People You Know // JakeHoon

1. Brotherhood

While Jake was waiting for his little brother to come home, he was also studying. The weather was so gloomy that it was difficult even for him to study. After turning the pen around in his hand, his gaze shifted out of the window again. He looked first at the gray sky, then at the trees swaying in the wind. There was no one on the street. He took a deep breath and checked his watch. It was impossible for Niki not to have left school. He should have been home about half an hour ago, but there was no news from the little gentleman. Jake reached for his phone and texted his brother once again. Even if his messages were delivered, his brother did not see them. Or maybe he didn't bother to look.

As an exasperated breath escaped his lips, he left his phone on the desk and took his pen back. He didn't want to worry needlessly, thinking about strange things. That's why he found the solution by solving a few math questions. Finally, he couldn't stand it anymore and got up from his chair in a rage. Grabbing his jacket from the bed, he left his room and went down the stairs. As he grabbed his keys from the kitchen counter, he heard the door. Niki turned his key silently and tried to get in, but when he saw his brother right in front of him, he realized that his effort was pointless.

Jake placed the key in his hand back on the counter as he looked at his soaked brother in surprise. He should have had his umbrella with him. He personally gave him his own umbrella in the morning so that he wouldn't get wet.

"Where were you Niki? I sent you dozens of messages. Can't you at least look at your phone?"

Niki threw his soaked backpack in the doorway and took off his jacket. He didn't want to talk. That's why he tried to pass by his brother, who had been waiting for him for minutes. However, he had to pause because of his brother grabbing his arm. He still didn't look up. He only tried to pull his arm away as he looked towards the stairs.

"I am talking to you."

"I'm tired, let me get rid of my wet clothes."

"Talk to my face, Niki, I'm worried about you."

While Jake was trying to turn his brother towards him, Niki took his arm away from him and ran up the stairs. Jake sighed deeply as he stared after his brother. He couldn't understand why he did this. He tried to talk to him many times, but all Niki did was running away. Jake grabbed his borther wet backpack from the doorway and went into the living room. He could only see his parents in the evenings because of their work. That's why he had to take care of Niki. However, doing this was not as easy as he thought. Niki wasn't that little kid anymore. Moreover, he might even have reached puberty. Jake was only two years older than him and was trying to be a parent to him.

"Even his books are wet, stupid..."

Jake took the wet books out of the bag, one by one, and arranged them on the coffee table. He was thinking about what he could do to dry it without falling apart. That's why he opened each one, sat in front of the fireplace, and arranged them with great care. He hoped the warmth of the fireplace would dry the books and the bag.

After preparing dinner for himself and his brother, he went upstairs again to call the little one. He knocked on Niki's room and waited for an answer. However, his brother still preferred to remain silent. So he opened the door and stuck his head in. He rushed in angrily when he saw his brother lying on the bed wearing the clothes he came with.

"Niki!"

When Jake saw that his brother had headphones in his ears, he rushed over to him and pulled the headphones away in anger. Meanwhile, Niki turned to him in fear. Jake backed away when he saw his brother's fearful gaze. He hadn't meant to scare him, but Niki looked genuinely scared. Moreover, his lip had blood on it. And there was a dried blood stain on his eyebrow. Jake felt like he couldn't swallow at that moment. Niki immediately turned his head away from his brother's gaze and tried to hide himself. Jake sat on the edge of the bed and grabbed the little one's arms, preventing him from hiding himself. So Niki shouted in anger.

"Let go, get out of my room."

"What happened? Tell me."

"I don't want to talk, I told you to go."

"Niki! "You had a fight again, didn't you?"

Niki sat up in bed angrily and pushed his brother hard, who was trying to hold him. Jake couldn't keep his balance due to the sudden movement and fell off the bed. While looking at his brother in surprise, he saw that the other one started to cry. Niki had never hit him before. And now he was crying madly.

"I fighted!"

"Stop asking and get the hell away from me."

"Niki... I..."

"I was stupid and responded to them this time. And this happened."

"What?"

Jake immediately reached out to his brother, astonished by what he heard. Niki would come home like this every once in a while, and he would dismiss it by telling Jake that he had a fight. However, Jake had noticed several times that his weekly allowance had run out on the first day. Maybe he was right in his suspicions... Niki wasn't being frivolous. Someone must have been teasing him.

"Who did this to you?"

When Niki realized he had messed up, he looked away in alarm. He chose to remain silent while wiping his tears. Jake got up, walked to his brother and tried to take off his shirt. Maybe there were wounds in his body where he couldn't see. That's why Niki had been avoiding him all this time. He was being bullied.

"Leave me."

"Tell me what happened right now. Who did what to you?

"Why do you care? I'm not even your real brother..."

When Niki said it angrily, he managed to get his brother's hands off him. He got up from bed, took a towel from his drawer and started drying his body. Meanwhile, he heard a sobbing sound. When he turned to his brother behind him, he saw that he was covering his face with his hands. It made him realize the weight of his words. When he realized that he had hurt his brother, he hurriedly grabbed his shoulders and turned him towards himself.

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to say it that way."

"Hyung..."

Jake tried to calm down as Niki wrapped his arms around him. Ever since his family adopted Niki, he had been trying to be a good brother to him. Despite the years that passed, Niki still did not forget the fact that he was adopted, and lived by reminding himself of this every day. Jake now thought that all his efforts were for nothing.

"I'm sorry for not being a proper brother."

"Don't say that... I just said it out of anger."

"You don't share any of your problems with me. I just can't keep up."

"No matter what I do, I can't make you feel like we're real brothers."

"Hyung... I'm sorry. I don't think that way. I love you more than anyone in this world. You are all I have."

So Jake put his arms around his brother. He hide his face in his brother's neck while hugging him tightly. While Niki was patting his brother's back to console him, his brother was also loving his hair.

"I'll explain... Don't cry."

When Niki stepped back, he looked into his brother's red eyes and smiled slightly. Jake relaxed a little when he saw the sweet smile on his brother's face. He nodded his approval when he started ruffling his brother's wet hair.

"Take a hot shower first. If you get sick, mother will worry..."

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