•• Minhyuk ••
I sat up and immediately began getting ready, jittery as I went over Jiho's plan in my head again, making sure that everything was sinking in. The others were getting up and getting ready too, obviously equally nervous for the day. My quick shower ended with me slipping and falling before I got dressed and put on the best smile I could, trying to look completely at ease when I was actually a ball of nerves.
"Ready for your big performance?" Taeil asked me curiously, patting me on the back. I shook my head, my hands visibly shaking as I picked at my breakfast. The others slowly joined us at the table and everyone stared at my trembling hands.
"Minhyuk-Hyung, calm down, you'll be fine!" Jihoon said reassuringly, patting my hand comfortingly. "You just have to remember the plan."
"I don't think that I can manipulate her that much," I mumbled in protest with a shake of my head. "It's wrong for me to do that."
U-Kwon nodded with understanding. "Trust me Hyung, if it was me, I wouldn't be able to do it either, but think of it this way, if you succeed, we can save her life."
"If you fail, Kyung still has a chance," Jiho told me with a nod. "Just remember that you're doing this to keep her safe. I nodded slowly, swallowing hard as my phone rang.
Jaehyo, nodded encouragingly as I stared at the called I.D on my phone. "Just relax and talk to her. Act completely natural Minhyuk." I nodded again before holding the phone up to my ear.
"H- Hello?" I stammered awkwardly.
"Ah, Minhyuk, I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time!" Hyorin exclaimed with a frantic and apologetic tone.
I waved my hand and awkwardly said, "Not at all Hyorin! I'm actually just sitting and eating breakfast with the others. They're going to leave soon."
"Ah, I see," she chuckled lightly. "I was just wondering what time you planned on dropping by because I need to get ready."
I looked at Jiho for assistance and he held up two fingers. "Let's say two hours from now?"
Hyorin was quiet and then said, "That sounds good Minhyuk! I'll see you then! I'm excited to see what you have planned for today."
"Oh, I think you'll be fairly surprised," I chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of my head. "I'll see you soon then!" She said a happy good-bye and I looked at the others before slamming my head on the table and feeling the tightness in my chest decrease. A hand comfortingly stroked my head and I groaned, feeling ashamed at manipulating such a nice girl. "I'm competing in the Romantic Division too," I mumbled pitifully.
"You poor thing," Taeil sighed with a frown. "I'm sorry that you have to go against your better judgment, but it really is for the best."
"I know," I mumbled with a sigh. "It really does hurt me to do this, but if it means that she'll be okay in the long run, then I guess it's worth it for now." The others nodded in agreement, each pitching in their own comforting words and supportive pats on the back.
Jiho stood and waved us into the living room. "Boys, today starts the plan to protect Hyorin from her insane family. Let's all try our best and we'll hopefully have the family records by Jaehyo-Hyung's birthday."
"You think we can get them that quickly?" Kyung asked in surprise, receiving a nod. "Alright, let's do this!"
The others all nodded and then looked at me. "Let's do it," I sighed with finality, punching a fist in the air with a determined nod. "Can we do a quick run-though of the plan?"
Jiho nodded and stood up. "Today is the First Phase. Minhyuk-Hyung, you will take Hyorin out and show her a good time. She can't handle her liquor and we all know that, so we're going to get her nice and woozy. After that, you know that you have to ask her whatever you need to in order to get any information about where those family records are."
I nodded slowly, feeling horribly guilty at the thought of interrogating Hyorin for such sensitive information when she would be beyond dizzy. "Phase Two," Kyung said, standing beside Jiho with a determined nod. "I'm the main player in Phase Two. I have to take Hyorin out and keep her distracted while you all search around her apartment for any information on the records."
"Those old photo albums might have something in them," Jihoon pointed out with a nod. "Our job is to find out where they could be while you take her out after the Jesa." Kyung nodded in agreement and sat down, waiting for Jiho to finish.
"Phase Three is the hardest Phase. We just have to locate the records. In Phase Four, we let her family know that we have the records and we can turn them in unless they promise to leave us and Hyorin alone forever. If they do, then we'll give them the originals, but keep copies for ourselves just in case they try something," Jiho murmured with a determined nod.
