𝕭𝖎𝖙𝖊 𝕭𝖆𝖈𝖐 ꒐꒐ ⱽᴵᴺᶜᴱᴺᶻᴼ ᶠᶠ

ℂ𝕒𝕡𝕚𝕥𝕠𝕝𝕠 𝕆𝕥𝕥𝕠

It was strange. Hanseo was watching his brother, the great chairman of Babel, cooking food for him while dressed in a Hello Kitty apron. He didn't know how he got to this point and why his brother was acting like a housewife, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't fascinated.

"How does it taste, baby brother?" Hanseok asked, handing him a spoon of soup.

"It's not spicy enough, hyung," Hanseo replied. "Also, why are you cooking when we have a maid?"

His brother pouted. "Can't I make my favorite little brother dinner once in a while?"

"I'm your only little brother," he emphasized. Hanseo sighed. He really should be doing something productive, like practicing for his hockey championship, but he couldn't take his eyes off of his annoyingly kind brother.

"Your championship is next month, right?"

Hanseo nodded. "You don't have to go though. I know you probably have some big meeting that day."

"Nonsense!" Hanseok yelled as he butchered some fishes.

"You're ruining the salmon—"

"How could I miss my baby brother's game? You've been working so hard this season too!"

His brother was at it again with his motivational lectures. Hanseo rolled his eyes as he propped an arm on the counter and laid his head on it. Oddly enough, it was endearing to hear someone scold him and compliment him at the same time.

"After you win, I'll take you to that one restaurant you like. The one with those devil noodles!"

"Hyung, they're not 'devil noodles.' You're just weak."

"Yah! I'll have you know that when I was in America, I ate ghost peppers. That's a million Scoville units. A million!"

Hanseo chuckled at the audacious claim. "Hyung, you cried from gochujang."

"I was crying at how good the dish was," Hanseok mumbled. Embarrassed, he went back to stirring his concoction which mildly resembled stew.

"You know...I know you're doing this to compensate for Mom and Dad's passing." Hanseo knew he shouldn't have brought it up, but the thought was weighing on his mind.

Hanseok froze, dropping his stirring chopsticks to the ground. His expression didn't really indicate anything, but Hanseo could spot a tint of sadness in those brown eyes. "Dinner's ready. L-let's eat."

Honestly, Hanseo didn't know what reaction he expected. He already knew his older brother felt guilty for receiving all their parents' love, for being born the smarter, stronger sibling. He knew that Hanseok cared for him first and foremost to make up for the parental love that he lacked. He knew everything, so why did he ask? Maybe he too felt guilty—guilty for holding back his prodigy of a brother.

"How does it look, Hanseo? Not too shabby, huh?"

"It's uh..." Hanseo stared at the bowl of poorly chopped vegetables and half-raw fish. "I think we should order pizza."

Hanseok huffed. "Oh c'mon, it's not that terrible. Here, I'll take the first bite."

"That can't be edible," Hanseo remarked, grimacing as the older man placed a spoonful of the monstrosity into his mouth.

"Yum. See, it's not that b—" Before his brother could even finish his sentence, he was hunched over the kitchen sink trying to wash the vile taste from his tongue.