Imitation

Joohyun was always praised wherever she went. She was famous for not only her beauty, but also her unique inner charm. Even though she was never a pompous person, after so many times hearing the same phrases, she was confident about herself. She was confident that her name, Joohyun, would go along with special. 

Until the day she stepped foot into SM Entertainment. 

Or to be exact, until the day she realized that she was not a special Joohyun. 

When Bae Joohyun just became a trainee of SM Entertainment, Seo Joohyun had already became one of the most famous female Kpop idol. And thus, Seo Joohyun barely knew about the existance of Bae Joohyun beside a few compliment about a pretty trainee, but Bae Joohyun had heard stories about Seo Joohyun all the time. Ironically, they seemed to have a few things in common.

And Bae Joohyun had to admit, the other Seo Joohyun was equally, if not more, exceptional. 

Bae Joohyun trained and trained, days after days, years after years. Everytime she wanted to give up, she thought about Seo Joohyun. She wondered how the girl, being the same age as her, starting to train when she was little, could endure the long, tiring and seemingly never ending training. And she would told herself to try a little harder, because if that Joohyun could do it, then this Joohyun could do it too. 

So, when she was informed that she would debut with Red Velvet, Bae Joohyun knew that she had to thank Seo Joohyun, even when the other girl did nothing beside the mere existance. 

However, Bae Joohyun never spoked a word with Seo Joohyun. Add on to that, Bae Joohyun never truly liked Seo Joohyun.

It was understandable. How could she like the other girl when most of the time, she was compared to that girl? She was once the most special Joohyun, but in SME, and in the entertainment industry, the only Joohyun that everyone thought of was Seo Joohyun, not Bae Joohyun.

Everyone around Bae Joohyun told her about how pretty, how nice, and how famous Seo Joohyun was. They asked her how come they had the same name, were born the same year, but one was in the National Girl Group, and one was only a pretty trainee. They told her to look up to that girl. Few even told her that the quickest formula to success would be to copy Seo Joohyun, because it was proved to be loved by many. While her uniquenes worthed nothing more than two cents in this industry which was full of everyone believing that they were the most special creatures. 

In short, Bae Joohyun should be an imitation of Seo Joohyun. 

Bae Joohyun had seriously considered that option, especially during the debut preparation with Red Velvet, when she started to know other sunbae in the company whose success were aspired by all the trainees: Kangta, BoA, Trax, DBSK, Super Junior, SHINEE, f(x), and SNSD. They all complimented her beauty and wished Red Velvet success. They tried to support the group whenever she seemed to run into troubles or simply needed someone to talk to. She knew that they were not required to help her, and they were super busy people who still tried to give her their precious time. She knew that she should be satisfied and not ask for anything else, but there was one thing, one tiny little thing that bothered her everytime she talked to them.

They always called her Bae Joohyun, or her stage name Irene. And she knew exactly why. 

Bae Joohyun looked at the man in front of her and smiled sheepishly. He was practicing alone in the room, and she stopped only to say hi, but somehow it turned out to be her rambling about a few unavoidable things that happened when a group started staying together: Their differences in living habits, their subtle comparison among members, their worries about the group's debut. 

"Oppa, I'm sorry. I have talked for too long."

The man simply shook his head. 

"It's fine. All of us idols have been there. You need to give yourself and your members time. Be a little more patient and see how things work out."

Joohyun nodded but it was apparent that she was still bothered by what was going on. Everyone told her that but being the leader of the group, the oldest among all members, she felt extremely responsible for every single thing that happened to Red Velvet. He noticed that and tried to change the topic

"You have been talking about the group for awhile. How about you? Is anything new? Do you want to talk to me about it during dinner?"

Her eyes sparked when she felt that he truly cared about her. And she would be lying if her heart did not skip a beat when he asked her to dinner. However, before she had the chance to answer, the man's phone rang and he immediately said sorry to her and went to a corner to pick up. Although she couldn't tell what he and the other person were talking about, she could hear him chuckled and his last line as he walked back to her

"Joohyun-ah, oppa will be there in few minutes."

As he turned to her, he apologized sincerely

"Irene-ah, I have to go. I will treat you dinner another time, is that ok?"

She nodded and tried to keep her smile as usual, but she found such simple thing suddenly become so demanding. As he waved goodbye and walked away hurriedly, she let the few words slip out 

"Oppa, could you call me for once Joohyun?"

But she knew that it was near impossible.

Because in their mind and heart, there was always another Joohyun. The Joohyun who had grown up with them, who had cried, laughed, sweated, and bled with them through years of training. The only Joohyun who had lent them her shoulders during their darkest time and who had hold their hands in their brightest moments. Their precious Seo Joohyun.

Bae Joohyun was never there. In their minds and hearts, she was Irene, a very very pretty trainee, another hoobae, and that was it. And thus, she had thought that maybe, just maybe, if she was more like Seo Joohyun, they would treat her the same. And he. He would look at her the same way he looked at Seo Joohyun. 

She wondered if she would ever be called by her original name. She was too shy to ask people to do so directly, and it was crystal clear to her that Seo Joohyun was the only Joohyun in SME when she was invited to a party to celebrate the success of SNSD's comeback. And ironically, at that party, it was the first time that she was called by her given name, by no other than Seo Joohyun, the one who somehow had robbed her of her own name. 

