LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 205
Chapter 205
The stress everyone had received from the guy in such a short time had made the living room even more boisterous than it had been a moment ago.
“No matter how I think about it, Hyung is too good for that kid.”
“I want to swap him with my brother.”
“If Hyung Yuseong heard that, he would be very hurt….”
“Well… it’s not like we need such a person anyway….”
Gyun Seong-ha casually said something harsh about the upcoming Asian Games hopeful.
“No, I actually understand his attitude.”
“What did you say?”
“I said I understand.”
Kang Ji-woo, surprised by Ban Yo-han’s unusually generous words, said hesitantly.
“…Normally, you’d be the first to bring up family education. This is really strange.”
“No, think about it. His older brother is Seo Moon-gyeol, right? There’s a bit of an age difference. He would do everything for him, spoil him even if he’s being bratty, and accept everything he shouldn’t. If Moon-gyeol Hyung was my older brother, I would have grown up being as spoiled as possible too.”
“Yeah, Hyung probably would have done that.”
“Did you say everything, On Raon?”
“Yes, why?”
“This guy, really.”
“Yo-han Hyung, who is Seo Moon-gyeol’s brother….”
Gyun Seong-ha, who was overly immersed in a simple assumption, looked at Ban Yo-han with eyes that said, ‘Why are you Seo Moon-gyeol’s brother and not me?’
‘He’s another case.’
Did Gyun Yoo-seong, who seemed like a nice person, not do much for his brother?
“By the way, the watch that kid was wearing earlier, you know?”
Ban Yo-han changed the topic.
“A watch? Was he wearing a watch? I think so. Why? Is it expensive?”
“Yeah, it is.”
“How much? A million won?”
“No. Watches from that brand start from a thousand.”
“…”
After the shock of the information Ban Yo-han shared swept through us like a wave of silence.
Kang Ji-woo spoke first.
“Wow… Isn’t a watch worth ten million won too much for a high school student? …Do I sound like an old man?”
“No, I had the same thought.”
“Me too.”
“But is Hyung’s family that rich?”
“I don’t know well.”
“They don’t seem like it.”
Even thinking about Seo Moon-gyeol’s usual spending habits and the items he used, I didn’t get the impression that he came from a family wealthy enough to casually buy luxury goods.
“Didn’t Ban Yo-han say that Seo Moon-gyeol was brought in while he was working part-time? From a family that can afford a watch worth more than ten million won, would there be a need for him to work part-time as a student?”
“Maybe he’s just a backbreaker?”
“But even if he’s a backbreaker, at most, it would be something like a padded jacket worth about a million won. You can’t just buy such a watch even if you whine a lot.”
—
Meanwhile, Seo Joo-won, dragged out of the dorm by Seo Moon-gyeol, came to his senses only after hearing the front door close and yelled sharply.
“Let go of me!”
As soon as Seo Moon-gyeol loosened his grip a little, Seo Joo-won flung his captured arm to regain his freedom.
“How did you know the address of the dorm?”
“…”
“Speak.”
“…I asked Mom.”
Seo Moon-gyeol frowned slightly, thinking of his mother.
No wonder she contacted him suddenly last night, asking for the dorm address and his schedule for tomorrow, something she usually wasn’t interested in.
It seemed she intentionally planned for Seo Joo-won to come when he wasn’t there.
Having rushed over as soon as he got the message from On Raon about his brother showing up, the accumulated fatigue from the exercise suddenly pressed down on his entire body.
“Why did you come?”
“What are you going to do if you know? You probably heard everything from that bastard anyway.”
“Joo-won.”
His name was called in Seo Moon-gyeol’s characteristic calm voice.
However, Seo Joo-won flinched the moment his name was called, realizing the difference in Seo Moon-gyeol’s usual emotional state.
“Watch your words.”
Though it sounded like a gentle admonishment, the monotonous tone made it seem like a final warning.
Seo Joo-won’s pupils dilated.
This is strange.
The brother he knew wasn’t like this.
Seeing Seo Moon-gyeol angry at him for the first time in his life, Seo Joo-won was in a state of great shock.
His brother, who was always good at everything. Unlike other people’s brothers who supposedly hit them, his brother was kind. His brother would do anything he asked.
“…I want to go.”
Without giving Seo Moon-gyeol a chance to respond, Seo Joo-won turned around and pressed the elevator button frantically.
Seeing that his stepbrother, who had only grown physically since the first time they met, hadn’t changed at all, Seo Moon-gyeol felt a bit of futility and asked.
“Can you go alone? Should I take you to the entrance of the complex?”
“No need!”
“You’re not good at finding your way in unfamiliar places. How will you get home?”
