My brother is an Idol

Chapter 90

Oddly enough, Hyoyoung felt calm.

She was so calm that it scared the guys. After the internet show, Hyoyoung came out from her room and washed her face with cold water.

“Good job, Oppa.”

She complimented Hyojun quietly and made the three guys stir-fried rice. Hyoyoung said to them, “Eat up. I’m not really hungry right now.”

“But, Hyoyoung… you need to…”

“It’s fine. If I eat now, I’m gonna get sick. If I get hungry later, I will eat. Oh, and…”

“Yes?”

“You don’t have to practice for a while, right?”

“Sure…”

“Then the basement… I will take it back, ok?”

“Oh… of course.”

“And…”

“What else?”

“I will start going to school again next week.”

“Are you sure you will be ok?”

“Well, why not?”

“Hey…”

“I can’t hide forever. It’s not like I can run away, right? Or go abroad?”

Hyojun replied, “If you really want to go abroad to study, then maybe I can…”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know, but still… I mean…”

“It’s fine, Oppa. I don’t think I will be able to start college this year anyway. I will get accepted to an amazing university next year, I’m sure. But you will have to pay for everything during this year when I get ready for my SAT, right?”

“Of course. I will help you in any way possible, so you do whatever you want, Hyoyoung.”

“Anything?”

“Yup. You can study anything you want or travel…”

“How ironic.”

“Huh?”

“Until now, you tried your best to stop me from doing what I wanted… and now, you are telling me I am free to do anything? I just find it ironic, that’s all. Don’t you agree?”

“Hyoyoung…”

“It’s alright, Oppa. I know what you meant. But… you need to know that it wasn’t your place to decide my relationship with Kiwook Oppa.”

“But I…”

“It’s fine. Whatever. Just eat your dinner. I’m going back to my castle and clean up a bit.”

Hyojun looked awkward as he tried to talk to Hyoyoung, but she ignored him and left the kitchen.

After she was gone, Jiwoo whispered, “Wow, Hyoyoung… she is super upset, right?”

Hyunsuk replied, “I think… she is beyond upset. I’m not sure if she will ever get over it.”

Hyojun sat down at the table quietly and without a word, started to gobble down the stir-fried rice. Hyunsuk watched worriedly.

“Hyojun…”

“…”

“Hyojun Ahn.”

“What?”

“That was unnecessary. You were being petty…”

“That bastard is the one who left, so he is the one who is petty, not me.”

“But to announce it like that…. online…”

“He should be thankful that I refrained from finding him and beating him up.”

“… So what are you going to do now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you going to tell Hyoyoung?”

“Not now.”

“Does that mean that you will tell her someday?”

“… I don’t know.”

“Think carefully, Hyojun. Some things just aren’t meant to be.”

Hyojun stopped eating and glared at Hyunsuk.

“You mean it’s meant to be for that bastard, but not me? What not? Why should I just stand by and watch?”

“Hey, Hyojun…”

“Why can’t I have her? What can’t it be me?”

“Come on, Hyojun.”

“Why is everyone telling me that it’s not meant to be for me? That I should just be happy with what I have? Why?”

After an angry scream, Hyojun sat down again but his lips trembled.

Jiwoo came over and patted his back, “Hey, Hyojun…”

And suddenly, Hyojun burst into tears. He cried quietly, and there was nothing Hyunsuk and Jiwoo could do. It was the first time they saw him cry. They knew how Hyojun must’ve felt. The pain of loving someone he could not have… both Jiwoo and Hyunsuk looked at him sadly.

***

Meanwhile, Hyoyoung was in her basement, trying to recreate her castle.

“Let’s not think about anything. I need to just work so I can forget about everything.”

She knew that when there was no solution to a situation, it was best to just focus on something else.

“Now… music. Which song should I put on…?”

Hyoyoung was cleaning up when suddenly, she noticed a small note.

-11. You are so innocent and lovely, my Miss Hyoyoung.

It was Kiwook’s writing. As soon as she saw his handwriting, Hyoyoung’s heart started to pound fast.

