“Well, you two can’t deny that was fun…” Raina’s melodious voice concluded, accompanied by some of her signature giggling. Nana and Lizzy looked at each other and laughed along, shaking their heads at the very interesting interview they had just had. The three had been taken away from Mnet’s studio after being interviewed by the most popular k-idol interview online show, “Jjang”. They had been asked playful questions that had served enough as a fun distraction from the intensive promotions they were working on for their first full length album as Orange Caramel and their successful single “Lipstick”.

Lizzy elbowed Raina, causing her to giggle even louder since the latter knew perfectly well what the gesture was implying. “He was so flirting with you, unnie.” Orange Caramel’s maknae voiced out in a teasing tone, causing Raina’s cheeks to become slightly pink. Lizzy was referring to Jjang’s host, the charming and funny British lad Jake Patchett. He had asked them about their ideal type, to which Raina responded first, saying she’d like a cute and charming boy. The host, who was amusingly dressed as a penguin, inched closer to her and whispered a playful ‘I can be that’.

“He was just playing around, Lizzy-ah.” Raina covered her flustered chubby cheeks with her hands, shaking her head frantically.

“He was really handsome, unnie.” Nana intervened, nodding her head appreciatively. Lizzy nodded her head as well, agreeing with Nana on the outside, but secretly flaming with jealousy. Perhaps this was the same kind of jealousy she had felt when Jake turned to Nana, asking her for her ideal type. Nana gave out her usual answer: “Someone who has a beautiful smile”. Lizzy had smiled even wider, as if telling herself that since she had a beautiful smile, she could definitely be Nana’s ideal type. The smile quickly turned bitter as Nana finished with a “like Justin Bieber”. Lizzy was feeling ballistic inside, and also glad because the alluded boy was currently in America, making out with some Victoria’s Secret model or trying to get more bulky… had he been anywhere close to Asia, Lizzy would have hunted him down and knocked down a few of his teeth to ruin his “beautiful smile”. Before Jake could ask Nana anything else about her celebrity crush on Justin Bieber, Lizzy blurted out the first joke she could think of in that instant: “I like Mr. Bean!”, effectively cracking people up with it.

The real reason why Lizzy had the right to be jealous, the boy who was beyond the Canadian singer that Nana had mentioned, was another piano/guitar playing artist, but a Korean one this time. Yang Seungho, the leader of the popular boy group Mblaq. The two had met on a variety show and had stayed friends. Raina and Lizzy had never thought that something would actually happen between the two of them, even if Seungho seemed very interested in her from the beginning. Nana’s personality… it just seemed to scream that she loved being single and didn’t need a man in her life. Much to her fellow group members’ surprise, a relationship blossomed between the two, and soon the powerful and independent image they had of Nana disappeared. It was replaced by the attitude of a scared little girl, who held on to Seungho like he was her savior or something like that. Said boy was beginning to lose interest in the relationship he had with Nana. After all, like Nana herself had said once, who would want to be with an insecure and scared little girl who only appeared strong and confident on the outside?

Of course, even if Nana had the toughest personality to deal with, even if her mood was volatile and unsteady, even if she was unreadable and mysterious, even if her real smile was so rare and ephemeral… Lizzy would never ever waste the chance of being with her and making her happy, looking for her smile. She knows Seungho could’t love Nana the way she loved her, couldn’t take care of her the way she could… but she just couldn’t show that to the ice princess, no matter how hard she tried. Nana would only see her as a friend, and Lizzy understood. Still, that didn’t change the fact that it hurt like heck.

Lizzy looked at Nana again; the older blonde was now glued to her phone. Her gorgeous golden locks, immaculately combed and stylized, framed her equally gorgeous face, which was tainted with a deep look full of consternation as she furiously typed away in the electronic device in her hands. Funny, Lizzy thought; before she got together with Seungho, Nana barely used her phone. Now, she couldn’t be without it for more than five minutes. Lizzy sighed, grimacing when she realized that the small frown that played on Nana’s mouth was most probably caused by Seungho. She was about to ask, but she just sighed again, closing her eyes and resting her head back on the car seat’s headrest, enjoying the rest of their ride back to their dorm. She’d definitely ask Nana about it once they were alone.

