In Another Life

Finale

Kissing is a sign of affection. It's a privilege we reserve for those who hold a special place in our hearts. Each kiss carries a unique message - a declaration of endearment, gratitude, and love.

A kiss on the head or forehead is usually platonic or family love. But it can also be romantic in certain situations. A kiss on the hand represents chivalry and is tender. However, when it comes to the lips, it exclusively symbolizes romantic affection. Hyunjin sees his parents daily giving each other a short kiss on the lips. Though one would rather call it a peck in this case.

But why does Hyunjin want to kiss Minho on the lips? Wanting to kiss Minho was nothing inherently astonishing. In fact, a lot of people want to kiss him. Be it old or young folks, boys or girls. Minho's charisma draws people in. You would hardly find anyone who doesn't want to kiss him.

He was nation's favorite after all. Minho is the most popular idol, actor and model in South Korea. Everyone knows his name is synonymous with popularity right now. He is the number one. He is nation's pick and his face graced various billboards throughout the city. It was basically eye candy where ever you went to.

Everything could be easy if Hyunjin was like everyone else. Having a crush on a celebrity didn't mean anything. However, unlike the general public, Hyunjin was blood related to Minho. It was weird and forbidden for him to kiss him. Hyunjin knew that what he wants is wrong, but he can't stop his feelings.

Even though Hyunjin and Minho are brothers, Minho remains blissfully unaware of this fact. Hyunjin himself only found out when he was around 10 years old. One day, he looked through some old photo albums and saw his parents with another baby. On some pictures, they were a happy family of four. When asking about the mysterious child Hyunjin's parents finally revealed the long-kept secret to him:

Hyunjin has an older brother, Minho, who is two years older than him. They were a happy family but when they were young, they struggled a lot with money and were falsely accused in a drug incident. Afterwards the social security office forced them to hand over their children for adoption as they were not seen suitable to be parents. At that time Minho was only a little over 2 years old and Hyunjin was practically a new born. The social security office couldn't take away Hyunjin from them, as he was too young, so instead they found a new family for Minho.

Ever since then, they were no longer allowed to have any contact to Minho and only received photos from the adoptive parents once every few years. By law, they were forbidden to meet him until his 18th birthday, but it didn't matter as they didn't want to get involved into his life. They knew he was happy with his new family and telling him the truth would only put a burden on his shoulder. They asked the adoptive parents to never disclose the truth to Minho, they wanted him to become happy.

When Hyunjin saw the picture of his older brother for the first time, he didn't know what to do with it. He didn't really care about this Minho guy. To him, he was a stranger, a random face he sees on a photograph that held no emotional connection.

As the years passed Hyunjin tried to push thoughts of his "missing family member" from his mind. He refrained from referring to Minho as 'brother' because, in essence, he was a stranger. He doesn't know what he likes, he doesn't know what his voice sounds like it, he doesn't know anything about him except for the pictures he glimpsed over the years.

Truthfully, he couldn't care less about his existence until around 5 years later Hyunjin and his family saw Minho on TV for the first time. That's the moment Hyunjin's world began to change.

Like any other teen Hyunjin was fascinated by k-pop and quickly found his favorite group and favorite members. He avidly watched interviews, variety shows and basically any available content he could find. Over time, Minho ceased to be a mere stranger in a photograph. He was an idol he adored and frankly, started to have a crush on. However, Hyunjin didn't see him as a brother, that label didn't make sense given that they didn't grow up together. To Hyunjin it's just a label in the back of his mind that gnawed at him.