Unrequited Love Thresher-Chapter 15: Absolutely Nothing

“Where the hell did he go again...”

Ha Dohoon clicked his tongue in frustration as he glanced into Ha Giyeon’s empty room and shut the door.

It had been nearly a month since the school year began.

And the more disconnected he became from Ha Giyeon, the more anxious he felt. His moods swung erratically, irritation flaring without reason. Naturally, the cause of it all was Ha Giyeon.

Even if the kid had changed, Ha Dohoon figured he’d come crawling back soon enough. Or rather—he hoped he would. That dumb little brat had followed his every word for seventeen whole years. Ha Giyeon had always been his, from the moment he was born. So how could he just flip like a switch and become someone else?

“He’s seriously still mad?”

He’d even given him clothes as a gift—not that Giyeon reacted in any way. Normally, he would’ve clutched the clothes like treasure, cheeks flushed, flustered and overjoyed.

“Is this really for me?”

That face, asking over and over again in disbelief.

‘The clothes you gave me...’

Holding them in his arms like they were the most precious thing in the world—that’s how it should have gone. But now, he didn’t even smile that goofy, bright smile anymore.

Like he’d turned into a different person—his expression, his tone, the way he moved, even his tastes.

He drank bitter coffee now, the kind he never used to touch. He walked around with dark circles under his eyes, brushing everything off like he was exhausted. The small boy who used to follow Ha Dohoon around no longer followed him anywhere.

Could Ha Giyeon really do that? Was he allowed to?

No. There’s no way.

Ha Giyeon couldn’t do anything without him.

With that pathetic personality, it would be impossible for him to make friends. Dohoon had no doubt—he’d come running back in desperation, teary-eyed, begging to eat lunch with him again.

“How old are you that you can’t eat alone?”

But all his assumptions were blown apart. Nearly a month into school, Ha Giyeon still hadn’t come looking for him. Didn’t even acknowledge him.

“He’s avoiding me?”

Even when they crossed paths in the hallway, Giyeon deliberately averted his gaze and walked past him. As if eating alone at lunch was completely normal. No one at school even seemed to know they were brothers.

He didn’t care. At school, or at home.

They didn’t even eat together anymore—unless they made a point to cross paths, it was difficult to run into each other at all. That middle school version of Giyeon who used to sit quietly in the living room waiting for him was long gone. He wasn’t even in his room anymore.

After school, he’d go somewhere and not return until late in the evening. After nearly a month of this, Ha Dohoon was getting nervous. He didn’t want to admit it, or understand why it bothered him so much. Ha Giyeon was supposed to be just a tiny smudge on the canvas of his life.

Nothing more than a toy he could control in the palm of his hand. Not someone worthy of calling a younger brother—but not someone he could disavow, either. Pathetic and stupid, yes, but still his brother. So of course he had to take care of him.

Because Ha Giyeon couldn’t do anything without /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ him.

So of course he had every reason to search for him when he didn’t come home on time.

“...He’s not here.”

He checked every PC bang in the area, but there wasn’t a trace of him—not even a single strand of hair.

“Right... it never made sense to begin with.”

Giyeon, holed up in a PC bang, skipping dinner and getting addicted to games? Someone who’d never even cared about gaming? He always just watched Ha Dohoon and his friends play, never showed any real interest. So why was he suddenly lying like this and sneaking around?

Today, he was determined to get the truth.

“Ha Giyeon.”

He grabbed the boy as soon as he came home and dragged him to his room. Dohoon entered first, turned around—and frowned.

Giyeon was just standing there in the hallway, not moving.

Ha Dohoon glared at him as if to say, What the hell are you doing now? Giyeon blinked a couple of times, then slowly opened his mouth.

“I’m not supposed to go in there.”

“...What?”

The matter-of-fact tone caught him off guard. And then—suddenly—an old memory surfaced.

Back when he’d just started middle school, their father had given him a fountain pen engraved with his name as a gift. It wasn’t that expensive, just something easily bought with a card—but since his father had handed it to him personally, it had meaning. It was special.

“Wow... that’s so cool, hyung.”

Dohoon had smirked at Giyeon’s wide-eyed envy and put the pen in his desk drawer.

Not long after, the pen was broken.

“H-hyung...”

When Dohoon walked into his room, he found the shattered fountain pen scattered across the floor—and Giyeon standing there frozen in panic.

“Didn’t you say that was from your dad?”

“Wait—did Giyeon break it?”

