As the temperature dropped day by day, our clothes gradually became thicker. However, Maeum-i, perhaps because she was born in winter or because her home was cold, was resistant to the cold. She said a single layer of knitwear and a coat would keep her warm. We were astonished to see her like that.
“Let’s go! Please dress warmly!”
It was Jisoo. His nagging sounded like advice and concern. I felt the same way. It's not like wearing too much clothing will make you hot. I wish you'd dressed a little warmer.
“Yeah, I’ll wear thick clothes.”
Ma-eum-i spoke quietly, and no one said anything, as if everyone had heard. Ma-eum-i came out of the room wearing a thick purple hoodie and a white coat.
"Okay... Dress like this. Don't catch a cold again."
As he said that, he buttoned up all the buttons on his coat. Ever since he'd caught a cold, he couldn't let go of his worries.
“There’s no need to go this far…”
Surprisingly, no one responded. Perhaps because they knew the moment they did, Ma-eum would unbutton her buttons. Naturally, I took her hand. It was still warm. Just being here made me happy, but how much happier would it be if I could embrace her as someone more than just a friend? Ma-eum, oblivious to my feelings, held onto my hand.
I watched her the entire ride in the car. She was so full of excitement and nervousness that she didn't even notice. After a moment, the broadcasting station was right in front of her. Damn, we're already here.
“Is senior Chanyeol coming to pick you up?”
“Yeah, I was going to make it so Chanyeol came with oppa.”
Ma-eum responded to Min-gyu's words with affection for the first time in a long while. And judging by the slightly disgusted expression on her face, it seemed she was determined to grumble again.
Then, I heard a small knock on the window. I rolled down the window and saw Chanyeol, smiling.
“Brother!”
“Are you ready?”
"I don't know…"
It seemed true. Ma-eum loved herself deeply, but she wasn't confident in her own personality or abilities. There are many people who would love her just as she is.
“It’s okay because our hearts are always cool.”
Why do I keep an eye on my hyungs and myself when they say that? No matter what, he's my senior, so I don't think he'd be overtly jealous.
“It seems like you’ve become really close.”
Wow, that was a huge mistake. Even though he's my senior, to be so openly jealous? Should I call this courageous, or just crazy? Of course, not only Seokmin-hyung, but I'm secretly jealous, too.
“We did become close.”
"We'd love to have another brother, our hearts."
Especially Seokmin hyung, who is cool with jealousy. Jealousy and coolness. These are very contradictory words, but there's no other way to express it. Was Seokmin hyung always like that? It doesn't seem like Seokmin hyung sees Ma-eum-i as the opposite sex.
“I heard the story…
I didn't know you were this jealous"
“Oh. Senior, if you were offended…”
Seokmin's urgent apology
Senior Chanyeol smiled and said it was okay.
“Oh, does that mean that your feelings are over and that includes greetings?”
It was her first time on stage, and I didn't want her to be introduced to the system right away. Of course, everyone else was like that, even me, but I didn't want her to be like that. Her heart was different from others.
“No, it will be over soon.
Because my heart is still closer to the ordinary person
“I asked for the music show’s understanding.”
“Are you saying you’re just going to perform on stage?”
“Yes. Where should I send it to on stage?”
“Hey, can I take a taxi?”
Seungcheol's explanation was sound. He was right. No matter how precious someone is, if they're a person, you can't just hide them. Especially if they're bright and like to promote themselves.
I know, I know so well, but I can't help but worry.
"All right.
Then I'll just grab a taxi for you."
“…Thank you, senior.”
I was grateful to my senior for caring for me until the very end. Of course, I could do it on my own, but everyone needs help when they're new to the environment.
“Thank you for your concern.”
“Please take good care of our hearts.”
It wasn't just me; Myungho and Seungkwan also said something. I hoped it wasn't rude, even though it seemed rude.
“Yes, don’t worry.
My heart is worried about the juniors of Seventeen
“I wish you could reduce it a little.”
Surprisingly, I knew this too. Even I, myself, was overwhelmed with needless worries. Honestly, I should be worrying about my future more than my own worries, but why was my mind so focused on her?
