Knowing Brother-Chapter 51

After finishing all the tasks he had set out for, Choi Seol-woo looked outside the empty house. It was a late-setting summer, and the sky was not yet purple.

He made a video call to Won Dae-young. He was busy preparing for the preliminary round, so he didn’t answer the phone. A few minutes later, he requested a video call again. Behind his shoulder, he could see the sports stadium where the preliminary rounds for other events were taking place.

Won ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) Dae-young, wearing the youth national team uniform, looked down at the camera with eyes that seemed to be floating. Choi Seol-woo immediately said something.

“Hyung. No matter what I do, you’re on my side, right?”

The answer that came back with a long smile was very short. There wasn’t even a question asking what he meant.

- Perfect.

The unconditional assurance calmed his anxious pulse.

It was the first time he had done something in his life, and the impact was so great that he couldn’t predict what kind of aftereffects it would have, so the anxiety that had been rising uncontrollably subsided in an instant. Just one word from Won Dae-young.

- Why, what should I do? Should I go to the police station? Do you need an alibi? Should I give you false testimony? Should I hide you somewhere? Should I help you escape overseas?

It was strange. I had committed a terrible crime with these two hands yesterday and today, but now I felt like I was in a warm greenhouse.

At that moment, Choi Seol-woo realized a truth that he had not realized for years. It was like a ray of truth like light.

If I felt like this, everything would be okay.

Even if I didn’t receive the same love, sexual desire, and romantic feelings from Won Dae-young,

I would be okay if I just felt safe. This safe feeling that I couldn’t get anywhere else.

It was the realization that I didn’t need to distance myself from him, fearing the love I wouldn’t receive in return. This magical sense of relief was much greater than the pain of watching Won Dae-young from the side.

It was a stupid thought. Seol-woo would be even more hurt if she couldn’t see him.

It had already been three years, so how could unrequited love last longer? Even if Choi Seol-woo was an abnormal person, would he still be obsessed with Won Dae-young until then? If I get disappointed by this kid’s fancy love life, my heart will disappear. When I go to college, I’ll meet a lot of new people and we’ll just remain friends.

So until then, I can just stay by his side and pretend I’m sick. That’ll do. I can wait until the day I stop loving Won Dae-young and get sick a little. Even if I’m sick, I want to be in this kid’s arms. I want to be in this kid’s unconditional control.

All my anxiety disappeared in an instant after the worries that had been bothering me for weeks were gone.

The screen was noisy as if the game was about to start. Won Dae-young, who had been smiling, furrowed his brow.

- What’s wrong with you?

“...If you have nothing to say, let’s talk about your health. Hurry up and go play. Earn a lot of money.”

As I watched Won Dae-young hang up the phone, saying, “Yes, sir,” I repeated to myself that I had done well today and that I was proud. After the call ended, I remembered that I had forgotten to say something important.

“Oh, that’s right. I forgot to apologize.”

A warm feeling filled my heart, wrapped in a protective shield that no one could invade. However, a backlash awaited Choi Seol-woo, who smiled brightly.

* * *

Won Dae-young easily passed the preliminaries in first place. That happened the next day, when Won Dae-young was competing in the finals on a track in faraway Poland.

Seol-woo was ready to endure all the aftermath of the release of the capture. He had no fear, perhaps because he had a friend who could ease his pain. He was willing to accept any price.

“Choi Seol-woo. Let me see the teacher for a moment.”

When the homeroom teacher knocked on the classroom door with a dark face and called Seol-woo out, he said, “I’ve come.” It was expected, so it wasn’t surprising.

In the student guidance office, I sat down with the homeroom teacher, grade head, and vice principal. They used the location where Choi Seol-woo’s stolen cell phone was found and the witness statement in the teachers’ office as evidence to get a confession, and Choi Seol-woo answered that he knew it was illegal and a crime, but he couldn’t help it. The vice principal looked particularly troubled.

“This good kid.... A kid who had excellent grades and was a model student at school, what is this? Using the fact that he often left school early due to his chronic illness to do something like this...! He should have asked the teacher for help first. I’m not saying that those guys did a good job. But you didn’t do a good job either. If you get sued for defamation, isn’t that your loss? Sigh... The school is in trouble, it’s in trouble.”

“I know I didn’t do a good job. I know I did something wrong. But it was necessary. Sometimes, attack is the best defense. That’s how the world is. There are things that can’t be solved even if you trust adults and the law.”

