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His brother is home when Yoohyun returns from school. It would be a pleasure under normal circumstances, but Yoohyun remembers his brother’s retching late that night, recalls he should be at work right now, and worries.
“Welcome home, Yoohyun-ah!”
His brother has dinner already finished on their small kitchen table, but is still wearing the dark blue apron Yoohyun gifted him for his last birthday. Dinner passes with simple small talk, Yoojin asks about his grades and Yoohyun has the pleasure of making his brother smile by confirming he’s going to rank on top of his grade again. Yoojin doesn’t expect excellence from him, but Yoohyun thinks his brother deserves it anyway. They finish the food, his brother having eaten less than usual, but the strange atmosphere stays.
Finally, his brother sighs.
“Ah, I’ve made a bit of a mess, Yoohyun-ah.”
He wants to say, no, hyung, you could never, but Yoojin doesn’t appreciate comments he sees as empty reassurances.
“I went to the hospital today,” Yoojin finally says and Yoohyun immediately freezes.
His brother doesn’t go to a doctor, not if he can help it. It saves money, keeps him out of unpleasant situations. Yoohyun has called Yoojin hyung all his life, even if he knows most people won’t. There’s a reason Yoohyun studies so much.
His hyung’s pride, the job opportunities open to him - the money he will make. Yoohyun has no particular interest in medicine beyond the capabilities of helping his brother reach his dreams. He hasn’t quite decided yet if it’ll be endocrinology or plastic surgery, whatever his brother needs.
“Hyung—“ Yoohyun starts carefully, but his brother raises a hand.
“I thought it would be easier since you’re my cute little brother, but this is just as difficult,” Yoojin says, sighs. He looks exhausted, worse than he has in the last weeks.
“Yoohyun-ah,” Yoojin starts again. “I’m pregnant.”
What.
Yoohyun can’t tell what face he makes, but his brother immediately falters, so he must have shown the wrong reaction.
“This is nothing I should’ve bothered you with,” Yoojin already starts to make excuses.
His brother doesn’t date. It suits Yoohyun just fine, he doesn’t want his brother to be dating, but he would prefer it if a date means that his brother isn’t working and being treated like trash, but that is not the case.
“Hyung, how?”
Yoojin buried his face in his hands. “Must I really tell you?”
Yes, because this means that Yoohyun has missed something, just a detail, someone he should’ve watched out for—
“Remember that wedding I catered at?”
Yoohyun blinks. Yes, he remembered. Nearly two months ago, his brother had come home with plenty of leftovers. The groom had stood up the bride at a fancy hotel reception, so the bride had thrown a party instead, allowing the staff to join in on the celebrations.
“It was just…”
His brother’s face is painfully red. Yoohyun doesn’t understand why. He’s not a child, he knows what it takes for a child to be conceived, he just wants to know if someone dared to hurt his brother and who, which name to burn out of—
“It was supposed to be just some fun,” Yoojin ends his sentence lamely.
“Was it a wedding guest?” Easier to track down in that case.
“No, just a man at the hotel, but that doesn’t matter. I just wanted to let you know.”
“Are you going to keep the baby?”
The baby, the words are foreign on Yoohyun’s tongue. Parasite would suit it better.
“I shouldn’t,” Yoojin answers, but Yoohyun knows his brother, the longing he never allows himself.
Their apartment isn’t too small and if Yoohyun picks up a part-time job as well, it wouldn’t be too expensive. Brother will have to quit the moving company of course. Yoohyun never liked him working there in the first place.
“It would be nice to have more family,” Yoohyun lies. He doesn’t need anyone but his brother, but his brother has always wanted a big family. People who’d love Yoohyun the same way he does.
People who would take care of him for a change.
It would be nice too if his brother isn’t alone when Yoohyun does his military service. And if the baby is Yoojin’s, mostly Yoojin’s considering how much work it’ll be for his brother, then surely Yoohyun can tolerate it too. Maybe it’ll even love him with the same affection as his brother, the one their parents could never measure up.
“I’d like a niece or nephew,” Yoohyun decides.
He always likes his brother’s gifts. He will just have to treat it like another. They’ll be just fine together. Yoohyun has four more years to go until he is an adult. He’ll go to university first, postpone his military service until he has earned some money and the child will be independent.
“Yoohyun, you can’t just— a baby is a lot of work.”
“I’ll support you, hyung,” Yoohyun decides. “You’ll never have to worry about anything.”
Besides, a baby was his brother’s child. Yoohyun is his little brother. There will be no need for petty jealousy.