“I’ll try, my heart.”
Seokmin, who saw Ma-eum not as a romantic interest but as a younger sister he wanted to protect, put his hand on Ma-eum's shoulder and spoke. Ma-eum smiled brightly and replied.
“Try harder.”
It wasn't a bad thing at all. I needed to make an effort for her. It's not that I don't like being worried, but excessive worry is a burden to anyone.
“Shall we go?”
"yes"
Meanwhile, senior Chanyeol was escorting Ma-eum to the broadcasting station. Before being a good friend, I'll try to be a good man, a good person, Ma-eum.
Being escorted for the first time felt a little awkward. But I felt strangely good. I thought it was probably because escorts acted out of respect.
"Heartbeat! Hello! I'm singer Jang Ma-eum."
I pulled out the greeting I'd prepared. It was my first time saying it, so I was trembling and thought it would disappear, but the response was positive. Let's call it a good start.
“I got to sing my debut song with Chanyeol.
“Please tell me just one thing!”
I hadn't even imagined being asked a question. Which meant, of course, I hadn't prepared an answer. Still, I opened my mouth without panicking.
“I was always a huge fan.
It's such an honor just to sing together,
It was great to sing our debut song together
I can't tell if it's reality or a dream.
I will work hard so as not to become a burden to my seniors!”
After a somewhat lengthy answer, there were no difficult questions. It was a formal question, so I answered it formally and went inside.
It was interesting to see [Chanyeol & Ma-eum Waiting Room] written on the door.
“Hey, have you prepared your comment?”
“Huh? No… I found out yesterday…”
“But you speak really well.”
“Was it a model answer?”
"Yeah. You must have been nervous, but you did well."
Chanyeol, my brother, was now casually stroking my hair. The fact that he was no longer shy about physical contact meant that we had become close.
"Wow, that's a relief. I can't tell you how nervous I was."
"good job"
"yes…"
Chanyeol said with a smile.
"Are there any SEVENTEEN juniors here today? Hurry up and go."
“But… I’m hiding the fact that we live together.
The public won't even know that I'm close with Seventeen."
“This much is okay.
Go quickly so I can explain later.
“You can just say that you had a chance to become close with me today.”
“Oh… thank you. That’s true.”
“But I need a reason, so I’ll take the album.”
“Should I sign it too?”
Chanyeol burst out laughing, wondering what was so funny about what I said.
“Yes, yes, sign and take it, Heart Singer.”
Ah, it seemed like he found it funny that his seven-year-old younger brother was a singer. Jihoon, who had given up on being cute, completely sympathized with his brother's feelings and picked up an album. He signed the autograph he'd gotten from Seventeen yesterday. Then, he grabbed the album and left the waiting room, heading to Seventeen's waiting room.
“Knock, Knock”
Unlike most people, he didn't knock on the door, but made a knocking sound with his mouth.
“Who is it?”
Jeonghan couldn't understand, but I knew who it was right away.
“My heart.”
“How do you know that?”
“I know when I hear you. Should I open the door?”
I wasn't really expecting an answer, so I opened the waiting room door right away. As a result, my seat on the sofa was taken by Jun-hwi, but I wasn't particularly dissatisfied.
"hello?"
Ma-eum shook her head from side to side, checking for any cameras. There were more days without recording than with, so she didn't need to be so careful. Even if she did tell Ma-eum, she probably wouldn't listen.
"after…"
After confirming that there were no cameras, Ma-eum breathed a sigh of relief.
“What’s wrong? Were you nervous?”
“Of course… I suddenly found out about the debut broadcast…”
“I thought you knew, so I didn’t say anything.”
"Me too. If I had known, I would have said so..."
I think not only Jihoon and Hansol, but the other members as well, feel the same way. At least that's what I thought.
"I didn't know that, so it's okay. I've also relaxed a little."
“That’s fortunate.”
My usual attitude toward Ma-eum-i was to feign indifference and twitch. But now I wanted to change. Perhaps my feelings toward Ma-eum-i had changed. As I thought this, I looked at Ma-eum-i, and a mischievous smile appeared on her pretty face.
