something. It was crumpled, stuck between the trash bin and the wall. A small paper. A price
tag. With numbers Jihoon knew was a lot.
The backpack was not from the Tooth Fairy.
Jihoon looked up at his brother, who was doing dishes. His brother usually did it while
humming random notes, but not this time. And that wasn’t the only thing Jihoon realized
about.
The shirt Seungcheol wore was frayed at the edge, some stitches were starting to get loose at
the seams. The fabric had faded so much that Jihoon could barely recognize its real color. His
pants were already too short for him that Jihoon could see his skinny ankles. And the bag
slumped at the corner of the room, the bag Seungcheol used every day, to school, to work, was
old and worn-out.
His brother didn’t have many things. But he always tried his best to give Jihoon everything.
“Jihoonie? What’s wrong?”
Seungcheol asked, confused at how Jihoon suddenly wrapped his arms around him. He didn’t
hear any sob or whimper from Jihoon. He couldn’t figure out what expression Jihoon was
wearing as he hid his face to his back. He couldn’t see any frown, or smile. But there was
something in the way Jihoon spoke. Something he had never heard before.
“Nothing, Hyung. I just want to say that I love you so much.”
Jihoon swore to himself that day. That he wouldn’t ask for anything. He wouldn’t ask for
anything else. He didn’t need anything else.
Having Seungcheol-hyung is enough.
***
“What are you guys doing?! Stop, stop it!”
All the hitting and kicking stopped, leaving only swears and insults. The latter was harder to
endure, but Jihoon had gotten so used to it. He still curled up on the ground. There were times
where they attacked him harder when someone told them to stop, as if to show that they
weren’t scared of anyone. As if they could do whatever they wanted. So Jihoon stayed still,
not lifting his arms from his face, not loosening his folded legs from his chest. But this time,
they really stopped. A spit landed so close to his face, then he heard their steps going away
from him.
“Are you okay??”