Title: Mangwondong Family: The Time of Our Lives

Genre: School drama, Friendship, Romance

 C H A P T E R  F I V E

"The truth hurts, but it doesn't kill. Lies may please, but it doesn't heal." 

-Unknown

---

The sizzling sound and the smell of the grilled steak from the kitchen distracted Yookyung from watching ‘I Hear Your Voice’ drama playing on TV. She knew he specifically stated that she was banned from entering the kitchen but she couldn’t contain herself from doing so. A few hours before when she arrived, she was marveled by the decoration of the studio room. She liked the white wall with a blue painted corner where a set of drums was located and next to it was the only bedroom.

It was simple yet still fascinating. He showed her his room and she praised him for his cleanliness. In his room, there was a single bed and a small closet right next. He had his mirror hung on the wall and his study table at the opposite side of the door. It was fairly spacious and comfortable enough for him.

She strutted to the kitchen and saw him looking cute in his apron. He was holding a pair of tongs, his eyes were fixed on the small grill. As he turned to grab a pinch of salt, he noticed her leaning against the wall.

“I thought I have banned you in the kitchen.” He spelled out but smiled nonetheless.

“The smell is so tempting, Woohyun.” She walked closer to take a peek, “And I’m just curious of your cooking skills.”

“Just wait. It’ll rock your socks off!”

Yookyung laughed at his lame jokes, slapping his shoulder playfully. It had been awhile since they spent times together, loosing themselves from any worry. So when Woohyun invited her to come to his place and have a taste of his rock-your-socks-off cooking, she immediately agreed. Woohyun told her he had been living alone since his father was still in the States and she didn’t want to miss out the chance to visit his studio room.

He had finished cooking and Yookyung helped him set up the small table at the living room, putting side dishes and the highlight of the day; the grilled steak. They sat facing each other and Woohyun gestured her to try on the meal. She sliced the steak gracefully and had a taste of it.

“Wow! Your cooking skills definitely have improved!” She complimented as she swallowed the food.

 Woohyun smiled proudly, “Of course! It has been 5 years since you last tasted my cooking.”

 Hearing his words, Yookyung chuckled her eyes were on her plate, “5 years since you left.”

“Miss me?” Woohyun asked, a playful smile on his face.

“It wasn’t the same without you in the house, Woohyun.” She gave him a sad smile, remembering the memory of him leaving, “I don’t have anyone to play with or to sneak into the kitchen late at night with. It was lonely.”

Woohyun’s face softened hearing her words. He knew she was having a hard time after he left but there was nothing he could do. His father had been working as a cook in her house since he was little and they practically grew up together; playing at the backyard, getting scolded for breaking the plates and petting a puppy which soon died because they left him in the rain for a few days. He remembered clearly how Yookyung cried and asked him to revive it back. They both buried the puppy at the backyard and wrote him a letter, saying sorry and we miss you.

“You know there was nothing I could do back then, right?”

She poked the grilled steak with her fork, sighing, “I know. It’s just that I miss those times. And you.”

Grinning, Woohyun ruffled her hair, a small gesture that sparked a thousand of memories from their happy childhood. He did it all the time and Yookyung loved it because it made her felt contented and protected. Stretching his arms, he gave her an assuring smile, “Well, I’m here now, right? We’ll get back those lost times, Yookyung-ah.”

“Okay.” She nodded and simply returned the smile, “So, how is school, sunbae-nim?”

He shrugged and took a sip of a can of Coke, “Boring as usual. The classes are so messed up and the teachers and students are just tools. I don’t understand the reason of you attending that school.”

“It is a prestigious school with quite a reputation.” Yookyung stated, defending her school.

“You mean it is a school attended by those rich brats who can’t even stand on their own. You know I despise those kinds of people, right?”

“Well, I’m one of those rich brats, Woohyun.”

“You’re different, Yookyung.” He said calmly, “The others are just a nuisance. But one of them is a useful nuisance. I think that I am now appointed as Park Chorong’s assistant and sooner or later the rest of the school will acknowledge me.”

Amused, Yookyung said, “You do know that she is a sly woman.  A manipulator, right?”

“Not as good as me.” He proclaimed, the right end of his lips slightly curled up, “And I’m not the kind of person who craves for attention. I’m doing it for the sake of our faraway dream. The one we’d been talking about since we were little. You know I hate doing part time jobs and being her right man is the easiest way of getting money. So, when the times have come, we’ll be out of this hellhole. And for now, you just do whatever you have to do, Yookyung.”

