Chapter 39
After an awkward silence, Kiwook finally took his mask off and revealed his red eyes. Hyojun did the same and he placed his own mask on top of Kiwook’s, which was already on the desk. Hyojun looked grim.
Hyoyoung picked up Jiwoo and Hyunsuk’s masks and announced quietly, “I’m going home now.”
She packed all the masks together into her bag. Kiwook called out her name, but she didn’t reply. She carried her bag and quietly left the room. It was late at night and there were no reporters to be seen. It was eerily quiet outside except for the cars driving by.
The cold wind felt like a slap to her face and Hyoyoung cringed. She could feel that she was about to burst into tears, so Hyoyoung started to sing loudly.
“Even if I’m lonely or sad, I won’t cry! I will control my emotions. I shouldn’t cry! Why would I cry?”
It was a song from an old animation she used to watch as a child. It was so ridiculous to be doing this, singing an animation theme song in the middle of the night. Alone and outside.
She smiled but her eyes filled with tears. She tensed to control herself and screamed for a cab.
“Taxi!”
“You are so loud and scary that I don’t think any cab driver would be willing to drive you.”
“GYAAAA!”
“AHHHHH!”
It was Jiwoo, who was standing nearby.
Hyoyoung asked in frustration, “Why are you screaming again, Oppa?”
“Oh my god! I should be asking you that question! Why did you scream when you saw me?”
“Because you jumped out from nowhere! I got scared.”
“I didn’t JUMP OUT. I was right here the whole time. I even clapped when you sang.”
“Y-you saw that?”
“Of course! You are very good! You should be featured in our next song.”
“Stop joking around. I’m not in the mood.”
“I know, so that is why I was waiting for you. Let’s go on a date.”
“Gosh, you too? What do you think you are doing? Why are you doing this?”
“Why? Am I not allowed to ask you out? I want to go to a bath and sauna house. Let’s go. Right now.”
“What? Where?”
Jiwoo grabbed Hyoyoung’s hand confidently and started to walk. Hyoyoung, still in shock, had no choice but to follow.
Meanwhile, Kiwook and Hyojun were still in the practice room at the agency. They avoided each other’s eyes and remained silent.
Finally, after a long time, Kiwook asked quietly, “Do you hate me that much?”
There was a subtle quiver in his voice. His eyes were wet.
Hyojun’s voice wasn’t angry anymore when he said, “I don’t hate you.”
“Then what?”
“I am starting to hate you.”
“What are you saying?”
“I don’t know.”
“What?”
“I’m telling you that I don’t know. I just don’t know how I feel.”
“Hyojun Ahn…”
“You used to be my closest friend. Someone I felt the most comfortable with. Then you became my rival and I felt upset. There are still times when I am glad you are around, but I can’t help but feel unhappy about you. As you can see, I have mixed feelings about you.”
“Things are complicated. I know that, but I just…”
“You just what?”
“You are you.”
“You are a simple bastard.”
Jiwoo and Hyoyoung relaxed in the public sauna house and chatted.
Jiwoo started to peel a boiled egg and explained, “Kiwook is a surprisingly simple person.”
“Simple?”
“Yes, simple. Kiwook sees everything as black and white. He either likes something or hates it. He considers a person as someone on his side or an enemy. Any actions he takes, it’s either do or don’t. There is no in-between for him. No gray area.”
“Wow…”
“And to Kiwook, Hyojun is a good person who is on his side. Nothing more, nothing less. And to him, you are… you already know, right?”
“Then, what did you mean by what you said to my oppa?”
“Me? What? What did I say?”
“You accused Hyojun Oppa of not knowing anything about Kiwook Oppa….”
“Oh, that. I just meant that Hyojun should realize how much Kiwook cares about him. That’s all.”
“Oh… I see. I thought there was a more serious and deeper meaning behind it.”
“Hey, lady! The situation we are in is already serious enough!”
“Well… I guess you’re right.”
“Of course, I’m right. Look at us, just the two of us on a date! Those guys are going to think this is very serious! Don’t you think so, lady?”
“Oh, come on, oppa! This isn’t the time to joke around.”
“You need to lighten up a little. If you can’t appreciate a good joke like this, that would be so sad.”
“Gosh!”
“If you have anything you want to ask me, go ahead. To celebrate our very first date, I will tell you everything.”
“Hmm… who is Jaehoon Shim?”
“Oops. Of all the questions you could’ve asked me, you start with something I don’t know much about, huh? Well, I’m not sure who that guy is. As far as I know, I think he is the CEO of the first agency Kiwook and Hyojun joined as trainees, but the company is gone now. Have you heard of the agency called Wish & Hope?”
“Huh? Yes! It used to be a very famous agency. My brother was a trainee there? When?”
“I don’t know exactly. Probably when he was in junior high? He used to train there with Kiwook.”
“Oh my god! I can’t believe I didn’t even know that my brother used to be a trainee at Wish & Hope…”
“Anyway, Jaehoon Shim was the CEO of that company at the time. Apparently, he was a very bad person. I heard that Kiwook and Hyojun completely ruined the agency before they left.”
“Well, I’m not surprised… my brother has an awful temper.”
“Yup. And they met Hyunsuk there too.”
“Wow! Then, you too?”
“Me? Nope, not me. I met Hyunsuk when we were studying in Canada in high school. We were in the same school and the same band. The first time I met him, I knew that he would be my musical soulmate. He was super dark even then.”
“Oh, I see… I had no idea that you and Hyunsuk are so close.”
“That’s not true either. I am close to Hyunsuk, but it’s not vice versa; he’s still a mystery to me. Anyway, when my soulmate suddenly decided to return to Korea to become an idol, I chose to follow him too. I thought it would be fun!”
“Wow. So what you guys told me for my online post was pretty accurate. I had no idea.”
“Yeah, so don’t worry, Hyoyoung.”
“A… about what?”
“About your brother and Kiwook.”
“Pardon?”
“Their relationship is strong. It’s not something that would get ruined this easily.”
Jiwoo smiled and drank his sikhye (Korean sweet rice drink). He looked so relaxed that it made Hyoyoung feel better.
She really wanted to believe that Hyojun and Kiwook would be okay. She murmured, “Alright, whatever.”
She laid down beside Jiwoo, who let her rest her head on his arm.
Hyoyoung hoped that Kiwook and Hyojun were talking things out.
She was so tired, and slowly she fell asleep.