“11… If he numbered it, it must mean…”

Quickly, she started to look for other notes. As she suspected, there were notes hidden in the basement everywhere, all numbered. After she found all of them, she sat down in the corner of her basement.

It was a letter from Kiwook. The very first one.

-My love Hyoyoung.

-If you find these notes, it means that you are cleaning this basement by yourself.

-And if you are cleaning by yourself, it must mean that I am not by your side.

-That means… that the thing I feared the most must’ve happened.

-I didn’t even get to explain myself to you. And I ended up doing something that hurt you.

-My love…

-The truth is, I have been in love with you for much longer than you think.

-For the longest time, I couldn’t explain why I felt this way. I just kept missing you terribly.

-I am so sorry to keep asking you to be patient. I am truly sorry, but…

-Could you be a little bit more patient and wait for me, Hyoyoung?

-You are so innocent and lovely.

– I keep hurting you, and for that, I am truly sorry.

-I know I have no right to ask this of you, but please believe in me. Please wait for me, just a little while longer.

-Some day, I will be able to explain everything to you. Tell you everything.

-I can’t wait for that day. I am so sorry I can’t tell you at this time.

-I miss you.

-Even as you read this, I have no doubt that I will be standing somewhere, missing you.

-I will miss you forever until we meet again.

-I love you.

-I love you.

There were 20 notes in total, and Hyoyoung read them over and over again. The writing was messy as if he wrote them in a hurry, but she could tell that he meant every word.

After reading it one more time, Hyoyoung hid the notes deep inside the cabinet. She whispered, “When we meet next time, I’m going to get you.”

She sighed and continued, “I will kiss you senseless. It will be my revenge, just you wait! Making me wait like this… I’m going to kill him! He is so dead! I will kiss him so hard that he won’t be able to breathe!”

***

Kiwook sat in front of a woman at a café. She was a beautiful middle-aged woman. Her hair was perfect and her skin flawless. It was clear that she spent a lot of time on her makeup.

She was no ordinary housewife.

Kiwook hesitated before finally spitting out angrily, “Why did you do it?”

“What are you talking about? I didn’t do anything.”

“Mother!”

Kiwook and his mother stared at each other. She protested, “I swear. I didn’t tell President Shim anything!”

“He knew things that he couldn’t have known unless you told him. How can you deny it at this point when it is so obvious?”

“Oh, I meant that I didn’t tell him recently. A long time ago when I used to date him…”

“Yes?”

“He got upset because I didn’t tell him about my past, so I had to. Don’t look at me like that. I just told him that you were very cold to me and that you ran away to meet the girl you liked. I was just joking. It was a cute story.”

“And did you tell him that it was Hyoyoung I ran after?”

“What?”

“Did you tell him about Hyoyoung?”

“Oh, well… I’m not sure. I can’t remember.”

“Mother!”

“Gosh, Kiwook. Why are you screaming at me?”

“You told him, didn’t you?”

“I might have told him… that the girl you ran after somehow became Hyojun’s little sister. It was a very interesting story… I mean, who knew?”

“So you told him.”

“But I’m sure President Shim doesn’t even remember that. It was so many years ago.”

“Yes, he does. That is how he is torturing and blackmailing Hyoyoung, Hyojun, and me.”

“Kiwook, I am just as shocked as you are! I mean, who knew he would remember what I told him so many years ago and tell it to the reporters?”

“I am your son. You shouldn’t have told a stranger about your own son. You should’ve known better.”

“Hey, it’s not like I said bad things about you. Honest! I didn’t tell him much, Kiwook.”

“President Shim contacted me.”

“What? What did he say?”

“He said that if I kneel in front of him and beg, and give him two-thirds of The M’s profit, he will stop releasing these stories to the reporters.”

“What? What the hell! He must’ve lost his mind! Don’t listen to him, Kiwook. Just ignore him, the public will forget about this whole thing soon. Maybe you can take a year or two off. Go back to school if you want. Afterward, you can make a comeback by yourself. I mean, with your looks and talent, you shouldn’t have a problem becoming successful again, so don’t listen to that man!”