| Fan Fiction |
by Take_Flight
“Nadine?” Ri In mumbled when she opened the door. Ri In stood in front of her, rubbing her eyes sleepily in her PJs. “What was that?” she asked, stepping into the room and squinting at the brightness of the room.
“Get me a broom and dust pan. The frame fell off and there are broken glasses everywhere” Nadine told her.
“Ok. Don’t touch anything, or you hurt yourself” Ri In warned her. She disappeared and came back with the items.
Nadine was already down on her knees, picking up the huge pieces of the shattered glass and tossing into the bin.
“YAH. I told you not to touch anything. Don’t you ever listen?” Ri In scolded her, sweeping up the mess.
“The job’s faster this way, throwing the last piece of glass” Nadine said and picked up the frame which was lying face down. She saw that it was a picture of herself with her brother, wearing matching baseball shirts, their arms around each other. It was taken during her brother’s sixth birthday party and she was three years old back then.
“Awww. I never get sick looking at this picture. You guys look so CUTE together” Ri In cooed, as she joined Nadine on the floor.
“Yeah.He hated wearing matching outfits you know. Surprisingly Grandma managed to convince him on that day” Nadine told her. “I better get a new frame for this” she added and stood up, but she ended up losing her balance and fell back. She shot out her right arm from crashing on her behind but she felt a sharp jab instead. “OWWWWW!!” she screeched and collapsed on the floor.
“OMO! Nadine! You stay there while I go get the first-aid kit. Don’t MOVE a muscle” Ri In said before rushing out of the room.
Nadine held out her bleeding arm with the piece of glass stuck on it. She winced in pain as she slowly removed the glass and then threw it into the bin. Before she knew it, tears were already streaming down her cheek when Ri In ran back to her room. “You PULLED out the glass?! Are you crazy! Okay wait. Don’t panic! Wrap this towel around your arm, we’re going to the hospital and get it stitched up!” Ri In ordered.
Nadine didn’t say anything and followed Ri In. By the time they reached the nearest hospital, half of the towel was already blood soaked and Nadine could tell that Ri In was trying hard not look at it, but her face was turning pale. A nurse rushed Nadine to the Emergency Room and told Ri In to wait outside but she insisted on tagging along.
“But Ri In, you can’t stand blood” Nadine meekly told her as the nurse wiped off the excess blood while waiting for the doctor to come in.
Ri In squeezed Nadine’s shoulder. “I’ll be here for you, but I will face the other way araso?” she whispered. Nadine gave her a bemused look and shook her head.
Nadine got nine stitches on the injured area and by the time they reached home, both of them crashed onto the sofa due to the lack of sleep. “Rinnie, mianhe” Nadine said. Ri In shook her head. “Why are you saying sorry for? It wasn’t your fault you didn’t see that glass” she mumbled before she dozed off.
Nadine chuckled seeing her friend in a deep slumber. She got up and went to Ri In’s room and grabbed her blanket. She placed the thick material over Ri In’s body and went back to her room. It was almost six when she finally got some proper shut eye but the alarm jolted her from the deep sleep. She frowned and snatched the alarm clock and shut it. Why did she set the time to eight in the morning on a Saturday? She snuggled back into her covers when her cell phone’s alarm went off. Nadine grabbed her phone and hurriedly got up when saw the alarm’s note.
“Meet Mr Shim at NAC at 9am. To get kiln for studio”
Nadine groaned loudly. “Oh man…and I barely had enough sleep” she grumbled. Nadine got dressed as quickly as possible but her injured arm was getting in the way so it slowed her down a bit. She left a note on the fridge telling Ri In where she was going and headed to the National Arts Center by cab. She dozed off in the cab and woke up just in time to see the vehicle stopping outside the building. As she paid the driver, a Subaru drove past the cab and parked itself at the parking lot in front of the center.