Dohoon stared at the pen, then turned toward Giyeon. Slowly, he walked over. Giyeon’s face turned deathly pale as he shook his head frantically.

“N-no, hyung! I didn’t—”

He never finished.

Thud!

Dohoon punched him straight in the head. A dull smack rang through the room. Giyeon collapsed to the floor from the force of it. Trembling, his face was full of confusion—but when Dohoon raised his fist again, it transformed into raw terror.

Crack! A louder thud followed—and this time, Giyeon fell flat to the ground.

“You worthless piece of shit...”

Dohoon had lifted his fist again, but Kwon Jongseok and Choi Mujin jumped in to stop him.

“Hey, hey! Calm the fuck down! You psycho!”

“What are you doing! Get the hell out!”

Blood trickled down Giyeon’s forehead—probably from the wristwatch Dohoon had been wearing. Staggering, he bolted out of the room.

Since that day, Giyeon had never entered Dohoon’s room again. Dohoon himself had made it clear: if he came in, everything that happened in there would be his fault. Maybe the trauma had been deep enough that Giyeon took it seriously—he’d never set foot inside again.

“How long ago was that...”

Dohoon clicked his tongue and flicked his hand.

“It’s fine. Just come in.”

“....”

Giyeon stood there for a moment, staring into the room, then finally took a step forward. Click—the door shut behind him, grazing his back as he stood just inside. Seeing him frozen near the doorway, Dohoon let out a sigh.

“God...”

“So why?”

The blunt question on Giyeon’s tired face made it clear he wanted this over with. There was a faint weariness there that annoyed Dohoon, but there was a more pressing issue.

“Where the hell have you been going this late every day?”

“...?”

“And don’t give me that bullshit about going to a PC bang. I already checked—you weren’t there.”

Giyeon widened his eyes slightly and furrowed his brows. Not like someone who got caught lying—but like someone bewildered by an accusation that came out of nowhere.

Dohoon raised a brow.

“What’s with that face?”

“...Did you make a bet with your friends or something?”

“What?”

“I don’t know what it was about, but let’s just say you win.”

Giyeon sighed and dropped his shoulders. His brother was turning twenty soon, about to be a college student, and he was still pulling this kind of crap?

“...Tch.”

Dohoon ran a hand through his hair, letting out a dry laugh.

Did he just dismiss everything I said as a fucking joke?

“I’m not kidding. Just tell me where you went!”

He snapped, and Giyeon’s dull eyes suddenly sharpened. Dohoon nearly laughed when he saw the startled look on his face.

He’s scared—he’s gonna spill it all anyway. What’s the point of pretending to be so stubborn?

But then, just as quickly, Giyeon’s gaze darkened.

“Why do you even care?”

His hands clenched tightly.

Dohoon had never once shown the slightest interest in anything he did. He ignored him completely. When rumors spread that he was an illegitimate child, when he was bullied and thrown down the stairs—nothing. Even when he begged for help, when he went to their father in tears asking to be saved.

Even when he left home.

He was never seen as a little brother—just a plaything, easy to toy with. Giyeon understood. He wasn’t really his brother. So he didn’t blame him.

And Dohoon should stay that way. Always ignoring him. Always looking down on him.

So why was he pretending to care now?

That feigned concern—it bothered Giyeon more than anything. Especially because it only came after he died and came back.

“Because my dumbass little brother’s probably out doing something pathetic!”

Why the hell was he suddenly acting like he gave a shit—this interest he wouldn’t spare a stray dog on the street?

Giyeon couldn’t let them find out about the part-time job. Just thinking about how Ha Dohoon, Kwon Jongseok, and Choi Mujin might mock him or sabotage it made him sick. He couldn’t afford to lose the job he’d finally found.

“...I was at the library.”

“You? At the library? At least try to lie better. You don’t even study—”

“I started since I entered high school. That’s all you need to know.”

He cut him off quickly and reached for the doorknob. As he turned to leave, Dohoon grabbed his arm. His grip was tight, like he wanted to crush something.

“You? Studying? What for? Trying to get Dad’s attention or something?”

“...If I could’ve gotten his attention that way, I would’ve done it a long time ago.”

Giyeon knew it well. No matter what he did, their father would never look at him.

The moment Dohoon’s grip loosened, he shook his arm free. And just before stepping out, he muttered:

“There’s nothing left I’m willing to do just to get noticed.”

Thud. The door shut.

Dohoon stood frozen, staring at the firmly closed door. For some reason, it looked like a perfect symbol of their relationship.