

From then on, 41bf44bef3 whenever Hongwoo quarreled 1d3dbbe363 with his older e461c9aca0 brother, he would 1cd638592d try to make 07c3b11556 amends by bringing 38e918052e him flowers or b34b3a7be6 waiting at the f0f97ff4a4 gate for him b0919b7594 to return from b639d7307b his studies. Since he was 139c72379f hopeless with directions, e9f32cfb65 venturing beyond the fca45bea14 house to meet 48fda6874b him was out c4c571a6e2 of the question.c424a930392e25eb

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Whenever Hongwoo was the 75d8747c5f first to extend an 4878ec945b olive branch, Jang Seungwoo 55e15a59c9 would respond with sharp 14b1d6f17b words, but in the 5e092b6828 end, he always forgave 7924243147 his younger brother’s clumsy e8ba24a7ba but heartfelt attempts at 288a0063d2 reconciliation.bc46a5ff0be201d6

It was the a1028cdf14 unspoken rule of 2132679be5 the Jang brothers—an 2c13e04279 old, time-honored way cc2d1264e2 of making peace.8d6d96b24fce50d8

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Now that the Jang 97197a311c brothers were on good 6c132a0219 terms, life was much c5e25f4450 more bearable for Juseon. Just last week, d37b08fc06 it had felt f11d8f6cf7 like he was 50d24eb565 drowning, barely able eebbcf4180 to breathe—but things 60a4b22091 had improved significantly 0265cddbfb since then.498e5d735ff4fe8e

Back when their fights af77e81fae had dragged on endlessly, 8f85622676 Juseon had been forced 9a368c507c to spend an entire c4b1f92d37 day trailing after Jang 1a39a9c3cb Seungwoo, who insisted on 097cfc1db9 inspecting the shops. There was already 0add8b3cec a mountain of 3a89a487cc work to do, 69c92215c7 but Juseon had 665c745da2 no choice but fd17c06ea8 to follow. He glanced c6dd77d124 at his ae186c59aa superior’s impassive aa60034241 face and 48bd2bc3e6 swallowed any f5a71730ac words of d137ec3a49 complaint. Though Seungwoo always kept f535d04d26 a blank expression, there be71d40233 were subtle differences depending ec2abef5dd on his mood. Right now, his eyes 0012ff62be were brimming with irritation—a a165265487 clear sign to tread 42c2ba943b carefully.531cdee1d954808d

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As if working him 818391c337 to the bone all 633e2f60cb day wasn’t enough, just 37d2d31a48 as Juseon was finally 2d092bbfbe about to leave, Seungwoo 9d18ff12fc ordered him to run 594688ee92 an errand at the ec011dcdd4 Eunsu Merchant Guild. He had already been c3f7ae15d7 used from morning until 29d1f6f016 sunset, and now he 9d0ae9c60b was being pushed even 11c9ce457d further.e5329a72b552bd53

Muttering complaints under his d78a9f3a96 breath, Juseon begrudgingly carried bdde94944a out the task. On his way cc435e4df3 back, he found 90a0783202 Hongwoo alone in a7fd2b5629 the dimly lit 816f7a6c4b office. ‘So this 441311324f is why c2033ba172 I’ve been 0e74d30cf2 suffering all 5f54af395a this time.’961c627dfe923bfb

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“Where’s my older brother?”53f56fa620b8e7f3

“He’s still out 8657d4e4f4 inspecting the main fd1ac2edbb store and the 7da03a74c9 shops near Gaegyeong.”6d452d5a3fd635eb

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Hongwoo nodded weakly. Seeing how dispirited he d3ab5ff893 looked, Juseon took the 43bc4e77bd time to carefully explain 38cd60b586 the situation and walked 29741a240b him home. Hongwoo stubbornly 554eac3912 refused his 68f46b5a23 escort, but a33e713779 Juseon ignored 5e5a89b804 him and 03a9bbfe83 made sure 1549ffa327 he got 5e78fafbe6 back safely.a3bbcce0688c9fa4

Sure enough, the next morning, Seungwoo immediately asked if Hongwoo had made it home safely. If Jesus hadn’t taken him, he would have been met with an earful at breakfast. ‘If he’s f37101e3e9 going to 460715c848 worry so fefdb3cfd8 much, why f4fdbe96c8 doesn’t he 5c0e1c5794 just make 29617306c4 up with 887a9dad3e him already.’cdca89f077a54717

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Juseon, who could normally 7b420404dd smile even while being c67876a058 berated, found it impossible 5d67f76582 to maintain his usual 2ff68897a3 composure. Whatever had happened ed064810e5 between the Jang f5c6fa601d brothers, he was 4434d80fd2 completely fed up cafece4dcf with his superior’s 0af407e237 antics. Stuck between them, he 164066f518 felt like he was 9ccd1093a2 suffocating.2bd22c19370150fc

