The Angel named Hyun-ae

Note: I changed Angel's course in chapter 1. She's not from the Music Department anymore.

Annyeonghasseyo! My name is Shin Hyun-ae! You can call me Hyun-ae or Agnes, but my new friends call me Angel. I'm what you call a Neo-PM idol, but what is Neo-PM music anyway? I'll get to that later! We have a lot of stories to share!

So what year is it today? Oh, 2021! Wanna hear how I started as an idol? You do? Great! It all started 10 years ago, but before that...

I was born in Changwon, South Korea back in 1995, then we moved to Bucheon. My parents are Shin Dongyeon and Kim Chaehyun. Appa runs a chicken delivery service and a small grocery and kinda looks like Ahn Kil Kang, while eomma is a nurse who some people said looked like some actress named Kana Kurashina. Unfortunately, eomma died after my baby sister was born back in 2002.

I have four siblings - two sisters and two brothers.

My half-sister Hyunyoung or April. She's the firstborn, born in 1993. She looks like Sohee from Nature.

Then my brother Hyundong or David, born in 1994. Technically he's the oldest since April's not appa's child, but there's no love lost. David looks like Ahn Hyeongsob, they said.

Of course there's me, Hyun-ae, born in 1995. They said I look like Onda from Everglow.

Then we have my younger brother Hyunjae, or Jehu as we sometimes call him, born in 1997. He's a bit of a dummy. He looks like this guy called Na Jaemin from NCT.

I wanted to show my baby sister Hyunbi or Serenity, but she's camera shy and does not have a picture for me to share. The best I could describe her is she looks like Sohee from Rocket Punch. Yeah, two Sohee's. Ain't that a thinker?

You might be wondering why I described my siblings like that. Well, those people are the ones we resembled the most.

A-Anyway, going back to my beginnings! Not a lot of Koreans dream of becoming idols, but I'm one of those who did because I just love music and dancing. Me, April and David would dance and sing a lot, but when eomma died, appa just went...

"Aniyoooo. Idol life's not for you. You, Hyunyoung, your eyes too far. Hyundong, you look like a sick monkey. Hyun-ae, you're ugly. Singing will not pay rent. Singing will not give food. Singing will get you nothing."

He just... shit on our dreams. April and David were so demotivated that they stopped, but not me. We grew up in the Philippines because appa's been evading the law in Korea since I was two years old. The dance studios here are pretty much crap because they dance to probably the most craptastic, nonsense songs, so I would secretly watch Kpop videos and dance to them at this vacant studio unit my ex-boyfriend owned. I really loved singing and dancing, but...

"YOU'RE TAKING HOTEL AND RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT IN COLLEGE! I DON'T CARE IF YOU CRY, NO MORE DANCING FOR YOU!"

Appa was so against us that he had me take Hotel and Restaurant Management in the University of Santo Tomas. Ugh, these heels are killing me. I look like a flight attendant who's gonna pleasure some ugly rich dude. Still, I'm the rebellious one so I continued dancing in secret....

"Wow, how'd you get this place, Agnes?"

"Ah. Remember Abe, April?"

"Your ex-boyfriend?"

"Yeah. His uncle gave this to him as a gift, but his mom and dad got him a better place. He gave the keys to me if I wanted to use it as a hideout."

"Niiiice. Why did you break up with him?", David asked me while bouncing a baseball off the wall. I frowned at him for asking that.

"Because Abe called me a spacey-eyed monkey in front of the whole school last year. So I went and broke up with him during graduation." David hit himself with the baseball after failing to catch it - he got surprised by what I said.

"Sheeeit. Isn't that worse?"

"Ehhh. Potato, potahto."

"I hope you weren't too mean to him. Wait, how come you could still use this studio if you're on bad terms?", April asked me.

"Because he's not allowed to date, and if his family finds out he dated and gave some keys to me, he's in big trouble."

"I don't get it.", David scratched his head.

"Yeah, I don't either.", I told him.

"Well that can make a big plot hole later on.", April wondered.

"I misspoke. He gave the keys to me as an I'm sorry gift. He still pays for the electricity.", I told my sister. She gave me a sly smile in return.

"Ooh, freeloading now, huh?"

"A bit, yeah. Hey, don't tell appa about this place."

"You kidding? This is heaven! Home is hell!", David told me with a big, BIG smile on his face.

"Say, there was this creepy old man the other day at my campus. He told me about some kind of idol contest here, but I told him no because ewww. I don't wanna be a prostitute if the contest is a sham.", April shared to me.

"Yeah, weird thing happened to me, too, but it's a man in his thirties. He was with his dad though, the old coot looked like mah man Eddie Guerrero!", David built on what April told me.

