I wanted to do a story like this, one one-shot per Universe from Reality in Black. I did this first one from Universe three for a competiton. I orignially planned to write these later so it will be some time before I get to the rest of the universes, so for now this is a one and only one-shot. I hope you like it.

    The steady rhythm of the bass pulsed with her heart. She could feel the sweat running down her face as she continued to count through the movements. Her body twisted, dipped and arched in so many different directions, each matching the beat that surrounded her. Sharp brown eyes watched her through the movements, making sure every one of them was hit with perfection. On the last eight count she landed in her final pose, breathing coming fast, making her chest rise and fall dramatically. Her heart rate continued to beat loudly in the now silent room, the song had faded out. MoonByul finally broke eye contact with herself in the mirror and reached for the remote that lay on the floor near her, turning off the sound system before the next song blasted to life. 

She took a seat on the polished hardwood floors as she tried to catch her breath. She was the last person in the studio, there was a flow of moonlight streaming in from the few windows beside her, she turned her head toward it, a thick sheet of rain poured from the heavens. Byul must have been practicing longer than she thought because she was supposed to leave before the forecasted rain that was supposed to start. She pulled herself to her feet and made her way to the centre window, it was the biggest and three times the size of the two small ones on either side of her. Lightning flashed as she looked out the window, she looked at the street below her, it was empty of life. She turned her gaze to the clock that hung opposite of the window, nailed high on the white brick wall, midnight. She was supposed to have left over two hours ago but once again she got lost in her dance, she wanted to get the steps to her new choreography before she forgot them. Byul sighed to herself, she needed to get home before the storm got any worse. She flicked the power switch of her sound system off as she left the window. She picked her bag and sweater up off of the tan leather couch as she made her way to the exit.

When she made it to the ground floor she cursed herself even more. The rain was coming down hard and there was a thick layer of fog that blanketed the streets. She should have brought her bike with her to the studio today but earlier it had been very nice out so she had decided to walk. She stepped out into the rain and quickly locked the door that lead to her studio. She pulled her hood up over her head and started walking very quickly through the streets. 

Everyone must have thought it was a good idea to not be out at midnight in the pouring rain, because Byul was completely alone. She walked briskly, picking her pace up, she only lived a few blocks away from her studio so it wouldn’t be that bad, but now that the rain was soaking through her hoodie and jeans, she was becoming increasingly more cold. Not to mention the fog gave off an eerie feeling to the night, making Byul want to get home as soon as possible. It was odd, the rain was cold but the air was warm, which you think would make it easier to bare but the mix of the temperatures was making her more chilly. 

When she arrived at the main intersection, she stopped for the red light and breathed some warm air into her clasped hands, breath making a cloud in front of her. She was impatiently bouncing on the balls of her feet waiting for the light to turn. Finally, it dawned on her that no one was around so there was no reason she should wait for the light to turn green. She gave a quick look in both directions and stepped off the curb, dashing for the other side. Instant regret filled her when she heard the long steady sound of a car horn getting louder. The headlights flooded her vision, making it impossible to see. She heard the screech of car breaks right before she felt the car hit her side, knocking her to the ground. She felt herself brace for more impact but it never came. 

Byul slowly opened her eyes. She was in the middle of the crosswalk, curled up into a ball, facing away from the car, watching the rain splatter the street. She took a long shaky breath as she tried to steady herself, she wasn’t dead. She rolled over as she heard the car door slam, high beams still assaulting her eyes. “Are you crazy?” She heard an angry voice muffled by the rain call out to her. “Who runs out into the middle of the road wearing all black on a fog filled night.” Byul took a few more shaky breaths. When the owner of the car noticed she hadn’t moved, she heard footsteps approach her. “Hey, are you okay?” There were so many responses that flew to Byul’s lips, many involved cursing but she knew this accident was her fault.

She sat up from the ball she was still curled into, clothes completely soaked through now. Her body was a bit sore but she didn’t feel hurt. “I am fine.” She finally responded.

The person stepped into the light of their car, making it easier for Byul to see. The woman had shoulder length blonde hair. She wore a long coat to protect her from the rain. “Are you sure you are okay?” She sounded more concerned now than angry. 

“Yeah I’m good.” She said starting to rise to her feet. The second she put pressure on her ankle, sharp pain shot up her leg and she fell back to the ground. “Or not.” She mumbled to herself. 

The girl rushed forward. “Where are you hurt?” 

She looked at Byul with intense brown eyes that made her lose her though for a moment. “...My ankle.” She pulled her eyes away and onto her foot, testing it with her fingers, sharp pain causing her to hiss. “I must have pulled something while I fell.” This was not good. 

The girl looked at Byul for a moment, as if she was considering something. Finally she sighed very loudly. “I will drive you to the hospital.” She reached her hand out to Byul.

Byul quickly raised her hands. “No, no that is okay I will go myself.” She tried to stand again but quickly discovered she wasn’t going to be able to stand without help. She took the girls hand and she seemed to lift Byul with ease, Byul standing on one foot. “Thank you for your help but I can go from here.” 

She was about to take a step when the girl cut her off. “Let me take you to the hospital, it is not that far.”

“Really, I am okay.” Byul said trying to act more okay than she was. 

The girl gave her a look. “Are you really going to pretend you are okay while we stand here arguing in the pouring rain instead of just letting me take you to the hospital?”

