The Story of Im's Brother Pt. 2
Another Beginning: When I Meet You-ANOTHER BEGINNING: CHAPTER 34-
[APPA'S LOVE]
“Hyung… what are you doing?” I wake from my deep sleep since I heard a muffled noise of panting and some movements. I rub my eyes and realize that hyung turn on the desk light.
“Hyung?” I call him a bit louder, but he keeps dancing and ignores me. I open wide my eyes and see that hyung is plugged his ear with headphone as he moving here and there, humming to an unfamiliar song. I watch him closely. Long enough, he stop dancing and taking a few steps to grab a bottle of water, drink from it.
I attempt to ask again, “Hyung?”
He turns his head towards me as he chokes his water, “Jae!”
He caughs a bit and I can’t help but pity him, so I get up from my bed to pat his back, “Are you okay?”
“Yes… yes… I am okay. Since when did you awake?” he asks after calming his body.
“Long enough to watch you danced the same movements for fifth times.” I grin widely. We walk to our bed as he grabs a towel that he hung on the chair.
“Don’t tell mommy and appa, okay?” he asks.
I look at him confusedly, “Why did you dance in the middle of night, hyung? Is there any competition?” I ask curiously.
He sits on his bed, facing me, “No. But, I sign up for Art School Scholarship and they will hold a final audition in a week.” He tells me.
“Oooo… then why didn’t you tell appa and mommy already?” I ask again.
He sighs, “Because I want it to be surprise for them. I will invite them to the final audition performance that will be held in my school.”
“But…” I want to ask again.
“Look… I promise, I will tell them. But, not today, Jae. I will tell them when I get my printed invitation. Okay? So, promise me you won’t say anything to mom and appa… Please?” he cuts my words. I sigh, pouting a bit.
“Jae-ah… please… hyung needs to practice hard to get that scholarship. Hm?”
“Okay, hyung! I promise I won’t tell them. I will zip my mouth.” I say. He ruffles my hair, “Good boy. Now, let’s sleep. It’s been late. I will take shower first.”
I nod as I lie down on my bed, looking up at the ceiling, waiting for hyung done with his shower. But, I guess I feel asleep then. The next thing I know, mommy is shaking my body to wake me up.
“Jaejae… wake up, come on… Yugyeom-ah… wake up… Oh my God, how late did both of you sleep last night?” he asks as I open my eyes and yawn loudly.
“Late enough, mom… because…” I almost spill out the secret.
“I am up too, mom!” Hyung’s voice saved me.
“Okay. Get ready now. Appa is making breakfast today. Hurry up, big boys!” Mommy kisses us a few times to wake us up. I grin widely at his kisses.
“Jae-ah…” Hyung calls me as soon as mommy closed the door.
“I am sorry, hyung… I wasn’t wake enough.” I grin at him.
“It’s okay. Go shower. I have to get my books ready first.” He lazily goes to the desk.
I nod and yawn loudly once again as I grab my towel and head to the bathroom.
After showering and put on my uniform, I immediately go downstairs with my bag ready.
“Good morning, mom, Appa!” I greet mommy and appa who chat excitedly in the dining room.
“Hello, baby. Good morning.” Appa gives me kiss.
I run to mommy and hug him as I take a seat beside him. “Where is your hyung, baby?”
I shrug, “Uhm, hyung is still in the bathroom.” Mommy serves me some pancakes to my plate.
“Thank you, mommy.”
“Eat much, baby.” Appa says. I grin at him, “I will, Appa.”
“Baby… your hyung looked always tired these days. Do you know why?” Appa asks as I take a sip of my milk to smooth my dry throat.
“He’s been busy studying again, Appa. He said he will have some exams.”
“It’s almost exams period, honey. And he should study hard to get to the high school he wants.” Mommy says, feeding me my pancake.
“Oh, you’re right. I just worry about him because he is less talking now. I am just afraid he has his own problems without telling us.” Appa explains.
I shake my head at him, “If hyung has problems, he will tell you first, Appa. He always shares his problems with you the most.” I say, try to be rational.
“Jaehyung is right.” Mommy supports me. I grin at him and he gives me a kiss on my nose, “You’re so cute, baby.”
Not too long, hyung appears in the dining room. I can tell that he is still tired and sleepy, but I say nothing.
“Hello, Appa. Mommy. good morning~” he simply says as he plop his body next to Appa and immediately munch his breakfast.
I see mommy and appa look at him worriedly, but I just continue eating, afraid that I might reveal his secret.
“Are you okay, Yugyeom-ah?” mommy asks.
“I am, mom. Why?” he asks back, such a typical hyung. I chuckle a bit. He looks at me and kicks me under table, “Sorry.” I mutter.
“You look so tired, Gyeom. Are you sure you okay, baby?” Appa asks.
