Dark Horse

CH 4: The Salesman of Ruin

"I don't wanna go hyung!

Please tell mum to not send me away hyung!

Please don't let them hyung! I wanna stay with you hyung.

You told me you'd let me be with you forever hyung!

You promised hyung! "
The child wailed as the stranger dragged him away.

"Hyung! "
And with that the door shut close, leaving the elder brother clenching his fists, doubting whether he really should have let his parents do what they did. ..

"he's crying as if he's not gonna come back every month. Why did we even have such a useless second child goodness.. "
A woman's voice spoke at the back, shaking her head as he looked down the window.

It was their mother. So heartless, so ruthless....

And then he heard the child cry one last time before the car door too shut close.

"Hyunnnnggg!!!!"

"Seok-ah!!! "
The man jolted awake from his nightmare, yelling his younger brother's name, surprising his partner who stirred awake from her asleep next to him.

"Was it another nightmare honey? "
She asked, worried as she rubbed her sleepy eyes.

"Yeah.. It's okay. You can sleep dear. It's time for me to wake up anyways."
He replied with a shaky breath, putting his beloved to sleep as he got out of their bed and into the bathroom.

Washing his face and looking into the mirror, only one thought plagued his mind, the very thought that represented the guilt he has been carrying since the past ten-fifteen years.

I should've stopped them that day. ..

He wiped his face with a towel, walking towards the shelf were several pictures were kept, his eyes resting on a certain wooden framed photograph that was taken an year before his parent's bankruptcy.

An year before he realized what kind of greedy wretches his parent's truly were.

An year before he stopped being a hyung anymore to the kid he cared so much for.

That summer afternoon when he was 18 and his brother was still 12.

It was still vivid in his mind with every single detail, right from their dusty couch to the sun's heat that fell in the tiny room of his past.

He remembered his younger brother opening the door to that man that day,

he often thinks that maybe they never should have answered the door that day, should have let that tragedy stay behind that closed wooden door, away from their lives...

That man's smile was pleasant that day, but it never reached his eyes.

"Oh! You look quite smart kiddo, are your parents home? "

The man had said, bending down to his brother's height.

His brother looked at the man with his wide, shining eyes for a minute before asking him to wait politely, before closing the door and then running, calling for him, not knowing what to do.

After his father's business went bankrupt, many had been coming to their home, demanding for money, threatening and making a scene.

"Hyuuung! An ahjussi is here to meet mom and dad, what should I do? "

"I'll see, you sit here "

Sangyeob had replied, ruffling the younger's hair with a smile before walking towards the door.