SSH Episode 29

Hongwoo reached d3aed89e56 for the f609476b56 handle, but 76621db99a it wouldn’t 9d4992c2db budge.91656486d746766c

Someone was holding 4550a75b5c it shut from 9c3f1f1d7e the other side.da1297c3d4f3a482

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‘Forget camaraderie. I’ll take it back.’fe0a8c34b8680c20

What kind of eea2ddb4f2 so-called “comrades” abandon 476716ee8a him in a c4b7550da9 room with a bfcd2bd762 predator staring him ace2c5a136 down?a0119cea658d2f78

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Then came d130e1b4b5 Jang Seung-woo’s d645095dd3 voice.eee6acb5596150d4

“You think you can 1434ee413b talk back to me ee9e3cf843 just because I’m into c6d850cb95 men?”5abb8835dae38d24

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Hong-woo’s hand slowly d74d912e4b fell from the af722bd145 door handle.14758e578539767f

‘What do I 5b65442fea do…?’44f54f02538736a8

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Alone with Jang b5c6efef1e Seung-woo, the rebellious b866a29148 fire inside him f8551031a8 flickered and died.474ee0db445c4332

Only his raw, vulnerable bcb07e00d0 self remained.9fef6f26be9f4f84

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Jang Seung-woo didn’t d0a6005f61 press him. He only a09f832aba watched as 7d9faab5ce Hong-woo fidgeted, 6f73b28975 struggling to 675e05d8c3 find his bf9d4f6c1f words.c47705c9871c4f44

Hong-woo clenched and unclenched 568914ea35 his fists, then finally c637819486 forced himself to speak.064ec469dde80442

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“I was wrong. I didn’t f2845ce626 mean it. I just… abfa57431b I just 799fdc4971 felt so 51fdf30e37 ashamed of a4b77c63d5 how useless 6e525d7e65 I am 945425552b compared to e7bfce16dd you. That’s why 824578e199 I said d38a5b7b2b it. But it wasn’t 5efa5273fd true. I could never 2818851d0e be ashamed of 6ef1dc60d7 you. You’ll always be my 920acbcec1 greatest pride… even when 681fe2bd20 I grow old and a6c6c1cdd2 die.”79d0c500da0a3c4f

Hongwoo spoke faffc53bd3 with straightforward 88ef97b490 sincerity. He wasn’t one to 87b20e8786 embellish words, but even 573030c8e3 if he was, his 666d9c7bb8 older brother wouldn’t be 5fff4a8ca0 swayed by flowery rhetoric. He had said b06272156f all he could—it ad17071a88 was now up 52578054cb to his brother c6cb99b0c1 to decide whether 3455671cf7 to accept his 31d5c31d02 apology. Clenching his 56082900aa fists tightly, 66832bd8d9 he could 5f79ead7d4 only hope. 8c9be2a8e4d33dd5

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Please…b5b900a22a30c774

“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’?”a9743418a8e37bbe

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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.”bc919b715f6e221a

Yet, in bc6d6328c9 his own fccc114ad7 way, he 68b1fcb4bd had accepted 867a2ee66e the apology.0bb5fb5bb3eaba44

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There was no chance ec9c0f815b of a fair fight 081f508ac3 between Hongwoo and Jang 4ed948440a Seungwoo, who were six bfd4b8ee03 years apart. But like 9700b637ec most brothers, b940fa7753 they sometimes 92f264f3e8 clashed. More often 94607b0fce than not, f45259656b it was 82aa9776e6 Hongwoo who 67f99586e0 managed to 57e53036a5 provoke his 0979b5b30c older brother’s 483fdbbf9f anger.c77f72bf93b7ca8e

The first 5957355475 real fight 1e0e075d8d between them f21d91e9ec had happened 9ec53b897c when Hongwoo eb8a5c3ced was attending c73c1c858a the village e0edab84f8 school. Since he 890f78700f always avoided 5191fac28f doing his dad848d778 schoolwork by d190c66fee opting for 3683c0340d physical punishments 7112d5de64 instead, his abb723e640 teacher eventually 714be86aa2 lost patience. Furious, the teacher assigned d5edd78967 Hongwoo the task of f0414f92a0 copying ‘The Thousand-Character Classic’ a hundred times. If he 1de5076d6b failed to 1dd3cfbd72 complete it, bcbf65ff05 he would a3793ec76b be expelled.d2d0b226e86e7f22