“Yes, Appa. I am okay. Just… a little bit tired. Oh, before I forget, I will come home a little bit late from dinner, Appa.”
“Why?”
“I… uhm… I have to study with my friends.”
“Where?” mommy asks. I know that both momy and appa is curious yet worry about hyung.
“In one of my friend’s house, Mom. Is it okay?” he asks again.
“Well… if you said so. Just, if you need me to pick you up, call me. Okay, baby?” Appa says.
“Don’t be home too late, baby.” Mommy adds.
Hyung take the last piece of his pancake and drink his milk in one gulp, “I will. Jae, come on. Hyung is running an errand today.” He gets up and kisses Appa and mommy.
I follow him, give mommy and appa a kiss and hug. Then, running a bit to catch step with him, “Hyung… wait me!” I shout at him.
“See you, mommy, appa!” I shout out loud as I turn my body and wave to them.
“Hyung!” I call him as we wait for the bus.
“Hm?” he looks at me briefly.
“You lied to mommy and appa, right?” I ask him.
“Yeah… I can’t help it, Jae.” he pinches my nose. I pout at him.
“Hey… don’t pout.” He says as he gets up because the bus is coming closer.
“Appa is so worry about you, hyung…” I mumble.
“Oh yeah?” he asks lazily as we go inside the bus. He gives me the only empty chair in the bus. I take a sit as he stands in front of me.
“Yes. Appa and mommy interrogated me this morning. Appa said that he was afraid if you has problems and didn’t tell him.” I tell him.
“Uhm… and what did you say?” he asks me, looking down at me. I shift a bit and adjust my bag, “… that you’ve been tired studying for the exams.”
“Good!” he ruffles my hair. I grab his hand and pouting, “Don’t play with my hair, hyung~” I whines. He just chuckles as he shakes his head.
“Don’t worry, Jae. I will tell them sooner.” He says after some silence. I look up at him, “Hyung…”
“Yes?” he looks down at me.
“Can I see you practicing today?” I ask, don’t know why suddenly I’ve been interested in music.
“Oh. Are you really?” he asks me a bit surprise.
I nod, “Where will you practice, hyung?” I ask again, can’t hide my curiousness. He seems please by it as he smiles gently at me.
“In one of my friend’s parent’s studio. Wanna go there after school? To be honest, I don’t have any lessons today because my teachers told us to practice and study hard on our own.” He tells me.
I look at him, envy, “It must be nice.”
He laughs, “I will wait for you until your school is over.” I nod excitedly. We finally arrive at the bus stop. We walk some more to the school and just like his habits, he will hold my hand.
“But… if I go with you, hyung… what should I say to mommy?” I ask him, afraid that mommy will get angry if I lied to him.
“The truth, of course.” He simply says. I look at him confusedly.
He smiles, “I will tell mommy that you want to follow me studying in one of my friend’s house.”
“Yes!” I exclaim excitedly. We arrive at my school and hyung take me till my class before dashing out to his school. I can’t sit still in my class and hope the time flies fast because I can’t wait to see hyung practice again. Beside, I think I grow some interest in music now ever since I saw mommy plays piano for me.
After school, I meet hyung in front of the gate. He waves his hand to me and I run towards him, “Hyung! Hyung!”
“Hello, baby boy! Are you ready?” he asks as we start walking together.
“Yes, hyung! I can’t wait to see you dance again. You are awesome!” I hear he laugh in please. Hyung really likes compliment. So, if he is in bad mood, some compliments will do.
“Hm, hyung? Have you call mommy?” I ask as we get in the bus.
“Yes. I called mommy and appa.”
“What did they say?”
“They said that I should take care of you and don’t forget to eat our lunch. Oh, and don’t be home too late.” He tells me. I smile wide, excited to experience new things.
We arrive at the dance studio some minutes ago and I gasp in amused as hyung brings me inside. I wonder around at the studio and look at room by room. I hear hyung chuckles beside me. I look at him and smile sheepishly.
“You like instrument?” he asks, pointing at one room full of music instrument. I want to ask him if we can go inside, but I guess he can read my mind.
“Let’s go inside. No one here and my friend will come in a few minutes.” I can’t be more excited than now.
We walk inside and I touch some instrument. There is drum, keyboard, bass, and what I look at the most is guitar. I’ve been dying to study how to play guitar since I saw one of my friend’s hyung play it.
“You like guitar, right, Jae?” hyung asks me, maybe because I keep touching and strumming the cord.
I look at him with puppy eyes and nods excitedly, “Yes, hyung! I wonder if I can play it…”
“You can play it. But, I can’t teach you because I don’t know how to play it. Maybe Appa knows.” he chuckles.
I shake my head. “No. Not now, hyung.”
“Huh?”