She sat there, pondering on his words. She knew Woohyun was a responsible young man, who won’t back out from his words and that she could always relies on him. She was afraid but excited at the same time and it reminded her of the time when they went to the amusement park, just the two of them. Woohyun had his hand on her the whole time and she was genuinely happy. So, the only thing left to do was agreeing to his plan.

“I like the sound of that.”

-----

“Why am I stuck doing this with you?” Sungjong muttered angrily, his chest rise as he stood there, glaring at the corner of the room where Namjoo was busy cutting and pasting pastel coloured papers on the wooden board. As the new members of the drama club, they were assigned to do some props preparation. So you can bond was what Jo Kwon had said after he tried to complain on having to pair with the girl he can’t stand of. He walked towards her and squatted, “You’re doing it all wrong.”

Namjoo looked up and met his eyes, “You have been saying that for the last two hours! And I don’t see you do your job right! That chair is crooked. The nails are all over the place. Are you trying to sabotage anyone, sunbae?”

“Easy for you to say since all you have to do is cut and paste!”

“Well, you’re a guy, right? And it is the guy’s job to do the hard task.”

Sungjong glared for he hadn’t knows how to reply her comment and heaved a sigh. When he decided to join the drama club, this wasn’t what he had in mind. He wanted to be on stage, pouring all of his emotions and connecting with the audience. He wanted to be somebody that wasn’t him, because as his father always says, he is a failure.

“This is so not what Shakespeare had in mind.” He whispered as he stood up and leaned against the cold wall, his arms across his chest.

Sighing, Namjoo closed her eyes for a second and opened them back before focusing on Sungjong who looked dejected. Her eyes softened and she meekly asked, “A-are you okay, sunbae?”

“Do you have a dream?” He suddenly asked back, his eyes were on the wall on the opposite side.

“What?”

Looking at her, he asked again, “A dream. Do you have one?”

“I guess so. Yeah.” Namjoo nodded though she was a bit confused by the sudden question. “I mean, everyone does have a dream, right?”

“You’re right.” He said in a low tone. “So, what is your dream?”

Namjoo tried to think of the one dream she always wanted to achieve but there were so many. When she was 5, she dreamt of being a heroin just like her favourite Disney character, Mulan. When she was 12, she wanted to be in a band after seeing her cousin played the electric guitar. When she was 14, she wished to join an opera, caked in thick makeup, singing the songs of the soul. Now that she was 16, she wanted to just be a normal high school student, doing things those she loves.

But she didn’t want to give a boring answer to her upperclassman, so she replied, “My dream is to be on stage with Queen Beyonce.”

Which was true, in a way. And that got Sungjong burst into a fit of laughter.

“What?” Namjoo exclaimed in protest, “She is the best female singer in the whole world and no one can beat her. No one.”

Nodding, Sungjong tried to hide that small smile forming on his face, “I’m well aware of that. I’d seen her performing live last summer on MTV World Stage in Tokyo and it was phenomenal. But you need to have a realistic dream, girl. There is no way on earth you will get the chance to be on the same stage as her.  You have to be Jay-Z or something.”

“Okay, then. How about you, sunbae? What is your dream?”

“To be someone that is not me.”

Namjoo scoffed, narrowing her eyes in his direction, “And that is a realistic dream?”

“It is in fact a dream that can be achieved which was why I’m here, joining the drama club. So I can land on a part and get on stage, being somebody that is not me. And people will love me. That’s why actors are so popular because they can be someone else and not being themselves. Do you understand?”

“No.” Namjoo shook her head, “I stop listening after the word actors cause I’ve been imagining Song Seunghyun being shirtless but that is not the point here. There is no way that you cannot be you. Even if you perform a role on stage, you are still being you once the play is over. And the real reason people love actors is because they are being themselves off set. That is what draws the fans in. I love it when Kim Woobin stop acting so cool and be goofy for once.

So, why do you want to be somebody that is not you? That kind of dream is pointless, isn’t it?”

Blinking, Sungjong tried to digest on her words and he thought she had a point. But after being told off ever since he was little, he had lost that self-confidence long ago. He might be putting a strong face and showing off an attitude to everyone but inside, he never really believe in himself. He bit his lips and said, “Have you ever been told that your true self is useless and if you keep acting that way, you will never achieve anything in your life?”

“Every day!” Namjoo replied, “My best friend hates my antics but that is just how I am. And she has to deal with it.”

“It’s not that easy.” He gulped down the fear.

With careful steps, Namjoo approached him and put her hand on his shoulder, offering a smile, “I understand, sunbae. But you have to start loving yourself before others can love you.”