Byul sighed, she was right, there was no way she could get home or to a hospital with her foot like this. Trying to walk on it could damage it more and she wasn’t about to ruin her ankle over this. “Fine, I will let you take me.” The girl nodded. 

Byul was a bit reluctant to allow the stranger to help her into her car, but she didn’t have much of a choice. Byul slid onto the leather passenger seat as the girl closed the door behind her and ran to the driver side, Byul wasn’t sure why, they both were beyond soaked by now, the extra seconds wasn’t going to change that. The girl slid into her seat, flicked on the heater and put on her seat belt, Byul copying that last thing. She put the car in drive and took off into the fog. 

The ride to the hospital was silent. Byul did nothing but look out the passenger side window the whole time just so she didn’t have to make awkward conversation. She was embarrassed that she ran into the road, even more embarrassed because she got hurt and had to take up more of the girl’s time as she drove her to the emergency room. The car was thick with awkward silence, Byul wished desperately that the girl would turn on the car radio so it wasn’t as awkward. They pulled up to a red light and Byul could hear the girl drumming her fingers on the steering wheel. She must have a lot of money because it was a very nice car, Byul wasn’t sure about what type of car it was because she rode a bike, but she knew it was fancy from the interior and the very expensive looking dashboard controls. “So…” The girl broke the silence. “I suppose I should ask your name since I almost killed you.” 

Byul looked over, meeting her intense brown eyes again. She could see more of the girl’s features now that they were not standing in the rain, she had very round cheeks and a birthmark that looked like a little freckle over one of her eyes, she had a very serious look for such a cute face. It dawned on Byul that she had yet to answer her question. “Moon ByulYi.” She answered, letting the words hang there before she realized she should be asking the same question. “And yours?” She felt her cheeks heat a bit, she wasn’t big on small talk with strangers. 

The girl faced forward again, driving as the light changed to green. “Kim YongSun.” She replied, a small smile cracking over her serious look. “I am sorry we had to meet under such circumstances.” 

Byul shrugged, it wasn’t like she planned on talking to this girl ever again. “It makes for an interesting story I suppose.” She drummed her fingers lightly on her leg, matching the beat YongSun was tapping a few minutes ago.

They arrived at the hospital, lucky before any more awkward small talk could be said. YongSun pulled up to the emergency doors and stopped the car. Just as Byul was about to say goodbye, fingers on the handle, a woman knocked on YongSun’s car window. She rolled it down, a nurse peered into the car and spoke very sternly. “You can’t park here.”

“I am not parked.” YongSun responded in the same tone. “She is getting out right now.” She pointed to Byul, who was already pulling on the door. 

“No,” She said sharply. “You need to drop her off up there.” She pointed. “I have an ambulance coming in right behind you.” 

Before YongSun could retort flashing red and white lights came into view. “Fine.” She didn’t wait for a reply, she didn’t even roll up her window as she drove off. 

The patient drop off was like thirty feet from the actual door. YongSun glared at it, looked over at Byul, sighed very loudly and drove off once again but to the parking lot this time. “What are you doing?” Byul asked in alarm. 

YongSun gave her a look. “You can barely stand on that foot, I am not making you walk that distance by yourself.” She took the sub to parking, found a close parking spot and then went to Byul’s side of the car and helped her out. “I will get you into the emergency, validate my parking and we can part ways.” She didn’t say it rudely, she said it as if she were trying to reassure Byul that she wasn’t going to follow her around the hospital, Byul nodded and allowed her to take the lead into the hospital. 

The emergency room was actually not very busy. It was going on twelve thirty at night, and Byul gave a look at the almost deserted emergency sitting room, she thought they were always full of people. YongSun walked her up to the check in desk, Byul gave her name and reason for being there to the nurse and she was quickly assigned a bed to go sit on to await the doctor. Byul was about to ask the nurse for a cane or wheelchair to get her to the bed but YongSun started steering her toward the bed. “I really appreciate this.” Byul told her as she began sitting on the bed. 

“Don’t mention it, I was the one who hit you.” She said as she released her grip on YongSun. 

Byul scooted further on the bed. “I was the one who ran out on a red light.” 

YongSun smiled, now standing in front of Byul. Byul couldn’t help but think that she was very pretty, she had a slim figure that Byul could now see because her clothes were stuck to her. “I should get going but it was very nice meeting you Moon ByulYi.” She held out her hand.

Byul shook hit. “It was nice meeting you too, thank you for your help.”

“I’d say anytime but I’d rather not hit you with my car again.” They both laughed nervously.

“Byul?” A voice called very loudly through the room. “ByulYi Unnie?” Both girls looked in the direction of the voice. Byul already knew who it was by the pitch of the voice but the blue head of hair gave her away. 

Byul smiled, she had texted WheeIn when she got into YongSun’s car, explaining what had happened to her roommate but she didn’t expect her to show up. “Over here.” She called back to the younger girl. 

WheeIn rushed to her side, almost knocking YongSun over as she did. “Unnie,” She whined. “What happened?” She looked down at Byul’s feet, though she didn’t know what foot Byul hurt. 

“It’s fine WheeIn, I’ll be fine.” Byul tried to reassure her.

YongSun held up a hand as if waiting to be called on to speak, Byul looked at her. “I am going to go now.” 