"Two men, one looks like Eddie Guerrero, the other obviously younger. Why didn't you say yes, David?", I asked my brother.

"Y'know my sched. Appa's got a tight grip on me.", David sulked. "If you meet those two, why don'tcha go for it?"

"Yeah! At least we have an offering if it's a sham!", April sneered. David barely missed her as he whacked her with a pillow.

"Agnes won't be whored out, doofus. She's smarter than that."

"Since appa doesn't have an eye on me... yeah, why not?", I thought with a smile on my face.

"In fact, I have the old man's number just in case I changed my mind. I'mma set you up with him for an appointment.", April shared.

"Aww, that's so sweet of you, unnie.", I sighed.

"Yeah....", April said with an evil smile.

"I'M NOT GONNA GET SNU SNU! IF THIS IS REAL, JOKE'S ON YOU!", I pouted.

"Geez, I'm just fooling with you.", April countered.

So my sister set me up with the Eddie Guerrero man and his son. No, no, it's not what you think, geez. Stop it with the green jokes. We agreed to meet at the pavilions at the other side of UST, because it's much spacier there. Oh my God, I'm so excited that I wanted to throw up!

"Ah! No thwowing up, unnie!"

That's my yeodongsaeng or baby sister, eight-year old Serenity. She's a little puppy dog, quite fierce for her age. She even takes kendo classes, yikes.

"I'm not gonna throw up, yeodongsaeng! I'm just excited!"

"Apwil unnie told me you might get snu snu.", Serenity told me. I blushed as I heard these words come out of her mouth

"Ah! Yeodongsaeng, bad word!"

"You, David and Apwil unnie say it a lot! Jehu says it diffewently!"

"How?"

"He told his guhlfwiend, 'Hey snow-kissed dewdwop, wanna fuck?'"

I almost choked on my soondae upon hearing this.

"He WHAT?!"

"Jehu oppa, you twouble!", Serenity shouted across the hall.

"Isn't he at school?", I told her.

"Mm-mmm.", she shrugged, unsure of what to say. "What will happen if you get chosen?"

"I dunno. I'll ask tomorrow."

"What if they ask you to move out? Appa will be maaaad~."

"Oh, to Hell with appa. He doesn't care about me anyway."

"Does appa love us, unnie?"

I stroked Serenity's head and gave her a sad smile.

"...It's hard to say. Ever since eomma died, he's been grumpy to us. Deep down, maybe he does. We can't say for sure."

"If you win, will you take us to Jeju?"

"Why not aim higher? I can take you to Las Vegas instead."

"Las Vegas has no beach. I want a beach."

"How about Hawaii?"

"Yeah!", Serenity jumped up in joy and hugged me. "Thank you, unnie!"

"You're welcome, yeodongsaeng~. Run along now, do your homework."

And then the fated day came. Time for me to meet the grim reaper.

There I was, sitting quietly at the pavilions by the Grandstand. This was Fine Arts and Architecture's territory so you'd see a lot of people drawing their butts off. One particular student caught my eye though. Red hoodie, a bit chubby, and short. He is cute though, so I peeked at his sketch pad without being noticed. He seems like he's trying something out to improve himself, and he was all quiet. I admit, he's pretty good. All I can do is doodle cartoons. He's doing some anime, from what I see. My observations got cut short though, because lo and behold - the father-son duo has arrived.

"I take it that you are miss Shin Hyun-ae?"

"Uhh, yes, yes. You are?"

"Eddie Guillermo, chica. This is my son Miguel or Mike. Your sister told me you love to dance."

"Yes, yes! In fact, I wanna be an idol!", I told Eddie with a big smile on my face.

"Fascinating. Let's talk over there, it seems someone's focused over here.", Eddie said as he glanced at the oppa in front of me.

I heard Mike whisper at Eddie, who seems jubilant at his discovery.

"You found another one, pops?"

"Let's talk to Shin first. I will talk to that loco myself after."

We stayed at an empty pavilion, and after we got the formalities done, we were down to business.

"So, you must have heard from your sister about me."

"Yes, sir. She was even joking that if this is a sham, you might turn me into a living blow-up doll."

"Ay caramba, nonono! Your sister is such a maldita cabrona, dios mio. You are tamer than she was.", Eddie clarified.

"We are about to launch a reality series about idols in training. The winner will not only get to debut, but you will also get training in regards to idol management and others. You probably heard about SNSD."

"Are you kidding? I love them! My role model is Taeyeon!", I beamed with joy.

"Splendid. By the way, this will be a co-ed contest, so you'll be mixed in with the boys."

"Oh. That's fine for me. I'm not that pretty anyway.", I sighed.

"Nonono, you have a unique visual, hija! Your skin is also teetering between tan and white, so you're like white caramel!", Eddie told me to comfort my feelings.

