1 Month Later

 

Kwangmin’s POV

 

For some reason, Youngmin seems to be drifting further away from me. It’s not that he’s avoiding me. We still talk and interact with each other but it’s not the same. Our time together seems to be shorter and he’s spending more time with the other members, particularly Donghyun-hyung. I subtly ask him about that and he told me he’s just asking Donghyun-hyung for some tips on singing, dancing, how to be a better entertainer in TV shows, blah blah blah…Does he have to ask hyung for all of those things?! Well, I wouldn’t be able to help him anyway since we trained together and he already knows what I know.

 

Our conversations were becoming less personal like we’re avoiding a certain topic which I can’t even point what. I hated this but I don’t know how to fix it. I think this is even worse than having a fight with him because if I can’t find the source of the fire, then I wouldn’t be able to kill it. Is this the stage where siblings are starting to drift away from each other and have their own set of friends? Why did it come so fast?! Thinking about it, I don’t think I’ve seen siblings cling so much to each other at this age anyway. Am I experiencing a brother complex or something? And why does Youngmin looks normal and unaffected? Don't tell me I'm the only one experiencing this...

 

“Kwangmin, you’re lost in your thoughts again,” Jungmin-hyung suddenly popped my thought bubble. “Do you have a problem?”

 

“No hyung…I’m okay,” I tried to give him a genuine smile so he wouldn’t worry about me.

 

“If you say so…”

 

The two of us were eating our breakfast in the dorm. I just woke up so I don’t know where the other members went.

 

“Hyung, do you know where Youngmin is?”

 

“He went to the grocery.”

 

“I see…” I was planning to call him so I can follow him there and do some shopping together when Jungmin-hyung suddenly said something.

 

“He’s with Donghyun-hyung.”

 

I dropped my spoon which startled the both of us. He looked at me and then he suddenly grinned, “Is there something wrong with what I said Kwangminie~?”

 

His face was inching close to mine and it was getting creepy so I gently pushed him away from me, “What’s your problem hyung?!”

 

To my relief, he went back to his seat but the playful grin was still plastered on his face, “Oh nothing~ I just want to make it clear to you that Minwoo and Hyunsung-hyung are not with them. Only the TWO of them.”

 

“S-So?” Damn! It made me want to go there as well to…to shop of course!

 

“Kwangmin, your phone’s ringing.”

 

I was thankful to whoever was calling because I will be able to escape Jungmin-hyung’s teasing looks. I looked at the caller ID and it was mom.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Kwangmin-ah! How is my son doing?”

 

“I’m good mom. How about you?”

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

 

“About what?”

 

“That you have a new girlfriend! I only knew it from your brother.”

 

“Oh…” I scratched the back of my head. “Sorry, I forgot to inform you.” Everytime I would have a new girlfriend, I would tell it to mom and she would understand just like Youngmin. However, I have been experiencing weird feelings and emotions the past weeks that I forgot to tell mom about Joomi.

 

“Is she an idol that I don’t like that’s why you didn’t tell me about her?”

 

“No mom! She’s actually not an idol. She was our classmate in middle school. Seriously mom, I wasn’t planning on keeping it a secret from you. I just forgot.”

 

My mom still sounded suspicious that I had to tell her everything about Joomi.

 

“Alright, I want to meet her then.”

 

I almost dropped the phone, “What?!”

 

“I knew it! You were really planning to hide her from you, weren’t you?!”

 

“No mom, I- aish! Alright then…when?”

 

“Tomorrow.”

 

“Tomorrow?!”

 

“I had already asked your manager if you can come back home tomorrow and he agreed. “

 

Oh great. I face-palmed myself.

 

“Did you just face-palm young man?!”

 

“No! Okay mom...I’m gonna tell her…”

 

She then laughed light-heartedly, “Don’t be too nervous about it. Since you like her, I’m sure I’ll like her too.”

 

I sighed, “Okay mom, I sure hope you do. See you tomorrow.”

 

“See you! And tell Youngmin about this okay?”

 

“Okay…”

 

To be honest, it’s not that I don’t want mom to meet her. It’s just my feelings for her are not THAT deep yet and it feels so wrong to introduce her to my parents already. I didn’t notice that I become lost in my thoughts again until I heard the door open. Donghyun-hyung and Youngmin were back and I could hear them laughing. Is grocery shopping that fun?!

 

I grabbed Youngmin’s hand and led him to our room leaving a startled Donghyun-hyung.

 

“Kwangmin! What the hell was that?”

 

“Uhm…I just want to tell you something.”

 

He sat on the bed and glared at me. He must be thinking that he looked menacing but in my eyes, he looked completely adorable. “What is it?”

 

“Mom called. She wants us to visit tomorrow.”

 

“That’s it? You didn’t have to pull me so hard!”

 

“And…she wants to meet Joomi.”

 

He suddenly had an unexplainable shocked expression on his face, “A-and…you agreed?”

 

“I…I had no choice.”

 

I was shocked when he suddenly stood and held my arms tightly, “Y-Youngmin?”

 

“No! You can’t! You can’t bring her to our home! I don’t want it!”

 

Tears were falling from his eyes and it made my heart panic, “Why not? What’s wrong Youngmin? Tell me,” I said calmly.

 

I was about to touch his face and try to soothe him but he immediately backed away from me and covered his mouth.

