Formless Chapter 63

—Oh, my! He came home without a word, didn’t he? Come home quickly so we can have a delicious dinner!

Listening closely, Heewoon realized his mother’s voice was joyful and excited. Heewoon blinked blankly. He saw a slice of cake on the desk.

“Hyung… is back?”

Heewoon somehow looked up at Gangwoo. Their eyes met, and Gangwoo smiled slightly.

—Yes! Come home quickly.

“Uh-huh.”

He hung up the phone absentmindedly and looked at Gangwoo, his lips parting. Before Heewoon could speak, Gangwoo said,

“Go ahead.”

“Okay. Hyung said he came back suddenly.”

Gangwoo nodded.

Heewoon frantically put his laptop and books into his backpack. He roughly slung the backpack over his shoulder and went to the door. Gangwoo, leaning nearby, looked down at Heewoon.

“Hmm.”

“…Can’t I go?”

“You need to wear your coat.”

Gangwoo smiled a little and ruffled Heewoon’s hair.

“Ah.”

He was so flustered he almost went out like that.

Gangwoo grabbed Heewoon’s arm as he was heading upstairs to get the padded jacket he had taken off in the bedroom. The padded jacket was in the living room.

“Oh… it was here.”

“I brought it down earlier.”

Heewoon intended to go with the padded jacket in his hand. But Gangwoo pulled his bag, making him stop.

“Put your clothes on and go.”

“…Okay.”

Even while taking off his bag and putting on the padded jacket, Heewoon was so rushed that he fumbled several times. As he habitually pulled up the zipper, it kept slipping, so Gangwoo zipped it up for him. Even after zipping it all the way up, Gangwoo’s hand lingered.

Gangwoo stared at Heewoon’s face, which clearly showed his impatience, then said,

“Call me.”

Heewoon nodded roughly. His mind was filled with many thoughts. Why did hyung come back so suddenly? Did he bring money? What if he didn’t bring money? What if he came back to Korea so hastily because he ran away?

Heewoon’s face, lost in thought, was caught by Gangwoo’s hand. His head, which had been fixed on the door, was forcibly turned.

“Ugh…”

“Are you going to answer so half-heartedly?”

“Oh. I’ll call you.”

Seeing Gangwoo’s frown, Heewoon was startled and answered quickly. Gangwoo said a little crookedly,

“When are you going to call?”

He needed to go quickly, and he didn’t understand why Gangwoo was asking such things. Heewoon tried hard not to frown.

“When I go somewhere, when I meet someone.”

“And?”

“Uh… when I’m scared and when I miss you?”

Seo Gangwoo finally nodded, seemingly satisfied. He stroked Heewoon’s head and said,

“Don’t forget to call.”

As if giving a final instruction.

He felt a strange sensation. Heewoon stared blankly at Gangwoo’s gently smiling face and answered quietly,

“…Okay.”

As Heewoon left Gangwoo’s house, he realized it was very cold outside. The loan sharks who had started surveillance a while ago, his suddenly returned hyung. His heart was beating in an erratic rhythm. His hands were cold.

It was still winter.

Heewoon got out of the taxi and hurried into the house. As he threw open the front door, his eyes met his mother’s, who was standing in the kitchen. The house was filled with the smell of food.

“You came quickly.”

His mother’s eyes, which looked happy, were a little red. It seemed she had cried while embracing his hyung. As Heewoon took off his shoes, he glanced at the sliding door.

“Hyung is sleeping right now. He must be tired from the flight.”

“Why did he come back so suddenly?”

“He said his business got sorted out quickly.”

Heewoon frowned. It didn’t sit right that his business was sorted out quickly, leading to his sudden return to Korea. It seemed much more plausible that he had abandoned everything and run away because his business hadn’t been sorted out.

“Heewoon, try some of this.”

Munching on a donggeurangttaeng his mother put in his mouth, Heewoon glared at the closed sliding door.

“Does it taste weird?”

“No. It’s delicious.”

Heewoon smiled awkwardly and looked around the kitchen. Donggeurangttaeng, japchae, pollack pancakes, bulgogi… These were time-consuming dishes. His mother and Heewoon didn’t even eat like this on Lunar New Year’s Day. Seeing that there was even seaweed soup in the pot, she must be trying to make up for birthdays they missed.

“Let’s wake hyung up in a little while and eat dinner together.”

“Okay. Is there anything I can help with?”

Heewoon said, placing his bag and padded jacket against one wall.

“Then could you grill some donggeurangttaeng for me?”

Heewoon nodded and stood in front of the stove. His mother, bustling about, looked brighter than he had seen her recently. It was a good thing.

But…

This bright and lively atmosphere felt precariously close to shattering at any moment.

Once the meal preparations were complete, his mother went into the room to wake his hyung. A short while later, his hyung came out, scratching his head. His hyung was about the same height as Heewoon but had a slightly more robust physique. His brown, sun-tanned skin from the Philippine sun actually made his hyung look a bit younger. No one would think his hyung was 32 years old.

