CH 8

It was just like his mother had said. Mr. Cha never loved Muyeol; he was only a possession for him. And Jaeho was aware of that, yet he acted like he was unaware.

“Oh no, that must have hurt! How could I just blurt out the truth like that?” Jaeho said as he pressed a hand against his chest, pretending to be sympathetic. 

“Why do you want me to flip out so desperately?” asked Muyeol.

“You’re so young, and yet you act like you’re so mature. You pretend to be better than me, even though you’re nothing. Besides, this is pretty fun!” Jaeho laughed mischievously, “It’s a fact that I’m better and more mature than you. Why are you so unsociable? What’s wrong with you? Are all princes like you?”

“What do you really want from me?”

“Hmm… I want you to die. That’s my wish!” Jaeho smiled brightly after pretending to ponder for a moment. 

“You’re a psycho,” Muyeol muttered. 

“Everyone knows that by now. After all, would it be normal for a boy who’s suffered so much in life to turn out normal? My mother died so pitifully, and I don’t even have to talk about my father.”

Jaeho maintained his smile. Muyeol couldn’t understand what he had done to end up stuck with a half-brother like him.

“But if you look at it, you’re the one who actually suffered a lot, no?” said Jaeho.

Muyeol’s face turned pale in an instant. How did Jaeho find out? Suddenly, Muyeol’s face morphed into a scary glare directed toward the people standing in the kitchen who were quietly trying to listen in.

“Don’t blame them. They just told me because they love me. They told me all about what father did to you, and asked me not to feel too down-hearted. Aren’t they such good, lovely people?”

A cold bead of sweat rolled down Muyeol’s back as he recalled the loathsome incident that occurred on his birthday every year without fail.

“Isn’t it terrible? He’s your father, right? So how could he request a paternity test every year? That means he rejects your existence every year. He’s gotten 13 tests done so far, no? That’s right, since he’s been doing this every year since your birth. He’ll even get another one in a few weeks!” Jaeho tutted.

Muyeol had gone through 13 paternity tests so far.

“And I’ve always thought this, but isn’t Madam Kang too cold? She doesn’t even seem to care. How could a mother act like that? If she was my mother, I would never want to see her.”

Just like Jaeho said, Madam Kang had never cared about Muyeol, even if he had an important exam at school, or was sick or injured.

Muyeol crouched in front of Jaeho. His pale face returned to normal but then turned arrogant and furious. “So what? You son of a b**ch.” 

Jaeho blinked, startled by the sudden change in Muyeol’s attitude. Before this day, no matter what Jaeho had done, it didn’t affect Muyeol. But it was different this time.

Suddenly, Muyeol’s body temperature shot up. Jaeho immediately realized what was happening. He’d heard about it. Muyeol sometimes suffered from an unexplainable high fever. He always internalized his feelings and never expressed them, which resulted in his emotions turning into physical symptoms like a burning fever.

Jaeho tortured Muyeol endlessly for this very reason. Jaeho thought this condition of his would make it easy for him to turn Muyeol into a psycho as well.

“Calling your older brother a son of a b**ch is way too much.” 

“So, what do you think you can do that I can’t?” Muyeol asked, his eyes refusing to blink.

Muyeol’s life of 13 years wasn’t ordinary. No one could possibly lead a normal life after being raised by a monster like his father.

Mr. Cha ordered a paternity test every year. The result was always the same: they were father and son, but he still got one done every year just to crush Muyeol’s self-esteem and establish his control over him.

“Yes, I feel like I can do way more things than you can. Am I not way better than you, who has no dignity?” Jaeho grinned as he checked the time again before adding, “For your paternity test this year, I’ll stand next to you and hold your hand for support. You can cry if you want.”

Muyeol sneered, realizing that Jaeho had probably figured out at what time Mr. Cha returned home from work.

“You are trying too hard,” Muyeol spat out.

Jaeho eyed Muyeol, noticing his icy tone. Muyeol lifted his hand and wiped the blood off of Jaeho’s face. 

Jaeho’s lips trembled, a sense of foreboding overwhelming him. ‘What is this feeling? Why do I feel so horrified?’

Jaeho unconsciously stumbled backward, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.

Jaeho heard the faint hum of a car rolling into the garage from outside. ‘Mr. Cha will arrive soon. He’ll see what happened in the living room, then lock up Muyeol in the basement again. Muyeol already has a fever. I wonder what will happen to him.’ 

Jaeho wanted to run away, but he stood his ground and slowly breathed. He planned to slam his head into the floor the moment Mr. Cha entered. He cleared his throat, ready to scream out loud. The timing was perfect, but…

“You don’t have to act anymore.” 

Before Jaeho could process Muyeol’s words, he grabbed Jaeho by the back of his neck.

A loud whack echoed in the room, and Jaeho lost his vision. He couldn’t understand what had happened. Then, he felt his head being pulled up harshly before being slammed into the floor.

Another whack resounded, and Jaeho finally understood what went wrong.

Jaeho screamed in agony. Muyeol was right. He didn’t need to act anymore, because it actually hurt now. It left like his head was being hammered into. 

Muyeol struck him again, and Jaeho shouted desperately, “Don’t kill me! Please! Don’t kill me!”

“Why shouldn’t I? As you said, I’m already useless,” Muyeol said as he landed another blow.

And he didn’t let go of Jaeho until Mr. Cha grabbed his neck and pushed him away from the older boy.