“I ought to have you move out,” Hyebin flinched at the words, but refused to make a sound. She did not trust herself to disagree so easily to her mother, who was giving her a stern look. Perhaps had Yongguk not gone to the musical industry, her mother would have been happier. Her standards for this world were battered to a cleancut bar, where if you were not a doctor, or making a good flow of income for a family, you were not successful. Her long nights at the hospital probably drove her over the edge as well, and Hyebin was trying to be as understanding as possible. Except it was not very possible.

    “Wae?” Her mother seemed to be surprised that Hyebin was making a stand for herself, and not crumpling to agreement in a matter of seconds like she probably would have before. She waited for one second, then two, then almost ten seconds, before she realized Hyebin was not giving in.

    “You are in your third year. You cannot focus on friends or fun. While your brother and I are making money to support this family, you aren’t pulling your weight if you don’t go home and just study. And don’t think I don’t know that you go out with your friends. If you can’t be a doctor, then you better marry someone who is,” her mother said in a clipped tone. “You’re taking your college entrance exams, and you need to get into Yonsei University at the least, unless you want to go overseas of course.” Hyebin let out an inaudible sigh, but her mother’s eyes still caught it.

    “Eomma, I understand that you’re worried. But I’m doing well, and in a school that is reknown for being hard to be a straight A student. Maybe I’m not straight A, but I’m known for being one of the best, and I know I can get into a good college without moving in here,” she waited for a hand to go flying at her face, but there was never one that came. Instead, her mother was staring at her, her eyes tearing up, and Hyebin felt her resolve to argue begin to crumble. Perhaps it was not right to be so harsh on her mother, who only knew how to work hard and push her to work because of a bitter divorce. Perhaps it was because she wanted someone to show off to her doctor friends as well, who were well married still with their own doctor and lawyer children, while Yongguk had turned aside this plan for music.

    “You’ve grown up so much. I must only be a nuisance to your life now,” her mother said in a slightly shrill tone, the type she used when she was trying to not cry. Hyebin bit her lower lip, thinking about her last visit with Yongguk. How happy he was in his studio with his boss, and how in love he was with composing.

    “Eomma, I know you wanted a doctor daughter, and a son too, but Yongguk is more than just special. Who out of your friends has a child who is famous and in a company know more in the world than the most prestigious of hospitals in Korea?” Hyebin said in a gentle tone. She could already tell that if she were to have Yongguk here, he would have been touched by her words. “Even if he were to be a doctor, we all know he would have regretted it the rest of his life. So please, don’t think that you have to completely dominate in my personal life because you felt like he was a mistake,” she added. Her mother began to weep, and it struck her in a funny way, almost like a sort of pathos.

    “Have I been that destructive in your brother’s life?” She asked, a sniffled sound coming from her hidden face as she turned away to wipe her eyes. That was her mother; too strong to even show a single of tears. And this was the same woman who had raised her to be who she was, and the same woman who was her role model.

    “You have a chance to give it back to him. Be supportive of his job, and be proud. It’s not everyday that you hear about how many people enjoy your child’s performance in his career.” Her mother nodded, before a distorted look came upon her face.

    “Don’t meet that Junhoe boy again..” This took her by surprise, and Hyebin’s mother’s expression turned dark, most likely from the thoughts of her own divorce.

    “I’m not dating eomma. I swear,” she said with a disappointed sigh, and her mother handed her a photo. There were the backs of two people, but the clothes were obviously from her school, as the uniform. There was also the very familiar backside of a certain tall maknae, who made Hyebin’s heart swoon.

    “What is this then? I know of this kid; his family is very successful. I would not mind you dating him but…” Her mother’s voice faded off, allowing Hyebin to shake her head.

    “Definitely not. He’s more of a best friend, but not a boyfriend. He’s dating another girl.” Hyebin said, and her heart gave a twist as she remembered how unrequited this love was. Her mother nodded, before putting a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. Hyebin had grown taller than her mother long ago, and this was an almost awkward move for her mother.

    “I can tell he means something, but for the sake of your own future, only see him as a friend for now. Don’t make me talk to you about him again. He isn’t good for you, he’s trouble. I know it.” And with that, Hyebin was barely able to stay with Youjung, and banned supposedly from contact with Junhoe. She found herself sprawled out on her bed with Youjung and Soorim, along with a certain puppy who had grown considerably since her birthday. Bomi was not meant to be larger than two or three kilograms, and she was an adorably lovable bundle of fur. Soorim was playing with the said puppy, laughing at her antics.

    “So you can stay at least,” Youjung said with a bright smile. Hyebin nodded in agreement, looking at the room around her. It was just as minimally decorated as it was when she first moved in, the only exception was the one wall where she had a growing amount of photos of her and her friends. It was slowly becoming that of a room of a teenager, as was expected now that she had reached her sixteenth year of life. And yet, it only felt like she started living not even two years back, as an inexperienced first year, lost in a world until the fateful day when she met not only Youjung and Soorim, but Junhoe.

