Wang Yo sat and listened in silence as his mother's shrill voice demanded that he return Jung to her.

Sitting in his study with his phone on speakerphone, he rubbed his temples as the twentieth minute of his mother's furious rant ebbed into the twenty-first. "Mother, if Jung wants to play with my son and eat my food, then why should I stop him? At least he's not going around on that damn motorcycle of his while he's staying here."

"I trust you, Yo, but why did you have So over for dinner? I don't want him around my youngest. What if he hurts Jung?"

Staring at the bow and arrows in his room, Yo wondered if his son would inherit everything tax free if he stabbed himself then- or would the life insurance payout be decreased because his death was self caused? At least he could trust Mun Seong to collect all of his money and move his son somewhere his mother could not reach them. Maybe America… Europe had nice weather this time of year...

"Yo, I don't like that So is in town. At least he was far away when he was acting as your father's dog, but now? Now he's living with Wook and being friendly with Jung! What if he has any ulterior motives? What if he wants to hurt my baby? Do you know when he'll be leaving?"

Marrying some girl and raising a family while accepting a job I offered him? Ulterior indeed, Mother. How little you know of your middle child. I'd be surprised if he were still alive by the time Wook found out he was planning to marry Myung Hee's cousin, Yo thought dryly. No wonder he prefers spending holidays with Wook's side of the family. Wook's mother didn't even give birth to So, and yet she treats him as one of her own because of you, Mother .

He rubbed his temples and reminded himself that as the oldest, it was his duty to protect himself and his brothers from their… overreaching mother. Yo had no plans to ever inform his mother of So's impending pay raise. If Yoo Shin Myung found out that So would rank higher than Jung could ever reach within the company, Yo would never hear the end of her fury.

"As far as I know, Mother, Jung is his own worst enemy. If you want to prevent Jung from getting hurt, allow me to recommend a specialist that will destroy any vehicle for money. My ex-wife swears by him. You can get rid of that damn motorcycle of his and keep him safe at the same time."

"And just how long is Jung going to stay with you? He has the Olympics to prepare for! I don't want him to lose because he's slacking off."

He'll stay until that black eye fades and I scold him at least twice more. And you know what, Mother? I hope he loses, Yo glared fire at his phone. He needs some humility beaten into him . "Well, I'm sure our Jung will prevail. Not having to do his mandatory military service must have been a win on his part and yours, Mother."

"Goodness, I know. You don't know how many times I visited the temple and prayed my baby would win during his first Olympics so he wouldn't have to go to the military. Who knows what would have happened to him if he had gone? My poor child wouldn't have survived."

"Mother, it would do well for you to remember that two of your children have already completed- and survived - their conscription," Yo said, his hand inching toward the newly filled decanters that sat on his desk. Just a few inches closer and he would have a glass of alcohol in his hand and a fuzzy mind to help him forget his mother's voice.

"Please," scoffed Madam Yoo, "you were always the strongest of my children. As for So, I suppose he deserved to be sent to the military and have some sense knocked into him. I knew the both of you would survive, but Jung? My smallest baby and my youngest child, how could he endure something like that? Speaking of which, I want you to send Jung back home so that I can have him fitted for a new suit. With everyone in town because of the abdication, I know your father will want to have a family photo taken. I want my boys to shine. I'll send a tailor to your house for you and Gyung if you'd like."

"That's alright, Mother," Yo's fingers grasped the cold crystal glass at the end of his desk and he gently pried it off of the silver tray it sat on, careful not to make a sound. "I think one of my suits will suffice. Gyung is too young to have his own tailor. I apologize, but I'll have to hang up- my wife is calling."

"Send her over sometime soon," Madam Yoo hummed. "I want to see my grandson and daughter-in-law. It's been too long since I spoiled either."

Swallowing, Yo nodded and ran a hand through his hair. Oh, Mun Seong will just love that. Even his thoughts were sarcastic. "Of course, Mother. Good-bye."

He used his index finger to end the call.

With a pained sigh, Yo filled his glass with whatever beverage was the closest to his hand. Clear liquid sloshed into the cup and off the brim as he topped himself off.

The door to the study opened and Yo glanced up at his wife as she stepped in, her arms crossed over her chest. She walked toward him, her house slippers making soft clacks against the wood floor. In a gray shirt and white sweater, she approached, her dark hair falling in waves over her shoulders.

Sitting back in his chair, Yo watched as Mun Seong glided over to where he was. She stopped in front of him before sitting down on his lap and resting her head against his shoulder. Yo immediately draped an arm around his wife's waist. "I didn't know you drank water when you spoke with your mother," she stated, peering at the glass in his hand. "Good news or did you just forget the glass bottle with clear liquid was water?"

