Hyuna had been picking up and putting down her phone for almost ten minutes.
And then, as though she were possessed, she muttered to herself.
“Has my eyesight gotten bad from studying so much lately?”
“Maybe tomorrow the sun will rise in the west.”
“Ah, maybe the end of the world is coming.”
Well, it made sense, because…
[ [MuCore] Short but explosive—HS’s A.N.P challenge “E-, Et-chis” ]
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… she had just watched an unbelievable “runaway” video of her own brother.
E-, Et-chis…
Her brother timidly shouted the slogan and waved his long arms around.
What in the world had he wanted to do? Judging by the rough hand-motions, it looked like the A.N.P challenge…
Right.
Big brother is an adult in society.
Let’s pretend we didn’t see it.
Anyway, perhaps thanks to her brother’s sacrifice, “A.N.P” had climbed to no. 2 on the chart.
“Hee-hee—”
That alone put Hyuna in a good mood. Once A.N.P took first place, she would finally listen to Choi Jihyun’s songs, too.
Actually, she had been curious the whole time, both about the songs and about the MV everyone called a “tear-button.” What on earth was in it…
ZZZZZZ—
Just then, a call came in from her boyfriend.
“Yeah, Min-woo!”
—Hyuna, want to get lunch together?
“Perfect timing, my next class was cancelled. Let’s go!”
—Is it OK if my mom eats with us?
“Uh, your mom?”
—Yeah, we’re at the main gate of campus right now.
When Hyuna hesitated, Min-woo pressed her,
—Is that uncomfortable for you?
“N-no! I’ll be right there!”
She hung up and dashed to the bathroom to tidy her face and clothes.
Only one month into her very first relationship, Hyuna hit a massive obstacle.
At her boyfriend’s sudden suggestion, she found herself eating with his mother…
“So your name is Min Hyuna?”
“Y-yes, ma’am…”
And as if the situation weren’t awkward enough, Min-woo had gone to the restroom and left her alone.
“I heard from Min-woo you only have a father.”
“Yes, my mother passed away when I was little.”
“Well, we’re the same, so let’s skip that.”
Having grown up sensitive about not having a mother, Hyuna instinctively knew.
“What does your father do?”
“He’s disabled, so… he rests at home.”
“Disabled? How so?”
“Ah, he’s deaf…”
So, Mom doesn’t like me.
“Siblings?”
“I have an older brother, two years older.”
“Two years… so also a college student?”
“No, he works.”
“Doing what?”
“M-my brother is… ah.”
She nearly blurted “composer,” but barely swallowed the word.
Min-woo’s mother, clearly displeased with the vague answer, snapped in a sharp voice.
“When an adult asks, you should answer.”
“He works at an entertainment company.”
“So just an office worker, then?”
Hyuna couldn’t protect her brother’s pride, but she nodded to protect his secret.
“Where do you live? In an apartment?”
“Yes, at Signy Apartments in Hana-dong.”
At that, the woman repeated in surprise, “Signy in Hana-dong?” Then she scanned Hyuna up and down in disbelief, clicking her tongue.
Clatter. “Your food is here. Enjoy.”
The dishes filled the table, but Min-woo’s mother set her utensils back down. Clearly eating hadn’t been the goal.
“Look, I might sound like a terrible adult saying this…”
She coated the words Hyuna had expected with a falsely sweet tone.
“Our Min-woo is a son I’ve raised with extreme care. You two haven’t been dating long, right?”
“Yes… that’s right.”
“Then how about staying just good friends before your feelings get any deeper?”
Hyuna’s mind went blank at this scene straight out of a drama.
Truth be told, with this woman’s attitude, she wanted to stand up and leave but…
Min-woo…
To her, her very first boyfriend was precious.
“I hear you study very well, Hyuna. Smart kids understand what adults are saying, right?”
Keeping silent like a gagged sparrow, she finally squeaked,
“Y-yes…”
Just then, Min-woo returned, oblivious.
“Wow, looks delicious!”
Smiling like sunshine, he said,
“Let’s eat before it gets cold, Hyuna.”
Thus… after barely a month, through no will of her own, Hyuna lost her first boyfriend.
The day after the breakup—
[Min-woo] Why did you suddenly break up with me?
You have to tell me.
Is it because Mom showed up out of nowhere?
Let’s meet and talk.
She’d skipped meals and felt awful, but she was holding up bravely.