"T-Thank you po.", I bowed. "Are you sure this isn't just a sham to get girls?"

"Why would we also get boys?"

"Good point."

"So, miss Shin? Are you in?", Mike asked me.

An opportunity of a lifetime. These two aren't known, but nobody's been this daring to ask around for potential trainees IN THE PHILIPPINES. Wow. If I refuse, I don't know if I'll get another chance... but if I say yes, I don't know if I have the skills necessary to win....

"...Yes! Count me in!"

"Great! Just fill out your details here. We'll give you a call once we're ready.", Mike told me. Eddie stood up as I filled out a sheet on a clipboard, and I noticed that he made a beeline for the cute oppa at the other pavilion.

"Shin... Hyun-ae... May 18, 1995... age 15... South Korean... Changwon... 5'6"... 55 kg...."

"No need to mutter your details, miss Shin.", Mike chuckled at me.

"I'm just so excited.", I told him.

I finished signing up for their contest. Mike then stood up and shook my hand, smiling at me.

"You have a lot of potential, miss Shin. We look forward to your performance."

He bowed as he bid me goodbye, then he waited for Eddie to finish. I noticed that the cute oppa looked rather confused, but I didn't mind. I'm gonna be in an idol contest!

Oh shoot, it's getting late! I gotta board a bus soon or else I'll be stuck in traffic! I packed my things up and left in a hurry, but then this happened.

*BAM!*

"Oww...! Watch where you're going!"

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to bump you."

I bumped into the cute oppa! What a coincidence! He was acting all cute and funny though, like he's trying not to look at something, and then I realized I fell on my butt and had my legs spread. Like, hellooooo panties.

"Are you looking at my legs?", I asked him.

"Uhh... no?"

"Well, I won't blame you, oppa. There are a lot of prettier legs out there and you looked at mine. Funny."

He turned red all of a sudden. It looks like he hasn't been complimented before because he just hunched up like a gummi bear. He helped me up, and wow, for someone who draws a lot, he has a soft hand.

"I better get going. I'm pretty sure you know how bad the traffic is here.", I said while dusting my skirt and patting the dirt off my butt.

"Y-Yeah, it's really bad. Takes me an hour to get home.", he told me. I laughed and left quickly, because y'know, traffic.

Have I told you about the hell we endure just going home at night? Well, it must be my lucky day - a vacant bus en route to Fairview made a U-turn to give us a ride home. Omo, we ran like zombies and I called dibs at the very front so I don't need to squeeze through the people on my way out....

...Then I saw him! Cute oppa by the window!

"Ah! It's you!", I happily told him. His face though - priceless! It was so cute.

"Uhh... Hello again!"

"Annyeong~!", I greeted back.

"A-Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, right?", he asked me. I giggled at the gesture, but that was so sweet of him.

"I'm okay! No scabs or anything. My butt just hurts a bit.", I told him. He nodded and looked down. Aww, oppa, don't be so down.

"I'm sorry.... I didn't mean to bump into you."

"No harm done, oppa. Things happen.", I assured. He plugged his earphones onto his phone to listen to the radio. Wowza, a Nokia phone. Primitive~. I was curious, so I leaned onto him and smiled.

"What's your name, oppa?"

He rebooted all of a sudden! It was the cutest thing I've ever seen!

"I'm Lawrens... or you can call me LD for short."

"LD... Nah, I like Lawrens more. Or maybe 'oppa'.", I told him - this only made him blush more. "I'm Hyun-ae! You can also call me Agnes, my baptismal name."

"Oh. Agnes, huh... sure, I'll think about it."

"Where you headed to, oppa?"

He pointed to the big, BIG sign at the bus' windshield saying "SM FAIRVIEW".

"I live in Fairview. You?"

FAIRVIEEEEEEWW???!? REALLY?!?!?!

"ME, TOO! I live in East Fairview! Which part of Fairview are you at?"

"Uhh... West Fairview."

"Oooh, I can visit you anytime! Yay!"

I know you guys are gonna get tired of me saying this, but he was really cute reacting to me. The boys from my school aren't this cute!

"Uhh... Are you really...?"

"Oh, oppa, of course not! We just met!"

"Ah... okay then."

"Aww, is it your first time?", I teased him.

"Y...Yes. Yes it is."

I guess we were both tired because we were quiet for the rest of the trip. I even fell asleep on his shoulder and I forgot I had my phone out! Oh no, I might get robbed!

"Buh!", I gasped as I jolted awake. We were at the entry point of Fairview, and I looked at my watch - I fell asleep for almost an hour. Where's my phone?!

"Hey, uhh... here's your phone.", Lawrens told me as he pulled my phone out of his pocket. I wondered why he had it. "You left it out in the open so I hid it. There was a guy who tried to steal it earlier."

