• CHAERIN•

 

"Chaerin?" My mother creaks open the door to my bedroom. "Are you ok? You haven't left your room all morning."

 

"I'm fine." I mumble, my eyes fixed on the white ceiling above me.

 

I hear my mother sigh. "Sweetheart, your phone was ringing eariler. I didn't recognize the number. Thought I'd let you know."

 

"It's probably just another crazy fan who found out my number." I say.

 

My mother walks over and drops the phone on my stomach. "You never know. I'd call back if I were you."

 

I groan. "I don't wanna."

 

"You're acting like a three year old." She leans down and plants a kiss on my forehead. "I miss the old chaerin."

 

She gives me a small sympathetic smile and walks away and out of my room. I sigh and sit up on my bed and turn my phone around my fingers. I had two missed calls. One which I'd rather not talk about and the other one from a number I didn't recognize. I decided against calling them back until I realized I had a voice mail. I in a deep breath and pressed the phone to my ear wondering who it was from.

 

"Hey, chaerin. It's dara." I smile when I hear dara's voice. "Interesting voice mail you got there. Anyways. Please call me back? No real reason. I just want to talk to you. And..." She pauses. "Bye, CL."

 

The voice mail ends. I chew on my bottom lip, deciding whether or not to call her back. At last, I choose to call her. My fingers stab at my phone's small keyboard as I hit "Call Back". I press my phone to my ear and wait.

 

• DARA •

 

I'd fallen asleep. I wasn't sure when or how but I had. I was awoken by my phone's obnoxious ringing. I roll over and groan, grabbing my phone off my nightstand and absentmindly hitting "Answer."

 

"Ello." I say groggily.

 

"Dara? Hey. It's, uh, CL." The familiar voice says.

 

I'm suddenly wide awake and sitting up on my bed. "Hey! Hey. Um, hey. What's up?" I frown at myself. Why did I say Hey so many times?

 

"Um, hey." sHe responds. "You called me..."

 

"I did." I bite my lip. "So how are you?"

 

"I'm great." sHe tells me. her voice doesn't sound so great. sHe's lying. I pretend to ignore it.

 

"That's good." I don't know what else to say. I look around my room trying to find a topic to talk about.

 

"How did you get my number?" sHe asks suddenly.

 

"Jeff." I say. "Don't get mad at him. He thought you wouldn't mind."

 

"I don't." sHe tells me. "I'm glad he gave it to you."

 

"Thanks."

 

"dara?" Aunt voice interrupts. She prys open the door to my room. "bom called. She says there's a carnival down in gangnam if you wanted to join her. They left incheon ."

 

I motion towards my cell, indicating that I was on the phone. "Ok. Thank you." I mouth.

 

"Sorry." She mouths back. "Who is it?" I simply wave her off. She gives me a suspicious look and disappears.

 

"dara?" chaerin calls from the other end. "You still there?"

 

"Huh? Yeah. mian hae." I pause. "Hey. What do you think about a carnival down at Gangnam?"

 

• CHAERIN•

 

My limo pulled up in front of Dara's house. I pryed open the door and let her slide in beside me.

 

"Hey." She smiles. I smile back. "Hey."

 

Her black hair dances on her face as she slams the limo's door shut. "Ever been to a carnival?" She asks as she turns to face me.

 

I nod. "A few. Even performed once."

 

She chuckles. "Figured. I've been to only one. My mother took me. It was a lot of fun."

 

"When I was younger, my friend Taeyang and I went to one. The guy barfed up like twenty bags of cotton candy." chaerin tells me, stifling a laugh.

 

I giggle. "That's horrible."

 

chaerin shrugs. "But funny."

 

The rest of the ride is spent telling childhood stories, most of them ending with an outroar of laughter. Eventually, the limo came to a stop. I could hear the sound of kids giggling, teens flirting, and the sound of carnival games in action.

 

"Here we are!" Jeff calls. "Should I stay and wait in the parking lot?"

 

"Yeah." chaerin shouts back. "Thanks, Jeff."

 

"No problem, Miss Lee!"

 

"Thank you, Jeff!" I say as well.

 

"Anytime, Miss Park!"

 

I smile and go to open the limo door but chaerin takes me wrist, pulling me back.

 

"What?" I frown.

 

"Hold on." chaerin tells me. sHe grabs a hat off the seat beside her and pulls it on, taking a pair of sunglasses and doing the same.

