Nana and Lizzy came back to their dorm late at night, happier than ever. However, their faces changed the moment they saw the rest of the girls when they opened the door.

‘What's the matter?’ Nana asked worried, but she didn’t get a reply. Instead, everyone was silent, looking at each other with solemn faces.

‘What did you do in the park?’ JungAh asked seriously, which made the two blondes worry. She was always a bright person, but she could get really mad sometimes. The two younger girls were still speechless; for once, they didn’t know what they did wrong until Jooyeon showed them her phone. The pictures they saw shocked them as well. There was a couple of photos of them kissing. Furthermore, they had great quality and it was easy to recognize them.

‘But no one was around…’ Lizzy tried to explain; although it was the truth, that wasn’t enough for the rest of the girls.

‘How are you going to explain this? The photos are circulating all over the net… There’s no one who doesn’t know about it. You should have been more cautious!’ JungAh stopped her scolding to sigh.

‘Calm down! There’s still hope.’ Uee said while giving JungAh a massage, trying to relax her.

‘She’s right! Some of the netizens are saying they are fake ones. We should act as if we know nothing and pretend they're not real.’ Raina said.

‘That could work!’ E-young and Kaeun said gladly.

‘I don’t want to be that person but you’re forgetting something important.’ Jooyeon said after clearing up . ‘What are we going to tell PLEDIS' boss?’

‘He's not going to buy that lie.’ Nana said as her face saddened.

‘Should we tell him the truth?’ Lizzy suggested.

‘Yeah… We shouldn’t give him any reason to get angrier.’ She said shivering, afraid of what he could do. They were probably going to get fired.

‘Don't worry. I’ll go with you and I’ll try to persuade him to leave you alone.’ JungAh winked at them.

‘Omma!’ The blondes shouted simultaneously and squeezed the oldest girl.

‘Okay, okay. I need some air, girls!’ JungAh giggled.

At that moment, JungAh’s phone rang. Their manager was calling her, PLEDIS' boss wanted to talk to Nana, Lizzy and JungAh.

‘Yes. I understand.’ JungAh said and without adding any more, she hung up. ‘Boss wants to see us.’ She said to the blondes and they nodded.

*

Before entering the big office room, the girls were already very frightened. The hands of the two younger girls were shaking and their faces were pale. They knew how the music industry handled stuff with these cases: probably not appearing on TV for years, being fired since they could have a ‘negative influence on teenagers’… Furthermore, several celebrities who had revealed their ual orientation to the public ended up committing suicide. They knew it would be a hard time for them. They wished they could be honest about it and just explain to everyone they were dating, but they knew that wouldn’t be possible. Seeing Lizzy’s nervousness, Nana grabbed her left hand and gave her an I’m-here-with-you look, which relaxed her a bit.

As soon as they entered the room, the middle-aged man threw some pictures on the table with an angry face.

‘LEAKED PHOTOS!’ he shouted. ‘What the hell were you thinking, huh? Just answer honestly, will you? Are these photos genuine?’ There was a long silence. JungAh was about to say something, but the words didn’t come out, fear stopped her.

‘I’m sorry.’ Nana said with a sad voice while Lizzy bit her bottom lip, trying to supress the tears of fury from falling.

‘Why are you? You shouldn’t be! Does everyone think we are puppets or what? I’m not ashamed of what I did and if I could turn back the time, I would do exactly the same. I wouldn’t change a single thing.’ Lizzy didn’t want to worsen the situation, but something inside her told her to say what she really thought.

‘Plus, not appearing on TV isn’t going to solve anything.’

‘So what are you going to do? It's the only way...’ before he could finish, someone entered the room and slammed the door shut, stopping him mid-sentence.

‘Who told you that?!’ a woman’s voice said, coming closer.

‘KAHI!’ They all shouted in unison. While PLEDIS' boss was shocked, the girls were happy that their last hope had arrived. ‘I trust my kids. Let them do what they want; I’m sure they can sort things out.’

‘Fine…’ he finally gave up.

‘Just like that? Wasn't it way too easy? I guess everyone is afraid of Kahi…’ the three other girls thought. After all, Kahi was not a simple employee.

‘But you have only a week to do what you want. If nothing has changed, then things will be done MY way. Do you understand?’ He got serious again.