"It could have been vodka."

"You don't drink vodka."

They peered into each other's eyes and Yo scoffed in defeat. "May I help you, Wife?"

Mun Seong hummed as she drummed her fingers against the desk, the rhythm slowly becoming something of a heartbeat. "Does a wife need a reason to visit her husband when he's moping in his office?"

"Ah, so you do have a reason," he smirked up at his wife as she side-eyed him. "If this is about your brother getting married, tell him I still think the lawyer is better than the rich girl. I married two rich girls and look at me now," resting a hand on his wife's thigh, he gave it a gentle pat.

"That's right," Mun Seong raised her eyebrows and snapped her fingers. "You married me, a rich girl, and it's not like we've happily lived together for years and have a beautiful house and family, is it? It's not like we have a son and are trying for a second now, or that we actually sleep in the same room unlike what you and my sister did during your sham of a marriage."

"Your sarcasm is ever charming," her husband gave a droll sigh, his eyes closing. "Please tell me what you want so that I can drink my non-vodka in peace," Yo pulled his knuckles down Mun Seong's side, feeling the bumps of her camisole beneath her shirt. His voice was a bare whisper as he leaned close to her ear and said, "Don't make me send you to visit my mother."

"I didn't come to ask you about my brother, I came to ask about yours ," Mun Seong took a sip from Yo's cup before setting it onto the table. She draped her arms around her husband's slim frame. Her hands smoothed his shirt and picked out a piece of lint that sat above the dark material.

"Which one?"

"The middle one, Wang So," she flicked the dust aside. Her coffee colored hair fell from her shoulder onto Yo's as she leaned closer. "You know about his relationship with Soo, don't you?"

"Hm, and if I do?"

"Well, I think it's time we had them both over for a family gathering. Judging by the way she talks about her 'boyfriend' when we have coffee and the way he looked when he called her, I think a marriage is just around the corner. It's about time I meet them as a couple before my new friend becomes my sister," Mun Seong smiled sweetly as she continued to brush through Yo's hair. "I think I'll invite them once Jung heals up and goes back to your mother's house."

"If that's what you want, dear…" Yo's hand trailed up Mun Seong's skirt, the glass of water on his desk forgotten, "Then I want something in return." Tutting softly, he patted his wife's hip, touching the material of her skirt. "No underwear," he crooned into her ear, his nose brushing past a curtain of hair. "What do we make of that?"

Mun Seong turned her head so they sat cheek to cheek. "Make whatever you want of it… I just came to see my husband."

In the quiet dark of night, Myung Hee coughed as she woke up, her hand reaching for her parched throat. Trapped beneath blankets and something that felt like her husband's arm, she sweltered in the heat, feeling a drop of sweat run down her temple.

Opening her eyes, she looked up at the strips of light that peeked through the tops of their lightproof curtains. With what feeble strength she had, there was no way she would be able to lug her husband's dead weight off of her abdomen. "Wook," she coughed again, her hand making its way over to her husband's bicep and shaking it. "Wook, you're pinning me down. Wook."

"Hm," her husband jerked awake, his tired voice sounding in the dark. "What's wrong? Is it the baby? Are you alright? Should I call the doctor?" he sat up and flicked the bedside lamp on, cringing when yellow light streamed into the bedroom. Wook's large hand immediately found its way onto Myung Hee's belly as she sat up, yawning and pushing the blankets away from herself. Cold air seeped into her lungs and she breathed deeply, relieved that her husband's weight was off of her.

"I'm fine," she reassured him. "Your arm was just too heavy and it was a bit too hot. Wook, I'm fine." She could feel Wook's relief as the pressure of his hand against her stomach lessened and his thumb rubbed circles above her navel. "We're fine," she said, repeating her words in case Wook had not heard. "I was just too hot beneath the blankets."

She gave a tired smile to her husband who rubbed his eyes and nodded, his hair a mess and his eyes half closed. "Go back to sleep while I get water," Myung Hee's hand met her husband's chest, gently toppling him back onto the pillows.

"I could get that for you," Wook's muffled voice was already addled with sleep and Myung Hee patted his shoulder. "If… you want."

By the time she stood from the bed, one hand holding the growing bump on her stomach and the other reaching for the shawl she kept beside the bed, Wook was already snoring.

Wrapping the white lace around her shoulders, she passed by her wedding portrait and by the boxes of baby things she kept at the foot of her bed. Myung Hee stepped out of her bedroom and into the dim living room, her bare feet instantly numbing against the cold floor.

