Chapter IV: Into The New World

 

 

Seoul, Summer 2007. 

Kyuhyun opened his eyes and found himself alone in the hospital room. Again. He was bored out of his mind, but he could not really complain as he knew his body needed to rest. It was his mind refusing to stay quiet and demanding some kinds of stimulation. And it was the reason why Seohyun found herself looking at Kyuhyun with his hands drawing in the air while mumbling incomprehensible things.

“Annyeonghaseyo, Kyuhyun oppa.”

“Hey, Joohyun-ah, when will you drop that formal speaking to me?” Kyuhyun looked at his visitor and his eyes lit up. Finally someone new came to entertain him, besides his family and a few of his hyung whom he found nothing challenging.

“How are you?” Seohyun had learnt to ignore questions like that. “I heard from Changmin oppa that you are recovering well.”

“I'm bored. Other than that, I guess Changmin updated you correctly.” Kyuhyun shrugged nonchalantly. “I also heard from Changmin that you will debut soon?”

Seohyun nodded and Kyuhyun was sure that he saw her face fell in a split second, before she became cheerful again

“So when can you be home?” 

“Is something wrong with the debut?” Kyuhyun asked, he needed an answer to every question that popped up in his mind. “Are you nervous?”

“A little.” 

“Liar.” Kyuhyun rolled his eyes, her face was imprinted with the word nervous on it just a second ago. He was sick, not blind. 

“Your body still hurts.” Seohyun suddenly changed the subject as she sat down next to his bed and he replied the same way he had since the last few days.

“Not much."

“Liar.” Seohyun did not roll her eyes because she was polite, but Kyuhyun knew she fought really hard to hide a victory smile.

Kyuhyun sighed defeatedly.

“Okay, I don't want people to tip-toe around me, or worry more than necessary.”

“Me too, oppa. You have a lot on your plate already, my problem should not be another concern.”

“Wrong. I do not concern, I am curious.” 

He smirked and Seohyun could not help but chuckle, because she knew that it was just his way of hiding his warm heart. 

“I’m actually here to ask for your advice.”

He sat up straight and flashed his know-it-all smirk, which made Seohyun feel her cheeks heated up and seriously, honestly wanted to run away.

“I know you need something. Otherwise you would not bother to visit …”

However, Kyuhyun could not finish his sentences when he saw the tears welled up in the eyes of his little girl. He became panicked as her first tear drop touched his skin, making his hands felt as if it was burnt

“Please pretty Joohyun, please do not cry. I was not scolding you. I was not even complaining, I swear to God...Okay, I meant to whine but it was because I was bored...” He was blabbering, but other than that, he honestly had no idea what to do in situations like this. 

“Thank...thank you...” Seo Joohyun struggled to speak between her hiccups. “God had mercy on us… Thank you, oppa.”

“I can understand that you want to thank God because I want to do that too, but why me?” His damned curiosity got the better of him, but he also hoped that his question might direct her attention to something else other than crying. 

“For not…” He was wrong because the tears did not stop. “giving up. For being alive.”

Kyuhyun was touched that she was moved by his mere existence, but he wanted to say that it would be much better if she could do it without crying.

“How about I sing something for you?” His desperation had led him to his usual method that he used with his baby cousin, so before Seohyun had the chance to protest, he started.

“Life couldn't get better

Let's fly when I hug you

Let's fly toward the blue moon…”

Seohyun stopped crying as the first sound came out, but as the song went on and his voice was flying high, she could feel her eyes got watery again. It was just this time, she turned away and tried not let the tears fall down, because she could see that he was truly enjoying himself this whole time. 

“You stopped crying.” was the first thing Kyuhyun said after he finished the song.

Seohyun smiled sheepishly, she had let loose of her emotions again, but she was truly and deeply grateful that God not only had given him another chance to live, but also given the world another chance to have him and his voice.

“It was Miracle, isn't it?” She whispered, not entirely sure if he understood.

“Yeah it was the song.” Kyuhyun answered quickly, but he caught something else in her eyes and added, after a moment of thought. “I think I like this song a lot more after I woke up from the accident.”

“Your voice is a miracle.” Seohyun looked at him and spoke earnestly.

His lips trembled and he had to turn away to hide the tears welling up in his eyes. She somehow always found the exact moment to say the exact thing that he wanted and needed to hear. After a long silence, he spoke quietly.

“Thank you. I was not sure if I still have it like before.” 

It was the first time he actually tried to sing a full song after the surgery. He was too afraid that his voice would not be the same or his singing skills could not be employed smoothly. Even when all the doctors had assured him, he was not confident that he had it like he used to. And he was scared to death to find out whether he still had what he treasured the most. 

It was Seohyun's turn to get awkward and not know what to do, so she brought back the topic that led them through all this emotional upheaval. 

“Would you mind if I ask one question?”

Kyuhyun nodded quietly, he was still trying to control his tears. 

