Chapter Text
The Jang Family Villa in Flames, the newspaper read.
Hanseo was 6 when he dressed in all black for his mother's funeral. The news anchors had all apparently decided that that was the best time to ask the poor, confused child about what he thought had happened. Was it an accident? Was it the doing of hitmen? Who or what caused the two-story glass building to collapse on itself? Hanseo remembered crying, as if he were still a few months old, in front of the compassionless reporters.
No relatives even bothered to show up to his mother's funeral; not even her husband, who survived the fire due to pure luck, took time out of his busy schedule to mourn his deceased wife. The only person to show up besides Hanseo and the reporters was the arsonist himself, Jang Hanseok. Yes, Hanseo knew that his half-brother was the culprit. Even at that young, gullible age, he knew. His brother's unfeeling eyes and amused smirk had given him away. Of course, Hanseo had no real proof to cement his firm belief besides the fact that Hanseok was absent the entire day of the incident. But then again, even if he did have proof, who would believe the stupid illegitimate son of the Jang family?
Hanseok must've known his action would go unpunished too for he taunted his little brother relentlessly the night of the funeral. He even went so far as to admit to his crimes, pride ever so present in his high-pitched voice. "Do you feel wronged?" he asked his little brother.
Hanseo shook his head in fear. "N-no, hyungie." How could his own brother, who was only a year older than him, be such a monster?
"Don't call me that," Hanseok said sharply. "It sounds disgusting coming from your stupid mouth. Call me hyung-nim."
"Y-yes, h-hyung-nim," the younger boy murmured.
"Aren't you curious as to how I did it?" Hanseok had a proud smile as if he were waiting to be praised for wickedness.
In all honesty, Hanseo did not want to hear about how his mother was murdered, but he asked anyway, knowing all too well he'd be murdered next if he kept quiet.
"You see, that morning, I stuffed a gallon of oil into my backpack while you were asleep. Then I took a taxi to the villa. When I got there, your mom even let me in. I guess you got your stupidity from somewhere. She told me my dad wasn't there, unfortunately. Drove off due to an argument or something." As he was explaining his crimes, Hanseok looked towards his younger brother. The idiot is still listening. Good. "I told the hag to sleep or something and stop bothering me. And she did! That stupid bitch really left me unsupervised. I poured oil on the first floor and microwaved a few paper bags. Aren't I a genius? I mean, who else could plan such an elaborate plot?"
At that point, Hanseo was a sobbing mess. The image of his mother peacefully sleeping, not knowing she was about to die, was devastating. However, the true cause of his tears was not his grief but his absolute terror. He was afraid, so afraid of Hanseok. He didn't want to die. He didn't want to burn alive like his mother.
"Hey," his brother's voice called out.
Hanseo froze in fear. As much as he didn't want to see his brother's cold eyes, he still looked up to observe the older boy's facial expression. He's angry. I know he's angry. He's definitely—
Hanseok smiled warmly as he reached to cup his brother's face. "Don't cry," he said, his voice tender and sweet. "Hyung won't hurt you."
Hyung, Hanseo repeated in his head. As his nerves began to calm down, the hands grasping his cheeks moved down to his neck. Then the hands tightened and tightened until he couldn't breathe.
"You're still useful to me," Hanseok said, his warm smile turning into a sadistic one. "And you're going to do everything I say unless you want to die, got it, little brother?" He released his grip.
As Hanseo gasped for air, he realized that Hanseok was beyond anything he had ever thought. His older brother wasn't just a harmless bully or a spoiled first son: he was a monster. But what was fueling his hate? The memory of his own mother, the first wife, who died of grief shortly after she found out about her husband's affair? The lack of parental guidance from his father? An annoying half-brother who trespassed into his life out of nowhere? No, Hanseok was an incomprehensible menace. There was no reason behind his evil deeds. Hanseo confirmed his gut feeling when he saw his brother's blank gaze. It was chilling. At that moment, Hanseo decided there was nothing he could do except surrender his life to his dear hyung.
---
The Babel Pharmaceutical Warehouse burned almost as brightly as the Jangs' villa all those years ago. Hanseo stared at the dancing flames for a few seconds, dazed by the orange brightness, before scrambling to put it out. "Hurry!" he yelled to workers near him. "Do something! Put it out!"
Anxiety was building up inside his chest. This was a disaster. His mind was beginning to fill up with memories of his dead mother and all the beatings Hanseok had given him for his failures. Already, he had mapped out the rest of his night. His brother would no doubt lose his mind over this. As if on cue, a black car pulled up.
"Hah!" Hanseok laughed as he saw the blaze. As predicted, he was losing it.
"H-hyung-nim," Hanseo said. All he could do now was soften his future punishment through panicked apologies. "I-I'll make sure to f-find who's behind it! I-I'll contact our i-investors and try to get e-extra fundings. I-I'll—" He was silenced by his brother's piercing glare.
"Shut up. Shut up!" Hanseok screamed, turning around to make a dent in his car door. "Fuck! Fuck! Those motherfuckers! I'm going to kill them!"
Ah, I might die tonight, Hanseo thought. He wanted to say something to maybe calm his brother down, but he knew his words were now futile. He had already let some researchers speak out against their company, and the building which he was supposed to demolish was still standing. The wounds he got from his last beating hadn't even healed yet.
"Hanseo!"
Hanseo jumped at the mention of his name. "Y-yes, hyung-nim?"
"My house. Now!"
"D-do you n-need me to d-drive you?"
Hanseok scowled at his younger brother. "Are you seriously asking when you know the answer? Fuck! You're so fucking incompetent!"
