My brother is an Idol

Chapter 60: Story 2. The Calm Before the Storm- Chapter 60
Story 2. The Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 60

After hanging up his cell phone, Hyunsuk thought deeply as he walked around his room slowly. Just then, Jiwoo burst into his room.

Hyunsuk screamed, “AHHH!!! You scared me!”

Hyunsuk grabbed his chest in shock while Jiwoo looked at him up and down. Jiwoo asked curiously, “Why are you so shocked? Did you do something wrong and are afraid you’re going to be found out? YOU! I will expose your truth very soon!”

“What are you talking about? Don’t be ridiculous. You watch too much television, Jiwoo.”

“What?”

“You are so dramatic. Anyway… what do you want? Why did you come in here?”

“Hyoyoung’s castle is finally ready! It’s ours! Let’s go have a look. Come on!”

Jiwoo grinned and grabbed Hyunsuk’s hand.

In the basement, everyone was already gathered. Hyoyoung’s basement used to be filled with furniture and random things. Two chairs, a desk, stuffed animals, and books. But now, the basement was emptied out so there was enough room for the members to practice their performances.

The basement was much bigger and more open than the guys expected. Hyoyoung asked, “This should be good enough, right?”

The members nodded together. Hyoyoung continued, “Is there anything else you need?”

“Oh, of course not, Hyoyoung! Nothing at all…”

“I expected as much. I mean, even if you did, you wouldn’t dare to ask me for anything at this point, right? Of course not.”

“Hyoyoung, we really mean it…”

“Fine, fine. Whatever. I don’t care. I knew you would say that.”

“No, really! Hyoyoung, we are so thankful for all you’ve done…And to give up your space for us like this…”

“Obviously. Of course, you should be thankful to me. You know what this space means to me.”

“Totally. Thank you so much. Thanks to your sacrifice…”

“Yes, I saved your asses. I know, I know. But what I’m wondering is if this all is going to be worth it. If my sacrifice will be useful. I mean, everything I’m doing here… I am beginning to doubt if it will amount to anything. I feel… tired.”

Jiwoo turned to Hyoyoung sadly, “Hey, Hyoyoung, please don’t feel that way. If we didn’t have you, we wouldn’t know what we would do… You mean so much to all of us.”

“I know. You wouldn’t survive without me, but do you know this? I am so tired of everything because of you guys.”

The guys became speechless as Hyoyoung continued, “I am always worried that one of our neighbors is going to notice something wrong with us. I don’t want to be seen either, so when I return home, I don’t bother going out again at all. I mean, we have plenty to eat here, so it’s not a problem, but… I gave up on having a life of my own for now. Anyways, here is what you can do for me. Just stay home, ok? Don’t come to find me at school or anything like that. Let’s just have a quiet life for a while, please? I really need a break.”

“But… We need to go out sometimes. We are preparing for our concert, which means there are things we need to take care of… Like our costumes…”

“You can take care of those things later. Isn’t preparing your performances a bigger priority?”

“But there are so many things we need to work on… Like the stage decorations…. We need to meet with the designers and prop manager…”

“OMG! Just get your agency to take care of those things! You can’t do EVERYTHING! You oppas just need to focus on your parts! And by the way, what about Myunghee…?”

Hyunsuk answered quietly, “You said we need to get her a good seat, so I was able to get her one but it’s pretty close to yours. She will be seated much closer to the stage, so she won’t see you, especially during the concert. Don’t worry. By the way, if you are going to be watching the concert with your friend, who is going to be our stylist?”

“I will just help you before it starts. Come up with the outfits for your performances.”

“Oh, that will work.”

“And after the show, I will make up some story and sneak backstage so we can go home together.”

“Ok, Hyoyoung.”

“Well, I’m off to bed now. Are you guys going to practice more before going to sleep tonight?”

“Yeah, just for a little while. We also need to have a meeting of our own to talk about the concert…”

“Anything you need from me?”

“Nope. I don’t think so.”

Just then, they heard someone calling Hyoyoung’s name from outside the front door.

“Hyoyoung! It’s me! Let me in.”

It was Mikyung.

***

Hyoyoung froze. The sound of her friend’s voice was so unexpected that she didn’t know what to do. Just then, to her shock, Jiwoo ran upstairs past her and opened the front door. He greeted Mikyung, “Hi there. What brings you here?”

Mikyung froze as soon as she saw him. She stammered, “Oh, I mean… umm… I-I’m Hyoyoung’s friend… I’m so sorry to come without calling ahead. Umm… huh, wait a minute! Isn’t this Hyoyoung’s house? Did I come to the wrong place?”

Jiwoo stepped forward, closer to Mikyung. He whispered, “This is Hyoyoung’s house alright, but she isn’t home right now. Do you need something?”

Mikyung turned red and couldn’t speak coherently. She kept repeating herself and back away slowly. She wasn’t paying attention, and she tripped.

Mikyung was about to fall, but Jiwoo moved quickly. He grabbed her waist and held her close.

“Oh, be careful. You are going to get hurt.”

When Mikyung looked up, Jiwoo was smiling down at her. His smile was so beautiful that Mikyung was speechless.

She thought in shock, ‘He can’t be human. He’s too gorgeous. What the heck!’

Mikyung kept blinking at him as Jiwoo helped her stand up. He explained, “You will have to see Hyoyoung tomorrow at school. She isn’t home right now, she went out with her brother.”

Mikyung nodded dumbfoundedly. Then, after Jiwoo started walking away, she asked hurriedly, “Wait! W-who are you?”

He turned around with a grin and answered, “Me? I’m Hyoyoung’s distant relative. It’s really dark, so be careful going home. I will let Hyoyoung know that her friend came by today, ok?”

“Okay. Thank you so very much.”

“Good night, lady.”

Mikyung stared silently as Jiwoo closed the front door behind him.

When he walked back down into the basement, he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his back.

SMACK!

It was Hyoyoung who slapped him. She yelled, “Are you crazy?!”

She hit him so hard that Jiwoo fell to the ground. He moaned, “Oh my god! Are you the hulk or something? Oh my… Hey, Hyunsuk, check my back. Is there a hole? It hurts so much! Wow, I have never felt this kind of pain before. I feel like something went through my back! Hyoyoung, why are you so strong?”

Hyunsuk replied, “Shut up, Jiwoo, you deserved it.”

Jiwoo protested, “What? Why? I made that girl leave. She wasn’t supposed to come in here, right? I fixed it. I made the problem go away!”

“No.”

“I solved the problem! So why are all of you mad?”

Hyoyoung answered angrily, “You just created a bigger problem, you idiot.”

Hyunsuk agreed, “Yeah, you did, Jiwoo. We didn’t even get a chance to stop you.”

Hyojun and Kiwook nodded as well.

“Jiwoo… You really screwed up this time. This is really bad, man… And you don’t even know it.”

“That’s right, Jiwoo. Boy, you just flew out of here like a bird.”

Jiwoo grinned, “It’s true, guys. I can be very fast when I want to. So what problem are you talking about? what did I do this time? You will have to explain it to me.”

Hyoyoung groaned, “Oppa…”