“You are here to practice, right. Come on, hyung. I want to see you dance.” I drag him out of the room, but not before I take the last glance at the guitar.
I accompany hyung to practice dance for about some hours, I guess. He is really working hard. And I really wish hyung will get the scholarship. I know that hyung wants to make Appa and Mommy proud of him. And I also know that Appa and Mommy are already proud of him.
Hyung is one of the best students in his school. He is a basketball star. He also can dance and sing well. And he is very kind and handsome. And I am so happy to be his brother because he loves me a lot.
I watch him closely as he moves here and there, sometimes slides on the floor, sometimes jumps to the air. I watch him in amused. And I don’t realize the time when hyung’s phone is ringing. I take his phone and see Appa’s ID there. I immediately run towards him.
“Hyung! Emergency!” I shout at him, giving him his phone. He stops the music as he takes the phone. He keeps his finger in his mouth as the sign that I should calm down and keep silence.
“Hello? Appa?” he tries hard to even out his breaths.
“Yugyeom-ah… Where are you? It’s almost 9pm, baby. I will pick you up.”
“Uuuh… Yes. We will go home soon, Appa.”
“Wait for me. I will pick you up. Message me the address, okay? Mommy has been worried sick about you and Jaejae.”
“Okay. Okay. I will message you now.”
“Okay. Is Jaejae okay?”
Hyung gives the phone to me, I look at him briefly before taking the phone, “Hello? Appa?”
“Baby… Are you okay?”
“Yes, Appa. I am okay.” I let a chuckle escape my mouth. Appa is worrying us.
“Good. I will pick you up now. Tell your hyung to wait for me and message the address. I am on my way.”
“Okay, Appa. I will tell him. Bye~” I hung up the phone.
“Appa is on his way, hyung. He needs the address.”
“Okay. I will take a quick shower. Wait here.” He is dashing off to the bathroom. In a few minutes, he is ready. He holds my hand as we walk to the nearest bus stop to wait for Appa.
Appa’s car arrives in a few minutes. We immediately go inside. Before he can scold us, we’ve planned to use aegyo to him and it works. Now, we have to face mommy. But, mommy is easy. He never gets angry with us.
Day after days past by and hyung is working even harder than before. He still didn’t tell mommy and appa. And Appa has been asking him because he worried about hyung. I’ve been convinced hyung to already tell them, but he refused said that he will get the invitation today.
Hyung comes from school in dreanch sweat and he immediately hugs me tight.
“H-hyung… what happened?” I ask him as he tightened the hug.
I cough, “H-hyung… Jaejae… can’t b-breaths well… h-hyung…” I plead to him. He let me go, “Oops, sorry, Jae.” his smile is blinding, just like mommy when he is so happy.
“Why?” I ask.
“Where are mommy and Appa?” he asks back.
“They are just going outside and will be back before dinner.” I answer. He nods.
“Why?” I ask again.
“Here…” he hand me a paper. I read it.
“Woah, hyung! This is the invitation?! Really?!” I stand up and jump up and down in excitement.
“Yes, Jae! Finally, I can make sure that I will take the final audition two days more!” he follows me jumping up and down.
“I am so happy! Let’s call mommy and appa!” I say.
He shakes his head, “I want to hand it to them directly. I will talk to them at dinner time, Jae.”
“Okay, hyung!” I look at hyung who is dumbly smiling at the invitation. I know that he is really happy and can’t wait to give the invitation to mommy, more over Appa. He holds the invitation card for a while before put it carefully on the table. I am so happy for hyung.
Appa and mommy come home before dinner time as mommy still has time to cook. Hyung is still in the bathroom as I walk to the kitchen to help mommy.
“Mommy~” I hug him by his waist. He looks down at me.
“Yes, baby? Are you hungry?”
“Craving, mom…”
He laughs, “Alright. Wait for a while, okay, baby. I will finish soon.”
I nod, playing with some vegetable beside him. I don’t want to go anywhere. Appa suddenly comes to the kitchen and hold me up, making me shock.
“Appa!” I shout at him.
He laughs, “I am sorry, baby. You’re so serious. I can’t help but to surprise you.” he says as he put me down.
“Honey… do you see my black suit? I will take it with me.” he says to mommy. Mommy thinks for a while. “I think I know where it is. Don’t worry, honey, I will help you pack your clothes.”
I look at them confusedly, “Appa, are you going somewhere?” I ask him, a bit terrified by his answer because I can’t get hyung’s happy voice out of my mind.
“Yes, baby. I will go to Hongkong for business.”
“When?” I ask as I gulp, looking at him sadly.
“I will go early tomorrow. For three days.” He smiles at me, but change his expression once he looks at me.
“Why, baby?” Mommy looks at me too.