 

“I-I’m sorry! Forget what I said…” He ran out of the room and as soon as I snapped out of my sense, I instantly followed him outside the room but I can’t find him anywhere.

 

“If you’re looking for Youngmin, he ran outside. Don’t worry, Donghyun-hyung followed him,” Jungmin-hyung said in a low and stern voice. “What did you do this time?”

 

“I…I don’t know hyung. I gotta find him!”

 

I grabbed my phone and tried contacting him while I ran outside. He wasn’t answering my calls and I was running aimlessly. I searched in different places where he could have possibly gone to but I still couldn’t find him. Suddenly, my phone rang and I hastily answered it.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Kwangmin-ah, don’t worry okay? Youngmin’s with me.”

 

“Hyung! Please tell me where you are! Please! I’m really worried!”

 

“Calm down Kwangmin. And I already told you, there’s nothing to worry about. Sorry but I can’t tell you where we are right now. He wants to be alone for a while.”

 

“Then why are YOU with him?!”

 

“Kwangmin,” he used his unyielding leader tone and I suddenly realized I was disrespecting him.

 

“S-Sorry hyung…”

 

“It’s okay, I know you’re just worried. But you have to understand your brother too.”

 

“Okay hyung…I trust you with this.” Even though I don’t want to. “Please take care of him.”

 

“Alright. Go home and take a rest.”

 

Even though he told me to go home, I didn’t feel like going back. I strolled around the area for a while thinking of too many things. What’s the reason behind my twin’s reaction? Didn’t he like Joomi? Is that the reason why he’s drifting away from me?

 

At the same time, I’m kind of glad about what happened earlier. It’s now clear to me that Youngmin has been hiding something from me and I’m not the only one suffering from this...whatever this is. 

 

I got tired of walking and I decided to rest in a park. Since the benches were occupied by mothers who are watching over their kids, I decided to just rest under a tree with a large trunk. I closed my eyes and let my brain rest for a while before it explodes from overthinking.

 

“Strange…you look like him…”

 

I almost screamed when a young boy suddenly spoke in front of me. I didn’t notice him coming. “Uh…hello?”

 

“Hmm…but the other one’s prettier.”

 

The boy looks like he’s talking to himself while observing my face, “Is there a problem kiddo?”

 

“You look like the pretty hyung I saw here a month ago…only he’s prettier.”

 

Could Youngmin be possibly here a month ago? What was he doing here? “Is the other hyung blond?”

 

The boy’s eyes sparkled from excitement, “Yes! Yes! He was blond! And reeeeeally pretty~! But he was crying…”

 

“Crying? Why was he crying?”

 

“If I remember it right…he said something about letting something go he really wanted for himself.”

 

For some reason, my heart dropped and I felt like crying. If the boy was really talking about Youngmin, what was that thing that my brother had to sacrifice for him to be hurt like that?

 

“You seem to be in deep thoughts a while ago hyung. What were you thinking about?”

 

“Even though I tell you, you won’t be able to understand.”

 

He sat beside me and clicked his tongue, “That’s why grown-ups are having a hard time solving problems. For you, it’s all complicated but for us, everything is simple.”

 

Okay…this kid is good in his words. Well, it’s good to have someone to talk to anyway so I decided to spill a little, “Well…what if there are two important things in your life and you can only prioritize one?”

 

“Huh! That’s simple! See this cool robot that I’m holding?”

 

“Uhm..isn’t that old? I used to have that kind of robot when I was little.”

 

“Don’t insult my robot!”

 

“Uh…okay…cool robot…”

 

“This robot was the last gift I received from my father before he died three years ago…”

 

“I’m sorry to hear that…”

 

“Since the day he died, I had not let go of this robot and took care of it. During the times when I miss my father, or even when I’m just simply sad, I will play with it and forget my sadness for a while. Suddenly, my mom started buying lots of cooler and newer toys and I forgot about this. I was only able to remember it when my mom asked if I would want to donate it to the poor children. That was the time that I realized how precious the robot was and I felt like I betrayed a friend. It holds too many memories, both happy and sad. I easily get bored with my new toys but not with this one. Don’t get mislead by other beautiful and sparkly things that you see. Choose the one that holds a greater spot in your heart or you might regret it once you let go of it.”

 

It sounded silly when the kid compared my feelings to his toys but it totally made sense. I couldn’t even give him a proper response because I was once again lost in my thoughts from his words.

 

“Eunmin! How many times I tell you not to disturb other people?!”

 

“I’m going mom!! See you hyung! I hope you’ll make the right decision!” He waved goodbye and run as fast as the wind. I was left alone in my thoughts again. I suddenly remembered that we still have an activity later so I went home as fast as I could. The other members were preparing already so I went straight to our room to get myself ready too. Youngmin was inside and our eyes met. He just smiled like nothing happened. I walked towards him and grabbed his wrist.

 

“Youngmin, we need to talk.”

 

He sighed, “I guess I need to explain right?”

 

I gave him a look that tells him no, he can’t run away this time.

 

“Alright Kwangmin…after this activity okay?”

 

“Okay. I have something to tell you too.”

 

I hope I’m doing the right thing.

 

_______________________

 

The next update would be the last part I guess ^^;;

One again, thanks for reading, commenting, and subscribing to this crappy fic of mine TvT

@EunMinnie - your comment made me laugh XD so cute lol