Warning: rated T for censored cursing

Note: any landmarks mentioned are fictional; any resemblance to actual places is completely coincidental and unintentional

---

Myeongeun leaned against the bar counter behind Sheila as the two of them watched the news.  The whole frenzy about the alien invasion had died down a bit over the past week.  Scientists had confirmed that they did indeed have precious blood samples that were under analysis, but the aliens themselves were nowhere to be found.

“How busy do you think it’s gonna be tonight?” Sheila asked, in English, as usual.

Myeongeun hummed, thinking.  “Well, it’s Saturday night, and this weekend was a school Saturday.  I think a lot of people will be here to wind down.”

“Fabulous,” Sheila said with a sigh.  “I’ve been liking the easy nights with the adults who buy fancy, expensive drinks.”

“Did you pass your science test?” Myeongeun asked.

“Yeah,” said Sheila.  “It was nothing spectacular, but it was enough.”  Myeongeun shook her head.  “Hey, don’t judge me, Miss I-go-to-art-school.”

Myeongeun just shrugged.  “Are you failing any courses?”

“Not at the moment,” Sheila said.  “I think the teachers have just started giving me credit for turning in my homework even if I didn’t do ----.  Say, what are you, my ------- mother?”

“Someone has to be,” Myeongeun said.

“Whatever,” Sheila said.  “What do think about this whole ----fest about the evacuation of Gakkaun?”

“That’s only three miles or so from here,” Myeongeun said, frowning.  “That’s, like, not even a fifteen-minute drive.  Is there anything about an evacuation here?”

“Dunno, you tell me,” Sheila said.  “The subtitles are going pretty fast for me to catch everything.”

Myeongeun scanned the subtitles on the bar televisions quickly.  “I don’t see anything.  I’m on dancing duty tonight, so you’ll have to do the information-hunting.”

Sheila sighed.  “Fine.”

“Oh, hush,” Myeongeun said.

“Hey, are you sleeping at the studio tonight?” Sheila asked.

“I’ve got to go home tonight,” Myeongeun said.  “My parents do worry about me when my brother isn’t being a pain and occupying their thoughts and time.  Plus, it’s the weekend.  My dad won’t work as late as he usually does and my brother stays out late clubbing, drinking, doing drugs, and other stuff.  In fact, he’ll probably be at BBC Club or somewhere of the like tonight.”

“Okay,” Sheila said.  “I guess I better make sure my mom hasn’t drunk herself into a coma or OD-ed on something myself.  What are you doing tomorrow?”

“I’m going to church with my parents as usual.  Why, do you want to meet?” Myeongeun asked.

“Eh, just text me if you feel like hanging out.  I’ll probably be at the warehouse,” Sheila said.  “Just don’t go wandering around all by yourself, okay?”

“Overprotective girlfriend much?” Myeongeun asked, cocking her head.

“Aliens, remember?” Sheila asked.  “Actually, we should probably get you a gun.”

“Sheila, I’ve got pepper spray and a pocket knife.”

“That’s not gonna do ---- against aliens,” Sheila said.

“I’ll look into it,” Myeongeun promised.

Business started picking up, so Myeongeun went off to change into her dancing clothes.  The night was long, but some of the more drunk guys decided to throw their money at her and her fellow dancing girls.  At around half past three in the morning, she went to the bar to see Sheila.  Instead, she was greeted by one of the Kwon twins.

“Is Seungyong-oppa there?” she asked the twin that came to attend to her.

“Am I not enough?” he asked jokingly.  “I’m sure I can get you a glass of water as competently as he can.”

“As tempting as your offer is, I’m still looking for Seungyong-oppa,” Myeongeun said.

“He’s in back,” the twin said.  “He paid for some info, but he shouldn’t be too long.”

“Alright,” Myeongeun said.

“So, can I get you a water?” the twin asked, wiggling his eyebrows comically.

“Yes, please,” Myeongeun said.  The twin obliged.

“You need company until Seungyong-ssi comes back?” he asked.

“I’ll be fine, thank you,” Myeongeun said as she took the glass.  He nodded and left her alone.

A few minutes later, Sheila came out of the back room.  “Myeongeun,” she said, nodding to her as she approached.  Leaning in close, she said in Korean, “So, it seems no gang leader has issued an evacuation order for the underground.  All that’s been going on is the shipment of the big and important stuff out to safe houses in the event of an official order and a speedy pick-up to leave.”

Myeongeun nodded.  “The leaders all think they can secure this area?”

“Obviously,” Sheila said.  “We should probably spend a lot of our free time here.  It really will be the safest place until the aliens are caught.”

