Seoul, South Korea
The street was quiet, but tension hung in the air. Outside a small, old house, a crowd had gathered. Neighbors and strangers whispered softly, all drawn by the news of something terrible.
Police officers came out of the house carrying a body wrapped in a white sheet stained with blood. Behind them, a young man in handcuffs walked slowly.
He looked about twenty-two, tall and thin, with messy black hair and bruises on his face. His clothes were dirty, his dark eyes calm. This was Haruto Tsukihana, the eldest son of the broken family inside.
Behind Haruto, crying loudly, was a younger boy. Naoki Tsukihana, only eighteen. His eyes, red and swollen.
"Brother, don't go!" Naoki shouted, grabbing Haruto's arm tightly. His voice broke with fear and sadness. "You don't have to do this!"
Turning to the officers, Naoki begged
"Please, officer…my brother is innocent! He didn't do anything!"
But no one answered. The cuffs stayed on. The distance between them grew.
People in the crowd started talking.
"I heard the older brother killed his own father."
"Such a monster… how could he?"
"Didn't their father drink and beat them all the time? Haruto was the one working and taking care of the family."
"What a tragic family… They used to live in a high-rise building. I heard their 11-year-old daughter fell from the balcony and died."
"Yes. After that, the mother couldn't take it. She hung herself a few weeks later."
"Truly heartbreaking. The father was never the same after that. He started drinking heavily. Lost himself."
"But still… even if the father beat them while drunk, isn't killing your own father truly cruel?"
No one really knew what had happened inside the house. But the crowd was quick to judge.
The officers dragged Haruto toward the waiting police van. Naoki fought to stay close, digging his fingers into his brother's shirt, sobbing uncontrollably.
But the officers forced the two brothers apart.
Before Haruto got into the van, he looked up at the sky and smiled faintly.
"The wind carries no malice. It moves on, while we stay behind, tangled in things long gone." he said softly.
Then he looked at Naoki one last time and added
"Be free of this moment. And live happily, my lovable younger brother."
His older brother urged him to find happiness. As time moves forward like the winds. but we trap ourselves in the past- hurt, memories, losses, while life keeps flowing, light and free.
Hearing those words, Naoki broke down even more.
Tears streamed from his eyes, mucus from his nose, and drool from his mouth, leaving his face a complete mess.
The officers took the eldest son away in the police van, the heavy doors closing with a final thud.
Naoki ran after the van with all his might, tears blurring his vision and heart breaking with every step.
But his legs couldn't keep up forever.
Suddenly, he stumbled and fell face-first onto the rough ground, Skin tore. Blood welled. Pain shot through him, but it was nothing compared to the ache in his chest.
"If only I had controlled my anger… if only...if only i had more courage...cough..cough...My big brother, who was my everything...wouldn't have had to sacrifice himself."
Naoki's voice trembled as memory dragged him backward to where everything went wrong...
* * *
Naoki's father was from Japan. He moved to Korea, where he met Naoki's mother. They fell in love, got married, and built a small, happy family.
Naoki had everything he could ask for.
A kind older brother, Haruto.
A soft and loving mother.
A gentle little sister, Milly.
And a father who stood tall and strong, always protecting them.
It was a warm, complete family.
But fate is often cruel to those who smile too brightly.
One day, Milly fell from the balcony and died.
Her death broke their mother. She couldn't bear the pain.
One morning, they found her… lifeless.
She had taken her own life.
A note was left behind, her final words written with shaking hands:
"Forgive me my love...Forgive me my precious sons. I tried... I really did. But I can't breathe without her. Every corner of this house whispers her name... And I... I am too weak to face a world without her. I'm sorry… for leaving you behind."
She couldn't carry the weight of grief.
But their father believed she had abandoned them. that she didn't think of her two sons or the man who loved her.
In his eyes, her final choice felt like betrayal, not grief.
From that day on, their father lost all reason to live. He drowned himself in alcohol.
As time went on, their father came home drunk more and more often. Each time, his anger grew, and he took it out on the boys. He hit them without mercy, leaving pain both on their bodies and in their hearts. It became a painful routine they couldn't escape.
Today, like so many others, he began beating Naoki the youngest of the house again. The blows came harder than usual, fueled by depression.
Then, turning his fury toward Haruto- the eldest son, he shouted,
"It's because of you that they had to die!"
Humans were always desperate to shift the burden of guilt onto another's shoulders, to soothe their own cowardly hearts.
In the end, he blamed Haruto simply because he lacked the courage to face the truth.
But the father didn't stop. His anger grew worse. He grabbed a kitchen knife and charged at Haruto, shouting bad words.
Scared, Naoki picked up another knife and swung it to protect his brother.
The knife didn't hit anything. It just swung wildly, useless and shaky.
The father froze for a moment, surprised by Naoki's defiance. Then he turned to Naoki with angry, scary eyes. face twisted into something inhuman.
"You dare raise a hand at me!"he yelled.
He ran toward Naoki, knife raised high.
Naoki stumbled back. His legs gave out. The knife slipped from his hands and hit the floor. He fell down, breathing hard, heart pounding fast.
The knife in his hand shook uncontrollably. its blade pointed upward.
Paralyzed. Small. Helpless.
Then...Haruto Bruised, bloodied, half-conscious, surged forward.
And grabbed their father's leg. The sudden pull threw their father off balance.
In that fateful instant !!
Thud...shlk!
Naoki frozen on the floor, still gripping the knife without even realizing it...he felt it...
The blade, still in his trembling hands, had pointed upward and as his father fall forward, it slid into his throat.
His father fell to the ground. Still. Quiet.
Naoki stared at him. The man who used to be their father. The man who had turned cold and cruel after their mother died. Who drank too much. Who hurt them again and again.
But deep down… they still loved him.
They thought maybe he had just broken after losing her. Maybe he was full of pain. Maybe he didn't know how to carry it anymore.
But now, he was gone.
Naoki couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. Everything felt heavy. Wrong.
And then Haruto, bleeding, hurt, barely able to stand, stepped forward.
He didn't say a word.
He simply walked up to Naoki, knelt down, and gently took the knife from his little brother's trembling hands.
Then he stood up, gripping the bloodied blade.
That was Haruto. The older brother. The one who always took the pain, always stood in the way, always protected no matter the cost.
When the police arrived, they found Haruto holding the knife.
He didn't resist.
and just like that they took him away.
* * *
Tears rolled down Naoki's face. He couldn't stop crying. His chest hurt, and guilt crushed him from the inside.
"My big brother… he didn't deserve this. He took the blame for me… and I just let him…"
While he was lost in guilt
CRASH!
A loud noise tore through the air like thunder.
Naoki looked up, shocked.
Smoke was rising in the distance.
The police van had broken through the railing of the bridge ahead.
!!!
For a moment, the van hung on the edge of the bridge… then it slipped and fell.
SPLASH!
Water exploded as the van crashed into the river below and quickly sank.
"noooo! Brotherrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"
Naoki screamed. His heart pounded like it wanted to burst from his chest. He couldn't think, couldn't breathe. He jumped to his feet and ran.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"
Without hesitation, without a second of doubt, he ran straight to the edge and jumped.
For a moment, everything went silent.
Then…
He saw something unexpected.
It was his brother...
.
.
.
.
To be continued.....