everyone around him dies

Part 14

Kwangsu's hug was awkward. He always gave hugs as though it was his last possible opportunity to do so. Knowing their lives, it very well might be. But it did give a certain pressure to the hugs and an intensity that Roksu really didn't hate.

This hug was different though.

Kwangsu's arms were trembling as he held onto his brother and he let out a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry, Roksu." The hold tightened and Roksu felt a bit worried about what Kwangsu might even be talking about. "I shouldn't have put you in danger like that."

Roksu blinked, surprised by the unexpected direction their one sided conversation took. He really couldn't think of a reason that Kwangsu needed to apologize. They'd both been in danger and they'd both agreed to investigate. It was hardly Kwangsu's fault that a rift occurred.

Despite Roksu's impressive maturity and acceptance of Kwangsu's true age, Roksu hadn't fully grasped how much responsibility that Kwangsu had as the older sibling. If he truly was an eleven year old who had accidentally stumbled into danger with his twin brother, Kwangsu really wouldn't carry the extra weight of responsibility.

But the facts were that he had the maturity of a forty year old. He ought to have behaved with more responsibility from the beginning. They ought not to have even been committing crimes when it was no longer a necessity to do so, especially not pushing the boundaries of what they could pull off and who they could con.

The knowledge that he could have lost his younger brother and all because he got cocky was horrifying to Kwangsu. Cale Henituse had lost his entire family once already and sometimes he still blamed himself for that.

Just as Roksu hadn't fully conceptualized the meaning behind Kwangsu's true age and extra responsibilities, Kwangsu would forget just how young and naive Roksu truly was because he was so bright. It didn't feel like talking to a child when he conversed with Roksu and so he often made the mistake of taking on unnecessary risks.

It was stupid and reckless and the aftershocks of the situation left Cale feeling raw and terrified.

"No more scams." Cale said firmly, pulling out of the hug but still keeping Roksu close by. Looking into his brother's eyes with determined protectiveness. "That was too risky."

"...it wasn't really the scam..." Roksu lapsed into silence when he saw the pleading look on Kwangsu's face, nodding obediently. He liked the scams but something was clearly crushing his brother and he didn't want to add to that pressure.

Kwangsu smiled shakily. "How about we plan out something better?" He suggested.. It was clear that he was attempting to ease some of the tension. "A safer way to achieve the slacker dream?"

Roksu smiled a bit and nodded. When all was said and done, Roksu was a fan of safety and the ultimate dream of slacking off with his brother without having to worry about food or shelter was indeed quite a bit more appealing than some dumb scams, even if they were lucrative.

It was time to change the way they looked at things.

–

Roksu couldn't help but feel that he'd gotten the short end of the stick. Well, not necessarily that, but he did feel that he might have submitted to one last con that his older brother had masterfully executed.

A true slacker lifestyle would mean early retirement ergo they needed to get a job that allowed for such a thing. Most jobs that had any retirement plans at all or paid enough that retirement was a possibility required an extensive education ergo one of them needed to attend university. Since Roksu was the 'smarter' of the pair of them, he was the obvious choice to go. Cale would be the one to worry about the funds to get there.