“The government manhunt will run through the underground, won’t it?” Myeongeun asked, worried.  “What will the gangs do?”

“That’s not our business,” Sheila said.  “We’re both registered under 2NE1, so we’ll do whatever they advise.  I’ll just leave a note for VIXX so they don’t go worrying too much about their missing man.”

Myeongeun nodded.  “Shift’s over in a half hour.  I wanna get out of here real quick, so I’ll meet you out front, okay?”

“Got it,” Sheila said.

A half hour later, Myeongeun was on her way home with Sheila, who insisted on walking her all the way home.  She gave Sheila a quick peck on the cheek before waving to her as the other girl headed off into the dark.  Myeongeun took a deep breath as she entered her apartment.  Her appa was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of something strong.

“Appa?” Myeongeun asked.

“Myeongeun!” he exclaimed when he saw her.  “Where have you been, young lady?”

“I work until four on Saturdays, Appa,” Myeongeun said as she kicked off her shoes.  “I think I’ve mentioned that before.”

“What kind of restaurant do you work at that could hire you for such hours?” he asked her.

Myeongeun had not told her parents that she worked in the underground, or that she had any sort of connections to it.  They did not even know that she was friends with Sheila.  “A restaurant that pays well,” Myeongeun said.  “I don’t do anything indecent, I promise.”

“Alright,” he said.

“Is Jinseok-oppa back yet?” Myeongeun asked.

“No,” her father said.  “How did you know he was out?”

“In one of his clearer moments, he mentioned that he likes clubbing on Saturdays,” Myeongeun said.

Her appa sighed.  “He’s not back.”

Myeongeun knew full well that her brother had probably either gotten in a fight and been beaten up or had gone to a cheap motel in an underground red light district to spend the night.  However, she said nothing except, “Ah.”  She grabbed herself a small glass of water to get her through the night.  “What are you drinking, Appa?”

“Just a little wine to calm my nerves,” he said.

“Will you be alright for church tomorrow?” Myeongeun asked.

“I’ll be fine.  What would I do without my sweet, caring daughter to look after my sanity and priorities?” he asked.

“You’re a good, strong man, Appa,” Myeongeun said.  “You’d be fine without me, I’m sure.”

“You’re too humble,” her appa said.

“Have a good night, Appa.  Don’t wait up too late for Jinseok-oppa,” Myeongeun said as she headed to her room.

She closed the door behind her and pulled off her clothes, wondering if her appa would remember their exchange the next day.  Most likely he would not.  His thoughts would be too occupied with her oppa’s issues.  Myeongeun pulled down the sheets on her bed and crawled in.  She would not think too much of it, she decided.  In just another year or so, she would have graduated high school and would be on her way to a university to study fashion, cosmetics, and hair.  She could leave her dysfunctional family behind to support them from a distance.  She could watch her oppa drown in his own bad choices and watch her parents finally give up on him.  Then she could watch them wonder what had happened that had led them to miss their other child’s childhood.  Maybe she was thinking too much of it, she realized.  She rolled over and relaxed into her pillow.

Her alarm woke her in time to get ready for the ten-thirty Mass that her family attended every Sunday morning.  She had had a fitful five hours of sleep, so she was feeling chipper enough.  She dressed modestly for the setting before grabbing a cup of milk to tide her over until after the service.  As she had expected, her oppa had not returned home that night.  The remaining three of her family headed to the church.

An hour later, they returned home to find her oppa hungover in the kitchen with a garbage can full of vomit next to him.  Her eomma, filled with pent-up stress that had accumulated over the week, started yelling at her oppa, who groaned and unceremoniously threw-up something that reeked more of alcohol than actual stomach acid.  Her appa stepped in to try to get through to his son, as usual, to no effect.  In the meantime, Myeongeun slipped into her room, changed into street clothes, packed a back of dancing clothes, grabbed her personal purse that had her money and self-defense items, and quietly left the apartment, unnoticed.

As soon as she was on the streets, Myeongeun texted Sheila, telling her that she was heading to grab a bite to eat before meeting her at the warehouse.  She stopped at her favorite café.  It was a small, family-run place that made food that was on par with most five-star restaurants.  She was greeted by the sweet ahjumma who ran the café on Sundays.

“Good morning, Myeongeun-ssi,” she said affectionately.  “Will you have your usual, or would you like to try today’s special?”

Myeongeun smiled.  “I’ll have my usual, please, ahjumma,” she said.  “However, I’ll take a special to go for my friend Seungyong.”