“I’ll call a taxi.”
“Be careful. Text me when you get there.”
“Am I a kid?”
Ignoring his pounding heart mixed with relief and betrayal, Seo Joo-won got into the elevator that arrived just in time.
“Send my regards to both of them.”
“No, come tell them yourself!”
Seo Joo-won closed the door before he could hear the answer, and Seo Moon-gyeol stood there blankly until the elevator reached the first floor. Then he slowly turned and walked back to where the members were waiting.
—
“Oh, it looks like Hyung is back.”
Ban Yo-han suddenly asked Seo Moon-gyeol, who returned with a difficult-to-read expression.
“Gyeol-ah, is your family rich?”
“Hey, no matter what, it’s not right to ask such things so casually…”
“Yeah, we are.”
“Gyeol, why do you talk about it like you’re just carrying ten thousand won in your wallet?”
“Then how rich are you?”
“You really…!”
“There are a few buildings in Seoul under my parents’ names.”
“Ha…”
Kang Ji-woo, who seemed to be the only sane one, turned away from the extraordinary mentality of the others.
“Hyung said the two of you are like kings with no regard for others and living leisurely. Give up. It’s easier if you give up.”
On Raon patted Kang Ji-woo on the shoulder to comfort him.
“I thought ‘giving up’ was only for counting cabbages…”
“Wow, I haven’t heard that cabbage thing in about 10 years.”
“See, Hyung is really an outdated person.”
Ban Yo-han brought the conversation back to the main topic.
“Then why did you work part-time back then?”
“Because it wasn’t my money.”
“Hmm, that’s true. Parents’ money isn’t children’s money…”
Everyone was at a loss for words at the overly obvious statement.
Ban Yo-han, who liked to dig deeper, continued the conversation.
“Does that mean you did it to develop a sense of economics early on, or was there a more complex reason?”
“Ban Yo-han!”
“It’s okay. It doesn’t matter.”
Seo Moon-gyeol, who stopped Kang Ji-woo from truly getting angry this time, slowly began to speak.
—
Seo Moon-gyeol’s mother and Seo Joo-won’s father met more than 10 years ago.
One day, a little over a year after he had lost his wife, who had been married through a strategic family alliance, to illness, Seo Joo-won’s father fell in love at first sight with Seo Moon-gyeol’s mother, who had a beauty like a lily.
Because of the significant gap in social status between the two, who had led quite different lives, they did not receive good looks from those around them. Nonetheless, they began dating.
After a short dating period, in the year when Seo Moon-gyeol turned nine,
“Let’s get married.”
Seo Joo-won’s father formally proposed to Seo Moon-gyeol’s mother.
In fact, Seo Joo-won’s father had not hidden his intention to remarry from the beginning of their relationship, but Seo Moon-gyeol’s mother had felt burdened and postponed it until that day.
However, since they had recently started letting their children play together, it was impossible to say no to marriage any longer.
Tired of raising a child alone, Seo Moon-gyeol’s mother hesitated but eventually accepted the proposal.
The problem was the in-laws of the deceased wife.
As soon as they heard that Seo Joo-won’s father, who was rapidly increasing his wealth through stock investments, was remarrying, they stormed in furiously.
How could he remarry so soon after his wife’s death?
Did he not think about their dead daughter and young Joo-won, who had lost his mother at such a young age?
A gold-digger fox with a child in tow is coming for his wealth, and he’s not even questioning it and already planning to register the marriage—are you out of your mind?
It was a situation right out of a morning drama.
Even then, when Seo Joo-won’s father did not budge, the attack turned to the relatively weaker Seo Moon-gyeol and his mother.
If Seo Moon-gyeol’s mother showed even the slightest deficiency in caring for a child from another marriage, she would immediately receive a stern rebuke from the relatives.
As a result, Seo Joo-won monopolized the position of the number one person of interest in the household.
Unfortunately, Seo Joo-won, who grew up under such extreme care, went astray and grew up recklessly.
“Grandma said that Hyung and Aunt are going to take everything from me.”
“No, Joo-won, that’s not true.”
After many such days, Seo Moon-gyeol suddenly thought he shouldn’t desire anything from this family.
—
“So that’s why you decided to work part-time…”
“No, wait! I don’t think we need to hear more!”
“Ugh! We shouldn’t have just let that go earlier!”
“Is this… is this really the 21st century?”
“…Excuse me for interrupting, but I’m going to get some ice.”
As the members, who were listening to the summarized family situation from Seo Moon-gyeol’s perspective, grabbed their necks and sought cold water, a shadow followed behind Seo Joo-won, who was walking after getting out of a taxi.