Sungjong stared at her for what it seemed like a minute before returning the smile. In a jolt, he looked down on her hand, pushing it off his shoulder, “Get your hand off me. It has germs on it.”

Namjoo gave him an annoyed look and turned her heels, muttering, “And now you’re back to your true self.”

-----

“Get up! Get down! Pass that ball around! Because you know we’ll be number 1! Go Scorpions!”

Naeun stepped in the basketball court where the school team was doing their daily after school practice. She had two lunch boxes with her and took a seat, watching the boys dribbled the ball across the court and turned to pass. The other side of the court was occupied by the Cheerios, the school cheerleader team, jumping and cheering in their black and yellow uniforms. Naeun spotted her neighbour, Woori and waved.

They had started a friendly match between the third years and the underclassmen. Her eyes focused on the point guard of the underclassmen team as he jumped under the basket to block the dunk. The ball was smacked out of the court. She beamed and cheered in her seat, her eyes never left the sight of him.

As the whistle blown off, they took a 30 minutes break and Sungyeol called out, “Naeun-ah!”

She handed him a towel, “Good work, oppa.”

Sipping his drink, he then rolled his eyes, “I know you weren’t watching me play at all, Naeun.”

“That is completely true.” Naeun giggled, “I was watching Myungsoo oppa.”

Sungyeol scoffed before grabbing the black box and devoured on the delicacies she packed for him. From the corner of his eyes, he saw Naeun on her feet, heading towards Myungsoo who was wiping his face. She handed him the other box which he took nonchalantly. Myungsoo muttered a short ‘thank you’ and Naeun flushed like she was under the sun for hours. As she came to his side, Naeun exclaimed, “Oh my god! He took my lunch box and our hands touched for like a second there!”

“You’re unbelievable, Naeun.” Sungyeol commented as she fanned her red face with that silly smile still pasted on her face, “That guy is after someone in this school and she is not you.”

Naeun stopped abruptly and glared at him, “What do you mean?”

“And I thought you girls like gossiping. Haven’t you heard? The Cheerios girls were talking about the real reason he quitted, because of his first love. And she’s here, in our school.” Sungyeol said as he munched on the prawn sushi.

Taken aback by the news, Naeun’s heart pounded fast and there was a churning in her stomach. She never knew Myungsoo was after his first love. She always thought he chose this school because they were destined to meet each other. Clearing , she stuttered, “W-well, that is his life and as his number one fan, I have no right to put my nose into it.”

Sungyeol shrugged and continued eating. Naeun nudged him and said, “By the way, oppa. Sungjong got accepted into the drama club! Did you know about that?”

“No.” Sungyeol sighed, “I haven’t seen him at home since our little argument last week.”

“Well, I never knew he is into acting! Why didn’t he audition last year? He was great! Everyone loves him!”

“Because our father hates the idea of his own son strutting on a stage with thick make up all over him. That’s why.” Sungyeol said through gritted teeth.

Naeun watched closely as Sungyeol rubbed his temple, probably was still thinking of his little brother who had been estranged to him. They have a weird relationship, Naeun had always thought. Sungyeol loves and cares for Sungjong, there was no doubt in that, but his way of portraying those was misunderstood by the younger boy. Naeun was an only child so she had no idea how it would have feel to be the one who is being ignored or the one who is being pampered. Even so, she believed she had to do something for the two brothers.

“Oppa.” She called out, “If you want Sungjong to open up to you, you should support his choices. He had been denied since he was a little kid and now he’s finally doing something for himself. Maybe he’ll accept you in his life if you accept him in yours.”

“What do you mean?” Sungyeol narrowed his eyes, his forehead crinkled.

Naeun let out a heavy sigh, “Do I even have to tell you that? Use your brain for once and think for yourself.”

His brows knitted for he couldn’t process her words of advice. Sungyeol had always been a dense person for this emotional-related kind of thing. But at the same time he wanted to fix their relationship because in the end, Sungjong is his brother and they needed to depend on each other. He realized he was a few steps late for Sungjong had pushed him away since he stopped to care for the younger boy.

“I think I understand what you are trying to tell me.” He said, nodding his head slightly, “You meant that I –“

“Oh my god!” Naeun squealed, her hands cupping her face, “Myungsoo oppa just did an alley-oop!”

And Sungyeol could only groaned.

-----

The bell rang and students were bustling out of the classrooms, heading to the cafeteria. A group of giggling girls, the misfit clique, pairs of lovebirds clinging on each other and among the crowd was Hayoung, struggling her way to the Student Body room which was in the opposite.