Byul nodded but WheeIn stood abruptly and spun on her. “Who are you?” She asked looking her over. “Are you the one that did this to her?”

Before YongSun could speak, Byul answered. “WheeIn it is fine, I am fine.” She said motioning to her body.

WheeIn glared at her, then turned to glare at YongSun. “It isn’t fine, she hit you, she should at least pay for the expenses.” WheeIn crossed her arms, she was sort of Byul protector, even though Byul was older. 

Byul saw YongSun’s face go serious again. “It was not my fault, she ran out in front or me.” She jabbed a finger in Byul’s direction, she could feel her face getting hot again. “I brought her here didn’t I?”

“I don’t care if she was tap dancing in the street, you still hit her, and you hurt her foot.” WheeIn gestured to Byul’s feet. “She is a choreographer, what will you do if she permanently damages her foot and can’t dance again? How will you take the responsibility?” 

“WheeIn,” Byul said trying to sound stern, though she heard her voice waver. “Let her go.” WheeIn turned her glare back on Byul. “Now.” She said more firmly. 

WheeIn huffed. “Give me your phone.” She growled at YongSun, rolling her eyes, YongSun handed it over. WheeIn started typing on it, she held it up to her ear and Byul’s pocket started ringing. Byul pulled her phone out, an unknown number on the screen. WheeIn pulled it out of her hands, answered herself, hung up the phone and save the numbers to each device. She ed YongSun’s phone back at her. “You will be hearing from her.” She said more like a threat.
YongSun slid the phone back in her pocket, lips pursed like she had a lot to say to WheeIn. She spun on her heel and marched out of the hospital. Byul felt bad that she left in that manner, and before she could say a proper goodbye, but it was too late now. “That wasn’t very nice WheeIn.” Byul said when it was obvious the girl was not coming back. 

WheeIn sat dramatically in the chair next to Byul. “But Unnie, she hurt you, what if your foot gets so damaged you can’t dance anymore?” 

Byul had been worrying about that since the accident, she couldn’t dream about not dancing again. “I don’t know, but I do know, you should have been nicer to her.”

WheeIn shrugged and pulled out her phone, gaming music starting up. Byul wished she had a better chance to say goodbye, meeting YongSun almost seemed a waste now, there was no way she was going to contact her after today, no matter what the results are. 

Byul held her breath as the doctor came into her small area. He pulled the curtain closed behind him. WheeIn sat up in her chair, phone going away. 

He looked down at his chart. “So Moon ByulYi ssi, what seems to be the problem?” 

    Byul had her head in her hands, sitting at her work desk, watching her team half heartedly practice. She tried to be out there and coach them but she knew her heart wasn’t in it today either, so she didn’t have the spirit to sit there and correct their movements. The doctor’s news was not what she had hoped, but it may have been a bit naive of her to think she could just come back to the studio today and start dancing around as if nothing happened. 

She blew a piece of her long purple hair out of her eyes. Last month she and WheeIn went to colour their hair at the salon for WheeIn’s birthday present. Byul wasn’t sure she wanted to colour her hair but after seeing WheeIn’s deep blue she thought she would do it, but she chose a light purple instead. 

A knock on her door frame made her look up. YongSun stood there, holding a bouquet of flowers in her hand. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a very small pony, she wore blue jeans and a white button up shirt. Byul sat up slightly shocked, she could see her dancers looking in on them, the wall to her office was made of glass, she could see a few of them trying to hide behind the brick pillars in the middle of the room. “Kim YongSun ssi, what?...How?” She wasn’t sure what question she wanted to ask first. 

“WheeIn.” Was her answer, she took a step into the room and closed the door slightly behind her. “She apparently took my number off your phone because, and I quote, ‘she wouldn’t tell you even if her foot had to be amputated’.” Byul tried not to laugh at that. “So I made the mistake of asking her what did happen, her reply was the address to this studio, so I took that as a ‘go ask her yourself’. So… here I am.” She opened her arms slightly as if to show she was really there. 

“Well have a seat.” She motioned to the chair across from hers, place in front of her desk. “I can see you.” She called out to the dancers who were still looking. “Those moves are not going to perfect themselves.” They scattered. 

YongSun set the flowers on the desk, yellow roses. “These are for you, sorry it was all they had.” 

Byul picked them up and gave them a smell. “Thank you.” She could feel herself smiling.

YongSun gave a small smile back before she turned serious again. “So how bad is it?” 

“I was lucky, I only pulled a muscle.” Her heart sank. “But I was still ordered to stay off of it for two weeks, and I have to use crutches.” She nodded to the two crutches leaning against the wall beside her. 

YongSun perked up a bit. “Oh, that really isn’t bad at all.” When Byul didn’t smile YongSun’s face fell again. “Not good?” 

“Yeah it’s good, it could have been a lot worse.” She started playing with the wrapping around the flowers. 

YongSun watched her. “I get the feeling that you are leaving something out.” 

“No, it is a good thing. In two weeks I will walk again and in about a month I can dance again.”

YongSun leaned in. “So why the long face, and why when I walked in did your entire dance crew seem to be upset?” 

Byul sighed. “We have a dance competition coming up in two weeks, with me not being able to dance we can no longer participate in this one.” She felt like crying a bit.

