Good Night, Brother! - Chapter 5.3

“Get home and eat something, even if it’s simple. You’ll get sick if you keep this up.”

“Yeah…”

His mother’s concerned tone made Eun Hyun’s nose sting. The past few days had been brutal: the late nights at work, cutting ties with Han Jinseo, his complicated relationship with Jeong Yihyeon, and the tangled mess of Alpha, Beta, Omega dynamics, pheromones, imprinting…

All those thoughts piled up, forming an oppressive knot in his mind, leaving his eyes burning with unspoken emotion.

“Eun Hyun? Are you still there?”

“Yeah… Mom…”

“Are you crying?”

His mother immediately picked up on the trembling in his voice. Before he could hold it back, a small sniffle broke into full-blown sobbing, and his vision blurred.

“Mom… I miss you… I miss you so much…”

“What’s wrong, Eun Hyun? What happened?”

“Mom…” His voice broke as the tears kept coming. “Huuuh… Mom…”

“Was it work? Did someone yell at you? Are you overwhelmed?”

His mother was never particularly skilled at comforting him, but her clumsy questions were both a solace and a trigger, drawing out even more tears. Salted streaks ran down his cheeks and onto his lips.

“No… it’s not that…” He hiccupped through his sobs. “It’s just… no…”

Passersby shot curious glances at the man in a business suit crying like a child on the side of the road.

Meanwhile, Yihyeon sat on the living room sofa, restless and unable to hide his anxiety.

How could his brother meet Han Jinseo without telling him? Even if Jinseo could no longer sense Eun Hyun’s pheromones, the fact that he had previously recognized him as an Omega meant another dangerous encounter couldn’t be ruled out.

As the sound of the door unlocking reached him, Yihyeon shot up and headed toward the entryway.

“Hyung, you’re back?”

Eun Hyun, his head hanging low, muttered a reply.

“Yeah…”

Something was off. His overgrown bangs covered his eyes as he stood awkwardly, his head lowered unnaturally. Yihyeon stepped closer, crouching slightly to meet his gaze, but Eun Hyun turned his head away sharply.

“Hyung, what’s wrong? Let me see your face.”

“Just leave me alone.”

Yihyeon ignored him and reached for Eun Hyun’s face. Though Eun Hyun tried to push his hand away, Yihyeon’s strength prevailed. When he finally tilted his brother’s face up, he saw the red, swollen eyes and froze.

“You were crying? Your eyes are all red.”

“I wasn’t crying.”

Eun Hyun twisted his head, trying to break free from Yihyeon’s grip, but his brother held him gently but firmly.

“Why were you crying? Did something happen with Han Jinseo?”

“…I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Why not? Why don’t you want to talk about it?”

“Just because.”

“Hyung.”

“What?”

“Are you planning to leave me for Han Jinseo?”

Leave him? What a ridiculous thing to say. Who was leaving whom? What kind of wild ideas was Yihyeon conjuring up now?

Yihyeon looked at him with teary, desperate eyes, his expression so pitiful that a small, involuntary laugh almost escaped Eun Hyun’s lips. He bit down to stop it.

Why is he looking at me like that?

Why does he cling to me like this?

Why, in the first place, does he even like me?

Honestly, it was incomprehensible. Why? What was so special about Jeong Eun Hyun?

“Hah… I’m not leaving you. Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Then tell me what happened with Han Jinseo.”

“He apologized, so I accepted his apology.”

“And? Did you forgive him?”

Eun Hyun was too soft, like an overripe peach. Even when he tried to say no, he always gave in. He was the kind of person who’d promise love he didn’t feel, who’d miss someone he had every reason to hate.

…So maybe he had forgiven Jinseo after just one apology.

Yihyeon’s eyes filled with dread as he pressed again.

“Did you forgive him?”

Eun Hyun’s dark eyes flickered, a storm of emotions passing through them. To Yihyeon, the pause felt like an eternity.

“No.”

Yihyeon’s eyes widened.

“I didn’t forgive him.”

For once, Eun Hyun’s face was unreadable. That lack of clarity unsettled Yihyeon more than anything else.

Desperate to understand, Yihyeon persisted.

“Then why were you crying? Were you sad about cutting ties with him?”

“No, it wasn’t that.”

“Then why? Why were you crying?”

“I wasn’t crying.”

Yihyeon thought, “He’s blatantly lying with those tear-streaked eyes.” But there was no way for him to find out why his brother had been crying.

Eun Hyun seemed unfazed by Yihyeon’s persistence. After changing clothes and taking a shower, he finally broke the silence.

“Yihyeon, I’m going to Daejeon tomorrow. Want to come with me?”

“All of a sudden?”

“I talked to Mom earlier, and she said she’d like you to come too. She mentioned how it’s been so long since the whole family was together.”

“Sure, I’ll go.”

“We’ll stay the night. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

The next day, Eun Hyun and Yihyeon boarded a KTX to Daejeon.

The atmosphere was light as Yihyeon, thrilled at the thought of traveling with his brother, chatted about trivial things. Before they knew it, the announcement for the final stop played, and the two disembarked.

Walking through the familiar Daejeon Station, Eun Hyun was reminded of his college days, when he would take cheaper trains and spend two hours on the journey.

As they exited the station, the sights of spring greeted them—lush greenery dotted the surroundings.

At Yihyeon’s suggestion, they stopped by a bakery to pick up a strawberry shortcake their parents loved. A short taxi ride later, they were walking up a familiar sloped alley. Their old family home came into view, the bright blue of its newly painted gate glaring under the sunlight.

Eun Hyun frowned.

“What’s with that gate? Why is it that awful shade of blue?”

“Dad painted it last fall.”

“Why didn’t you stop him? You should’ve suggested a better color. White would’ve been much better.”

“Mom and Dad think it’s pretty, so maybe don’t mention that.”

“Unbelievable…”

The house remained largely unchanged, save for the main gate. Eun Hyun was greeted by a cement courtyard, cracked in places from age, and flower beds sprouting pale green weeds heralding the arrival of spring.

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