Beomwoo was a talent born into a chaebol family who followed the elite course.
Perhaps thanks to excellent parental genes, he was intelligent.
Having been born into a family with no financial worries, he was able to receive an education commensurate with that.
Being born in an environment where he could spread his wings was a great blessing.
Beomwoo knew this too, so no matter how arduous and exhausting his studies were, he never complained.
Since childhood, unlike other kids his age, he had no hobbies like games.
He developed an interest in academics and immersed himself even more.
But each time he achieved success through his studies, Beomwoo had to face checks and balances.
No parent would dislike their child doing well in studies.
But the problem was that in Beomwoo’s family, there were unusually three half-brothers.
There was an incident like this once.
When Beomwoo was in elementary school, he went to a math olympiad and received an award.
Young Beomwoo’s heart swelled with anticipation of praise as soon as he received the certificate.
His friends would ask their parents to buy them things with good grades or awards.
But he had pretty much everything, so there was nothing to ask for.
Young Beomwoo, who just wanted to go out and have fun with his family, ran to his mother.
He dangled the certificate in his hand.
[I got a gold medal at the math olympiad!]
As soon as he arrived home, Beomwoo triumphantly unfolded the certificate before her.
Seeing the certificate Beomwoo brought, her expressionless face brightened with delight.
[Oh my, really?]
[We should show this to your father.]
[Yeah, since I got an award, can we…]
[You have to keep this up.]
[That way you won’t fall behind your brothers.]
Beomwoo, looking at her whom he loved, was about to suggest going out as a reward.
But before he could even speak, she firmly grabbed his arm.
She brainwashed him, telling him to do even more.
His current legal mother and biological mother would always praise Beomwoo when he brought home awards.
They said “well done.”
But they also brainwashed him, saying he had to keep it up.
He must not disappoint in the future, and must not fall behind his brothers.
There was no intention behind his studying and winning awards.
But the adults fueled competition.
The brothers, having grown up in the same house, had been on good terms.
It was difficult for them to understand the adults’ circumstances.
Having heard this many times before, Beomwoo tilted his head, not understanding.
[Why can’t I fall behind my brothers?]
[Wouldn’t it be good if we all did well?]
[Hah, listen to this naive talk?]
[They’re people who might devour you at any moment.]
[If you don’t want to be eaten, you have to protect your position.]
In response to Beomwoo’s question, she let out a hollow laugh as if he were saying something foolish.
She called them enemies.
Even then, Beomwoo couldn’t understand what she meant by not trusting them.
But as his mind matured and he grew older, the relationship between the brothers gradually deteriorated.
It wasn’t like there was any particular incident between them.
They too must have heard such things from their parents daily, just like Beomwoo.
So naturally, they couldn’t remain on good terms.
And people inevitably have desires.
Since the children were still young, their father didn’t say who would inherit the company.
But secretly, they all hoped it would be themselves.
Although Beomwoo was the youngest, he was the son of the woman who could be considered the current mistress.
With his exceptional intelligence, he was inevitably a threatening presence to his other brothers.
Even though the other brothers were also smart and achieving results, Beomwoo seemed to be checked more.
This was due to his background and the potential for further growth.
[Cunning brat.]
[Are you that desperate to look good?]
The hostility towards each other grew.
Those feelings gradually began to manifest outwardly.
To be honest, Beomwoo didn’t study because he wanted to inherit the company.
To him, his brothers weren’t as threatening as they thought he was.
Because he had thought that way, seeing his brothers gradually become more hostile towards him inevitably hurt him.
With a child’s heart, he sometimes tried to improve the relationship by catering to his brothers’ moods.
But when he did that, he earned his mother’s disdain.
In such situations, his heart only grew more barren.
He couldn’t rely on his family.
Home felt like a silent battlefield.
They had to defeat each other.
They could only survive by tearing each other down and suppressing one another.
Even outside the home, he couldn’t get close to people around him.
This was due to his mother’s words that hyenas were always lurking nearby.
Since he couldn’t find peace even at home, he felt like he was going crazy.
While being checked and barely surviving, he never dreamed in his wildest dreams that the person who married Haejin would leave such an absurd will…
When the will was read, his mother’s reaction was the same.
[Hah, what kind of condition is this?]
[Of course, Beomwoo should receive it!]
[Think of how much he’s done until now!]
Seeing her indignant as if she had missed an opportunity, it felt unpleasant.
It felt as if he were being used as a tool to inherit the company.
But by the time he grew up, Beomwoo understood the ways of the world.
Perhaps it was a psychology of compensation for having lived like a puppet, being controlled and checked.
Beomwoo also came to want to inherit the company.
So when Beomwoo declared he would also step forward, his brothers naturally showed antipathy.
The second brother was a drug offender beyond being a libertine and a free spirit.
In terms of personality or any other aspect, his disposition didn’t align with Beomwoo’s.
Whatever reaction he showed, Beomwoo didn’t care much.