A few days earlier, during a little tour around the school with Namjoo, they found the room in the main building and saw a poster pasted on the bulletin board. The (current) President was looking for a few apprentices to be practiced on leadership skills and somehow, though she was no leader, Hayoung was drew in to participate. She wrote her name and was contacted yesterday to attend an interview conducted by the President herself.

As she reached the room, she knocked on the door and heard a faint voice asking her to come in. Carefully with her heart beating fast, she stepped in and saw a young woman sitting on a chair whom she assumed was the President. The room was cleared up, the tables were pushed to the wall and the only things that occupied the space were two chairs. One was taken by the President and the other one was about 10 foot opposite to her. Hayoung stood there, her hands were cold and greeted, “Good afternoon, Park sunbae-nim. I’m Oh Hayoung from class 1-2.”

“I know who you are.” Chorong stated, “Please have a seat.”

Hayoung did as told and she could felt Chorong eyes were on her every move. She sat upright, hands on her laps, the way she practiced with Namjoo last night. They spent the night viewing videos of Michelle Obama, Emma Watson and Park Geun Hye. Namjoo found out that the Student Body President was an intelligent and graceful woman so she wanted Hayoung to be well prepared for the interview. Chorong gave her a nod of approval on her posture and her heart jumped.

“Oh Hayoung.” Chorong said as she flipped through the papers, “Was in the drama club during middle school, has a passion for singing and acting, which is weird. Why didn’t you join the drama club?”

Hayoung wanted to lie, saying excuses like how she admired intelligent women or she was actually has an interest in public speaking. But as she glanced at Chorong who was giving her an expectant look, she decided to be honest.

“Because of something my older sister said to me,” she paused, gulping down her nervousness, “To survive in high school, you need to be a part of the right clique. The drama club is full of freaks and the obvious choice in this school is the dance club. Everyone loves the dance members. So, I made my mind to join it.”

“Then why are you here?” Chorong asked.

Hayoung took a deep breath and told her story, “I can’t dance, at all. But my classmate did not have the courtesy to tell me that. Instead, she said I was good and now I’m a laughing stock. The whole school think I’m a loser.”

Her eyes were glassy but she tried her hardest not to cry. Her fingers trembled and she bit her lips as Chorong heaved a sigh, “Are you going to cry? Are you going to sit here and cry? Great. Just let them see you as a loser because you are a loser. And you know why? It’s not because you humiliated yourself. It’s because you failed and refused to stand up for yourself.”

Her words penetrated to Hayoung’s heart and she suddenly felt dizzy. She could hear the laughter and mocking faces the audience made. The smug look Jiyoung had that day and her weak, pathetic self who ran out of the place and cried to herself in the bathroom for hours. Wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her uniform, Hayoung tried to hide the tremble of her voice, “No. You’re wrong.”

Chorong raised her brow though she looked slightly amused. Seeing as Chorong remained silent, Hayoung’s voice grew firm, “I’m not a loser. That’s why I came here. To learn from the best. I’m going to stand on my own and give them a sweet taste of revenge.”

The glint in her eyes and the way her lips pursued into a straight line showed how serious she was. Hayoung was determined to change her fate, tired of being laughed at. And Chorong knew that this girl in front of her was going to be a great use in the future. Slowly, Chorong broke into a smile, a smile she hadn’t wear since she got Suho wrapped around her finger. 

--

A/N: Hello :) 

It's Woohyun! He was the one who called Yookyung in chapter 3. The two had a history and now they're back in action! These two's story will affect the dynamic of relationships of almost every character. As they said, they have a plan and they're like the duo who depends on each other. You will see a lot of them in the future :D

Namjoo was being a bit mature in this chapter, don't you think? It just shows she can act her age if she wants but she choose to just be herself. And I love that Sungjong and Hayoung are the ones who bring out this side of her. She's protective when it comes to the person she loves. Of course, she just met Sungjong but they'll have more time to bond later. Awh, our Sungjong was feeling insecure of himself and hopefully Namjoo will help him get through it.

Sungyeol was trying to fix his relationship with Sungjong but I doubt it'll work anytime soon because Sungjong had been scarred for a long time and Sungyeol's gonna need to put more efforts. I wrote a very brief, vague scene of Naeun and Myungsoo because they'll have their own time sooner. Just wait hehe.

And finally, Hayoung and Chorong. This was one of the scenes I'd been imagining when I started writing this fic. If you watch Gossip Girl, these two will be a bit similar to the relationship of Blair and Jenny in season 1. 

That's all. Enjoy, guys. Do comments or leave some feedback.