S Chapter 68

Shin Jukyeong blinked, staring at the flower bouquets. One was a lavish flower bouquet of roses and baby’s breath, and the other was a cute flower bouquet mixed with yellow freesias and marigolds. Though different in charm, both were beautiful.

“…?”

Jukyeong raised his head with a bewildered expression. What he saw was Yang U-dam and Cha Jae-min.

Why are they here? Weren’t they supposed to be resting at home today? Except for the graduating third-years, that should be the case. Indeed, both were dressed in casual clothes.

‘Could it be that they came specifically for this?’

While Jukyeong was stunned and perplexed, they offered different greetings.

“Congratulations on your graduation.”

“Hey. Take it thankfully. My mom picked it out.”

The roses and baby’s breath were from Yang U-dam, and the freesias and marigolds were from Cha Jae-min. Cha Jae-min, in particular, had his earlobes reddened and turned his head away, clearly looking embarrassed.

“Uh… me?”

Jukyeong uttered a dumbfounded sound. It was completely unexpected. He hadn’t thought at all about being congratulated by his younger brothers.

‘A dream… no, it can’t be?’

Jukyeong stared blankly at the two flower bouquets held out to him. His fingers twitched repeatedly, unable to reach out. His expression seemed to say, ‘Can I really accept this?’ No, honestly, he felt like slapping his own cheek. That way, he could be sure if it was real or not.

“…”

“Hey! Aren’t you going to take it?!”

After much hesitation, Jukyeong finally took the flower bouquets when Cha Jae-min finally erupted in anger. Two flower bouquets filled his arms. Rustle, rustle—a pretty sound accompanied his movements.

‘My… Flower Bouquet…’

Jukyeong bowed his head slightly and sniffed the flowers. A pleasant fragrance wafted up. Gradually, a bright smile began to spread across Jukyeong’s face. This truly was real!

“…Can I really take them? Are they really mine?”

He looked back and forth between the flower bouquets and his brothers, asking a couple more times.

“Don’t overreact, it’s not expensive. It’s damn cheap.”

Cha Jae-min grumbled unnecessarily. Perhaps he hadn’t expected Jukyeong’s reaction to be so joyful.

“Yes. Thank you.”

Even when getting scolded, Jukyeong seemed utterly happy, smiling and constantly looking at the flower bouquets.

Flowers were merely pretty plants, and he certainly had no hobby of receiving them from men. But flowers from his brothers held a special meaning. He wouldn’t exchange them for millions of gold from anyone else. He even planned to cast magic on them so they wouldn’t wilt. He would treasure them for the rest of his life.

“…Well.”

Cha Jae-min clicked his tongue, hesitated for a moment, then pulled out another small flower bouquet from behind his back. It was smaller than the one he gave to Jukyeong, but it was a beautiful flower bouquet of daisies. Cha Jae-min handed it to Yang U-dam.

“Take it or don’t.”

“No. I won’t take it. Flowers from a man are disgusting.”

Yang U-dam smiled brightly, spouting harsh words. Cha Jae-min’s face immediately turned red, yelling, ‘I didn’t want to give it to you either!’. He threw a fit.

“It’s because Mom told me to, so I’m giving it to you against my will!”

“Cha madam?”

Though expressing doubt, Yang U-dam took the flower bouquet.

“I don’t know what it is, but if Cha madam is giving it, that’s a different story.”

Then, he continued with a sly voice.

“It’s pretty, perhaps because it resembles our Cha madam?”

“You damn bastard. Don’t talk about my mom like that. You filthy scoundrel!”

“I was complimenting her, why are you like that? What did I even do?”

“I feel like you’re going to do something. You’re forbidden from approaching within 1 meter of my mom.”

“Don’t worry, Cha Jae-min. I don’t want to be your stepfather either.”

“You dog-like!”

“Cha Jae-min. Yang U-dam is your older brother…”

Jukyeong stepped in to mediate the escalating tension.

“You shut up!”

He couldn’t even retrieve his initial dignity and crumpled. Jukyeong whimpered and backed away.

Having been scolded once, he couldn’t bring himself to interfere, so he just fiddled with the flowers and watched them fight. Mostly, Yang U-dam would tease, and Cha Jae-min would foam at the mouth. The bickering, the verbal sparring, went on for quite a while. Cha Jae-min’s stubbornness was truly remarkable, despite always losing the argument.

How many minutes had passed like that? Eventually, Cha Jae-min surrendered. He didn’t argue any further. He had finally realized there was no point.

Cha Jae-min waved his hand dismissively with an annoyed expression. It meant for Yang U-dam to get lost, as he wouldn’t engage further. Yet, he diligently explained why he gave the flowers: to congratulate Yang U-dam on his Hunter Academy admission.

That’s right. In fact, Jukyeong wasn’t the only one leaving Hanguk High School. Yang U-dam was also leaving Hanguk High School. Was he dropping out with just one year left? No way. Strictly speaking, it was early graduation and early admission. In other words, he would become a Hunter Academy freshman a year earlier than others.

