Episode 7: The Brother and the Secrets
The man stood at the door, still holding the file.
Seon froze the moment he saw him.
"No," he said, almost in a whisper. "Why are you here?"
The man, tall and sharp-eyed, smiled as if he owned the room. "Still rude, little brother."
Jaewon, standing in the hallway, heard everything. Brother?
Seon stepped forward, voice hard. "You said you'd never contact me again."
"I lied," the man said smoothly. "We're family. Besides, I couldn't let you continue this media circus without knowing the risks."
He placed the file on the kitchen table.
"Read it. Then we'll talk."
---
Later that night, Seon sat alone with the file.
Jaewon watched from a distance, unsure whether to approach. He hadn't known Seon had any siblings—Seon had always kept his personal life buried beneath layers of silence.
But now?
Now it was spilling out in front of him.
Jaewon crossed the room and sat beside him without a word.
Seon didn't look up.
"You want to ask, don't you?"
Jaewon stayed quiet.
"He's my half-brother. From my father's first marriage. We haven't spoken in years. He used to work in PR for a rival agency. Now he freelances for corporate scandals."
Jaewon blinked. "And that file?"
Seon finally looked at him.
"It's about me. And you."
---
Inside the file were printed photos, screen captures of old social media posts, blurred images from the trainee days, and even shots from before they debuted—one of them holding hands in an empty stairwell.
A private moment.
A memory Jaewon had tried to forget.
"There's more," Seon said. "Rumors. A leaked audio of us from three years ago. Someone's building a timeline. Someone wants to expose it all."
Jaewon's stomach dropped.
"But we're not even…"
"I know. But the internet doesn't care what's true."
---
The next morning, a meeting was held at the agency.
The managers looked tense. Seo-jin looked furious.
"We clean this up now," she snapped. "No damage control later."
One of the higher-ups held the file. "We have two options: Deny everything or… pre-empt it."
"Pre-empt?" Jaewon echoed.
"Make it your story before they do. We leak a softer version ourselves. A trainee romance, ended before debut, now reuniting as adults—make it nostalgic. Make it fanservice."
Jaewon stared. "So we turn our real history into a publicity stunt?"
"Exactly."
---
Later, at the dorm, Jaewon sat on the roof again.
Seon found him there, silent as always.
"I'll do it," Seon said. "The story. The leak. I'll take the hit. You don't have to be part of it."
Jaewon shook his head. "Don't you get it? It's already both of us. It's always been both of us."
Seon sat down next to him. "You're not angry?"
"I'm furious," Jaewon admitted. "But I'm also tired of pretending nothing ever happened between us."
Seon turned to him. "So what now?"
Jaewon leaned back, gazing at the stars.
"Now we decide what parts of the truth we want to keep for ourselves."
Seon looked over, eyes soft. "And the parts we want to share?"
"We choose them. Together."
Seon reached out, brushing Jaewon's pinky with his.
A silent promise.
But neither of them knew:
Far below, someone else had already leaked the first image.
---
In a fan forum late that night:
> [Anonymous Upload] "IS THIS JAESUN DURING TRAINEE ERA?? HOLDING HANDS??"
> Image: Blurry. Intimate. Real.
> Caption: "They were more than friends. And they still are."
---
To be continued...