“AREUM! AREUM! AREUM!”

 

Areum could hear the chanting even from the backstage dressing room. It had her smiling as excitement coursed through her veins. This was what she lived for.

 

The stylists, laughing a bit at her enthusiasm, finally let the singer go to her anticipated stage. Escorts pushed away crazy sasaeng fans that somehow got in and helped the idol up the steps to the stage that was to be brighten with lights.

 

Areum closed her eyes and took in her surroundings. The fan chantings had always given her a sudden surge of energy. She pulled the microphone close, its familiarity calming and comforting her. The light flashed before her eyes. Smiling at her fans, she started to-

 

“Areum, Areum, AREUM!” someone yelled, interrupting her from her dream, as a smack echoed in her ears.

 

“OKAY, IM UP SHEESH!” the brunette yelped in pain, rubbing her arm as a red mark appeared on her skin. How could he?! she thought. The teacher pulled away his yardstick. “Did you really have to hit me?”

 

The bastard - she meant her amazing and handsome teacher [please notice her sarcasm] - shrugged, “You weren't getting up.”

 

“Well, I’m so ing sorry. ing bastard,” Areum mumbled under her breath. Fortunately - or unfortunately in her case, she really did want him to know how much of an he was being - he didn’t hear her and proceeded to walk back up to the board.

 

Whatever, I'm going back to sleep, Areum yawned as she laid her head back down. Another smack landed on her arm. “Ouch!”

 

“Don’t you dare go to sleep on me, Areum!” Her teacher - she never learned his name, well not like it mattered anyways - growled at her in his vicious and annoying high-pitched voice. Why must even a grown man sound like a screeching and dying duck? she thought as she rubbed her ears instinctively.

 

“I’m sorry…”  she fibbed as she hid her face in her book to “study.” At last, her teacher, with a suspicious glance her way, turned around and nodded his head approvingly.

 

“Finally. You better be sorry,” her teacher murmured. “Well! Class! As I was saying before-”

 

Areum zoned out, slowly nodding off as she slipped into dreamland. Who has time for this stuff anyways, she thought, However, she was only able to get in a few hours of sleep before a loud shriek (a very annoying and ear piercing one too) woke her up to her annoyance.

 

Everyone, except her, stood up and peered out of the classroom door and windows in curiousity to see what was going on. The teacher sighed before he too stood up and walked out the door, checking what the ruckus was all about.

 

“What is going on?” her teacher asked.

 

A girl, dressed in the school’s uniform - although her shirt was crumpled up and a bit dirty, Areum noticed - smiled apologetically at the teacher. She hastenedly fixed her glasses that was falling down her nose and slightly pulled at her messy bed hair as if it was the first time she thought about combing it since morning.

 

“Mianhae, Kang seonsaengnim. There was just an issue.” By the weird looks the students and the teacher gave her, she hurriedly added on, “Ah, don’t worry! I had already taken care of it! There’s nothing for you all to worry about!”

 

“Are you sure?” Kang seonsaengnim questioned. Kang. Areum felt a bit proud, she finally learned her teacher’s name! For the first time in forever too!

 

“Yes! And if you may excuse me, seonsaengnim, I need to go back to class,” she bowed politely before she casually walked down the hallway.

 

Areum felt suspicious of the girl (anyone would!) so she decided to follow her. It's not like she would miss anything in class anyways, right? Well, she would, but she didn’t care.

 

“Seonsaengnim, may I go to the restroom?” Areum asked politely (for once).

 

“No, go after school,” the teacher coldly said, already knowing her too well - too well for her liking.

 

Areum rolled her eyes and grumbled, “Fine, then I'll piss myself in your chair. Your choice.”

 

Reluctantly, the teacher gave her permission to leave the class, looking like he was grumbling something about teaching someone a lesson, but she couldn't care less. It was just not in her genes, sorry teach.

 

Areum pushed herself out of her chair as she stood up, her backpack slung over her shoulder. “Well, see you later, teach.”

 

“Wait, didn't you just say you were going to the bathroom-”

 

She pretended she didn't hear him as walked away from her desk and toward the door, slamming it close behind her. Stop yapping your mouth off. You’re not my mom, , she thought. Sighing, she strode down the hallway - it was empty obviously - and rounded the corner towards where the bathroom was. Shr instantly caught the whiff of heavy perfume, burnt hair from the extreme overuse of hair irons, and bubblegum. Queenkas, Areum thought in distaste.

 

Then she caught the back of the same girl walking into the bathroom. Areum saw her slightly shaking, but otherwise she stood tall and confidently. Then she disappeared through the door. Of course, Areum followed. When she was close enough, hiding behind the wall that was right next to the restroom, she heard talking.

