Warning: rated T for censored cursing, mature references, and gender/uality references

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“---- this ------- ----,” Sheila Kim, legally known in South Korea as Kim Seungyong, cursed as she walked to her studio.  It was Wednesday, hump day, of course, so she was feeling especially unmotivated to study for her upcoming science test.  She scowled fiercely at the world in general as she kicked an empty water bottle.  She had been in a particularly foul mood that day since she had found her mother sleeping in the bathtub reeking of alcohol and wearing the wrong, not to mention too few, clothes.  In school, Sheila must have been radiating a particularly bad aura because people had given her a wider berth than usual.  The teachers just shook their heads and muttered to themselves under their breaths instead of blatantly calling her out for being a foreign delinquent, and even the rougher guys who liked to pick fights with her moved away from her when she walked through the halls.

Sheila’s phone buzzed, distracting her momentarily from her bad mood.  Her best (not to mention only) friend in all of South Korea had texted her, in English, thankfully.  U going to studio b4 work?

She sighed.  Lee Myeongeun usually managed to pull her out of her moods, at least to some degree.  Ya- pick u up? Sheila texted back.  A few seconds later, her phone buzzed, an affirmative answer appearing on the screen, and she took a detour from her usual route to her studio to stop at the local Arts Academy.

“Rough day?”  The only feminine voice that Sheila could tolerated was a welcome sound to her ears.

“Mom was drinking and comforting herself last night,” Sheila said.  “Found her in the ------- bathtub this morning.  Smell of alcohol and ---- put me in a sour mood.  Typical for me, though.  How’s your home life?”

“Same old, same old,” Myeongeun answered.  “Dad was busy trying to force my brother out of bed, hangover and all, and Mom was in their room crying.  I left home totally unnoticed, as usual.”

Sheila nodded.  “You wanna stay at my place tonight?”

“I was thinking of doing overtime tonight, grabbing dinner there, and sleeping at your studio,” Myeongeun said.

“Sounds good,” said Sheila.  “Not like I was planning on studying for science anyway.”

“You know, you’ve gotta pass this year to graduate with me next year,” Myeongeun said.

“My teachers will pass me,” Sheila said.  “They don’t want me around for any more years than they have to.”

“This isn’t the States, you know,” Myeongeun said.

“Blah, blah, blah,” Sheila grumbled.  “It’s not like this is a great area by Korean standards or anything.  I’m just in the ------ local public school in a bad part of the city.  Those poor, underpaid teachers would do anything to get rid of me.”

Myeongeun rolled her eyes.  “Do you have enough savings for the warehouse rent this month?”

“Yeah,” Sheila said.  “I’m telling you, being attractively androgynous pays better than being a hot chick.  The guys reward you for your snappy comments and edgy jokes, and the girls tip you for your pretty face and smooth flirting.”

“Whatever,” Myeongeun said with a laugh.

“Aw, you know you don’t need to be jealous,” Sheila teased, her mood lightening with every second she spent near Myeongeun.  “You’re the only girl I’ll ever have eyes for.”

“Oh, so there’s hope for those guys who think you’re hot?” Myeongeun asked, grinning.

“You know I’m not about to let some guy come up to me thinking that he’s the king of my heart or whatever,” Sheila said.  “I’m too good for that.”

“And she’s humble, too,” Myeongeun said, rolling her eyes.

“And strong and dangerous and a decent rapper and whatnot,” Sheila said.

“Say, I don’t know about yours, but it’s the talk of my school.  What do you think about all this news about the alien attack?” Myeongeun asked.

“Well, it’s too complex to be a hoax,” Sheila said.  “After all, the South Korean government came out and made a statement, didn’t they?”

“Yeah, Japan, China, Russia, North Korea, and the United States too, among others,” Myeongeun said.  “But ship went down only a couple cities over from us.  They’re on a man hunt.”

“Great,” Sheila said.  “Maybe I’ll ask around Blackjack about guns and ammo.”

