7 ǁ Nana

 

Throughout the whole weekend, you pondered over the reason why Miyun had done that to you. *We're friends, aren't we?* you frowned. *Why did she do that? Especially when I already told her I had stage-fright and I didn't want to do it…*

 

With a sigh, you flopped on your bed. *I need to ask her what happened.*

 

 

Monday soon came and you were feeling really nervous about going to college. That was because it meant that you were going to see Miyun -- and you were afraid of what she might say. Both Daehyun and Youngjae noticed you tense up as soon as you entered the college grounds.

 

"Hana, what's wrong?"

 

You looked up at Youngjae. "O-oh, nothing's wrong. Um, just wondering about the results of last week's audition…"

 

"Well, you've got my vote!" he laughed. You looked down and blushed.

 

"Thank you Youngjae."

 

And with that your strange behaviour was waved off. But Daehyun still had his suspicions. You presumed that no one besides you and Miyun knew about what happened behind-the-scenes last Friday, but Daehyun knew for sure that  whatever it was that happened last week, you had some idea about the cause but just didn't want to say anything.

 

*You'll tell us when you're ready. I hope.*

 

When you reached your building, you waved the two goodbye. "Bye, have fun."

 

"You too! See you later."

 

Eventually, you stood before the room. The door was the only thing blocking you from the classroom where Miyun was. Taking a deep breath, you slid the door open. Peeking through the door, you saw Miyun sitting there chatting with Hyesu and Eunmi. She lifted her head and noticed you.

 

"Hana! You're here!"

 

You stared, dumbfounded at her beaming figure who was waving at you. It was like Friday never happened. Timidly trudging over, you took your seat.

 

"Morning Miyun, Hyesu, Eunmi," you greeted with a small slightly-forced smile.

 

Suddenly, Miyun grabbed your arm. "Hana-yah, about last Friday, I'm sorry I acted on my own and put you through a hard time…"

 

Your eyes widened at her words and you stared at her apologetic face.

 

"But I just wanted to help you cure your stage-fright. I thought that if I got you to stand on stage and forced you to perform, you would get over it. And you did! So I didn't think I was doing the wrong thing at the time..."

 

Bewildered, you continued staring at her in shock. *So… Miyun was just trying to help me all along?*

 

She started shaking your arm. "Please forgive me Hana, please?" she pleaded.

 

"Yeah, forgive her Hana," Hyesu said.

 

"Miyun was trying to help you, after all," Eunmi added.

 

And being the kind person you were, you couldn't hold a grudge. Especially if the person was doing something for you.

 

"I forgive you," you smiled.

 

Immediately, Miyun's eyes brightened up as she wrapped her arms around you in a big hug. "Aww, thanks Hana. You're the best!"

 

You just kept smiling. *I'm so glad this was sorted out nicely.*

 

 

 

All happy and worriless again, you went off to your next class with Miyun, which was music composition.

 

"Daehyun-oppa, Youngjae-oppa, hi!" Miyun waved excitedly.

 

Yes, this was the only class you shared with them. The two of them nodded back at her politely and said a hello. They really didn't like other girls getting close to them besides you, but since she was your friend, they didn't want to come off as rude.

 

You and Miyun took your seats in front of Youngjae and Daehyun respectively. Miyun turned around in her seat and proceeded to start small-talk with Daehyun, whilst you were going through your notes and Youngjae was checking out more electronics designs for his family's company.

 

Daehyun sent uneasy glances at you once in a while but your eyes were glued to the notebook in front of you. He heaved a sigh of relief when the teacher walked in and Miyun finally turned back to the front. *Thank god Professor's here.*

 

"For this semester's first assignment, you will all be composing a short score in the most basic form," the Professor announced. "Your music piece should comprise of an intro, a verse, a refrain and should be within the one minute to one and a half minute range. Since this will be your own song, you will also write the lyrics and record the melody and singing. If you are not confident with your own voice, then you may ask another person to sing for you, but the composition and lyrics writing must be strictly done on your own. This will be due in two weeks time."

 

The class started murmuring to each other about how excited they were or how horrible this assignment was. Personally, you couldn't wait to get started on it.

 

 

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As soon as you were let out of your last class, you sped out of the building. You were feeling excited about going for this job meeting. Yongguk's birthday was coming up soon and you wanted to earn your own money to get him a gift. So you found an advertisement looking for new workers at a Korean restaurant and they asked you to come in sometime today to see if you were fit for the job.

 

You didn't even realize that you ran straight past Daehyun until he called out your name.
 

"Hana!"

 

"Oh, Daehyun."

 

"Where are you going?" he asked. "You're not coming home with us?"

 

You shook your head. "Nope! Don't worry I'll get home later. Bye now!" Then you ran off while waving.

 

Daehyun raised an eyebrow. "Probably off to hang out with Yoseob-sunbae again." Then he trudged off to find the others while carrying this assumption.

 

"Stop 791… 791…" you mumbled, keeping your eyes out for your stop as the bus whizzed past with you inside. A sign caught your eye. "Aha! 791!" You pressed the buzzer and the bus driver pulled over at the stop.

 

You bowed at him as you were leaving. "Thank you ahjussi."

 

As you walked along the streets looking for the restaurant, you couldn't help but notice that the people around there kept looking at you strangely. It was a rather shady area of Seoul that you weren't used to. Not to mention all the intimidating-looking people lounging around. You couldn't be any happier when the sign "Kimchi Hut" came into view.

