Eunhyuk stretched tiredly. It was way past dismissal but he had been called back to see some choreographers about a dance project he had proposed and boy, was he tired. He grabbed his bag and ran through the dark hallways, afraid of what he might encounter in the quiet darkness. As he dashed past room 134, something caught his eye. He stopped running and slowly peeked into the room.

Sitting right there in the corner of the room was Jonghyun’s sister. What was her name again? Whatever it was, her unique features drew him in. Forget Onew. He left me waiting for him at the bus stop, without so much of a text informing that he had left last night. I’m going in to talk to this girl.

“Hey,” Eunhyuk called softly.

Startled, Hyoyeon looked up. She wiped at her tears and forced a smile. “Sorry, would you be using this room? I’ll leave immediately.”

“No, I’m not using it. I just…” Eunhyuk trailed off. How was he going to make this work? “I heard about what happened this afternoon and, though it really is none of my business, would you mind sharing what happened? Oh. I’m Hyukjae by the way; most people just call me Eunhyuk.”

Hyoyeon stared at this guy. What manners. You don’t just pop your head round the corner and fish sensitive information out of a stranger. I should really get out. This guy’s weird. But she couldn’t bring herself to. There was something about this guy. Sincerity just oozed out of his body. Hyoyeon always trusted her instincts. She was only female. And her instincts told her to trust this guy. Okay, okay. Things can’t get worse than they already are anyway. I should be open to other opinions. I just hope this Eunhyuk guy doesn’t start judging me.

“I’m Hyoyeon. Would you like to have a seat? This could take some time.” Hyoyeon patted the ground next to her.

Eunhyuk was surprised that she agreed.  Weren’t girls supposed to keep to themselves and cry themselves to sleep when they were sad? This kid’s special. He went over and plopped himself down on the hard cement.

An eerie, awkward silence filled the room after that. Neither knew how to start. “Well,” both of them started simultaneously.

“You first.”

“No, you.”

After pushing it to each other again and again, Hyoyeon decided that she was definitely going to tell him about the things that have been happening.

“Okay then, I’ll start.

You’ll probably already know about how I was orphaned when I was three. Jonghyun oppa and I were offered places at the dance school, considering how our mother was a popular student and dancer when she was in that school.

We try to keep out of everybody’s way; we didn’t want to be a nuisance to the nice people who took us in out of nothing but kindness. We wished with all our hearts that we could repay them for all they have done for us, and that ambition has spurred us to work as hard as possible.

It was easy with the headmistress and most of the staff. They always greeted us with a smile, and it was hard to not return it with one of our own. Unfortunately, the lady in charge of us, Mrs. Kwon, didn’t possess the same attitude as everyone else. She was tasked with our upbringing because she graduated from the same class as our mom. And, as I have heard, she always played second fiddle to my mom, often having to give up parts in ballets and musicals simply because mom appealed to the audition panel more.

You can imagine how much Mrs. Kwon hated my mom. Forever one for vengeance and revenge, she took the opportunity to put us through both physical and mental torture, just to let us know how mom had made her feel when they were in school together.”

Hyoyeon paused and wiped at the tears that have made their way out of the corner of her eyes. Eunhyuk patted her on the shoulder awkwardly, not knowing exactly what to say, but felt that all words were meaningless at this point in time. All this girl needs is a listening ear, and he was more than happy to provide it.

“I know mom didn’t mean to cause her so much pain, in fact, I’m not sure if she even knows about the trauma she has created. And so I allowed myself to be put under everything she’d inflicted on me, only because I felt responsible for this woman’s suffering and was obliged to ease it on behalf of mom. But…”

Now, Hyoyeon’s tears were flowing freely, and she made no attempt to hide them anymore. The boy in the room was listening attentively, and in no way was he judging her. He felt safe.

“It’s okay, Hyoyeon, take your time.”

Hyoyeon nodded and took a deep breath before continuing. “My mom had a dream, and that was to perform at Seoul National Theatre. Only the best performers got to do showcases there and so, it was a shared aspiration amongst all dancers. I’ve conditioned and pushed myself really hard in order to perform there but never managed to make it beyond the third round of auditions every single year. That is, until last year. I succeeded in getting a part in a ballet and did pretty well in all the performances. So well, that a renowned play director who watched one of my performances approached me and invited me to be part of a theatre piece he was going to be producing. Acting's something I've always wanted to try and this opportunity just fell into my hands.”

“That’s wonderful!”

“It was. Once I found out, I submitted an application to the arts school to transfer me out and sign me on to a company. I specified that it would be ideal for me to transfer after February next year just so I have two months after the end of my play to relax before pursuing my real dream – to become a singer-dancer.

But, the day after my second rehearsal, I got a letter stating that my student-ship at the school would be terminated in August this year following my transfer to SM. The publicity for the play would have barely started!”

Eunhyuk was stunned as realization struck him. Hyoyeon has lost everything she’d worked for in coming over.

“Why didn’t you report the mistake then? Why did you come to SM?”

“I had to. I’m pretty sure Mrs. Kwon stated somewhere in my report that Jonghyun’s my brother. If I don’t turn up after I have ‘agreed to’, Jonghyun oppa’s reliability will be questioned. There’s always the risk that he will leave as and when he wants to, and that is not good for an artiste and his company. Jonghyun oppa hasn’t debuted yet, I cannot jeopardize his career.”

“Oh.” Eunhyuk didn’t know what to say. “I can’t believe Jonghyun got mad at you for thinking for him, the stupid ingrate.”

“He isn’t one. He just didn’t want me to give up my dreams for him. I guess we’re similar in a way,” Hyoyeon smiled wryly. “I just hope things get better soon.”