Nadine stepped out of the cab, stifling a yawn. She caught side of her reflection as she climbed up the steps to the Information Counter and did a double take. “I look like a zombie!” she muttered, combing her fingers through her damp hair. Her stomach did a somersault when she saw Changmin in the reflection, coming out from his car. She gasped. “He can’t see me like this!” she squeaked and rushed to the Ladies. She rummaged through her shoulder bag for her make-up kit and took out a tube of lip gloss and her compact powder. As she was powdering her nose, her cell phone beeped, Changmin’s name flashing on the screen.
“H..Hello?” Nadine stammered trying to make her voice sound casual.
“Miss Arena? Have you reached? Cause I thought I saw someone like you” Changmin was saying.
“Uh yeah. I’m in the Ladies right now. I’ll be right out okay” Nadine told him, whipping out a comb and making her look extra neat.
“Sure.Take your time, no rush” he told her. Nadine tossed her phone in the bag and took a few deep breaths. She then stared at her reflection in the mirror and narrowed her eyes. “What are you doing Nadine?” she asked out loud.
Nadine shook her head and tossed everything into her bag. “I can’t believe you’re doing it again. Haven’t you learned your lesson!” she scolded herself as she slipped her phone back into her jeans pocket. Nadine zipped up her bag and stared at her reflection again. She had seen that girl before. Six years ago and Nadine had vowed that the girl will never come back ever again. Nadine stormed out of the Ladies, and bumped onto Changmin.
“Woah there. I said there’s no rush” Changmin said, holding her shoulders so that she would not fall.
Nadine let out a nervous laughter. “Hah. Sorry. I..I thought I was late” she stammered.
Changmin let go of her and nodded. “So you’re ready to go meet the dealer?” he asked as they started walking and heading to the East Pavilion. Changmin had told Nadine that he had found a dealer who was offering them an electric kiln for the school at a good price and had wanted Nadine to come see the kiln for herself. If she likes it, then they will get it on the spot.
“Thanks again for this” Nadine was telling him. She can’t help but noticed that he looked different with casual wear. It made like look less…spiffy and more boyish. She tried to focus her attention on the mosaic tiles on the floor instead as they were walking.
“Miss Arena, seriously, you’ve got to stop saying thanks” Changmin was telling her. Nadine nodded her eyes still on the ground. They were both silent for a while and only the sound of their footsteps could be heard.
“So uh, a housewarming party eh? Leeteuk hyung sure got some wacky ideas” Changmin spoke up, breaking the silence.
Nadine nodded. “Uh-huh. Actually he’s in-charge of planning the whole thing since he volunteered to” she said, unconsciously tucking a strand of hair behind her right ear.
“OH! What happen to your hand?!” Changmin wanted to know when he saw the bandaged palm. “I got cut this morning. By a glass actually, but don’t worry about it. I got it stitched this morning” Nadine explained, holding out her hand in front of her.
To her surprise Changmin held her hand gently and rubbed on the bump where the stitches were. “You should be careful next time” he was mumbling. Nadine slowly took her hand and slid into her coat’s pocket. “Thanks for your concern” she told him and to her relief, she saw the sign “East Pavilion” above them. “Oh..we’re here!” she said almost too excitedly.
Nadine noticed that Changmin seemed to snap out of his reverie and was blinking and looking around in a daze. “Mr Shim? We’re here” Nadine said to him, waving her hand in front of her face. The guy faced her and flashed a dazzling smile. Nadine gave him a tight smile in return. Just then someone was calling out to Changmin’s name.
“Omo! Changmin-shii!! You’re here too as well” Seung Yeon came strutting towards them and Nadine’s jaw almost dropped opened seeing the actress in front of her eyes. “And..oh! I see…you’re on a date” the actress said, her eyes averting to Nadine.
“Ah…aniya. No-no. She’s my client actually. We’re here to meet the dealer. Listen SY, we’re actually in a rush right now---
“Oh yes yes. I get it. You two run along now. Shall we have lunch later together?” SY suggested, clapping her hands together, her gold bangles clinking.
“Umm…I…I…” Nadine tried to say the right words but all of a sudden she felt woozy. Changmin and SY both stared at her and she felt the heat rushing to her face. Nadine nervously licked her lips and opened her mouth to say something but the next thing she knew, everything turned pitch black.