After School’s dorm looked more somber than usual as their driver parked outside of it. The lights were off, and it was understandable; it was almost midnight. The three members of the subunit quickly thanked their driver and jumped out of the car, covering their heads with the hoods of their jackets in case there were paparazzi’s around and hurried to the dorm’s main entrance. Once inside, Lizzy turned to Nana, tacitly asking her to go to their shared room. Nana looked up from her phone and gave her a nod. Raina gave them a smile and a wave goodnight as she retreated to the room she shared with Kaeun. The Naliz duo walked along the dark hallway to their small room. Lizzy sighed and threw herself on the bed, puffing out a long sigh and looking at Nana from the corner of her eye. The ice princess had her back rested against the closed door and was still texting on her phone. Lizzy sat up on the bed and whistled at her, getting her attention.

“Why are you so glued to your phone?” Nana clenched her jaw and visibly tightened her grip on her phone. She walked towards Lizzy, handing her the brand new Sony Xperia. As Lizzy looked into the screen, she couldn’t help but gasp. It was a picture of Seungho kissing another girl at what seemed like a nightclub. She looked up at Nana, who was currently biting her bottom lip softly. Her face was expressionless, but her eyes… Those caramel eyes just gave it all away. Lizzy’s blood began to boil; Seungho didn’t deserve Nana. He never had and never would.

“Who sent you this picture?” She asked in a whisper. They say that the walls in a house full of women are paper thin; After School’s dorm was the living proof of this physic law. She definitely wouldn’t want Jungah or Jooyeon to find out about Seungho’s doings; it would only make things more complicated.

“Mir did.” Nana answered simply. Her voice didn’t crack, nor there were tears in her eyes. Just unshed pain. And it made Lizzy even angrier because even if she understood Nana’s reaction to Seungho’s actions and how she dealt with the pain, Seungho wouldn’t. He just could never understand Nana the way Lizzy does.

“He really liked you, doesn’t he?” The younger girl changed subjects, not wanting them to verge into the picture in question just yet. She didn’t want the argument to start so soon. I would be less worried if you were with him instead. He’d take better care of you, and I just want you to be happy… even if it’s not by my side, Lizzy thought bitterly. “Seungho isn’t worth your tears. I know you’ve cried for him, even if you’ve never told me or the unnies about it.” Nana gave Lizzy an almost humorous smile.

“I’m not supposed to show if I’m sad over him. I’m an ice princess, remember?” Lizzy shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, piercing Nana with her eyes.

“Yes, but I don’t understand what’s the point in you being one. Princess or not, you’re still unhappy.” Lizzy’s words went straight through Nana’s heart like a dagger. She widened her eyes and gasped. Although the usually humorous Lizzy knew she had hurt Nana with her words, she felt satisfied by getting a reaction out of her.

“Sooyoung-ah… You didn’t need to…” The runway model whispered out; this time her voice did break. She never really addressed Lizzy by her real name, unless it was something serious. The younger girl felt even more satisfied.

“Yes, I did. You’re going crazy, Nana. You’re supposed to be my best friend… Seungho is destroying you.” Lizzy cut her off, moving to stand in front of Nana. The older girl, whose eyes still revealed nothing but vulnerability, gulped and then sighed at the determined and concerned look in her friend’s eyes.

“No, don’t blame him, Lizzy. I’m just overreacting and you know what? I don’t blame him for having to look for girls at nightclubs, maybe if I wasn’t so cold to him all the time…” Impulsively, Lizzy grabbed Nana’s jaw in-between her thumb and index finger, gently but firmly, effectively shutting her up.

“Stop saying things like that, okay? It makes me sick that you even blame yourself for the things he does.” Lizzy shook her head. Her touch on Nana’s face became caressing as she began to feel the soft skin of Nana’s feminine jaw line with her fingertips. Nana sighed at the contact, her hot breath fanning Lizzy’s wrist.

“What am I supposed to do, Lizzy? I love him…” The last three words that came out of the older girl’s mouth tore Lizzy’s heart into pieces. She swiftly let go of Nana’s jaw, feeling almost guilty for touching her, even if it had been a friendly touch.

“I know.” The words slipped out of in a bitter manner, as she sat back down on her bed. “But if he loved you back, he wouldn’t be doing those things.” Lizzy pointed at Nana’s phone, still shaking her head. The fact that someone would ever consider cheating on Nana was just out of her conception, and it saddened her that Nana could believe she deserved to be treated that way.