    “Oh right, I bought you something to brighten up this room a bit,” Soorim jumped up, leaving Bomi to Youjung’s care, before scrambling about the apartment. She returned with a few scrolls of lustrous paper, and a reminiscent smile tugged on Hyebin’s face. “This looks like something every girl has, right? With all the idols like Big Bang and Dongbangshinki, and all the hot guys of 2PM. But this is very special, and a few of a kind.” Soorim began in a mysterious tone, causing Hyebin to chuckle. Soorim unrolled the first one, and Hyebin let out a coo of appreciation. It was a large picture of their group of friends, from the girls to all of iKON and Jinhyeong and Jisoo. They had taken this not so long ago during Junhoe’s birthday, which was celebrated at a park for a much too early BBQ. The next scroll was just the girls, during Soorim’s birthday photoshoot with the three looking like angels in white dresses on a soft background. The rest had various people, most notably, many with her and Junhoe.

    “Gomawo. I love it,” she began to map out places to hang them in her room, with Youjung and Soorim shouting directions.

    “Put one there!” Youjung said in a demanding tone, as if a child wanting candy. Hyebin tried to imagine it there.

“No, it’s much prettier if you keep it on that side.” Soorim countered, and Hyebin moved towards Soorim’s designated spot. She was, after all, an artist.

“Don’t listen to her, she can’t even do trig yet.” Youjung said with disapproval, clinging onto her love for math. Soorim gaped at her friend.

“I can too!” She whined. Hyebin gave up, listening to neither and just hanging them up in a step- like interval. The two continued their bickering, and soon it became a miniature catfight of the two bringing up embarrassing memories that occurred in the past three years now. Hyebin let out a soft laughter, loving how well her friends matched. She checked her phone, before realizing she had missed multiple calls in the havoc the other two had caused. 4 Missed Calls- Koo Junhoe. The next one was already coming in.

“Yoboseyo? Junhoe? What’s wrong?” She left the room silently, slipping out without the attention of the other two. The atmosphere felt weird, as Junhoe was silent, but she could almost feel a tension from across the line. “Junhoe?”

“How are you?” The voice sounded choked up, but Hyebin played along. He always revealed things according to plan- forcing it from him would be like purposely detonating a bomb. She played with a strand of hair that framed her face, letting it twirl around her fingertips.

“I’m okay. My mom was a little mad at me. I could really use some cheering up,” she admitted, remembering her previous splat with her mother. Her heart hurt from the thought of not being allowed to hang out with the boy across the line, and she wondered how that was even possible if the two were due to see their third year of school in a months time. It was definitely something she could find a loop in.

“You think you’re the only one with problems? Think again,” there was a cold tone in his voice, startling Hyebin. She froze, unable to comprehend his actions. What was he going through for him to sound so frighteningly sadistic?

“What happened?” It didn’t take much until he spilled, and when he did, she was at a loss for words.

“Is if fun to see me working so hard at music, and then having my dad give me a good beating for this? He told me to get my out of the music industry because I’m only allowed to be in the hotel business as the heir. Why did you give me hope in the first place if it wasn’t going to work out?” Junhoe was almost shouting now, and tears were burning in Hyebin’s eyes as she heard the sob from over the line.

“Junhoe, listen to me. I did it because I know how much you love music. You are a fighter at heart; don’t let others conform you and twist you away from your dreams.” There was a crackle of static on the line. Then a silence that crept between the two, the only sound left of their breaths coming by, short and fast. Finally, he hung up. She felt herself slide down into a crouch on her knees. Had Junhoe and his father fought, especially now that he was older? Did he get hurt? She dialled the next number she could think of, praying the girl would pick up.

“Hey, it’s Jisoo. What’s up?” Hyebin took a deep breath, readying herself to tell Jisoo everything. It was not her responsible to make Junoe happy anymore, it was Jisoo’s

“Go to Junhoe. He’s hurt.” The call was hung up, and she sighed. Perhaps this was a calling of some sort. A soul mate? Barely. She felt horrid, her stomach in painful knots at the thought of Junhoe. Heavens knows how many times she tried to move on; it was in the way she would remind herself to not call him constantly, to send messages inquiring what he was up to, or the way she would go out of her way to try to not pass the choreography room he was always occupying.

“Hyebin- Are you okay?” Soorim dashed to her side, crouching with her arms around her friend’s shoulders. “What’s wrong, little maknae?” Hyebin felt herself cough a little, before letting out a rattling sigh.

