Baek Yoonhee did not have anyone to invite. She was an orphan who had stumbled across a man’s offer of giving her fame and wealth in exchange for talents. He had claimed that she had the perfect voice and face for the job. Since the very beginning, she never had anyone to lean on, she had always wondered what it felt like to have someone else fuss upon you. This day, every year, she’d feel the obvious absence of people whom she could ‘love’.  She would be forced to meet her fellow group mates’ relatives and witness their interactions without showing how much it hurt her. At the beginning, she had considered it given, the fact that she did not have anyone. Her main aim was doing her job right and exterminating the enemy. She even used to gain pleasure from destroying their lives; how dare they feel happy when she couldn’t? However since the day she met Chanyeol, she started to doubt her own beliefs. Was it possible for her to have a normal life like the others? She had decided to rid herself of all those silly thoughts and longings when she had to let go of him, but right now seeing that girl with him and how his teammates interacted with her brought back all those emotions. She was angry at herself for wanting more. She tried to convince herself that none of them had any problems in life and were all spoilt brats, while she had to fight every minute to live her life.

“Eomonim*! You look as beautiful as ever!” exclaimed Mi Rae as she went to hug Chanyeol’s mother.

“Mi Rae-ah, you left your sweater at home. Why do you bother bringing it when you have many at our place? Chanyeol, you better start taking care of your wife or else I will disown you and adopt her!” scolded Mrs. Park.

“Eomma! How can you be so mean to me? Of course I’m taking care of her! Besides, I told her that she could wear one of mine or even share with me…” he said with a smirk. Mi Rae just punched his hand and then buried her face on his chest, trying to hide her red cheeks, as he wrapped his arms around her protectively.  I swear his height reminds me of my Min.

“Aigoo, I’ll leave you two alone. I came all the way here to see you, instead I have you ignore me. It’s okay, I’ll talk to my other son. Baekhyun, how have you been?”

“I’ve been alright, eomonim. Do you eat your medicines properly?” asked Baekhyun, putting up his rare act of being serious.

“Baekhyun, although I appreciate that you asked me something my own son didn’t bother to ask, your seriousness is scaring me.” Mrs. Park said with a straight face.

“Ayyyy, okay~ if you continue to look this beautiful, I’m afraid I might kidnap you!” said Baekhyun, wiggling his eyebrows. They all laughed and Mrs. Park looked relieved as he went back to his normal playful self.

As Yoonhee watched them, she didn’t notice that Mi Rae was standing next to her. They politely bowed to each other and sat down at one of the tables.

“Sorry about last time. It is sometimes hard to believe that they are older than me. I never really got to ask you though, how old are you? I’m 19, January born” asked Mi Rae. “I’m 18, February born” she replied. “Oh! So I’m older! It’s really nice because usually I’m the youngest one around here” Mi Rae said, smiling at her. Yoonhee just nodded. She was finding it harder to hate this girl although she seemed to have everything Yoonhee didn’t.

“Then may I advice you as someone who has witnessed many idols train and debut? I feel that life does not give us the luxury to make many mistakes and learn from them. I think we have to be alert and identify what is right and wrong before making decisions. The moment you debut, your life will become a rollercoaster ride, if it wasn’t one anyways. However one thing I want you to remember is that none of us have any rights to assume that we are the only ones who have a difficult life. All of us go through so many problems but not all of us want to or can show others how difficult our life is. Just look at those boys. They use all the chances they get to be happy; be like them. I’m telling you this because you are Chanyeol’s friend, so he trusts you, right? Look at Kris, he looks so calm and collected, like someone who is born to be an idol. Would you ever guess that his parents are divorced and that there was a period where they were fighting a legal battle because neither of them wanted to take his custody? Now he is their ‘dear son’. That experience, however, has never made him act bitter towards others. In fact it helps him accept others for who they are and give them all the love they need.  Look at Suho, he doesn’t live his life for himself. He hates all the attention he gets and on top of that has to be a responsible leader, but he bears it all for his sister. She is a victim of cancer and every step he takes forward is only for her. Still, he doesn’t show it on the outside. I used to know Park Yoochun of DBSK. It’s a well known fact that he suffers from asthma. However did you know that as a trainee, he only had slight wheezing? It was before their debut that their manager had taken them out to the countryside with his family. There was an accident and an old house went up in flames with the manager’s son and Yoochun stuck inside.  He didn’t hesitate to help the boy first, regardless of the obvious effects it would have on his health. Everybody has gone through something or the other in their life, but they never consider themselves more ‘hurt’ as compared to others. What definitely helped them was the presence of their friends. Kris met Tao who, although was about 3 years younger to him, gave him all the strength in the world. Suho has the whole of EXO supporting him through each step. Jaejoong, Changmin, Yunho and Junsu refused to debut without Yoochun and stayed with him, by his side. So I suggest you make some good friends who will be your pillars no matter what happens. Also be as humble and understanding as possible.”

Saying this, Mi Rae got up, bowed to her and walked to the washroom. On the way, Baekhyun caught up with her and took her to his car, where she sat there leaning against him, her heart palpitating.

The others saw Yoonhee get up and walk out of the room, her hands covering her trembling lips from letting out a sob. Good job Rae they all thought at the same time.