Watched: Food Factory

      August 10th, 2009

August 10th, 2009

"You just say the second you're uncomfortable and I'll pull you out," Hajoon spoke as he hurried through the backstage hallway with Echo. "Nothing has been released yet to the media, so no one will know and you won't have to worry about those pity looks you were complaining about before."

"What is she doing here?!" Hwan yelled once he caught sight of the female idol. The rest of the members were lingering in the backstage area, only the managers and stylists remaining in the dressing room.

"To be with my members," Echo simply replied.

"She wanted to work," Hajoon shrugged. "Plus, SM wasn't too crazy about her missing more schedules."

"Hyung, did you read the script?" Jiwook asked, his eyes questioning.

"No," the eldest manager shrugged, not seeing the point. He used to waste tons of time reading over the members scripts for every show, it was a headache and not necessary since the label already approves them. There was no point in him doing the same thing when he could be doing other work.

"Can you get her ready in ten minutes?" Hajoon brushed past the two males to ask the stylist.

"No problem," the woman grinned, gesturing for the idol to sit in the chair.

"But she didn't even practice with them!" Jiwook cried out, exasperated. The worst thing that could happen was one of the members having a mental breakdown on stage.

"They've been practicing for a week, she's fine," Hajoon shrugged, leaving the room to fill in the PD and staff that all the members would be present today.

"Echo-ah!" Tiffany gapped when she saw her friend enter from the hallway. At the familiar name all the members ceased their conversations, turning to gape or smile at their sister.

"Why are you here? Did they force you to come?" Sooyoung frowned, jogging up to the shorter member before she could reach the group next to the thick curtain.

The singers eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "No, I wanted to come."

"Are you feeling okay?" Taeyeon asked in a soft voice, laying a hand on the younger girls shoulder.

"I'm fine, I just want to work," Echo rolled her eyes, pushing past the two to take her place next to the members that hadn't moved from their spots since seeing her walk on set.

"We have five minutes, right? Am I still performing in the jazz version of Gee or no?"

Instead of blankly staring at the girl like the others, Jessica stepped forward to reply, "Yes, you still are. You're still in Hollaback Girl if you want to too."

"I would love to," she smiled, happy one of her members was acting normal around her.

"Girls' Generation on stage in thirty seconds," the PD called out.

Without anymore words the girls got into their proper lines, Seohyun ready before all the other girls to make her way on stage for her solo piano performance.

"1, 2, 3 - Hello, we are Girls' Generation!"

The crowd loudly cheered, fans happily waving their glow sticks in the air as they laid eyes on their idols.

Echo stopped paying attention that point forward, relying on her members reactions to when she should laugh or show some sort of interaction.

Her mind was dangerously blank, she didn’t know what to think of that wouldn’t have her drown in an ocean of salty tears.

Her hand was already warm with sweat, Tiffany tightly holding onto her throughout the entire filming.

Echo felt fine, she was comfortable for the first time in awhile. It had something to do with being put on a pedestal, dangled in front of all to see, that had her emotions stay intact for once. It would be a lie to say she didn’t hurt, everything hurt, especially her heart. Her eyes throbbed a bit too from excess crying.

She knew her mother would want her to continue on in her career like nothing happened. Her mother would scold her if she dared let her death interfere with her dream and her passion. So she did exactly what her mom wanted her to do: live her dream. Now she was living it for two people, her and her mom.

"Since the queen has a daughter around the age of SNSD, and she gave a story on her disappointment at not being able to see her daughter… why don't we take the mom representative and the daughter representative-"

Echo's head snapped up, ignoring the crack she heard in the base of her neck at the speed. What was going on?

Her eyes looked on in question as a short woman covered in a purple cloak walk up to Seohyun and hug her like it was a normal thing to do.

"How about you call out the name of your daughter?" the MC asked once the hug was finished.

"All ten of them are my daughters… but my real daughter, Seohyun, I love you!"

The crowd gasped and screamed when the woman was indeed revealed to be Seohyun's own mother. Echo's heart stopped when she saw the two lovingly embrace, her eyes set on them like a fly on honey, to far trapped she didn’t even notice the painfully tight grip on her hand.

Seohyun's mom came out for her? Would her mom do that? Maybe… maybe her own mother was planning on surprising her like that. She would have loved that. To be shocked and surprised and gleeful at being able to hug her mother tightly against her, freely weeping into her shoulder as her mom cooed sweet nothings in her ear to try and calm her down.

The now familiar feeling of tears pooling in her eyes met Echo, a single tear dropping down her face and onto the perfectly polished floor. Her heart painfully clenched in her chest, her eyes tightly  twisted shut to try and hide her welling up emotions, her face facing the floor.

Her hands twisted into tight fists, her blunt nails digging sharply into the palms of her reddening hands.

The idol didn't even get up when her other members stood to hug Seohyun's mother. She was barely paying attention to her surroundings until she felt Tiffany's warm hand clasp her own. Her hand loosened at the touch, a dull throb in the palm meeting her.

Tiffany's hand was the only thing keeping her grounded at this point. Everything else went by in a blur, her perfect idol smile on her face when she performed Hollaback Girl with four other members for the closing.

