Donald had expected a hug from his sister too, but received none as she retreated to her room. "Dawn? 🥺"
"She's upset with you," Gray reminded. "It's natural for her to ignore you,"
Orion hugged his son. "Give her some time to cool down. You did hurt her friends, but I know that she'll eventually forgive you,"
When Donald returned to his own apartment, he rested his head against Kingsley's shoulder. "Dawn's still angry at me,"
"You beat up her friends," Kingsley hugged Donald so the latter's head was against the former's chest. "This is one of the few times were she's genuinely upset with you. It's normal for siblings to disagree and give each other the cold shoulder,"
"It feels like she's choosing her friends over me," Donald said. "I didn't know that redhead or scar face were her friends, but I don't regret fighting them. I won't apologize to them. I'm Dawn's brother so shouldn't she automatically side with me?"
"You're not in the right, Donald," Kingsley gently petted the blonde's hair. "I'm sure you know that. If Dawn beat me up—"
"I'd side with her whether she's in the wrong or the right," Donald claimed. "I love you, Kingsley, but I will always choose my sister over everyone else. Even if the whole world is against her, I'll stay by her side. Even if she hates me, I'll still continue to protect her,"
"I know you will," Kingsley planted a kiss on Donald's forehead. "I doubt Dawn actually hates you though,"
"Dad told me to give her time to cool down and that she'll eventually forgive me," Donald sighed. "I hope that's soon. It hurts when she's upset with me,"
XXX
Juhee:
Hey Dawn!
Juhee:
Taeyong's finally going to
start acknowledging his
birthday!
Dawn:
😄
Dawn:
That's good to hear
Juhee:
Let's throw a surprise party
for him this year
Dawn:
His birthday's this Saturday,
right?
Juhee:
Yep!
Dawn:
I'll be there!
The good news lifted Dawn's mood. Taeyong never really celebrated his birthday because his mother passed away when he was just born. The most that she and her friends did was give Taeyong some gifts and birthday cards, but never an actual party.
XXX
"Donald Na and the Yeongdeungpo Union defeated Manwol," Dongha kicked the unconscious Seongjin Cheon. "That fucking sucks. We wanted to beat Manwol up, just the two of us. We wouldn't have needed a whole army of guys like Donald Na,"
Seongmok silently nodded in agreement.
"Hey," Dongha brought up. "Donald Na goes to Yeo-Il High School, right? Let's enroll in there once we're done with Doshin. We'll beat him up and prove that we're the strongest in Yeongdeungpo!"
XXX
Saturday arrived and Dawn made her way to Taeyong's house. She, Juhee, Seungcheon, and Munki blew up balloons and set up decorations. Seungcheon's phone was constantly buzzing. "Taeyong keeps calling me,"
"Just keep ignoring it for a little while longer," Juhee said. "We're not done getting ready yet,"
"Throwing a surprise birthday party all of a sudden..." Seungcheon said.
"Since it's Taeyong's first time celebrating his birthday, it's better to do it this year than wait a whole twelve months again," Dawn poured herself a cup of grape juice. 'This juice tastes a bit funny. Maybe Mr. Hwang had the staff purchase expensive grape juice and I'm not used to the taste?'
"I knew you'd invite Dawn but I didn't know you'd invite Seungcheon too, Juhee," Munki told Juhee.
"Of course!" Juhee replied. "Who else would I invite on a day like this?"
"Wait a minute, does that mean Taeyong is with Seungcheon's family right now?" Munki questioned. "I dropped him off there earlier,"
"No, my dad and sister are working, and my mom went to go and meet a friend," Seungcheon answered.
"What?" Juhee asked. "I thought Taeyong was at Seungcheon's house,"
"He might be alone with Yeojin at her house while waiting for my family,"
Juhee released the balloon she was blowing up and it deflated into the air.
"He's calling again," Seungcheon picked up his phone.