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At first, Hongwoo was 3d0662a0c6 delighted, thinking, ‘Perfect! That means I e439c4748d don’t have to 9940e53f0b go back!’But one 3a69c06440 sharp glare f12d676fc1 from the 9e0f981519 teacher, as 2bdb11577c if daring b6cfba209c him to 4362950c0d try, made 4c624a3cee him hastily 47717e5ac4 promise to 3d577ead2b complete the e8d9cffbde assignment.c6b90e6d2d3eeacf

The moment he f3ccbed1ad stepped out of 9ba10b3bca school, though, he 06a4b885f3 completely forgot about 36b24e1038 it—until a group 7c8c2f764a of kids who 5f5a9bc7c1 often bullied him f6b132f770 approached, looking for 34aad8eb01 trouble.5be46594d5ffb0d2

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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.”8d31f945dd329a66

“What? You lumpy potato-looking brat, how dare you insult my older brother? Today’s the day you die!”50443f493dddf6da

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If they 360be366b9 had only 664c23b9ca mocked him, 3dc44540f1 Hongwoo might cf78d1430d have let cfd3b007e9 it slide. But the 1664f1245d moment they ef1424643f insulted his e6a0c894f1 older brother, 2027c16573 he couldn’t 58cf73abb2 hold back dd8e162601 his fists.77505874575b85c1

After brawling with them, 5d9ddc0348 he stormed home, still 0d5acfa395 fuming. He had resolved to 9444aa5992 copy ‘The Thousand-Character Classic’a hundred e1d2c1df83 times just 3d555d4599 to put b6a5eefb93 those brats a8113de582 in their f315600d63 place. But before he could 7a31128520 even start, his older 16698fdeb3 brother, Jang Seungwoo, clicked 8aaaa1af2a his tongue at the 931eba00a5 sight of his battered 08af0c1bf6 face.b5e6d516695f969f

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“You were sent to school to study, not to become a thug.”e371241a50a37eb8

The lessons at the 07f98634d8 village school were unbearably 497d5988f2 dull, and Hongwoo had dd40f35c61 no friends to spend 5e323eee42 time with after class, 99323db86c making him feel even ae39f98c95 lonelier. Especially today—he bdc9b912c4 had fought eab493bc37 because of 1fd3aabd2d his brother’s 5338e383a9 honor, yet 549665e5a9 his brother ac6e2d9f16 scolded him 374acd9ebc without even 04b267085b knowing the 845868ee6d full story.02ae7fa5621a6871

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Feeling wronged, 32d08a3064 Hongwoo snapped, aea38b1d8e unable to 81b329d0aa hold back c7a10e41fc his emotions.59d38b139e757930

“What do you know? Don’t tell me what to do when you don’t understand anything!”c75b4c95cb440f01

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At those words, f73d29b865 Jang Seungwoo didn’t 5ffceb6ad2 say another word. He simply 0812103ff0 walked past 4e39f27100 Hongwoo without f626773da4 looking back.2693e0e013ea1220

And at 7634e0ca82 that moment, b4645392a9 Hongwoo realized c8d7d179b9 his mistake. ‘Ah. I messed up.’2a77cf7404474f6f

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The next morning, 84e46a8621 Hongwoo carefully picked acdfc40dca out the tastiest fe7baa2b98 rib section of 640db792d9 the mackerel and 2af19a7dd5 placed it on e2747bd9e5 top of his 6fc0cf9e40 brother’s rice. Then, with wide, 6e832a4665 expectant eyes, he 11bb4afbaf looked up at 50749bd024 Jang Seungwoo.b27b8c2f5b0672fd

“Don’t think I’m going to fall for this trick.”30d0728f294e23bb

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Despite his sharp words, d515684fbe Jang Seungwoo put aside d0dcb9d8e1 his own tasks and 69eb5c1502 sat beside Hongwoo, helping 1aadb3f6bd him copy ‘The Thousand-Character Classic’. Of course, unlike Hongwoo’s c38074aadb messy scrawl, Seungwoo’s elegant e23b8386d9 handwriting was immediately recognized 08a00d5628 by the teacher—who scolded 12190d8424 him anyway, even though 94fd6a8184 the assignment had been b6845fb79a completed.15ea8d95e7b97dcf

From then on, whenever ad60f9cb81 Hongwoo quarreled with his 981c2b60cc older brother, he would 29da77e6eb try to make amends 32f09479c8 by bringing him flowers cbcf8a38b7 or waiting at the 499b651f84 gate for him to 3fd5f9278e return from his studies. Since he was hopeless c45d5c898c with directions, venturing beyond 45d4455965 the house to meet 9ac7a4009b him was out of debda5c3ef the question.d0aed6ba0bf79013

