~~~

Lately in dreamland her usual nightmares have been replaced by adventures with the bat. Even when the alarm rings she repeatedly hit the snooze button. Subconsciously she didn't want to wake up to reality, even if it was only prolonged for a few seconds.

Under the moonlit sky, Yerim couldn't help but daydream again about the dark one.

Without realizing it, it has completely taken over her life. All she could think about is batman and fruit bats. She inquired about the process of raising a bat. She imagined what batman looked like underneath the mask and wondered why there was a need to hide behind it. She wanted to know more but she had no idea if the other felt the same or if they would ever cross paths again.

Yerim was still lost in thought when she heard a familiar voice shouting her name.

"Hey! Choi Ye Rim!"

Yerim opened her eyelids to someone snapping and waving their fingers dangerously close to her face.

"HELLO? Earth to CHOI YE-RIMMMM!"

Turning her head towards the owner of the hand, she muttered "huh... oh, hi Hyejoo" She could've sworn the other called by her full name at least once per day.

"Spacing out again?" Hyejoo shook her head "You've been doing this a lot lately. Mind telling me what is going on in this empty head of yours?"

"Uh, nothing..." Well, it wasn't nothing but she wasn't sure how to explain it.

Hyejoo didn't seem to be convinced "It sure doesn't seem like nothing... what is going on?"

Yerim wasn't sure if it was the smell in the air or the ambience. At that moment, she couldn't help but think how different Hyejoo was from her initial impression. It was hard to believe the same person who was extremely quiet and shy at first turned out to be complete opposite.

Although they went to the same school, they never spoke in order not to spoil the reveal. Once 'Olivia Hye' was announced officially, Yerim was elated as it was no longer a secret; secrets were suffocating and hard to keep. She could finally stop pretending she didn't know Hyejoo in front of everyone. Yerim couldn't help but smile at the thought of having a 'bus buddy' as well as the snacks and stories they'd share.

Yerim caught Hyejoo glance in her direction and sensed Hyejoo wanted to be friends but didn't know how to make the first move. Being her usual cheerful self, she walked straight towards the low energy one with the brightest smile, extending her hand to offer friendship "Let's be friends!"

Yerim was literally photosynthesis in the human form. She sought to be a positive influence on everyone. In contrast, Hyejoo had low energy and a bit of a dark aurora around her. Something inside Yerim compelled her to cheer Hyejoo up everyday.

Hyejoo was rather quiet and reserved, mostly listened to her chatting away at whatever was on her mind, only occasionally chiming in with the odd remark. But that is alright, Yerim just enjoyed her company. Initially Yerim did most of the talking until Hyejoo felt comfortable enough to open up. With each bus ride to and from school, she could sense Hyejoo felt more comfortable around her. Yerim wasn't sure exactly when, but eventually Hyejoo's true personality came out.

"OLIVE??? OLIVE-VIA HEYYY? OLIVIA HYEEEE?" Hyejoo was perplexed at the stage name she could barely pronounce herself "Why the hell did BBC give me such a long name? Do I look like a foreigner?"

"But isn't it unique? I bet there would be no results if you search it online." Yerim tried to salvage the situation.

With a straight face, the other retorted in her usual monotone voice "If you like it so much. Why don't you take O-LI-VIA HEYYY instead?"

"Uhhh, I almost ended up with CHARLES. Can you imagine introducing yourself as CHARLES when this is supposed to be a girl group? So Olivia heyyy isn't that bad..."

She voice faltered as Hyejoo shot her a cold stare.

"...relatively speaking." Yerim could tell this wasn't helping so she took out her phone, rapidly tapping her fingers to perform a search on the most popular portal site "See. There are zero results