"Hi Joohyun, my name is Seo Joohyun." 

"Bae Joohyun. It is nice to meet you."

Seo Joohyun smiled politely at her and she also smiled back politely. They had nothing to talk about, so after that concise greet, they parted and never spoke to each other for the rest of the party. However, somehow she felt better that at least, someone still acknolwedge that she was Joohyun.

Bae Joohyun knew that Seo Joohyun did not particularly fond of her. She was glad that the feelings were mutual, even though there was nothing to be surprised about it. Love could be unrequitted, but hate was always mutual.

Months later, when they were more comfortable with each other, Seohyun had admitted it. People had told Seohyun that Irene was prettier than her. Some even said that if they were to trained from the same age, the one who would be SNSD might not be Seo Joohyun, but rather Bae Joohyun. Her oppa and unnie never directly compared them together, but sometimes they talked about Bae Joohyun in front of Seo Joohyun, and she just could not stop thinking how someday the other Joohyun might replace her in others's minds and hearts. 

In response, Bae Joohyun told her that none of her unnie and oppa ever called her Joohyun, but always Irene. Bae Joohyun told Seo Joohyun how everyone advised her to be an imitation of Seohyun, and to her surprise, at that moment, Seohyun chuckled lightly

"You could never copy me."

It would be lying if she said that she did not feel a little offended. Did Seohyun mean that she would never be as good as the original one? But Seohyun quickly explained her true thought

"I am the maknae. You are the leader. There is no way that you could act the way I act, even when we are twin. And we both know that we are not even sisters."

Irene chuckled. She had forgot that simple point. Seo Joohyun had always been the ultimate and forever maknae of SMTown, but Bae Joohyun was the leader of Red Velvet. And Seohyun was utterly right, they both knew that they did not resemble each other, despite how similar people might think they were. 

"People have mistaken me, YoonA unnie and Yuri unnie many times. I know how you feel."

"It seems that we have more things in common than we thought."

Irene sighed exaggeratedly. Seohyun chuckled. They were not exactly friends, but they were definitely more comfortable with each other, and with on-going comparison. 

"And just so you know, not everyone calls me Joohyun. They call me Seohyun too."

Irene nodded understandingly. Seohyun was undeniably a part of Seo Joohyun, just like how Irene was no longer a stage name, rather it was a part of Bae Joohyun. And so, she no longer thought that she needed to be the most unique Joohyun. She was not only Bae Joohyun, but also Red Velvet Irene. 

"Hey, what are you two laughing about?"

They looked at the man who approached them. They were at the party to celebrate the sucess of DBSK's comeback and since none of them loved the crowd, the two had ran to each other in a quiet corner. Seohyun smiled brightly, while Irene tried to not blush when the man smiled at her.

"It is a secret, oppa."

Seohyun spoke first. Irene realized that Seohyun and the man were still more comfortable with each other than her and him. 

"Araso." The man did not bother that they did not want to tell him. " Hyun-ah, someone is despratedly looking for you."

He winked at Seohyun, but Irene felt her heart skip a beat. Well, not everyone called her Joohyun. Sometimes they simply called Seo Joohyun Hyun, as if there was no other Hyun. Irene tried hard to not make her smile look sad. 

Seohyun blushed and punched him lightly.

"Stop teasing me, oppa."

However, she quickly bid them goodbye and walked toward a man in the middle of the room who was walking around impatienly as if he was waiting for something, or someone, important. Irene could not help but feel jealous, not because the man in front of her was obviously closer to Seohyun, but because Seohyun's feeling was returned, while hers was not.

"Uhm..."

The man cleared his throat. Irene turned back her attention to him.

"Yes, oppa?"

"I still need to treat you to dinner. Do you have some free time to have dinner with me tomorrow night, Joohyun?"

"Did you just call me Joohyun?"

"Seulgi and Yeri told me that you like to be called by that." He looked at her uncertainly.

She chuckled. She could not imagine that finally he called her Joohyun.

"How about Seohyun?"

The minute the question slipped out of her lips, Irene wanted to slap herself. She should not have asked it. She would much rather not hear his answer. 

"That was why I called Seohyun Hyun." 

He mumbled. She swore that she had seen his ears turn red, and her face immediately felt heated. 

"So, could you wait for me at SM building at 10pm?"

She asked quietly. They might not be comfortable with each other as Seohyun and him, but at that moment, Irene knew that she was not jealous of that. She also no longer wished that he looked at her the same way that he looked at Seohyun, because Seo Joohyun, from the start, was always his maknae, but her, Bae Joohyun, wanted something different. 

"Of course, Joohyun."

He smiled brightly. Irene chuckled.

"You could call me Irene."

He looked at her suspiciously, but she did not explain anything else. As long as he wanted to call her Joohyun, Bae Joohyun knew that either Irene or Bae Joohyun, she was the only Joohyun in his eyes. And that should be more than enough for her.

A/N: I'm from Vietnam and we are still celebrating Lunar New Year. Happy Lunar New Year to you all! And who the two men are, I will leave it to your imagination. :)