YongSun reached out to grab her hand. “Don’t worry, there will be other competitions.” She didn’t sound so sure. 

“Yeah but we were counting on the money from this one, one of our crew is in the hospital and this money was going to go toward paying the bill for him.” 

She saw YongSun’s face fall even more. “You don’t have an alternate?”

Byul nodded. “One and he replaced Jong, but you are right, there will be more competitions.” None anytime soon though, and she was scared of what would happen to Jong if they didn’t get this money to his family. 

“When is the competition?” There was a determined looked behind her eyes that was concerning Byul a bit. 

Byul looked at her for a moment before answering. “On the twentieth of the month.That is in eight days.” 

YongSun pulled out her phone and scrolled through it. “I’ll do it.” 

Byul looked at her like she had two heads. “What?”

She looked up at Byul with those intense eyes. “I will do it. I work until three but after that I will come here to train with you and your crew. I am good with foot work, I can’t say I will be an amazing dancer but you can shove me in the back.” 

Byul’s heart was beating very fast. “You don’t have to do this, we can wait for another chance.”

“No,” She said very firmly. “I helped make this mess so I will help fix it. I will dance with your crew at the competition, and I will try my hardest to make sure you don’t regret it.” YongSun looked around determined. “What is first?”

Byul looked her up and down, trying to see if this was a joke. When she decided it wasn’t she answered. “An outfit change.” She said eyeing YongSun’s jeans. YongSun nodded shapely and stood, ready to take on anything. 

    YongSun took very well to the eight count, but her hand movement could use some work. It had been three days since YongSun agreed to be Byul’s replacement. Byul was waiting for YongSun in her studio, she had another engagement to be at so she was going to be very late to practice today. Byul had texted her back telling her not to worry about it today, she could take a break, but YongSun was very adamant on coming, she said she really needed the practice. 

Byul sat in the middle of the studio floor looking at herself in the long mirrors. She didn’t love seeing the bandage around her ankle, or crutches beside her, she was used to looking at herself in the mirror with confidence as she danced. Right now she only saw shy, scared Byul, the person she was when she wasn’t dancing. The door to the studio opened and her eyes were pulled away from her reflection. YongSun hurried into the room, she was already dressed to dance, in tight black leggings and an oversized white shirt. Her blonde hair had a braid down one side of it, the other loose as normal. There was one very big difference with YongSun this time, there was a large bruise forming under her right eye. Byul jumped to her feet, as fast as she could with crutches. YongSun looked at her shocked. “What’s wrong?” She asked while still trying to shove some of her clothing into her large duffle bag. 

Byul limped closer, eyes wide as she examined YongSun’s face. “You have a bruise on your face?” She could hear the anger in her own voice. “Who did this to you, were you attacked?” Byul looked behind YongSun, as if the culprit had followed her into the studio.

YongSun looked confused. “Huh?” She pulled a compact out of her bag and opened it, examining her face. She touched the bruise gingerly, she winced. “Ah this, don’t worry about it, it is nothing.” She closed her mirror and put it back.

“Nothing?” She practically yelled. “YongSun someone hit you!” She assumed.

YongSun nodded like Byul had said she had blonde hair. “Yeah and you should see the other girl.” The look on Byul’s face must have been priceless because YongSun stared at her for a moment and then laughed. “Oh, Byul I am so sorry.” She took a few breaths, Byul not getting the joke. “I am a boxer, I just came from a match, this is nothing.” She pointed to her eye.

Byul’s mind processed this information, she could feel her cheeks heating. “Oh.” She said breaking eye contact.

YongSun patted her shoulder. “Thank you for being so concerned though, I should have told you sooner.” 

Byul wanted to give a snappy response but she didn’t. “Well I am glad you weren’t attacked.” She limped a few feet away. “If you had a boxing match before this, you shouldn’t be wasting more energy practicing.” 

YongSun tossed her bag onto the couch. “I need the practice, besides I have a lot of energy.” Byul wasn’t sure why that made her heart flutter but it did. “Hey you should come see me box.”

Byul was taken aback by this. “Really?” 

YongSun smiled. “Of course, you should see me excel at something, because clearly I am not a dancer.” She laughed at herself. “And you can bring your roommate. I will leave your name with the door, my next match is the day after tomorrow.” Her face changed for a second. “No pressure though, it was just if you wanted to.”

Byul waved her hands. “No, I’d love to go. WheeIn is always telling me we need to get out more.” 

She smiled again. “Great.” There was a moment of awkward silence. “We should get practicing.” 

“Yeah, right, of course.” Byul stumbled through her words. She limped over to the couch and took a seat. “From the top.” She said as she lifted the remote, pointing it toward the stereo and pressing play. 

YongSun stood in the opening position, waiting for the music to start. She started moving once the first beat hit her feet followed the movements one of the other members taught her. Byul watched with sharp eyes, as always, and she called out corrections for YongSun as she made her way through the choreography.  They went through the song five times before Byul finally paused the music in the middle of the song. YongSun turned, breathing hard, looking confused at Byul. “You are doing the arm movements wrong.” She looked at Byul to explain. “You’re supposed to move your left up and your right down, on three and four you turn them in a circle, five and six they go in and out, seven and eight they come together in the centre like you are holding a ball.” She watched YongSun try the movements again as she counted. “Stop, you’re doing three, four wrong. Go again.” She started the count again. “Stop.” She got up from her spot, and wobbled over to where YongSun was. “Turn and face the mirror.” YongSun did as she asked. “Put your hands in the first position.” She did. Byul reached around her, taking her hands. “The movements are like this.” She moved YongSun’s hands through the movements of the eight count. She let her fingers slide down YongSun’s arm as she let go, she had very soft skin. It suddenly dawned on Byul how close she was to YongSun, her heart picked up in pace.