“Uh… Oh… Uhm…” I can’t find the right words as hyung enters the kitchen all smiley. He gives me winks and I don’t have any heart to break his happiness, so I smile at him.
“Hi, Appa.” Hyung greets Appa with a hug and a wide smile.
“Hi, Mommy.” he did the same.
“I see you are in the good mood tonight. Did something good happen?” Appa asks him as he walks to the dining table.
“Yes, Appa. I will tell you later.” He says. Appa laughs loudly before nodding, “I also want to tell you something.”
I sigh as I help mommy to bring the foods, “What’s with the sigh, baby?” he asks me. I just shake my head as I take a seat beside hyung. Hyung is really in the good mood. I can’t bear to see his broken heart. Hyung has been waiting for this day to come.
We eat in silence and I steal a glance at hyung. He is done with his dinner and I can see that he takes out the invitation card under the table.
“Hyung…” I mumble at him. He looks at me briefly, with all smiley and shining face. Appa and mommy are chatting about business.
“Oh, right…” Appa starts, just as hyung wants to talk too. I sigh and low my head.
“Yugyeom-ah… Jaehyung-ah… I will go for another business trip tomorrow morning. I’ve talked with mommy. Because it’s a bit far away, he won’t go with me. I will go alone.” As Appa is talking, I look at hyung’s reaction. He looks really shock as he looks down to the paper. Then, he forces a smile as he looks up at Appa again. He fists his hands under the table.
“I will go to Hongkong for three days. I won’t be back until Monday.” Appa says.
I look at him and mommy, hoping that one of them can see hyung’s forcing smile, but they are busy chatting again. I sigh and take hyung’s hand. He looks at me. I know him well that he holds back his tears.
“Hyung…” I can only mutter his name.
“Oh, Yugyeom-ah… what do you want to tell me, baby?” Appa asks him sweetly. I hear hyung takes a deep sigh. I expect he will say it now.
“Uh… it’s nothing, Appa. I am glad that your business is going well.” But, of course, he won’t tell Appa. He knows well how important Appa’s business is. Suddenly, hyung gets up and I can see the crampled invitations card in his fist.
“Hyung?” I ask him concern.
“I am so tired today. So, I will sleep early. Good night, all.” He simply says before dashing out of the dining room.
“What’s wrong with him again?” Appa asks to nobody.
“Uhm… I think, I will go with hyung. Thanks for the foods, mommy. Good night, Appa. Good night, Mommy~” I give them a kiss before following hyung.
The room is in complete dark. I open the door carefully, “Hyung?” I softly whisper.
“Lock the door, Jae.” he says with muffled voice. I obey him to lock the door.
“Hyung?” I walk closer to him. He lifts his head and I can see his face is wet with tears. “Hyung?” I sit on his bed and pat his back to calm him down.
“Why don’t you tell them, hyung?” I ask him.
“Appa won’t come to see me. It’s okay.” he simply says.
“No. You are not okay, hyung.” I hug him.
“Hey… sleep with me, Jae.” he suddenly says, pull me down to lie beside him. He covers us with his blanket.
“… Mommy will come and I also will come, hyung.” I try to lift his mood.
“Yeah… I know. Uh, I don’t know. I don’t want to think about it anymore.”
“Are you giving up?” I lift my head to look at him, but he lightly pushes my head back, “No, silly. I won’t give up. I’ve come this far. Of course, I really want Appa come and see me perform, but it’s okay. He has business to take care of. I understand him. It’s just… I… I… really want to make him proud of me. I… I wish he would be there for me. You don’t know, Jae, but I lived without Appa for my first five years.” Hyung’s tears drip on my cheek. I whip away that tears.
“What did you mean by that, hyung?”
“It’s a long story. Mommy and Appa were apart when I was born, so, I grew up without him. I met him when I was five in his mall. I just… I just love him so much that I prayed to God every day to meet me with him.”
“You know that Appa really loves you, right, hyung?”
“Of course. I can feel it too. It’s just that… Jae… you won’t understand. I want to show him what I capable of and you know that Appa loves dance, right? I loves dance because of him too. When I was third, mommy told me that Appa loves dance. And since then, I tried my hardest to dance. And my biggest goal is to make him proud because I can dance very well. That’s why… I want him to be there when I perform.” He tells me. I nod. Finally understand what he means. We talk for a while before drifting to sleep. I think I will help hyung. I will talk to Appa tomorrow.
The next morning, I wake up super early. I immediately go downstairs, only to find mommy closed the door.
“Mommy?” I call him.
“Oh, Jaejae… you are awake, baby? It’s super early though and it’s Saturday.” Mommy comes closer and hugs me. I hug him and feel he hold me up.
“Oh, you are growing up again. I can’t lift you for a long time.” He sighs, put me down and sits on the couch. He pulls me to sit on his lap.
“Where is Appa?” I ask as I remember what I want to do.
