To My Brother’s Friend - Chapter 4

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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 4
* * *
“…Yes, I understand.”
The moment the call ended, Kwon Yeol turned toward the cafe, letting out a soft tsk of disapproval.
‘That took longer than expected.’
A schedule adjustment request had come through from an affiliate of the Sayoung Group, with whom a joint development project was underway.
Since the Vice President of Sayoung Construction had called directly, it couldn’t be handled at the secretarial or operational level—Kwon Yeol had to respond personally.
What appeared to be a simple scheduling change was, in reality, a power struggle.
The Vice President, who was also the son-in-law of the Sayoung Group chairman, had a talent for draining his counterparts of their resolve with his smooth demeanor and eloquent tongue, then steering negotiations in his favor.
He had been thinking it was bearable enough, at least the man didn’t waste time with unnecessary talk.
—How about The Lotus Hotel’s conference room as the venue? We could combine it with breakfast. My daughter is quite fond of the cafe there. Oh, and my daughter was just promoted to Executive Director this time. I do hope our Executive Director Beom will teach her well.
At the sudden remark, Kwon Yeol found himself at a loss for words.
Why was the man asking him to teach his newly promoted daughter?
Sensing his displeasure, the Vice President had stopped just short of crossing the line and released him from the conversation.
Kwon Yeol’s pace quickened as he returned to the cafe.
It felt as though he’d left a small child alone by the water’s edge.
“….”
Then Kwon Yeol’s eyes narrowed slightly.
…A small child.
He recalled Hee-jo, who had been sitting by the window.
Her face had grown slender, the baby fat long gone.
Her eyes held a deep chestnut hue, their depths unfathomable.
A proud nose. Lips that always curved slightly upward.
Beneath her long, pale neck stretched shoulders held straight and true.
Her frame was delicate, unmarred by any excess.
One could hardly call her a child, even in jest.
Yoon Hee-jo, who had once bled while pouring out her sorrow, had grown into a woman capable of enduring the lecherous gazes of foolish men without flinching, her smile never wavering.
…But Yoon Hee-jo was still Yoon Hee-jo.
Merely a younger sister he needed to look after in place of a close friend.
Repeating this thought to himself with almost obsessive insistence, Kwon Yeol stepped into the cafe and caught sight of Hee-jo’s profile as she gazed out the window, drawing in a shallow breath.
With an expressionless face fixed on some distant point, Hee-jo was enveloped in an air of fragility—as though she might vanish at any moment.
Had she been smiling all this time to conceal that very vulnerability?
The thought struck him with unexpected force.
Kwon Yeol resumed his steps.
“Yoon Hee-jo.”
Normally, she would have noticed his approach and turned to face him immediately.
But Hee-jo only looked at him after he had called her name twice, as though waking from a dream.
“…Kwon Yeol?”
“Why do you have that look on your face?”
Kwon Yeol settled into the seat across from Hee-jo as he spoke.
“Were you cursing me out?”
“….”
At my silence, he narrowed his eyes as if finding the situation absurd.
“So it’s true, then.”
“…No, it’s not.”
“Your face says otherwise.”
My eyes widened in surprise, and I touched my cheek with the back of my hand.
Seeing my flustered expression, Kwon Yeol couldn’t help but laugh.
Usually I acted so mature, but in moments like this, I was exactly the same as I’d been as a child.
Now I was the honest, emotionally transparent Yoon Hee-jo that he knew—and somehow that reassured him.
For some time now, whenever Kwon Yeol saw me, he would occasionally feel a heat building somewhere deep within his chest.
And each time, an inexplicable displeasure would bloom like heat shimmer, creeping upward.
As if he had become some uncouth beast.
Kwon Yeol furrowed his brow.
“Yoon Hee-jo.”
Tap. Tap.
He drummed his index finger against the armrest, making no effort to hide his displeasure as he spoke.
“Don’t tell me it’s because of that idiot from earlier?”
At his words, my eyes widened.
“That idiot…?”
“The one who talked slowly but moved fast.”
Ah. My eyes filled with chagrin as I realized I’d completely forgotten about my blind date partner.
I had class next Wednesday, and how was I supposed to face this director again?
No, the director wasn’t the problem.
The problem was Jin Seo-ryeong, Kwon Yeol’s mother and the academy director.
She would know everything—that a woman who might become Kwon Yeol’s wife had come to see me.
What she had said to me.
“It was merely an unfortunate accident born of coincidence.”
As I recalled Kim Jung-yeon speaking so lightly of my brother’s death, I felt the anger I’d been suppressing all this time suddenly boil over.
