“Who are you inviting to the debut show?” Luhan asked as he settled down on the seat beside me in the school library. Sehun and Kai had left earlier because I stayed back to finish up the homework while they preferred to practice instead.

The debut show was drawing closer, and I had passed out the tickets to my family while Alfred and Laura’s were still with me till they arrive in Korea. “My family and my friends from California, the ones you met the other time on Skype!” I said gleefully. “You?”

“My parents are coming down from China, and I’m inviting a couple of my friends there who agreed to come too.” He said while I nodded.

“Anyway, Sehun left his phone with me just now, could you bring it down to the company instead? I forgot to submit an assignment so I’ll head to the teacher’s office first.” He explained while I shrugged. “Sure, I’m going to practice anyway, see you later!” I called out as he stood up to get his bag and left.  

I accidentally clicked on the button of his phone and his screen came on, showing countless messages that popped up. Curiosity got the better of me and I slide across the screen, but to my dismay, I was met with a password.

“What could he possibly put...” I mumbled to myself as I tried all kinds of password combinations and was met with a 1 minute lock out. “Aish!” I threw the phone onto the table and waited for the activation again.

Finally, I tried our debut showcase date and the screen came on! I’m a genius!

I scrolled through and saw the numerous messages that his mother had sent him even though I knew it was disrespectful to be snooping around other people’s phones, I couldn’t help but be concerned.

I realized that his mother texted him every other week, asking whether he was eating or taking care of himself well. He gave short replies to those messages that showed him concern, but when his mother came up with the topic that he should go back to the law firm to work so he didn’t need to undergo so much hardship, he didn’t reply.

I took out my phone and copied her number from my phone. Just in case of any emergencies.

Then, I quickly removed all the activity and locked the phone. I stared at the number on my phone and saved it as “Sehun’s Mum” and locked it. Why did I do that? Even I myself didn’t know why.

--

“You’re really not going to invite your parents?” I asked when I passed him his phone. “How did you know that?” He raised his eyebrows and asked in curiosity.

He was still cold on some days to me, while on other days, we would talk like normal. Nevertheless, as long as he didn’t ignore me, I don’t have any complaints.

“The manager told me about it when I asked for extra tickets.” I said nonchalantly while he shrugged. “I don’t think they would want to see my debut.”

“Nonsense, what parents wouldn’t want to see their kids successful?” I just couldn’t understand why he was so obstinate about it. “You don’t know them at all.” He mumbled and clenched his fists.

“Don’t you want to see them?” I asked empathically and he let out a small smile. “Of course I want to, I haven’t seen them for so long, and I just wished they were as proud as me like how they were in the past.” He said sadly.

I excused myself and left to my secret hideout as I pulled out my phone, scrolling down my contacts to ‘Sehun’s Mum’. Guess it wouldn’t hurt to help a little.

I gathered all my courage and pressed on the contact name, pulling the phone to my ear and waited for an answer.

“Hello?” An authoritative voice answered the phone.

This is it.

“Hi, is this Mrs. Oh?” I asked timidly. Muster up your courage, Jihyun!

“Yes, I am. You are?” She inquired and I took a deep breath. Relax. “I’m Kim Jimin, Sehun’s group mate in his upcoming debut.”

There was a short silence before she finally answered. “I see. May I help you, Jimin? Did something happen to Sehun?” She asked with a hesitant yet worried tone.

“Nothing happened to him, Mrs. Oh. I called today to ask if you are free next Thursday.” I explained as I told her about the debut.
“What is it about?” She questioned.

“Sehun’s debuting next week, and he doesn’t want to invite his parents because he thinks they wouldn’t want to be there. I’m sorry for taking matters into my hands, but I know Sehun would be delighted if you and your husband would show some support-” “I’m not free to entertain his childish antics.” She said sternly and was about to put down the phone when I interrupted.

“He said he wished you two would be proud of him like how you were in the past.” I said and I knew she halted as I heard breathing on the other side.

I took this chance to continue, “He worked so hard to pursue his dreams, and he wanted his parents to be proud of him. I know I’m not in a position to say anything, but I hope you can forget about the grudge for a while because I know it would mean a lot to him if you two could be there.”

“I have two extra tickets for the show, so anytime you change your mind, you can contact me for it. I hope you have a good day, Mrs. Oh.” I said my piece before hanging up.

Phew.

I composed myself and held a straight face as I walked back to the practice room, but I couldn’t help but stare at my phone for it to ring.

“Waiting for a call?” Hyorin said as she came up to me. “You gave me a shock!” I shrieked when I saw her.

“So I was right.” She smirked and I rolled my eyes. “Kind of.”

“Whose call are you waiting for?” She asked as she peered at my phone while I put a finger to my lips. “Secret.”

“Hey, how could you keep secrets from me?” She pouted while I chuck