Book 3 – Story 1. Into the Storm

Chapter 87

Hyojun continued to hug Hyoyoung and caress her hair gently, and suddenly, she remembered something from their past.

It happened when Hyoyoung was 12 years old. She was a bright and happy child, but one day she hid in her room and cried alone. Normally, Hyojun would have laughed at her and teased her, but he must have known something wasn’t right because he asked her what was wrong.

At first, Hyoyoung refused to tell him, but after persistent prodding, she finally explained.

One of her classmates misunderstood something about Hyoyoung, so she started to badmouth Hyoyoung to other classmates. The worst thing was that one of Hyoyoung’s close friends took part in this gossiping, which upset Hyoyoung.

Hyoyoung felt betrayed and upset, and when she told Hyojun about it, he just hugged her and patted her head.

He said to her, “You can cry if you want. It’s okay.”

He did the exact same thing at that time as he was doing right now.

Hyoyoung had been trying to act grown-up until now, but when her older brother hugged her, she couldn’t help but burst into tears.

When she was 12, she cried for about an hour and during this entire time, Hyojun remained by her side with his arms around her.

When she started to cry, Kiwook immediately came to her side.

“Hyoyoung…”

“This isn’t fair!”

Hyoyoung moved to Kiwook from Hyojun’s arms. Kiwook hugged her and whispered, “Yes, crying is good. It will make you feel better.” He patted her back gently as Hyojun watched from nearby.

Hyunsuk walked up to Hyojun and murmured quietly, “I think this isn’t the time to make more enemies… we really need to come up with a solution to this situation.”

Hyojun nodded.

***

Meanwhile, President Shim was kicking whatever he could find on the street as he screamed, “Bastards!”

Myunghee was nearby watching in fear. She knew better than anyone how violent her uncle could be. When she was young, he would slap her whenever he got drunk. Myunghee’s mother knew this as well, but because President Shim was rich at the time, her mother ignored it and even blamed her for not being a good girl.

Myunghee stared at her uncle helplessly when suddenly someone called her name.

“Myunghee Shin.”

She turned around, “Who…?”

Mikyung was standing nearby. She replied, “No need for you to know my name. I just have a question.”

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, but… I can’t tell you anything.”

“Why are you sorry? Sorry about what? And how do you know you can’t tell me anything? You don’t even know what I’m going to ask.”

“It doesn’t matter. I just can’t tell you anything, so don’t ask. I’m going to get in trouble. He… he’s going to hurt me if I tell you anything.”

“Hurt… you? What do you mean…?”

Mikyung was confused. After she saw Hyoyoung together with The M, Mikyung couldn’t think straight. She was still in the hallway when President Shim appeared and confronted The M members. She couldn’t understand who the strange man was and so she listened for a while before leaving. She was still in shock and she was roaming the streets aimlessly trying to clear her mind. As the cold wind calmed her down, Mikyung started to wonder about a few things.

Firstly, she had to admit that she understood why Hyoyoung hid the fact that she knew The M. She didn’t like it, but she understood why Hyoyoung had to do it.

But who was that man? And why was he talking about Purple M’s mother? Why was Hyoyoung trembling in fear? Why was Myunghee crying so loudly?

Mikyung felt that if she could find out what was happening, perhaps she could understand Hyoyoung a bit better. If she knew more details, perhaps she wouldn’t feel so betrayed and upset.

To be honest, Mikyung was secretly hoping that Hyoyoung and The M members would come after her and tell her everything. But when no one came after her, she felt lost.

Just then, she saw President Shim making a scene on the street and Myunghee standing nearby. Mikyung realized that perhaps the best way to find out the truth was to ask Myunghee.

But when Myunghee shivered and stuttered in fear, Mikyung started to step away from her nervously. Myunghee looked crazy as she kept murmuring that she was sorry.

Mikyung slowly backed away from her when suddenly, someone roughly grabbed her shoulder.

