37. The Brother Complex
H urt people hurt people , they say. Wooju believes this to be the exact reason Woohyun takes everything out on him. It took Wooju eighty-eight timelines to realize his brother would never change.
After Yunho departs to accompany Jihoon at the police station, Wooju prepares to flee. He changes into his personal clothes, a set of navy long-sleeves and joggers, then stealthily slips out of his hospital room and blends in with the bustling crowd of nurses and patients. Striding past the busy nurses’ station, he enters an unoccupied elevator, his heart sprinting as the door slides shut.
As soon as he makes a clean getaway to the parking lot, Wooju enjoys the refreshing breeze brushing his face. As he squints against the bright sunlight, Wooju flags the first taxi he sees. Using the last of the cash in his pocket, he directs the driver to Woohyun’s private condominium.
The male driver takes a moment to stare at Wooju through the rearview mirror. Perhaps the old man recognizes him from one of his movies. Or maybe he’s worried a sickly kid like him would collapse in the backseat.
The old man doesn’t voice his thoughts, though. Instead, he turns on the engine and sets off.
A wave of chills takes hold of Wooju; the dark circles under his blue eyes, his pale lips, and the beads of sweat glistening on his forehead highlight his distress. He knows he’s not ready to see his brother again, but he has to.
Just as he releases a sigh, Wooju feels a sudden warmth trickling down from his nostrils. He raises a hand and touches it. Time is running out , he thinks as he wipes the blood from his nose using his sleeves.
“Are you okay back there?” the driver asks as he turns the steering wheel. “Would you like some water?”
Wooju merely shakes his head and leans against the window, allowing the sun to kiss him. He wonders if Yunho will ever forgive him for what he’s about to do.
As the car travels down the lane, Wooju casts his gaze at the rows of magnolia trees lining the streets, their leaves now golden yellow. He imagines himself as one of those delicate leaves, aimlessly wafting through the air and slowly falling to the ground, where it’ll freeze.
A traveler with a dead heart and nowhere to go home to.
Exactly just like him.
Wooju rings the doorbell at Woohyun’s door. After a couple of tries, the door remains closed.
Wooju feels his eyebrows creasing.
Did something happen?
The day their father passed away. That’s the password to Woohyun’s condo. Hesitantly, Wooju enters the code.
When he hears a beep, he pushes the door, but it doesn’t open all the way. Something from inside is blocking it. He tries harder, but this time, a head limply falls at his foot.
Wooju freezes, a cold shiver running down his spine.
For a second, he fears for his brother. Did he hurt himself because of Wooju? Did he?—
“Wooju.” His brother’s voice reaches his ears. The sound comes from behind him.
Wooju swerves around, the abrupt movement making him feel a little lightheaded.
“Jaehee,” he manages as he stands face to face with his older brother, who smiles at him as if no one could see the bloodstains on his sleeves. As Wooju processes what he just witnessed, his heart pounds against his chest. If Woohyun’s alive, then the person inside...
“Relax. This isn’t my first time. All you have to do is pretend you don’t know anything,” Woohyun had once told him in another timeline. Could it be happening again?
As Wooju connects the dots, his eyes widen in shock. It seems like his brother has already started.
“Ah, sorry about the mess.” Woohyun’s seemingly polite voice snaps Wooju back to reality. “Come in.”
Woohyun grabs the doorknob and pushes the door with more force than Wooju had. The motion causes the lifeless body blocking the doorway to crumple backward like a rag doll. Unfazed, he walks around the dead girl.
“Don’t just stand there,” Woohyun says when he notices Wooju not moving. “Come in, or you’ll get me in trouble.”
Wooju must be shivering like a frightened deer because Woohyun laughs at him as if delighted to see him cower.
“Relax,” Woohyun reassures, the atmosphere in the room matching his dark aura. “This isn’t my first time. All you have to do is pretend you don’t know anything. Take my hand, Wooju,” he orders, extending his hand.
Wooju hesitates, his eyes fixed on Woohyun’s outstretched hand as shivers creep up his back.
The wait must have irritated Woohyun. He takes a deep breath before punctuating each word, “Take. My. Hand.”
How long has Woohyun been killing people, and how often? By now, he should be twenty four years old. When did he start? No. Don’t tell me...
Before Wooju can fully grasp his thoughts, Woohyun yanks him inside and slams the door behind them.
“Who is she?” Wooju asks.
“A trainee. She was supposed to debut next month.”
“But why did you kill her?”
“What do you mean why? She wanted to terminate our contract so she could join another company.”
“That’s all?”
“Don’t worry. I just called someone to clean her up. They should be here soon,” Woohyun tells him, glancing at his watch. “Stay here. I’ll make some scrambled eggs.”
Wooju remains still even as Woohyun leaves his side to go to the kitchen. He swallows, taking one last peek at the girl lying dead on the floor, one arm twisted awkwardly beneath her back. He doesn’t recognize the face, but she’s wearing a lavish, white dress—one often worn on special occasions. Her eyes are wide open yet unseeing, her eyeliner a chaotic mess against her porcelain skin as if she’d been crying while being strangled. Her neck is covered in black-and-blue bruises, her hair caked with blood.
So much blood.
It looks like it hasn’t been long since she passed.
Wooju came here because he had planned to ask Woohyun to move out with him today. Go somewhere far, maybe abroad. He wanted to make one last attempt to save both Yunho and his brother. Yunho would be free from him, and Wooju would help his brother change. He would watch over him before Woohyun ends up becoming a murderer.
But he already is a murderer.
“When was it?” Wooju gathers the nerve to ask the question he’s been trying to avoid. “Your first kill.”
Woohyun stops dead in his tracks. He releases a breathy chuckle, the sound a faint hint of his twisted nature.
“Curious?” Woohyun looks over his shoulder, amusement evident in his eyes as he watches Wooju tremble. A smirk slides across his face. He turns to face his younger brother. “I’ll tell you who . You might be surprised.”
Wooju stutters, “Who?”
“Eomma,” Woohyun answers, his grin diminishing in a split second. “She didn’t have time for me, so I simply thought... she’s of no use to me anymore.”
A sudden, overwhelming weight settles upon Wooju’s fragile heart.
“Eomma?” he echoes, almost choking in disbelief as the world around him blurs. “You killed... our mother?”
Woohyun nods casually, and when Wooju doesn’t say anything but stare at him with wide, tear-filled eyes, he adds, “Did you know? She loved you so much, even though you weren’t born yet.” He doesn’t sound remorseful at all. If anything, he seems proud. “Then she hurt me. She made me feel like a monster. She gave me no choice. I had to kill her while she was still pregnant with you, Wooju. She would have done the same to you, anyway. Don’t you agree?”