“We just moved in together yesterday. How do you live with other members when you are the maknae? There are eight of them and I never have any siblings, so I don't know what to do.”

Tada! Now he knew why she came to him specifically, and not Changmin, even though he knew Seohyun usually asked Changmin this type of questions. DBSK only had five, half of the new girl group, while Suju got 13, so clearly he seemed to be the one with the right experiences to share. And he was confident in sharing his secrets.

“Endure them for 6 months and then you can do whatever you like.”

Seohyun looked at him incredulously. That did not sound right.

“Why do you look at me like this?” Kyuhyun felt offended when Seohyun seem to not believe a single word he said.

“What do you mean that you can do whatever you like?”

He shrugged impatiently.

“You can talk back to them or tell them to do stuff for you. You don’t have to obey everything they say and yeah...just do what you usually do at home.”

“That’s not right.” Seohyun mumbled.

Kyuhyun smirked and looked at her like she was an idiot.

“How do you know it’s not right? I’m sure Changmin does the same thing with DBSK hyung.”

“My mom said differently.”

Kyuhyun rolled his eyes. Why did he not think of it earlier? Her mom said so many things that Kyuhyun could not agree with. For example, Joohyun got the idea of not eating burgers from her mom, so Kyuhyun found it not surprising that her mom told her to behave like a good kid, as if Joohyun was not well-behaved enough.

“What did your mom tell you then?” He glared at her, displeased that she did not trust him one bit. “And if you want to listen to her, why do you even come to me?”

"She said that I need to listen to and not cause any trouble for them."

Seohyun lowered her head as if she made a mistake, but she was so confused about who she should trust. Her mom was wise, for sure, but she never went through the same thing as them. On the other hand, she had learnt that she should take Kyuhyun’s advice with a grain of salt, because listening to him had got her into a few embarrassing situations. 

“Okay, your mom could be right, only to a certain extent.” Kyuhyun sighed frustratingly, because he could see that there was no way Joohyun would listen to everything he said. “They will be mean to you at first, so get back at them the first chance you have.”

He was successful in scaring her, as Seohyun blinked a few times and flinched at his words

“Yoona unnie and Hyoyeon unnie are nice to me.”

“But you don’t know about the rest, do you? Ryeowook was nice to me since the beginning, but Jungsoo was an old mean man.”

“Jungsoo oppa is always nice to me.” Seohyun shook his head. “He is nice...”

She did not finish her sentences as Kyuhyun folded his hands and looked at her accusingly. 

“Do you listen to me or not?”

“I…” She looked at him quickly and spoke softly. “Please do not be mad at me.”

Everytime she said that, Kyuhyun could literally see his anger evaporate into thin air with the fastest rate possible, as if it was never there in the first place. He sighed and ruffled her hair

“Okay, do whatever you want then, kid. However, if they ever bully you, tell me and I will teach them a lesson.”

At his words, Seohyun was reminded once again that he was just like the brothers of her friends whom they usually talked about: they would argue and even make fun of their sisters, but they would never hesitate to stand up for their siblings when needed. She was sure that she had asked God for a humorous, understanding and sweet brother like Changmin oppa, but she guessed God was too generous that He also gave her another humorous but naughty and impatient brother like Kyuhyun oppa. However, she knew that deep down inside, they both cared about her a lot, it was how they expressed themselves to her that were different. 

So, being a sweet sister, she gave him a tight hug to let him know that she could see through his harsh words, she whispered

“No worry oppa, I can take care of myself. You need to take care of yourself too, or else I would be very worried.”

Kyuhyun awkwardly patted her back, mumbling something like she nagged too much or he was the older with more experiences. He never had a little sister like her. Older, yes, but younger, barely. He usually had no idea how to act around her, but he was glad that he had known her even before he got into SM and thankful that they had become close when they did not really have much time together. 

“Remember to tell me what happen! I’m bored to death, at least you can entertain me that way.” 

Seohuyn chuckled, but on second thought, she agreed that even though he cared a lot about her, he was probably way too bored that he really looked forward to hear every detail. 

“I will entertain you, oppa.”

“Pinky promise.” He waved his pinky finger and Seohyun wondered how he could so shamelessly claimed that he was an adult.

“Promise.”

And with that, Kyuhyun was rest assured that he had something new to look forward to, while he was in the hospital. 

 

Seohyun was wary when she went back to the dorm after the talk with Kyuhyun. She knew that Super Junior was not particularly nice to him when he first joined them, so she did not know what her group would treat her. Yes, they had officially become a team that every action, every word and every intention would affect not only one but eight other. Their managers told them to ingrain in their minds that they were nine but one, and one but nine. At the same time, that did not mean that they were not required to be close to each other. Seohyun knew that as long as they could keep things professional, they could get by, or at least that what’s she had inferred from the way the managers had hinted at them.

“Joohyunie.” Yoona, the first one who realized that she came back, waved her hand cheerfully. They had gotten much closer since the day the final debut team was announced due to their age and their previous interaction. So, naturally, they usually stuck together and Yoona was felt a bit left out when Seohyun was not around. “How’s Kyuhyun oppa?”

