Waiting had always been a part of life.
The doctor had already performed all the necessary tests and accurately diagnosed Miso's twin brother, Jay. It was the day where the vocal nodule surgery had taken place.
The hallway outside of the Operating Room seemed cold. She was the only one who waited outside of the place. She leaned her elbows on her knees and stared at the floor.
"I know that everything will fall back into its own place," Miso mumbled as she tried to hum a melody that comforted her in her own way. She was slightly unfocused, but she knew that she had to reorganize her thoughts and strengthen herself mentally.
"It isn't the time for me to mope around," Miso said as she wiped the tears that were coming out from her eyes.
The floor that she was staring at right now had a pair of feet near her. Miso raised her head and found a handsome, tall man with a blank facial expression.
The only thing that Miso could see was his eyes staring at her. With a black KN95 mask covering both of their faces, there was no way for them to identify each other.
The guy who seemed to be just near her age was literally a stranger, but he extended his right hand and offered a white handkerchief to her.
"Wipe your tears with this handkerchief," the man spoke in his deep voice. "You can even blow your nose on it."
Miso did not know if the man was joking about making her feel better, or did he mean she had to blow her snot to clear her nose?
It was confusing, and she didn't really see the reason why a stranger would offer his handkerchief and even let her blow her nose on it?
As Miso didn't answer, the man lowered his upper body and grabbed Miso's right hand. He put the handkerchief on her palm and did not say anything.
Even if Miso could only see his eyes, she was already allured by it. There was something in his stare that made her feel as if she could fall for him. It was a sort of stare that was full of sympathy and understanding. At that moment, Miso felt a slight hint of comfort from him.
A white shirt underneath his denim jacket was paired with denim jeans as well. He was quite fashionable.
"You don't have to return it to me." The man said nonchalantly as his Miso became fascinated by his long eyelashes. "You already know how many germs there are in your face."
This time, Miso thought that this man was making fun of her instead of pitying her. But then, he successfully made her distracted from the situation that she was currently in right now.
Without any words, the man turned around and walked towards the end of the hallway. Miso watched the man's broad back as the door slid open at the corner of her eye. She immediately turned her head and saw the operating surgeon taking off his surgical mask and gloves.
Miso immediately stood up and walked towards the operating surgeon. "How is my brother, doctor? Is he alright?"
"Yes," the operating surgeon answered with a nod. "Microlaryngoscopic surgery in the treatment of vocal cord nodules was a success to Patient Jay."
Taking a deep breath, Miso closed her eyes for a second and thanked God in her mind. It was a success. Her brother was already safe from danger. And after he recovers, he would be able to do what he loved the most.
Singing.
"He still needs at least three to seven days of voice rest after surgery." The surgeon said as he stared at Miso. "And I am saying it is absolutely no talking, throat clearing, whispering, or coughing. As his guardian, you need to make sure that he's going to follow all of these so that he would recover safely."
Miso nodded, "Thank you so much, doctor."
"Keep in mind that any noise that he makes can be damaging and may make it difficult for the vocal cords to heal properly." the doctor warned her. "He has to stop straining his voice for at least three to six months."
"Y-yes?" Miso's eyes widened in shock as she blinked her round eyes. "Three to six months..." She trailed off as she noticed someone echoing the exact words she said.
Miso was surprised to hear another voice from behind. She turned around and saw a familiar-looking man who appeared to be as shocked as she was.
It was the manager who scouted Jay as the main vocalist for Blue Rose. He stood right next to Miso and said, "Jay is an artist that is supposed to debut as a vocalist in a band! We can't afford him not to sing at all."
"You have no choice, mister. Else, he wouldn't be able to sing for the rest of his life." He replied with a stern voice. "And besides, the patient and his guardian already knew about the consequences of the surgery."
Yes, the doctor was right.
They looked at the long-term results of the surgery, and Jay wanted to sacrifice a short period rather than lose more in the long run.
"Then, I'll be going now," the doctor said as he bowed his head to Miso and the manager and went out of the scene.
"Manager Lee," Miso called him out as both of them sat on the bench. provided. "I don't think it's a good time for Jay to join the band. His recovery is his utmost priority."
The manager was silent and did not answer. Miso could see sweat trickling down from his forehead as his black mask covered his face.
The silence made Miso feel the tension of the atmosphere, but she had to be firm. Her twin brother's safety is her utmost priority. No matter what Manager Lee would say, there was no way that she'd let Jay perform with the band.
"The thing is," Manager Lee turned his head and stared at Miso in the eye. Determination was evident as he took a deep breath before he continued. "He had already signed a contract and meet the CEO of the company and the band members of Blue Rose."
Miso didn't know what to react. Jay had already mentioned that breaching the contract would result in them in thousands of dollars of penalty.
And it wouldn't be a good thing for both of them.
"I know that both of you don't want to pay for the penalty of breaching the contract." Manager Lee spoke as if he read Miso's mind and continued. "And I don't want to find another substitute when the Blue Rose's debut is only 30 days ahead."
Miso nodded, "But Manager Lee, my twin brother can't perform with the band."
"He doesn't have to be the one who's going to perform with the band," replied Manager Lee.
Furrowing her brows, Miso blinked twice as she asked, "What do you mean by that?"
"You might think that I'm crazy, but this is the immediate solution that I thought of, Miso." Manager Lee said in a quiet voice. "I want you to pretend as Jay and debut with the boy band as the main vocalist of the group."
Dread came into Miso's realization when she heard those words from Manager Lee's mouth.
Did she even hear it correctly?
'I had to pretend to be my twin brother?!' Miso thought to herself. 'How is it supposed to work?!'
Miso had to say goodbye to her long hair and feminine self to save her and her twin brother's fate as a singer?
It happened too fast that she didn't even have the time to prepare.
What a disaster, indeed.