June 15, 1999
Ji Won was in his depressed state again. There was
this empty void inside him that he couldn’t
erase. It was a recurring pain that never seemed
to end. He felt lonely.
Whenever he sees Min Sung and Kyung Hee together,
it disturbs him. He could’t figure out what
it was but he kept finding something wrong with
the picture. Then a knock came on his door.
“Come in,” he said, without bothering
to see who it was.
I entered Ji Won’s room holding a tray of
food. Now these days since he was in his isolated
stage, he didn’t eat much anymore. I was beginning
to worry. I didn’t have much time left with
him so I wanted to take care of him the best I could
with the time I still had left.
“Hyung? Are you hungry? I brought you some
food.”
Ji Won turned around to see who it was. It was Min
Sung. “Just put it down.” Min Sung placed
it down before Ji Won. Ramyun, mee-yuk-gook, rice,
and curry. ‘How does he know I like these
food?’ Ji Won thought. “Take it away
I don’t want it.”
“But hyung, you haven’t eaten for days.
Please eat a little bit.”
“I said take it away!” Ji Won yelled,
his anger exploding. He knocked over the tray of
food. It ended up spilling all over Min Sung. Ji
Won and Min Sung stared at each other. Neither of
them knew what to say. Min Sung leaned over to clean
up the spilled food and then left.
Ji Won fell back in his chair. He ran his hands
through his hair frustrated. Min Sung was too much
like Mina that it was driving him crazy. Ji Won
knew he was out of line though, so he began to walk
to Min Sung’s room to apologize.
’What a mess’, I thought as I stripped
out of my clothes. I soaked myself into a hot water
bath, hoping it could wash away all my troubles.
When I was done with my bath, I wrapped myself up
in a towel and got out of the tub. Then I heard
my room door open and then close.
‘Must be Kyung Hee’, I thought as I
began to put my clothes on.
Ji Won entered Min Sung’s room, not knowing
what to say. He wasn’t good at apologizing.
He looked around and didn’t see Min Sung anywhere.
Then he heard the sound of water draining. He figured
Min Sung must be in the bathroom.
Ji Won opened the door slightly and saw Min Sung’s
bare back. He shuts the door quietly and began to
leave. He planned to apologize later but then his
mind began to sort out what he had just seen. Min
Sung’s back had an ‘E’ on it.
Ji Won breaks the open the door to the bathroom.
I was buttoning up my long sleeve shirt when my
door suddenly opened. I stared at Ji Won in shock
but then remembered I wasn’t completely dressed
yet. I buttoned up the remaining buttons and then
faced him.
“Hyung!” I said surprised. “What
are you doing here?” I caught Ji Won looking
down at my shirt. I had buttoned it all wrong and
a great deal of my body was showing. Oh hell, I
thought. “Hyung, I can explain-“ I began
to tell him but I never had a chance to.
Ji Won stared at Min Sung’s exposed body.
Without thinking, he ripped open Min Sung’s
shirt finding that Min Sung was indeed a woman.
Min Sung stood still, stunned at what Ji Won had
just did. He turned Min Sung’s back to him.
There it was. His ‘E.’
“M...Mina?” he asked uncertainly, afraid
to hope.I didn’t know what I was more embarrassed
from. Letting Ji Won expose me or being caught.
In all my life I had never been angry at Ji Won
but I didn’t know why I reacted impulsively.
As I held my shirt together, I slapped Ji Won across
the face hard with my other hand. His head snapped
to the side. He held his cheeks as he turned to
face me.
“How could you do this to me Ji Won?”
I asked him screaming. “Get out! Get out!”
I started to push him out the door.
Ji Won was in shock. Mina, he thought. He grabbed
her arms as she pushed him out. “Mina, don’t!
Is it really you?”
I glared at him. As if he knew, Ji Won took off
his jacket and puts it around my shoulders. I zipped
it up, covering myself. “Yes Ji Won, it is
me Mina.”
“But I thought you were dead.”
“I didn’t die. I faked my death.”
“Why?”
“So I could go to Korea.”
“You came all the way from Hawaii to find
me? Why didn’t you just tell me who you are?”
Ji Won looked at Mina, who had tears coming out
of her eyes. He was about to brush them off for
her but then Mina pushed his hand away.
“That’s the only way I could do to
be with you. Join SechsKies.” Ji Won stared
at Mina as she continued talking. “After you
left me all alone in Hawaii, my life became so miserable.
Not because of my stepmom, but because of you. I
finally found a way to leave Hawaii to find you.
I was so happy when I thought about how I could
see you again. I thought—“
Ji Won began to feel a rush of mixed emotions. Mina’s
words made him sad but seeing her alive in front
of him, made him want to hold onto her and never
let her go. He paused to let her continue.
"—I thought that we could be together
like we were….oppa and dongsang in Hawaii.
But obviously, I was wrong. You had all those girls
around you that you’ve completely forgotten
about me.”
Ji Won felt his heart shatter into a million pieces.
Each one of Mina’s words stabbed him like
a knife. “Mina, you don’t understand.
I—“ Mina didn’t wait for his explanation
and ran. Ji Won chased after her.
“Mina!” he yelled as he chased her out
of the hotel. “Hyung,” said Su Won as
he saw Ji Won ran by him. Ji Won pushed him out
of the way. Kyung Hee ran up to the 5 Kies. “What
happened?”
Su Won shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t
know. Ji Won was chasing Min Sung and kept screaming
Mina.”
Kyung Hee stumbled back and Sung Hoon caught her.
‘Oh no, poor Mina,’ she thought. She
turned around to see Sung Hoon looking at her sadly.
Kyung Hee moved close to him and held onto him tight.
Neither one of them lets go.