Won Go-yu was also among the entering class. Normally, one enters the academy at the age of 20 after high school graduation, but Yang U-dam was a unique case (a natural Ability Manifestation), so there was no alternative.

“Haa… Go and do well. Don’t cry, okay?”

“Cha Jae-min. You already miss your older brother, don’t you? Should I stay? If you really want me to, I’ll even consider being your stepfather.”

“Don’t you remember what I told you to do about your Personality Decoration?”

“I’ve decorated it a lot. And it’s ‘older brother,’ not ‘you,’ Cha Jae-min. Shall we go through some education again after a long time?”

“Please, God! Take that devil bastard away!”

Behind the two, who were already bickering again, Jukyeong suddenly wore a look of realization.

‘I should have given Yang U-dam a flower bouquet…’

He only just realized. Yes. Strictly speaking, it was a graduation for him too. He should have congratulated Yang U-dam on his new beginning, just like Cha Jae-min.

‘Damn it, I didn’t think that far.’

Jukyeong looked down at the red roses in his arms with a slightly uneasy feeling. His younger brother had prepared so meticulously, but he, the older brother, had only received… It was truly pathetic.

‘Why do I always realize things so late? Haa…’

He was once again surprised by his own thoughtlessness. In fact, he had thought that congratulating him at the party was enough. But if he was going to take care of him, he should have done it like this.

Jukyeong furrowed his brows. No matter how much he muttered about trying harder and being more considerate, it was truly difficult to change one’s fundamental nature. He became uncharacteristically gloomy.

But who was he? The indomitable Shin Jukyeong!

He immediately shook off the gloom. Because he realized there was still one chance left.

‘Right, the Hunter Academy entrance ceremony! That’s it!’

Good. On that day, he would prepare the biggest Flower Bouquet in the world along with a valuable gift. Jukyeong glanced at Yang U-dam, who was chatting with Cha Jae-min, and quietly smiled.

‘Just you wait.’

Your older brother will bring you an amazing gift.

Shin Jukyeong returned home late at night. For some reason, his younger brothers had kept him company from lunch until dinner. It was a completely unexpected special event. Thanks to it, Jukyeong had spent a truly enchanting day.

It was hard to explain everything, but they did so many things. First, he shared Jjajangmyeon and Tangsuyuk with the children, and then they enjoyed the arcade he had wanted to visit. It was an incredible, dream-like time.

‘And it wasn’t even awkward.’

On the contrary, they bickered with each other, chatting non-stop. A smile escaped him as he recalled his brothers arguing, ‘You’re right,’ ‘No, I am,’ at the arcade.

“What’s making you so happy?”

“Huh?”

“You keep grinning widely.”

“Ah… did I?”

“Yes. You did, didn’t you? Our young master, what could be so enjoyable?”

Kang Seo-oh, who had brought medicine and water, spoke up as if it were a rare occurrence. Jukyeong, accustomed, took the medicine (which actually had no meaning but he took it to maintain the concept of being weak) and swallowed it, nodding.

“Hmm… Hoo, just. I feel relieved, I guess.”

“Ah, I see… Sniffle. Young master. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to your graduation ceremony today.”

Kang Seo-oh said, tidying up the medicine packet and cup. He seemed genuinely apologetic, his expression utterly gloomy. Seeing him look like a drenched puppy, Jukyeong let out a small laugh.

“It’s fine. Am I a child?”

“Yes, you are.”

‘I was really looking forward to it, you know? Sigh. Of all days, there had to be so many things to do today.’ Kang Seo-oh quickly regained his spirits, pouted, and grumbled. Then, as if something occurred to him, he clapped his hands.

“Oh, that’s right! I have something to give you.”

“What?”

“Your graduation gift!”

Before Jukyeong could stop him, Kang Seo-oh brought a small shopping bag and handed it over. Inside were cookies and a sheet of A4 paper. Jukyeong picked up the paper with a questioning look.

“Oh, this is…”

Large letters were written on the paper with crayons.

[Big brother, congratulations on your graduation

-From Eunie-]

And a clumsily drawn heart and a stick figure presumed to be Jukyeong.

“Actually, I was busy today and didn’t look closely, but when I went to give him dinner, he gave me this. It seems he remembered me saying you’d be graduating soon, young master.”

Jukyeong stared only at the stained paper, not responding a word to Kang Seo-oh. The crayon writing and drawing were smudged and not pretty. But still…

“Is Gong Eun… asleep?”

Jukyeong asked. His voice was much deeper than usual.

“Yes? Oh… yes. Given the time. And the elder doesn’t like him wandering around at night—”

“I’ll go.”

“What? I said Young Master Eun is asleep.”

Leaving Kang Seo-oh, who was trying to hold him back, Jukyeong quietly left the room. He felt like he couldn’t endure another moment without seeing his youngest brother right now.