SMNTCERR, Special Chapter 24: Syntax Error #10.
In the quiet and serene residential area, a black sedan appeared on the road lined with cypress trees.
The car slowed down before stopping in front of a two-story blue-roofed house. As soon as the car door opened, it revealed a graffiti image on the wall, depicting a black snake and complex lettering. Inside the garage, various sports and luxury cars filled the space, with a white SUV already parked in the middle slot.
The black car squeezed into the right-hand slot in one go. The car door then opened violently.
The owner of the car, Chu Sangwoo, in a very bad mood, locked the car and closed the garage door with a remote control. He quickly strode towards the entrance of the house, not even noticing the neighbor who was waving to water the plants. After changing into indoor shoes, he went straight to the kitchen, rinsed a glass, and drank quickly.
At that time, the orange-striped cat, his rival, walked insolently through the flap door next to the entrance. Normally, they would have exchanged glances, but Sangwoo was too preoccupied with other matters to feel annoyed with the cat.
‘I am interested in you, Chu Sangwoo.’
Jang Jaeyoung’s twin brother, Jaehong, manipulated Jaeyoung’s innocent nature in order to create an opportunity for him to be with Sangwoo. He tried to provoke Sangwoo openly, knowing that he was associated with morally questionable people. Sangwoo had imagined being in a relationship with two lovers of the same sex, but these two scenarios were purely speculative.
“What should I do?”
Things that have already happened cannot be changed, and the problem is that after this, after returning from work, Jaeyoung will ask with a bright smile if he had a good time. If Sangwoo refuses, the other party will surely ask for the reason. At this point, Jaehong’s attempts to interfere will go awry…
[i. “Keep it a secret.” ii.
“Tell the truth.”]
He had to carefully predict which option would cause the least harm based on the information he had.
Previously, Sangwoo had received an offer to meet secretly behind his boyfriend’s back three times. He was lucky to have escaped twice because Jaeyoung had something going on that day and did not ask any suspicious questions. However, there was one time he was caught. Jaeyoung grabbed a baseball bat and Sangwoo had to call the police to prevent his boyfriend from committing a crime.
‘It’s better to keep it a secret.’
But is that possible? Sangwoo couldn’t lie to Jaeyoung, even about the smallest things. He had never lied before, and if those kind and gentle eyes ever looked at him, he would have no choice but to speak the truth.
“It’s not my fault.”
After pondering for a moment, he immediately thought of Jaeyoung’s words that stuck in his mind.
‘Try to think from my perspective.’
Sangwoo, who does not have any siblings, therefore hypothesizes about clones and simulates similar situations. And soon after, he is overwhelmed with anger as he imagines the clone figure tempting Jaeyoung in a place where Sangwoo cannot see, making it difficult for him to bear. Sangwoo quickly ends the simulation.
“Fuck!”
His gaze, which used to be fixed on the ceiling, slid down to the wall.
[Chu Sangwoo ♥ Jang Jaeyoung]
The fabric sign on the wall captures his attention. It’s a sign that has been hanging for five years since it was made, and now the color has faded. They have moved houses several times, but Jaeyoung always keeps it and hangs it in the living room.
The day Jaeyoung accepted the marriage proposal. Sangwoo still vividly remembers the moment of pure delight when Jaeyoung saw the fabric sign sticking out from the back of a car and smiled with embarrassment, from that day until now. Whether it’s legal matters, financial issues, opposition from the other partner’s family, bizarre obstruction of cooperation or any other obstacles, he has dealt with them fervently or endured them patiently, and finally, in another 175 days, he will achieve his goal.
The picture hanging next to the poster <Veggie Venturer 2> is a large-sized likeness of Jaeyoung. Two years ago, they participated in a fun activity in an exhibition featuring graphic design works that Jaeyoung joined as a commentator. It was an activity where they had to draw each other’s faces without prior preparation and submit the works, but only Jaeyoung’s picture was selected and received an award. Jaeyoung consoled Sangwoo, who was disappointed.