 She quickly stepped back and almost tripped as pain flared though her ankle. YongSun reached out and pulled her in to keep her from falling. Byul was chest to chest with YongSun, if she dropped her head any, it would be resting on her shoulder. She could smell the faint scent of perfume and shampoo, it danced up her nose. YongSun held her there for a moment too long, then slowly helped her step back so they were no longer touching. “Thank you.” Byul’s face was on fire.

She couldn’t help but notice YongSun’s face and neck were also red. “Don’t mention it.” 

Byul hobbled back to the couch, heart and mind unsure of what just happened. Byul cleared . “Let’s start from the top.” She raised her remote and hit play.

    Byul was surprised when the arena was crowded. She and WheeIn shuffled into their seats, which were very close to the ring. Apparently getting your name on a list from one of the fighters meant that you were important. WheeIn sat next to her with her big bag of popcorn and pop, Byul didn’t think they sold such things at boxing matches but apparently they did. Byul had never seen a live boxing match before, it wasn’t really her sport of choice but since YongSun invited her, she figures she should attend. YongSun wasn’t on yet, they were currently watching two men box. WheeIn got into it right away, yelling for one guy or the other to throw more punches. Byul just kind of sat there awkwardly, like she usually does, and tried not to wince every time she heard the loud smash of a punch being landed. 

There was quite a commotion starting near the entrance of the arena, Byul moved her head around to see what was going on. A large crowd of people formed around someone, the flashes of multiple cameras were going off. “What is going on?” WheeIn asked angrily, as the crowd had now been so loud, they were disrupting the sounds of the match going on. She whipped her head around. “Oh my God.” She raised a hand to . 

“What?” Byul asked, still trying to get a good look. “Who is that?”

“That is HwaSa.” WheeIn said in awe. Byul just kind of looked at her. WheeIn sighed heavily. “HwaSa.” She said annunciating each syllable. “The musical actress I’ve been obsessed about ever since she wore that skin coloured one piece on the red carpet. She was covered on every major celebrity news outlet.” Byul nodded but she really didn’t remember who WheeIn was talking about. The girl came into view, she did look familiar. She wore a white suit with a pink shirt under it, and short black hair hung loose around her face. “I wonder if I can get her autograph before we leave.” WheeIn said to herself. Byul smiled and resisted the urge to roll her eyes, WheeIn was good at doing unconventional things just to achieve and autograph. She was once banned from one of the performance arenas just so she could get Jung Key’s autograph, and she got it. 

The sound of the intercom cracked over head announcing the winner of the fight. Byul had not watched more than a minute of the fight so she wasn’t even sure who the winner was, by the time she looked back at the ring, both fighters were leaving. “And now coming to the ring is Cosmic!” The crowd cheered as a girl with a yellow bob entered the ring. “And her opponent, Solar!” YongSun started walking to the ring, looking very angry and determined. Her hair was braided on either side of her head. She wore red gloves, black boots, shorts, and a black sports bra. Her entire midsection was on display, a very cut set of abs, it took Byul by surprise. She watched as she climbed into the ring, both girls met in the middle and tapped gloves. They went back to their corners, she watched as YongSun adjusted guard, then she turned back to face her opponent. Two bells chimed over head and both girls dance toward the centre of the ring, gloves up to protect their faces. No wonder YongSun was so good with footwork, her feet did not stop moving as she and the other girl walked around each other, looking for an opening. Cosmic threw the first punch, which YongSun dodged very quickly and threw one of her own, hitting the girl in the side. 

Byul couldn’t take her eyes away as the match continued. Cosmic was a strong fighter but YongSun seemed to be better, she dodged almost every punch the girl threw at her, while managing to land a good handful on the girl. Byul understood why YongSun had a bruise on her eye the other night, they did not hold back when they swung. Byul couldn’t suppress a gasp when YongSun took a hit to her right side, she could hear the impact from her seat. YongSun got her revenge, she landed three solid hits right after another and Cosmic went down. YongSun walked around the outside of the ring, hands raised, making the crowd scream her name as Cosmic recovered from the blows. The next two rounds went by quickly, once YongSun got her first hits in against Cosmic, she was having trouble recovering from each blow. When the final bell chimed, YongSun’s hand was held up in the middle of the ring, she had won the match. 

WheeIn stood from her seat impatiently. “I am going to go see if I can talk to HwaSa.” Byul had a suspicion that she hadn’t even watched a second of the fight that just took place. Byul sighed and followed WheeIn from their seats, she had to make sure she wasn’t about to get herself banned from yet another facility. 

WheeIn marched confidently up to the V.I.P section, Byul followed nervously behind her. Before either of the guards could stop her, she ducked under the velvet rope and walked up to HwaSa. Byul followed behind the guards as they pursue WheeIn. “Hello.” She said taking HwaSa’s attention from the next match that had started. The girl blinked a few times, the guards took either of WheeIn’s arms. “Hey,” She struggled against them. “I just wanted to say hello, I am a fan.” Byul stood watch, making sure they weren’t hurting WheeIn, and more importantly, she didn’t hurt them. 