“If they’re aliens, won’t they have superior technology to us?” Myeongeun asked.

“Hopefully they’re still made of flesh and blood,” Sheila said.  “A bullet to whatever sort of brains they have should put a stop to them.”

“But what if they can regenerate or something?” Myeongeun wondered.

“How many cheap sci-fi movies have you been watching recently?” Sheila asked as she pulled out her keys.  “Whatever.  It’s the government’s job to take care of this.  We can take a few extra precautions, but I’m not about to worry myself over something like that.  Plus, they haven’t blown us up or anything yet, right?  All the reports and rumors I’ve been seeing over the past couple of hours say that the ship crashed in the water, flew out, flew away, and then blew up.  I’m not going to work myself up unless I know anything actually survived.”

After Sheila unlocked the warehouse which she and Myeongeun had renovated as a dance studio, she dumped her school stuff away.  “I’m gonna change, head’s up,” she called to Myeongeun.

“We’re in a room full of mirrors,” Myeongeun said.  “What’s the point?”

“I’m trying to be polite, here,” Sheila said as she ditched her blazer.

Myeongeun sat down to change her shoes.  “I still can’t believe you’ve been pulling off the whole ‘I’m a boy, really’ thing for almost two whole years now,” she said as Sheila tossed her belt and school pants away.

“I chose a generally uni name, cut my hair, bind my pretty under-abundant chest, don’t talk much, and speak crude English when I do,” Sheila said.  “Nobody wants to interact with me except in a fight, and teachers don’t want to put up with me, so they don’t ask questions.  Plus, I can pull the androgynous look pretty well.  Put a boy’s uniform on top of that and you have a cranky and antisocial pretty boy.”

Myeongeun just shook her head.  “I love that carefree attitude.”

Sheila scoffed.  “You love the fact that I’ve helped improve your English grade and keep the boys off your back.  Now, did the DJ send you the list of songs he’s playing for tonight?”

“Yeah, I’ll text you the screenshot.”  Myeongeun grabbed her phone and sent Sheila the image.  “You’re only on bar duty tonight?”

“My official title is barista,” Sheila said.  “Yeah, I’ll only do something with you if business is slow tonight.”

“With all the alien stuff, who knows?” Myeongeun asked.

“Please.  Blackjack is the hottest club in the underground, even more so than V.I.P., because 2NE1’s people know how to run a show that’s classy, steamy, pumping, and everything.  You know that when the usual customers are at the club, that place has more guns in it than the district police station,” Sheila said.  “The only places more secure would be gang HQs.”

“Just play the music,” Myeongeun said.  “I actually want to be worth my wage.”

Sheila rolled her eyes.  “What do you want first?”

“Just do the track order.”

“Which ones are you in?” Sheila asked.

“Every other one,” Myeongeun said.  “I am their best dancer.”

“I still don’t see why you don’t go for the entertainment industry,” Sheila said.  “You’ve got the looks, the body, the style, and the talent for it.  You definitely won’t be pushed to the side anymore.”

“As I’ve told you a million times before, designing is my passion, not dancing,” Myeongeun said patiently.  “I wouldn’t feel comfortable being under constant public scrutiny anyway.”

Sheila nodded and started the music.  Relaxing against the side wall of the warehouse, she admired her friend as she practiced her routines.  Myeongeun was gorgeous, fluid, and the perfect balance of cute and y.  Yes, she had definitely scored big when the dancer had stopped by at the bar during one of her breaks about half a year ago.  The girl had quickly proven that she was not just a pretty face with a hot body.  She had sharp wits, great understanding, and a subtle but stubborn will – if she had lacked any of those, she would have given up on the cold and callous Sheila of the past within the first few minutes of conversation.  Thanks to Myeongeun, Sheila had managed to pull herself out of the cycle of hate and anger that had helped her punch her way through life for the past eight years.

“I’m all set,” Myeongeun told Sheila.  “Are you going to practice a little?”

