Chapter 41
Hyoyoung took her cell phone from Kiwook and squealed in embarrassment. She went under the blanket to hide, but Kiwook lifted it slightly and whispered to her, “I would love to get underneath this blanket with you and repay your kiss with a deep kiss, but I guess I will have to take a raincheck. Thanks for the kiss! I will make sure to repay you later.”
Kiwook smiled and left the room, leaving Hyoyoung alone and horrified.
“AHHHH! Why did I do that? I must have lost my mind! What’s wrong with me?”
After kicking her blanket a few times, Hyoyoung turned on her cell phone. She wasn’t surprised to see that she had received countless texts and missed calls from Mikyung.
“Haa…”
After a deep sigh, Hyoyoung dialed Mikyung’s number.
***
Two hours later, Hyoyoung met with Mikyung at a café in front of the school. Mikyung looked at her coldly. “What the hell? You have been ignoring my texts and my calls, yet this time, you honor me by meeting me in person, Ms. Hyoyoung Ahn.”
“I’m really sorry. I told you, I lost my phone! I only found it this morning.”
“Good excuse. Did you notice that your excuses get better and more detailed every time you lie?”
“Come on! I’m telling you the truth! Please believe me, please.”
“Then where did you lose it?”
“Huh? M-my cell phone?”
“See? If you were telling the truth, you would’ve answered that simple question with a straightforward answer, but you can’t, right?”
“No, it’s not that… umm… I went to The M’s agency yesterday.”
“What?”
“I thought maybe I could get a glimpse of them, so… I went to their agency building.”
“OMG! Are you serious? You’re crazy! You went alone? Without me?”
“I was doing an errand for my oppa, and it was on the way. It was a spontaneous decision.”
“An errand? What kind of errand?”
“He asked me to meet someone and deliver something…”
“Well, that sounds suspicious, but I will let it pass for now. So, you are saying you happened to be around the agency when you were doing an errand… is that it?”
“Yeah, I swear it was just a coincidence…”
“And so?”
“I saw The M members… from very far away. They were entering the building and I got so excited, I ran after them. I guess I dropped my phone while I was running.”
“But you were texting with me right before the show started; you said you were all ready to watch it.”
“Huh? Well, the thing is… I-I lost it as I was watching the show.”
“What? You are not making sense! You just said you saw The M entering the building and lost your phone then. But now you are saying you lost it while watching the show? Do you think I’m an idiot?”
“Umm… well… let me think for a second…”
“Don’t bother.”
Mikyung stood up and glared at Hyoyoung, who was panicking.
Mikyung continued, “I understand that everyone has things they can’t tell others, I totally do. I mean, I don’t expect you to be able to tell me everything. But lying is a completely different thing. I just don’t get you. You keep changing your excuses to me… you are blatantly lying to me.”
“Mikyung…”
“You must have something more important than telling me the truth, so whatever. I don’t care anymore. I will live my life, and you live your own. You don’t have to worry about me anymore.”
“Hey, that’s not what I want. I didn’t mean to…”
“I know you keep saying you didn’t mean to do this and that, but let’s stop this silly pretense. I’m leaving now. O… I will see you at school.”
“Mikyung, that’s not it! Please let me explain. Let me speak!”
“Speak to say what? Another lie?”
Mikyung was clearly furious. Without looking back once, she walked away. Left alone, Hyoyoung felt dreadful. She was frustrated at Mikyung for misunderstanding the situation, but she also felt sorry that she had been mistreating her best friend.
Hyoyoung played with her cell phone nervously. Knowing Mikyung, she knew that if she didn’t come clean with Mikyung, they would no longer be friends. Mikyung would act indifferent and cold around her. They would become distant acquaintances, but nothing more.
‘Gosh… my life is so messed up.’
Hyoyoung sighed in exasperation.
***
“She is awful.”
Mikyung murmured to herself as she left the café. She felt like she was being abandoned. Left behind… Mikyung hated feeling this way.
She desperately feared being discarded.
Her fear started when she was a child. Mikyung’s older sister, who was 3 years older, was a perfect daughter. She was beautiful, lovely, kind, and polite. Most of all, her sister didn’t realize how pretty she was, and she acted with genuine gentleness. Everyone loved her sister, Yoonseul.
Because of her older sister, Mikyung had been treated nicely all her life. She was always referred to as Yoonseul’s sister, both at school and everywhere else.
However, there was also a huge downside to having a perfect sister.
People openly, as well as secretly, wondered why Mikyung was not like her wonderful older sister. Mikyung herself was a great girl, but compared to Yoonseul, she was ordinary at best. Yoonseul was talented at music, art, and sports. She was also academically excellent.
In comparison, Mikyung was just average. She was okay at art and music, and she was a mediocre student. It would have been easier for Mikyung if her older sister was smug and mean. That way, Mikyung could have just hated her sister, but ironically, Yoonseul was the one who cared about Mikyung the most in the world. Yoonseul also felt apologetic, because she realized that Mikyung was at a disadvantage due to simply being her younger sister. Yoonseul always tried to help her younger sister in any way possible, and Mikyung felt worse because of it.
Both sisters were stressed out until finally one day, Yoonseul told their parents that she was leaving the country to study abroad. She was a capable young woman, and she prepared everything without any help from her parents. Yoonseul got herself a full scholarship and living expense grants, and she left immediately.
Mikyung wondered if her older sister was leaving everything behind because of her. If Yoonseul stayed, Mikyung would have continued to live an unhappy life.
Mikyung knew she should’ve felt apologetic and thankful to her sister, but instead, she felt jealous and it killed her to feel this way. For a long time, it was tough for her, and when things were beginning to settle down, Mikyung met Hyoyoung.