HwaSa waved the men off. “It’s fine, I am always happy to talk to a fan.” She smiled.

WheeIn stuck her tongue out at the men, Byul whispered her name sharply, telling her to stop. She took a few more steps closer to the woman. “I am Jung WheeIn.” She her hand out. “I am a really big fan.” HwaSa smiled and shook it. “I never thought I’d see you in person, let alone at a boxing match.” 

HwaSa let out a rich sounding laugh. “It isn’t really my sport, but my friend is a boxer so I came to support them.” She motioned for WheeIn to take a seat next to her, Byul took the last chair. “So Jung WheeIn ssi, you like boxing?” 

WheeIn laughed and flipped her hair a bit, Byul caught her tell, she was flirting. “You can just call me WheeIn.” She leaned closer. “No, I don’t watch boxing. We were invited by a friend.” WheeIn gestured to Byul, who waved politely. 

Byul watched the next fight as the girl launched into a conversation of their own, Byul thought she would leave WheeIn to her flirting. Byul got lost in the matches going on, roughly an hour had passed and they were still sitting in the V.I.P section while WheeIn and HwaSa chatted away. Byul sent a quick text to YongSun, congratulating her on her win. She messaged back that it helped that she knew Byul was there cheering her on. Byul felt her face flush at the message, she had been reading it over and over for the last half hour, sneaking glances at her phone when she knew WheeIn wasn’t looking or she would . 

“Oh, HyeJin-Ah!” All three girls looked up, YongSun was standing on the edge of the V.I.P section, looking confused. She had changed out of her fighting gear and was wearing black ripped jeans and an oversized sweater. “Jung WheeIn ssi, Byul-Ah, I didn’t know you all knew each other.” 

“We don’t” HwaSa answered, she looked over at WheeIn with a smile. “Well not yet.” 

WheeIn leaned in close to HwaSa. “So your name is HyeJin? I couldn’t find it on any of your fan sites.” 

“For a reason.” HwaSa, or HyeJin answered with a finger to her lips, WheeIn nodded and make an ‘okay’ sign with her fingers. 

“Well since we are all here now,” WheeIn said motioning to them all. “Why don’t we go grab some dinner?” 

Both Byul and YongSun looked unsure about it but HyeJin smiled brightly. “That sounds like a good idea.” She stood and hooked an arm around YongSun’s neck. “My treat since YongSun Unnie won her match.” 

WheeIn stood and clapped her hand excitedly. “Come on Unnie.” She said pulling Byul to her feet. It looked like neither of them were going to get a choice in the matter as they were dragged out of the arena by the younger girls. 

    The girls picked an out of the way barbeque restaurant so HyeJin and YongSun would hopefully not be recognized by fans. Byul and WheeIn sat on one side and the other two sat across from them. WheeIn automatically called an order out to the owner of the restaurant, and moments later he brought them over some water while they waited for their meat. “So how do you two know each other?” WheeIn asked pointing between HyeJin and YongSun. 

Byul started pouring water for everyone at the table. “We shared a green room last year, I was performing a stage and Unnie was one of the presenters. We just sort of hit it off from there and have been friends ever since.” She took a sip of water. “What about you two?” Her eyes flicked over Byul.

WheeIn rested her head on her clasped hands. “We met at college. ByulYi Unnie was performing at my orientation and I decided I had to meet her.” 

Byul laughed. “And by that she means she stalked me for two weeks until she got me to meet her for coffee.” 

WheeIn shrugged. “What can I say, I am a big fan girl.” 

HyeJin laughed. “So you perform Byul? What do you perform?” 

“Unnie is a choreographer.” WheeIn chimed in for her. “She is really amazing.”

“A choreographer?” HyeJin tilted her head. “Is that the place you are going to Unnie?” She asked YongSun. YongSun nodded as she took a drink of her water. “So is that how you met?” 

Before anyone could answer, WheeIn jumped in. “No, she hit Unnie with her car.” YongSun started choking on her water.

“It was an accident.” Byul added very quickly. “I am almost better, I don’t need the crutches anymore.” 

“Crutches?” HyeJin’s eyebrows raised as she looked at YongSun.

Lucky for all of them, the owner brought out their meat after that last comment. HyeJin being discovered the youngest, started cooking the meat. “Do you dance too WheeIn?” YongSun asked. “I don’t see you at the studio.” 

WheeIn shook her head. “I am an artist.” 

“Really?” HyeJin asked excitedly. “What kind of art do you do?”

WheeIn started pouring everyone a shot of soju. “Painting mostly, I do try other mediums but I mostly stick to paints.” 

“Oh, I’d love to see them some time.” 

WheeIn make everyone cheers and downed her drink. Byul downed hers as well, the clear liquid burning so much on the way down that it made her eyes water. “We can go after dinner!” She said happily as she pour them all another shot. “

HyeJin drank her second shot, made a sound with as if it went down very smooth and slammed the cup on the table. “I can’t wait.” She said and sounded like she meant it. WheeIn never missed an opportunity to showcase her artwork to another person. 

