2 Yes

The girl looked at me like I had grown two heads. She said her name was Nara. For some reason it keeps echoing in my head. Where did I hear that before? Also, she looks strikingly familiar....

"Sunbae!", she exclaimed and laughed a little. Good thing she did, I thought she was going to cry instead. "~What's in it for me if you tear our lands? Poison our bread? Do you believe that you won't die? Don't play with my head~...."

My eyes widened. That rap....

"Nara?!", my jaw dropped in realization and she nodded. "My god...", I shot up from my seat, hand over my gaping mouth. She stood up too and I looked at her closer.

"Nara.....", I repeated. God, she looked so different than the last time I saw her. Wait. How long was that? "I'm so sorry", I held her shoulders.

"It's okay", she smiled. She still has those dimples.....

How in the world did I forget her of all people?

"I'm so, so sorry", I apologized again and pulled her in for a hug. I don't know why I suddenly hugged her like that. She must've felt really weird. To be true, we never really hung out in the past. She was closer to J-Hope and I could only place myself as an acquaintance. Not even a colleague. Maybe that's why I forgot her when I became busier-.....ahem.....-famous.

There was a knock on the door. Good lord, I thought as I hastily pulled away, how long did I hold her? I hope she doesn't think I'm some kind of weirdo.

It was Bang pd. He looked between us with his happy face. Which I know is not a good face considering the situation. I sub-consciously rubbed at my neck and Nara tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I see you've met", his happy face became even happier.

"Yes", we both replied at the same time. He chuckled and told us to sit. He gave us a few words of advice, told me how he's placing Nara under my guidance and wished us good luck before sending us off.

"So...", I started once we were in the van.

She tore her eyes from the window to look at me.

"You an early riser?", stupid question. It's five am.

"Yeah, I guess....", she flashed her dimples.

"Leaders have it the worst, right?"

She blinked twice.

"Oh no...", she shook her head, giggling, "Just how much did you forget?"

I frowned. "You're not the leader?"

"No I am not! Ah, RM~"

"What?"

"Urin rm, jjinja....", she seemed pretty amused, "daebak"

I was ashamed of myself but laughed along anyway. She was surprisingly easy to talk to and we mostly talked about work. It was seven pm when we arrived at the studio.

I gave her a little heads up before we started the show in case anything went wrong or something bothered her, blink twice. We started the shooting and everything was going smoothly. There were a lot of older idols present as guests. The mc's asked her to explain about her album. The title song was pretty badass by the way she described it.

"Isn't it?", remarked one of the mc's, "One moment we see you in a medieval setting with your hands tied behind your back and in the next frame you're in a pantsuit and wielding guns. Really, that scene was daebak!"

"Like a boss!", someone else commented. I made a mental note to review their album first thing next morning.

"This time around, our concept was focused on-"

"Women empowerment?"

"Ani, I mean, kind of. But not exactly. The main concept is that women have never been weak. Even in the medieval times, there have been queens, concubines even, that brought entire nations to their knees. These episodes in history have never been highlighted to society."

"So your message is 'if you think women are weak, I'll put a bullet through your brains?'"

Everyone laughed at this. She didn't deny it though. Instead, she stood up and gave the aged idol a salute and a bow. They talked about us next. BTS, I mean. And at some point, both the groups were being compared.

"Nara-ssi, do you know who the fans say you are from bts?"

"Who?"

"There's this word, what was it now? Ah! Mochi sexy"

"Ah~", I contributed to the conversation, "Jimin"

Nara only looked confused. "Really? Why Jimin, though?"

"Rapmon-ssi, did you know about this?"

"I think", I spared her a glance, "the comparison is well done. But I really had no knowledge about this"

"Why do you suppose they gave you the nickname Mochi sexy 2nd generation?"

There were a few laughs at 'second generation' and Nara pondered a moment before answering. "I knew the fans called me things like 'black stallion', but-"

"Excuse me? Why black stallion, though?"

"Ah, they said because a stallion is a wild creature. I asked why it's black and they said because black is sexy",

"Wild and sexy", the mc's repeated. She smiled sweetly.

"But I have no idea why they would call me a mochi"

"We can show you the answer"

"Dae?"

"We asked a fan the reason and he said it's after an episode that took place while you were in Osaka. Do you remember?"

"I don't think..."

"It's okay if you don't. This happened two years ago". There were excited reactions from the guests. "He said you acted very cutely while half asleep in the van after your concert"

She gaped in realization and her cheeks flushed red. "Aniyo~", she laughed and covered her face with her hands. "It wasn't like that..... I didn't-", she bit her bottom lip and ran a hand through her hair, scrunching her eyes close. It was true,, I realized. She was being a mochi and sexy at the same time. "Aniyo.....I didn't know there was a camera. The footage went viral but I thought they forgot all about it!"