“Who the hell are you?”

It was President Shim.

***

The next three days after the concert was like a storm. Endless negative rumors started about The M.

Many girls came out, claiming that they were The M members’ previous girlfriends. There was also a rumor that all the members were fighting over one girl.

The M’s agency didn’t provide any explanation, other than an announcement that they would take legal action on anyone who made false and negative claims against the group.

And during those three days, Hyoyoung remained home and didn’t go to school. Mikyung looked at the empty seat next to her and sighed sadly. She felt upset, angry, and apologetic all at the same time. She tried to forget about what happened, but every time she looked at Hyoyoung’s empty seat, she remembered President Shim.

The horrible way he smelled and the way he looked and spoke to her.

For the first time in her life, Mikyung learned what true fear felt like.

President Shim looked at her up and down before asking with a nasty grin, “Do you know Hyoyoung Ahn?”

Mikyung was so fearful and shocked that she couldn’t help but nod silently.

“Oh, really? So you know her… well then, I would like to ask you a few questions.”

President Shim squeezed her shoulder hard. Mikyung wanted to scream, but because she was so terrified that she couldn’t make a sound. President Shim held her and asked her various questions for about 30 minutes before letting her go. She was still shaking afterward.

‘Shouldn’t I tell Hyoyoung what just happened?’

Mikyung wondered for a while but she quickly shook her head. A few hours ago, she told Hyoyoung that they were no longer friends.

‘Well, I will see her tomorrow at school… so… so I will tell her tomorrow.’

But the next day, Hyoyoung didn’t come to school.

Mikyung didn’t know what was said to the school, but none of the teachers mentioned Hyoyoung’s absence. The school was now surrounded by reporters and cameras, but the teachers and school security kept a close eye on them to make sure no one approached the students for an interview.

Article after article appeared on and offline with various titles.

‘The M – Members Identities Finally Revealed.’

‘Purple M’s Girlfriend Is a High School Student.’

‘Purple M Fell in Love with Another Member’s Little Sister.’

The titles were vague, but knowing what she knew, Mikyung could guess that it was about Hyoyoung, Hyojun, and Kiwook. Mikyung didn’t tell her friends anything about what happened after the concert, but the girls quickly figured it out. They remembered Hyoyoung’s older brother showing up at school and adding the fact that Hyoyoung was absent, the girls started to spread their own rumors about Hyoyoung.

At first, they started to talk enviously, but it didn’t take long before they started to badmouth Hyoyoung. At the end of the day, Hyoyoung was called many ugly names.

When Mikyung didn’t say a word about Hyoyoung, the girls thought it was because Mikyung was being a truly loyal friend. They were sympathetic towards her, telling her that she has been betrayed by her best friend, Hyoyoung.

“Mikyung… you know how Hyoyoung is like. She has always been a slut, so don’t feel so sad.”

“Hey, it’s not like…”

When Mikyung tried to refute them, the other girls added, “I mean, when you think about it now, it all makes sense. How could anyone get four concert tickets that easily?”

“Totally. And you remember what her older brother looked like, right? He was definitely an idol material, right?”

“I am envious, but also… I am so disappointed in Hyoyoung.”

“I know! I mean, how could she even lie to her best friend?”

“Totally!”

Mikyung tried to calm her classmates down, “I’m fine, girls, so let’s stop talking about Hyoyoung. When she returns to school, I’m sure she will tell us everything.”

But the girls wouldn’t stop.

“Hey, Mikyung, you need to smarten up now! Stop being so naïve. This is the time to get angry. You guys were best friends! How could she do this to you?”

“I agree! I am so angry for you, Mikyung.”

When they continued, Mikyung finally replied, “I did get angry at her. I did scream at her and told her what was what.”

“Really? When? You saw Hyoyoung today?”

“No. It was the day of the concert. After the show, I saw Hyoyoung with The M members and Myunghee Shin. I saw everything, so I yelled at her.”