The drinks continued to be poured as they ate their pork. Byul learned a lot about HyeJin and YongSun and they also learned a lot about WheeIn and a bit about Byul. Byul was very shy and didn’t love talking about herself but WheeIn made sure to share a lot of her embarrassing stories. As promised HyeJin picked up the entire bill, which included six bottles of soju and three rounds of meat. Byul tried to give her some money for the bill but she refused, she even shoved Byul’s money down her shirt when she handed it to her. 

They started making their way toward WheeIn’s studio. They decided to walk because it wasn’t far and it was a nice night out, and they were all feeling hot from the restaurant and the alcohol. WheeIn and HyeJin were ahead of Byul and YongSun, WheeIn still chatting the girl’s ear off. This must have been a dream come true for WheeIn, not only meeting one of her idols but spending hours with them, getting to know everything about them. 

Byul looked at YongSun from the corner of her eye, she had her eyes slightly closed, enjoying the fresh air on her very red face, apparently drinking alcohol made her face red, as HyeJin was very happy to about. She lifted her hands, moving them as if they were following the air currents, then that morphed into Byul’s choreography. Byul couldn’t help but smile at that. “Isn’t it weird how the world works Byul-Ah?” She looked over at Byul with soft eyes. 

“I am not sure I know what you mean?” She asked while breaking eye contact.

YongSun stopped walking and grabbed Byul’s arm. “You know, you are so confident when you dance, it is almost as if you were a different person, and yet here you are now, barely able to look me in the eye.” Byul looked down at her arm in YongSun’s grasp, face heating more despite the cold air. “I meant that it was such an odd way in which we met, and look at us now!” She said swinging Byul’s arm a bit.

“I think you’ve had too much to drink.” She said taking her arm back, starting to walk again, the other girls had not stopped to wait for them, so they were becoming small figures in the distance. 

YongSun quickly joined her. “No, I mean think of it. What are the chances we met the way we did. It was past midnight in the pouring rain, I hurt the ankle of a choreographer and had to take her place so she could participate in a competition.” She giggled. “It is like a drama.” She had to admit, it did sound like a drama plot line. “Oh I know what would come next.”

Byul smiled a bit, enjoying YongSun acting goofy. “And what is that?” 

YongSun stopped in front of her, letting the other two get further away. “The male lead,” She leaned in and whispered. “That would be my character.” Byul laughed at her actions. “He would stop the female lead like this.” She dramatically grabbed either side of Byul. “Byul-Ah, I may seem like I have a cold heart, but you have melted it.”

Byul continued to laugh along with her. “But YongSun-Ah we are from two different worlds.” She said putting on her dramatic voice.

YongSun grasped her upper arms tightly. “No Moon ByulYi, there is nothing in this world that can tear us apart as destiny has brought us together.” She giggled again.

“Oh, but what of our parents.” She laid the back of her hand to her forehead.

“Not even my father threatening to disown me will keep me from you. This is it, you are the one I love.” They kept laughing.

When their laughing died down. “Well Kim YongSun ssi, what are you going to do to keep my heart?” She challenged with a smile.

Without warning, YongSun leaned in and pressed her lips firmly to Byul’s. Byul was dead still, shocked at what was happening. Before she had a chance to process it, YongSun pulled away. She took a large step backward, hand covering , shocked look in her own eyes. “Oh my God Byul, I am so sorry.” Her eyes filled with tears. She backed up fast, turning on her heel and dashing off.

Byul jolted after her, but her ankle throbbed when she tried to. “YongSun wait!” She hollered after her, but it was too late, she was nowhere to be seen. Byul was left alone in the street to try and process what exactly had just happened. 

    Byul watched as her crew got dressed for the competition. Two days had gone by since YongSun had kissed her on the street. She had not come by the studio, she didn’t answer any of Byul’s text or calls, she even got WheeIn to call her with no success. Byul was worried. She was worried that they were going to get disqualified from the competition after all their hard work, she was worried about what was going on with YongSun, but mostly she was worried that she just lost YongSun forever. 

Byul got dressed along with her crew. If YongSun didn’t show up, she would go on stage, she was certain she could manage the dance, maybe not very well but YongSun’s position was in the back anyway, she was hoping the judges were not going to notice. Most for her dancers were trying to talk her out of going on stage but she wouldn’t listen to them, they had made it too far to give up now. Byul’s team was called to stage and she walked up there with them. The second her foot hit the stage a hand grabbed her arm and forced her back. Her eyes locked onto a very familiar determined look. “What do you think you are doing.” YongSun growled at her. She however, did not wait for Byul to respond before she walked past her and onto the stage. 

Byul walked to the wing of that stage. There was nothing more she wanted than to be up there with her crew. There was nothing more she wanted, then to have a minute to talk to YongSun, to explain how she felt about the whole thing. “Please welcome to the stage Reality in Black!” The crowd cheered as Byul’s team got into their positions. The music started and Byul watched as the choreography she had created unfolded in front of her. Her arms could not help but move along with them, her feet were itching to do the same but all the walking she did the other night had it aching. She watched as the entire team, even YongSun, performed it flawlessly, every move was done on beat and with passion. When they all collected in the middle of the stage for the final pose, she could not help but laugh and clap along with the audience. Her team came running off the stage and she embraced them all in hugs, telling them what an amazing job they did. When the group dispersed so the next crew could go on stage, Byul noticed that YongSun had disappeared. Her heart hurt a little bit, she was hoping to have some time to talk to her before she ran off again. With a heavy heart, she let her run off, she needed to be here with her crew. She sat down with her crew and watched as the rest of the competition unfolded, but her mind was else were. 

