Chapter 2

I took a few days off over the weekend and went back to my hometown ahead of schedule, hoping to settle the wedding details with them, and to ask if they could return the 10 thousand dollars.

When I pushed open the door, the living room was overflowing with decorations, dishes, beers, and cupcakes.

A pile of invitations for the new job party lay scattered across the coffee table, with Brian's name printed boldly on the front. Not a sign showed they were preparing for my wedding.

My mom was busy in the kitchen.

She poked her head out and glanced at me, her tone as if she was ordering around a hired hand. "You're back? What are you standing there for? Clear off the table. Brian's bringing friends over for dinner tonight to celebrate his new job."

I set down my suitcase and silently tidied up the table, clearing away the cookie crumbs and flyers.

My dad was sprawled on the couch, the TV blaring the same old war drama he'd seen a thousand times. He finally glanced up at me, still clutching the remote.

The first thing out of his mouth wasn't about my wedding. He said, "Brian got the job. That's a huge deal for our family. As his brother, you need to prepare a proper gift. Or he'll get upset."

His words made me feel he thought my own wedding didn't matter at all.

Brian didn't bother to come out of his room. All I could hear was the clacking of his mechanical keyboard and the shouts from his game. Eight years, and nothing had changed. He played, slept, and counted on me to handle everything, no matter what.

I hadn't been home in over half a year, and this time I came back for my own wedding. But not a single person bothered to ask if I was tired from the trip, or how the wedding plans were coming along.

My heart kept sinking, growing colder and colder.

Memories from childhood came rushing back, whether I wanted them or not. When Brian participated in a competition, my parents bought him the newest Transformers set and cooked him a fancy steak for a whole week.

But when I won the first prize in a competition and showed my parents my award, my dad tossed out an offhand remark. "Keep it up, don't get cocky, and maybe learn a thing or two from Brian."

For Brian's birthday, they would plan it two weeks in advance. Cake, presents, relatives, and friends all gathered around, the house full of laughter.

For mine, at most, my mom would only buy me a cupcake, and my dad wouldn't even say happy birthday to me.

Only then did I realize for twenty-six years, I'd always been neglected.

The door of Brian's room was left slightly ajar. As I walked past it, I glanced inside, and my feet froze in place.

On the desk, there were several unopened delivery boxes. Next to them, a display shelf was lined up with neatly arranged figurines and models, some still sealed in plastic.

In the center sat a brand-new laptop, with a PS5, a Switch, and a VR headset stacked beside it, all the cables tangled together.

Any one of these things would cost hundreds, even thousands of dollars.

I pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The latest iPhone and AirPods were tossed on the nightstand. On the floor, stacks of unopened sneakers, each pair worth over 600 dollars, had their boxes piled almost to my knees.

There was a promo poster for a gaming chair on the wall, the same one I'd seen online, going for over 1500 dollars.

None of this was stuff you'd need for a government job exam, or anything the family could actually use.

For three years straight, I sent him 6 grand every single month, without fail. I kept lying to myself, saying it was for Brian's classes, study guides, and house rent, helping him coast through those eight years.

But now it finally hit me. I wasn't supporting some future civil servant. I was basically raising a thirty-year-old man-child, letting him lounge at home, gaming, buying collectibles, upgrading his setup, and living the kind of life I wouldn't dare to imagine for myself.

My own laptop was the same old one I bought right after college, so slow that it took forever to open a file. I never had the money or the heart to buy a new one.