In a dark tan trench coat, Go MiNam stood at the airport terminal exit and waited. He looked at his phone, checked his messages, and then he heard the arrival announcement of the plane he waited for. Although people recognized him, he still remained where he was, rooted next to a line of chairs. And then he spotted the familiar bright eyes and red coat he only knew his younger twin sister, Go MiNyu, for having.

When she reached his side, he turned and hugged her. “Was the flight alright?” he asked, taking hold of her smaller bag she had used for the quick trip.

MiNyu smiled and nodded, “Yes, it was quick. I think I managed to figure out what I needed to,” she added.

MiNam sighed and then waited before he asked, “Did you find who you were looking for?”

Off of this, MiNyu shook her head, “No one there knew who I was looking for. So, I looked in their records and found some things that might be useful to further my search.”

MiNam had guessed as much when she hadn’t contacted him immediately. It had been two months after the release of a remake MiNam had released and, though there were some who complained about the familiarity of the song, MiNyu wanted to meet with some of them, in hopes that they knew who the original belonged to and whether or not they knew more connected to their mother, but it was all for naught, so it seemed.

MiNam nodded, “We’re going to the Seoul Music Festival first. Everyone is there,” he added, leading MiNyu out of the airport and over to an awaiting car. When MiNyu got in, MiNam followed and shut the door. Inside, Manager Ma looked them over and sighed, seeing that both were in lower spirits, but everyone close to the Go twins knew how hard they were working to look for family, it just was taking longer than they had anticipated. Two years after Go MiNyu returned from Africa, and they still had no leads.

When MiNyu’s phone rang, she looked down to see ‘ShinWoo Hyung’ light up and she sighed. She wondered why TaeKyung wasn’t as attentive as her dear friend. She wished she could find ShinWoo a girlfriend or someone to take his concern off of her. It was another of her long-term projects she had going. So far, she hadn’t found anyone because he seemed to find fault with everyone, but she didn’t want to lose hope.

As she answered the phone, she noticed MiNam a bit distracted.

***

Lee SoLin walked through the crowds at the Seoul Music Festival. Everywhere she looked, there were fans chasing down K-Pop stars. She’d felt peeved when she heard of the remake of a song she’d written in the past, but chose to let it go when her lawyers claimed it wouldn’t be worth fighting for. She was pleased when some die-hard fans spoke out against it, but when she heard that someone looked for them, she felt relieved to hear that they were safe and silent. She sighed and kept walking until she heard a familiar voice. She turned as Mo HwaRan turned away from talking to someone quite tall and handsome. Their eyes met and then SoLin felt a deep anger that she hadn’t felt in a very long time rise up within her.

With cautious eyes, SoLin turned away and took a step before she heard from behind her, “Lee SoLin.” There was a moment of silence and then, “We need to talk.”

SoLin turned to HwaRan and her eyes became very hard. “What is it about this time? Stealing my music or stealing the life of another loved one?” she asked, very cold.

The young man next to HwaRan turned to her and his eyes widened with a sense of recognition and confusion, “Who is this woman?”

HwaRan swallowed and replied,  “Lee SoLin, this is my son, Hwang TaeKyung.”

“He looks like his father,” SoLin stated easily.

TaeKyung watched SoLin and then his eyes widened, “Lee… SoLin?”

HwaRan put in quickly, “SoLin-sshi is the mother of the world’s fastest guitar player. Will your daughter perform today?” she asked quickly, stepping forward, hoping to be friendly.

SoLin remained in place but replied, “Yes, in about an hour at Stage A. Your son is part of A.N.Jell, right?” she asked, her facial expression never once changing.

TaeKyun nodded and then added, “We will perform right after the exhibitionists.”

“I guess I’ll see you then,” SoLin nodded to HwaRan and then walked away.

The moment she was out of earshot, HwaRan asked TaeKyung, “Where is Go MiNam?”

TaeKyung replied softly, “He went to pick up MiNyu at the airport before coming here.”

“She’s back then?” HwaRan asked, quite surprised.

TaeKyung nodded, “Yes.”

“You should introduce them to Lee SoLin,” HwaRan suggested quickly.

TaeKyung frowned, “Why does she look so much like that person?”

HwaRan stepped closer to him and replied in a very soft voice, “She was close to Lee SoJin. She might have been her family. I don’t know because I didn’t pay too much attention to these things back then.” TaeKyung’s eyes went wide a second time as he remembered the woman’s words. HwaRan added, “I will try to arrange a meeting, but she knows everything that happened so she doesn’t like me very much. She wouldn’t refuse a request from THEM,” she added reassuringly.