“He’s just gone a while ago. Why?”
“What?” I ask in disbelief and climb down from his lap to look at the garage. And sure enough I can’t see Appa’s car.
“Why, baby?” Mommy stands beside me.
“I… I want to say something to Appa, Mom~. But he’s gone. I didn’t even say goodbye.” I say, holding back my tears. I want to help hyung.
“Baby, why? Oh my God, why are you crying?” Mommy whips away my tears, but I can’t say anything. I just throw my body to him as he hugs me tight.
Hyung is gone for a while. I know that he must be practicing dance again in his friend’s studio. I watch TV to entertain myself as mommy clean up the house. I take a deep sigh.
“Jaehyung-ah…” Mommy calls me. I look at the stairs as he walks closer to me. I can see he holds the crample paper in his hand. As he is in front of me, I know that he hold the invitation card.
“What is this? I found it in your room, baby.” Mommy asks as he sits beside me. I lean in my head to him, hug him sidedly.
“That’s hyung’s, mom. Hyung got an invitation to go to the final audition for Art School Scholarship. He wants us to go watch him perform tomorrow, especially Appa. He wanted to tell you yesterday, but once he heard that Appa is going to HongKong, he couldn’t tell you.” I tell him.
“And… you know about this since?”
“Since a week ago. I promise to hyung to keep it secret because hyung said he will tell you directly if he really got the invitation. He was so happy yesterday, mom, I swear. But, I couldn’t bear to look at him down like that again, so I planned to talk to Appa, but he’s already gone.” I pause.
“Mommy~ what should we do? Hyung really really wants Appa to come and watch him perform. It will be everything to him, mom. Last night… last night… hyung was crying and he told me how Appa came to his life when he was five. Hyung really really loves Appa. Can’t Appa go back and healt his business there to watch hyung perform, mommy?” I ask him, more like pleading.
Mommy takes a deep sigh. “I don’t know, baby. I will try to talk to him, but he probably is in the plane right now.” He says. I nod. I rest my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeats.
Hyung comes home late and he immediately goes to the room and sleeping. I pout and whine to mommy to do something to cheer him up. Mommy just shakes his head and tells me to go sleep early because we should go to hyung’s school.
With a heavy heart, I walk to the room and bid hyung a good night. As I give him a kiss, I feel a wet tear on his cheeks. Hyung was crying again. I sigh.
“Hyung, fighting. Jaejae will always support you. I love you.” I kiss him again.
“I’ll go now, Mommy.” Hyung’s voice is ringing in my ear. I quickly get up from my bed and run limply towards the source of voice.
“Baby, wait!” Mommy calls him. I carefully step on the stairs.
“Hyung!” I run towards him and give him a big hug.
“Hey, finally you are awake, Jae.” He chuckles. I feel like it’s been a long time since I hear his chuckles.
“Yugyeom-ah… I’ll see you at school, huh?” Mommy gives him a big hug too which he returns with a tight hug.
“Thank you so much, Mommy. I’ll see you there.” Hyung bid his goodbye as he ruffles my head, “Go take shower, Jae. I’ll wait for you at school.” He says, gives me a light kiss on my forehead and gives mommy one too.
“Fighting, baby! Be careful on the way!” Mommy shouts as he waves towards hyung.
“Fighting, hyung!” I shout at him to. He smiles at us. I watch as he disappear before close the door.
“Jae… hurry, get shower now. I’ll prepare your breakfast.”
“Did hyung take his breakfast already, mommy?” I ask curious as hyung went super early.
“He did. Don’t worry. Come on, baby… take shower…” Mommy orders me again.
I scoot closer to him, “Have you showered, mommy? It’s been a long time.., Jaejae wants to shower with mommy. Hm?” I beg to him as cute as I can, blinking my eyes a few times. I know that mommy can’t resist my cuteness as he takes a deep sigh before pull me up to the bathroom.
“Yeay!” I exclaim loudly.
I and Mommy arrive at hyung’s school and we meet some crowd as we enter the auditorium. Seems like the audition is big enough. In this case, I and Mommy can’t find hyung. I pout. Mommy is holding my hand tightly as he is afraid I will get lose in the sea of human here.
“Stay close to me, baby. We can find a better place to watch your hyung.” he says loudly. I only follow him here and there until we can see hyung waving at us.
“Mommy, you come!” hyung asks excitedly as he hugs mommy tightly.
“Jaejae!” he hugs me too.
“Hyung? I am a bit dizzy here. So many people…” I mumble.
“Oh, I know. There are fifty contestants for this final audition. The commetee has prepared three chairs for you. Come here…” Hyung leads us the way. We go to the backstage and meet some of hyung’s friends and teachers before reach out the destination. The special place for family is really wide and it’s so close to the stage, so we can watch them clearly. There aren’t so many families here, so we can save the seat in the third row.