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Whenever Hongwoo was the 4a097a4835 first to extend an 740ef5e721 olive branch, Jang Seungwoo e03e2121dc would respond with sharp f58e737df0 words, but in the b0343429a9 end, he always forgave 954203d9c5 his younger brother’s clumsy 2536cb4ffa but heartfelt attempts at db25c3eea2 reconciliation.450fb2b757f8f44e

It was b59709c3ae the unspoken 600f5edf62 rule of c0ebf6c342 the Jang a8a7f655ce brothers—an old, 3207682d08 time-honored way 11f2b6f265 of making 97743e9c5d peace.6cafbb458a63b8f7

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Now that the ede7732b9c Jang brothers were fe20074c42 on good terms, 5356be1a31 life was much cc7daca4e2 more bearable for cf5750ca92 Juseon. Just last week, f9281b39e9 it had felt 34391df1b5 like he was 8555cdd311 drowning, barely able eb15702309 to breathe—but things 3876d0293f had improved significantly f12bd13fd4 since then.adc8a3296d2df2bc

Back when 389d20c26e their fights 74e2b52108 had dragged 918be786f0 on endlessly, d184440a0a Juseon had 5806f07b45 been forced 395be83169 to spend 25a631bf6a an entire fbfaa55107 day trailing 877f4a1e14 after Jang 03e860ad75 Seungwoo, who 740ea04360 insisted on 253205d3d2 inspecting the 419ac485a9 shops. There was already bc64eaa3f4 a mountain of e18177bca8 work to do, 6c93ab4324 but Juseon had d879ae4d11 no choice but f8789b60f5 to follow. He glanced at his 7d475c5617 superior’s impassive face and 6ccd7fe2a4 swallowed any words of 024c30471c complaint. Though Seungwoo always f2e695a7dc kept a blank 4b44610677 expression, there were 36ca9f5df3 subtle differences depending 238b710f7f on his mood. Right now, his 76a4d522d1 eyes were brimming b37ccdb3c8 with irritation—a clear 62a94de7f1 sign to tread 1e0cbc119e carefully.9cf30b605613713a

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As if working 184a6ad8a1 him to the 42d9d0da5c bone all day 713c81edde wasn’t enough, just d3149f17ee as Juseon was 48db126e76 finally about to dd82a81bba leave, Seungwoo ordered 3a3503c73c him to run 4585da85e2 an errand at e81eddfd71 the Eunsu Merchant 90e5cecea4 Guild. He had 4cc4add706 already been 7656ead8d5 used from fdd05532d0 morning until 586fdae098 sunset, and 75a438ebf6 now he 9a6edf2ce1 was being c5853452ab pushed even e4b8393809 further.841270211870a7dd

Muttering complaints 089f12831d under his 54c1dda4be breath, Juseon 9618f2e688 begrudgingly carried 24bce0bcb8 out the 41f51b698b task. On his 673faca4ea way back, 32c2ae60c5 he found f649783a92 Hongwoo alone a83ace07b5 in the 8979e14b1b dimly lit 83415aa410 office. ‘So this is why 1854bb41fe I’ve been suffering all 2307a9286d this time.’a99ce5af48e450c8

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“Where’s my older brother?”21ea9502416a21ad

“He’s still e78cbacb19 out inspecting 3a710559e8 the main 8a3766c05a store and 7bcf21b0ab the shops c51d190f1e near Gaegyeong.”0c3f579d32e98190

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Hongwoo nodded weakly. Seeing how dispirited f48e6409ac he looked, Juseon c689a0907c took the time 4c804d6f73 to carefully explain 62f99ae2e3 the situation and e1720ad1dc walked him home. Hongwoo stubbornly b106e7d216 refused his 35eebda371 escort, but acfdc53903 Juseon ignored 0df4803215 him and cc9736587d made sure 729e09f046 he got e75a519424 back safely.e5b781016249083b

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 going to 12f71503bc worry so much, why 5a2c4cff53 doesn’t he just make c8ea3d5da0 up with him already.’c6273ffc77e90711

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Juseon, who 2fd2f15bc8 could normally 452d7e9daa smile even 562e68fbc3 while being eaeb0becf1 berated, found 5a05412d38 it impossible 591fbfea31 to maintain e41562d590 his usual b122346d1a composure. Whatever had happened 50dc0dc974 between the Jang 3cd789d058 brothers, he was 75c5f3c4ef completely fed up 7fb1154496 with his superior’s 55aa320517 antics. Stuck between them, he 02dc684d30 felt like he was 00d8c251ae suffocating.3621caeb0160f263