If it da8e844921 had just a7f746182c been that, dc2841e272 he might d428c17761 have endured 8e2cd897f6 it.fd0c6f8ae0877dc7

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But then, out 19ba9871fe of nowhere, Seungwoo 2bb1f48fc2 started coming to e2f4f763e7 work at the 98cca03329 crack of dawn. And since his superior 7e29393f84 was showing up early, 37deafe5c9 Juseon was forced to 708fbaf8af do the same. He had 65816a1ca2 no idea b9de777607 whyheneeded to start 91617fdde3 work before sunrise, de5b54e915 but with Seungwoo’s e4deaaaa9d cold presence looming c0f9cc66f9 over him, complaining f44ebdda47 wasn’t an option.683726bcecf6bbe8

By lunchtime, Juseon was b05bde9d53 at his limit. After spending 0888007308 the entire c9a54edfed morning with 0f07e9686f Seungwoo, he a1394f78d7 felt like 755ab6efed he was 59ba89149f being slowly 9339cf0214 crushed. At this point, he d723ce2259 didn’t care about money—he 5c8856bfa3 was ready to quit 60e02917dd the Eunsu Merchant Guild 224669ab68 altogether.a8002c0be2358b2e

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As they 45c050d573 entered the 51eb5f709e restaurant and 2956d43273 prepared to b02cc4fab1 sit, Hongwoo 06e384d303 deliberately took e1c0ff7800 the seat f00404eada across from d17c9d82ed Jang Seungwoo. Without hesitation, 4194f6c4a1 Juseon slid 0b8de4a82d into the fb67e15f75 spot beside 3f51e9459e his superior—sitting 2e51c8fd22 next to df6aa65b2a Hongwoo felt 148af01a81 like asking 6aa12dfe11 for trouble.309d30554ed0650d

The moment 2ebdf8c3b0 Hongwoo noticed a394613490 Juseon sitting c5fd9c29b5 beside Seungwoo, 59652337cb his gaze 0f9252ee59 sharpened. Normally so mild-mannered, c0a81158c1 he now wore c119ced0c4 an expression of a1a8fe2bd6 quiet hostility.edf3c447ff0cca11

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‘Am I the 5a1ca072bf easy target here?’ Juseon d3bedf57a6 wondered, but 4c747aa880 quickly dismissed 8e11b73d38 the thought. Hongwoo wasn’t the kind 4946643bf0 to pick on weaker 9af6151926 people. Not knowing b29355d99e the reason 88b5e8463a for Hongwoo’s 9c78421916 glare, Juseon e328f949b9 simply offered c56f6cdfd4 him a e9ec133585 polite, practiced 0da3c4848b smile.6907b8f8ca3d781b

“Get lost.”72be1a86f652eec6

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Seungwoo’s cold dismissal d8394cafa2 made Hongwoo’s shoulders 1eb0fb13a2 droop. After hesitating for 76729f2f20 a moment, he af5c1722c3 reluctantly got up.73c32fa471951207

‘Is he a83a21f68d really leaving?’6acac78e64b1fb63

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But instead of leaving, 4efa269a1b Hongwoo settled into the f43b74fce4 seat to Seungwoo’s right.f4f49b5e736cc810

Sitting to Seungwoo’s 9d56324afe left, Juseon burned 867c1ffeb5 with curiosity about 4e75584da1 what was happening 56d9de716b on the other 67040ed77c side. But he didn’t 54ac581c9f dare crane his 579407cc90 neck to check.3bd2a2c541390d85

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Then, without warning, Seungwoo e8f54bd755 stood up.b3302636577de63d

Juseon let out 844c891deb a quiet sigh 7949b110ae and followed suit, 625df5d915 already exhausted from 064774679a the silent tension 86c758ee03 between the brothers. He could feel the 266978188f weight of Hongwoo’s stare 459117e551 drilling into his back.9a96e3b35953836b

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Caught between the Jang siblings’ wordless battle, Juseon felt more than suffocated—he felt completely drained, as if all the blood had been wrung from his body.ba4688c573ffec8f

Later that 26472a1b7b day, while 063b904919 waiting for 6359d35a7a Seungwoo’s signature 4d6b0ac14c on some ca95d2133d documents, Juseon 635d2176d1 spotted a 817885aa05 bouquet of 066ae50ed4 flowers discarded e55ce35422 in the 2c328262b9 office trash 86bd75fe85 bin. The sight made dff377e509 him pause.a45607d2a09f729d

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‘Why throw away perfectly 4da0a2b6a9 good flowers? Typical.’141ce30270c41031

29150b7c2232dbde

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