“I like improv dancing and freestyle rapping,” Sheila said.  “You know that’s how I roll.”

“I know that you can, but I’ll never understand how you can come up with verses off the tip of your tongue the way you do,” Myeongeun said, shaking her head.

“I’ll spit a few lines for you now,” Sheila said.  She closed her eyes and nodded to the beat in her head before taking a deep breath.  “Mm, oh, yeah – I got a talent and I use it ‘cause I’m the best.  Yeah, people scoff at me and put me to the test.  They think I can’t do it but I’m thinkin’ ‘Hell, yes’ ‘cause now I get a chance to put all doubts to rest.”

Myeongeun sighed and wiped the light perspiration that she had worked up while dancing from her brow.  “You’ll never cease to amaze me,” she said.  “Now if only you’d rap in Korean.  Then you’d get the recognition you deserve.”

“Hey, that Tablo dude is pretty much fluent in English,” Sheila said.  “Whenever he pokes his head in Blackjack, he totally floors me and gets all the recognition he can.”

“He’s also a signed recording artist who just happens to have underground roots,” Myeongeun said.  “How much time have we got until we need to head out?”

“We’ve got about forty-five minutes, but I wanna head out to get the official word as well as the word off the streets about this whole alien invasion thing,” Sheila said.

“I thought we weren’t concerning ourselves with it?” Myeongeun asked.

“I wanna get other people’s opinions,” Sheila said.  “I trust my gut, but I also want to feel it out.”

Myeongeun nodded.  “You’re better in the back streets so I’ll hit the newsstands.”

“Got it.  Want a snack before we work?” Sheila asked.

“Just something light for me,” said Myeongeun.  “Meet you at that little shop a block before we go under?”

“Sure.  Wanna head out now?”

The two girls split up as soon as they hit the edge of the more severely rundown area of the city.  Sheila stuck to the shadows, stopping at the various borders of gang territories to hear what was going on.  The funny thing about this particular area of the city was that the new generation of gangs had taken on the role of peacekeepers and protectors since the police had fallen to corruption and a lack of funds.  Between the three big coalitions of JYP, SM, and YG, as well as other smaller groups like Infinite, Brown-Eyed Girls, Teentop, 4Minute, and others, the underground was ironically one of the safer places in the city, provided that one could quickly find someone to vouch for one’s trustworthiness.

Both Sheila and Myeongeun lived and went to school in polite society, the part of the city of which, aside from the slightly lower standard of living and higher than average crime rates, the South Korean government would not be too ashamed.  However, they worked in 2NE1’s territory at the Blackjack club and rented their warehouse-studio in VIXX’s territory.  Myeongeun had gotten in by hearing about an opening at the Blackjack club from a passerby from BTS’s territory who saw her face, and had impressed the club owner enough for him to approve her to 2NE1 and the rest of the underground.  Sheila had gotten her own in by having her reputation in school proceed her when she looked for jobs that payed decently.  A woman who worked in Block B’s territory referred her to Blackjack.  When Sheila applied for the job, it was Chaerin herself, who had heard of the baseball bat-wielding American, who personally interviewed her.  After a thorough questioning, background check, and a brief rap showdown, Sheila had been approved to venture into the underground without attracting suspicion.

Sheila casually walked along the border areas between official gang territories.  Eventually she ran into Sanhyuk, the youngest member of the top tier of VIXX and, consequently, their messenger boy, who told Sheila that all the gangs were issuing high alerts, as their collective territory was well within the danger zone for the alien attack.  Sheila forced her brain to switch to Korean as she listened to him.  “Hakyeon-hyung is following Jiyong-sunbae, Leetuk-sunbae, and Jokwon-sunbae’s suggestions to stay armed, to do your best to stay with at least one other person, and to have a cellphone with you at all times.”

f(x)’s Krystal said the same thing, thankfully, in English.  “Victoria says that the threat is very real, and, from the looks of it, the rest of the nations do too.  Everyone should stay armed, preferably with a gun.  Anything suspicious is reason to shoot a text to the emergency number of whoever’s territory you happen to be in.”