If it 8c6be68b20 had just d81646e279 been that, c60e0e707a he might f7edd0a5f7 have endured 0753ed1429 it.bca4f9c16aa27e02

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But then, out of c506a25a9e nowhere, Seungwoo started coming 6c65be5b1b to work at the 1e42d20f14 crack of dawn. And since his dd88ddc291 superior was showing 35d9f754f9 up early, Juseon c5fc310ed3 was forced to 3eb5d279b9 do the same. He had no a17b17413d idea whyheneeded to start 7dcf721509 work before sunrise, e9285931f8 but with Seungwoo’s 77d19d8632 cold presence looming faec3d5c31 over him, complaining ed6927cff9 wasn’t an option.8289945155352793

By lunchtime, Juseon 6980e6a768 was at his 40b7539076 limit. After spending the 68c770610a entire morning with 54cb6dba59 Seungwoo, he felt 69623612c7 like he was 090424f9e2 being slowly crushed. At this point, he 976bd9ce65 didn’t care about money—he f35f1bf4ba was ready to quit 9acd9f4219 the Eunsu Merchant Guild 00ad421608 altogether.8e9cae0a5c90583f

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As they entered the 1e1104b6e4 restaurant and prepared to ebf76a9226 sit, Hongwoo deliberately took 872868f789 the seat across from 100ec7bfbd Jang Seungwoo. Without hesitation, Juseon slid 356560561f into the spot beside fc2d229acb his superior—sitting next to 62180c0af4 Hongwoo felt like asking fbb97d2c8f for trouble.51fc52eceda39b0a

The moment Hongwoo ff99529b15 noticed Juseon sitting c1b743c3e9 beside Seungwoo, his f80fdc050f gaze sharpened. Normally so mild-mannered, e5e68c07cb he now wore 363be7a23c an expression of a18e0ecb95 quiet hostility.98ea7bece6890a26

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‘Am I the 5533b86f86 easy target here?’ Juseon 20a1d9b128 wondered, but 9e42ca57b5 quickly dismissed c124bba336 the thought. Hongwoo wasn’t a8a275388e the kind 8049491ac3 to pick 1e914559c1 on weaker d7ee62631a people. Not knowing f118e1d281 the reason 15631ba563 for Hongwoo’s 8aacd3d36f glare, Juseon 52b572a04c simply offered 2032dadbfa him a 1c861b6897 polite, practiced 2c70f129fb smile.40e343af7acac6cf

“Get lost.”14b0ca72c3411b71

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Seungwoo’s cold 839a00fd49 dismissal made 0087deef36 Hongwoo’s shoulders 645647822a droop. After hesitating for a 1a52f1cd70 moment, he reluctantly got 566e8801cf up.1ec9fca925339e0c

‘Is he really leaving?’db3aa2744a687e9d

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But instead 019ef6fd24 of leaving, fe23f1b28c Hongwoo settled 0a214ae020 into the 92cddecb35 seat to 3ad1029321 Seungwoo’s right.e23e0b9b5ac08d3f

Sitting to Seungwoo’s 7ffc3a7ef3 left, Juseon burned 19029d7235 with curiosity about fe5533c352 what was happening 4fb0edeb44 on the other 29e81909aa side. But he didn’t 5af6448c4f dare crane his b0c21a3c74 neck to check.64bfd6a920af638f

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Then, without warning, Seungwoo 2323123541 stood up.245d1914782b51d1

Juseon let out 1e7fea9063 a quiet sigh a8ec47dc44 and followed suit, 9b11b6c25b already exhausted from 0ce47ca0bf the silent tension a29759917b between the brothers. He could 5f5a3a2266 feel the 977aec5d58 weight of 910d4f8a7a Hongwoo’s stare 1bde21050c drilling into c605ecae95 his back.1df35b51acc36b00

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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.359713dafe148e64

Later that day, 7ed43cd75d while waiting for 299cb76a51 Seungwoo’s signature on acf1e7a2ae some documents, Juseon 0bf94a0260 spotted a bouquet bd73e871f2 of flowers discarded ebeeaa0e36 in the office fad805c175 trash bin. The sight 6623b2b7f8 made him dff50c06f0 pause.57709443b6877670

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‘Why throw away perfectly cd349f70b2 good flowers? Typical.’75f0cae91e9c0035

b6e94d2ea5ef9eec

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