 

"Alright, good first impressions is always the key. Show them that you can do the job great. Kim Hana, hwaiting!" Again, you pumped your fists in your trademark way of encouraging yourself. After taking a huge breath, you stepped foot into the restaurant.

 

It wasn't long before you were smiling brightly while thanking the owner profusely.

 

"Thank you ahjussi! I'll make sure I work hard to repay your trust in hiring me!" you promised while bowing.

 

Being the strict owner he was, he just gave you a nod. "Be sure to be here on time this Saturday."

 

You were still smiling to yourself as you left the store. *I'll work hard to earn money to get Yongguk an amazing gift this year!* The past years, you had never been able to actually earn your own money to get your family gifts, since they didn't like the idea of you working. Just by thinking about how happy you would make your cousin, you felt a determination to do your best. *It's the least I could do after all that he's done for me.*

 

One time when you were being bullied a few years back, Yongguk actually flew all the way over to Australia just to teach those guys a lesson. Although you had no idea what he did, those guys never came back to disturb you.

 

You giggled at the memory. *Yongguk, must've really scared them to their bones.*

 

Finally returning to earth, you looked around and noticed you were still in a shady part of Seoul. But the thing was, you didn't recognize any of the streets or stores around you. You frantically ran back the way you came just to see a four-way intersection.

 

"W-which way did I come from?" You continued staring at the many different roads you could've come from. Sighing, you muttered "I think I'm lost…"

 

Remembering you had your phone with you, you whipped out your phone just to have your hopes crushed. "Why does my phone have to run out of battery now of all times?" you sulked. "Nooo…"

 

You considered asking for directions, but dismissed that thought when all you saw were some gangster-looking guys leaning on walls smoking and drinking.

 

"Yongguk, Yoseob-sunbae, Himchan, Daehyun, Youngjae, Jongup, Zelo. Anyone. Please help me…"

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Coming down from his room, Daehyun noticed that you weren't home yet.

 

*Hana's not home yet? That's weird, she's usually back by now. It's so dark outside.*

 

He decided to give you a call but sighed when it said you weren't 'available'. Thinking you were with Yoseob, he went through Himchan's contacts on his phone (which was lying around on the kitchen table) and dialed his number.

 

After a few rings, he picked up.

 

"Hello?"

 

"Hey Yoseob-sunbae, it's Daehyun."

 

"Oh hey, what's up?"

 

"Is Hana still there with you?"

 

"What do you mean? I never met up with Hana today."

 

*What?!*

 

"I think Hana said she was going for her job meeting today. Is she not home yet?"

 

"Job meeting?! No, she's not back yet. Do you know where it is Sunbae?"

 

"I think it was Kimchi Hut at this address: ___________"

 

"Alright, thanks Yoseob-sunbae."

 

Feeling extremely anxious, Daehyun quickly hung up and grabbed Himchan's car keys since Yongguk was at his club. "Hyung! I'm borrowing your car!"

 

Without waiting for an answer, he zoomed off towards the restaurant where he hoped he would find you. He frowned when he noticed how unsafe this district looked. Suddenly, he saw something that shocked him.

 

It was a young girl being pinned to the wall by some old guy. And that girl was you. You were squeezing your eyes shut, looking absolutely terrified as you tried to push the guy away from you to no avail.

 

Daehyun quickly skidded the car to a stop by the curb and got out. "GET AWAY FROM HER YOU SICK FREAK!" In a flash, he had punched the guy across the jaw who fell to the ground clutching it in pain. Hissing out a few curse words, the guy got up and ran away. Daehyun let him go because making sure you were okay was much more important. He went over to your curled up, crying figure.

 

Daehyun's forehead creased in worry. "Hana, are you alright?"

 

You kept your head down and nodded, but continued to cry silently.

 

Without warning, he pulled you into a hug and soothingly whispered out words to comfort you. "It's ok Hana. Everything's ok now. I’m here. It's ok."

 

What Daehyun didn't expect was for you to suddenly burst out in laughter. He quickly pulled back with a shocked expression plastered all over his face.

 

"Oh, aren't you just adorable."

 

Daehyun stared at the girl in front of him. Sure, she had your face and was wearing the exact same clothes you were wearing before. But this girl wasn't you. She radiated a completely different aura.

 

"You… you're Hana's split... personality?" he asked warily.

 

'You' clucked your tongue. "Not quite, we have two separate minds but inhabit one body. I guess you could say I'm somewhat like her alter-ego."

 

Daehyun glared at her. "Why do you keep taking over Hana's body?"

 

She blew a raspberry. "Oh come on, I mean no harm. I only come out when Hana needs help or something. Like just now for instance."

 

"You! What are you on about!" he demanded.

 

"Hey, I'm not 'you'. I have a name, pretty boy," she retorted.

 

Daehyun raised an eyebrow. "Name?"

 

"I go by the name 'Nana'. And I was just about to whoop that guy's , but then you came along and decided to save this damsel in distress. So I thought, 'hey, why not let myself be saved by my prince instead of doing the work myself'."

 

"Prince? You're one strange person, aren't you" he fired.

 

Nana wrapped her arms around Daehyun's neck and moved her face dangerously close to his. "I'll let myself be saved by you anyday," she whispered before sending him a mischievous wink. And before he knew it, Nana had planted a kiss on his cheek as her body went limp in his arms.

 

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So that's why Daehyun heard 'you' say Kim Nana last time :P Because that's your alter-ego's name ^^

Nana seems interested in him, haha.

Do you readers prefer short chapters or long chapters?