"Heartbeat! Hello, I'm singer Jang Ma-eum."
As soon as we said those words, all 13 of us burst into laughter. True, we'd made and practiced together yesterday, but back then she wasn't a singer, she was my younger sister and friend. Now that she's a singer, things are a little different.
“Since our junior said hello, should we do the same?
Say the name!”
Seungcheol continued speaking without making Ma-eum feel embarrassed. Judging by the way Ma-eum scratched the back of her head in embarrassment when we all burst into laughter, it seemed she was also quite embarrassed.
“Seventeen! Hello, this is Seventeen!”
We also joined in on that sentiment. And honestly, now, whenever we hear "Say the name," we naturally greet Seventeen. It's almost become a kind of occupational hazard.
“Hehe, thanks for accepting.”
"It's nothing special. A lot of our juniors come."
“Oh~ I guess our Seventeen has some juniors?”
“Of course! We debuted in 2015?”
“It’s only been two years…”
Ma-eum found fault with Min-gyu hyung's words. That was the relationship between Min-gyu hyung and Ma-eum.
“But… why is the greeting Heartbeat?”
I asked something I've been curious about for a while now. Well, I understand the "heart" part, but why the "beat" part?
“It means the voice of the heart.
Actually, I was trying to think of something bigger
“It just looks like this is there.”
I laughed, "Kuk." It was so heartwarming. When he was emotional, he was the epitome of emotional, and when he was cool, he was cool as if nothing had happened. They say there's a flip side to people, but what can you do when this is just his personality?
“Oh, it looks like there’s something there.”
“Actually, it’s more of an interpretation than a dream…”
“Honestly, that kind of thing is usually more of an interpretation than a dream.”
I supported Ma-eum-i, but none of the members noticed that I was caring for her more than usual. I must have been crazy, because I felt like I would support Ma-eum-i even if she called me a bean.
“But is that an album in your hand?”
Maeum happily answered Jisoo's question. After all, what singer wouldn't be proud of their first album?
"Yeah, yeah. It's my signed album."
“Ah… If I had known this would happen, I would have just accepted it.”
“Did you buy the album?”
I cringed slightly and answered, "Yes."
“But it’s your first album.”
“That’s right. Shouldn’t your family buy it for you?
“I should collect all the albums later. Hahaha!”
I was a little envious of Seokmin, who could casually utter the word "family." It's partly because it's embarrassing to say, but the thought of "family" always reminded me of other families, like married couples, so I'd rather not say it out loud.
“Hyung, don’t do that. You seem like a really weird person.”
“He’s always been weird. Didn’t you know?”
“No. I knew that.”
I don't know why they're so serious about this. Seungkwan and Myeongho were both so serious about useless things.
“Wow… This is really too much, you guys.”
No one responded to Seokmin's words. It was so routine that even their minds were wandering, bringing up other topics.
“Oh, thank you so much… I didn’t even think about it.”
Jihoon patted Ma-eum's head, then took the purple album she was holding. He then handed her a Seventeen album. Judging by the way she hesitated slightly when she saw it, she must have been tempted by the pretty thing again.
“The album came out really pretty…”
As expected. It hasn't been long since I've seen it, but I know a lot about it.
“You haven’t even seen the album?”
“…Yeah haha”
I thought it was possible. I only found out about the debut broadcast the day before. It looks like we'll be watching the album together.
“Well then, shall we take a look at our Maeum’s first album?”
Seungkwan opened the album to the beat of his hyung's instructions. Most of the photos were of actors, but Chanyeol's influence was evident in the fact that there were quite a few photos of him and Ma-eum.
The sight of Ma-eum singing earnestly in all gray, and the sight of Ma-eum laughing with senior Chanyeol in the practice room. She wasn't even dressed up properly, but she was so pretty.
“It’s so… ridiculous.”
"I'm okay. Our hearts are beautiful."
“Not at all, Chan-ah…”
Maeum-i quickly closed the album, but her pretty face remained in her mind as an afterimage. Perhaps that image will last a lifetime.
