Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Her name is indeed Myunghee Shin, but she isn't 23 like everyone thinks she is."

"Yeah, she failed high school twice, so she's actually 25 years old."

"I think her mom owns a beauty salon in Cheongdam-dong, right? Myunghee got her qualifications from there. Not good ones though."

"I knew the moment I saw her that she was bad news. When our CEO introduced her to us, I just knew it."

"Our CEO was dating her mom, right?"

"Yeah, that's how she got her job and when they broke up, naturally, Myunghee was let go."

"And she didn't do much at all as a stylist. We got our outfits sponsored by different brands and all she did was deliver the clothes to us. We all have horrible fashion sense, so our outfits were created by some of the popular young fashion brands. Myunghee picked them up from the stores for us and we just changed into them in our private waiting room."

"That's right. Our clothes were created by other fashion designers and that girl never once worked on our outfits, right?"

"Yeah. And she didn't even really do our makeup, Hyunsuk did most of it. I mean, we were all wearing masks, so there wasn't much makeup to do anyway. All we needed was to wear a thin layer of BB cream and that was it."

"Hmm… Hyunsuk, did you ever talk to her?"

"Me? Um, no, not a word. I don't think we even said hello to each other. She would always enter the room with her head bowed down and leave as soon as she delivered our outfits. She wouldn't really give us a chance to talk to her. Jiwoo, how about you? Maybe just a few hellos, but that's it, right?"

"Yeah, that was pretty much it."

"Oh, um…"

"Hyojun? What is it? WHAT DID YOU DO?"

"Well, it's nothing. I have been wondering why she specifically picked me and Kiwook as her love interests, and… Well, about a month ago, I heard her talking on the phone with her friend. I heard her saying that it was her birthday, but no one even said anything to her. She was complaining about it so Kiwook and I… um… We picked out a flower basket and a box of chocolates from the mountain of gifts we got from the fans and gave them to her as birthday presents. You gave her the flower basket, right, Kiwook?"

"Uhhh… No, I think I was the one who gave her the chocolate. I remember because I told her to have a sweet birthday or something along that line."

"Do you think that would've been enough for her to mistake it as a come-on?"

Hyoyoung was so sleepy, but the four guys didn't care. They bombarded her with their stories and she suddenly realized that men could be much more talkative than women.

They would just not stop talking!

"STOP!"

Hyoyoung stood up with a shout.

"YES! That kind of gesture and comment can definitely make a girl think you are coming on to her. But whatever, it doesn't matter. Let me summarize this situation for you all. One, this scandal isn't true. Two, that stylist has already been fired. Three, you boys are on a break from your career, so you don't have to worry about this right now. That sums it up, right? Happy now? Good. Now, I'm going back to bed."

Hyoyoung said all of it in one breath and when no one said a word, she walked away, back to her bedroom. Staring at the back of Hyoyoung, Kiwook grinned while Hyojun and Hyunsuk shrugged.

"Wow. She is just like you, Jun."

Hyoyoung heard Jiwoo's comment but ignored it.

The next day at school, she was again in the middle of discussing this scandal, but with her classmates instead. It was a less accurate version of it, but still very similar.

Mikyung asked Hyoyoung, "Hey, are you listening?"

"Yeah, but who cares about this? This whole thing is just rumors with no proof, right? We all know this can't be true, so I'm sure it will die down eventually."

When Hyoyoung looked indifferent and calm, Mikyung seemed surprised. When Hyoyoung rested her head on her desk for a nap, Mikyung looked at her sympathetically and murmured, "I can see that you are hurting very badly, Hyoyoung. I totally understand. This is the very first idol group that you fell in love with. Being a fan can be hard. This is a very painful situation for all of us."

Mikyung went back to her seat and Hyoyoung's mind raced with many different thoughts. They were best friends, which meant that they were supposed to share each others' secrets. They were supposed to be able to talk about everything, yet… Hyoyoung now carried a huge secret and it was killing her.

All day, Hyoyoung couldn't concentrate at all. She was still so tired, and she worried about what she would have to go through when she returned home.

School was over and she was packing her backpack when her cellphone rang. It was a text from her brother.

-School back entrance. Come in 5 minutes. Van will be waiting.

She has never felt so freaked out about her brother's text message. Her heart fell.

'Back entrance? Van? Is he crazy?'

Hyoyoung packed her back quickly and ran out the door. Mikyung asked her to wait while she went to the washroom, but Hyoyoung had no time to wait for her and explain. She could not afford to let anyone see her get into the van.

She ran to the back entrance and saw the van at the side of the street. It was a pretty big, black van and looked brand new.

Enough to attract people's attention.

And there were plenty of kids leaving the school and noticing it.

"Are they crazy?!"

Hyoyoung ran to the van as fast as she could. When she reached it, the door opened and a hand reached out to pull her in. Inside, the four members of The M were waiting; they were all grinning at her.

Hyoyoung screamed, "Why would you think this is a good idea?! All four of you out in the open like this?!"

Hyojun replied, "But we had no choice. In four hours, we have to do a live internet show. Besides, no one knows our faces, so it should be ok; for now, anyway. I'm sure it's just a matter of time before we become known."

Kiwook was sitting in the passenger seat. He turned around to face Hyoyoung and asked, "The truth is… we need your help!"

Hyoyoung's eyes widened at Kiwook's request. When she remained speechless, Jiwoo came closer to her and put his arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, Young. We need to confess something to you."

"W-what is it?"

"The truth is… we are…"

"What?! Tell me!"