Sheila met Myeongeun at the shop that they had agreed on.  Myeongeun had a copy of every major newspaper, as well as a few local publications.  She handed Sheila bag filled with assorted snacks.  “I think we should just head to Blackjack now,” Myeongeun said.  “They’ve got TVs on all the major channels, including the international ones.  We can get a better read there.”

“Okay,” Sheila said, nodding.  As soon as they were safely in gang territory, she said casually to Myeongeun, “High alert is pretty much, if not actually, a universal thing.  Stay armed, together, and able to communicate long-distance.”

Myeongeun gave a short nod of comprehension.  “The official papers are recommending caution, though not to that extreme.  International measures are already being taken to quarantine, evacuate, and investigate the crash area.  No aerial pathogens have been detected, so face masks have not been mandated.”  This time Sheila nodded.

They were just about to cross from Girls’ Generation’s territory into 2NE1’s when one of the men from Big Bang’s Hi-Tech squad ran up to them.  “No emergency,” he said in Korean.  “Just circulating a collective message.  Should the alien situation escalate, all with an in who live on the outside are welcome to seek protection in the underground if they don’t have means to leave on their own.  The Big Three Coalitions are already allocating funds for a mass evacuation.”

“Got it,” Myeongeun said, nodding to the man.  “Want a tip?”

The man looked at her.  “You’re one of the dancers at Blackjack, aren’t you?”

“Yeah,” said Myeongeun.

“I’ll be stopping over for a drink before heading back to HQ when I’m done with my route,” he said.

“I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for you,” Myeongeun promised.

The rest of the walk was uneventful.  The pair entered Blackjack through the employee back door.  The two checked in before changing in to their respective uniforms.  Sheila took her place behind the bar counter with the older guy who had the shift before hers and the Kwon twins’ shared slot.  She noticed that as she had predicted, the majority of the televisions were on various news channels rather than their usual entertainment and sports channels.

“Your shift doesn’t start for fifteen minutes,” the older man stated.

“I haven’t got international TV,” Sheila said simply.

The man nodded before turning back to his work.  “Crazy stuff, it is,” he muttered.  “Watch me wake up and find that this was a drug-induced hallucination.  Big tip-off is that Kim Seungyong came to work early.”

Sheila rolled her eyes and started drying glasses while watching the televisions.  A nationwide channel was showing aerial footage of a crater a few city’s over.  Reading the subtitles (the pounding music in the club made impossible to play audio on any television), Sheila saw that the crater, which had been made by falling debris from the combusting ship, was too big and deep to have been made by flak.

“I’d say that that crater was made by an impact from a non-exploding but reasonably massive solid object,” a voice said in Korean.  She turned to see one of the Kwon twins (she’d never bothered to learn how to tell them apart because Blackjack employees had to wear nametags while on duty).

“The Kwons are early too,” the older man grumbled.  “Definitely a hallucination.”

“Yeah, sure, ahjussi,” said Youngdeuk.  “Hey, Seungyong-ssi, what do you think?”

“It’s bat----- crazy,” she said.  “------- aliens, who’d have thought?”

“I know you and Myeongeun don’t live in safe territory,” the other twin, Youngdon said.  “Big Bang’s been circulating a universal sanctuary notice, but if you two need a place to stay, we can find somewhere for you.”

“I rent a warehouse in VIXX’s territory,” Sheila said.  “If ---- goes down, Myeongeun and I will head there.  Thanks, though.”

“No problem.”

The Kwon twins turned to their own private conversation, so Sheila looked around for Myeongeun.  Her lovely friend had picked up a table and was busy, so she turned the older man.  “Hey, ahjussi,” she said in Korean, “if you wanna head out, the Kwons and I have got everything covered.”

