OLT_04
"Hoam..."
Ha Giyeon let out a yawn as he got off the bus, rubbing his lower back. His body, still unaccustomed to the part-time job, quickly ran out of stamina. After spending the whole day clearing plates at the wedding hall, his entire body ached.
"Still, nothing beats this, though."
The work was tough, but thinking about the money that would soon fill his bank account made him feel proud. As he walked home, he began mentally listing the items in his room.
"Maybe I should sell some unnecessary stuff on Ppimang Market while I’m at it."
He had even bought his workbooks cheaply from a secondhand trading app, so he was considering listing a few things himself. Honestly, since not everything in his room was bought with his own money, he felt a little guilty, almost like he was stealing and selling them…
'Well… it’s not like they were going to keep it anyway.'
The day after it was revealed that he wasn’t their biological child, his parents had someone clear out everything in Ha Giyeon’s room and throw it all away. They said it was now a room for their real child and that they would bring in new furniture. So, the discarded furniture and belongings ended up in the dump.
'It’ll just happen again this time, isn’t it a waste?'
Instead of throwing things away, donating or selling them would have been much better. People might call him a money-obsessed thief, but he didn’t care. Ha Giyeon lived each day trembling in fear. There was no telling how the future might change, he could be kicked out of the house tomorrow, for all he knew.
But conscience? A sense of guilt?
What was the point of any of that? It's over once he's thrown away.
"First, I need to find my old phone..."
Lost in thought, he suddenly found himself standing in front of the house. He pushed open the gate and crossed the yard. His phone was off, so he had no idea what time it was. Not like anyone was waiting for him anyway. They probably wouldn’t even notice if he stayed out all night.
Click.
As he passed the entryway and headed straight for the second floor, a familiar voice called out from behind, stopping him in his tracks.
"Ha Giyeon."
It was Ha Dohoon.
The fact that he didn’t use his usual 'Hey, brat' made him react a beat slower.
At this hour, the living room should’ve been empty...
When he turned around, Ha Dohoon was walking toward him, dragging his slippers across the floor as he rose from the living room couch.
"......?"
But he wasn’t alone.
Following right behind him, Kwon Jongseok and Choi Mujin appeared as if they had been waiting.
Why are his brothers still here at this time?
Not only were they up late, but for some reason, they were all staring at him with faces full of displeasure. The situation was so bewildering he couldn’t make sense of it.
"Uh... Hyungs, why are you still..."
"Why weren’t you answering your phone? Is your phone just for decoration?"
"The battery died... You guys called me?"
"......"
He tilted his head, looking utterly unimpressed. Ha Giyeon awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a little foolish.
"...Hey."
Choi Mujin, noticing his blank expression, narrowed his eyes.
"What’s up with your face?"
"What’s wrong with my face?"
"No, we did call you."
"Oh... Sorry, I didn’t see it?"
"That’s not... Haa, whatever..."
Choi Mujin dragged a hand down his face in exasperation. Ha Dohoon sighed, then suddenly stopped mid-breath. His eyes scanned Ha Giyeon up and down before his expression twisted in disgust.
"Where the hell have you been?"
"Ugh... what is that smell?"
Choi Mujin leaned in, sniffing near Ha Giyeon’s chest, then immediately recoiled, pinching his nose. Only then did Ha Giyeon catch a whiff of his own clothes.
"Ah."
Even after changing clothes, it seemed the smell of food had seeped into his skin.
"Giyeon-ah, what did you eat?"
"No, it's not that..."
"I asked where you've been."
When Ha Dohoon pressed sharply, his tone impatient, Ha Giyeon rolled his eyes and hesitated before answering.
'A place where the smell of food clings this much, and where I could stay until this late...'
There was only one obvious answer, a place kids his age frequented.
"...PC bang."
"What?"
"You?"
"Giyeon-ie, you went to a PC bang?"
One after another, they repeated the question in disbelief. Watching them, Ha Giyeon felt nothing but exhaustion.
"I'm going up now."
"Huh? Hey, wait a damn..."
He turned to head up the stairs.
"Ha Giyeon."
Ha Dohoon's voice, low and sharp, cut through the air.
"If you want attention, just say so. Stop pulling sh*t like this."
He paused mid-step on the stairs and turned his head. They stood with their arms crossed, glaring at him with unmistakable displeasure. Even Kwon Jongseok, who usually wore a smile, had an unreadable expression.
'Why are they acting like this...?'
They were the ones who never cared about what he did, always too busy pushing him away. And now, they cared suddenly?
Ha Giyeon couldn’t be bothered to explain. It wasn’t like they’d believe him anyway.
'Just ignore them.'
Pressing his fingers to his temples, he continued up the stairs. Watching him retreating figure, Ha Dohoon snapped and blurted out impulsively.
"We're going to the villa tomorrow, so pack your..."
"Have a nice trip."
He cut him off and disappeared without another word. The sheer indifference in his response made Kwon Jongseok call after him again, but there was no answer. The same boy who used to come running the moment they called.
