The next day, they went to the construction site, carrying food for all the workers. Jerelr leaned against a beam, studying the half-built structure.
"Brother Ege," he said, eyes tracing the scaffolding, "I bet this will take at least two more years to finish."
Egemed glanced at the building, imagining its final form. "Then I bet a year and a half. From my view, it seems like it could be done by next year."
Jerelr smirked. "Okay… we'll see."
____
By the afternoon, as planned, they returned to the Valley of Breath. Egemed had prepared tea and coffee. He carefully unpacked a thermos and placed it on the mat. Meanwhile, Jerelr began pulling items from his bag—and Egemed froze, wide-eyed.
Ramen, cake, apples, grilled chicken, biscuits, chips, sweets… the pile seemed endless.
"Jerelr… are we going to spend the night here too?" Egemed exclaimed, half laughing, half in shock.
Jerelr laughed as he continued unpacking. "This, this one, and this one… all your favorites!" He gestured to the mound of food until the bag was empty.
"Why did you bring so much?" Egemed asked, still amazed.
"I want to remember everything you like," Jerelr said softly. "I got it right, didn't I? Except alcohol—I won't bring that. I wouldn't want us to—" He mimicked Egemed's calm voice: "—indulge ourselves in an inhumane behavior…"
Before Jerelr could finish, Egemed smacked him lightly on the stomach.
"Ah! Now you've got some nerve to hit me, hahaha!" Jerelr laughed, rubbing his side.
"I didn't hit you because I hate you," Egemed chuckled, patting him on the back. "You just kept teasing me."
"I know," Jerelr replied with a grin. "It's fine. You can kick me too if you want, bwahahaha!"
"Haha! No way," Egemed said, laughing.
Egemed was so happy that he devoured everything Jerelr had brought, eating until he was full and could barely move. He returned home without even having dinner.
For five days straight, Jerelr continued bringing food to the Valley of Breath—everything Egemed liked, plus some new things he wanted him to try.
Egemed never questioned the taste; he ate everything, leaving no crumbs, and returned home still too full for dinner. Jerelr did the same.
"Brother Ege, only two days left before my birthday," Jerelr said one afternoon, his eyes gleaming.
"Yes," Egemed replied, smiling. "We'll publish our book together and celebrate your birthday."
"Yes! You'll come to my house, and we'll do it there."
"Okay, once I finish my household chores, I'll come right away."
Jerelr hesitated, then added softly, "Brother Ege… I want to ask something. We might not meet for the next two days, but please, text or call me if you need anything."
"It's fine. I'll go to the city tomorrow. I want to buy you a gift. Your favorite color is dark green, right?"
"How do you know?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Yes… but this time I want to like grey."
"Alright," Egemed said. "I'll get a grey gift. …I'll miss your food—you've been bringing it for five days now. I'm so happy."
"My brother is happy?" Jerelr beamed. "Ha! Then I'll bring more from now on!"
---
Night began to fall, and as they prepared to leave, Jerelr suddenly stopped and turned to Egemed.
"Brother Egemed… I want to do something before we leave. We won't be here for two days, and I'll miss it… and your tea and coffee, haha."
Egemed stopped, smiling at him. "What do you want to do?"
Without a word, Jerelr wrapped Egemed in a tight hug. Egemed almost lost his balance but hugged him back.
"Are you okay, Jerelr?"
"Yes… I'll miss you for two days," Jerelr murmured.
Egemed chuckled softly. "Tell me if anything bothers you. We'll solve it together. But why hug me suddenly?"
Jerelr laughed, still holding him. "I just want to. I feel so happy having a brother like you. I can't pay you back… you never scold me, never get angry, always take care of me… sigh… too much."
Egemed stayed silent, tapping Jerelr lightly. "It's getting dark. Let's go home. Are you done?"
Jerelr shook his head, reluctant to let go, before finally releasing him. "Thank you, Egemed. I feel at ease now."
"Huh? Are you okay?"
"Yes… I just felt a little lonely, but hugging you made me whole again," Jerelr said, chuckling. "Let's go, Brother Ege."
___
The next day, Egemed went to the city. He visited his father and brother at the office, then stopped at a tailor shop to buy a dark grey suit for Jerelr's birthday. Later, he returned home.
As soon as he stepped inside, he pulled out his phone and dialed Jerelr's number. The line rang twice before Jerelr picked up.
"Hello? Brother Ege?" his voice came bright and warm.
"Yeah, it's me. What are you doing?"
"Helping Mom… cooking," Jerelr replied with a little laugh.
Egemed could hear pots clinking in the background.
"Call me when you're done," Egemed said gently.
"Alright! I'll call as soon as I finish."
Egemed smiled to himself, hanging up as he placed the suit carefully on the bed, imagining Jerelr's reaction on his birthday.
___
Before sleeping, Egemed's phone rang.
"Brother Ege?"
Jerelr's voice sounded bright, almost too awake for the hour.
"Are you sleeping?"
Egemed smiled at the ceiling.
"I was about to. What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"Yes—why?"
"Because yesterday you behaved differently…" he hesitated. "…so I was worried."
There was a soft huff of laughter on the other end.
"Oh… I'm fine. Do you want me to come over?"
"Ay—Jerelr, it's almost 11 pm," Egemed groaned with a small laugh.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Jerelr giggled.
"Tomorrow i will be busy—I'll decorate the room, prepare everything for the day after tomorrow… and I'll treat you to a very nice meal."
