My brother is an Idol

Chapter 18: Chapter 18
Chapter 18

Hyoyoung’s heart fell when Mikyung mentioned The M. Recently, whenever she heard the group’s name, her heart started to beat nervously.

“Huh? Why? What happened?”

“Hyoyoung… I noticed that you haven’t been paying much attention to our group. You must be really busy lately. They announced the date of their comeback, it’s going to be three months from now! It will be right after our SAT, which is perfect. I am so glad! We will be able to enjoy the group and the music without worrying about the SAT!”

“Oh, really? I see. So their comeback date has been decided.”

“Yup. And starting tomorrow, the agency will release behind the scenes footage of the group working on their album. Soon, they will also do a live show of them practicing their new songs. The M promised that they will continue to communicate with the fans. Oh, and their main comeback song will be decided by the fans! We’ll get to vote. How nice of them! I am so happy that we’ll get to see our oppas more.”

“Oh, my… this is gonna be very bad for me.”

“Hmm? Why would this be bad for you? Oh, is it because you won’t be able to focus on your studies? Hey, don’t worry. You won’t have to waste time following the group around because the paparazzi will do it for us and provide all the information and photos.”

“Paparazzi…?”

“Of course. And they are especially excited about trying to find out who this girl is that Purple M loves.”

“Oh… right.”

“I’m sure that girl will be found very soon at this rate.”

“Oh… I… see… Right…”

“Hey, why are you looking all worried? All we have to do is wait for all the information to be released. The media will do all the work.”

“…”

Mikyung was making Hyoyoung more and more nervous.

Hyoyoung felt a chill just thinking about Mikyung and her friends finding out the truth. The fact that she was the recipient of Purple M’s love… It would be a disaster.

The best thing would have been for her to not get involved at all, but now, she had to work as the group’s temporary stylist and manager. Hyoyoung’s head started to pound.

Mikyung clearly wanted to chat more, but Hyoyoung made up an excuse. After hanging up, she sat on her desk and opened her textbook. She thought that if she focused on something like studying, perhaps she could forget about what was happening in her life.

But her mind remained restless and she couldn’t concentrate on her books at all.

“DARNNNNNITTTTTTT!”

She screamed in frustration and suddenly, Jiwoo burst into her room.

“What happened!”

“Pardon? What?”

Hyoyoung turned around in surprise and Jiwoo explained, “You screamed, so I was worried. What’s wrong, Hyoyoung?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just studying, and I was having some difficulty understanding something. It’s too hard.”

“Oh. Don’t get too stressed! Screaming doesn’t solve anything. What you need is some help learning. Come out here! Come on!”

“What? Oh, I’m fine. I can do it by myself…”

“No way! You helped us, so it’s time for us to help you. Come on!”

Hyoyoung had no choice but to grab her books and walk out to the living room where the members were working on their own things.

Jiwoo announced loudly, “Hey everybody! Listen carefully!”

He pulled Hyoyoung closer to him and continued, “Our Hyoyoung is in grade 12 and she has lost a lot of her study time because of us. If she doesn’t get good grades and fails to get into a good university, it will be our fault! So we need to help her study! Hyoyoung, I can help you with English. How about you guys?”

Kiwook raised his hand quietly.

“I can help with literature.”

Hyojun quickly followed.

“I can help with math.”

Hyunsuk shrugged his shoulders and answered, “Well, I guess that leaves science and history… sure, I can help you with those.”

It happened so suddenly and quickly that Hyoyoung started to look panicked. She tried to refuse their help.

“No, thank you. I’m fine on my own. I prefer to study by myself. Studying is best done alone. I will do it on my own. Please…”

Hyojun walked up to her and insisted, “Just shut up. Alone? You clearly need help, so come to my room right now. We should start with math. Solving equations will help you loosen up your brain. We’ll begin with math for an hour.”

“Umm, Oppa. I really don’t feel like studying math today…”

“What you feel like doesn’t matter. You study because you have to. Come in right now!”

Hyojun had no sympathy for her. He dragged her into his bedroom and the tutoring began. From time to time, his yelling could be heard from outside. He was a strict and scary teacher.

“Oh my… I hope he doesn’t make Hyoyoung cry.”

“I know. Maybe we should’ve started with literature first.”

“No, it wouldn’t have mattered. Hyojun would’ve insisted on starting with whatever subject he chose to tutor anyway.”

Hyunsuk listened to Jiwoo and Kiwook’s conversation and shook his head. He said to them bluntly, “How obvious of Hyojun to act like that. It’s like he is marking his possession. So unnecessary and immature.”

Kiwook flinched in surprise and turned to Hyunsuk, who shrugged his shoulders and continued, “Why are you surprised? Isn’t it obvious? I can clearly see that Hyojun is determined. At this rate, you are going to lose, Kiwook. If you don’t step up, you aren’t going to win. And Hyoyoung doesn’t seem like she will be easy to win over either.”

Kiwook grinned and replied, “You always seem so quiet, but you still see and hear everything. I just don’t get you, Hyunsuk Lee. You are a mystery.”

“Haha, I’m no mystery. I am just like everyone, there’s nothing special about me. I have to do something, so I will be in my room. I need some privacy, so leave me alone for a while, okay?”

Hyunsuk took his laptop and left, leaving just Kiwook and Jiwoo.

Jiwoo asked Kiwook, “Hey, I have a question for you.”

“Don’t ask me. I have enough questions I need answers to. I have no time to answer you.”

“Come on! Answering other people’s questions will help you answer your own.”

“Grr… Alright, ask.”

“Did you know who Hyojun was from the very beginning?”

“No.”

“What? But Hyojun said that he recognized you immediately, right?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t recognize him. I only found out later by coincidence when I saw him walking with Hyoyoung one day.”

“So you had no idea until then?”

“Well, I had a vague suspicion, but I couldn’t tell for sure. To be honest, Hyoyoung is a painful memory for me. It’s hard to explain, but my memories of her used to be crystal clear and yet vague at the same time. Then, when I saw her again, things came back to me. Both my memories and my feelings for her.”

“And all this time… your feelings haven’t changed?”

“Actually, it has gotten worse.”

“Why?”

“An emotion is supposed to change as it gets expressed and dealt with, but for me, I had no way of doing that. I kept it hidden inside me and it just kept growing and growing. Hyoyoung had no idea of my existence, and I couldn’t give her or show her how I feel. So all the feelings I had remained with me and I felt like I was going to explode. It was overwhelming.”

“Your feelings for Hyoyoung…”

“Yeah. At first, I thought it was just sympathy. Just love for my lost little sister. But I quickly realized that it wasn’t that. I want her to always be by my side. I want to protect her and love her always. She is so very precious to me. Hyoyoung’s existence means the world to me.”