What was more concerning was the eldest brother’s reaction.
[Acting all high and mighty saying it’s not like that.]
[You’re no different in the end.]
On the way out after the will was revealed, the eldest brother spoke to Beomwoo sarcastically.
He had originally been hostile towards Beomwoo too.
But after hearing the will, he had become even more negative.
In a way, the will’s contents gave all the brothers a chance, rendering their past mutual checks meaningless.
So the things Beomwoo, who had stood out the most intellectually, had done all turned into bubbles.
One could laugh and say ‘serves him right.’
But the eldest brother seemed to think differently.
From the eldest brother’s perspective, he disliked that others were given a chance despite him being the first son.
He seemed to feel disadvantaged in this inheritance fight.
This was due to being past the typical marriageable age, being a divorcee, and having a child.
Still, in Beomwoo’s judgment, the eldest brother had few flaws and was more than decent.
He showed many outstanding qualities.
Though not as good as himself, he had the excellent intellect worthy of inheriting the company.
His looks and personality weren’t the type to be disliked by anyone.
It wasn’t due to childhood affection that he thought positively.
That was simply the truth.
So he must know he himself is capable too.
But the problem was his immense sense of victimization towards Beomwoo.
Even before the criteria for dividing the inheritance were revealed, he disliked Beomwoo.
He thought he wouldn’t inherit because he wasn’t the son of the legal wife.
Since inheritances are usually passed to the legal wife’s son, that was understandable then.
But even after the criteria were revealed, the eldest brother remained hostile towards him.
Perhaps in his view, the second brother didn’t seem very competitive.
Beomwoo appeared to be a strong candidate as a marriage partner.
If that was the reason, it was understandable.
But his unnecessarily provoking attitude didn’t look good.
In the past, it might have been different.
But now Beomwoo wasn’t the type to just take hits silently.
He let out a dry, scoffing laugh.
[I think I’m better than a brother who says he’ll marry for inheritance despite having a child.]
[Wh-what…?!]
[Someone past marriageable age trying to marry someone over a dozen years younger to get married—it doesn’t look very good.]
He knew attacking based on age and past wasn’t very admirable.
But honestly, this wasn’t a good sight either.
As Beomwoo spoke coldly, the eldest brother’s face turned crimson, whether from shame or anger.
He breathed heavily like a bull.
[You… until now, things have gone smoothly as you wanted, so life has been easy for you, right?]
[You’ll pay it all back someday.]
His life had never been particularly easy…
Surrounded by enemies at all times, unable to open his heart to anyone.
How could that be called easy?
If a life without financial worries is considered easy, then he would acknowledge that.
But in that sense, it wasn’t something the eldest brother should say.
Because he was the same.
Beomwoo still held onto and was affected by what his eldest brother said to him…
But that wasn’t the story to tell now.
Beomwoo, while pouring out his story to Haejin, seemed to think he could stop here.
He opened his mouth again.
“…So, I don’t know how to open my heart to others.”
“……”
As Beomwoo finished his story, Haejin’s expression, who had been listening, darkened.
Beomwoo rarely shared his own story.
But Haejin also knew that his family didn’t get along.
He had vaguely sensed it was due to the inheritance too.
But seeing it with his own eyes and knowing the inside story were different.
Hearing it, his heart grew heavy.
He realized that the reason for the rift with his brothers wasn’t due to any fault of his own.
It seemed his always cold personality wasn’t innate but a result of his environment.
He had built layer upon layer of walls.
He became a machine-like person who prioritized work above all.
That didn’t mean he could forgive the actions Beomwoo had taken towards him.
But he came to understand, to some extent, that some parts weren’t actions born out of malice or dislike towards him.
They were rather defense mechanisms.
As Haejin looked at Beomwoo with a pensive expression, Beomwoo looked at him.
He spoke again with seriousness.
“That’s why I wish Haejin-ssi would teach me.”
“……”
“Because I want to be that way with you.”
As if saying he had lived like this but wanted to change in front of you.
He spoke as if he had firmly decided to change his mindset because of Haejin.
He seemed like the kind of person who wouldn’t shed a drop of blood even if stabbed.
He must have lived this way for years.
How could he expect Haejin to change his frozen heart?
In this life, he and Haejin hadn’t even known each other for long.
Was this also a ploy to assign meaning and act special?
No matter the benefit, he didn’t seem like the type to exploit the past or elicit pity.
That made it even more puzzling.
At those words, Haejin told himself not to overthink the intent.
He recalled Beomwoo’s words again.
The words about wishing Haejin would teach him that method.
Why did it have to be him?
He also didn’t know how to open his heart without reservation.
He wasn’t much different.
He didn’t think he could teach that method.
If it were someone else, couldn’t they have had a positive influence on each other and changed?
Was it because it was them that they didn’t change and had such a bleak married life?
Haejin’s expression darkened slightly as he chewed over those thoughts.