To be honest Ryu Dong-wook didn't trust Hwang Ran.
Not at first.
Who in their right mind would?
His only little brother ran away from home and had been gone for a few weeks.
Suddenly some woman came by their family home to basically BUY custody from his parents.
The lady was the personification of shady with questionable morals. She could even possibly be what some people call a 'sugar mama'.
Even worse, his mother wanted to do it, judging by the sharp satisfied glance she had given him. He had no choice but to scrutinize the contract presented to them-the one selling his brother off to a stranger.
It was a legitimate contract.
Precise. Professional.
There was even contact information for her lawyer in case they wanted to make any changes.
Dong-wook wasn't even surprised the lawyer didn't show up.
The conditions seemed only favorable to his family-aside from the fact they were basically giving up all rights to Hyun by selling him.
A normal loving mother would never have accepted this kind of deal.

"Let me get my seal stamp."

Dong-wook couldn't even be disappointed. After all, his mother wasn't normal. At least whenever it came to Hyun.
But.
No matter what. Hyun was still his little brother. And Dong-wook will always love him.
He had to make sure his little brother was okay, and that he wasn't going to be exploited by some strange woman. He didn't have a say in his guardianship, but he could at least look out for his little brother in some capacity.
So Dong-wook kept in contact with Hwang Ran.
He got weekly updates on how his brother was doing:

'Hyun loves musicals.'

'He's been studying English by watching American movies.'

'He's a beast! He's always working out! Namely, at god forsaken hours… T^T'

'Here's a video of him practicing English, singing along while watching musical films.'

'He joined a drama club at school.'

'He decided on a stage name, Zen.'

'I recorded a video of Zen's first play at school. It's only a small inner school thing.'

'He's going to have another show soon. This time it's open to the public. You should come.'

.

Dong-wook's first thought was to bring their mother before recalling the words she'd said to him that day-when she basically sold off her youngest son.

"Just you watch, he'll come crawling back home once he fails and that woman throws him away."

He had believed her then. She had always been right after all. Even their father, who was rarely home, listened to everything she said.
But.
Every status update Ran gave him.
Every picture sent to his email.
Every smile of Hyun's he saw in those pictures.
Doubts started to trickle into his mind.
And so he went to the play, to see for himself how his brother was doing.

Dong-wook hadn't expected how Hyun's performance would affect him.
It had left him speechless and in awe.
That was his little brother.
That shy and soft spoken little boy.
The one that had always needed his protection.
He could admit there were some parts where Hyun had exaggerated a little bit too much, but…

Hyun was so passionate.
It had shaken Dong-wook's heart.
His little brother wasn't just handsome.
He was talented.
He was driven.
Hyun's budding dream, that strong desire, could very well be possible.

And he and his mother had almost crushed that child's dream.

Dong-wook felt ashamed, for not believing in Hyun.
But.
There was pride there too.
His brother is amazing. So amazing.

The look of pure exuberance after Hyun got off stage was contagious, and Dong-wook couldn't help smiling just a bit.
However, that pure smile was wiped off Hyun's face as soon as he saw him.
It was like a dagger to the heart.
The way those two young boys stood in front of him…
They were trying to protect Hyun… From Ryu Dong-wook, Ryu Hyun's actual full-blooded older brother.

Judging by the stricken expression on Hyun's face, it really did look like he needed protection.

From him out of all people.

His heart felt bitter.
Were these unrelated people doing a better job at being Hyun's family than his actual family?
They must be, if Hyun could smile like that.
Dong-wook hadn't seen a smile like that on Hyun's face since he was a tiny child.
Not from Dong-wook's words of reassurances, nor personally helping him with his homework whenever he had time.
Hyun's exuberant smile had been made possible by these Hwang people.

A small hand firmly grasped onto his shoulder.
A large beaming smile directed at him.
Right there in front of him was the tiny woman from that day.
The person who wanted to make sure Hyun achieved his dreams.
Dong-wook couldn't fathom why, but her presence made everything feel a tiny bit better.

Hyun and those twin boys were hesitant with Dong-wook's presence, but it was soon eased away with Ran's gushing happiness at Hyun's 'amazingly awesome performance'.
Dong-wook could practically feel the waves of positivity radiating from her.
That barbecue dinner celebration didn't end on an awkward note. It was nice. Comforting.
The hesitant yet hopeful smile directed at him by Hyun made Dong-wook feel that everything between them as brothers would be alright. It was damaged, but not irreparable.

.

Dong-wook became somewhat fond of Hwang Ran then.


When Dong-wook got a letter from C&R stating he was recommended to become a part of their legal team; he was shocked.
His mother had been ecstatic and his father had been proud.
Dong-wook was confused. He didn't think he had curried favor from anyone with any connections to C&R.
He was currently just another number within his firm, and since he was still considered a greenhorn, the clients assigned were usually simple litigations. Dong-wook hadn't had any high profile clients, nor done anything noteworthy enough to warrant a recommendation.

He wasn't being chosen for a team within the firm to work on a small case for C&R. He was being directly hired, personally, to become part of their company.

It wasn't easy to become a part of C&R's legal department. They were an international corporation with high expectations from their employees, especially if those employees didn't have insider recommendations with a large background.

Nepotism is still strong within the country.

His family was well-off, but not enough to hold any sway with any kind of large company.

His parents were respected teachers, but they didn't have any students who could pull any strings for them.

So just why would C&R decide to hire him?


Meeting Han Jumin was nerve wrecking.

Which should be silly, since Dong-wook was older than him by 2 years.

But.

Anyone would be intimidated by Han Jumin.

He was considered a business genius.

While most kids in high school were busy studying for college entrance exams, Han Jumin had long since started interning at C&R. Meanwhile, he still managed to get into one of the best business schools in the world-earlier than most others.

While attending college, Han Jumin still spent most of his time in South Korea working for C&R. He excelled at both work and school.

There were rumors he had already been on the verge of getting his Global EMBA (Executive Management Business Administration) despite his young age.

Some alleged he was an amazing and talented young man doing their country proud; by excelling above the rest. Then, there were those who felt he was a sly fox, because despite his young age, he was already trying to wrest control of the company from his father.

Dong-wook nervously sat in front of this intimidating person; waiting for Han Jumin to finally speak.

"So I've heard you're Zen's older brother."

. . . .

What.


.

.

A.N.

Although the Global EMBA (Global Executive Management Business Administration) sounds fancier than a Global MBA.
They're actually worth about the same.
They're Master's programs with EMBA designed for people who already have work experience whereas MBA emphasizes more on the GMAT(Graduate Management Admission Test).
Another difference is EMBA is part-time to accommodate working professionals with some classes being online. MBA is full-time schooling.
Since it's 'Global', that just means there's campuses in different countries giving you an international experience.
My sister did something similar for her Master's in Global Health, where she went to do field research in Thailand.