"All in all, everything will happen and Hyorin won't even know," U-Kwon finished with a sigh. "It's a foolproof plan, but we're not dealing with fools."
"It only has to work long enough for us to locate the records," Jiho said quickly with a shake of his head. "It doesn't matter whether we're dealing with fools or not if we get the records." We all nodded with hard swallows and determined expressions. "Okay, let's start then." I sighed heavily and got to my feet with a nod.
“I’ll go pick her up now and then I’ll let you know what I find out later,” I mumbled, receiving nods from them. “Wish me luck guys.”
“You’ll be fine Minhyuk; just remember that you need to make sure she gets woozy.” I nodded at Taeil’s statement and then grabbed the car keys before walking out of the apartment. I climbed into the car and carefully drove away from the apartment, taking my time getting to Hyorin’s apartment.
My hands were sweaty and I couldn’t tell whether I was more nervous about driving or about having to manipulate Hyorin. The guilt was eating me from the inside out and I tried hard to cover it up while I got closer and closer to my destination. “Just calm down Minhyuk,” I thought, sighing shakily. “You’re doing this to keep her safe. Just remember that and you’ll be fine.” My thought process wasn’t helping me to relax at all and I pushed everything from my mind as I stopped in front of Hyorin’s apartment.
Climbing out of the car and locking it, I stumbled into a trashcan and steadied myself awkwardly before brushing off my sweater and jogging into Hyorin’s building. Carefully, I made my way up the stairs and then held up a hand to knock on the door before restraining myself awkwardly. As I mentally prepared myself for my confrontation with Hyorin, I stopped as a voice drifted through the door. “Yes, I know Hyorin. I’ll make sure that I take good care of the apartment while you’re out.”
“U-Kwon?” I whispered to myself in confusion. “When did U-Kwon come here?”
“I’m counting on you, okay? Be good today and then we’ll do something fun when I get back. How about we watch a movie or something to make up for me not spending much time with you?” Hyorin asked quietly, sounding extremely apologetic.
“That sounds like fun; I like that idea,” he agreed happily. “I also want a reward when I get back.” I raised an eyebrow at his pouty tone and then cocked my head to one side.
“I’ll give you a little kiss if you do your job properly,” Hyorin chuckled lightly with an amused tone. “Alright, I think it’s time for you to ‘disappear’ because Minhyuk will be here. We don’t need him finding out our little secret.”
“That we don’t,” U-Kwon agreed with a chuckle. “I’m just glad that no one believes in my world to even think the possibility exists.”
Hyorin was quiet and then said, “I forgot that you’re not supposed to exist. Alright, out with you!”
“He’s not supposed to exist?” I thought in confusion. “What did I just overhear?” I murmured, sitting on the ground and puzzling over the words curiously before pushing it from mind and knocking lightly on the door.
Hyorin opened the door with a smile and waved me inside. “Minhyuk, thank you for coming so quickly!” she said happily, bustling around frantically. I felt myself looking around for any sign of U-Kwon having been there, but found none. Almost automatically, I began wandering around curiously, wondering where U-Kwon could have gone since he hadn’t walked out of the apartment. “So, how are the members this morning?” Hyorin called curiously.
“They’re fine, just a bit tired because we fell asleep late last night,” I replied in a distracted voice.
“Ah, did you have a lot on your minds?”
I tilted my head side to side and then said, “Yeah, you could say that.”
She chuckled and then sighed noisily. “Was it so important that you all stayed up late?”
I nodded when my search yielded fruitless and then answered, “Again, you could say that. It was just something concerning someone we know.”
“Was it a girl that you’re all close to?” she asked knowingly with a chuckle.
“Yeah, you could say it that way,” I said with a nod, walking back into the living room awkwardly. I pulled out my phone and texted U-Kwon, saying, “We need to talk later.”
“What about?” I read his reply and then frowned, uncertain of what to say.
My fingers hovered awkwardly above my phone keyboard and then I eventually replied, “Later U-Kwon. I need to figure out something before then. If I can’t figure it out, then I’m crazy. Just out of curiosity, where are you right now?”