Sometimes, you need to lie, and sometimes, the world doesn’t follow the law or justice. I already knew it when I was a swearing village chief. I also knew it when Won Dae-young drove out the yellow-eyed man who was wielding violence at home. If you believe that the law and justice will solve everything, you will just suffer losses. That doesn’t mean I am justifying crime, but in the end, the human world is one where I have to take off my shoes and find the best result.

I finished the rest of the conversation in my head and brought up the story I had been holding back.

“There were severe insults to students at our school on that cell phone. Those guys should be punished for that too.”

The insults I saw in their group chat were violent enough to shock even Choi Seol-woo. Well, they only see what you see, so they assumed that Won Dae-young and Ha Young-seo had sex. ‘They both really liked each other and were dripping XX and X water while dating, so they must have done everything,’ and ‘If you search their secret accounts, you will find sex videos or bed selfies taken while they were naked,’ and even talked about positions and internal ejaculations. Even Choi Seol-woo felt insulted.

The rest of the conversation was hard to put into words. The only thing that appeared without missing a beat was the size of Won Dae-young’s dick. Choi Seol-woo had to suffer twice as much while reading.

He didn’t reveal it to anyone because he thought Ha Yeong-seo would be shocked. The homeroom teacher suddenly got angry and held out his hand.

“You, really...! Evidence obtained illegally is not even accepted. Really...! What is the content? Where are you looking?”

“.......”

Choi Seol-woo looked at the teacher who asked to see the content with a look of distrust. It was obvious that these people would only take the dirty conversation as a provocative topic. Even if Choi Seol-woo was too negative and defensive, there was nothing to say. However, there was no need to forcefully believe someone you didn’t trust. Seol-woo shook his head.

“No. As you said, even if I tell you, there’s no point in getting anything out of it and it’ll just ruin the mood.”

“Oh! That’s for the adults to decide! Don’t keep trying to handle things by yourself!”

Those who found the phone would have already deleted all the conversations, and there’s no reason for the teachers to confiscate Choi Seol-woo’s phone right now. Seol-woo stretched out with a blank expression.

“I won’t reveal it. There’s no reason to give you the phone.”

The vice principal was furious, but none of the many shouting words touched his heart. Finally, the vice principal brought up Mrs. Choi.

“Your mother raised you all by herself! Even if Kang Jong-hyeok and those guys are worthless kids. Do you think you can handle this kind of thing!”

“Can you lower your voice? I think everyone can hear me.”

“Oh my...!”

I left the counseling room with a lot of resentment toward the vice principal. He said that the police would call soon. After looking into it, it was highly likely that even if he was charged with cell phone theft and defamation, he would only receive a fine or suspended sentence. No matter how you calculate it, it was nothing compared to the damage he inflicted on them.

Choi Seol-woo won. As he reached the end of the hallway with a happy smile on his face, he heard the sound of his slippers hitting the wall.

“A shocking twist, a thief has come out. Wow... I didn’t know it was him.”

The school was still quiet because class was in session. Kang Jong-hyuk was hanging around the teachers’ bathroom next to the guidance office with his friend. It seemed like he had skipped class to pick up Choi Seol-woo.

Won Dae-young’s final match was about to start, but of all people... Choi Seol-woo stopped, looking annoyed.

Kang Jong-hyuk slowly walked down the stairs. The guy put his right foot into his slipper. frёewebnoѵēl.com

This was the second time I saw him up close, after he swore at Ha Yeong-seo who was passing by, but his face was a bit different then.

Unlike that time when his eyes sparkled with a sense of victory, his pupils seemed slightly dilated. My heart pounded as I stared at his eyes that were strangely out of the norm.

Even though they were the same pair, he felt completely different from Won Dae-young. His vulgar eyes seemed to be covered in oil, and his long nose, which stretched out over his pale skin, looked dull. The guy unbuttoned his school uniform, kicked his slippers against the wall, walked over, put them on, swung them back, walked over, put them on, and circled around Seol-woo.

“Choi Seol-woo. I was surprised to see your home address when I filed the report. You live in a high place with good air....”

“.......”

“And, since you’re a single-parent family, there’s only one guardian, and Choi 00, born in 1981. Wow, if you were born in 1981, you must be in your prime. You lied about your age. There was an error in your mother’s birth certificate. I guess I didn’t know much about you. None of the students at our school.”

“There’s only one answer, so why are you making up a pointless joke?”

“.......”

“So. That’s a personal information leak....”

“So, what the fuck. Did you come out of your stomach after you spread the picture? You piece of shit.”

Clap, a sharp palm slammed into Choi Seol-woo’s ear. A beep-ring rang in his ear.

When he realized that what had slapped his cheek wasn’t his bare hand, but the slippers he was wearing, he cursed.