“You can sit here, mom. I reserved for three persons.” Hyung says, mumble the last part. I know that he still hoping Appa will come, but we can’t do anything about it. Appa is miles away.
“Baby… I told Appa. He really said sorry that he can’t see you here now. He said ‘Yugyeom-ah, break a leg, son. I know you can do your best. Fighting!’ That’s what he said to me.” Mommy tells him. I can see that hyung still feels a bit emotional, so I take his hand.
“Hyung? You are awesome and you will do great. Break a leg, hyung!” I cheer him up and hug him tightly.
“Thanks, Jae. You are the best!” he gives me two thumbs up.
Mommy pulls him in to his embrace as he whispers some motivated words. Hyung just nods at his words. I can’t hear it though, because of the loud cheer from the crowd.
Hyung seems nervous as the time flies by. “Are you nervous, baby?” Mommy takes hyung’s hands and squishes it.
Hyung gives him a small smile, “A little bit, mom. But, your presence here with Jaejae give me so much strength.” He avoids to calls Appa.
“Don’t worry. You will do great, baby. I trust you. Just, don’t be nervous and give your all, baby. Think about the happiest thing and you’ll be alright. Dance like there is no one here and like there is no tomorrow. Dance like you dance for someone, baby. It really works for me.” Mommy gives him some tips.
“Hyung, when is your turn?” I ask him. He looks down at me, “49, Jae. Second from the last.”
“Oh… quite a number.” I mumble, making hyung laughs.
“Your words are really funny, Jae. Where did you pick it?” hyung asks.
“Huh? Aaah… I read one of your books.” I answer him honestly and he seems amused.
Soon, there is an announcement that the audition will be started in a few minutes. Hyung gets up from Appa’s chair.
“I have to go, mom, Jae.” he holds our hand.
“Okay. Fighting, baby! Here, let me kiss you…” Mommy leans closer to give hyung a kiss on both of hyung’s cheeks. Hyung giggles.
“Yugyeomie hyung jjang! Fighting, hyung! I love you!” I shout out loud, making him laugh as he pulls me in to his bear hug, “Thank you so much, Jae.”
“Okay… bye, all… watch me close…” he waves his hand before disappear to the backstage.
Mommy put his bag in the chair next to me, the one that hyung sat earlier.
“Why did you put your bag there, mommy?” I ask him curious.
“Why? I can’t put my bag here, baby? It’s an empty chair after all.” Mommy reasons. I nod.
The audition begins. One by one the students are showing their ability to impress the judges. Mommy can’t really sit in his chair as he keeps wandering around, standing up a bit to look around, and looks at his watch.
“What are you looking at, mom?” I ask curiously.
“Oh, nothing. I am thirsty, baby. Just wandering if there is someone who sell water.” Mommy says without looking at me. I pout knowing that he lied to me.
“Oh, there he is!” mommy exclaims after some times as he waves his hand right to the left, “Here, honey!” he shouts out loud.
I look at the direction where mommy waves at and look a fine looking guy in his crample suit walks closer towards us, bumping at a few people. He finally arrived at our place and I can see some sweats on his forehead poured down to his cheeks and nose. His face is a bit red. And he pants loudly.
“Wow… the traffic jam was really no joke. And I couldn't park around school too. I ran to here. I am not late, right?” He says, gives mommy a kiss.
“You run?” mommy asks in disbeliefs.
“Of course, I don’t want to lose my chance to see my son perform, right?” he says.
I still can’t believe my eyes as I look up at the guy beside me, whipping some sweat from his forehead as he leans closer to me, “Hey, baby… don’t be surprise. I come here for your hyung.” he says, peck my cheeks.
I giggle and throw my body to him, hug him tightly, shouting, “APPAAAA!!!” Appa just laughs and pats my back.
“Is it Yugyeom’s turn already, honey?” Appa asks.
I shake my head, “No, Appa. There are a few persons before his turn, Appa.” I inform him in which he nods. He is still fanning his body and loose his tie.
“Why don’t you take your tie and suit off, honey?” Mommy comments. He seems bothers by Appa’s excessive action to get rid of the heat. Appa grins widely, “Ah, yes, honey…” he takes his tie and suit off.
“Here… let me…” Appa turns his body to mommy as he helps him tidies up his clothes.
“Thank you, honey…” Appa kisses mommy again. I clear my throat, had enough of their lovely action. They laugh and ruffle my hair. Then, Mommy gets up to shift chair with me so I sit in the middle.
The MC is back again and he calls the next contestant.
“He is one of this school’s best students who dream to be professional dancer. Let’s welcome… Im Yugyeom!” once the MC calls my hyung’s name, I shout out his name loudly, cheering him up with Appa and Mommy. The crowd is cheering him up louder as hyung comes to the stage.