 

I purse my lips. "Why the need for a disguise?"

 

"Because I'm not in the mood of getting ambushed by fans." sHe tells me.

 

I scoff. "And that's going to make you unrecognizable?"

 

"Hopefully."

 

"Goodluck."

 

"Thanks."

 

I chuckle, prying open the door and slipping out, chaerin behind me. I'm suddenly surrounded by a rainbow of colors, guys and girls with sticks of cotton candy, and music in the background.

 

"What first?" I mumble.

 

"Cotton candy?" chaerin suggests. "Merry-Go- Round?"

 

I playfully shove her. "Seriously!"

 

sHe chortles. "I'm serious!"

 

I purse my lips. "Ok then. Race ya to the cotton candy stand? Last one there buys first one there two sticks of cotton candy."

 

"Looks like I'll be gettin' free cotton candy." chaerin smirks.

 

"Oh really?"

 

"Yes, really."

 

"We'll see about that."

 

"We will."

 

"Go!" I start running, my eyes fixed on the cotton candy stand where some girl, probably in her early twenties, was handing a young boy a stick of blue cotton candy.

 

"You're a cheater!" I hear chaerin yell from behind me. I laugh and run faster, the summer breeze dancing on my face. I make it to the stand, sweaty and out-of-breath. chaerin catches up, breathing hard.

 

"Un...fair." sHe exhales.

 

I laugh. "You owe me...cotton candy."

 

"You don't deserve it." chaerin smirks.

 

I pout. "Please?" I poke her stomach playfully. sHe chuckles. "Fine." sHe turns to the girl at the stand and orders two sticks of cotton candy, one pink and one blue. sHe quickly pays and then hands them to me.

 

"Knock yourself out." sHe smiles.

 

"I will." I stick out my tongue.

 

"dara-ssi!" A familiar voice calls suddenly. "Is that you?"

 

"who's that?" chaerin asks.

 

I heave a sigh. "My sister." I turn around to see bom unnie bouncing my way. She stops in front of me, unaware of chaerin's presence.

 

"How did you get here?" She asks me. "I didn't think you'd come."

 

"I came with a friend." I tell her, motioning to chaerin with my eyes.

 

Her eyes widen. "Oh! Annyeong! I'm bom." She holds out her hand. chaerin takes it akwardly.

 

"Uh, chaerin. Nice to meet you." sHe fixes her hat with her free hand.

 

"You too." bom unnie grins and let's go of her hand, looking back to me. "Wanna join dongwook, taeyeon, and I? I left them back at the Hammer Challenge."

 

"No thanks." I give bom unnie an apologetic smile. "chaerin and I are having fun."

 

bom unnie pouts. "Oh ok. You kids keep having fun." She winks in my directions and saunters off, her strawberry blonde hair bouncing on her shoulders.

 

"Well." chaerin crinkles her forehead. "She's jolly."

 

"Always." I chuckle and take a bite out of my cotton candy. It melts on my mouth creating an explosion of that unique cotton candy, sugary taste.

 

"Look at that!" chaerin excaims suddenly. sHe jogs over to a large, cardboard kissing booth. It's not a real booth. Just one for people to take pictures with. chaerin slips behind it, making a silly face in my direction.

 

I laugh and walk over to her, leaning over and planting a friendly kiss on her cheek

 

• CHAERIN •

 

Her lips are soft against my cheek and I suddenly feel my heart hammering against my chest. I've only felt this once before. I clench my fists and push the cardboard booth aside. It falls to the ground. I begin to stomp away, escaping whatever I was feeling.

 

"Chaerin!" I hear Dara trying to keep up with me.

 

"What happened? Are you ok?"

 

"Leave me alone." I grit.

 

"What's wrong with you? You were fine three seconds ago!"

 

"I'm fine!"

 

"CL!"

 

I turn around to face her when suddenly she collapses on me, her arms around my neck to support herself. I don't know how to react. I forget about my recent reaction and help her keep her balance.

 

"What's wrong?" I ask her.

 

"I feel like I'm going to faint." She murmers. And sure enough, she faints, her body limp in my arms.

 

I curse under my breath and cradle her in my arms, fast-walking in the direction of the limo. She had to be ok.

 

_______________________

 

Author's Note: Hm.... I don't think it's my best chapter kekekeke so...yeah. lol. Anyways, what do you think is wrong with Chaerin? What about Dara? And tell me, what would you like to see in this story?