I Raised My Brother From Childhood, but He Looked Down on Me for Being a Janitor Until the Truth Came Out

“Rude? Apologize? What the hell!”

I couldn’t contain myself and yelled out loud.

“You’ve got some nerve to disrespect people like that! This is unacceptable!”

I could have handled it if it were just about me, but he was mocking my colleagues too. I couldn’t let this slide.

I could tell my harsh words shocked my brother over the phone. He’s always been quick to attack others, but when faced with retaliation, he stammers and falters.

“Do you genuinely believe that a person’s worth is determined by their job? Now that’s some real nonsense. Apologize to me right now!”

“What? What the—why are you freaking out all of a sudden?”

“I’ve had enough with you! How did you turn into such a scumbag? Mom would be heartbroken.”

“Scumbag? The real scumbag is you! Your so-called boyfriend must be some good-for-nothing guy. You can’t get a decent job; if he had any sense, he wouldn’t even be talking to a cleaning lady. If you weren’t my sister, I would never get involved with a dirty woman like you!”

“If you weren’t my brother, I would have left you in the dust a long time ago. I—I was gonna say that I’m cutting ties with you. Never contact me again!”

“Oh, okay. Got it. Goodbye, then.”

The Mask Falls Away

We both said things to hurt each other. It was a petty argument, but neither of us was in the mood for a mature conversation.

He tried to say something more, but I hung up on him. I prepared myself to sever ties with my brother.

He is the only sibling I had in this world, but I couldn’t stand him anymore. Because in my brother’s eyes, I, as a janitor, have no basic human rights.

Even though we are siblings, if our morals are this different, it’s best for both of us to keep a distance. From now on, I’ll be fine.

My brother is already a full-grown adult. This is our goodbye. I had come to terms with my feelings.

Several months passed since I declared my severance for my brother. By some twist of fate, I was assigned to clean the office building where my brother worked.

I suppose my boss was trying to be considerate, but I really couldn’t stand it. But my creed is to do the best at the work I’ve been assigned.

Suppressing my feelings, I headed to my brother’s company. The building was massive and spacious.

With such a broad space, I should be able to avoid running into my brother. Even if we did meet, he probably wouldn’t recognize me.

Feeling slightly relieved at that thought, I switched my focus to cleaning. Pushing my cart filled with cleaning supplies, it was that afternoon while mopping the floor I noticed a group of about five men standing by the vending machine sipping canned coffee and talking.

“I’m—I really am sorry for the inconvenience caused.”

“Enough is enough! How many years have you been with us? Consult and report before things get to a point where the whole team has to clean up your mess!”

“Yes, sir. It’s happened three times just this quarter. I—I’m sorry, sir.”

Oh, it looks like the guy apologizing messed up and they all had to band together to make up for it. Good job, guys.

While harboring such feelings, I kept mopping without looking in their direction.

“While your peers have already become team leaders, some even managers, you need to step up your game!”

“I’m sorry.”

Oh, those are some harsh words. I wish they’d let him off the hook soon.

I want to mop from here all the way down the hallway on the other side, but they’re in the way. After scolding the man who had apparently made a mistake once again, they all returned to the office.

When the group passed by me, I noticed a familiar face: my brother. The one who had messed up and was being scolded was my brother.

No way. My brother also saw me, froze for a minute, and then went completely pale.

But without saying a word to me, he quickly followed his team and left. During the rest of my shift, my mind kept drifting back to my brother.

He was supposed to be the fastest rising among his colleagues, but the brother I saw earlier looked nothing but a burden to the company, a straggler. He looked like an employee who constantly made mistakes at work and was always apologizing to the concerned parties.