"Nara-ssi", the mc vied for her attention in the middle of her breakdown. "Nara-ssi, do you know what else went viral?"

She didn't give a verbal reply. Just an audible hum while raising her brows. Her lip was still caught between her teeth. Mochi sexy kept echoing in my head. Mochi sexy generation 2.

"There's this Vlive you did where you read a racy comment without knowing what it meant..."

She visibly froze.

"....and the fans say you're actually too innocent for the name black stallion. Do you believe you are innocent, Nara-ssi?"

"Um.... I don't understand your question", she was getting tense.

"What he means to ask is", the other mc provided, "do you really not know what it meant or did you pretend to be innocent?"

She nodded in understanding and glanced at me before answering, " I really don't believe that I am, innocent, as you say it, but that time I really had no idea what it meant"

"How old are you?"

"26 years"

"So you really don't know what a condom is?"

Her eyes widened in shock.

"Don't worry, this is a rated show"

"But judging from your reaction I believe that you know what it means, right?"

"Well", I was ready to intervene but she didn't look at me, "...you just said so yourself that it was a racy comment. And when you say a racy word on live television I think anyone would be shocked whether they knew the meaning or not"

"True", agreed a guest.

"You really know how to put your words", an idol complimented her.

"But Nara-ssi", It was Lee teuk. Lee teuk was bad news. The old fart didn't know when to shut his mouth.

"Yes?"

"Looking at you, anyone would think you're an adult"

"Dae?"

"You know, doing adult things like watching porn make us more comfortable in our skin, isn't that right?"

"Well, you see, I don't have an answer to that"

"What, Imma?", she frowned at his rudeness but answered nonetheless.

"I believe I am not in a position to answer that", she looked at me and blinked twice before looking away nonchalantly.

"Wha-"

"Sir", I was rudely butting in but to hell with it! "I think this is making her uncomfortable"

"Come on, now. You don't need to be like that", he turned back to her," No need to be shy. Speak your heart out, eh?"

"You see", she started politely, "I had a mind-scarring experience with porn when I was young"

"How young?"

"I think.....12 years old. It was a pop-up ad on my computer and I remember how scared I was"

"So", Lee pressed, "do you enjoy watching porn?"

She looked dead into his eyes. All politeness draining from her face and leaving behind a grim expression. The dangerous aura around her and the way she sat, still like a statue as she stared at him with cold eyes....If I was Lee, I would be scared. At that exact moment I knew, that she was not to be toyed with. But for Lee I suppose it was too late now as she opened her mouth to speak,

"I told you I was scarred by porn. And you ask me if I enjoy watching it", her face betrayed no emotion, "that's like asking a victim of sexual abuse if they enjoy being raped"

Slap

Kimchi slap.

The best kimchi slap in the history of mankind.

It was cold war after that. The mc's rushing in to control the situation, telling Nara how she misunderstood, Lee teuk at a loss for words, me trying not to let the proud smile stretch my lips because the situation would get so much worse if it did. But Nara....

Oh! Nara.

She was the calmest person on the set. The show was wrapped up 10 minutes earlier than recording time. It was a very hush-hush affair. People all around gave us weird looks and secret glances. No one came up to us with hateful words or scolded her on her behavior. No. Apparently, everyone hated the old geezer. Nara even recieved an anonymous bouquet after we left the studio.

Why on earth did Bang pd not make her the leader?

If I could only find a way to express the amount of pride that swelled up in my chest.

"What?"

"Huh?"

"You've been smiling weirdly and staring at me through-out dinner"

I grinned cheekily.

"Nothing"

She just shook her head, looking out through the glass wall.

Our managers left to pay the bill and told us to come downstairs when we were done.

"....so beautiful", she suddenly exclaimed. I followed her gaze to the night sky. We were pretty far from the city and the stars were clearly visible, shining like never before. I asked her for a favor then. It was a big thing and I was a little surprised at her calmness. I honestly thought she would either choke on her water or spray it in my face. Or maybe I am an over-reacting douchebag. She set the glass down and traced the rim, thrice, before looking back at me with a smile.

"Of course"

"Of course? YOU WILL? YO-"

She put up a hand to shush me.

"Should you really be freaking out over this?"

So cold. "I guess not", I relaxed and leaned back in my seat. Tried to relax.

"Stop grinning. It's creepy"

"I can't help it if you said yes", technically, she didn't say-

"That's what I said", She looked out the glass again. "...yes"

So beautiful....