“What are you looking at? You’re still pale as a ghost, you bastard.”

Perhaps his hyung looked younger because of his brash way of speaking rather than his skin color.

Heehyeon went into the bathroom, and his mother and Heewoon carried the large dining table into the room. It was the first time they had taken out such a large table since moving into this house.

His hyung devoured the food on the table ravenously. His mother watched him with a pleased expression, and Heewoon frowned. He looked like someone who hadn’t eaten for days.

“Did you sort out all your business before coming?”

His hyung vaguely nodded at Heewoon’s question.

“Then the money?”

“Money, what?”

His hyung gestured with his chin and drank the seaweed soup.

“The money from selling the apartment, is it still all there?”

“Oh, Heewoon! Your hyung said he earned several times more than that!”

His mother said, waving her hand. And she patted his hyung’s back as if telling him to keep eating.

Heewoon narrowed his eyes. His hyung’s hair, perhaps not cut for a long time, was spiky and almost bob-length, his skin looked rough, and he seemed somewhat thin. For someone who supposedly had over a billion won, he looked too much like a beggar.

After finishing most of his meal, his hyung picked his teeth and looked at Heewoon.

“Our little brother is capable. Sending 200 every month.”

“Of course! Your brother is quite smart. He attends the second-best university in Korea after Seoul National University.”

His mother said what she always said when Heewoon was praised.

“Do you have any money saved up?”

“I’m not giving it to hyung.”

“You son of a bitch, really. Who’s asking for it?”

His hyung, who had been looking at Heewoon as if to hit him, then burst into laughter.

“But, you must have saved money too. As expected, a prestigious university student is different.”

It was a sarcastic tone, but his mother seemed to take it as praise and smiled contentedly. It felt like his breath was caught in his throat.

“If you have some spare money, give me a little. It takes some time to transfer it to a Korean account.”

It was an unreliable statement.

“Then you should have waited a bit before coming. Now that hyung’s here, those people will come looking for money.”

“How would they know I’ve arrived?”

His hyung snorted. Heewoon’s heart thumped, then dropped.

“…They’ll know.”

His hyung’s gaze fell on Heewoon, who had murmured quietly.

“They’ve been watching for a while now.”

“What?”

“I’ve felt like they were watching lately, whether it’s because hyung’s almost here or not.”

“Damn it! Why didn’t you say that now!”

His hyung, who had been loosely sitting with his arms propped behind him, suddenly straightened his upper body. His hyung’s lips moved rapidly. Most of the words that flowed out quietly were curses.

“You said there was no one watching.”

His hyung glared fiercely at his mother. His mother stammered with a flustered face.

“Watching… were they?”

His mother’s gaze turned to Heewoon. His mother, who didn’t go out of the house, had no way of knowing, and Heewoon hadn’t told his mother. The fear of being watched was enough for him to feel alone. Sending money every month, listening to threats disguised as encouragement. All of it, alone.

“Ah, damn it. We’re screwed because of Mom!”

His hyung yelled. At that, the anger Heewoon had been suppressing all along exploded.

“Why are you blaming Mom!”

“Are you crazy?”

His hyung’s face crumpled.

“Hyung, you have no right to yell at Mom. You abandoned us and ran away!”

“Heewoon.”

His mother called Heewoon’s name softly, as if telling him to calm down. Heewoon glared resentfully at his mother’s wrinkled hand gripping his arm. Why didn’t his mother get angry at his hyung? Why did she tell him to endure instead of his hyung, who wasn’t even reflecting?

“I said I earned money, didn’t I?”

Heehyeon scoffed. Heewoon stared directly at Heehyeon, speaking as if chewing each word.

“So where is that money now?”

“In the Philippines… Damn it. But are you really out of your mind? What’s wrong with this bastard?”

There was a five-year age gap, and Heewoon had been docile since he was young, so he usually listened to Heehyeon well. It seemed Heehyeon was quite flustered by his younger brother talking back. He glared at Heewoon for a moment, then sighed and covered his forehead.

“Mom. Where’s the cigarette I bought earlier?”

“Over there, in front of the TV.”

Taking the cigarettes and leaving the room, Heehyeon picked up Heewoon’s padded jacket by the door. Heewoon frowned.

“That’s mine.”

Heewoon said annoyedly, but Heehyeon, who had already gone to the entrance, didn’t hear him.

Opening the front door, Heehyeon came out, his face complex, and dry-washed his face. Wearing Heewoon’s padded jacket, he mumbled,

“I’m screwed.”

He shuffled his slippers, walked over, and sat roughly on the flower bed. Then he put a cigarette in his mouth. Tick, the lighter flared with a sound, and as he put the tip to it, Heehyeon’s cheek hollowed deeply.

Phew. Heehyeon exhaled cigarette smoke and bounced his leg. He didn’t know how much money there was, but he had to at least secure Woo Heewoon’s money. It wouldn’t matter if he said he wouldn’t give it. After all, he knew that bastard’s bank account password.