“And now he’s offering to do my work for me,” the man said, shaking his head.  “I’m out of here.”

As it grew later, Blackjack became more and more crowded.  By nine, the club was filled with energy and the heat of dancing bodies.  Between her serving drinks, Sheila did her best to catch Myeongeun as she danced with the other hired girls as her waitressing shift ended.

A trio of university-age girls broke away from the dance floor and sat down at the bar.  “Seungyong, it’s your turn to charm the ladies,” Youngdeuk said, nudging her.

“Fine,” Sheila muttered.  She walked over and leaned across the counter to the girls.  “Can I get you lovely ladies anything?” she asked.

One of the girls smiled.  “Got any special recommendations?”

Sheila eyed her.  She was definitely pushing the y look.  “Something with a dash of spice for you,” she answered.

“And for me, oppa?” another of the girls asked.  Her style seemed more conservative.

“Something sweet, for certain,” Sheila told her.

“What do you think for me?” asked the last girl.  She looked more elegant than her friends.

“Definitely a classic for you,” Sheila said.

The girls placed their orders, and Sheila went to mix the alcoholic drinks.  The girls giggled as she walked away.  When she returned, she slipped them the tab.  They handed her their money, and tipped her a decent amount.  “I’ll be back if you beauties want anything else,” Sheila said.

“We’ll be sure to ask for you, oppa,” the classy one said.

“Has anyone ever told you that your eyes are very deep?” the y one asked.

“I’ve heard people whisper, but I’ve never had a special someone say it,” Sheila said.

“And do you have a special someone?” the y one asked.

“Are you inquiring?” Sheila asked, leaning forward with an interested smile.

“Maybe,” the girl said.

“Flirting on the job?” Youngdeuk asked, cutting in just before things got too serious, as was their deal.

“It’s part of the job,” Sheila said, looking over the three girls, who giggled as they sipped their drinks.

“Get back to work, Seungyong-ssi,” Youngdeuk said with a laugh.

“How do you do it?” Youngdon whispered to her when she backed away from the counter.

“I’ve got the face and the rep,” Sheila said simply.  “Bad girls go for bad boys who are known to carry around baseball bats to fight.  If they wanted gentlemen, they’d be in the luxurious Sone club instead of the wild Blackjack.”

Standard transactions like that kept the night from being too boring as time wore on.  At around eleven, Myeongeun walked up to the counter.  “I just want a small glass of iced water,” she said in English when Sheila came to take her order.

“Sure thing,” she said.  When Sheila returned with her drink, she asked, “What’s the conversation like?”

“Most people are here to forget their worries, so there’s not too much talk right now,” Myeongeun said.  “However, look.  Sandara’s here.  The head honchos don’t stop in unless something big is going on.  The last time we had one of the higher-ups here was when both 2NE1 and Big Bang were on the hunt to take down the -trafficking ring that was starting to show its head in the area.”

Sheila nodded.  “I remember that.  It was news that reached the surface because of the kidnappings.  There was controversy over the hypocrisy of the gangs because of their toleration of red light districts but their attack on the ring.  The morons didn’t just appreciate that Big Bang and 2NE1 took down the ring and stopped the kidnappings when the police and Special Forces couldn’t.”

“It seems that the gangs, or 2NE1, at least, are leveling the alien appearance with that,” Myeongeun said.  “That’s scary.”

“No ----,” Sheila said.  She glanced over to where Myeongeun was looking, and saw that Park Sandara was indeed present, texting while keeping an eye out.  “Does she think that the aliens may have infiltrated?  We don’t even know if they survived their ship exploding.”

“The ladies of 2NE1 run this territory because they’re the best,” Myeongeun said.  “If we needed to mobilize right now, we’d all know.”

At midnight, Sheila and Myeongeun’s shifts ended.  They changed and checked out before heading back to the warehouse.

“You need blankets or something, you delicate little flower, you?” Sheila asked.

“Shut up,” Myeongeun said, leaning into her.  “I’ll make you my blanket if I need to.”