“Let’s have a talk before you show us your dance, Yugyeom-shi.” The MC says.
“Ah, yes. Hello, everyone. My name is Im Yugyeom. I am from 3-A. I hope everyone can cheer me up. I will do my best. Please, look forward to me.” hyung says his greeting, a bit nervous. I laugh at him.
“Yes, Yugyeom-shi… What is your great motivation to join this audition?”
“Uhm… I love dancing since I was three. My mommy always recorded me when I was dance and I love to dance in front of him because it makes him happy. And… uhm… my Appa… he is my biggest and greatest mentor in my life. I really look up at him. I began to love dancing because of him. Once mommy told me that Appa loves dancing, I started to love it also. So, I want to say that my parents are my greatest motivation. And I want to thank them.
Oh, and also my baby brother who always there and support me. I love you, Jaehyung-ah. And thank you so much for being the best brother for me. I really really love you, Jae.
Appa can’t make it here. He is miles away from here. I really wish he was here. But, it’s okay. Mommy and my baby brother are here. I am happy to have them with me now. I’ll do my best and will make you proud.
And Appa… don’t worry, I will show you that I can be a great dancer. Thanks for all your love and support. I love you, Appa.” Hyung ends his speech with a trembling voice. I know that he holds back his tears as he said about Appa. I look at Appa who watch hyung with teary eyes.
Suddenly, Appa stands up from his seat, “Yugyeom-ah! I am here, baby. I will watch you. I will always be here for you. I love you, Yugyeomie!” Appa shouts out loud. I stand up with mommy too. We are waving our hands to him. Hyung looks so shock and disbeliefs. Before he burst out tears for a moment then he hold himself back as he smiles to us.
“Your Appa is here, watching you, Yugyeom-shi…” The MC says.
“Yes. Yes. I… I don’t expect this because… he… he was in Hongkong t-this m-morning. Appa… Appa…”
“Wow… Everyone here is one voice with me, I think. We all can feel their love. Right?” The MC asks in which the crowd claps loudly.
“Okay… are you ready, Yugyeom-shi?” The MC asks again.
Hyung nods his head and takes a deep sigh, “Yes. I am ready.”
“Im Yugyeom, fighting! I love you, son!” Appa shouts out loud again. The MC leaves the stage. Hyung takes a deep sigh again and looks at us for a while, muttering, “Watch me carefully…” I love how his confidence is back.
When he starts dancing, I keep cheering him up just like fanchant on the music show jumping up and down, “Yugyeomie hyung, jjang! Yugyeomie hyung daebak! Saranghaeyo Im Yugyeom… Saranghaeyo Im Yugyeom!”
Hyung ends his dance awesomely. I clap loudly with the crowd. Appa and mommy are standing beside me. I watch hyung’s face that show satisfaction and happiness. He looks at us, all smiley… his smile is so charming, like Appa. My hyung is back.
All the contestants had showed their ability. Now, we are entertained by some performances as we wait for the result. I look at Appa who smiles proudly all the time. He keeps talking how hyung was so awesome in the stage.
The MC is back to the stage and he is ready to announce the result. All the contestants are up to the stage. I can’t see my hyung because he stands in the back line. I pout, “I can’t see hyung…”
Appa looks at me, “Don’t worry. We can see him after the MC read the result.” He gives me wink. I look at him confusedly.
“Your brother is gonna get that scholarship, baby…” Mommy explains beside me. I turn my head to him, looking at him in amused, “Really, mommy? How did you know?”
He shrugs, “Just a hunch. Mommy's hunch.” He simply says, making me wonder.
“Well… now I am going to announce the hero of this final audition who will win the scholarship to Seoul Art School and…” a staff interrupts him. He whispers something to the MC before dashing off to the backstage again. Hyung’s name hasn’t been called and I am so nervous. I can see Mommy and Appa too.
“Well… back to the announcement. Sorry for the inconvenience. They told me that the winner of this final audition doesn’t only get the scholarship, but also will be a trainee for one of the Big 3 Entertainment Company in South Korea.
We have to announce that we cooperate with this company to hold this audition, but we didn’t announce it at the beginning to see them who have passionate, motivation, and natural characteristic to work hard chasing their dream. So, I will announce the lucky boy… Yes, the winner is a boy…” As the MC tells this, the crowd is going wild already. Getting scholarship and being trainee… I really hope…
“And… the winner is… Contestant number 49, Im Yugyeom!” my hyung will get the grand prize.
I open my mouth widely as I heard the MC announce my hyung’s name, “Did he really…?”
Appa and mommy have been shouting and hugging each other. I am pulled in to their hug to. We jump up and down as we share our happiness for hyung.
