Family Secrets

Going to Seoul

Have you ever learned something about your family that surprised you more than anything else and changed the way the rest of your life was? That's exactly what happened to this young girl. Kim Choon-hee was a twenty year old girl living in Incheon, South Korea. She had lived a normal life. Nothing out of the usual ever happened, and she was about to go to college. Little did she know that her life was about to change drastically. All it started with was a simple phone call. From who, you ask? From her mother, all the way in Seoul.

Choon-he picked up the phone, not recognizing the number. "Hello?" She spoke quietly as if she were uncertain of the call.

"Choon-he? How are you?" The woman who she didn't recognize to be her mother spoke into the the phone.

"I'm fine...sorry who is this?" The young girl spoke into the phone uncertainly.

"Don't you recognize your mother's voice?" The voice on the other end of the phone seemed to had a twinge of sadness that she didn't recognize the voice.

"Mom? How could I recognize your voice? We haven't spoken since you and dad got divorced..." Choon-hee's surprise was evident. She hadn't heard from her mother or her brother in years. All she knew was what her father had told her, which didn't even include her brother's name.

"I apologize for that. I wanted to call you sooner, but your father changed his phone number. It was by miracle that your brother and I saw your name online. We looked a little longer and found your phone number, so I decided to call you while your brother is working. I want you to come visit. Your brother and I miss you very much. I can come get you if you would prefer it." Her mother sounded desperate to see her. Even if Choon-hee barely remembered anything about her mom, she still wanted to see her, so she agreed.

The next week, Choon-hee made sure she had everything pack, thinking she'd go straight to her college after spending time with her mom and brother for the summer. She went outside to wait for her mom to pick her up. When her mom pulled up, she got out of the car and helped Choon-hee load her belongings into the back of her car. After they get comfortable, Choon-hee's mother starts driving to Seoul and to her house. They arrived at her house about an hour later.

Choon-hee and her mother unloaded her things into a guest bedroom on the second floor, next door to her brother's room and went to the kitchen to make dinner for when her brother comes home. "Choon-hee, make sure there's enough food for fifteen people. Your brother always has his friends over for dinner. I'm sure they'll be excited to meet you."

"Why does my big brother have so many people over for dinner every night? Does he really have that many friends?" Choon-hee tilted her head a bit as she was preparing to make bimbimbap and kimchi. Hearing that her brother always had twelve other people with him at dinner reminded her of her favorite band TH1RT3EN: a band of thirteen boys who are world famous for their music.

"They're actually his coworkers, but they act like family. They're all very nice boys. I really do believe that you will like them very much. It can be a bit much to handle at first, especially since it's going to be a surprise for your brother that you're here." Her mother smiled softly as she spoke of the boys, making hotteok for dessert. 

"Can you tell me something about them? I would like to at least have an idea about what to expect when they come." Choon-hee kept her eyes on what she was cooking, paying close attention to detail as she did so, wanting it to be perfect for her brother and his friends.

"They're very loud, but in a good way. Quite lively. They can be childish, but very mature about their work. They all have very nice voices that are easy to listen to. Of course, they have their flaws, but they are all good men. I am proud of the man I raised as your brother." Her mother had a soft smile as she spoke about the thirteen boys that were friends with Choon-hee's brother. It almost seemed like she saw all of them as her sons.

Choon-hee quickly finished making the bimbimbap and kimchi and went back upstairs to do a bit of cleaning. She was admittedly a bit of a neat freak.  As she started cleaning her mother's house, she plugged her headphones into her phone and started listening to her favorite band, TH1RT3EN. When her favorite of the young singers started his solo, she couldn't help but smile and hum along to it. Her favorite singer was the leader of the group, Kim Dak-ho. It wasn't rare that a singer have the same surname as she did. After all, Kim is a common family name in South Korea. Of course, she loved all the members, but Dak-ho had to be her favorite. He was just so kind and gentle towards the other members. Don't even get her started on his appearance. He was about five foot ten and what any girl would imagine to be the perfect man. Dak-ho was fashionable, and didn't even need to be fashionable to be considered attractive. He was the perfect guy in Choon-hee's opinion. She just wished she could hear his deep, soothing voice in person, but there was a one-in-a-million chance of that every happening to her. Even if it did, it would only before a moment. Wait...what if her brother is one of the guys of TH1RT3EN? No. That could never happen to an ordinary girl like Kim Choon-hee. Choon-hee cleaned everything she could see that needed to be cleaned, even going into her brother's room. His room definitely needed to be at least organized. There was paper everywhere, a full trash can, a messy desk area, and an unmade bed. She sighed softly as she started cleaning his room, making sure he'd be able to find everything easily.

When she finally finished cleaning, she went back downstairs to see if her mom needed any more help with cooking. Choon-hee helped her mom make dak gal-bi while they waited for the boys to come. After they finished the dish, Choon-hee went back to her room to change into something more comfortable before coming downstairs.

As she was setting the table, she heard the door open and turned around, freezing as she saw the thirteen boys walk into the house, laughing and talking.