Story 2: Fight back.
Chapter 99
In the bible, it was said that the creator made humans out of clay and breathed life into them.
And… Hyoyoung could believe it. She returned to school after 10 days and when she did, she could feel people staring at her.
The glares, the murmurs, the looks… all of it made her feel like she would disappear into dust.
A group of girls was chatting nearby.
“That’s her?”
“OMG, she looks so average.”
“I know! When I heard Purple M fell in love with her, I assumed that she would be gorgeous.”
“Look at her! And her head is so big.”
“And she is so short too! Why would Purple M fall for someone like her?”
“He must have strange tastes in women, or she must be blackmailing him.”
“Didn’t they say she was his sister?”
“What? So that means her current parents aren’t her real parents?”
“Exactly. She was adopted, but unadopted soon after.”
“OMG. So could it be that Purple M just felt bad for her? Maybe he felt guilty.”
“That makes sense. He probably feels sorry for her because he was loved but she was abandoned by his family.”
“But I heard Purple M himself was unloved as a child. Didn’t the article say his mother was a strange mean woman?”
“Are you serious? He really had such an awful mom?”
“Totally. His whole family sounds strange… I mean, it sounds like Purple M and his sister are both crazy… it’s obvious, right?”
It was strange how clearly Hyoyoung could hear the girls’ whispers. And finally, the sentence she dreaded to hear.
“So basically, isn’t it like incest?”
The voice was that of Aran, her friend.
Strangers talking about her… Hyoyoung could endure that, but to have her own friend and classmate saying something like that, Hyoyoung felt her heart drop.
‘Should I go home?’
Hyoyoung stopped walking. She looked around, wondering what she should do. Hyoyoung desperately wanted to walk away.
Leave this place.
Just then, someone came up to her and put an arm around her shoulders.
“Don’t listen to them.”
The girl pulled Hyoyoung in a different direction and started to walk faster.
It was Mikyung.
She whispered, “We need to talk.”
Hyoyoung was afraid of this reunion. She expected it to be awkward and awful.
When she saw Mikyung, she felt angry and sorry at the same time.
As they walked, Mikyung glared at everyone and held Hyoyoung’s shoulder as if to protect her. Feeling her by her side, Hyoyoung felt safe. She felt like she no longer had to explain anything to Mikyung.
As if she planned it, Mikyung took Hyoyoung to the teacher’s lounge. After making sure no one followed them, Mikyung closed and locked the door behind them.
Standing against the door, Mikyung stared at Hyoyoung. An awkward silence fell.
And after a few minutes, it was Mikyung who first cried.
“I’m sorry, Hyoyoung.”
“Why are you sorry? You didn’t do anything wrong…”
“I made the mistake of telling the girls…”
“No, it’s ok. I know you didn’t talk to the reporters. And besides, people were going to find out sooner or later.”
“I… I didn’t know that you were…”
“That I was adopted?”
“Yeah… I heard that you didn’t know either?”
“Yeah… I found out recently. By the way, how did you find out that I didn’t know about it?”
“Well, the thing is…”
After a short hesitation, Mikyung explained that she met with Jiwoo the day before.
In the last few days, there were many more articles about Kiwook, The M, and Hyoyoung. Everyone talked about it, and it got much worse after Mikyung confirmed to the girls that Hyoyoung was indeed Black M’s little sister.
It didn’t take long for the girls to talk to the reporters.
Mikyung felt so guilty that she didn’t know what to do. Then late afternoon yesterday, she got a text from an unknown number.
-Hey, this is Jiwoo Kang. Red M. I have something to tell you, can we meet after school today?
Normally, her heart would’ve pounded so hard and she would have blushed in excitement, but that day, she just felt heavy-hearted.
The last time she saw Jiwoo was after the concert when she screamed at him for being a liar.
After a long hesitation, Mikyung decided this was necessary. She texted back, asking where he wanted to meet and he replied that he would pick her up. She waited at the back door of the school and got into a small white van.