Hyung comes to the front with mix expression. The MC gives him the throphy, bouqet, and mic, “Uuh… I don’t expect this…. Uhm… s-sure m-my goal is to g-get the s-scholarship… but being a t-trainee… woah… j-just l-like a d-dream for m-me. Like I said before… m-my b-biggest motivation is to m-make Appa and mommy p-proud of m-me… Appa! Mommy! I made it! Jaehyung-ah… hyung got it! I love you, all!” he finishes his speech with stuttering.
We meet after the audition. Hyung immediately run towards us and hug Appa tightly.
“Thanks for coming, Appa… Thank you… Thank you so much…”
Appa pats his back, “No problem, son. You did great. Congratulation!” they hug for a while before mommy interrupted them.
“Ehem… honey… Yugyeom isn’t only your son…”
“Oh, right…” Appa pulls away the hug. Mommy immediately hugs hyung, “I am so proud of you, Yugyeom-ah. Congratulation, son!” he kisses hyung a few times before hyung whinning about the people around them.
“Hyung, congratulation!” I shout out loud. Hyung hugs me tightly and lightly lift me. “Thanks, buddy!”
“Anytime, Sir!” I say in salute pose. We all laugh together.
“Let’s head back home. I am so tired and happy today.” Appa says, yawn loudly. We laugh at him. For this time, mommy is driving us back home while Appa sleeps in the car. He really looks tired.
“How did he come here, mom?” Hyung asks.
“By plane, of course.” I slyly answer. Hyung flick my head, “I know it too, silly. I mean he didn’t know about the audition. How?”
“Oh, he knew, baby.” Mommy smiles at us thrugh the mirror.
“He did?”
“Yes. I called him yesterday. I found the invitation in your room and Jaejae told me. Believe me, your Appa scolded me last night because I didn’t tell him. And I told him that I also didn’t know.”
“I wanted it to be surprise, mom. I wanted to tell you when dinner time, but Appa told me he would go to Hongkong.”
Appa stirs from his sleeps as he suddenly says, “Your needs comes first, baby. Family is number one for me and business is just business. You, Jaejae, and mommy are the most important for me. Next time, make sure you told me everything.”
“Really, Appa?” I ask him.
“Yes, all of you are my everything.”
"So, did you catch the first plane?” Mommy asks as he keeps focusing to the road.
“No. I manage to get the next plane. I think I should say sorry to the airport staffs because I threw tanthrum to them just because I missed my first plane.”
“Sure, you are, honey…” mommy mocks him.
“Hey, it’s for our son, honey.” He defends himself.
“Yeah… for our son…” mommy replies still with mocking tone.
“Ugh… I just hope they won’t blacklist me from their flight agency.” Appa says with a yawn.
“I am sure they won't. You are Im Jaebum after all…” we all laugh out loud.
“Appa?” hyung calls him again.
“Yes, baby?” Appa turns his head to us.
“Thanks again. Your presence gives me so much strength in the stage. Thank you.” hyung sincerely says.
“No need to thank me, Yugyeom-ah… As your Appa, at least this is what I can do, always being there for you and Jaehyung. Right?”
I shake my head, “No. You did more for us, Appa. You are the best Appa.” He laughs at my words, “My boys…”
In no time, we arrive at home. Appa immediately plop his body on the couch, resting his body.
“I am old now. Running a bit makes me so tired.” He sighs.
“You are old, honey. Looks, your son is almost high schooler already.” Mommy enters, brings our belonging and sit beside Appa.
“Did you run, Appa? I mean, did you really?” Hyung carefully puts his thropy and bouqet on the table and join mommy and appa to sit on the couch.
“Yes… As you know, baby… I couldn’t find a space to park the car in the school, so, I park the car a bit far from school. And I really worried that I would miss your performance, so I ran there. I also ran in the airport. Oh, honey… I will go back to Hongkong tomorrow morning.” He says, closing his eyes as he leans deeper in the couch.
“Appa?” Hyung calls him again. Appa opens his eyes and lifts his body. Suddenly hyung hugs him tightly, “I love you so much.” He says clearly, unable to hold his tears. Appa doesn’t say anything. He keeps soothing hyung’s back and hug him tightly. We sit there in the silence.
I feel my body is tired to, so I climb up to mommy’s lap, yawn loudly. Without saying anything, mommy hugs me and burries my head on his chest. He pats my back and I can hear him sings lullaby to me. Slowly, I sleep in his embrace again. I am seventh, but I still love mommy’s embrace.
“Sleep well, baby…” I feel he kiss the top of my head.
AN: I don't know what I wrote till this long ^^"
Forgive me. Kkkk~
I m sorry to say that next chapter will be the last chapter.
So, thank you so much for those who voted up, subscribed, commented, supported, and read this story.
Thank you. Till next! ^O^~
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