"My older twin brother to be exact. He was perfect, so blaringly perfect my eyes burned from looking at him." He stopped.
"I quickly learned that I needed to be more like him, if I wanted to be loved. That just made me hate him more. He never seemed to care, and we basically lived separate lives."
"My brother was smart, he was in the top of our class. I made people laugh, and liked to put on a show more than get good grades. He was on track to become a doctor, and I had no idea what I wanted to do" he trailed off.
I had to get up from his lap and rinse out the bleach. I led him to the kitchen sink and slowly shampooed his hair in silence. He sat back down in his chair, and I dried his hair. That's when I got brave, because I didn't want this conversation to end.
"What happened to your brother?" I shyly spoke.
"When we were 14, he stayed after school as usual. I was home playing video games with my friends." I felt the sadness in the room. I didn't want him to hurt.
"The cops came, my mom was screaming. Everything felt like it was in slow motion that night. My brother, an exact copy of me, had died in a car accident. He tried to save some kid on the road. It was exactly something he would do, and it pissed me off more. My parents blamed me in the weeks to come, I should have been there."
"I was playing games, and once again being a disappointment of a son. I should have saved him." The dye was already in Tae's hair, and I lifted his chin to look at me.
"You couldn't have known, and you didn't do anything wrong."
He nodded his head up and down. "I know Rina, I really am alright. I had met Kang a few times from mutual friends. I actually moved into his house and then got recruited by his talent agency. I haven't spoken to my parents since. I just really don't like to look like him. I'm just me, Tae. I'm not a son, I'm not a brother, I'm not Eun Woo."
His hair was finished, and I loved the baby blue color. I was putting the pieces together from our previous conversations. It seemed like Tae was forced into his position in Woo5. It was what he thought was his best option.
He truly believes that was the best way for him to survive. He feels like he has nothing else to offer the world but his good looks. It sickens me that his parents would treat him that way. The thoughts in my head erupted out of me before I could stop them.
"You are wonderful, you have so much to give to this world. You are the most compassionate and caring person I have met. You are diligent and understand all sorts of social cues and underlying meanings. You are spectacular, and worth way more than this life has given to you. I want to give you everything Tae. You deserve it, and you are so worth it."
As I spoke I saw the tears creep into his eyes, and the soft peach glow warm his cheeks.
"Thank you, and don't worry. I will prove everyone who thought my life was a failure wrong. I will succeed. I will reach my dreams. I won't let anyone stop me."