After several seconds, my phone vibrated and I stared at his message. “Alright… I’m on my way to the practice studio… Where else would I be?”
“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” He didn’t reply to my message and I rubbed the bridge of my nose, certain that I was slowly losing my mind because of the guilt chewing away at my conscience.
“Alright I’m ready; sorry about the delay.” I jumped at Hyorin’s apologetic tone and then shook my head reassuringly with a nervous chuckle. “Minhyuk, are you okay? You look like you’re getting ill,” she murmured worriedly, feeling my forehead under my bangs with a frown.
I jumped back and swallowed hard before shaking my head jerkily. “I’m not getting ill Hyorin! I’m peachy and fine!” She stared at me uncertainly while I chuckled nervously, an awkward grin on my face. “Trust me, I’m fine, okay?” She nodded slowly, obviously not believing me, and then shrugged before putting on her jacket and pulling on her fur-lined high tops. I noticed the Tory Burch logo on them and swallowed hard when I remembered that even though she was part of a mob family, she had worked hard to earn everything that she owned. “I am standing in front of a crazy powerful person,” I thought, staring with her with a frown.
“Minhyuk, are you sure that you’re feeling okay?” Hyorin murmured, cocking her head to one side uncertainly and then staring at me as if I was trying to make her feel guilty. “You really don’t look well. Do you want to just hang around here for the day?”
I shook my head quickly and then grabbed her hand with a grin. “I’m really fine; that’s a promise!”
“But didn’t you say that you all fell asleep really late last-?”
I quickly put a finger over her mouth and then shook my head. “Forget what I said. We’re going to have a great time today, okay?” I insisted with a stubborn nod. She uncrossed her eyes from staring at my finger and then nodded slowly with a raised eyebrow. “Great, then let’s go!”
“You’re sure that you’re okay?” I nodded at her question and she sighed and then nodded. “Let’s go then! What do you want to do today?”
I shrugged as I walked her down the stair and then out into the cold winter air. “I was thinking that since the others have already taken you for food, and a lot of food if I’ve heard right, I would try something different.”
“Different meaning?” she asked curiously with a raised eyebrow.
“I was thinking that maybe I can start with taking you to submit your designs first of all, since I know that you finished those, and then maybe we can go ice skating,” I told her with a smile.
Hyorin smiled and then said, “That’s definitely different from eating, but I’m surprised that you’re willing to give up some of your time to come with me to a business exchange.”
“Think nothing of it,” I told her, waving off her statement with a smile while I opened the car door to let her in before closing it when she sat down. “I’m actually quite excited myself. I’ve never met this new group, so I think that this is an opportunity for me to learn something too!”
“I’ll call N then and ask if we can drop by Jellyfish,” she said with a smile, pulling her phone out of her bag and then dialed a number before holding her phone up to her ear. “Hi N; I’m sorry if I’m bothering you!” He said something and she chuckled before replying, “Yes, I was just making sure though! Anyway, I was wondering if it would be okay if I stopped by Jellyfish with the designs. I just finished them yesterday, so I was wondering if you all would want to see the completed designs before I send them in for tailoring.” The person, N, on the other end of the line was saying something and Hyorin nodded slowly while he spoke. “Okay, so then I should meet you at what time?” He was quiet and then told her a time and she grinned. “Ah, that sounds great! Do you mind if I bring a friend along?” He asked her something and she chuckled lightly and nodded while saying, “Yes, he is another member of Block B.” He said something and she smiled. “Okay, I’ll meet you all there soon then! Bye!”
Hyorin hung up the phone as I pulled into traffic. “So, am I heading to Jellyfish? By the sound of that call, I don’t think I am,” I joked with an amused smile.
She lightly punched my shoulder with a roll of her eyes and then replied, “No, we’re going to Mango Six to meet them.”
“What time do we have to be there?” I questioned curiously, cocking my head to one side when I realized that I was going the wrong way to be going to Mango Six.
