Jin could feel the way Taesu-ah was teetering between shutdown and a will to go on. He felt strongly about this, obviously, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to keep discussing it. That much Jin could understand. He shouldn’t have teased, but if he didn’t— who would? Sometimes teasing and lightheartedness was the only way to get through a difficult situation. Ahn-Bo had taught him that, and it would do Jin well to remember it.

He nodded at the comment about a knife. “I understand,” he agreed. “Really, Taesu-ah, I do. But you have to keep handing out knives or you’ll never see who pokes you in the shoulder and asks you to turn back around for a hug.” It was a cheesy analogy, but here they were anyway. He took the opportunity to nudge his brother under the table with his foot. It was as close as Jin would come to actually hugging him, unbidden.

The look that crossed Taesu’s face then as he whispered something about miracles made Jin’s heart ache. Whatever soft smile he’d been keeping up fell and he furrowed his brow. “Jin-ah,” he prompted softly, for what was probably the billionth time. “And I’ll take my little miracle,” he continued, firmly. “I will never leave you, Taesu-ah. Not today, tomorrow, or the next day after that. You are my dongsaeng, regardless of Abeoji.” A dangerous thing to utter in this house under his watch, but a true fact nonetheless. Jin could only hope he wasn’t eavesdropping by the door. But like Ki-Se and Yun and especially Ahn-Bo, there was no version of his life that Jin could, or wanted, to imagine that didn’t involve Taesu in it. They were bound together now by a red string and kept that way by their shared traumas, all of them. If by some real miracle anything did ever happen to their Abeoji, it would be a difficult transition for him if any of his brothers decided to live their own lives— apart. Or even in another house, they’d been together under one roof for so long. But Jin didn’t say any of that. Instead, he just pressed his foot up against whatever part of Taesu he could reach in what he hoped was a comforting manner. Stable. Present. But non-threatening. His way of showing affection had always been through incessant touch, but Jin tried his best to curb it.

As for that bit about nameoji, he tried not to flinch as his brother reaffirmed both their places in life. “It’s true what they say, that one always wishes for what one doesn’t have,” he responded instead. Jin would never admit it to his sensitive brother, but he’d have traded with Taesu in a heartbeat. Being part Veela was a lot less monstrous than being a Heubhyeolgwi. And he got to be handsome on top. But a soft smile did flit across his face when his brother reluctantly took his offering of food. Capitalizing on the progress, Jin quickly picked up another and held it out again with a soft sound of encouragement and a nod. He laughed at the subsequent grump and responded with: “Dongsaeng-a, saranghae~~” It was chirped with a tease, voice melodic and singsongy. Playful, if just to crack his brother’s mood a little further.

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   Ahn-Bo Jeong, Taesu Jeong