Omo... he's... so sweet.... Really...?

"T...Thank you, oppa...."

I never even gave it a second thought. I leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek, and he rebooted again.

"Oiiii, Camaro, Camaro diyan!"

That's my stop. I stood up while smiling, and as I went down the bus, I looked at Lawrens and winked at him. This is such a great day....

...And then I forgot something.

"...HIS NUMBER!!!", I screamed. I looked back at the bus, and I saw him looking at me.

Aww, shoot.... Why, God, why? It was such a great day, and I forgot to get his number! I went home sulking, and as I arrived, my siblings greeted me.

"Welcome home, nuna!", Jehu shouted.

"Appa's out for the whole night again, so guess what we're having?", April told me.

"Beef bone soup?", I answered.

"No, seaweed soup. It's Serenity's birthday tomorrow."

"Oh! Advanced Happy Hyunbi Day, yeodongsaeng!", I said as I gave Serenity a hug.

"Thank you, unnie!"

"How did the meeting go?", David asked me.

"Oh, it was great! April, it's not a sham by the way. This is real.", I told everyone. "They're just ironing out a few more kinks and getting more people, but once we're good to go, they'll call me."

"Congratulations, nuna!", Jehu said as they hugged me.

"Agnes is gonna live our dreams! Make us proud!", David told me.

My siblings really supported me because I was the rebel in the family. For them to wish me luck, it was a great morale booster. I didn't tell them about Lawrens though, because April might stalk him if she knew.

Speaking of Lawrens... oddly enough, we didn't see each other since that day. I was so focused on my subjects that I even forgot that he was asked by Eddie. He might have said no too, so I don't think I'll see him again....

...Or so I thought.

"Nuna! They're here!"

It was a few months since the meeting. We were at the semestral break so I'm very much doing nothing at this point. Mike arrived in a van, and I packed up my things because one of the conditions was that I will move out. Boy, was appa livid when he knew, but oddly enough, he didn't stop me. He just looked at me.

"Wish me luck!", I shouted at my family!

"We love you, nuna!", Jehu screamed back. Serenity ran to me while crying and gave me a hug.

"Unnie, fighting!"

"I will. I will.", I told my baby sister. I wiped some tears off my eyes. Hoo, yeodongsaeng, you're making me have second thoughts.

I got in the van, and as we drove away, I saw appa giving me a thumbs up. Wow... that's... rare.

"Where are we headed to?", I asked Mike.

"TV5 Studios, but we gotta pick some people up first."

I nodded in response. We got to a small street and got into one of those tiny blocks. We stopped in front of an apartment house, which looked spooky. Mike then got out and asked for someone.

"Magandang umaga! Is Lawrens here?"

Lawrens? Wait, does he mean Lawrens oppa? No, it can't be....

"Lawrens! Someone's looking for you!"

...OH MY GOD. NO! IT IS HIM!

"Hey, you must be Lawrens! Today's the day, let's go!"

I squealed in delight - I can't believe that we're meeting again, but wait... Eddie asked him out for the contest, too? Hang on, hang on....

"HI, OPPA~!"

"Gyuh!", he flinched as I greeted him.

"You're here for the idol contest, too?", I asked him out of curiosity.

"Yeah, I'm... wait, what?", he said as he froze in shock. "A-A-A-An idol c-contest?"

"Yeah! Have you prepared a song and dance?"

He fell on his butt in disbelief.

"Oppa? You okay?"

"...I didn't know. He never told me.", Lawrens whispered.

"Oh... well, I think they have a booth so you can prepare."

"Shit...."

"Nonono, it's okay, oppa. You'll be fine. Trust me."

Lawrens looked at me - he was unsure of himself. If I doubted myself even though I can dance, what would happen to Lawrens who was short and fat? Man, Eddie's gonna have his hands full.

Hell, we all didn't know what we got ourselves into. This isn't just an ordinary contest....

"I'm gonna make you quit."

"You gonna make me quit?"

"I'm gonna make you quit."

"We didn't practice it like that, asshole."

"I'm here right now you're motherfucking face."

"This is some bitch-ass bullshit...."

...It's what we call The Gauntlet. Male and female idol trainees duking it out for supremacy.

And Lawrens and I got caught in this insane twist. Despite the smoke and rubble, it wasn't all that bad, because you're all about to hear our story. We only had each other in this cruel industry, but y'know what they all say.

Love will keep us alive.

Now... our story starts. My name is Angel, and this is my oppa, Lawrens. A tale of happiness, joy, heartbreak, loneliness, doubt, courage, and most of all - love.

This... is our Gauntlet.

[End of Origins - The Angel named Hyun-ae. To be continued.]