Things That Deserve To Die

Translated by Springlila

“How is it? Do you like it?”

A bracelet of the same design glittered in the black box. Kang Yoo-jung contacted him to say she would be stopping by the company for a short time, and he was curious about what was going on; it turned out she had given him a gift for his birthday. Each other’s initials were engraved on the inside of the silver bracelet.

“The cat will like it.”

“I asked a friend to make it. They said they’d change the name on it if you break up.”

Il-hyun’s eyebrows rose at her joke. He warned her not to say such things, even as a joke.

“Shall we have dinner together for dinner? Oh, did you say Ja-kyung found his brother? How about the four of us eating together?”

Il-hyun outright refused. He said they would have a quiet dinner together. Suddenly, there was a commotion outside the door, and then the door swung open as Jang Tae-ho entered. Anxiety crossed the face of the secretary who followed. Seeing Jang Tae-ho’s flushed face reminded him of the USB that Lee Ja-kyung gave him last night.

He gestured for the secretaries to leave and then stood up from his seat.

“What’s going on here so early in the morning, Prosecutor Jang?”

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“What have you done to my younger sibling?”

“Tell me so I can understand.”

Seeing the calm Kang Il-hyun, Jang Tae-ho clenched his fists.

“Pretending to care so much, then coaxing the innocent one to steal for you,”

“Please have a seat. Yelling at each other won’t get us anywhere.”

“Did you actually threaten him? How did you manage to get that soft-hearted soul, who hasn’t seen his brother in 20 years, to steal something from his brother’s house?”

Kang Yoo-jung, who had been silently listening to the two of them, intervened.

“Somebody told him, maybe, Lee Ja-kyung, no, Yang Seon-woo… brother?”

Jang Tae-ho’s gaze moved from Kang Il-hyun to Kang Yoo-jung. The angry red hue of his face seemed to subside a bit as his expression softened. Kang Yoo-jung smiled brightly and asked him to sit down, which he did reluctantly.

Kang Il-hyun made a disapproving expression when he saw this. The siblings seem to have similar tastes. Lee Ja-kyung’s ears still turn red whenever he sees Kang Yoo-jung, and whenever that happens, he feels the urge to cut them off.

As Kang Yoo-jung sat down, she gracefully introduced herself with a polite smile.

“I’m Kang Il-hyun’s older sister. Kang Yoo-jung. Since there is a connection between our families, you know who I am, right?”

“Yes. I know.”

“You said that my younger brother supposedly threatened your younger brother, but that’s a misunderstanding. In fact, my younger brother almost always gives away everything he has, and I often wonder if he’s being taken advantage of.”

Kang Il-hyun stared at Kang Yoo-jung with a puzzled expression. Did she just call him a fool? Still, Jang Tae-ho’s anger didn’t seem to have subsided.

“Are you telling me to believe that now?”

“Prosecutor. You know that CEO Kang Il-hyun was shot at the inauguration ceremony two years ago and almost died, right?”

Jang Tae-ho did not answer. There was no way he didn’t know about that incident. He had watched the news and felt so delighted. He had even wished Kang Il-hyun had died.

“The one who shot him at that time was your younger brother, Prosecutor.”

Kang Yoo-jung said it calmly and matter-of-factly. Jang Tae-ho’s eyes widened considerably, and he wore an expression of disbelief.

“My sibling can’t even kill an ant.”

Il-hyun snorted inwardly. Even if he couldn’t kill ants, he was more than capable of killing people. He felt an itch to say something but restrained himself, fearing that Ja-kyung might get upset again if he found out. He managed a smile. Kang Yoo-jung continued to calm Jang Tae-ho down.

“If you’re curious, you can confirm it with your brother directly. By the way, there were even more severe incidents after that, but I still acknowledged and accepted their relationship.”

“…”

“Of course, it wasn’t easy.”

She smiled with a touch of regret, while Jang Tae-ho’s expression remained incredulous. Kang Yoo-jung held his hand affectionately, looked into his eyes, and quietly comforted him.

“I also don’t understand my younger brother, and there are many times when it’s hard for me to accept his choices. But what can I do? They’re our bloodline. We have to embrace it.”

***

Thud, thud, bundles of money piled up. Wang Lun, Wang Han, and Ja-kyung gathered around the pool because they were bored. They decided to hold a competition to see who could hold their breath underwater the longest, with the bet increasing with each round.

Ja-kyung sat cross-legged in the water and counted the numbers in his head, letting the breath he had inhaled earlier flow out of his mouth little by little. Wang Han came out of the water first, followed by Wang Lun, who couldn’t take it any longer, and finally Ja-kyung.

With a splash, Ja-kyung lifted his face above the water’s surface and wiped his face while smiling.

“One more time?”

Han shook his head. Forget it. I’d rather compete with the fish.