Egemed's eyes softened.
"Ahh… I can't wait," he said with a shy laugh.
"I'm excited too!" Jerelr said, voice bubbling.
"Our book is going to be published soon. We already have so many fans."
"Yup. And the construction is almost finished too," Egemed added.
"YES! That means we'll visit Chesior," Jerelr said, almost sounding like he jumped a little.
"Yes…" Egemed chuckled. "Oh—and you should sleep now, little brother. Tomorrow you'll be busy. Want me to come help you?"
A dramatic gasp from Jerelr.
"Nooo! It's a surprise! You don't need to."
Egemed laughed quietly.
"Alright… time to sleep then."
"Goodnight, Brother Egemed!"
"Goodnight, Jerelr. Sleep well."
____
The next day, Egemed spent the entire morning helping his mother with the chores—
or rather, annoying her while pretending to help.
He followed her around with a broom in his hand, sweeping absolutely nothing.
"Mother, you know…" he began proudly, leaning against the doorframe,
"tomorrow me and Jerelr will publish our first book. The one we worked on together."
He smirked like he was holding in a secret.
His mother rinsed the vegetables without looking up.
"What is it about?"
Egemed froze dramatically.
"It's about—eh, you'll know once we publish it."
He puffed out his chest, feeling important.
She sighed.
"But I can't even read."
Egemed's expression softened immediately.
He stepped closer, gently bumping her shoulder.
"Then I'll read it for you," he said with a small laugh,
"every night in bed, just like you used to sing for me when I was little."
His mother finally looked at him.
Her eyes softened, a warm, quiet gleam rising beneath the wrinkles.
She nodded, smiling fondly—
a smile that held pride, love, and a little ache only mothers understand.
"Alright," she murmured. "I'll be waiting."
Egemed grinned and went back to "helping,"
which mostly involved distracting her and getting scolded every five minutes.
After finishing the chores, Egemed spent the late afternoon hanging out with Heryl.
Even at twenty-one, Heryl still had that childish competitiveness that made Egemed laugh.
They played football in the yard, teasing each other nonstop.
"Alright, goalkeeper mode," Egemed announced, tapping his chest and stepping in front of the makeshift goal. "This time I'll actually block it. I swear."
Heryl smirked, rolling the ball under his foot.
"Bro, you say that every time."
"Shut up and kick," Egemed said, grinning.
Heryl took a few steps back, inhaled like he was about to take a penalty in a stadium… then fired the ball.
It whooshed past Egemed's leg so cleanly he didn't even have time to react.
He blinked, stunned, then started laughing at himself.
"Aiyo, why am I this useless?" he said, leaning forward with his hands on his knees, shaking his head.
Heryl burst out laughing too.
"You're hopeless, I swear!"
"Hopeless, hopeless," Egemed repeated dramatically as he stretched out on the grass like a defeated athlete. "You destroyed my pride."
Heryl nudged him with his foot.
"Get up, old man."
"Old man? I'm two years older than you, idiot," Egemed shot back, laughing.
Heryl snorted and burst out laughing, knowing all too well that Egemed was eight years older than him. He couldn't resist teasing.
"Brother, please… you're twenty-nine," Heryl said between laughs. "Your joints retired before you did."
Despite the teasing, the warmth lingered—the kind of comfort only family gave.
By evening, he was exhausted.
He dropped onto his bed, stretching, eyes already closing, just as sleep began to pull him under—
his phone buzzed.
The screen lit up.
Jerelr.
Jerelr didn't even wait for a hello.
"Brother Egemed! I'm sooo excited for tomorrow!"
He sounded like he was almost bouncing. "What time will you come?"
Egemed giggled softly.
"I'm happy too. I'll come around 11 or 12."
"Okay! Okay!" Jerelr said quickly. "How was your day?"
Egemed groaned dramatically.
"I became a servant the whole day…"
Jerelr burst into loud laughter.
"Ahahaha—same! Me too!"
"How?" Egemed laughed.
"I was busy preparing everything for tomorrow. Like a servant too," Jerelr snorted, laugh breaking in his breath.
Egemed shook his head.
"You'll be 28 in two hours… want to talk until then? Or are you tired?"
A small pause. Then—
"No—it's fine. We can talk," Jerelr replied softly.
And they did.
At first, they talked calmly.
Then Jerelr said something stupid—Egemed laughed.
Jerelr laughed louder.
Then Egemed choked on his own laugh—Jerelr laughed at that.
Then both fell into silence clutching their stomachs—
Only to burst into laughter again for no reason.
Minutes turned into hours.
Until, finally—
12:00 am.
Egemed took a breath and said it all at once:
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JERELR! MAY GOD BLESS YOU. MAY YOU SUCCEED IN EVERYTHING. I WILL ALWAYS SUPPORT YOU."
A quiet pause.
Then Jerelr's voice, soft and trembling with emotion:
"Thank you so much, Brother Ege… no one waits to wish me a happy birthday. Every year, the first voice I hear at 12:00 am… is yours."
Egemed giggled shyly.
"Ah… you're exaggerating. You do the same for me too."
"Hmm… we'll meet tomorrow, Brother Ege."
"Goodnight, Jerelr."
"Goodnight, Brother Ege. Sleep well."
"…You too."
A small breath, almost a whisper—
"I'll be waiting—"
"Hmm…" Egemed smiled and hung up.