“Don’t reply,” she told herself.
True, she felt terrible, but she couldn’t keep dating someone whose mother judged her dad and brother like that.
Another good relationship will come!
To shake off the gloom, she replayed her brother’s challenge video.
[ [MuCore] Short but explosive—HS’s A.N.P challenge “E-, Et-chis” ]
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So this was “life in society”? She had never seen her brother dance in her whole life…
Shocking as it was for a little sister, HS’s challenge was headline material. Views shot up without end.
↳ HS’s hand-flaps are so lame and cute LOL
↳ That suit fit tho…
↳ Should I just marry HS?
↳ Forbes: “Most shocking challenge of the year” (likes 3,438)
For HS’s fandom, it was rain in a long drought.
Maybe because of that…
[ TOP 100 ]
1 A.N.P – Seo Jini
2 Spring Blue – Choi Jihyun (feat. Kim Gwang-jin)
3 out to sea – Choi Jihyun (With NY Phil & Lee Ga-hee)
A.N.P finally hit no. 1 for the first time.
So, by her own promise, Hyuna could now freely listen to Choi Ji-hyun’s songs.
And since she’d just broken up…
Should I watch the MV of ‘Spring Blue,’ the so-called tear-button?
Fwump—
She pulled the blanket over herself and pressed play.
Soon, a retro-feeling screen filled her phone.
—I feel like I used to smile once upon a time.
Two little kids shaking their bottoms made her laugh.
“When I was little, I played like that with Oppa too…”
—I think there was a time when even falling down wasn’t scary.
Nostalgia flickered then the girl in a school uniform ran off-screen.
—Even small things felt like mountains collapsing on me.
A couple walked along a road beside the blue sea.
—But, ah, I still smiled more often than not.
Thinking of Min-woo, she wilted.
“Huh?”
Suddenly, an old wedding photo flashed up and her eyes widened like lanterns.
Though the photo was worn, it felt eerily familiar.
Wait…
That wedding photo, surely…
—I really did love, truly.
Family photos of happiness scattered like shards, and her vision blurred white.
—If I could go back to those days…
Tears filled her eyes until she could no longer see the screen.
—I might lose today’s happiness, you know.
When the blur cleared, a girl ran through cherry blossoms, an all-too-familiar back.
Yes, unmistakably…
—I’m really glad to be living as who I am now.
And the Polaroids fluttering in front of her…
“Oppa, this one’s bad. You take it.”
“What am I, a trash-can?”
They were the photos she’d handed to her brother in disgust because the glare had blown them out.
—Sometimes I miss it—those reckless laughs.
Why…
—A warm spring day long ago.
Why were her parents’ wedding photo and their family Polaroids in Choi Jihyun’s MV?
—But now my warm spring days live inside my heart.
Before she could even chase the question, the MV ended on a little brother and sister sleeping on each other’s shoulders.
No… on her and her brother as little kids.
Hyuna soaked her pillow under the blanket.
“H-hic… sniff…”
She didn’t know why she was crying, but tears spilled. Sure, she’d needed an excuse to cry, but she hadn’t wanted to cry like this.
After she’d sobbed for a long time…
“Hey.”
Her brother flipped the blanket off, shocked.
“Min Hyuna, why are you crying?”
Seeing his face, she bawled like a child.
“O-Oppa, sniff…”
“Why are you crying?”
“I-Is Choi Jihyun also you?”
“I didn’t tell you yet?”
“You should have told me, dummy, h-hic…”
He pulled her into his warm arms, and Hyuna realized something.
“How can I fix it if you don’t tell me why you’re crying?”
“Sniff. Oppa, are you a T?”*
“What’s that?”
“Nothing, never mind.”
“It’s not nothing.”
Though she had no mother, a devoted father and a taciturn yet tender brother loved her wholly.
“I just… The us in the MV looked so happy…”
“Geez, scaring people over nothing.”
She was the beloved youngest of the family.
“Who said you could use my photo in an MV without permission?”
“The faces barely show. No one knows it’s you.”
She had only lost one boyfriend.
“Buy me chicken.”
“Always thinking of food.”
“I’ve been starving since yesterday! Order it!”
“Fine, but after you wash your face.”
“Oppa, you’re the best!”
She had a precious family; there was no reason to stay gloomy.
* T: In the MBTI personality typology, a “Thinking” type—often seen as blunt/logical.
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