‘Yes! Thank you for being understanding.’ The youngest girl answered and everyone bowed at him and left the office.

The man, who was now alone in the room, grinned as he thought to himself. ‘I’ve just remembered why I picked them. They have their own personalities, how could I fire them? I hope everything works out.’

‘Appa!’ the girls hugged her. ‘It’s all thanks to you!’

‘You don’t need to thank me. I have something to do. Go back to the dorm, okay? Jung, can you come with me?’ Kahi said and the younger girls thought it sounded a bit suspicious.

‘Sure.’ JungAh blushed.

‘Omma, appa, we all know what’s the important thing you have to do. Don’t act innocent.’ Nana said sticking out her tongue.

‘Ssssh, dork! We don’t need more problems right now. It’s not what you think! I just missed her, we’re just gonna watch a movie.’ Kahi said, as excited as a child and JungAh face palmed.

‘Sometimes I wonder if you’re really the oldest.’ JungAh said.

‘It’s not my problem you look older than me.’ Kahi . ‘My skin is like a baby’s.’ she said proudly.

‘We’ll leave you alone, lovebirds.’ Lizzy waved her hand, and so did Nana.

‘Bye!’

JungAh and Kahi went to the house of the latter, they were especially careful not to be caught; otherwise, things would be more complicated. They were sat on the living room’s couch, in front of the turned off TV, sharing a bottle of wine.

‘I never imagined being the leader would be so tough.’ JungAh confessed.

‘What do you mean?’ Kahi was confused.

‘When the kids arrived to the dorm, I had to get mad at them, well, pretend I was. I scolded them even though I was glad for them. I wanted to congratulate them, but I had to act as a leader. I feel really sorry for them now…’ She lowered her voice at the end.

‘Don’t worry.’ Kahi told her as she patted the younger on the head. ‘They’ll understand the situation.’

‘What surprised me the most was that they were determined. When we were in the boss’ office, I was frightened of saying a thing but Lizzy spoke her mind. I admire it, I really do.’ She paused for a while. Kahi didn’t know what to say either. ‘She taught me something today. You have to do what your heart tells you to do. So… if everything goes well, I want to tell everyone about our relationship.’ She said looking into Kahi’s eyes.

‘Are you drunk already?’ Kahi joked because she was shy and didn’t want the other girl to notice she was blushing.

‘I’m not! I’m talking really se-’ before she could end the sentence she felt a pair of lips on hers. At first, she was shocked but in the end, she responded to it and moved their lips together. They pulled away slowly and shared a stare; there was twinkle in their eyes.

‘I missed you. A lot.’ Kahi told her while her hair.

‘I missed you too.’ JungAh replied and brought Kahi closer. The latest took a seat on JungAh’s lap while she on Kahi’s neck.

‘Jung… Don’t start this if you have to go or I won’t send you home.’

‘I could spend the night here, then.’ She said winking as a smile appeared on Kahi’s face.

*

Four days had already passed. Nana and Lizzy checked on the news but, sadly, there wasn’t any good reaction. People who were the same age as them said that was dirty, others didn’t even know homouality was a thing, since it seemed so far from reality for them. There were comments like ‘Does After School need attention so badly that they make up news?’ However, what hurt them the most were comments like: ‘they should visit a doctor’, ‘did they become insane?’, ‘I don’t understand this disease’, ‘I wonder if they’re harassing each other’, and ‘please change your mind.’ How could they change their minds? It wasn’t an opinion nor was it an option, they couldn’t just choose what they were into. Besides, they weren’t sick! It was a feeling; one that despite people’s reaction, they didn’t want to change, no matter how hard things would be for them.

Another day came, and things didn't get better. What could they do when they were closeted in their dorm? Little by little, they were losing their hopes. They couldn't appear on TV because no one wanted to interview them since they were too afraid of people’s reaction. Even if they did, would that change a thing? The rest of the girls tried to help them as well, but all they could do was try to cheer them up; unfortunately, it didn't work.

Nana entered Lizzy's room. She wanted to talk with her.

‘Sooyoung, I'm sorry.’ Nana said in a sad tone.

‘Why?’ Lizzy said confused.

‘Liz, I can't take this anymore. We... should forget all this.’ Nana said holding back the tears.

