"Fang Yu!?" Fang Yi turned his head left and right, his brows furrowed.
"Fang Yu, where are you…? Your brother is home and brought your favorite food, so come out already, little brother."
Fang Yi called out with a smile. His face and clothes were still dirty after a long day of working at the inn. Even though his body felt exhausted, his heart was light. In his hand he held a warm bundle—pork rib soup, his younger brother's favorite.
He had just returned from the inn where he worked. Today he deliberately set aside part of his wages to buy something they rarely got to enjoy. Usually he could only afford pork rib soup once a month, but this was already the second time in the same month.
However, the small house felt unusually quiet.
There were no small footsteps from Fang Yu. No clattering sounds from the kitchen. Even the oil lamp in the front room was still unlit.
"Fang Yu?" he called again, this time with a hint of worry.
He stepped into the small kitchen, then to the bedroom, and back to the front room. No one was there. The smile on his face slowly faded, replaced by concern.
"Fang Yu!? You know your brother doesn't like being pranked like this."
Growing restless, he kept searching while still holding the bundle of soup in his hand. His heart felt uneasy.
Suddenly, a voice came from behind him.
"BIG BROTHER! I'm here, hehe!"
Fang Yu popped out from behind the door with a small laugh, still hiding half of his body.
The worry in Fang Yi's heart vanished instantly. The breath that had caught in his throat eased the moment he heard his brother's voice.
"Bwaaa! Haha, you were scared, weren't you, Big Brother?" Fang Yu shouted while running forward and jumping as if to hug him from behind.
"Hah… you little rascal, Fang Yu. Get down already. Your brother hasn't bathed yet," Fang Yi complained. His right hand still held the pork rib soup while his left hand tried to support his younger brother, who already felt quite heavy to him.
"Wahhh… pork ribs!" Fang Yu's eyes sparkled. "Big Brother, where did you get the money to buy this?"
He pointed at the bundle in Fang Yi's hand with curiosity. To him, pork rib soup was a luxury. Every day they only ate plain bread or simple meals. It was only natural that he was surprised.
Fang Yi crouched down and gently rubbed his brother's head.
"Alright, don't think too much about it. You won't grow tall if you keep thinking like that," he said with a smile. "Your brother got some extra money from the inn owner. That's enough questions. I'm going to take a bath. You prepare the plates and bowls."
Fang Yi paused for a moment in the front room, looking around their small house.
Once… they had not lived in a place like this.
He still remembered the wide courtyard of the Fang family residence in the western district. The red wooden gate. The fish pond. And the servants who always bowed whenever he walked past them.
But now, all of that existed only as a faint memory in his mind.
Debt, disputes over property, and their father's death had destroyed everything.
The Fang family's debts devoured it all—the mansion, the land, even the family's honor.
After their father passed away, everything collapsed like a house that had lost its supporting pillar.
During that difficult time, the patriarch of the Fang family died under the pressure and burden of his worries. He could no longer endure the stress, leaving behind his wife and two sons in ruin.
Their mother tried to remain strong. With the little strength she had left, she paid off all the family's debts by giving up every remaining possession. But behind her strength, she hid a secret—she was eight months pregnant.
She chose not to tell her husband about it so she would not add to his burden. A decision she later regretted when he left the world forever.
One month after the patriarch's death, a baby boy was born. He was named Fang Yu.
But their suffering did not end there. Emotional pressure, loss, and the hardship of life gradually wore their mother down. When Fang Yu was five years old and Fang Yi was ten, their mother finally followed their father.
From that moment on, Fang Yi, who was only ten years old, had to become the backbone of the family.
He took on odd jobs at an inn owned by someone who had once been helped by their mother while building his business. Fang Yi did everything there—wiping tables, sweeping floors, carrying goods, even serving guests—just to support himself and his younger brother.
From then on, only the two of them remained in the world—looking after each other, giving each other strength.
Fang Yi let out a quiet sigh.
The memories passed through his mind for only a brief moment before he returned to the dining room.
After bathing, Fang Yi went back to his room to change his clothes.
"Damn… the money I earned from the inn is only five silver coins. Five coins should be enough for five days of food," he muttered softly while looking at the mirror and drying his hair with a cloth. "But I thought about Fang Yu and bought him pork ribs. The price has already risen to three silver coins…"
He sighed and gave a faint smile before walking toward the dining room.
There, Fang Yu was already sitting neatly with sparkling eyes and a wide grin.
"Why didn't you open it?" Fang Yi asked as he slowly walked over and sat down at the small table.
"You were waiting for me?"
"Of course! How could I eat alone?"
In Fang Yu's heart, he felt it wasn't right to eat before his brother, who had worked hard all day. He wanted them to eat together, like a real family.
"Alright then, let's eat quickly and go to sleep."
"Why sleep already? I want you to tell me a story… I still haven't heard what happened at the inn today."
Fang Yu's eyes were full of expectation. His innocent behavior slowly washed away Fang Yi's exhaustion.
"Alright, alright," Fang Yi said with a small laugh. "Do you remember the hyung I told you about three days ago? He didn't come to the inn today at all. They say yesterday he managed to reclaim his honor."
While enjoying the pork rib soup, Fang Yi began telling a story about Wang Zigang—a man he considered an older brother at work.
At the inn there was a strange tradition whenever disputes occurred. Two people would stab knives into the table, each placing one hand on the surface. Then they would try to strike the other person's hand until one of them gave up. Wang Zigang, who had already lost two fingers in a previous duel, tried to reclaim his honor… and this time he succeeded.
"Wow… that's so cruel," Fang Yu said with a mixture of awe and fear on his face. "You don't do things like that, right, Big Brother?"
There was sincere worry in his voice. He was afraid that one day he might lose the only family he had.
Fang Yi simply smiled and shook his head lightly.
Without realizing it, time passed quickly between stories and soft laughter. The night grew deeper.
"You go into the room first. Your brother is going to the back to wash the plates and bowls," Fang Yi said.
"Okay, Big Brother. Hurry back, don't take too long… I get scared if I'm alone."
"I won't be long. Go on."
Fang Yu went into the room while Fang Yi began cleaning the table.
Rain tapped softly against the roof, and the warm aroma from the kitchen lingered in the air. He had just started to place the bowl into the bucket when—
CRASH!!
The sound exploded in the backyard like a huge stone being thrown.
Fang Yi jolted; the bowl almost slipped from his hands.
His heart pounded wildly. His hand clenched unconsciously.
From the bedroom came the faint sound of Fang Yu's breathing—a small frightened murmur that made the hairs on Fang Yi's neck stand on end.
"What was that…?" he whispered.
Fang Yi immediately turned toward the back door.