“He is getting well, unnie.”

“You should call her Seohyun.” Tiffany, her roommate reminded Yoona, which also reminded Seohyun of a new fact. Yes, she was no longer Joohyun, she had the stage name of Seohyun, which she found unnecessary, it was just her first and last name held hands and the middle name got left behind, like they had to ensure that a part of her needed to stay hidden. 

Tiffany then turned to Seohyun and gave her the eye smile that Seohyun found really lovely. “You came back just in time. We are ordering pizza, what do you want?”

“Pizza...? I thought we already had dinner.” Seohyun opened roundly and gained a herself a round of laughter around the room.

“That was not even qualified as snack.” Sooyoung snorted while busy checking the different options on the menu. “I’m too hungry that I am gonna faint if the food is not here in the next 20 minutes.”

Seohyun always admired how Sooyoung could eat a whole lot and still stayed skinny. 

“No worry, Joohyunie. Just choose what you want. It’s my treat.” Jessica, one of the oldest, and definitely the trainee with the longest training time in SM, offered generously. She used to seem cold to Seohyun, but when the announcement came out in the practice room, she was the first one who came to Seohyun and told her that Jessica herself would take of Seohyun, because Seohyun was their maknae. At that moment, Seohyun awkwardly told Jessica that even though she was the maknae, she would take care of the unnie as well, which made both of them chuckled at the same time and nervousness disappeared.

“But we are on a diet.” Taeyeon, their official leader protested weakly. She was made their leader due to her age. However, 6 of them were born on the same year, 7 on the same age if Sooyoung could be counted that age seemed meaningless. Seohyun could tell Taeyeon was stressful to fulfill this completely new role, when Jessica and Hyoyeon were the two with the longest training and clearly had left a bigger impression on all the trainees.

“Well, if we don’t tell, no one knows.” Sunny, the newest face and the latest addition to their debut group, spoke confidently. 

Seohyun knew very little about Lee Soonkyu, besides the fact that she was Lee Sooman’s niece. That was not to say she was untalented, it was the other way around. Seohyun remembered that Sunny unnie had stayed after a training session to show her how to correct her movement and that was when Seohyun found out how long Sunny had trained in other companies and how she was meant to focus on dancing. 

“Well, if you gain weight, you don’t need to tell, the scale will.” Hyoyeon, her favorite unnie, rolled her eyes at the obvious fact. 

Seohyun couldn’t help but nodded adamantly, she never fancied the thought of consuming those fat food. She chimed in, despite knowing well the reaction as she had gotten it so many times when telling the following to other people:

“If you eat fast food too much, you’ll die.”

“Here we go!” As if saw it coming, Yoona claimed cheerfully. She then turned to Jessica, winking “See unnie, I told you our maknae would definitely said that.”

“Seriously, Seohyunie?” 

She nodded solemnly and saw the different reactions from her teammates. Those who knew her before, like Yuri and Hyoyeon, ignored it. Those who did not stared at her unbelievably without saying anything. The whole room turned silent, making Seohyun feel the need to explain herself 

“I just want all of us to live healthily. I did not mean to offend any of you.”

“That’s fine, we understand.” Tiffany, her roommate, went to her and patted her back. “Offend is too big of a word, maknae.”

“Don’t worry too much.” Sooyoung, who was busy and quiet the whole time suddenly spoke. “We’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other. Now I need to eat or I’m literally gonna die.”

That gained her a round of laughter and the mood was immediately lifted up.

“Yes, yes, we should.” 

“Seohyunie, want some salad instead then?”

“I’ll have a salad, we can share.” Taeyeon turned to her. “I worry that I will gain weight and manager-nim will yell at me.”

Seohyun knew that Taeyeon unnie was being sweet to her and not wanting her to feel left out, so even when she did not want to eat anything, she nodded gratefully.

“They have baked goguma, I will order it and you can have some of that too.” Yoona, knowing well what she usually had as snack, also gave out a hand and Seohyun gladly took it.

“Thank you.” was all she could manage to say.

“Yeah, yeah, save all that thank you and sorry.” Jessica ruffled her hair, despite her height. “Bend your head, kid. You are too tall.”

Seohyun laughed, believing that it was a good enough start of their journey together.

 

And so, Kyuhyun was somewhat “disappointed” when he got a long email from Joohyun without any drama included. In her email, she told him that none of her unnie bullied her. She was treated pretty well, especially if she compared it to the initial treatment he got, which made Kyuhyun roll his eyes and wonder why she had to emphasis the second part. However, deep down inside, he knew it had lifted the weight in his chest, knowing that she had gotten along fairly successfully with her unnie.

“Super Junior oppa asked me how you were, they were nice to you, Kyuhyun oppa. Oppa needs to rest and stop coming up with unhelpful advice!” 

He chuckled and decided that his day was completed.