My brother is an Idol

Chapter 20: Chapter 20
Chapter 20

That night when she eavesdropped on Kiwook and Hyojun in the garden, she had to cover her mouth so she wouldn’t cry out. Their conversation brought back many of her painful memories.

She remembered that her first adoptive parents fought often. Their fights were vicious and they didn’t treat Hyoyoung kindly. They made it obvious that she wasn’t their biological daughter and they treated her like she was a burden.

It was clear that they didn’t want her.

They also discarded her name and called her Gahee.

“We don’t need Gahee.”

Every time she heard them saying that, Hyoyoung used to huddle up in the corner and cry in fear. And every time this happened, Kiwook was the only one who came to her and comforted her. He used to whisper to her, “I will protect you.”

But after being abandoned, Hyoyoung became afraid. And even now… she feared what the future might hold.

She was afraid that she might get hurt again. What if she gave Kiwook her heart but it didn’t work out? What if she lost herself again? She remembered how she wasn’t herself after she was abandoned. After a long time and effort from her current family, Hyoyoung was able to find happiness again. Her family was the most important thing in her life, and Hyoyoung was afraid to do anything that might have even the smallest chance of causing harm to them.

But despite all that… despite how hesitant she was about all this, she couldn’t deny that she still felt attracted to Kiwook. And that was why she decided to feign ignorance. She planned to walk her own path and continue an amicable but distant fan-to-idol relationship with Kiwook.

She thought to herself, ‘That’s right, just keep my distance. Until two days ago, I didn’t even know him, right? This shouldn’t be hard. That’s right. This isn’t going to be difficult at all.’

Hyoyoung groaned and started to stretch on her bed to relax when suddenly, the door burst open.

“Huh??”

Hyojun looked down at her in annoyance.

“I thought you were studying, but here you are lying on your bed, just lazing around. And what was that monstrous noise?”

“I was studying until now. I was just stretching for a second…”

“You are so noisy. I came to tell you that we might not return home tonight. Make sure to lock the front door behind us.”

“Why won’t you be back tonight? I thought you guys were just going to the recording studio to listen to demos.”

“No, we are going to start working on the choreography for the songs.”

“Then you aren’t going to the recording studio?”

“No, we are going to the practice room.”

“Where is that?”

“The same building as that clothing store. The dance practice room is on the third floor.”

“Huh? But the sign said it was a loan office named Knife Fight.”

“Yeah, we did that on purpose so that no one would come in.”

“That’s crazy… When I saw the name, it gave me goosebumps because I thought it was a scary place. So that’s where you guys work on your music?”

“Yup. We already ate, so we’ll be off now.”

“Ok. See you later.”

***

After The M members left, the house felt empty. It had only been two days since they temporarily moved in, yet the house already felt deserted without them and Hyoyoung felt lonely for some reason. She walked around for a little while when suddenly, the empty living room was filled with the loud rings of the phone.

“Hello?”

“Hyoyoung! It’s Mom!”

Her mother started a new business recently which kept her very busy. Since Hyoyoung was now in her final year of high school, her mother considered giving up her business for a year to stay at home and take care of her as it was a very important year for her. The national Korean SAT that she would take at the end of her grade 12 career would determine which university she could get into.

However, when her mother was about to close her business, Hyoyoung’s father’s work started to go downhill. If her mother gave up her business, it would be financially difficult for the family, so Hyoyoung insisted for her mom to continue her work. Hyoyoung confidently announced that she would be fine.

Since she was a child, Hyoyoung was a mature obedient daughter and her parents trusted her completely. Her mother treated Hyoyoung more like a friend than a daughter. When it was decided that The M members were going to stay with them, her mom even suggested that Hyoyoung seduce one of them if any of them was a good man.

Normally, Hyoyoung would’ve complained about her brother Hyojun to her mom, but today for some reason, Hyoyoung had a difficult time controlling her emotions. She felt like bursting into tears at any moment, so she remained quiet.

“Hyoyoung, why are you so quiet? Did something happen? I called the home phone because you didn’t answer your cell phone.”

“Hmm? No, it’s nothing. It’s all good.”

“But your voice sounds strange. Are you sure you’re fine?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong. Honest. Mom… there is something I want to ask you though.”

Hyoyoung took a deep breath to calm down, and her mom tensed at Hyoyoung’s serious tone.

“W-what do you want to ask?”

“Mom, it’s about Oppa…”

Hyoyoung started slowly.

***

“The new choreography is too vigorous, don’t you agree?”

“Yeah, I know. Our masks are going to fly right off our faces if we do this.”

“By the way, who wrote the lyrics? It sounds so heartbreaking. Will it match this fast-paced song?”

“I think Kiwook wrote the lyrics, right?”

“Oh my god. Kiwook, you are so sensitive.”

“Just shut up.”

The room was hot, and the giant mirror was fogged up. It was evident that the four members of the group had been seriously practicing their dance.

They were all resting on the floor when Hyunsuk sat up and said loudly, “I’m hungry.”

All their stomachs were growling and Hyojun replied, “Oh man, I would kill for my mom’s konjac noodles. It has low calories too, so it would be perfect for us.”

He was walking towards the water cooler when suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

“Who is it?”

“Oppa, it’s me, Hyoyoung.”

When he opened the door, Hyoyoung was standing there, holding large bags in both hands.

Hyojun looked at her in shock.

“What? How did you get here? And what are those things in your hands?”

Hyojun took the bags from her and ushered her inside. Hyoyoung replied, “I figured you guys would get hungry after practice. I brought you something to eat. I assume you all wouldn’t have ordered fast food since you are on a diet, right?”

A few hours ago, when her mom called, Hyoyoung had asked her for the recipe for konjac noodles. She had to try hard not to cry as she wrote down the instructions. Hyoyoung found the whole situation ridiculous, but she thought it was a good idea to keep herself busy. So, she decided to be helpful by bringing the guys a good snack.

The recipe was what Hyoyoung wanted to ask, which was a shock to her mom.

“You… you sounded so serious, but what you wanted to ask was just the konjac noodles recipe? That’s all?”