Title: “Black Plague”
Date: 2013 October 30
Characters: Boram & Junhyung, T-ara
Genre: Romance, fluff
Words: 2375

Yeah, I know I’m short, but people don’t have to point it out.  I’m only 5 feet one, but I don’t make a big a deal about it.  Fortunately, I’m only about an inch shorter than some artists, so I feel a little bit better about my height.  Heels may make me taller, but I could never be as tall as Eunjung even if I wanted to.  I’m just a small, young, short girl who’s never going to be tall and become more beautiful because of it.  But at least I’m proud of my littleness and at least I can live with it.  Well, that’s what I tell myself but getting picked on every day about this makes me feel horrible about myself.  I will never be strikingly attractive.  There will be no one who will look at me and say, “Wow.  She’s a beauty.”

“Hey, shorty.”

“Would you quit it?” I ask Junhyung when he approached us backstage to chat with the others—more like just Hyomin—until he turned to me and tried to make fun of me like he usually do.

“What?  I meant it as a compliment.”

“Calling someone short is not nice.”

I storm off as he yells behind me, “That’s only if you hate being short, right?!”

I ignore him, like always.

It’s true that I hate my shortness, but I really don’t try to care either.  He probably knows it too—heck!  I’m sure everyone knows it, but the reason why I only hate my height is because people poke jokes at me about it all the time.  It’s like they don’t know how offended I get when they try to laugh at me.  They don’t understand what it’s like to be small at all.  I can’t stand being a midget, I can’t stand having the disadvantages of being short, and I can’t stand looking ugly because of it!  I can’t stand it anymore!

“What’re you wearing to the movie premier, unni?” Jiyeon asks me one morning when T-ara have to get up and going for our afternoon rehearsal for Music Bank the next day and for the movie premier we’re appearing as guests later on in the evening.

“I’m wearing a short, sky blue dress,” I answer, suddenly remembering the fight I got into with our stylist a week before.  I wanted to wear a long dress since I’ve never got to put one on before due to my short height, but my stylist said that I would look best in a shorter piece because I’m petite and my visible legs would balance out my image.  I wanted to screw her over so bad, but I eventually gave in and agreed to wear the tiny dress made for my size.

“Wow!  You’re dress is very pretty!” she exclaims as she notices it hanging on the door of my closet.

“It’s really nothing.”

“Unni, want to see my dress?  I’m wearing a long one that flows down the my ankles.  It’s pale yellow, and it has diamonds at the top,” Jiyeon then says to me, searching through the gallery in her phone and comes upon her desired photo.  “Here!”

She shoves the phone in my face, making me pull back and see the wonderful designs on the gown.  It’s so glamorously pretty, and I can’t help but be jealous.  The dress, itself, is already so wonderful.  If Jiyeon is to wear it, she would be a goddess.  However, if I’m to wear it…I would be nothing compared to her.

“Ah!  There’s the car!” I point out the window, seeing T-ara’s white van driving nearer.  “Let’s get going then.”

Jiyeon and I step outside, waiting for the others, and before the van pulls over, Jiyeon whispers to me, “Unni, you wanted to wear a long dress, right?  I can sneak over the old dress that I never got to wear that one time a long time ago.  I was shorter a few years back, so I’m sure it’ll fit you.”

“Are you talking about the red one in the back of your closet?” I question, recalling the time Jiyeon’s plans suddenly got cancelled and she never got to attend some awards show in 2010.  Now that dress doesn’t even fit her anymore, because our little maknae had matured so much.  What a waste of the beautiful dress.  Is she really going to lend it to me?

“Yes!  We’ll just go against our stylist this one time, OK?  It’ll be fun!  Let’s do it!” she says as we step into the van one after another.

“Wait, you too?!” I question her, surprise that she’s somewhat a part of this plan too.

She laughs as she replies, “Yeah!”

“Are you sure this is going to work?” I ask, already in the red dress Jiyeon gave me as she puts hers on.

“Yes!  By the time we go over to the main building to put on our make-up and do our hair, it’ll be already too late to change out of our clothes!  They’ll just have to go with it!” Jiyeon remarks with her head up high.  “I’m so excited!”

“I don’t know…  I’m kind of scared.  I mean it’s alright if you do it, but not me!  I’m too old for this!” I admit, grabbing my heels as we hear the van beep for us.

“Don’t worry about it!  Let’s go!” she shouts out in a happy tone as she runs out first.

“You guys changed your outfits?” Q-ri asks me as she points out the deep red color of my clothing and Jiyeon’s cool purple gown.

I shy away, only smiling as I watch Jiyeon get her hair done, the only left.  Wh