 

“I’m sorry,” the voice Areum recognized as the girl from earlier said rather nervously.

 

“You better pay for this, you ,” another voice screeched inside the bathroom and was followed by a loud stomp. Ouch, that screeching must have hurt your ears, the girl from earlier, Areum thought, feeling sympathetic at the moment. And looks like someone is real pissed. (Probably why the queenka is in the restroom anyways. To piss. Get it? Right, nevermind. I’m not funny. Ignore what I just said - your not so funny author)

 

“I'm extremely sorry, sunbaenim,” the poor girl pleaded, “I really did not know you bought the same shoes as mine!”

 

Areum rolled her eyes as she listened to the conversation. God, what a . She probably has enough shoes to fill an entire store with them.

 

“Maybe you should pay attention to what matters instead of holing yourself up in that dump of a library,” the queenka screeched.

 

When Areum decided that it was probably just another random section by the queenka, she was about to turn and leave (the school and go home) when a deafening slap echoed throughout the halls.

 

She bolted through the doors to see the bullied girl on the floor, holding her left cheek. Not knowing that there was another spectator, the queenka continued to punch and kick the girl until Areum grabbed the ringleader’s wrist, her backpack lying forgotten in the ground.

 

“What do you want, Areum?” the girl sneered when her angry eyes landed on Areum.

 

Areum exchanged no words and simply twisted the other’s wrist at an excruciatingly painful angle while giving a fierce glare. The glare could've been translated as get the out of here before I beat you to a pulp. Fortunately for the queenka, she got the message and dashed out of the room in lightning speed.

 

Areum whistled and her eyes followed the running back of the bully. At least she knows how to run omo, she sneered in her head. Then she kneeled down next to the shaking girl and gently touched the area where the girl slapped her.

 

“You okay?”

 

“Uh huh.”

 

“So...what's your name?” Areum asked softly.

 

“... I’m Nabi. Kim Nabi,” Nabi replied, surprised with how gentle Areum was despite her cold appearance.

 

“Nabi? Well, nice to meet you. I’m Areum.”

 

“Hello, Areum ssi. And thank you.”

 

Nabi, tracing her eyes over Areum, could see why the girl was named Areum. (Okay, okay, for those who are lost at this point - I would be too since who knows what kind of meaning is behind a Korean name?  - Areum means pretty. And yes, I know, you are probably going all “Ooooh, now I get it,” and stuff. Don’t thank me. Thank Google for its amazing, translating name job - your very educated author)

 

She had golden brown hair that reached to the crook of her arm that shined in the sun. She also has beautiful chocolate brown eyes that made her look innocent compared to how she used those same eyes to threaten the girl.

 

Areum also had cute dimples giving her an even more innocent vibe until you saw her body. A perfect S-line and X-line could be seen on the girl while still maintaining a flat stomach, putting any of the other girls in school to shame, even the queenkas.

 

However, Nabi wasn't always holed up in the library. She knew what reputation Areum held. That other may be one of the queenkas of the school but Areum was the ulzzang. A tough one but still an ulzzang.

 

The one that everyone couldn’t help but talk about during lunches or breaks. It was a hot topic whether the students were jealous of her or were drooling over her looks. Of course, no one would dare even try to touch her. She's off-limits no matter what.

 

“Well, that deserved it. I only did what was necessary,” Areum shrugged as if she did this everyday. She walked over to where her backpack was and swung it over her shoulder once again.

 

Areum turned back and eyed this Nabi person up and down. Nabi had straight black hair which was wild and tangled as if the owner had given up on calming it down, and her hair reached to her shoulders unlike Areum's neat and long light-brown hair. Nabi’s black hair contrasted with her milky-white, clear skin whereas Areum had a slightly tanned complexion.

 

Behind her glasses, her warm dark brown eyes resembled those of a cat, which was probably why she was named Nabi. (And yes, Nabi has a meaning behind it too. If you haven't guessed it by now - don't worry, I wouldn't had either - Nabi means cat. Or kitty. Depending on which ones you prefer although they are the same. Wait… are they? - your very educated author is back in the house)

 

The girl was also born with perfect proportions causing Areum to scoff. If she didn’t have her head in her books and did bother in combing her hair, she would had been the new ulzzang, Areum thought.

 

She was tall and slender much like Areum but not as curvy, showing her innocent nature. However, with the way Nabi wore her uniform - her shirt was barely tucked in and she had long red and black socks on - she gave off a boyish vibe which contrasted with her innocent, girl-next-door look. Her looks were a huge contrast to Areum’s since Nabi looked like how any Korean model would look, and Areum seemed as if she was a Western Model.

 

“Well, come on, let's get to the nurse’s office,” Areum said as she got up and held her hand out.

