NOLZA

"Nolza?" Bom repeated.

"Ne~" Dara nodded as she held a paper with the word NOLZA written on it. It was lunch break and the two were outside near the school's soccer field eating their lunch. A week has passed since Bom's birthday and since then she hasn't seen Ji Yong around. She also didn't see Ji Yong and Seunghyun performed as GDTOP last weekend. Bom hasn't tried calling Ji Yong's phone since then.

Dara was telling Bom an idea she thought about over the weekend. Since Bom couldn't find any club that she wanted to join, Dara thought to make their own club where they have the freedom to do what they wanted. According to Dara, their club will focus on singing and dancing, as well as performing contemporary songs in different genres. She wanted to name it "Nolza."

"But why "Nolza?" Bom asked as she took a sip from her bottle of water.

"It means "let's play" right?" Dara explained as she finished eating. "What we're going to do in our club is to enjoy and do what we want to. Not necessarily just playing around without accomplishing anything. But what it means is we will be productive and accomplish something at the same time, enjoying the time and having fun."

"Arasseo.." Bom slowly nodded. She hasn't been in high spirits lately ever since her birthday. Dara immediately noticed Bom's lack of enthusiasm. She hasn't heard anything from Bom about her birthday. 

"Omo, what's wrong with Bommie?" Dara thought as she shot a concerned look to her bestfriend. "Is there a problem Bommie?" she asked.

Bom snapped out of her trance and faked a smile for Dara. "I was just thinking, a club with only two members? Will it even work?"

"Yah, silly Bommie," Dara laughed and playfully hit Bom's lap repeatedly. "It's not just us, you know. Let's ask Seunghyun and Ji Yong too, ne?"

Bom's brows furrowed over her worried eyes. She silently finished up her lunch while avoiding eye contact with Dara.

"Yah, Bommie, I know you're not telling me something." Dara moved closer to Bom and gave her a hug. "i don't want to see my bestfriend just sitting there while silently suffering. I'm here and you can talk to me."

"Dara…" Bom's voice trailed off. She rested her head on Dara's shoulder. She sniffed Dara's fruity fragrance on her sleeves. Bom took a deep breath and started to narrate last week's events to her bestfriend.

The school bell rang and signaled the end of lunch break. But the two stayed at the soccer field. Dara was still listening to Bom's story and neither of them wanted to return to their classes.

"You mean Ms. Kang is connected to Ji Yong?" Dara asked as Bom finished her story. Her head was on Dara's shoulder the whole time. 

Bom nodded slowly.

"Oh, and he called her noona?" Dara asked her eyebrows knitted as she was in deep thought. "It's hard to assume who she really is. We don't know anything about Ji Yong's past."

"I know, Dara." Bom answered. "But it's not like I can just ask him about it directly. I saw his face when we bumped into Ms. Kang on our way home. It's like a different Ji Yong."

"Well, if we can't ask Ji Yong directly~ there are only two other persons I can think of that we can ask about it." Dara said as she held up her two fingers in a peace sign.

"Who?"

"Seunghyun or Ms. Kang directly." Dara answered seriously.

~~

"Ms. Ka~ang," Dara said as she entered the infirmary. She saw Ms. Kang on her desk busy studying a thick pile of papers. She looked up and saw Dara. Dara stood in front of Ms. Kang while she held her forehead.

"Why aren't you in class?" she asked with a confident voice.

"Oww~ Ms. Ka~ang, I feel like I'm coming down with something." Dara acted as her voice turned high-pitched. 

Ms. Kang stood up and placed her hand over Dara's forehead. She didn't find it that hot so she took a thermometer out of one of her white cabinets. When Dara saw the thermometer she suddenly moaned.

"Oww.. I think my stomach is also hurting too." Dara hunched on her seat and massaged her tummy. "I think it's the corn I ate for lunch."

Ms. Kang put the thermometer down and approached Dara. She placed her hand on Dara's back and patted it to comfort the poor girl. Ms. Kang knew that Dara was just acting and she  wondered why. She read Dara's nameplate.

"Park Dara-ssi, if it hurts so much you can stay here in the infirmary for a while." Ms. Kang said as she helped Dara stood up. "You can rest in one of the beds and I'll wake you up once class ends, okay? Just be quiet because one of the bed is occupied by another student."

Dara weakly smiled and nodded. "A~~ my acting worked successfully." Dara thought as she slowly entered through the curtain that separates the beds from the infirmary.

"Ahh, what's wrong with these students today~ always wanting to escape classes." Ms. Kang thought as she returned to her desk with a sympathizing look.

"Omo.." Dara's eyes widened as she saw who was on the occupied bed. She wasn't sure if he was sleeping or not. He had earphones in his ears and his arms were on his head covering his eyes. But Dara could still recognize him, it was Kwon Ji Yong.

~~

The soft spring breeze sent Bom's long hair flying away from her doll-like face. She sneaked on top of the rooftop while she waited for Dara to finish her plan to interrogate Ms. Kang about anything from her past. Bom leaned on the railings and rested her chin on her hands. She looked below and only saw the green grass and a few flower shrubs. Classes were still going on and she could faintly hear the monotonous drone of teachers from the classroom below.

"I shouldn't be worrying this much," Bom reassured herself. "Ji Yong's just my friend.. or is there something more from what I feel?"

Out of nowhere, a hand patted Bom's shoulder lightly. She gave a startled jump and expected to see Dara.

"Sunbae," Seunghyun greeted her with a smile.

"Oh, Seunghyun-ssi, annyeong." Bom greeted back. "What are you doing here?"

"I should ask you the same question, sunbae." He answered and joined Bom on the railing. "You're not in class?"

"Ahh, I was just waiting for Dara. You're not in class either." A dried leaf flew past them and Bom caught it with her hand. She played with it for a while.

"I am actually looking for Ji Yong." Seunghyun answered while looking at Bom. "He disappeared during lunchtime."

"Oh," Bom slowly nodded. "Maybe.. maybe he's just hiding from fangirls?"

"Could be, but he normally sends me a message regarding his hiding place." He showed his phone to Bom. "But he kept it off today."

"Ahh.." was all that Bom managed to reply.

"Bommie, this could be your time to ask Seunghyun about Ji Yong and Ms. Kang." a voice suddenly spoke on her mind.

"Ah.. Seunghyun-ssi…" Bom cleared and faced Seunghyun.

"Ne?" Seunghyun answered.

"Umm," Bom her lips. 

Seunghyun waited for her question.

"Whatisthetitleofyoursong?" Bom suddenly blurted out.

"Ahhh, not that question Bommie!" She scolded herself.

"What was that?" Seunghyun asked with a frown. He noticed something different in Bom's eyes. A pained expression overshadowed her usual smiling eyes that he was used to seeing.

"Aniyo~ aniyo.." Bom said before taking a gulp. "I just want to know… if you know something going on between Ms. Kang and--"

Bom was cut short by the sudden loud ringing of the bell. The shrilling sound came directly from the loud speakers placed on the rooftop. Bom was about to cover her ears when Seunghyun placed his hands over her ears. Bom was surprised about his gesture and blushed. The ringing ended but Seunghyun's hands were still on top of Bom's ears.

"S-seunghyun-ssi.." Bom started to say but Seunghyun quickly pulled Bom to a hug.

~~

double update today~ <3

ehh, i made a poster for my upcoming GBOM (again) story..

what do you think about it, readers?