"...F*ck."
With a hollow look in his eyes, Ha Dohoon grabbed the watch sitting on the living room table and hurled it into the trash.
***
Since starting his part-time job, Ha Giyeon had been leaving home early in the morning and returning late at night. The pay was good, but the work was exhausting, so much so that he would collapse into bed and fall asleep the moment he got to his room.
And whenever he slept, he always had the same strange dream.
'Gasp...! Haa...'
A man was running frantically somewhere. But it was less like running and more like stumbling forward.
"......"
Thud.
Arriving unsteadily in some kind of space, he stopped in his tracks. His gaze fixed on a photograph placed there, though the image was too blurred to make out who it was. He stood there for a long moment before slowly stepping closer. His hands trembled violently.
Plink. A drop of water fell to the floor. He couldn’t bring himself to touch the photo, only staring at it helplessly.
For some reason... he looks so sad, Ha Giyeon thought.
"...Hey."
Suddenly, his vision flipped, and a distant voice reached his ears. Gradually, the sound grew louder.
"Ha Giyeon."
Jolt. He flinched, his heavy eyelids lifting with effort. As his blurred vision sharpened, he saw a face looking down at him.
"...Dohoon-hyung?"
"Stop sleeping and get up."
It was Ha Dohoon.
Ha Giyeon felt all traces of sleep vanish as he quickly sat up. He never comes into his room. Why suddenly...
Wondering if he had overslept, he checked the clock.
"7 AM..."
"How long were you planning to sleep?"
...It's only seven. What's the big deal?
Rubbing his eyes, he let out a deep breath. A flicker of irritation rose in his tired body. Today was his day off from work, he had wanted to sleep in until at least nine.
"You..."
Ha Dohoon seemed slightly taken aback by his annoyed expression.
"What’s with you this early?"
"...that’s a weird thing to say. Do I need a reason to come into your room?"
You have never come in without one before. Giyeon swallowed the retort before it could escape. Arguing with him first thing in the morning was the last thing he wanted. Instead, he just stared at him, blinking slowly as if waiting for him to get to the point. Ha Dohoon clicked his tongue.
"Come eat breakfast."
"......?"
"What? I said come downstairs and eat."
"...that’s why you came in here?"
He thought he must have misheard, so he asked again. It made sense, whether it was Ha Dohoon or his parents, they had never cared whether he ate or not. So the idea that he had woken him up specifically to eat breakfast was hard to believe.
"Still half-asleep? Hurry up, wash your face and come down."
Even after Ha Dohoon left the room, Ha Giyeon was confused.
‘He woke me up… to eat breakfast?’
Ha Dohoon had never done something like this before, and he couldn’t understand it. If this had been before the regression, he would’ve been overjoyed, but now, suspicion came first. Just thinking about the awkward meal ahead made him feel stifled already.
"Hey, hurry up and come down."
Hearing Ha Dohoon’s impatient voice from outside the door, Ha Giyeon had no choice but to get out of bed, wash up, and go downstairs.
‘Now that I think about it… I haven’t seen them even once since the regression.’
He had run into Ha Dohoon a lot lately, but he hadn’t properly faced his parents, the people who had raised him and then abandoned him. Now, it was more accurate to call them Ha Dohoon’s parents.
"If you’re here, sit down quickly."
When he entered, Ha Dohoon was already seated at the table, which felt strangely unfamiliar. Ha Giyeon greeted the wide-eyed housekeeper and sat beside Ha Dohoon. He had told the housekeeper the day before that he would skip breakfast and sleep in, so the woman seemed surprised that he had shown up during the parents’ mealtime.
‘…I feel unnecessarily guilty.’
Not long after, his father and mother arrived. Ha Giyeon stared at them blankly for a moment before slowly parting his lips.
"…good morning."
His father and mother looked exactly as he remembered them from his last memories, dignified, elegant, and with the same indifferent expressions that refused to spare him even a glance.
Clink. Only after his father picked up his utensils did the meal officially begin.
"......"
A silent meal.
Ha Giyeon held his chopsticks but didn’t move them. Even though he had gone to bed hungry last night, he didn’t feel the slightest bit hungry now.
Then, his eyes met his father’s as he was eating. Just as he instinctively tried to look away, he spoke.
"Make sure you behave properly and don’t stir up unnecessary talk."
"…alright."
It meant he should keep a low profile at school. His father rarely spoke to Ha Giyeon outside of mealtimes. That was why, before the regression, he had forced himself to sit through these meals, even if it meant hearing harsh words, he had craved his attention. But now, there was no need for that.
As Ha Giyeon picked at his rice grain by grain, he felt his mother’s disapproving gaze.
"If you don’t want to eat, then stop. It’s unpleasant to watch."
"Okay."
Without hesitation, Ha Giyeon set his chopsticks down on the table and stood up.
"Then, I’ll excuse myself first."
He swiftly left the kitchen as if he had been waiting for the chance, leaving his father, mother, and Ha Dohoon bewildered.
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