A few hours later Byul was on a mission. She had to bribe HyeJin with information on WheeIn to get what she wanted, WheeIn would be okay with it when the girl surprises her with her favourite flowers and chocolates later that night. 

Byul peddled her bike as fast as she could, backpack slung over her shoulder, ankle throbbing over the motions but it would be fine after she rested it. She arrived at an old brick building with very large windows. When she heard the very loud bass from the music, she knew she was in the right place. She almost didn’t lock her bike up before she went inside, but she wasn’t about to get her only method of transportation stolen. 

Byul opened the front door and she was hit by a wave of music, so loud she could barely think. Her eyes adjusted to the sudden dark room. Through the music she could hear a steady thumping sound. YongSun stood in the middle of a ring, wearing the same outfit she had on the other night during her boxing match, she was rhythmically punching a red bag that hung from the ceiling. She was so into the workout that she didn’t hear Byul enter the gym, nor did she hear her approach the ring. Byul leaned against the ropes and watched her work out for some time before she noticed her. YongSun jumped when she realized someone was watching her, she quickly scrambled for the remote and turned off the music. The sudden silence was painful for Byul’s ears. “How did you find this place?” She asked out of breath, Byul wasn’t sure if it was from the workout or her getting scared.

Byul stepped up into the ring and continued to lean on the ropes. “HyeJin, took some bribing but I finally got it out of her.”

YongSun retreated to her corner and took a large drink of her water, a few lines spilling down the sides of . “What brings you here?” She tried to sound casual but Byul wasn’t buying it.

Byul bent through the ropes of the ring. “You disappeared after the performance, and not to mention you have been ignoring me for the last two days.” 

YongSun stared at her for a long moment. “For obvious reasons.” Her voice sounded hoarse. 

Byul took a deep breath, she was desperately trying to channel the person she was when she was on stage, she didn’t need to be shy Byul right now. “I would, at least, have liked the chance to talk about it.” Byul crossed her arms. YongSun motioned with her arm that she should speak if she wished. She took another swig of her water, making Byul wish she had some water to drink. “We won.” She said stupidly, it wasn’t what she wanted to say but it was all she could think of.

“Congratulations.” YongSun fell back into silence.

Byul scratched the side of her head angrily. “Look I think what you said about our meeting was very true, it was very interesting.” Her mind went blank again and she cursed. “This is not the way I envisioned this to go.” 

YongSun leaned against the post of the ring. “How did you expect this to go Byul.” She sneered. “I changed my mind about our meeting, I don’t think it was interesting, I think it was nothing but a mistake.” 

Byul felt like she was punched in the heart. She felt her lips form a very tight line. “You know what YongSun I am over this attitude of yours. You do one little thing and all of a sudden you want to destroy all we have?”

YongSun shrugged. “It is the way it has to be.” 

“No.” Byul said so sharply YongSun looked shocked at her words. Without thinking Byul marched over to YongSun, she pushed her hard against the pole and she crushed her lips into YongSun’s. Letting all her frustration out in the kiss, all the words her brain could not make her say. To her surprise YongSun started to reciprocate the kiss, fueling it with the same amount of passion and anger. She started walking Byul across the ring, but Byul’s foot caught something and they both went down in the middle of it, YongSun on top of Byul. “Ow.” She laughed as she grabbed the back of her head. “Again, not how I envisioned that going.” YongSun just stared at her with the same sharp brown eyes she looked at her with the first night they had met. Could it really only be nine days ago she had met this girl? In the fog and the pouring rain, a chance meeting at midnight when she was struck by this girl’s car. Byul leaned up and pressed another kiss to YongSun’s lips, a softer one this time. “Destiny YongSun, our meeting was destiny.” YongSun smiled now for real, she kissed Byul one more time before she brought them both into a sitting position on the mat. 

YongSun moved a few strands of Byul’s purple hair behind her ear. “Are you sure this is destiny?” She looked concerned again. 

“I think we’d find each other in any universe, how else would you explain the crazy way we met?” She rested her hand on YongSun’s leg.

YongSun thought for a moment. “Insane.” She laughed. “I didn’t think something like this would ever happen to me.” 

Byul nudged her shoulder. “Well get used to it because I am not going anywhere, and even if you try to run I will find you.” 

YongSun laughed for real, a deep one. “That is so cheesy.”

Byul shrugged. “Get used to it.” 

YongSun smiled. “Destiny.” The words sounding like music on her lips, Byul nodded. “So…” YongSun paused, that amazing awkward feeling creeping back into the atmosphere. “What do we do now?”

Byul reached for the backpack she had brought with her. “Do you want to see our trophy?” They both laughed, the awkwardness fading once again. Byul handed her the golden trophy, the round surface had First Place Winners, Reality in Black scrawled across it. “The first of many accomplishments between us.” 

Byul rested her head on YongSun’s shoulder. “We make a very good team.” She looked up into YongSun’s eyes. “What should we do next?”

YongSun tapped her chin with a finger. “Let’s leave that up to destiny.” Byul could not agree more. 

The End