Jiwoo opened the door for her, and to her surprise, he looked happy. He smiled and announced, “Hey, girl! Get in, we will be driving a little distance.”
“Okay… by the way…”
“Yeah? What’s up?”
“Umm… you aren’t kidnapping me to sell me, right?”
“WHAT?”
“I mean, you must hate me now, so… you aren’t going to send me away or something, right?”
“Oh my god! How could you think that? Never! I am not a bad guy you know, so forget it! I just have to tell you something, that’s all.”
Even after Jiwoo explained, Mikyung still felt uncomfortable. Yet she still got in slowly and sat down.
Inside the van, The M’s song was playing.
Jiwoo explained, “Please humor me. I am such a narcissist that I like to listen to our group’s own song when I’m driving!”
“Oh… alright.”
Unlike Mikyung, who seemed unhappy, Jiwoo sang along happily as he drove. It was also her favorite song, so she slowly began to feel better.
She sighed deeply, but her hands remained tense. She clenched them and when Jiwoo noticed, he held her hands and whispered, “It’s ok, Mikyung. Everything is going to be ok, so don’t worry.”
Jiwoo’s kind words were the final straw. Slowly, tears started to roll down Mikyung’s cheeks and she couldn’t stop. Jiwoo didn’t say a word but just held her hands gently.
After a long time, her tears finally stopped and Mikyung looked up outside the window. She could see healthy green trees and a calm blue lake. The beautiful scenery made her feel calmer.
“This is my favorite place.”
“Really?”
“Yeah… This place looks the best early in the morning… but obviously, I couldn’t bring you here that early…”
“Oh…”
“I just wanted to talk to you in my favorite place. Just the two of us.”
“What did you want to talk about…?”
“Hang on a second, I need to park first. I have a secret spot nearby.”
Jiwoo drove deeper in and within a few minutes, they arrived at a small empty spot where he could park the van.
“Ok, Mikyung, we can get out now.”
Jiwoo looked proud as he took out a few things from the trunk.
Two small chairs and a small bag.
“Follow me!”
Jiwoo grinned and started to walk. Mikyung followed and soon, she could see the beautiful lake.
What she saw… looked magical.
“Oh…!”
Mikyung exclaimed, making Jiwoo’s smile bigger. He sat up the chairs and asked, “Don’t you think it’s amazing here? This is my secret spot. Not many people know about it. In fact, I have never seen anyone here! Sit down, please! This chair may look very small, but it’s very comfy.”
Mikyung sat down and stared at the view. The calm lake was hypnotic, making her feel calmer. Soon, a small smile appeared on her face.
And suddenly, she could smell a lovely scent of tea.
“Oppa, what is that?”
“A good cup of tea to match the beautiful scenery. This is Chinese tea called Biluochun!”
“Bil… what?”
“Biluochun! It’s my favorite tea.”
“Do I smell… fruit? Or is it a flowery scent? It looks like green tea, but it doesn’t smell like it.”
“Oh, good nose. That’s right. It’s not ordinary green tea. Apparently, they grow this tree between fruit trees, so that must be why it smells a bit different. Don’t you think it’s nice to drink a nice tea in a place like this?”
“Yeah…”
“Do you know why I like this tea?”
“Because it tastes great…?”
“No. It’s because like I said just now, it comes from a tree that grows between different fruit trees.”
“Why? What has that got to do with anything…?”
“Can you imagine how lonely it would feel? I mean, a tea tree all alone between all the fruit trees… But by being there, it produces such great tea… So that is why I like it.”
“Oh…”
“Hyoyoung… she is like this tea tree.”
“…”
“She said that she has no memory of what happened right after she was un-adopted.”
“Pardon?”
“Hyoyoung didn’t know for a long time that Kiwook was her first adopted brother. She didn’t even know that she was adopted. She found out very recently, and I think she couldn’t tell you because she didn’t know what to think or feel about it.”
“She… didn’t know?”
“And… President Shim threatened all of us, including Hyoyoung. He threatened that he would destroy everyone around us. I think Hyoyoung didn’t tell you because she wanted to protect you.”
“…”