POV NABI
The garden of the Moon mansion smelled of dew and a peace that was still foreign to me, almost suspicious. For years, silence in my life had been a minefield; in my father's house, if there were no screams, it was because a new humiliation was brewing. But here, silence was simply... silence.
I was sitting on a wooden swing under a huge cherry tree, my tablet resting on my legs. I wasn't writing about crimes or cruel heirs. I was watching Raewon.
A few feet away from me, in the glass pavilion that Mr. Moon had set up as a makeshift rehearsal gym, my little brother was moving with an energy that took my breath away. He was wearing loose sweatpants and a sweat-soaked tank top. His movements were precise, fierce, a mix of hip-hop and contemporary dance that seemed to tell his own story of rebellion.
Raewon wasn't just dancing; he was reclaiming his existence.
"Five, six, seven, eight!" he shouted to himself, spinning on his heels until his eyes met mine through the glass. He flashed me a radiant smile, the one our father always tried to extinguish with contempt.
"Nabi!" he exclaimed, stopping the music abruptly and leaving the pavilion to come to where I was standing. "Did you see that? I nailed the triple turn. Nailed it!"
He collapsed on the grass at my feet, panting, his face flushed from the effort. I handed him a bottle of water and a towel.
"You were incredible, Raewon," I said, feeling a lump of pride forming in my throat. "You have a light that Dad could never understand because he only lives in darkness."
"Sometimes I still wait for him to walk through that door and yell at me to stop being ridiculous," he confessed, looking down for a second. "But then I remember that Jaehyun has custody of him and that this house is real. The Moons... they really let me be myself, don't they?
"They really do," I replied, stroking his messy hair.
Two weeks had passed since the press conference. My life had become a whirlwind of headlines, but Jaehyun had taken care of filtering everything. The world knew I was Hayami, and to my surprise, the support was overwhelming. My book sales skyrocketed, and the "gilovers"-as my fans called themselves-had created a social media movement to protect my mental health under the hashtag #NabiIsNotAlone.
However, for me, success wasn't about the numbers. Success was seeing Raewon smile without fear.
Suddenly, Raewon's phone, which was on the garden table, began to vibrate frantically. He picked it up with trembling hands. I saw his expression change from curiosity to astonishment, and then to utter shock.
"Nabi..." he whispered, his voice breaking.
"What's wrong? Is it Dad? Taehoon?" I stood up immediately, the usual panic creeping through the cracks in my calm.
"No... it's an email. From SM Entertainment."
My heart skipped a beat. SM was the giant, the Olympus of K-pop. Raewon had sent his audition video three days ago, thanks to a contact of Yuseo's, but we knew the chances were one in a million.
"Read it," I asked, moving closer to him.
Raewon cleared his throat, his hands shaking so much that he almost dropped the device.
"Dear Kwon Raewon. After reviewing your audition material and verifying your artistic profile, we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted as an official trainee of our company. Your talent for dance and your unique vocal color are exactly what we are looking for for our next global group project. We look forward to seeing you on Monday at 9:00 AM to sign your trainee contract..."
Raewon stopped reading and covered his mouth with his hands. His eyes instantly filled with tears.
"I got in, Nabi! I got into SM!" he shouted, jumping up and hugging me so tightly that we almost fell onto the grass. "I'm going to be a real idol! No one can stop me now!"
I started crying too. They were tears of pure happiness, the kind that hurts because it took so long to arrive. I hugged him tightly, feeling his young bones and his heart beating with the strength of a dream that was finally allowed to fly.
"You did it, little wolf!" I said, using the nickname I had given him as a child. "You're going to be the brightest star in Seoul."
"We have to tell Daejung! And Jaehyun!" Raewon was beside himself, running around in circles. "And Mrs. Moon! She told me that if I made it, she would cook my favorite dish."
At that moment, I saw Jaehyun appear on the porch. He was talking on the phone, probably closing some million-dollar deal, but when he saw Raewon jumping up and down and me crying with laughter, he hung up immediately and came running down the stairs.
"What's going on? Are you okay?" he asked, his protective gaze scanning me from head to toe for any signs of danger.
"Jaehyun, Raewon got into SM!" I shouted, running towards him.
Jaehyun caught me in his arms, lifting me slightly off the ground. I saw his usually tense and serious face relax into a smile of pure satisfaction.
"Really?" Jaehyun asked, looking at Raewon over my shoulder. "Congratulations, kid. I knew those coaches I found for you weren't wasting their time."
Raewon approached and, in a gesture of courage he would never have shown our father, hugged Jaehyun.
"Thank you, brother-in-law. Thank you for believing in me when no one else did," Raewon said.
Jaehyun gave him a firm pat on the back, a man-to-man gesture that made me melt inside.
"Don't thank me. You did the hard work. But get ready, because now comes the hard part. The Moon family's stock is going to rise when you debut, so don't let me down," Jaehyun joked.
That afternoon, the Moon mansion was filled with a joy that seemed unreal. Daejung and Suhee came home from work and the news sparked a spontaneous celebration. Mr. Moon, in his usual manner, scolded Raewon for not choosing a real estate company, but then he opened an expensive bottle of champagne and toasted "the next king of pop."
I stood aside for a moment, watching them all. Daejung laughed as Suhee served him some food; Raewon sat with Yuseo, who was already planning how to do his digital marketing using his network of contacts; and my in-laws looked genuinely happy to have the house full of life.
I felt a warm hand intertwine with mine. It was Jaehyun.
"Look at them," he whispered close to my ear. "They're no longer the shadows we rescued from your father's house. They're free people, Nabi."
"Thanks to you," I said, resting my head on his shoulder. "You gave me the chance to see my brother fulfill his dream. You gave me a family that doesn't ask me to be perfect to love me."
Jaehyun turned me to face him. His dark eyes were filled with a tenderness that I still struggled to process.
"You gave yourself that opportunity when you decided to write the truth, Nabi. I just set the stage. But I want you to know something..." He leaned down and kissed my forehead. "I'm as proud of you as you are of Raewon. You're not just Hayami; you're the woman who saved her people from the abyss.
I felt complete. For the first time, bipolar disorder didn't feel like a chain, but like a part of my story that had made me sensitive enough to write and strong enough to resist.
However, as Raewon's laughter filled the dining room, my writer's mind couldn't help but think about what was to come. I knew that Raewon signing with SM would bring cameras, attention, and possibly new attempts by my father to claim his "property" over him. And Mrs. Shin was still out there somewhere, with the international secrets of the mafia in her briefcase.
But that night, I decided to ignore the shadows. I looked at my little brother, Korea's next idol, and knew that no matter what happened, we would no longer be alone. The Moons were our wall, and Jaehyun was my home.
"I'll go with you to the company tomorrow, Raewon," I said, raising my glass. "We're going to show everyone what the Kwon siblings are made of."
"And I'll go as your personal stylist!" exclaimed Yuseo, prompting another round of laughter.
That night, when I finally lay down next to Jaehyun, I had no nightmares. I dreamed of bright stages, music, and a pen that would never have to hide again. The chapter of pain was closing, and the chapter of hope had just begun to be written.