 

Nabi slowly grabbed onto her hand and used it to haul herself up. “Thanks. But I’m not going to the nurse’s office.”

 

“Why?” Areum perked one of her (on fleek) eyebrows up.

 

“I just don’t like going to the nurse’s office,” Nabi said before she slowly leaned in close to whisper into Areum’s ear, a hand covering the side of , and looked around as if she was afraid of getting caught, “It scares me… like the nurse is scary too! And there’s too many people… but don't tell anyone I said that.”

 

Areum laughed, “Alright, alright. Then we won’t go to the nurse’s office.”

 

Nabi smiled and stood up, dusting her shirt and skirt. “Well, I really gotta go. My teacher will kill me if I’m not back in…” She looked at her red and black watch, “3 minutes. .” She pulled her strap backpack closer to her as she got ready to run.

 

“Why don't we just ditch class?” Areum suggested.

 

Nabi’s eyes widened in horror. “Please, anything but that. My parents will have my head! Plus, I need to learn important materials! There’s an exam coming up, you know!”

 

“Stop ing, it's study period and everyone skips it anyways. Come on, you're practically limping already,” Areum pointed out.

 

“This always happens, sooo….NO! Even if it’s a study period, I can still study! That’s important!” Nabi argued. “...Although I tend to fall asleep or grab out my book to read. And not really study at all… but that’s not the point!” (Hehe, I’m sure many of us had been through it before… I’d certainly did. Well, I’m still doing it. Studying is hard. How do people study? I don't know and probably never will. And, I’m gonna stop now, and let you continue on with the story. Just this mouth is kinda hard to shut. Ehh, I’m zipping it up now. Byeeeee - your talkative author)

 

“See, now let's goooo,” Areum grabbed Nabi’s thin wrist and dragged her out. The dark haired girl only sighed in defeat and let herself be pulled away, limping a little bit on the way.

 

AT AREUM’S HOUSE

 

“This is your house?!” Nabi exclaimed when her eyes landed on a large apartment building, but when she looked at the apartment again, she noticed that it was a little small for an apartment. “Wait you own this huge building as your house?!” Nabi shouted, even more amazed.

 

“Uhhh yes,” Areum replied awkwardly. “J-just get in.”

 

Nabi was dragged into Areum’s house where she was welcomed with the beautiful sight inside. A large, spacious living room was the first thing she marveled at. The ceilings were nice and high and the kitchen on the second floor was even better! It was equipped with loads of food and cooking equipment large enough to feed the entire nation of Korea.

 

“Wah, daebak,” Nabi said as she spun around, taking in everything. Her eyes seemed to glow with excitement.

 

“Yeah, I know, so just sit there,” Areum pointed at the couch, “I'll be back with the first aid kit.”

 

Nabi gladly plopped herself down on the soft, luxurious couch that probably costed more than her parents’ car. She couldn’t help but to curl up on the couch - it was a habit of hers - burying herself in its soft cushions. Wah! This is more comfortable than my bed! she happily thought.

 

Right at that time, Areum came back to see the sight of Nabi curled up on her couch. She chuckled softly at the sight, “You’re really a nabi (cat) (You see? I was right - your very educated author) huh?”

 

Nabi scrambled upright trying to fix her shirt while pouting in embarrassment.

 

“Aigoo~~ neomu kyeopta,” Areum teased as she put down her supplies. “Now, let’s get you bandaged up!”

 

The other girl giggled. “‘Mkay! Please help me, doctor Areum!”

 

Areum smiled at the other’s cute behavior as she pulled the wrap-a-round bandages out and placed them on the glass table.

 

“Oh. My. God.” Nabi gaped, “You even have a glass table! They’re really expensive you know!”

 

“It’s not that expensive.” Areum casually replied, “And will you take off your sock for me?”

 

“Which one?”

 

“Uhh, the right one.”

 

“Aye,” Nabi pulled at the tip of her red and black socks and stretched it until it passed it capacity and snapped off of her foot. “There.”

 

“Thanks,” Areum held the bandages on her hand and began to wrap it on Nabi’s right ankle. Apparently, Nabi twisted her ankle when she fell onto the floor after that slapped her.

 

However, it wasn’t swelling up so luckily it wasn’t serious. Areum sighed in relief as she wrapped the last piece of bandage around Nabi’s ankle.

 

“Alright, you’re good now!”

 

Nabi glanced down at her ankle and beamed a smile at her. “Thanks!”

 

“It’s nothing,” Areum replied as she closed the first aid kit and stood up to put it away.

 

When she was about to walk away, Nabi timidly asked, “Hey, can you… uh… bring a pillow when you come back?”

 

“Why?”