“Unnie, I should move on right? It’s wrong for me to still be like this?” Soorim let out a sigh of her own, before nodding. “I tried a lot, I really did. I’m such a huge babo though. I thought if I studied all the time he wouldn’t make an effort to talk, but he still does.” Soorim petted her hair, getting caught in all the wild knots and tangles in her hair. An idea seemed to strike Soorim.

“Hang on, Unnie has a plan. We’ll reinvent you for a bit. Give you some spring makeover. You’ll be fixed and new in no time.” She ran out of the room, coming back with a box. It was hair dye. Hyebin had previously had her hair dyed to a soft dark brown color, hardly noticeable, but this was a little different. There was an image of a light brown. Milk Chocolate Brown, it read. Hyebin touched her hair, self consciously. She had never thought of doing something like this. She would not change so drastically that it was going to cause everyone to stare, but it was enough to make her hesitate with going all out with something like this.

“You are your own person. Don’t let yourself become something that you were not meant to be. Let go a little, and learn to enjoy a little.” And with this in her mind, repeating as if a broken record were stuck on one line, Hyebin re- dyed her hair. It was a visible change, something that was seen without the need of a light above her head. Soorim had been right- there was a visible change as she saw herself in the mirror. Despite the sloppy job, along with the constant warning and screams from Youjung to not demolish the bathroom, Soorim had done a satisfactory enough job for her to be able to go out in public with this hair. It was overall a new and brighter person she was seeing; a girl who seemed to light up the room instead of being an elegant decoration with her pretty face. It made her memories prior to the Academies of Seoul truly seem like a lifetime ago, and maybe it was. The old Kim Hyebin was no more, and the new one was reborn into a life with the bestest of friends, and the most intricate of love lives.

“I like it. Thank you Soorim,” Hyebin said, touched. She almost felt the power in her. She was an independent young woman indeed, not just the clueless and naive girl that had constantly been lost in love and in the struggles for perfection. This almost felt like she was a new person, quite the fix needed. Perhaps this was almost a calling. She needed to take that randomly, and one that was not like herself at all, jump into an unknown territory, whether it be mentally or emotionally, or now, physically. It was obvious that Hyebin cared about her visuals: she worked out in all her free time, she ate as healthily as possible, she did diets every now and then and updated her clothes and shoes whenever there was a chance for a mall trip. Her normal appearance was oozing with the typical insecure teenage girl who needed assurance, but rather than that, she received something else. Some self worth. She saw a girl who could take on a mountain when only the day before a hill seemed like a struggle.

“Don’t thank me so much. You had a future set out for you yourself, but you just never seemed to realize it.” Soorim hummed a little tune to herself while combing out Hyebin’s new hair. “Besides, new school year, new you. Okay, that was a lie. But you have a good chance for happiness don’t you?” Soorim was interrupted as a phone rang, and she tossed Hyebin’s cell phone to her.

“Yoboseyo? Yunhyeong-ah, what’s up?” There was a loud sound of something falling and cracking in the background. It was probably havoc on the other end, but for the reason why was still unknowing to her.

“Hyebin, you have to help us. Junhoe is crazy right now.” She tensed up. She had just promised to move on again, to search for some self worth. Was it really the time to say such a thing when Junhoe was in need? Not the Junhoe she was utterly in love with, but the Junhoe who she had taken care of. This was the boy who had went out of his own way for her as well; the carnival, the nights of laughter, the days they would simply be themselves and not what the society that they grew up in pushed them into being. This was the boy she could do anything for, the one that no one would have imagined her to be like this for. The same boy that was the night to her day, the opposite of her hard work and long hours of studies, instead filled with dedication in the dance room. Opposites, but so similar between the struggle for perfection in their own futures.

“What happened to him?” She had an urgent tone, and Soorim and Youjung were perked up next to her, their eyes searching her face for any bits of emotion showing.

“Jisoo dumped him.”

--

HELLO MY LOVELIES! I've been a bit busy, and this week was so long. I'm sorry if this was so hectic of a chapter, because my mind was out of it. It was a little short of a chapter too (sorry about that). Anyways, I tried to make it as action packed as possible. I promise that in the third and fourth years of their high school careers, there will be more detailed and frequent chapters without so many time skips. I intended for this, but I'm not so sure how people would react. A lot of you commented that Jisoo and Junhoe were a strong couple, and that Hyebin should move on, but I think we all have some stubborn side that clings onto something that seems fading. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. I myself was in a hard time, with a close friend who was depressed. Recently, he was given a temporary leave from his daily responsibilities for therapeutic care, and I'm grateful I was there to help him despite his everlasting protests to my care. There is a payoff at times, and this is only one type; Jisoo broke up with Junhoe. Not that we know why of course, because that can be for next time. I will update soon, so until next time please continue to love this story with comments, subscriptions and upvotes!