To My Brother’s Friend - Chapter 3

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 3
At Kwon Yeol’s words, the inferiority complex that Hee-jo had been suppressing surged forth once more.
Is that what you want me to say?
That I can free myself from the weight upon my heart?
That I can finally escape the chains of that day?
Then she laughed bitterly, mocking herself.
‘How pathetic you are, Hee-jo.’
It seemed that Jin Seo-ryeong, Kwon Yeol’s mother, could see right through her shameful nature.
“Hee-jo, dear. Which of these women would you like as your future sister-in-law?”
“Future sister-in-law?”
“You’re family to us, Hee-jo. Whoever Kwon Yeol marries will become your sister-in-law.”
Lately, Jin Seo-ryeong had been saying such things to Hee-jo with increasing frequency.
Under the guise of respecting her opinion because she was family, Jin Seo-ryeong was issuing an endless warning.
Not to exploit Kwon Yeol’s guilt and sense of responsibility.
That if she dared to harbor a dream she shouldn’t, the kindness born from pity and compassion would eventually end.
Yes, it was time to leave Kwon Yeol’s side.
Eight years had already passed.
‘That’s the right thing to do, isn’t it, Brother?’
[…I hope that someday our Hee-jo will meet a good person as she once wished, fall in love, marry, have children, and build a happy home together.
Watching you live such a happy and ordinary life is my only wish.]
Her late brother had written in his birthday letter to her that she should live happily and ordinarily, but that was a contradiction.
Without him, she could never be truly happy.
And yet….
The reason she had been able to endure all this time was because of Kwon Yeol, her first love.
The friend her brother had first brought home.
Cold and taciturn, yet with careful hands that would sometimes gently stroke her hair without pretense.
Candies and chocolates written in English, French, or German that he would fill her pockets with.
And now, the only person with whom she could share memories of her brother.
Only by staying at Kwon Yeol’s side could she catch even a shadow of the word ‘happiness.’
So she had suppressed her sorrow and hidden her heart, enduring however she could.
But the moment of choice had inevitably arrived.
Hee-jo instinctively knew that this was the time to let go of ‘happiness’ and choose ‘ordinariness.’
Beom Gwon-yeol belonged to a world that was billions of light-years away from the word ‘ordinary.’
The heir to Beom Ho Group had to marry a woman from a family far more remarkable than she could ever be.
“It was my choice.”
At Hee-jo’s answer, the area beneath Kwon Yeol’s eyes twitched faintly.
“Your choice?”
“This director is a wonderful person. I thought his son would be acceptable.”
He narrowed his brows and was just parting his lips to say something when—
A sharp vibration sounded from the inner pocket of his jacket.
My eyes narrowed as I checked the screen.
“I need to take this call. I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll get up first then.”
“No, wait.”
I looked directly into Hee-jo’s eyes as I spoke.
“Until I return.”
As if enchanted, Hee-jo said nothing, merely bringing her phone to her ear as she watched my broad shoulders recede into the distance.
“….”
It was nothing more than a casual remark on my part.
But to someone harboring an unrequited love, it sounded entirely different.
‘Kwon Yeol will never know that a thoughtless word carelessly thrown can make someone’s heart tremble so fiercely they might die.’
It was at that moment, exhaling softly over such foolish thoughts, that Hee-jo heard—
“Yoon Hee-jo?”
A high-pitched voice shot toward her like an arrow, piercing the air, and she turned her head.
Click-clack, click-clack.
With the crisp sound of expensive heels came a strikingly beautiful woman adorned from head to toe in high-end luxury brands.
“Father always says he’s the best. To think I’d get to meet the popular knot-tying master teacher like this. Oh, Kwon Yeol won’t be back for a while. Shall we talk about a few things in the meantime?”
Each time the woman spoke, the diamonds dangling from her ears caught the light, casting dazzling brilliance.
Yet it didn’t feel excessive at all.
There was an unmistakable ease that only came from someone who had naturally worn expensive things since long ago.
Yes, this woman belonged to the same world as Kwon Yeol.
Recognizing her at first glance, Hee-jo drew in a sharp breath. Her grip tightened around the clutch in her hand.
An ominous premonition washed over her.
The headache that had momentarily subsided because of Kwon Yeol seemed to be returning.
“Do you… know me?”
“I’m Kim Jung-yeon. I was promoted to Executive Director of the Fashion Division at Soyoung Mulsan this year. Well, honestly, it’s thanks to grandfather’s influence. But I’m trying my best to keep up.”
Kim Jung-yeon’s lips, painted a deep red, curved upward.
“Once I marry Kwon Yeol, I need to be a proper wife, after all?”
At the word marriage, Hee-jo’s heart sank heavily.
Whether or not Kim Jung-yeon sensed her turmoil, she continued with a slightly flushed face.
“Oh, did I not explain how I know you? Last week while shopping, I got tired and went to rest in the VVIP Room, where I happened to meet Kwon Yeol’s mother.”
Promoted to Executive Director at such a young age.
Grandfather’s influence.
A Department Store VVIP Room entered while shopping out of fatigue.
As expected, Kim Jung-yeon was the daughter of an extraordinarily prominent family.
Unlike me—someone who actually deserved to marry the heir to Beom Ho Group.