“Well it’s about ten fifty in the morning right now and he said about an hour from now. So, I assume that he meant around noon,” she told me with a confirming nod to herself. I sighed and then attempted to figure out how to get back in the right direction before sighing and turning left. Hyorin stared at me curiously while I attempted to figure out how to get to the café from our location and then giggled lightly with an amused smile. “Minhyuk, you know that you just have to take a left up there and that street pretty much takes you straight to the café, right?”
I stared at her and then shut my eyes with an amused smile. “Looks like you learned a lot from U-Kwon, huh?”
“You could say that,” she mused with a light smile. “I like to think that I learn that most important things from those that are close to me.”
My eyebrow rose almost automatically and I glanced at her quizzically. “What exactly does that mean?”
She shrugged and then stated, “I learned a lot of important things for surviving in this city from Park Kyung and my friends and family. I guess that I mean that the things that I find most useful are things that I use on a daily basis and these things happen to be taught to me by my closest friends.”
“Well that’s interesting,” I murmured distractedly, my thoughts drifting back to Hyorin’s conversation with whoever was in her apartment. “Just calm down Minhyuk. You’re probably just stressed out because of Jiho’s crazy ploy. Just breathe and don’t focus on the fact that you’re cheating this girl in order to keep her alive.”
Hyorin screeched and grasped my steering wheel before veering me back into my lane. I gripped it in shock, slipping back into focus on what I was doing. “Minhyuk, pull over and let me drive,” she insisted. “You don’t seem to be focusing.” I nodded shakily and pulled off before switching seats with Hyorin. “Are you alright?”
I nodded with an awkward grin. “Just a little shaken up. Sorry for almost killing you Hyorin,” I apologized with a sheepish grin, scratching the back of my head with an apologetic gaze.
“Ah, don’t overreact,” she chuckled with a smile. “You didn’t almost kill me. Plus, it’s not like I would have been missed for very long. Imagine what your fans and the rest of the boys would go through if you died!”
“You take that back!” I gasped suddenly. She glanced at me with a raised eyebrow. “Hyorin, I know of ten boys who would be extremely depressed if you suddenly left us- not to mention one very high-strung girl.”
She sighed with a small smile and nodded slowly. The air in the car tasted stale and burned my throat as I breathed. I cracked the window open and gasped for the freezing cold air outside. Hyorin sighed and I glanced at her before noticing the wistful expression on her face. My hand automatically went up to brush her hair lightly out of her face and she shut her eyes as she stopped at a signal. My body was moving while I struggled against the motions that it was going through. Slowly, I began to lean towards Hyorin, my mind screaming for me to stop. I halted, a mere two inches from her face.
She turned to look at me and smiled softly before pressing her lips softly to my forehead. “Minhyuk, thank you.”
I stared at her in surprise as she began moving again through the traffic, looking for a place to park in order to go to Mango Six. I pointed out a spot and she parked gracefully in the spot before climbing out of the car. I held out a hand and Hyorin smiled before taking it and walking towards the café. We entered the warm building and took off our heavy winter clothing before looking around. It was eleven thirty and Hyorin chuckled before looking up at the Mango Six menu.
“Is there something that you’d like?” I inquired with a smile, causing her to jump.
“I really want an espresso…” she admitted with a shy smile. I nodded and waited in line with her. “Is there something that you want?”
I scanned the menu before replying, “I’d really like a cappuccino and a tomato and cheese sandwich.” She nodded as we walked up to the register.
“Could we have a medium espresso, a medium cappuccino, and a tomato and cheese sandwich?” The person at the register nodded before Hyorin gasped. “Seunghwan-Oppa?” The person looked up and gasped in shock.
“Hyorin? Chae Hyo Rin?” She nodded frantically and he grinned and ran around the counter before hugging her tightly. “I haven’t seen you since Hyojun-Hyung-” He stopped and cleared his throat awkwardly. “S-Sorry… Anyway, how have you been?”
“I’ve been doing well. I started my own store,” she chucked with a smile before turning to me. “Seunghwan-Oppa, this is Minhyuk- he’s one of the Block B members and he’s been watching over me. Minhyuk, this is Seunghwan, one of my brother’s old friends.”
I bowed slightly to Seunghwan and greeted, “Hello, I am Block B member Lee Min Hyuk. I’m twenty-one years old going on twenty-two.”