“I could make him love me. I just need to change my ways and I know he will too.” Nana insisted, holding on to all the hope she had that her relationship could work.

Sometimes Lizzy liked to think that Nana wasn’t in love with Seungho; the way she avoided skinship when the two were together and how she barely talked about him and all his dreamy qualities were enough of an inkling that the ice princess wasn’t capable of falling in love with him… but if she didn’t love him, then why did she always stand up for him? Lizzy had begun to lose faith. The image of her being with Nana was now a distant dream that seemed to go further and further away every day.

“Nana, you don’t need to do any of those things. Why would you change for him? You are who you are, and if he’s really worth it he’ll love you and treasure you for that. You’re amazing, Nana, you don’t need to prove that that you’re good enough for him. He’s not good enough for you to begin with.” Lizzy said fearlessly. Nana’s eyes flashed as she stared deeply into Lizzy’s eyes.

“Why are you so perfect, Lizzy?” She asked in a whisper. Needless to say, the younger girl’s heart skipped a beat and did a few backflips inside her ribcage. Sure, she and Nana complimented each other a lot and sometimes their conversations got flirty, but the ice princess had never called her ‘perfect’. Before Lizzy could come up with an answer to the meaningful commendation, Nana erased the space between them, wrapping her arms around Lizzy’s neck in a tight hug. Lizzy tensed up initially, before she forced her body to react and return the hug that Nana was giving her.

“I’m not.” Lizzy whispered into Nana’s ear, caringly rubbing her cheek against the model’s and feeling how Nana rested her cheek on her shoulder, sighing deeply. “You are. And you deserve someone who is equally as perfect.”

“Sometimes I really wish I could believe you.” Nana chuckled bitterly, closing her eyes and willing her tears remain unshed. She could cry alone, but couldn’t afford to cry in front of anyone, not even her best friend.

“We should sleep, Nana. We have to guest on the radio tomorrow and netizens are talking about how restless you look. They’re right.” Lizzy whispered as she pulled away from Nana, rubbing her arms caringly and giving her a sweet smile. Nana couldn’t help but giggle softly as she nodded her head.

“Thank you so much, Lizzy-ah… For always being there for me.” The addressed girl shrugged her shoulders and nodded her head, still smiling.

“Don’t thank me.” Nana squeezed Lizzy’s hand in hers softly before heading towards their shared bathroom.

“I’ll take a shower, okay?” Lizzy nodded nonchalantly as she fell back on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She truly felt exhausted, not only by her tight schedule, but by her incessant trying of making Nana realize she deserved better than Seungho. She was really struggling with the cause and Nana’s lousy self-worth was winning by miles.

She decided to close her eyes, hoping to not fall asleep since she wanted to take a quick shower after Nana was done. Smiling in a byuntae manner, she couldn’t help the fun thought of showering with Nana at night after their schedule if they were together; they’d be saving both time and water. She was beginning to concoct some very colorful fantasies that involved a very wet version of herself and a very wet Nana when she felt a tap on her stomach. Startled, she opened her eyes and her eyes met a view that served her fantasies no justice. Nana, with only a towel wrapped around her body, stood at her bedside with a slight smile on her face. Lizzy involuntarily took the time to admire how the small drops of water slid from her hairline down to her neck before getting lost in her cleavage and how beautiful and fresh her bare face looked. Even though she knew Nana was a certified make-up artist, she never really understood why she always covered herself with it in such an exaggerated extent.

“Enjoying the view?” Nana’s soft voice interrupted Lizzy’s thoughts. The latter looked up from Nana’s cleavage to her caramel eyes.

“Yeah, you could say that.” Lizzy giggled nervously, forcing her eyes to stay on Nana’s. “I take it you’re done with the bathroom?”

“It’s all yours.” Nana answered. Lizzy hurriedly stood up from her bed and sprinted to the bathroom, not knowing if she could control herself being so close to an almost Nana. Once inside, Lizzy let out a quiet whine and rested her back against the bathroom’s door.

You’re really driving me crazy, Im Jinah. 

A/N: I hope you guys like this first chappie B) It's serves like an intro for what will happen later on :D Oh, and this is set in 2012, around the time they did their Jjang interview. Anyways, thanks for reading, last chapter should be posted tomorrow, thank you all for reading and Naliz hwaiting!