Sweet memories with sour taste

~Flashback~ (Winters)

“No, I will not take a bath.” the nine-year-old Tae-Hoon was running naked in the house, trying to escape his mother.

“Tae-Hoon, I swear I will beat your naked a** once I catch you. You brat, you will catch a cold.” Jung-Nan shouted trying to catch him but he was fast.

Ji-Hoon and Dong-Hoon came in front of him trying to help their mother and Tae-Hoon stopped as he was trapped from everywhere. Jung-Nan, Dong-Hoon and Ji-Hoon, all three of them were now surrounding him.

“No, I don’t wanna take a bath.” he whined as he was now being dragged by Jung-Nan to the bathroom and both Ji-Hoon and Dong-Hoon were walking behind them as bodyguards.

Both of them did not leave until Jung-Nan was done with giving him a bath and making his naked self-wear some clothes. “I will not leave you guys. Bad brothers.” he said sulking and the others were just laughing at him.

The next day:

Tae-Hoon was hiding behind the sofa with two glasses in his hands filled with ice-cold water. He was waiting for his brothers to come into the living room.

Soon both of them came to the living room finding the younger one and when they got near the sofa, he smirked to himself.

“Boo.” he stood up suddenly shocking them and threw the water onto them, one glass on each. They were shivering with the effect water did on their bodies in the winter while Tae-Hoon was laughing his a** off, looking at his pitiful brothers.

~End of Flashback~

Dong-Hoon remembered how it was ice cold and they ran away to change immediately and then together tortured Tae-Hoon afterward, hanging him upside down on a swing.

Come to think of it, both of them had bullied Tae-Hoon a lot during their childhood.

The memories the brothers shared, were really sweet but gave a sour taste to them as they thought about them.

...

Dong-Hoon was standing against the railing of the balcony on the top floor, his both hands were placed on the railings and his posture was slightly bent. Closing his eyes, he was just feeling the cool breeze.

Ji-Hoon came to him hesitatingly and stood beside him as he cleared his throat. “Big bro, you called me?” the tension in his voice was visible. After all, they never made up after the fight.

Opening his eyes Dong-Hoon turned his head to look at him and then turned his gaze back to the sky. “You know Ji-Hoon, why are we here?... I mean on this vacation.” Ji-Hoon felt confused and knitting his eyebrows together, he asked, “What do you mean?”

Turning himself completely towards Ji-Hoon, Dong-Hoon rested his back on the railings. “Actually, that day...” and he told everything to Ji-Hoon except the Se-Young’s part.

One would be shocked hearing such a piece of news but the brothers felt heavy. “It was my fault that I tried to resolve the matter without talking to you guys individually.” Dong-Hoon said putting his hands in his side pockets.

“I am sorry to say that to you as well.” Ji-Hoon apologized looking down.

Dong-Hoon shook his head and took Ji-Hoon in his embrace and both of them were holding onto each other as if their life depended on that hug. “But I am older than you, I should have tried to understand the situation and controlled it.” Dong-Hoon sighed as they released themselves from the long hug.

Talking sentimental things for about two to three minutes Dong-Hoon decided to mention Tae-Hoon now. “Ji-Hoon... you did not saw Tae-Hoon crying when all this chaos just started, right?” he asked exhaling deeply at the end of his words.

This time Ji-Hoon did not act harshly. He just sighed, “Big bro, I... I really regret hitting him, I regret saying that I don’t want to see his face, I regret saying that he is my problem.” the guy who barely cried in his life was now having moist eyes, remembering that painful look on the face of his younger brother.

Dong-Hoon just gave him a sad smile. “Big bro, do you remember those bro moments, I... really miss them but with all this nervousness inside of me I cannot even look at him and if I end up looking at him by coincidence then I don’t see our Tae-Hoon, that cheerful and funny person is almost gone and knowing that I am the reason behind it makes me feel sick. I really wish that everything goes back to how it originally was.” his voice became wavery and his knees weakened as he plopped down on the floor. “He is not only my younger brother he is like my child.”

Along with his eyes, his nose had also betrayed him as he became the perfect definition of a mess, he thought that how could he think about his pretty-perfect-imagine-life ahead of his brother. Dong-Hoon squatted down beside him and placed both of his hands on his shoulders. “We still have time and things can still go back to their rightful places if you can take a step towards forgiveness as an elder brother.”

Ji-Hoon, whose head was down, now lifted it up looking at Dong-Hoon and Dong-Hoon slightly laughed, “Be thankful that there is no mirror or else you might have fainted by now.” Ji-Hoon shook his head slightly trying to get rid of those things called tears and sad emotions.

“Tae-Hoon, you can come out now.” Tae-Hoon who was hiding behind the curtain and listening to everything came out of his hideout. Being the younger one was clearly written on his face. Red cheeks and nose while eyes moist.

He ran towards Ji-Hoon who was still on the floor and hugged him and as a result, both of them were now lying on the floor and Tae-Hoon was clung to Ji-Hoon like a baby bear. “I am sorry, I am sorry, I am sorry.” he was crying out his apology, still being in that position. “Even though we are together I still missed you guys. Ji bro please forgive me. I will do anything you will say. Just talk to me and not avoid me.” he kept sniveling in between in words.