He bowed in reply and said, “Hello, I am Jung Seung Hwan. I’m twenty-two years old. It’s nice to meet you.” Hyorin grinned and accepted our food before leading me to a table to sit down. Seunghwan yelled back into the kitchen, “Auntie, I’m going to take a break!”
“It’s not like you do any work normally anyway!” Hyorin and I stifled laughs while Seunghwan groaned and walked into the kitchen.
Several moments later, the Auntie screamed, “Chae Hyo Rin?!” Seunghwan rushed out of the kitchen and seated himself with Hyorin and me.
“Sorry about that. She wanted to know who was important enough for me to need a break,” he chuckled while a pretty girl brought over a bag for him. “Thanks Jihyun.” She nodded with an amused smile before walking back behind the counter. “Anyway, how have you been since Hyung and Uncle and Auntie passed?”
Hyorin took a sip of her espresso and then pursed her lips thoughtfully. “It’s been decent enough. Jinyong, Daejung, and Kwangsu are off in the military and Park Kyung and I are close again, hence the reason I’m hanging around with the Block B members.”
I nodded in agreement and Seunghwan looked at me with an amused smile. “I bet this one’s been giving you all a tough time, hmm? She always was a fighter- never listened to anyone and was always getting into trouble.”
“Says you,” she retorted, punching him lightly.
I chuckled and sipped on my cappuccino before unwrapping my sandwich. “You’d be surprised,” I began, taking a bite of my sandwich, “Hyorin’s a real angel around us and she’s a huge help because we get some entertainment and she cooks for us when we’re tired after rehearsal.”
Seunghwan joked, “It sounds like Hyorin is the one keeping watch over you, versus the other way around.” We all fell silent and munched and sipped on our various foods before he inquired, “What brought you to Mango Six today?”
Hyorin put down her drink and then yawned before saying, “Work; but the way this turned out, I’m tempted to say that it was fate.” Seunghwan chuckled and ruffled her hair. “Yeah, but I have a meeting with VIXX here because I have to show them my designs.”
He accepted the drawings that she handed him and nodded with an impressed expression as he scanned them all. Thoughtfully, he murmured, “You always did have a knack for this stuff- even when you were younger you were always sketching and designing different things. It’s nice to see that you get to enjoy that while you work.”
“What about you, Oppa?” she asked, cocking her head to one side. “You and Jinyu-Oppa wanted to enter the music industry as a band, right? Why didn’t you?”
He sighed and murmured, “My father didn’t want me to. He said that music is a waste of time and made me go to college for an engineering major. I got my degree, but that wasn’t what I enjoyed, so I work here at Mango Six. Jinyu has been in India since Hyojun-Hyung died. I haven’t seen him since the funeral. I called him last year and he said that he was purifying his soul and learning the way to cope with Hyung’s death.”
“It must have been hard on him because Jinyu-Oppa practically grew up with my brother,” Hyorin sighed with a frown. I noticed six people walk in who immediately noticed Hyorin and tapped her arm before pointing at them. She stood up and bowed to them before they rushed over with smiles.
“Hi Noona!” one of them greeted with a grin, bowing low.
Hyorin blushed awkwardly and smiled. “Hi Sanghyuk; how are you?” He shrugged and then gave her a thumbs up. “Ah, this is Minhyuk,” she spilled out frantically, gesturing at me. “Oh, and this is Seunghwan. He works here and he’s an old friend of mine.”
Seunghwan and I stood up and greeted the members of VIXX with smiles. “Hey, if you all want, you can use the employee meeting room for this so that you don’t have to stay disguised.”
“Are you sure that we’re allowed to?” Hyorin asked him uncertainly. He nodded and pointed at his nametag. Hyorin leaned forward and read, “Han Seung Hwan. Assistant Manager. Seunghwan, you’re assistant manager?!” He nodded and waved us all after him into a break room with a long meeting table inside and several cabinets, a fridge, and a TV inside. We all sat down and thanked him before he returned to work.
The VIXX members took off their thousands of layers and I sighed with relief as I took a bite out of my sandwich. “Ah, sorry! I’m Cha Hak Yeon, stage name N, leader of VIXX,” the VIXX member with bluish grey hair exclaimed with a friendly smile, holding out a hand to me.