TaeKyung nodded, “I have to get ready.” He turned and walked away. HwaRan looked around and then hurried off in another direction, looking for SoLin.

***

Lee TaeJin tuned her electric guitar as a group of guitar players milled around, trying not to look at her but watching her all the while. She checked the neck of her guitar and then wiped it down, just in case. The iconic green body of her electric drew the gaze of every guitarist. Not only was she known on electrics, but also double stringed guitars. She’d grown up with a guitar in her hand and, after working very hard under the tutelage of her mother and father, and countless mentors, she crushed the top guitarists with her fully grown and ever expanding talent. She wasn’t born a genius, as everyone knew from past interviews, but she practiced to the point she was considered one.

Looking up, she noticed no one but kept an eye on everyone. She didn’t like being social at these events, especially when she was the headlining exhibitionist. She knew many came to see her, but she also knew many more were there to watch the K-Pop stars.

“Did you check your pedal board?” came from behind and she smiled.

“As a matter of fact, I did, Momsie,” TaeJin replied in fluent English and turned to see SoLin sitting on her Voxx amp. SoLin smiled and TaeJin stepped closer and turned in a full circle, “Like my outfit?” she asked easily.

SoLin frowned, “Is that what the endorsers sent you?” And then she added, “A bit much on this hot day, don’t you think?”

TaeJin removed her guitar and set it aside on a stand. She fixed her black mini cardigan over her vintage green and black Gothic styled rocker strapless top with three buckles that accentuated her waist. The schoolgirl-like skirt also had matching buckles and straps, giving her a fully y but badass rocker style. To top her ensemble off, she had on black ADCici military knee-high lace-up boots. Because she was bigger than the initially small make of the dress, SoLin had removed the zipper in the back and added black laces that tied the dress to her body, while exposing a two-inch strip of her skin over her spinal cord. TaeJin had liked the dress so much, she was heart broken when she found out she was too big for it, especially her bust and hips, but SoLin did everything she could and it turned out very well.

With her long black hair tied up in a few small ponytails, she had allowed bangs to frame her rounder face. On her right arm, a thick leather cuff was around her upper arm and she had on a matching metal cuff on her upper left arm. She even accentuated her double piercings on her ears by adding a chain that dangled down from her ear, almost reaching her shoulders.

SoLin smiled, “My little girl’s all grown up and attracting men.”

TaeJin rolled her eyes, “I may seem that way on stage but off stage, I’m still my mama’s girl.”

SoLin nodded and then she sat up, seeing HwaRan walk past, as if looking for someone. TaeJin noticed her mother’s sudden attention shift and turned to look as well. “Why is she here?” SoLin grumbled, leaning so as to hide a bit better.

TaeJin shifted some stands and equipment so as to help cover her mom as HwaRan continued her search, not even glancing at TaeJin, who stood directly in front of her mother. “Ooh, who made enemies already?” TaeJin mother.

SoLin sighed, “Just a bad memory from the past.” And then she added, in a softer tone and in English, “Is it alright with you that we’ll be staying a little longer in Korea? I know you wanted to go home,” she added.

TaeJin shook her head, “I’ve lined up a few smaller gigs while I’m here. And I want to see her, too,” she added, her voice more gentle than before.

SoLin reached out and then TaeJin embraced her mother. “I can’t help but wonder...”

TaeJin cringed, “Don’t get all emotional before I get up there.” TaeJin leaned away as SoLin let her go, “The band should be gathering up, so I should go, too.”

SoLin sighed, checking TaeJin’s clothes once more. “I wonder if TaeHyun would think you were y, too?” she asked and then TaeJin pushed away from her.

“Ew, Mom, so not the time,” she laughed and so did SoLin.

Behind TaeJin, onlookers couldn’t help but glance over as her band members gathered, each one looking more punk rock than the next, everyone in attire that showed off their tattoos and piercings, mostly fake but, with the heavy makeup, they looked the part of heavy metal rockers. 

 

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For Visualization Purposes:

Rocker Outfit:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/230927096/vintage-goth-outfit-rocker-outfit-womens?ref=market

Rocker Boots:  http://gblshoes.com/shoestore/ADCici-Zipper-Military-Lace-Up-Knee-High-Boot-Black.html

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