In need of a glass of water, she began making her way to the kitchen before pausing when she noticed a sliver of light peeking out from Soo's bedroom door. Pausing, she watched a shadow move over the light. Then, the door opened and someone stepped out of Soo's bedroom.

Her eyes widened as a shirtless So closed Soo's door behind him and rubbed his eyes, his hair a rat's nest. With a muffled gasp, Myung Hee held a hand to her mouth and pressed herself against a wall to prevent him from seeing her, her wedding band like ice against her lips.

What is he doing in there? Her thoughts raced as quickly as her heart.

Holding her breath, she watched as he passed by her, stretching his arms and hissing when his joints popped. His skin pulled over his slim body and Myung Hee could see his ribs as he stretched in the hallway. She could swear that in the dim hallway, there were red scratch marks on his back. So walked into his bedroom and shut the door behind him, leaving his stunned sister-in-law in the shadows.

Not three minutes after, Myung Hee slipped back into bed with her husband, feeling him pull her towards him, his hand on her stomach.

Her eyes remained open and her heart hammered in her chest as she replayed the scene she had just been privy to. What business did her husband's brother have with her cousin at five in the morning? She did not want to assume the worst, but only the worst came to mind.

She remained awake and still even as her husband's alarm signalled the start of a new day. "Good morning, Myung Hee," Wook said, his stubble tickling her as he kissed her cheek. His lips then met her stomach and with a gentle greeting to their baby, Wook clambered out of bed, his bare feet thudding against the floor as he made his way into their shared bathroom. He seemed oblivious to his wife's shocked state.

"It's Saturday. Will you be going into the office?" Myung Hee asked, turning her head to where Wook stuck his toothbrush into his mouth and ran a brush through his hair.

"No, but I'm going to go running," he called in return. "If you join me, I'll make it a walk instead."

Shaking her head, Myung Hee smiled and shielded her eyes from the sunlight that streamed into the bedroom when Wook tossed the curtains open. "I think I'll stay in today. You can join me in the garden after your run."

After Wook left the apartment, Myung Hee made it her priority to track down So within her massive home. A quick glance into two bedrooms assured her that both Soo and Eun were still fast asleep, and a question to one of the maids led her into the breakfast room where So sat, a newspaper in hand and a cup of coffee on the table beside him.

Steeling her nerves and calming her heart, Myung Hee stepped into the breakfast room and took the cushion in front of where So sat. She crossed her legs onto the seat, her hand resting against the tabletop. "Good morning," So said as he put his newspaper down. Myung Hee noticed his glasses but said nothing on them.

For the first time, she truly looked at him and wondered if her eyes had played a trick on her last night. Her brother-in-law was a tall, skinny man with delicate features. He resembled Wook in some ways, but starkly contrasted him in most. He was not the shortest of the Wang brothers, but he also was not the tallest. His easy smile reminded Myung Hee of Jung, but his powerful glare was one that Yo had also inherited.

"Why were you in Soo's room last night?" she abruptly asked.

So froze and snapped his attention toward her, "I'm sorry?" He peered at her with raised eyebrows. "I must have misheard- did you say 'Soo's room?'"

Myung Hee wondered how eyes that looked so much like her husband's could be so cold when Wook's were always warm.

"Don't be coy," she crossed her arms over her blouse and pulled her sweater closer as a chill swept over her. She refused to be afraid of her brother-in-law. "Why were you in my cousin's bedroom last night?"

So held his hands in his lap, a casually vacant stare written across his feature. "What did you see?" He sipped his coffee as a maid delivered tea for Myung Hee.

"I saw you exiting Soo's bedroom, shirtless, and I thought I'd confront you about it. Why were you in my cousin's bedroom?" She did not know what answer she hoped for, or what answer she hoped he wouldn't give. Myung Hee gazed at her brother-in-law with a stony glare. "If you think for a moment that I allowed you into my home to antagonize my cousin then think again. I will not hesitate to send you away from my home."

"We're seeing each other," So replied matter-of-factly. Myung Hee's eyes widened and she all but dropped her teacup onto its saucer. The resulting clack sent tea spilling onto the table.

"What?" she demanded, her voice a whisper.

Nodding his head, So adjusted his position so that he was kneeling. Myung Hee frowned as So intentionally gave her the higher position- even though they were the same age. His hands made their way to his knees. "Soo and I are seeing each other in a romantic way. We didn't want to alarm you, so we kept our relationship hidden. Forgive me, Sister." He bowed then, bending his elbows and dipping his torso

Taken aback, Myung Hee could not find the right words to admonish her brother-in-law. She unconsciously pressed a hand to her stomach as she shook her head. He was using the higher form of 'sister' in reference to her. He was bowing to her. He was asking for forgiveness. "H-How long has this been going on?" stumbling over her own words, Myung Hee took a breath to mollify herself.