I shook his hand with a smile and said, “I’m Lee Min Hyuk, dancer and vocalist of Block B.”
The member with deep red hair introduced himself and Jung Taek Woon, stage name Leo, and I shook his hand as well, remembering seeing all of these boys on the Mydol singing competition. The member with black hair shook my hand and introduced himself as Lee Jae Hwan, stage name Ken. The member with orange hair introduced himself as Kim Won Sik, stage name Ravi, the rapper of VIXX. The VIXX member with reddish brown hair was Lee Hong Bin and the Maknae with dark purplish hair was Han Sang Hyuk.
“So you said that you have our designs to show us?” N asked Hyorin curiously. She nodded and set out the suit designs on the table. The boys gasped and began handing around the designs to each other, obviously very happy and excited. “These are amazing!”
“I wish that I could draw like this,” Ravi murmured, staring at the design for him. “These look really comfortable.” The others nodded in agreement and Hyorin smiled.
“So you’re okay with the designs?” she asked them with an uncertain frown. They all looked at her with wide eyes and then nodded frantically. “Great; I’ll send them in for tailoring then!”
“Thank you for designing for us, Noona!” Hyuk said with a smile.
Ken nodded in agreement and said, “We hope that you’ll come on set to watch us film.”
“If you’d have me, I’d be glad to!” Hyorin reassured with a nod and a smile.
“You’re always welcome,” N said with a grin.
Leo nodded in agreement and quietly said, “Plus you’ll be doing our makeup for the video as well.”
Hongbin gasped and nodded frantically. Hyorin cocked her head to one side, curious and uncertain about whether what Leo has said was true or not. “Noona, you were commissioned for both outfit design and makeup, you know?” he told Hyorin with a happy smile. “You’re our Stylist-Noona!”
She clapped happily and bowed. “Thank you so much for telling me that!” I smiled, happy that Hyorin was getting some good news to balance out all of the negativity in her life. She spoke quickly with the members, obviously speeding it up so that she could go on our promised date. As we all left the break room, Hyorin ran over to Seunghwan and gave him a hug before switching numbers with him and rushing out into the frigid Seoul streets with us.
We said goodbye to the VIXX members and then were on our way, off towards the car. We climbed in and then Hyorin immediately insisted on driving and I shook my head with a smile. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me,” I lied with a bright smile. She looked at me uncertainly and then nodded slowly to indicate that I could drive. We were both silent; Hyorin was, no doubt, trying not to distract me, which distracted me even more. I awkwardly questioned, “So Hyorin, in terms of your mob family-” She stared at me with wide eyes, similar to the expression a deer has when in a car’s headlights. My voice caught in my throat and I dropped the subject mentally.
“Uh… Minhyuk, what was it that you were asking?” she inquired slowly, testing whether she could handle the topic or not.
I stopped at a signal and then asked, “I-I was just wondering if your family kept a huge collection of records… like in the movies.”
She was silent and I groaned inwardly. The guilt was overwhelming and I began moving the car again as traffic continued. Hyorin eventually sighed and then nodded. “Yes, they keep records. They’re all held in a huge library at the main house in Seocho district. Why the sudden curiosity?”
I shrugged and replied, “Just curious, I guess.” She nodded with an awkward expression and I held out a hand to her. “I’m sorry, but for us Block B members- we don’t know much about that kind of lifestyle, so these questions come up a lot because we’re curious.”
She chuckled lightly and said, “I understand. Don’t worry about it Minhyuk. I’m actually grateful that you acknowledge that part of my life. So many people just overlook that area of my life because it’s dark and not the kind of thing that they want to be involved in. Many people just identify me as a mob member because of my family.”