“Way, you come here. Do you have gills?”

Lun grumbled and tried to wrap his arms around Ja-kyung’s neck to push his back underwater, but Ja-kyung slipped away like a catfish and escaped from the water. Then, as he was drying his wet hair, one of the three phones started ringing. It was Ja-kyung’s. As he checked the caller ID, the smile faded from his face.

“Who is it?”

Wang Lun asked from the water, and Ja-kyung signaled for him to be quiet before answering the call and walking to the grassy area. Hello?

[It’s me, Kyung-joon. Are you busy?]

A somewhat serious tone. Jakyung guessed why he had called.

“No, Hyung… Let’s talk.”

[You… don’t have anything to say to me?]

His cautious tone. Has he already noticed? Ja-kyung lightly licked his lower lip and rolled his eyes. Anyway, he did something wrong by taking that USB, but leaving it as it was might cause trouble for Kang Il-hyun later.

“I’m sorry… If you’re asking about stealing the USB, then yes, I did it.”

A long sigh came through the receiver.

[Why did you do that? Did someone… threaten you?]

“No.”

[You can tell me the truth.]

“It really wasn’t like that.”

[I went to visit Kang Il-hyun during the day and heard a ridiculous story. He lied that it was you who shot him two years ago.]

Ja-kyung’s steps stopped. Wouldn’t it be better to let it out coolly anyway? Jang Tae-ho did not ask how Ja-kyung lived, but pretending not to know did not mean that it had not happened.

“I did those things.”

[Kyung-joon-ah.]

“And last year, I threw an ax at Kang Il-hyun’s father’s head.”

[…]

Of course, it didn’t cause his death. Ja-kyung muttered to himself, and something like a sigh and a grunt came from the other side. After a moment of hesitation, Ja-kyung spoke up.

“I know you are disappointed. But this is me. If you expected me to be an innocent and kind younger brother, I’m sorry. I couldn’t grow up like that.”

In the silence, only the sound of stepping on the grass could be heard. It was awkward. Perhaps the difference in their lives was inevitable after all. As he walked towards the fence, Jang Tae-ho speaks first.

[No, I’m sorry. I was thinking on my own… You must have had a hard time too…]

His voice seemed to die down suddenly. Ja-kyung felt a rush of guilt. He hadn’t asked further about that matter.

[Come home when you have time. Let’s have dinner together.]

“Yes…”

After ending the call, Ja-kyung let out a sigh. It was unexpected. He thought he would explode, saying he wouldn’t consider someone like him as his brother. But he’s willing to put up with that because he felt guilty about what he’s lost.

He turned around with a bitter feeling, only to see the Wang brothers playfully dunking each other’s heads underwater. A message arrived as he walked toward them. It was Kang Il-hyun. He had specified the dinner location and time, and below that, only one line.

[Be sure to bring a present.]

Ja-kyung’s face crumpled like a piece of paper.

After coming out of the shower, Ja-kyung dried his hair and unfolded the lace panties properly with a devastated expression. Unbelievable. Even looking at it again, it’s still grotesque. The front was mesh and the back was a cat. He frowned at it, wondering if he should really wear this or not. It wasn’t too late to change. He was about to text that he couldn’t wear it when a message from Kang Il-hyun arrived.

[Babe. Did you put it on? I might cry if I don’t get my present today.]

Fuck. Was this being watched through a camera? Jakyung finally put on the panties after looking around the room in frustration. The feeling was softer than he had thought, but the shape was more embarrassing than what he had previously worn.

Yeah. It’s your birthday. It’s just for today. Ja-kyung reluctantly put on a decent outfit over it. It felt more like being dragged to a slaughterhouse than going on a date. He styled his hair, dressed up, and walked outside where the house chef was waiting with a bright smile.

“Oh, you look great.”

As Ja-kyung smiled back at her, Wang Han and Wang Lun, who were in the living room, rushed over like excited puppies. They scrutinized Ja-kyung from top to bottom and looked at him with puzzled expressions.

“Wei, where’s CEO Kang’s present?”

Ja-kyung shrugged his shoulders and mumbled something. I’ll give it to him when I meet him.

“You didn’t prepare it? He might be disappointed.”

Ja-kyung didn’t respond and tried to walk past them. Just then, Lun threw in a comment as he passed by.

“If you haven’t prepared it yet, at least wear some sexy underwear. Couples do a lot of events like that.”

Han hit Lun on the back.

“Cut it out, Lun. CEO Kang isn’t a pervert. Besides, Wei will not going to wear that just because CEO Kang told him to?”

“Well, you have a point.”

They laughed together. When Ja-kyung glared at them as he walk, they exchanged glances and followed. No way…! Before they could say anything, Ja-kyung shouted that he didn’t want to hear it and walked out the front door. The car sent by Kang Il-hyun was already waiting in front of the gate.