‘Wow. My Sangwoo is the best, an artist, like Fauvism [1], clear as day,
Abstract Expressionism [2], isn’t it…’
It was the first time he received positive feedback about his artistic abilities, but even then, Sangwoo was still hesitant. So, Jaeyoung scanned his picture, enlarged it magnificently in silk screen print, and hung it on the wall.
Under the frame is a four-tier bookcase, with the first and second floors filled with literature and comic books that Jaeyoung reads, while the third and fourth floors contain instructional manuals that Sangwoo reads. Jaeyoung almost never touches anything in Sangwoo’s area, but he has secretly hidden a spy wire on the fourth floor. Sangwoo thinks that the book between <How to Marry Your
First Love.> and <Perfect Parenting: How to Discipline Babies and Toddlers.> is really a bit of an eye sore.
<Blood Types and Human Relationships.>
Whenever Jaeyoung wants to annoy Sangwoo, he opens that particular item and reads it out loud for everyone to hear. Sangwoo has accidentally dropped that odd item quite a few times, but each time Jaeyoung has helped increase sales by ordering it internationally, so he has lost interest in it for many years.
Next to the bookcase is a large cork board with Polaroid photos and photos of dolls arranged in a pattern, with lightbulbs interspersed with pins.
The oldest photo is of Sangwoo when he was still a student, taken while coming down from a hill at an amusement park. Sangwoo’s face looks normal, but Jaeyoung has turned his face sideways and buried his forehead on Sangwoo’s shoulder.
The most recent photo is a photo taken by colleagues at a year-end party last year when Sangwoo was promoted. In the photo, Sangwoo is smiling while hugging a bouquet of red roses, while Jaeyoung is hugging him and kissing his cheek.
In addition to that, there are also photos from Jaeyoung’s master’s graduation, photos from Christmas parties with acquaintances, group photos, family photos of Sangwoo with Jaeyoung included, photos of various relaxing places such as sports fields, parks, and tourist attractions. As for other digital photos that have not been printed, he backs them up and stores them in the highest quality on cloud and hard disks.
‘Protecting this relationship to this extent, cherishing these memories.’
Jaeyoung must feel really bad about this, so Sangwoo can only prove that he has never wavered even for a split second with Jaehong, the only person he loves in this world, and since that conclusion was first established, it has never been changed.
It was right at that moment that Jaeyoung called. Sangwoo answered with great nervousness.
[Sangwoo, where are you?]
“…Home.”
[Are you at home? Jaehong said he wants to talk to you.]
The words on the other side of the line felt like a clear sky in the middle of the day, but all that came out were his breaths disappearing.
[Did you hear that? Jaehong said he will come to the house.]
“Darling, are you coming?”
[No, it’s just him alone.]
“Why? I don’t like that person.”
[Hey, come on. Be nice to him a little, he’s still my sibling.]
“I told you I don’t like him! Don’t let him come, please…”
[I’ll be coming back soon. I have few meetings to talk about work, just this.]
“No, I don’t want to!”
Sangwoo was frustrated, but the call was cut off before he could say anything. Jaeyoung, being pure-minded, trusted his younger brother who was no different from garbage.
After that, Sangwoo called Jaeyoung twenty times, but the other party did not answer. The best option left was to send a message, but in this situation, it was too risky to express it in writing. This matter concerned siblings, not anyone else. He had a premonition that this time it wouldn’t just end with attempts to harm with a baseball bat.
‘We only have to talk.’
The aquarium incident shocked him so much that he tried as much as possible to avoid seeing that man again. However, Jaehong was Jaeyoung’s only sibling, the person he trusted to take care of his assets and be responsible for 33.33% of the family members he invited to the wedding. Convincing Jaehong to realize his mistake and send him back to England before Jaeyoung noticed anything was the least damaging option.
Sangwoo opened the wardrobe and looked for a suitable outfit for the conversation.
