•How long till you start falling apart?•
Min Sehyuk, a new transfer student from the U.S. joins Hanhwa university and entangles himself with the resident bully after defending a student. He becomes the new target, taking each punch with a smile, ask...
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Kihyun's heart thunders against his chest, the sound beating in his ears. He clenches the visitation card in his hand, waiting with bated breath as the metal door a few feet away from him opens with a clank, and two men step in, a glass barrier separating him and them.
One of them is wearing a guard uniform and the other is a prisoner. He swallows his spit when the man's eyes meet his. He isn't able to decipher the emotions that run through his face, too occupied with not trying to run away from something long overdue.
The prisoner walks to him, taking a seat on the other side of the transparent screen. Kihyun's voice is locked in his throat, his mind a frenzy of nothing but guilt and shame. Not being able to hold further eye contact, he ducks his head, chin touching the space between his collarbones, staring at the card in his hand.
"Four hundred and twenty-one days," the man's gravelly tone sends a chill up his spine. "It took you all this time to come and glance at your brother's face. What's the special occasion, if I may ask?" His eyes have lost the light in them, a deep shadow under them accentuating his tired self. There's a faded scar over the apple of his cheek, something Kihyun hasn't ever seen on him, must be from injuries that occurred in prison. "You know, the worst part of it all?" Kang Minwoo sighs, mustering up a crooked smile. "You're here because you have evidence for my innocence not because you believed in me."
Death by a thousand needles. That's what Kihyun feels like as soon as the words leave his brother's lips. His already tattered spirit tears to shreds and drops to his gut, taking with it the spark of hope in him.
"Hy—hyung...I..."
"Your sister-in-law asked me to cut you some slack. She said you are really sorry and regret your actions."
"I'm sorry..." Kihyun whispers, the onslaught of tears demanding to be let out. But he doesn't deserve the solace that comes with it. So he holds them in, snapping his teeth together in a vice grip, and breathes through the gaps between them.
"How have you been?"
Coming here has been a bad idea. With every word his brother speaks, Kihyun feels a stab to his heart. What is he supposed to answer to that? He's lost and in despair, hurting one or the other around him. He wants either the world or him to disappear completely.
As the silence grows between the brothers, Minwoo shakes his head, getting up from his seat. "Come back next time, I don't want to talk today." He walks away, waiting for the guard to unlock the door.
A gaping dread creeps into Kihyun's chest, causing him to press his fingers on his eyes. He jolts from his chair too, staring at the back of his brother's head. "Hyung!" He breathes, hand slapping on the barrier. "I know I can't undo the pain and hurt you had to go through nor bring back the time you lost with your family. You've done so much for me but I left you the moment you needed me." The younger sniffles, sucking in shallow breaths to go on. "I'm sorry you have a brother l-like me. B-but...but I promise you, I will do everything to get you out of here."