“You’re such a good friend to bring this Seungyong lunch while he works hard on a Sunday,” the ahjumma said.

Myeongeun bowed her head humbly.  “It’s nothing, ahjumma.”  If only she knew what Sheila’s definition of hard work on a Sunday was, Myeongeun thought.

She enjoyed a quiet lunch by herself before paying for the food and taking Sheila’s to go.  As Myeongeun walked the grungier streets that bordered underground territory, she shifted her purse so that her pepper spray was easily in reach.  These were the areas that were more dangerous than the underground itself ever was; these were the places that the gangs abiding by the underground pact had designated as ‘not their problem yet.’  She moved as quickly as she could without making it obvious that she was in a rushing toward SHINee’s territory.

A sigh of relief left Myeongeun’s lungs when she saw the giant glitzed-up key-shaped sign that glinted in the sunlight for all to see.  This was Kim Kibum’s pharmaceutical business (which also supplied various non-medicinal items), the building that signified she was definitely safe on streets that were guided by the underground pact.  Myeongeun had just passed one of the chicken specialty restaurants that Lee Jinki sponsored when she heard a rustling from the path that led around the back of the building.  She was prepared to disregard it as an animal digging around in the trash until she heard a crash and a very human-sounding cry.  Concerned, she reached into her purse to pull her pepper spray to the top as she went to investigate.

Myeongeun quietly stepped around the corner.  Dim alleyways were never a good thing, not even in the reasonably secure underground, so she gripped the bottle of spray as she peeked around.  She was definitely behind the restaurant – she saw a dumpster covered in graffiti that smelled of old fried food.  What was suspicious was the boy that was sitting in the dumpster.

First off was the fact that he was even in the dumpster to begin with.  No one in their right mind would do such a thing unless they were desperate.  This immediately brought Myeongeun to the conclusion that he must be in some sort of difficult situation.  Desperate people in difficult situations often did unpredictable and reckless things, so she upped her level of caution.  Myeongeun then took in the boy’s appearance.  He did not seem to be any older than her.  His arms, exposed by the dirty t-shirt that he wore, were thin, though they showed signs of muscle.  His hair was a lighter brown than was ever natural on any Asian – it must have been dyed, though that did not align with the desperate situation hypothesis.  His skin was fair and his eyes were almond-shaped.  However, his pupils were the most vivid green that Myeongeun had ever seen.  She would have guessed that they were the oddest contacts she had ever seen – they seemed to glow in the dimmer light that fell behind the building.

From what Myeongeun could gather, the boy had been rooting around through the dumpster, most likely looking for food, but had managed to lose his footing and had fallen.  This seemed plausible, and she was content to leave until the boy tried to move.  He was obviously in some kind of pain, and the source was most likely his left leg, for when he tried to shift it, he let out a stifled cry.  Myeongeun found herself reevaluating the threat-level of the boy.  He was injured, sitting in a dumpster for an unknown reason, and could not get up.  She had to help.

“Hey,” she called as she stepped out into his sight, “are you okay?  Let me help you.”

The boy’s brilliant green eyes widened and he let out a small yelp of alarm.  He looked like a puppy caught digging in the garden, or a child standing in front of his mother with his hand stuck in the cookie jar.  Myeongeun would have found him adorable if not for the situation.  However, the boy’s reaction was not something that she had anticipated.  The boy was suddenly able to scramble to his feet and jump out of the dumpster carrying a ratty plastic bag that held what was likely an assortment of semi-edible food items.  He landed, obviously favoring his right leg.  Myeongeun’s hand immediately went for her pepper spray, but the boy limped away from her faster than she would have ever guessed that he could.  Alarmed, she ran after him.  She rounded the corner to see him fall.  She hurried toward him, but he managed to get up and dash away faster than someone with a hurt leg ever should have been able to.

Myeongeun quickly gave up her chase.  The boy had inexplicably made an escape that he should have been impossible, given his injured and underfed state.  Shaking her head, she decided just to go to the studio.  When she arrived, she gave Sheila her lunch and told her what had happened.

“That’s some crazy ----,” was all that Sheila had to say.

“You’re not kidding,” Myeongeun said.

“Hey, I heard your bro got busted last night,” Sheila said as she munched on her food.

“Do I want to know?” Myeongeun asked.

“Apparently he and some of his drunk buddies thought it would be cool to go around ------- up people’s rides and ----,” Sheila said.

Myeongeun sighed.  “Who’s territory?”

“Topp Dogg’s, I think,” Sheila said.  “It was a smaller, rougher area, but the guys who ran it showed ‘em that they didn’t take ------- ---- from anyone who messed around.”

