motherboards and the ties that bind
for: hyunjae | @vchyunjae
location: hyunjae’s super cool workshop
One would think that the eldest and the youngest of the family would not have very much to bond over.
Haemasu, as the youngest son and the very last of their name, did not hold as much leverage as the rest of his siblings. He couldn’t hold a candle to Hyunjae nor Sangje’s pillars. Both of them were forces of nature—clashing and cataclysmic, two opposing forces in a silent war as the rest of the siblings watched on. One would think that being so busy trying to hold back your brother while also trying to maintain their separate holdings in the Noe family empire, that they would be too busy to focus on anything else. And that was the case for Sangje, who went into those sorts of things head-first, eyes alight in flame. But Hyunjae was… not like that. Hyunjae still managed somehow to juggle the entire force of the world in one hand while tinkering with gadgets in the other. He was like some strange cosmic force—Hephaestus in Olympus atop the clouds, a god for all intents and purposes but only caring for building and creation. And still managed to get all of the other Noe’s out of trouble from time to time.
Which led him back to his first main observation. One would think that Hyunjae and Masu wouldn’t have a lot to bond over. And that would be a complete lie.
Because Haemasu, for once, hadn’t found himself lost in the sauce or a steaming pile of shit that only Hyunjae could undo. Or, well—he sort of was. But not in his usual fashion. There was no wet work to be done, no missions to go over, his visit to his eldest brother came about only because of his latest and greatest find.
A beat-up, nasty looking Atari 2600 he’d found at some garage sale he’d passed by on his way home. The guy selling the old console had seen Masu eyeing it and had lit up immediately.
“FOR THE LOW LOW PRICE OF 600,000 WON YOU CAN HAVE THIS SUPER-RARE ATARI 2600! IT’S A BIT OF A FIXER-UPPER, BUT IT WILL BE SO WORTH IT!!”
The guy had reminded him of the Atari too, in terms of being a fixer-upper. He was kind of grubby, smelling like old cologne and had the sort of crazed look in his eye that only came from days without sleep and with only Red Bull to fuel him.
But Masu and Hyunjae both had a habit for these sorts of things: Hyunjae tinkered, and Masu was the one bringing home junk and spare parts, not dissimilar to a crow with its favorite human. And having an excuse to spend some quality time with his brother after the shit that had went down on Christmas was… worth it.
Bursting through the door of Hyunjae’s work space, barely able to knock in his excitement, he nearly rolled over himself as he clambered to the desk his brother was seated at, the console above his head as he waved it around, wires swinging around and all.
“Brother,” Masu said, affecting the tone of his voice to come out booming and raspy-like, “I have a mission for you, should you choose to accept it.”
The only time Hyunjae ever felt legitimately in control was when he was hunched over his work station, a tool in hand, solving issues that he knew had right and wrong results. Consequences were contained and immediate, meaning he could handle them and be confident that they were truly resolved. Which was the exact opposite with the rest of his life. Even with the distraction and indulgence at the bookstore, titles and expectations returned to his shoulders the moment he walked back through that door.
His daytime hours were spent managing the conflicting interests between their shareholders, clients, and production. Grasping each party in a tight grip as they thrashed about insisting that they knew what was best without considering the impact that would ripple out into not only the company but the world. By the time he tossed his tie aside at the end of his marathon of meetings, he was already exhausted. But he wasn’t even close to being done his day.
Then began his shift as the family disappointment. Sitting along side the very brother that branded him as lacking, ignoring that festering rift as he desperately accounted for the details overlooked for the sake of revenge. Never out loud, firmly staying in the background, he assumed he remained unnoticed as he silently set up a contingency, alternatives for every mission. If action X didn’t happen by time Y then they moved onto option D to ensure safety over success. The cause would never be worth not coming home over.
So he sat at his desk, pouring himself over the plans of Christmas Eve and compared them to what actually happened. His eyes burned as he stared at the schematics for the ornaments, a document pointedly missing from his packet that he had to dig up after the fact. He was back on the dais, holding cue cards for a speech he knew he would never get to say in the palm of his hand, looking across the crowd and apologizing to each face he saw. His heart breaking at the sight of children.
Hyunjae’s eyes opened, the gold vanishing as he watched Haemasu barrel into the basement. A breath caught in his throat as he saw both the Haemasu of today and the Haemasu of years ago, nearly tripping over himself to show his big brother this super cool top secret item that he would trade for the steal of a thousand rupees. As his brother approached, he calmly shuffled away the documents, tucking them into a drawer.
“That’s not going to blow up as soon as I give an answer, right?” Hyunjae joked, standing to get a better look at whatever relic Haemasu had unearthed. It was a forgone conclusion that this was now his plan for the night. Appearing serious as he evaluated the state of the console, an impish smirk passed over his features, “Some may call this junk,” he paused on reflex now, waiting for the usual groan in response, “Me, I call them treasures.”