"You should answer it," Juhee ordered. "Tell him to come back immediately,"
Dawn chuckled and shared a knowing look with Munki. 'Juhee really loves Taeyong,'
"Hey Dawn, when are you going to get a boyfriend?" Munki teased.
"My brothers would scare him away," Dawn sweat-dropped. "Anyway, there's no one I'm really interested in,"
When Taeyong arrived, the friends cheered and pulled party poppers, launching confetti into the air. They ate food, had Taeyong make a wish and blow out his birthday candles, gave him his presents, and played a bunch of games.
A few hours later, Taeyong brought up to Seungcheon that he ran into the latter's dad and that Seungcheon's dad had given up on comics. "Seungcheon," Taeyong offered. "I really think we should draw comics together! Maybe he was joking, but earlier he told me to fulfill his dreams for him. Don't you think it would mean a lot to him if you could fulfill that dream?"
'Seungcheon's cheeks are slightly red?' Dawn noted. 'He doesn't seem to be embarrassed though. He actually seems quite calm,'
"What would it be like if we were in my dad's situation, and we were his age right now?" Seungcheon asked. "Like if we decided to draw comics and we turned out like him. If I gave up halfway, how much money would I have saved up? Would I be able to get married? Stay alive? There's probably a good chance that I would struggle,"
Dawn could understand where Seungcheon was coming from. 'Juhee and Taeyong were both born into wealthy families. They can afford to pursue their goals. They can buy anything with money,' She glanced over to the gift Juhee had bought Taeyong. 'Just look at the drawing tablet. While Seungcheon and I gave average priced gifts, Juhee was able to buy Taeyong a three million won gift,'
"But you, Taeyong," Seungcheon continued. "You, with this huge mansion and your wealth...a global corporation to be handed down to you...a lifelong partner anyone would be lucky to have...You would still have everything even if you gave up. For someone like me, and even someone like Dawn, if we mess up once, our lives are over. So don't talk about dreams like it's nothing,"
"But you always see heroes in books and TV shows who overcome obstacles to achieve their dreams through hard work!" Taeyong pointed out.
"Those people just want to flaunt their stories since they've already succeeded," Seungcheon responded. "If you think hard work pays off, then what about my dad? It's all predetermined by fate,"
"You haven't given yourself a chance!"
"S-Seungcheon, why are you being like this?"
"Well...I can't deny that, but..." Seungcheon started to sway. "Can you blame me for thinking this way after seeing the difference between you and my dad?"
"Then what do you want, Seungcheon?"
"I dunno, I just..." Seungcheon started to lean back. "Wish I was rich like you and Juhee,"
"Money is everything in this world," Dawn agreed with Seungcheon's statements. "Being rich means you can buy luxuries and status. Being rich means you're respected,"
Seungcheon fell back and collapsed to the floor, lightly snoring. Juhee sniffed Seungcheon's cup. "Huh? Is this alcohol?"
One of the maids came in. "Oh dear, kids, II accidentally left behind a bottle of wine," She noticed Seungcheon sleeping. "Oh my! What about you kids?"
"No, I had cola," Taeyong held up his soda bottle.
"I had water," Juhee held up her glass. "But I think Dawn had some,"
"I'm fine though," Dawn claimed.
Seungcheon suddenly stood up, still drunk, and staggered to head for the bathroom. The maid quickly ran after him to make sure he went the right way.
"Seungcheon is right," Dawn scribbled down. "As greedy and cruel as it sounds, the harsh reality is that money rules the world. You can't live in modern society without money,"
"Dawn—"
"Oswald Yang was able to get away with bullying others for years just because his family was well-off and his father was a city representative. Yeah, there are some people who are able to go from rags to riches but it's not possible for every single person to achieve," 'If my family was rich...maybe Stephen wouldn't be in a coma right now,'
In case you forgot, Dawn has friends besides the Weak Hero cast. They're Juhee Na, Taeyong Hwang, and Seungcheon Lee. They're from another manhwa, The Golden Spoon.
The reason Dawn didn't get flat out drunk like Seungcheon is because she has a higher alcohol tolerance than him.