My brother is an Idol

Chapter 16: Chapter 16
Chapter 16

After Kiwook’s parents divorced, he was sent to live with his paternal grandmother, but Hyoyoung had nowhere to go. No one wanted her, and she was shuffled through different temporary foster families and orphanages.

Hyoyoung started to vaguely remember those difficult times. She especially remembered the day when Kiwook took her hand and refused to let her go, but he was dragged away by his grandmother and she was left alone with the other orphans.

Those sad memories were in black and white in Hyoyoung’s mind. However, her memories after she was adopted into Hyojun’s family were all in beautiful colors.

When she came to Hyojun’s family, she was given a pretty pink room fit for a princess. She was also gifted with new parents and an older brother, who was the most handsome boy she had ever seen in her life.

But all the things and the people she was given… Hyoyoung couldn’t accept them because she was sure they would be taken away from her again. She believed that the new family wasn’t truly hers, and she decided that it would be safer for her to keep her heart closed.

Hyoyoung remembered how Hyojun tried so hard to be nice to her, and how her mom held her quietly and cried for her. She also remembered Kiwook showing up suddenly, looking all disheveled. Kiwook didn’t tell her that he was sorry. All he said to her over and over was that she was the one he loved the most.

It was Kiwook’s words that allowed Hyoyoung to open her heart. She realized that perhaps it was ok for her to accept her new life. Kiwook told her that he loved her the most, and Hyoyoung thought that even if things became bad again, she would at least have one person in the world who loved her.

That was why even after Kiwook was dragged away by his grandmother, Hyoyoung remained calm. She actually became better and she learned to forget her sad past. All she had to remember was that somewhere in the world, there was a boy who loved her.

She knew she was going to be alright.

Eating her sandwich one bite at a time, Hyoyoung organized her thoughts calmly. Her eyes kept welling up, but she bit her lip to stop herself from crying again.

Before she knew it, school was over and Hyoyoung couldn’t remember anything from the classes that day.

She was packing her bag, preparing to go home, and her classmates were noisily doing the same when suddenly everyone quieted down. When Hyoyoung looked up, all her friends were staring at the back entrance of the classroom. When she turned in the same direction, her eyes widened.

“Let’s go.”

It was Hyojun.

***

“Oppa, do you remember me? I am Hyoyoung’s best friend, Mikyung Lee.”

“And me! I am Aran Son. It is so nice to finally meet you!”

Somehow, her classmates, herself, and Hyojun ended up at a Tteok-bokki restaurant. Her friends were glancing at each other excitedly and giggling, while Hyoyoung was sitting nervously.

Hyojun said to them, “Yeah, nice to meet you all. Eat up, everyone.”

At first, when her classmates saw Hyojun, they all thought he was her boyfriend. To her surprise, he was wearing a decent outfit and waiting for her, leaning against the door. He looked pretty good.

However, Mikyung quickly recognized his face and realized that he was Hyoyoung’s older brother. She announced it to everyone, and her friends insisted that he accompany them to the restaurant. Hyoyoung had no choice, and they all ended up there.

Hyoyoung, Hyojun, and ten of her friends.

Hyoyoung glared at him and asked quietly, “Why… why did you come to my school?”

“Umm… I had a few things I needed to talk to you about.”

“You could have just talked to me when I got home.”

“Well, there are other guys at our home now, so…”

“Just shut up and don’t talk too much. My friends are going to recognize you by your voice. Just keep quiet.”

Mikyung noticed the two of them whispering.

“Hey, your brother seems great! And you seem really close to him, so why have you been badmouthing him so much?”

Hyoyoung became flustered. She stuffed Mikyung’s mouth with a piece of Tteok-bokki and replied, “W-when did I ever say bad things about my brother? Just shut up and eat your food. My brother’s treating today.”

At Hyoyoung’s announcement, all the girls cheered. They then started to bombard Hyojun with questions.

“Oppa, do you have a girlfriend?”

“Oppa, could you come to our school more often?”

“Oppa, what are you majoring in university? I need a math tutor and… I was wondering if you could teach me?”

“Oh, me too! I can start right away. How about this weekend?”

Hyoyoung started to panic, and when Mikyung noticed this, she stepped in.

“Hey, you guys all just met him, so stop being so rude. You can ask Hyoyoung later about things like that. Just eat your food, you are scaring him.”

Hyoyoung gave a grateful look to Mikyung, who shrugged her shoulders. Just then, Hyojun stood up and grabbed Hyoyoung’s hand.

“It was nice meeting you. We need to go home now for something, so… I will take care of the bill. I hope you have a good time.”

Hyojun grabbed Hyoyoung’s backpack and dragged her out of the restaurant. All her friends looked at them enviously while Mikyung thought curiously, ‘This is strange. He seems familiar. Why does it feel like I’ve seen him from somewhere before?’

***

Hyojun walked quickly, still holding Hyoyoung’s hand. They passed the busy part of the neighborhood and finally arrived at a deserted playground.

He let her hand go when Hyoyoung asked, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Her voice was cold, and Hyojun quietly asked her, “What time did you go to sleep last night?”

She flinched at his question but answered as casually as she could.

“Last night? About 12:30 I think. I fell asleep so quickly that I don’t even remember what time it was.”

“Hyunsuk told me you woke up in the middle of the night.”

“Yup. I woke up to get a drink of water. I went to bed right after though. Why are you asking? Did you steal from my room or something?”

“Of course not! I didn’t steal anything. Why would you say that?”

“Because you used to steal my allowance all the time when we were little. It’s a bad habit of yours, and I figured you must’ve done it again.”

“I wouldn’t. Besides, I only borrowed your money at that time…”

“Borrowed? Are you kidding me? If you ‘borrowed’ it from me, why is it that you still haven’t paid me back?”

“Good memory. Is there anything else you remember…?”

“Why? What did you do? You know that I am not good at remembering things. I could meet someone and forget their name the next day.”

“Well, but you remember me taking money from your room a long time ago, so… I thought that maybe you remembered some other things too.”

“That’s true. I do remember other things.”

At her firm words, Hyojun stiffened.

“W… what?”