“I heard there’s a scholarship student you’re fond of. They say you’re so brilliant that the entire family adores you.”
A scholarship student you’re fond of.
At those words, Hee-jo nearly let out a hollow laugh.
Truly, there could be no better way to describe her existence to the family of the Beom Ho Group’s chairman.
“But he told me not to worry.”
“…Worry?”
Kim Jung-yeon gazed at Hee-jo with a concerned expression, speaking with deliberate slowness and gentleness.
As one might explain the ways of the world to an innocent child.
“A scholarship student can never truly become family, can they? I know it sounds callous, but no matter how close a friend might be, their younger sibling is ultimately a stranger.”
The woman who might become his wife understood it all.
The nature of the relationship between her brother and Kwon Yeol.
What had transpired between them.
That Jin Seo-ryeong had revealed everything meant the probability of this woman named Kim Jung-yeon becoming part of their family was extraordinarily high.
Nearly one hundred percent.
Dark premonitions rarely prove wrong.
“I’m not such a petty person. Even after marriage, I wouldn’t mind meeting occasionally. On occasions like your brother’s memorial day, for instance.”
Hee-jo steadied her breathing. She could not afford to crumble here.
‘My brother is watching over me from heaven.’
Since she had already resolved to abandon her unrequited feelings, she decided to view this as a blessing instead.
“There’s nothing for you to worry about.”
At Hee-jo’s response, Kim Jung-yeon closed her eyes and smiled.
“Just as your mother said. You really do understand your place well. Ah, don’t take it the wrong way—that was a compliment.”
Hee-jo understood this perfectly.
The reason Jin Seo-ryeong and the Beom Ho Group family had shown her surface-level affection was precisely for this reason.
“It’s truly unfortunate what happened to my brother. But when you think about it, it wasn’t Kwon Yeol’s or Beom Ho Group’s fault, was it?”
Hee-jo drew in a deep breath.
…Kim Jung-yeon’s words were not wrong.
Hee-jae’s death was not their fault.
Fifteen years ago, when Hee-jae enrolled in the Business Administration program at Korean University, he and Kwon Yeol rapidly grew close.
With similar natural builds and physiques shaped by the same exercises at the same times, they bore a striking resemblance to one another.
From behind, even Hee-jo occasionally confused them—imagine how others must have felt.
Who could have foreseen this would become a tragedy?
At the time, Chairman Beom had wanted Kwon Yeol to marry early and personally arranged a formal meeting.
The woman happened to be a junior at the university whom Hee-jae had taken a liking to, and she harbored feelings for Hee-jae as well.
Knowing this better than anyone, Kwon Yeol made a proposal to his friend.
Go to the meeting in my place.
“Put your worries aside and seize what you desire. I’ll handle the aftermath.”
“…How could you do that?”
“My goal is to defy my grandfather. So you live well with Jung Ji-hyun. That’s how you help me.”
Kwon Yeol dressed his friend in his own clothes, styled his hair similarly, and handed over his car keys.
Thus disguised as Kwon Yeol, Hee-jae finished parking in the Hotel Underground Parking Lot and stepped out of the vehicle.
“Beom Gwon-yeol!”
“Yes? Who are you?”
“Chairman Beom, experience ruin and suffering yourself! Just like I have!”
He was stabbed in the abdomen.
A Vengeful Man who harbored resentment toward Beom Ho Group had mistaken Hee-jae for Kwon Yeol and killed him.
When the Beom Ho Group family learned that Kwon Yeol had been stabbed and was in critical condition, they rushed to the Hospital, where they found him standing vacant-eyed, muttering incoherently.
“Open your eyes, Yoon Hee-jae. Please… You have a younger sister who can’t live without you. If you just come back, I’ll give you everything I have… Please, just come back alive.”
But Hee-jae eventually passed away, leaving only his younger sister—his sole family—behind.
From that day forward, the Beom Ho Group family supported Hee-jae’s younger sister without reservation.
They provided for her living expenses, education, and everything she wished to learn.
A measure of guilt. Relief that Kwon Yeol had survived. Sorrow for her solitude. Pitying compassion.
All these tangled emotions intertwined within them.
“It was merely an unfortunate accident born of coincidence.”
Lips as scarlet as flame parted to deliver words that mercilessly lacerated Hee-jo’s heart.
“So going forward, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use that as a pretext to approach Kwon Yeol. If you need money, contact me instead.”
Hee-jo slowly steadied her breathing.
And she recalled words her brother had always told her.
“If someone says something belittling about Hee-jo, you must never stay silent. Otherwise, it will hurt your brother’s heart.”
I don’t want to hurt my brother’s heart over someone so insignificant.
“That’s quite rude of you.”
Caught off guard by the unexpected response, Kim Jung-yeon blinked, her expression dazed as she stared at Hee-jo.
“What? Rude?”
“You should reconsider your manners as well.”
To Kim Jung-yeon, who looked down on me by invoking her father and grandfather, Hee-jo wanted to make something clear.
“Don’t say to me what you wouldn’t dare say in front of Kwon Yeol.”
That I too had a family who loved me dearly.
“The fact that you lack the courage to stand beside Kwon Yeol despite the support of your grandfather, your father, and Kwon Yeol’s mother is entirely your own problem.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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