Chapter 4: Secret

A JYP audition leaftlet from two years ago, with a registration name of Park Chorong. Surely, it was strange why such thing was doing in her bag that was tucked away in the corner. In fact, the twins were surprised at the fact that she too, had the same dream as the both of them. The girls looked at each other in silence in realization.

"Unnie, can I borrow your...what's that?" asked Namjoo as she entered the room, surprised.

"Chorong unnie hid this all the time." said Bomi as she showed her the leaflet.

"That explains why she used to come home late. She was out practicing..." mumbled Eunji as she recalled her memories.

"What do we do?" asked Namjoo as revealed secrets cannot be hidden anymore.

"Easy. We'll just up front tell her when she comes back." said Eunji cooly.

"What?!" said Bomi, shocked at her twin's boldness.

"What's all the noise, did something happen?" asked Hayoung as she too, came in and noticed the situation.

~X~

About 30 minutes later, there was noise at the door which signalled the girl's return.

"We're back......why are you all gathering there?" said Chorong as she noticed Bomi, Eunji, Namjoo and Hayoung crowding on the floor.

"Are you hiding a secret from us?" pouted Naeun with her arms crossed.

"Well, we're about to reveal it now. Chorong unnie." said Eunji as she stood up and showed the JYP audition leaflet in front of Chorong's face.

Chorong turned blank, frozen at the sight. She turned away and meddled with her fingers, signs of nervousness. Namjoo brought Naeun over to their side and quietly whispered everything that happened. Soon, all five girls understood the situation and stared at their sister, who stayed silent.

"You shouldn't have kept it a secret. The fact that you were in a dance club." said Eunji.

"How do you know that? It's not even written on the leaflet." answered Chorong as her voice went slightly higher pitched than usual.

"Well, you could have hidden this properly." said Bomi as she waved a photo that had five girls posing with shirts that labeled "Seoul Dance Club".

Chorong could only answer in silence. She wasn't expecting her long secret to finally be revealed. But inside, she felt that she has betrayed her sisters and could only be sorry. It was a wrong thing to hide secrets, even an 18-year old knew that. For a while, Chorong took a deep breath and sighed.

"I'm sorry girls, for keeping this a secret." said Chorong as her head was low. But, she felt a hand lifting her head as a bright grin appeared in front of her.

"You don't have to apologize unnie. We respect that you abandoned your dreams to raise us. But as your sisters, we want you to be happy too." said Bomi as she held Chorong's cheek in her palms.

"Let's go register you up for an audition!" smiled Eunji.

"Wait-wait! Not so fast! I'm not auditioning!" said Chorong.

The girls sat down and discussed quietly about their current situation. They had to take this slow and steady, it was always like that. Whenever there were issues among them, they solved it through words. It was prohibited in the household to argue and fight to settle problems. After a while, everything finally settled down.

"Unnie, if we continue talking like this, I'm going to die from hunger." complained Hayoung as she couldn't hold it in anymore. Her eyes were at the grocery bags.

"So, Chorong unnie will only audition after we graduate?" asked Eunji.

"By that time, the two of you should be old enough to take jobs. I can't possibly be the only breadwinner in this household."

"I'm fine with that, now let's eat." smiled Bomi as she immediately went to the counter.

"Good." sighed Chorong of relief.

~X~

The six girls could finally eat. It was a feast full of chicken feet, dukbokki and fried chicken. Rarely did they had chances to eat food like that, as they decided it would be a monthly thing depending on Chorong's income. As they slowly get full, they get excited as its a weekend.

"Eunji-unnie, sing something." said Namjoo.

"What, me? What song do you want to hear?" asked Eunji.

"Namjoo-ya, instead of asking Eunji we should see Chorong-unnie's dance!" smirked Bomi.

"Oh yeah! I wanna see how cool Chorong-unnie dances." said Hayoung with excitement.

"Argh, Yoon Bomi." sighed Chorong in agitation. Bomi could only smile cheekily as she loved seeing her like that. Naeun sneakily the radio where some songs were being played. The girls clapped and cheered for their sister.

Chorong let out a sigh and stood up. Remembering the steps she learned from two years ago, her body began to move. Her memories returned and she transformed back to her 16-year old self, dancing passionately to the music like no other. But, halfway through she was pulled back into realisation and covered her hands in embarassment.

"Don't stop dancing unnie!" said Eunji as she continued to clap, following the beat of the song.

"Unnie, let's dance together!" shouted Bomi as she went towards Chorong's side and danced along. Her actions were like a support as Chorong continued to dance. If it wasn't for her, Chorong would have already given up on dancing. Eventually, the small basement turned into a party as the other girls joined in. It was a small happiness, for a family living in poverty. Moments like these, were meant to be cherished forever.

~Several days later, at the Korean BBQ Restaurant~

Lunchtime was over and Chorong finally had time to catch a breath. As usual, she worked very hard and cleaned the tables. Wiping tables, washing dishes, checking ingredients, these were all normal routines for the 18-year old. 

"Chorong-ah, come here for awhile." asked her boss.

"Yes?" asked Chorong.

"I'm sorry but I want to tell you before hand. I'm closing the shop soon." With the last words, a lot of things went through Chorong's mind. The thought of her losing her job meant no income and the inability to support her siblings.

"Why sir? The business is doing very well! It's always packed during lunch time!"

"You see, I realise something Chorong-ah. I want to make my dream come true."

"What dream do you have sir?"

"I love music. I also love seeing people who have these talents and I want to help them gain fame."

"You mean scouting people to become singers and dancers?"

"Yes, therefore I'm closing this business to reach my dreams. I'm sorry Chorong-ah."

"No, it's fine sir. I'm already thankful for you giving me a job at this place." smiled Chorong as she bowed.

"This won't do. Take this, this is all I have to offer." said the boss as he handed her a namecard.

It read "Choi Jin-Ho Phone Number: 6501-XXX-XXX"

"Contact me whenever you want. I'll help you." smiled Jin Ho.

"You don't have to do this sir..."

"Keep it. I know you kept it a secret from me but I already knew about your family's situation. You're the one that lives in that tiny basement with five other girls right?"

"How..do you know that?"

"The whole neighbourhood knows it because it's always noisy down there." chucked Jin Ho.

"I'm sorry for causing a problem to others." bowed Chorong.

"Oh no, don't apologize. The grandmas nearby love your presence. Now, I need to get going. Please help me close the shop and I'll see you tommorow." smiled Jin Ho as he handed her the restaurant's keys and left.

Chorong felt burdened but thankful that there were people who wanted to help them, understand them and be there for them. With a smile, she kept that namecard safely and remembered her boss, Jin Ho well.

~End of Chapter 5~

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I think you know who's Choi Jin Ho right? XD I'm trying to leave subtle hints of what's gonna happen in the next chapter lol, hope you enjoyed it! I felt that most of the time was just conversations, I'm sorry if it was boring ><