“It’s understandable… Many people are ignorant when it comes to situations like yours…”
She nodded with a small, wistful smile and then murmured, “Did you read the newspaper when my family was killed?” I shook my head- as I had been only a year or so older than her and hadn’t had any interest in news. “The headline made me sick… ‘Mob Head and Family Members Killed in Firefight with Sharks’. I still remember the first lines of the article. ‘The feared head of the Korean mob family and his wife and son were killed in a fight over loaned money, leaving his fourteen year old daughter parentless. Young Chae Hyo Rin inherits all the power of her father’s Mob power and leaves all of South Korea wondering- what will she do with this power? Her cousin, Chae Dong Man has enunciated that Hyorin will not lead the Mob and will only be the holder of the power. According to Dongman, Hyorin is studying in New Zealand and is too busy with studies to return for her parents’ funeral. What a cold girl she must be- to not return for her family’s funeral.’ I felt awful.”
I felt a pang in my heart and then sighed heavily. “I think that people shouldn’t make assumptions about others until they know their life’s story. Until then, there is no reason for anyone to think badly of anyone else.” Hyorin smiled softly and then rested her head on my shoulder. I felt myself smile tiredly as I pulled up in front of the ice skating complex. “Hyorin, I-”
“Minhyuk,” she began awkwardly, “I have something to tell you, but please don’t tell the others- especially Kyung.” I stared at her curiously and she bit her lower lip before shutting her mouth and swallowing hard. “When I turn twenty-one…”
“Yes?” I asked softly, noticing that she had trailed off. The feeling of soft longing in the car had been replaced with a choking apprehension. Hyorin looked up at me with watery eyes and I held her face gently in my hands. “You can trust me Hyorin.”
She swallowed hard again and then, in a raspy voice, murmured, “Dongman-Sunbae said that they’re going to find me and they’re going to take the family power from me.”
My eyes widened and she pursed her lips awkwardly. I ventured, “Does that mean that they’re going to cut you off from the family?”
She laughed, a cynical laugh which made me uneasy hearing it come from Hyorin. “They’re going to cut something, but I don’t think it’s the family tree.” She made a cutting gesture with her thumb across her throat and I swallowed hard to keep myself from squeaking in fear. “At least I think that’s what he meant.”
“Yah! You can’t just say something like that and then turn it into a joke!” I protested, slapping at her.
“I’m not!” she whined, slapping back at me with a pout. “I’m being serious!”
I managed to hold her hands from slapping and then accused, “Then why’d you say ‘at least I think that’s what he meant’?”
“Because I don’t know what he really meant!” she complained, snatching her hands out of mine. I ran a hand through my hair and stared at her with a raised eyebrow. “What?” Stare. “Minhyuk, let’s just go ice skate.” Stare. “At least acknowledge that you hear me!”
I stifled my laughs and she raised an eyebrow. I rolled my eyes with an amused smile and then nodded. “Yeah, let’s just go skate.”
•• Later ••
I sighed as Hyorin and I stepped out of the car. She stared at the drinking restaurant and then grumbled, “Don’t tell me that you’re taking me drinking too…”
I shrugged and then nodded. “Don’t pretend you don’t enjoy it. You know it feels relieving to be drunk and free from the troubles of the world.”
“But then you get a hangover and your head feels like it’s being hit with a hammer,” she countered with a frown. I chuckled and then led her into the building, an amused smile pasted across my mouth. Several beers later, she was woozy and spilling out secrets that I could have lived perfectly fine without knowing. “Then I told her,” she drawled, “that she doesn’t have to eat my Animal Crackers if she’s not going to share with others.”
I patted her head awkwardly and attempted to keep her from drawing too much attention to herself. “Alright Hyorin; I think you’ve had enough drinks for one night. Let’s go back to the car, okay?”
“You can’t… can’t tell me-” she began before her head smacked straight down onto the table. I laughed awkwardly and then hoisted her up, propping my shoulder under her arm, before half dragging half carrying her to the car. “I just have to find the-the records and then I-I can… can go and-and turn my family in,” she murmured in her sleep.
"Hyorin…" I mumbled with a frown. "Where are the records? Here in Seoul like you said?"
"Village…" she whispered groggily through her drunk slur.
"I don't know where your village is," I hissed with a groan, gently resting her in the car. She murmured something and I stared at her curiously before leaning closer.
"Chinan."
"Chinan?" I inquired out loud. "Where the heck is Chinan?" A lightbulb went off in my head and I gasped, "Chinan is the village outside Jeonju in Jeolla-do!"