Keeping his head down, Hanseo grabbed his brother's key from the front seat before starting up the car. The drive home—well, technically not his home, but a place he often stayed at nonetheless—was quiet, almost too quiet. He honestly expected his brother to curse him out more, maybe even bring up how he deserved to die like his mother. However, Hanseok remained eerily silent, choosing to just stare at his brother from the rearview mirror. Is he planning my death? Hanseo wondered.
As soon as he parked his brother's car in front of the man's garage, he was grabbed by the wrist and pulled inside the penthouse. Hanseo stumbled behind his brother's quick stride as the man paid him no heed.
"Stay here. I'm going to take a shower," Hanseok ordered.
Hanseo, as always, obeyed his brother's every command no matter how small. When he was told to stay, he stayed as still as a sculpture, fearing that, if he moved even a muscle, he'd be punished for it. Even so, Hanseok's mood was erratic. Hanseo could very well have done nothing wrong and still be punished for being an eyesore.
"Good," his brother said as he came out of the shower; he'd be completely nude if not for the white towel around his torso. "You're finally being obedient."
"Hyung-nim, about the fire—"
"Shut up!" Hanseok's voice was loud and somber, causing his brother to tremble. "I didn't tell you to speak, did I, little brother?"
Hanseo shook his head.
"Then why did you open your annoying ass mouth?"
"I-I'm sorry—" Without warning, Hanseo felt a hand come down to strike him. The impact caused him to fall backward, hands clutching his throbbing cheeks.
"Did. I. Tell. You. To. Talk?"
Hanseo shook his head again, trying his best to not cry.
"First, you let that damn researcher sue us. Then, you couldn't demolish a simple plaza. Now, you let one of our facilities burn to the ground?" Hanseok wrapped a towel he was using to dry his hair around his brother's neck. "How useless could you possibly be?" He tightened his grip. "Do you know how much this will cost us? All the fucking drugs are destroyed! This will set us back months!"
Everything hurt so bad. Hanseo was debating whether he should focus on his headache or his squeezed throat. If Hanseok really did end up killing him like this, wouldn't it be merciful? Finally, the monster let go, and all Hanseo could do was mumble broken apologies in between gasping for air.
"You're pathetic," Hanseok remarked.
"I'm sorry, h-hyung-nim."
"Quit your apologies. Why don't you make yourself useful and strip?" The monster had on an evil smirk.
Hanseo did as he was told with little hesitance. It wasn't like this was the first time, and it was definitely not going to be the last. He had long gotten used to doing whatever his brother wanted. The dread that once overtook him was now gone. Sex was better than getting beaten almost to death, right?
"Come here," Hanseok said, sitting on the couch and patting his lap.
Upon discarding his clothes in a small pile, Hanseo hurried toward his brother. "H-hyung-nim," he said, feeling a bit shy. "W-we might s-stain your couch."
Hanseok chuckled at his brother's naivety. "That's what you're worried about? Shouldn't you be more worried about whether you'll be able to walk tomorrow?"
This is wrong, a small voice in Hanseo's head said as he sat on his brother's lap, feeling the man's bulge against his stomach. It was wrong, that he knew. It was immoral. It was disgusting. It was against the government's law and nature's law. But he ignored those feelings as Hanseok's fingers lubed him up, as wet kisses trailed down his neck. He had convinced himself it was okay. It was better than getting his bones broken, better than almost having his broken ribs puncture his lungs. It was better than being hospitalized and in a coma for 3 months. And maybe, just maybe, a little part of him liked it too. Maybe he wanted it as much as his brother did. No, of course, he didn't. He didn't want this, but he had to convince himself he did. If he escaped his web of lies, his peaceful delusions, and faced the abysmal truth, he didn't think he could handle it. He wasn't ready, nor would he ever be ready, to admit how just how depraved, just how perverted, his relationship with his brother was.
As Hanseok entered him, Hanseo gasped at the familiar pain. His brother was bigger than he remembered, and his mind was going blank. He was a little exhausted, but that wasn't the reason for his lack of thoughts. He just didn't want to think about it. Didn't want to think about the revolting stares he'd get from other people if his secret ever leaked out.
"You know, little brother," Hanseok said, hands still firm on the younger male's waist, "if it were any other guys, I'd beat him to death."
As bad as it may be, Hanseo took it as a compliment. At least he managed to do something right.
"You're lucky your ass feels so good. If only you were a girl..."
If only we weren't related, Hanseo wanted to say, but he learned to keep his thoughts to himself. Their passionate night was a little long, but not much longer than usual. After sinning, Hanseo quickly ran for the bathroom to wash his shame away. Why did he have to be so weak and stupid?
"Little brother," Hanseok called out as the younger male emerged from the bathroom.
"Y-yes, hyung-nim?"
"Sleep here tonight." Such words were obviously a command, but Hanseo still interpreted it as a considerate suggestion.
"Y-yes."
After a long day, Hanseo was grateful to have escaped a beating. Seeing Hanseok's initial reaction to the fire, he was sure today would be his judgment day. Was this a sign that his older brother really did care about him, even if it's just the tiniest amount? Such wishful thoughts gave Hanseo the confidence to bury his face against the older male's chest. Yes, he was using his abuser, his mother's murderer, to avoid the cold. He would've backed away if his hyung grunted disapproval but he didn't.
Perhaps behind the cold, scary exterior, hidden in between his profanity and punches, was Hanseok's love for his little brother. But of course, that was false, nothing more than a figment of Hanseo's imagination. Even when he made excuses for his brother, he knew his defensive words held no ground. Nonetheless, he muttered those hopeful thoughts like a mantra in his mind, believing that if he said those words enough time, they'd eventually become true. And just like that, with his mind full of beautiful thoughts, Hanseo fell asleep beside his dear brother.