‘What?’ her heart stopped that moment. ‘Are you breaking up with me? Why are you saying that? Why so suddenly?’ she didn’t want to, not after going so far.

‘I knew since the beginning that no one would accept this.’ She couldn't help but cry. ‘I love you but…’ Lizzy wiped the tears that were running through Nana's cheeks. ‘I don't want PLEDIS' boss to fire you... I don't want people to hate you...’ She couldn't stop crying now.

‘Nana, look at me.’ She said with her hands still on Nana's cheeks. ‘I love you and that's all that matters. I just want us to be together and if I have to fight against my family and everyone to be with you, I'll do it without hesitation. I'd do anything for you.’ She said sincerely and Nana kissed her fully on the lips. She had given up on the idea of letting the younger go in a matter of seconds.

‘But we were born in the wrong country. Two girls can't have a family; not even marry...’

‘You want to marry me?’ Lizzy said with a widened smile.

‘Of course I do.’ They pressed their foreheads together.

‘We could go to Europe. What do you say?’

‘Are you being serious?’ Nana was happy finally.

Lizzy nodded and hugged her. ‘I am.’ She said as she pressed her lips against Nana’s neck. Nana held her even tighter.

‘Jin, I don’t want to lie. Let’s tell everyone about this, make our relationship public.’

‘But how do we do that?’

‘I don’t know…’

‘I’ve got an idea!’ Nana exclaimed as Lizzy waited for an explanation. ‘What if we ask PLEDIS' boss to make it official?’

‘What? Do you think he will?’

‘We won’t know unless we try. And if he doesn’t want to, I’ll kiss you in front of everyone.’

‘Maybe I like the second one more.’ Lizzy grinned.

‘Dork…’

‘I’m not a dork but YOUR dork.’

‘You’re so corny.’ Nana said and they both chuckled.

*

They talked to PLEDIS' boss and, unexpectedly, he acceded. Few hours later, there wasn’t anyone who didn’t know about it. Sites were going crazy. This time, there were different reactions. Most of them were in English and they were sentences of support! Korean fans may go crazy about it, but most international fans were glad that their bias acted bravely and could be honest with them. This meant they would continue under the same company, in the same group. However, there was something important they had to do yet: tell their parents. They expected their children to honour them, daughters to marry well. That’s what made parents happy, so telling them you like someone who’s the same as you could be very hard for them to accept.

Lizzy’s parents called her as soon as they could. The moment Lizzy saw the number on her phone her face became pale. Seeing it was going to take her a while, Nana decided to call hers. After twenty minutes, they both hung up the phone.

‘What did they say?’ they both asked simultaneously.

‘You go first.’ Lizzy said.

‘They… don’t like the idea but they told me they will try to be understanding.’ At least it was more than what she had expected. ‘And yours?’

‘They approve!’ Lizzy said and jumped happily; Nana did the same.

*

Few months had passed by; they were recording on the backstage of Mnet. Lizzy, who was sat, grabbed Nana’s wrists when she walked near her and turned her around. She slid her hands around her waist and kissed her abdomen, which was visible. It brought a smile to Nana’s face.

‘What are you doing?’ Nana asked. Before Lizzy could answer, she noticed the cameraman and turned Nana around, making her face the camera.

‘There's a baby here.’ Lizzy said touching Nana’s belly. ‘It's mine, I made her pregnant.’ After she said that, they laughed aloud.

‘Is she really pregnant?’ the cameraman asked out of shock, which made the girls laugh even louder.

‘Of course not!’ Nana said.

In spite of the fact that some people were against them going out, Nana and Lizzy were fortunately able to show their affection in public. Bit by bit society was making satisfactory progress and some other celebrities admitted being in a same- relationship, which was also the case of JungAh and Kahi. All thanks to the two bold girls.

Hi, dear readers! ^^  Finally I finished this story!

I wanted to explain something this time.
When I wrote 'they’re harassing each other' it was because I read on wikipedia this: '[In South Korea] The Military Penal Code does not make a distinction between consensual and non-consensual crimes and names consensual between homoual adults as reciprocal '.

I want to thank everyone who subscribed. You were the reason I kept updating this fanfiction.
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did ^^

P.S.: There's going to be an EXTRA CHAPTER, so don't unsubscribe yet ;D