“Sangwoo, are you there?”
When Jaehong knocked on the door, Sangwoo was in a knee-length down jacket and wore football socks under his long jeans. He also had skiing gloves on both hands. Since it was mid-summer, sweat dripped profusely, but he didn’t want to unnecessarily provoke the other party’s sexual desire. He had to cover his exposed skin as much as possible. As soon as he opened the door, Jaehong was taken aback.
“Oh, sorry, I got startled.”
That man had such a tall and imposing figure that his head almost touched the doorframe, just like Jaeyoung. His well-groomed suit looked impeccable, but inside, there was a demon that wanted to lead Sangwoo astray.
They stood about two meters apart, observing each other. Sangwoo analyzed the opposing party with sharp eyes, while Jaehong looked at Sangwoo without flinching, with eyes that showed no signs of fear. The one who looked away first was the visitor, and Jaehong coughed twice before taking off his brown sandals. As the other party prepared to put on the shoes at the entrance of the house, Sangwoo quickly blocked him.
“Take off your shoes. No footwear allowed.”
The sandals had the letter “J” written on the front, indicating that they belonged to someone. The man slowly took off his sandals.
“Open the shoe cabinet and look for a pair with the label ‘G1’.”
The other party grabbed a pair of guest sandals and put them on as instructed before walking into the living room. Sangwoo maintained an appropriate distance and slightly gestured towards the sofa.
“Please sit on the far right and do not stand up or move without my permission.”
Sangwoo poured water into a glass and placed it in front of the other party along with a coaster. He then sat down at the end of the sofa, two spaces away from Jaehong, and a moment of silence ensued as the other party didn’t say anything. Sangwoo had to be the one to break the silence.
“Jaehong.”
“Please speak.”
“Let’s make peace and put this behind us.”
“…”
“You don’t want to lose your brother for a moment of sexual desire right now. If you admit your mistake and promise to cut off all ties with me. I will try to handle this situation.”
He heard a snort from the side. Sangwoo slowly turned his head to the left and found Jaehong covering his mouth, suppressing laughter. He hadn’t noticed this before, but these siblings had a similar habit of laughing. Sangwoo momentarily glanced at the familiar smile before quickly looking down at the floor again.
“Sangwoo… It seems like you love only one person with your whole heart, right?”
“Yes. Besides Jang Jaeyoung, I see other people as mere paper. So stop trying to be close to me.”
“Is there anything good about Jaeyoung?”
Sangwoo looked up and accidentally locked eyes with Jaehong.
Strange, he had always thought the other party had no charm, just a neat appearance. But this man he encountered again was different in some way. His confident posture and slightly upturned corners of the mouth drew his gaze, and his eyes had angles that made it difficult to look away. He didn’t want to be like this, but his gaze kept being drawn towards him.
‘Crazy. That’s Jang Jaeyoung’s younger brother!’
Sangwoo slapped his cheeks and forced himself to turn his head back.
“Don’t ask anything strange. I apologize. And I promise that from now on, I won’t look at you with impure eyes. Then I myself will try to tell Hyung
Jaeyoung what happened today in the least incorrect way.”
“Sangwooya.”
The man ignored Sangwoo’s words and called out a familiar name. Sangwoo felt strange and couldn’t respond immediately.
“Chu Sangwoo?”
“…”
“I am calling you.”
Just being called twice, but in that moment, Sangwoo’s heart started beating violently. At the same time, he felt so disgusted horny that he had to grit his teeth.
________________________________________.
[1] Fauvism, a style of painting, emphasizes the use of bright colors and intense contrasts. It reintroduced the use of lines in a new way, with simple forms and preferred colors such as green, purple, brick red, and orange. It originated and was popularized only in France.
[2] Abstract Expressionism, a movement in art that emerged in the 20th century after World War II. Artists in this movement developed an
Americanized form of painting influenced by certain aspects of the Cubist and Surrealist movements. They used techniques to create images based on personal visions.
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