 

“I want to hug a pillow when I lay down on your couch.”

 

Areum grinned as she walked away, “Yeah, alright, a pillow coming up!”

 

Nabi smiled as she resumed to cuddle with the couch. Why is this couch so comfy? It’s so comfy… I can’t! She rubbed her face on the couch, feeling the soft and smooth texture with her cheek. Sighing contently, she twisted around, trying to memorize the textures with her skin. Then a pillow landed forcefully on her face. “What-”

 

“Move over for me too, you rubbing-face-to-anything-comfortable-and-fluffy cat.”

 

“Okay, okay,” Nabi laughed as she scooted up and quickly curled around the pillow, already purring at its puffiness.

 

“What’s with you and your cat-like features? It’s so alike that it’s scary,” Areum questioned.

 

“I don't know. I just like fluffy and squishy things!”

 

Areum sighed as she went over to her room and came back out with a journal in hand, sitting down elegantly on the couch. Areum opened it up just enough to write in it and scribbled away.

 

Clueless Nabi was still playing around with her pillow until she noticed Areum writing something in deep concentration.

 

“What are you writing, Areum?” Nabi asked cutely.

 

“Just something.”

 

“Are you drawing me?” Nabi teased.

 

Areum looked over in disgust as she scooted away. Nabi, of course, moved in closer.

 

“Get away,” Areum growled. “Shoo shoo, little kitty.”

 

“Ya, I’m not a little kitty! I’m a big kitty!”

 

“Just.....get away from me.”

 

Annoyed, Nabi snatched Areum’s journal from her hands.

 

“YAH, GIVE IT BACK!”

 

“Ooooh what are these?” Nabi asked curiously. “Oh, hey, this one looks cool! It’s called… Puss?” She proceeded to read on even with Areum leaning over to clasp a hand on .

 

“I’m the mother ing top madam,
samchondeul yongdon ppaesneun kkangpae,” she did a little giggle as she tried to get away from Areum, “geugeollo popping bottle syampein,sappunhi balpa ppalgan carpet.”

 

Nabi stopped for a short while to catch her breath, still trying to dodge Areum’s palm, “Namjadeul sumeul chamne, meosjin cheok cham nae, ni namchin nareul tamnae, cuz I’m the mothering top madam, sen timan gyesok naessdeon, neon jeongmal nothing.”

She extended out her arm and kept the journal away from Areum’s reach as her other hand pushed the brunette’s head away, “Kkago boni byeol geo eopseo, neon jeongmal nothing, eokkae him ppaego ijeneun baewo, wanjeonhi jeongbokhae yeojapan napolleong, “Nabi paused to breathe once again.

 

Why the hell is this so long? she thought before she skimmed through the last few lines (she hoped it was the last few lines) and started again, “Ije ssibeul geori eopsji, danmul ppajin kkeomeul, eokjiro jilgeong ssibeo bwara, gachulhae ni teokjugari,
gaseume teok butyeo ppalli, gogae kkeudeok, everybody bounce, I'm sick of them puss.” (Okay, okay. There’s something you guys or gurls - this is done intentionally - need to know. I don't know about this song. Your other author does, but I don't. I don't know the song nor the beat. As you can see, all the commas and short breathing stuff I did were probably wrong so for those who know the song and are familiar with it, please give me some slack. Thank you! - your lazy author who doesn't want to check out the song but please forgive)

 

Areum’s jaw dropped, “Y-you just rapped.”

 

“Hm? I did? That’s so cool!” Nabi clapped loudly to congratulate herself. “I can rap!”

 

“.....how can someone like you rap?” Areum mumbled to herself. “Nabi, have you ever thought of being an artist?”

 

“W-what? No no no no, I can't do that.”

 

“Come on, it’ll be fun.”

 

Nabi started considering, “But still my parents would never allow that.”

 

“Then….why don't we just try? If it works out then we’ll tell our parents if not then we’re back to what we usually do.”

 

“O-okay, I guess we can try,” Nabi caved in after thinking very carefully about the idea.

 

“Sweet! With my expert writing,” Areum flipped her hair, “and your skill, you'll be the best rapper around!”

 

“YAH, WHAT ABOUT YOU?” Nabi complained.

 

“Too bad I have no talent. You'll be fine I swear. Just...just trust me,” Areum said.

 

Nabi pouted cutely and proceeded to cuddle with the couch before she mischievously grinned and pulled Areum down with her.

 

“Aish, ing cat,” Areum complained.

 

“What? I have to be in the spotlight. All you have to do is cuddle with me,” Nabi reasoned.

 

With that logic, Areum shut up and allowed herself to be smothered (she meant cuddled) by Nabi. “This better ing work out,” Areum grumbled.