With that, I began whistling happily to myself while I steered off towards Hyorin's home, eager to return to my apartment in order to tell Jiho the good news.
•• Kyung ••
Minhyuk-Hyung burst into the apartment and we all stared at him curiously. "Good news?" Jiho asked him hopefully.
"Chinan," he replied with a grin. I raised an eyebrow, recognizing the name, but not remembering where I had heard it before.
Jaehyo-Hyung stared at him and then asked, "Come again?"
"Hyorin's village- Chinan," he said again, overemphasizing the fact that it was called 'Chinan'. We all continued staring blankly at him, much too exhausted from practice to think about what he was saying. He groaned and then yelled, "That's where the records are!"
U-Kwon's eyes immediately lit up and he exclaimed, "So they're at Hyorin's old home!"
"Thank you," Minhyuk-Hyung sighed with a roll of his eyes.
Taeil-Hyung stood and then inquired, "How are we supposed to find time to go all the way to North Jeolla?"
"It's only about two hours driving, give or take twenty minutes or so," I pointed out with a shrug. "Lend me U-Kwon and Jihoon and we could probably go fairly quickly."
Jihoon looked at me and questioned, "Why me too?"
"You're the most intimidating member because of your deep voice," Jiho said with a chuckle.
"Speak for yourself…" Taeil-Hyung grumbled with a frown, gently rubbing his tender throat.
"Wait, why me?" U-Kwon asked me curiously.
Jaehyo-Hyung joked, "You're pretty, so they'd feel bad about killing you." Needless to say, U-Kwon was unamused.
"By that standard, you're assuming that we'll be caught by someone," I pointed out with a frown. He shrugged and then nodded slowly, cringing while obviously thinking about how painful it would be if we were caught by the Mob. "Great… Thanks Jaehyo-Hyung…"
"At least he's being truthful," U-Kwon muttered, shooting a look at Jiho who frowned.
"What happened there?" Taeil-Hyung asked with a raised eyebrow.
U-Kwon stared insistently at Jiho who stared back at him with a raised eyebrow. Jiho eventually crossed his arms and huffed and U-Kwon rolled his eyes and then stood, an annoyed expression on his face. "I'm going to bed," he sighed with a groan, standing a slowly ambling off to bed.
"What was that?" Minhyuk-Hyung asked in a whispered voice as Jiho also stood and walked off to his room. I looked at him and shook my head uncertainly before standing slowly.
"We should probably all sleep. The Jesa is tomorrow and we should all be in good condition so that we can be there for Hyorin. This things takes a lot of energy and emotional restraint, which takes a lot of focus," I finally sighed. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight," the others said together before also standing and following my lead, making their way to their own rooms to turn in for the night. Before I could even register the activities of going through the typical nighttime routine, my head slammed down on my pillow and I stared blankly at the ceiling.
"This entire thing is overly complicated," I thought with a frown. "The worst part is that if Hyorin found out about all of this... Hyorin..." My mind began straying back to the old time with Hyorin. High school in New Zealand with Jinyong, Daejung, and Kwangsu was suddenly back on my mind. "It's like when we broke up..."
I allowed my thoughts to drift as they pleased, floating in and out among the webs in my mind, touching briefly on long-forgotten memories, and dragging out painful feelings of the past. My break up with Hyorin was becoming a numbing topic within my own mind, the sharp pain faded to dull throbs and silent beats after years of peace. I saw myself after Hyorin had gotten the news of her family's death, holding her while she shook weakly with tears. It skipped and I watched myself plead with her while she shook her head, a pained expression on her face.
I saw myself. I was crying- yearning for Hyorin. I saw myself. I was grinning from ear to ear after being welcomed into Block B. I saw... Myself. Years passed in minutes and I watched myself being built into the person lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling watching his life pass by in mere seconds.
I finally stared quietly out of my window, my attention shifted to the dark, twinkling mysterious blanket of the sky. My breath slowed and my eyes drooped shut as I drifted to sleep. My thoughts remained locked on Hyorin, but my heart felt that it remained trapped somewhere else.