The second she stepped foot behind the curtain after the recording she found herself pulled against someone's chest, her hands squished in between their two bodies.

"Echo-ah, I'm so sorry," it was Seohyun's mom, "I don't even know what to say to you sweetie. Anytime you want to, you can come over, okay? I don't care what time, if you feel down or anything, or just want a home cooked meal and can get out for a little, you come over!"

A smile made its way onto Echo's face, the love of a mother was something she desperately craved. "Thank you."

Echo's heels clacked against the shiny dark tiled floors, her eyes focused narrowly on a single wooden door at the end of a relatively long hallway. As she walked she heard the handful of people lingering in said hallway whispering and pointing. She pretended she didn’t notice.

"Ah, the last to arrive," a balding man smiled behind a heavy oak desk as she closed the door behind her.

Without a word Echo maneuvered around the furniture to sit down in the brown leathered couch directly in front of the desk next to her sister. Without a word the sisters clasped hands.

"I gathered all of you here to read the last will and testament of Jung Hannah Hyoju. But, before that, there is a video she wanted all her family members to see."

For the first time that day, Echo looked around to see her surroundings. Her aunt, uncle, cousin and both grandparents were in the room. Her grandmother, who she previously believed to have a permanent scowl on her face, even looked upset. Her typically kempt hair bun in disarray, with strands dangling in front of her wrinkled face.

The man opened the tiny wooden doors behind his desk, what the idol thought was a storing unit actually revealed a decent sized flat screen television. He placed a white DVD into the TV, and pressed play.

Echo blinked back tears once her mother's familiar face flickered to life on the screen. The familiar face though, was somehow unfamiliar. Thick black bags were heavy underneath her usually cheerful eyes, her black hair greasy and matted against her head, her cheeks hallow, her once glowing skin now looked pasty and unnaturally pale. To boot the woman had a nasal cannula wrapped around her neck and lower face.

"To everyone who made it, I already knew what was happening and made sure to have my last will written, including this video," her mother took a deep breath. "I'm making this video before my lungs get any worse and I am no longer able to talk.

"I wish I have more to give, but most of my assets have gone to what medical insurance wouldn't cover. I leave my Manhattan home to both my children, to do what you wish with it. Other than any personal items everything will be liquidated, so I leave a fourth of my assets to my sister, Hyorin, and her family. I fourth a third to my parents, and I leave half to both my children. I wish I could tell you exact amounts, but you all know I was never good at math."

A dry chuckle briefly rushed through the room.

"I wish I could have more time, to see both my children on stage together, and maybe even their cousin with them. But, that's just a distant memory for me now. Mom, I know we had many differences throughout the past almost two decades, and I just want you to know… you were right. And I love you, very, very much. Even when you tried to make my life hell for my rash and stupid decisions I never stopped loving you."

Echo's eyes glanced over to her grandmothers face, watching her expression change due to the cryptic message. For the first time in her life, she saw tears rushing down her grandmothers wrinkled face, her grandfather holding onto her shoulder in an act of comfort.

"Hyorin-ah, even though you could be a major pain in my , you were my pain in the . You're the best younger sister anyone could ask for, and I owe you so much for taking me in those few years ago to help me stay closer to my children. My deepest regret is that I came back to the States and didn’t take you up on your offer to stay," her mom sniffled, pausing. "Please take care of my children just like you would Hanbi."

Her mother paused once more, her eyes downcast as she tried to collect her thoughts, her breathing becoming slightly labored in the emotions running through her. "To my children, I'm very sorry you had to see me like this, I never wanted you to have to see your mom in such a condition." Arianna's hand tightened on her sisters. "I wanted to shield you from the truth for as long as possible, I guess I was just being selfish. I love you both more than could be put into words. I'm so sorry for what I'm putting you through right now, but I knew if I told either of you then you would have dropped everything just to come home to me. I couldn't let you drop everything you both tried so hard to achieve just because of my doing, I would never have been able to pass in peace. Please, both of you, don't let my passing stop you in your endeavors. I want this to strengthen you, to propel you forward.

"Arianna, I will always be rooting for the day you debut. But, if you decide debuting isn't the right path for you, that's alright. I want you to do what you want to do, and no matter what I will be so proud of you. Allison, I know you have been going through a hard time and you aren't proud of yourself yet, that you don't believe you have really gotten to where you deserve. But, I have never had so much pride in my heart as the second I saw your debut stage almost two years ago. I want you to fight tooth and nail for whatever comes your way for you to climb up to the very top. You can become something great if you sacrifice for it."

Her mother took a lengthier pause this time, her eyes briefly shutting as her breathing became even more labored. "I wish I could say so much more, but it's getting too difficult… Please… all of you… live your lives to the fullest, don't tell my passing stop you. I love everyone of you… Goodbye." An everlasting sad smile laid itself on her mother's lips, before the screen flickered off.

Wow! It's obvious Echo has been working really hard on her dancing!

It was extremely rude when Echo didn't even stand up to greet Seohyun's mother, no manners.

Her mom probably never taught her manners, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree now does it?

Word was being such a jerk I almost couldn't even open the file to post today -_-

P.S. The episode is in reference to this episode.