B.I, Be Mine

Ch 1: November 19th?

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Ugh, what is that noise?

I shift uncomfortably in my bed, rub my eyes, and turn on the bedside lamp. The light temporarily blinds me as I grimace. What's that dripping noise that's woken me up?

Drip. Drip. Drip.

I swear, is this a horror movie?? Starting to get a little freaked out, I slide on my slippers and look at the time.

Holy moly, 3.32am! How dare that dripping noise wake me up this early in the morning?!

Ugh. I groan again as I stand up and walk to where the noise is coming from.

Huh. Seems like it's from the bathroom. Then I laugh and smack my forehead. No kidding, Hye-rim. Duh it's from the bathroom.

A little assured it's not some murderer coming after me, I drag myself to the bathroom, going to turn the tap or something off.

Suddenly, the world around me turns ten times brighter. I'm bombarded with glitter, silly string, candles, and...and... CAKE!!! Oh and also my two best friends Su-hyun and Chae-mi!

"SURPRISE HYE-RIM!!!" They yell the same time.

"Huh? Um, hi guys?" I respond, confused, and eyes still on the cake.

"Aigoo, Rim-ah. Could you be less enthusiastic?" Chae-mi tsks.

"Why? What's wrong? Why are you in my house?? At 3.30am!!??" The more I ask the more confused I get...

"Oh my gosh Rim. Look at the date. November 19th. Hello... does it ring a bell?" Su-hyun adds.

November 19th... November... OMG! It's my birthday. Wow. That explains a lot.

I look up at my besties and give a big, big hug. As expected, this is what best friends are for. Now, now, now. It's time for cake!

***

So it's currently 4 am now, and Chae-rin, Su-hyun and I, in our matching blue and pink pyjamas, are on my bed, eating some moist double-chocolate raspberry cake. And it's so good. I swear the cake's the best part about birthdays.

Once again, I thank my friends. "You guys are great. I even forgot my own birthday."

"I still can't believe you forgot your own birthday." Su-hyun shakes her head. "I mean, how immersed were you with studying that you could forget your own birthday??"

We all laugh, our mouths full of cake.

"Oh by the way, Hye-rim." Chae-rin suddenly remembers. "Here's your birthday present!" She reaches something from her pockets and shows it to me. "It's from both of us."

It's a ticket. "What's the ticket for?" I ask.

"Look closely, Rim."

And I do. In a strange font, it reads...

iKON DEBUT CONCERT IN BUSAN - DECEMBER 5th

Huh? "What's iKON?" I ask, confused.

They both give me their signature 'guilty yet still excited' look.

Oh. Now I get it. K-pop. Again. I try not to groan. I mean, I really loves these kids but... I'm not the type that's into k-pop. Or just any trendy things at all. Why not spend time eating chocolate cake, or studying for your maths exam instead?

"Thanks, you two. But..." I hesitate. I don't want to seem mean. Oh who cares I'll say it. Hopefully they'll understand. "I... I don't really know who iKON is, guys. Also, CSATs (*note: Korean college entrance examinations*) are coming up... and you know how serious I am about them."

Surprisingly, they're both still okay. No tears and throwing pillows at me. At least not this time.

"We'd knew you say that, Rim." Says Su-hyun.

"Look, Hye-rim." Continues Chae-lin. "Everyone, and I mean everyone, knows you're going to ace those exams. You're just cramming your ridiculously smart brain with the same information over and over again. It's going to overload and stop working when you actually take your exams."

I give an unconvinced look, and fold my arms.

"Think of it as your day off. A cheat day. One day you can really relax. Maybe you'll like k-pop. Besides, who doesn't like iKON?" Chae-lin sighs. "Especially B.I. Damn, those eyes of his."

I roll my eyes at her fangirling. However, her words have kind of made me change my thoughts... Hmmm, maybe I'll give it a try. If not for not over-cramming my brain, I'll do it for my besties.

I take deep breath, while thinking about the knowledge I will not obtain. "Aw, heck. Sure. It's just a concert right?" I smile as I see their eyes light up. "Are they front row seats?"

"Damn, better than that. VIP seats!!" Chae-rin does a little dance to show how happy she is.

"Woo hoo! You're the best, Rim. Yeah! Happy birthday! This is going to be great!" Clearly Su-hyun is excited too.

Well, I at least have one thing to look forward to before the exams. Hmm, I wonder what iKON's like...