“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.”
Through Kim Jung-yeon, Jin Seo-ryeong was speaking to me.
You are nothing but a parasite, clinging to Kwon Yeol under the guise of your brother’s death.
The headache that had been throbbing since before I met Kim Shin-woo now rang out like a high-pitched whine.
Whether from fever or rage, my eyes and throat burned hot in an instant.
The composure I’d maintained all this time shattered, and my reason grew clouded.
“Yoon Hee-jo.”
“For this birthday—”
Kwon Yeol and I spoke at the same time.
He nodded toward me, gesturing for me to speak first.
Though I was troubled by the long silence I maintained, I decided to listen to what he had to say first.
If, if Yoon Hee-jo truly desired that foolish bastard—
“I’d like to receive my gift early.”
Kwon Yeol’s brow furrowed.
Her words, so utterly unexpected, brought his thoughts to an abrupt halt.
“…A gift?”
“My birthday is in two weeks, after all.”
“I know.”
Even if I were to forget my own birthday, I could never forget Yoon Hee-jo’s.
The image of Hee-jae, brimming with excitement as he asked me to help choose a birthday gift for his sister turning twenty, remained vivid in my mind.
Four days later, Hee-jae died in my place.
Her twentieth birthday came a week after Hee-jae’s death.
Hee-jo clutched the necklace and letter Hee-jae had left behind, weeping until she collapsed into my arms, unconscious.
Every moment of it remained as clear to me as if it had happened yesterday.
Yet the Yoon Hee-jo sitting before me now was entirely different from then.
It felt as though she had transformed from a girl into a woman overnight.
Perhaps this was the reason for that subtle, shimmering feeling that arose whenever I looked at her.
Accepting this explanation eased my mind somewhat, and I decided to focus on her request.
After all, this was the first time she had ever expressed a desire for something.
“What do you want?”
“If I tell you, will you really grant it?”
“Within my means, anything.”
Whatever Hee-jo desired—whether tangible goods or cash, even if it couldn’t be obtained in Korea—I was prepared to obtain it for her by any means necessary.
I had already resolved to surrender even my own shares if she asked for them.
“Then—”
At her words, a rare crack appeared in my expressionless face.
* * *
Soft, muted lighting enveloped the space gently.
A gentle saxophone melody and deep bass notes filled the air with a loose, rich resonance.
The subtle fragrance of leather rising from the deep green velvet sofa mingled sensually with the heavy, well-aged aroma of whisky—this was the Jazz Bar in the basement of The Lotus Hotel.
“Are you satisfied now?”
Hee-jo nodded, gripping her cocktail glass tightly.
“Yes. I’ve always wanted to come to a place like this.”
Unlike her usual inscrutability, the current Yoon Hee-jo gazed around with unbridled curiosity, unable to conceal her excitement.
It felt as though she had returned to the time before Hee-jae’s death.
“I think we should move to a different spot. I’d like to have a drink.”
“…A drink?”
“I heard the Jazz Bar in the basement of this cafe is famous. I’ve always wanted to visit… Do you have any remaining appointments?”
At the words Hee-jo had spoken in the cafe, I couldn’t hide my bewilderment. Perhaps it was shock.
In any case, I descended to the Jazz Bar with her, granting her wish.
After all, I was the one who promised to grant her anything.
Originally, I should have reviewed the report to be submitted at the executive meeting scheduled for next week, but plans had fallen through.
Yet strangely, I felt no displeasure.
Rather, this unremarkable child who had grown into an adult with a subtly intriguing aura was utterly captivating—I couldn’t tear my eyes away.
“Do you remember? The day you taught me to drink?”
Kwon Yeol nodded.
“You didn’t seem drunk, so I thought you had a high tolerance, but then you suddenly collapsed and fell asleep. Just like Yoon Hee-jae.”
At those words, Hee-jo’s cheeks flushed a rosy hue as she let out a soft laugh.
“It’s strange. My brother did the same thing.”
Kwon Yeol drained the amber liquid before him in one gulp.
When Yoon Hee-jo laughed, something deep in my chest tickled pleasantly. How peculiar.
“Kwon Yeol.”
Hee-jo, who had been gazing as if mesmerized at the strong column of my throat moving up and down, finally opened her mouth.
“Can I make a wish?”
Just as my head was already spinning, the alcohol descended, and reason and composure evaporated entirely.
“Promise you’ll grant it for me.”
Just once. Only this one time.
Couldn’t I choose happiness instead of the ordinary?
This would be the last time, after all.
“Sleep with me. Just once.”

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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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