“Whatever,” Sheila said.  She glanced around at the streets.  “They’ve got watchdogs everywhere,” she muttered.

“I can’t blame them,” Myeongeun said.  “Alien invasions are generally pretty serious, you know.”

“You say it so casually,” Sheila said as she slipped her left arm around Myeongeun while feeling for the gun she’d bought off one of Zico’s guys that she had bumped into at Blackjack.  After touching the weapon, which she had tucked in the back of her pants under her hoodie, she let herself relax a little.

“So you’re seriously not going to study for your science test tomorrow?” Myeongeun asked as they settled down in the warehouse.

“It’s just some ---- about acid-base reactions that they’re trying to force down my throat.  I should be able to pass,” Sheila said easily.

“By what margin?” Myeongeun asked.

“Enough,” Sheila said as she plumped up her backpack, which she was using as a pillow.

“Do you ever think about life after school?” Myeongeun asked her.  “Maybe about going to a university?”

“With my grades, I don’t think an American community college would accept me,” Sheila scoffed.  “Nah, I’ll probably work in the underworld.  I mean, it’s more honest here than anywhere out there that would take me.  I’ll save up and head back to America, where I belong.”

“You still don’t think you belong here?” Myeongeun asked.

Sheila hesitated a moment before saying, “No.  I was dragged here by my mother’s inability to survive under her own pitiful strength.”

“You shouldn’t say such bad things about your mother,” Myeongeun murmured as she snuggled up next to Sheila.

“Well, I haven’t got anything good to say, so I guess I’d better not speak about her or my other good-for-nothing parent at all, then, hm?” Sheila asked bitterly.

“Stop being so angry,” Myeongeun scolded, smacking her lightly on the arm.  “Haven’t you ever thought that it was fate that brought you here, landed you your job at Blackjack, and led you to me?”

“I don’t believe in fate,” Sheila said as she stared up into the dark rafters of the warehouse.  “People survive by using their own strength to make their own way.  There’s no hand of fate that directs us.”  She did not say anything else because Myeongeun already knew about her views on the universe.  In fact, they had shared many a heated debate over the matter of spirituality, religion, the divine, and the supernatural, among other things.

“I bet if I had asked you this morning if you believed in aliens, you would have said no,” Myeongeun said sleepily.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sheila asked, but Myeongeun did not answer.  Sighing, Sheila closed her eyes, letting sleep claim her.

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Introducing your two OCs, Sheila and Myeongeun!  Sorry for the lack of B.A.P here, but enjoy the references to other K-Pop groups.  Unfortunately, I’m not a super expert like my little sister is, so I’ll probably be throwing around a lot of names without going into depth because I don’t know too much about them.  In fact, I apologize in advance if I use a lot of YG artists.  I have a tendency to go on YG rampages, and so I know a lot more about those artists than others.  However, I promise to do my best to use other groups too!

Now I’ll address one of the more confusing parts of this story, Sheila Kim.  Most people look at Sheila and assume she’s a pretty boy, and that’s because she does it on purpose.  She introduces herself as Kim Seungyong, the purposefully boyish name that she picked from name parts that were labeled as uni, instead of as Sheila, which is definitely a girl’s name.  There’s nothing really that deep behind it; she just wanted a boyish name because she wanted to register in school as a boy so that she didn’t have to put up a fight to wear pants instead of a skirt (she registered herself for school under her mother’s name because her mother was not fit to do so herself).  When she’s speaking Korean, she generally refers to herself in a masculine way to fit her boyish image because she hates being assumed to be weak because she’s a girl.  Now, the higher ups of the underground know that she’s female, but they don’t particularly care.

Got something to say to me?  Maybe I confused you at some point (probably in the author’s not), so you’ve got a question for me?  Did you find an error in grammar, spelling, or usage of Korean honorifics and/or customs?  Leave a comment!  My only request is no flames.  Nothing constructive is gained from them.