So regarded her with calm eyes. "Ever since I arrived here."

A month, she thought. They've been seeing each other for a month.

"Are you sure you want to go about doing this? I see Soo as my own sister and for her to be with a man eleven years older than her is… frankly, it doesn't put me at ease. She's young and just broke up with her old boyfriend. What makes you think this isn't just any relapse a young woman might have?"

"She broke up with her boyfriend to be with me. We love each other," So replied in an even tone. He did not seem offended in the slightest. "I know Soo is… passionate about many things and I know that she is prone to be impulsive and make mistakes, but I assure you, I am not one of them. We've discussed this relationship time and time again, and we both believe it will be what's best for both of us. I love her." He easily uttered the three words Myung Hee had hoped not to hear. It was one thing for Soo to claim she loved something, but for Wang So- the man the entire family regarded as emotionally handicapped- to fervently claim he loved Soo was something Myung Hee had not thought she would ever see.

"You're thirty-four and she is twenty-three," she rebutted. "What makes you think she loves you back? Any child can say they love a man. Do you buy her gifts? Did you bribe her?" She noticed the flash of anger in So's eyes, but he kept his composure.

"I have offered her cars, vacations, bags, jewelry, and even offered to take her away to our own house so we don't have to hide," he explained. Myung Hee's eyes widened in shock and she raised a shaking hand to cover her mouth. So only continued. "Each time I offered, Soo always refused. She turns down my gifts and refuses to run away with me because she wants to stay here until…" they met eyes and So raised a pointed eyebrow down at the hand Myung Hee kept firmly against her stomach. She only further glared him down. He knows about my pregnancy, she realized.

"I will speak to Soo about this relationship," Myung Hee said as she removed her hand from her mouth. Excessive stress was not good for her or her baby and she knew that she would have to lay down soon. "I will not, however, tell my husband about this. We both know that Wook would not take kindly to knowing that you have been seeing my cousin beneath his roof. You would do well to keep on his better side."

They stared each other down with enough intensity to freeze the entire breakfast room, neither side willing to back down. Myung Hee could see the lengths at which So was willing to go in his expression and secretly, she hoped that Soo had found her match. "Do you wish to say anything?" she asked So, who looked up from his kneeling position. Taking the higher position, she offered him the first chance to speak on his and Soo's behalf.

Myung Hee watched as So stood from where he sat, the cushion beneath him wrinkling and protesting at the sudden movement. She half expected him to walk away, giving her the cold shoulder, but instead, he walked around the table to where Myung Hee was and then raised his hands to his forehead before kneeling before her. Aghast, she watched as he did something more cutting and permanent than ignoring her.

So bowed until his palms and forehead touched the ground. Myung Hee's mouth opened in a silent protest as So revered her with his actions. Her hands clenched into her skirt and Myung Hee prayed that no one else would see the scene that unfolded before her- especially Wook.

"Sister, please accept this bow in place of Soo's parents," So said, from his bent position. Myung Hee's hands shook and her heart pounded as So continued. "One day, I intend to marry Hae Soo, and I can only do this with the acceptance of her family. Please accept me as her match and accept me into your family as your cousin or- if Soo is truly your sister- as your brother."

He raised himself off of the ground, then. And as Myung Hee stared at him with wide eyes, So bowed at the waist, his arms by his side. As he walked away, she found that she had been holding her breath.

When Wook arrived from home his run, he found his wife laying in bed with tears in her eyes. Once he realized she was not in pain, he begged to know why she was crying, but only received sobs into his shoulder as Myung Hee held onto him with cold hands.

Author's Note:
For those of you who don't know much about Korean traditions, here is an explanation:

There is a different name for every person in the family depending on their relationship to their spouse/parents/siblings/whatever. Usually, families will allow members to call each other easy things like noona, unni, hyung, etc. But, higher forms are also in common use. The form So used when referring to Myung Hee is Jae-Su (제수) which is what a man would call his younger brother's wife. Though So, Myung Hee, and Wook were born in the same year, because So is older than Wook, he automatically becomes the hyung (older) and Wook becomes the jae (younger).

Also, in regards to bowing: the one So did is called 큰 절 (keun jul). It's reserved for New Years, bowing to the dead, and greeting your fiance's parents. There are differences between female and male bows, and So did his to Myung Hee because Soo has no parents and sees Myung Hee as the equivalent of such. He would not have to bow to Wook because Wook is not Soo's blood relation, but if Wook were present, So would have bowed to him and Myung Hee at the same time.