“He definitely deserved whatever he got,” Myeongeun said.

“You say it so casually,” Sheila said.

“My brother is an absolute moron,” Myeongeun said in an uncharacteristically cold tone.  “He deserves every throb in the head from his hangover, and he deserves every punch he takes from the guys he messes with.”

“I love it when you talk strong, babe,” Sheila said, leaning back.

“I know you do,” Myeongeun said.  “We’re both pretty messed up, aren’t we?”

“Me more than you,” Sheila said easily.  “You’ve got a ton of possible career paths open to you, and you’ve got parents who give more of a ---- than mine.”

“I’ve got a worthless brother whom my parents can’t control,” Myeongeun said.  “He their resources dry with all the therapy sessions he doesn’t attend and medicines he refuses to take.”

“Point,” Sheila said.

“I guess I don’t have to wake up wondering if my mom has drowned in her own vomit,” Myeongeun said.

“I guess I don’t have to worry about my crazy- brother possibly murdering me in his sleep,” Sheila said.

“Please.  He’s usually too high or too drunk to touch a knife without maiming himself,” Myeongeun said.

“Okay, then I guess I’m glad I’m not that poor homeless ------ who has to eat dumpster ----,” Sheila said.

Myeongeun sighed.  “I wish there was something I could do for him.  He couldn’t have been any older than us.  In fact, I bet he’s younger.  He was hurt and looked like he could use a solid meal.”

“I know; you told me,” Sheila said.  “So, what the hell do you want to do today?”

The two ended up killing time by learning new dances and playing around on Garage Band.  They both had Sundays off from work, so Sheila took Myeongeun to the Starlight club for dinner before bringing her home.

The week passed slowly.  The United Nations sent forces into South Korea to investigate the area surrounding the crash site, and scientists confirmed the obvious, that the blood found was indeed extraterrestrial organic fluid, as well as other information that neither Myeongeun nor Sheila were particularly interested in.  The presence of the United Nations threatened the underground, so security in all territories was tightened.  Myeongeun and Sheila still attended school and worked their shifts at Blackjack as usual, but despite the world’s anxiety at the alien breach, life went on.  Myeongeun purchased herself a classy handgun from one of 2NE1’s dealers in order to satisfy Sheila, while Sheila decided out of the blue to start fixing up the warehouse a little more so that they could get a loan from VIXX and really vamp up the place (as in add electricity and purchase heating and cooling units) so that they could rent it out for extra cash.

Weeks had gone by, and the aliens were still elusive as ever.  The global public still worried, but the tension in the underground had lessened when the United Nations’ forces thinned out in their area.  It seemed that everything had returned to normal.  The days were slowly turning warmer and longer, and students anticipated the two weeks off that they would have after their final examinations and before the new school year began.  The science circles were abuzz, and the alien conspiracy theorists had their field days, but none of that really mattered to either Myeongeun or Sheila, who were both focused on fixing up their studio.  Everything was fine, really, until they found the body.

---

Thanks for sticking around with me.  I’m doing my best to make this story unique and different, so please feel free to tell me if I’m not doing a good job!  By the way, I’m using a ton of K-pop groups as the underground gangs (I even went so far as to draw myself a basic map so I can keep everything consistent), but a lot will only be mentioned in passing.  I just want to give all you faithful EXO-Ls/Exotics out there a heads up – there’s a reason that EXO won’t make an appearance as a gang.  I’m not a hater; I’ve got special plans for them!  They will play a key role in this story, though they won’t appear for a while.

Just for clarification, Myeongeun is Christian.  I know Catholicism best, so Myeongeun is Catholic.  But, yes, she’s also Sheila’s girlfriend.  Her parents are the serious, conservative Catholics, while Myeongeun is very liberal in her beliefs and her brother is a lost cause.  She has no intentions of marrying Sheila, or any woman, for that matter, but is in the relationship for the fun, as well as to keep her trouble-prone friend in line.  On the other hand, Sheila is not religious at all.  She tries to hold her tongue when it comes to commenting on others’ religious beliefs, but sometimes she can’t help but ridicule any belief in a higher power or optimistic, altruistic morality.

Another thing: I know I don’t always specify whether the characters are speaking English or Korean.  Whenever you see Korean honorifics, they’re speaking and/or thinking in Korean.  Usually, the only people speaking English are Sheila and Myeongeun when they’re alone or having a private conversation.

Got something you want to share?  Leave a comment!  If you’ve got a question, I’ll be sure to reply to you.  Just watch the flames because no one likes those, and they will be dealt with accordingly.