𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒 ↷ park jisung.

:: 03

Kwon Nara made her way back home, the snow not making it any better. Her boots trudged through the sleet, nearly slipping on the ice that hid at the bottom. "What did I do to deserve this?" she mumbled, groaning at the amount of time it would still take her to get home.

She continued to walk, her hood up and her hands pressed against the soft material in her pockets. 10 more minutes and she would be in the lovely place she called her room. But for some reason, everything seemed to take a lot longer than the young girl had imagined. But the sound of her phone vibrating, took her attention away.

'have you guys gotten home yet?' she read. A smile made its way up to the corners of her lips. 'It's literally only been 15 minutes since the school closed,' she typed. 'besides, I live far ari :(' The dark-haired was about to put her phone back, but the small ding stopped her from doing the action. 'I'm in study group don't text me pls-' Rin replied, making Nara smile. And even if the two were far apart, both Himari and Nara were thinking the same thing.

And without any warning, the pair began to spam their group chat with all kinds of messages. But Rin, who was currently getting the stares of many from her constant notifications, couldn't help but have a faint smile at her best friend's actions. 'let's facetime!' Himari typed, getting an okay symbol from Nara, and after a while of negotiating, and agreement from Rin as well.

Nara's phone rang, and she answered the call, running a hand through her hair to make it look somewhat presentable. Ignoring the stares at the pedestrians around her, the young girl waved brightly to her friends. And as expected, Himari did the same. But Rin could only smile slightly, trying her best to not get caught by her fellow study group members.

"Geez Himari, I know you love me so much, but we all saw each other 20 minutes ago?"

The said girl only rolled her eyes, a playful smile visible on her cherry lips. "As if," she replied, "I really only wanted to facetime to see Rin, but I guess I kinda felt bad for you-"

"Excuse me??" Nara exclaimed, getting more creeped-out stares from the walkers. "You're obsessed with me, just admit it."

"Eww, not Nara trying to be the main character when she's clearly not-"

"Shut up, I'm the whole cast," Nara interrupted, only making Himari laugh loudly, and Rin trying hard to hold hers. "Bow down to your queen peasants," she smiled widely, enjoying the company with her friends. It really distracted her mind from all the coldness, and how her fingers were slowly dying on her.

The laughter finally stopped, and the trio was left with a more comfortable kind of silence. "We're hanging out tomorrow, right?" Himari asked the group, getting looks from her sudden outbusrt. "Sure why not?" Nara replied."It's not like I have anything to do. My life is already boring as it is." Himari and Rin just chuckled at their friend's behavior. Rin nodded, showing that she too was free to hang out.

"Also, Nara," Himari asked. "Ask your brother to join us," she finished, raising her eyebrow in a flirtatious manner. Nara's eyes widened as she stopped in her tracks. "Eww, what the hell? Wait, don't tell me you like Haru-"

"Of course not!" Himari interrupted. "I was just thinking. There's a new boy at school, Shotaro. I kinda took an interest in him, and we talked during a break once or twice. Just say I end up with him. You're already gonna have a boyfriend. I mean, we all saw the way you were staring at Kai earlier." This made Nara's cheeks flush in color, but she tried her best to make her expression stay like stone. "And if that happens, our poor Rin-Rin is gonna be alone-"

"Don't call me that," Rin cringed, getting up from her seat. Thankfully, she was now on her break. "Yeah, please don't," Nara agreed, cringing at the pet-name. Himari pouted but continued what she was saying. "Anyways, we all know Haru likes Rin. Like, he likes-likes her," she stated, making both Rin and Nara shudder at her words. "You know we're like twins, right??" Nara choked, nearing her house. "Yeah, isn't that just cute tho-"

"Um, hi, Himari? Are you going crazy? I don't even like him like that," Rin managed to say, trying her best to stay cool. But if only they knew how fast her heart was actually beating-

"You may not like him now," Himari said. "But we'll see," she ended, winking at the girl. Rin and Nara just sighed. Another episode of Himari, the hopeless romantic, trying to set them up with someone again. But who knew? Maybe this one would actually work.

"Anyway," Nara mumbled, trying to shake the feeling of disgust that anyone would fall for her brother. She walked up to her porch, ringing the bell "What movie are we-"

The door opened, and the person there made her breath hitch in her throat, making her stop in her tracks. "Earth to Nara?" Rin spoke, confused at her friend's sudden behavior. "Nara, are you okay?"

"I'll call you guys back," she managed to say, ending the call before her friends could say goodbye. Now, what exactly was going on?

Let's get this straight. Kwon Nara wasn't the richest of riches, nor was the opposite. She was middle class. Able to afford what she needed, but not much after that. She was no one special, and definitely not someone who was a gem to the public eye. And that was exactly why her current situation made absolutely no sense.

There, in front of her, stood the one and only queen of NEO City. Her smile greeted the younger warmly, reaching out and pulling her into a rather tight hug.

What the hell was going on here?

a.n/

- well, well, well... 👀