Like Fools | Pabo Cheoreom | SeulRene

1. Ddeulgi

Irene had a thin layer of sweat on her body. Her baby hairs were stuck to her forehead. She had been panting all morning, physically exthausted and muscles aching in a way she hadn't felt in a long time. She felt extremely satisfied though. She let out a small grunt while she bent down. This was something she missed. Something she couldn't do freely under the watchful eyes of her family, for fear of being discovered. The embarrassment would be too much for her. She quickly picked up her glittery pink hula-hoop and began to twirl it again at high speed around her arm. This is the life, she thought.

Her new home was suiting her well, definitely an upgrade from her old apartment. As she drew close to her 1000th spin, she decided to check out the kitchen, grab a snack and relax outside.

-

Seulgi was outside on this beautiful Summer day, having just returned from her friend's house, where she was for the past two days. She was finally on her Summer break and was spending it in her favorite way; painting.

Seulgi's house was unlike any other in the neighborhood, her fence was illustrated in a fantastical way, filled with all of her own creations. This was also most likely the cause of why she hadn't had neighbours for years. Whenever she felt like it, she'd spend her time lazing outside, producing new doodles for her fence. The downside? She was running out of room. Just as she was painting the ear of a bear, her paintbrush decided to end it all and take a plunge inbetween the slats of the fence. Just great.

She blindly shoved her hand into the gap and flung her hand around in hopes of finding it. Nothing. She peered into the gap and saw it was slightly closer to the other side of the fence. Seulgi decided to make the journey to the other garden but not by simply walking there like a normal human.

-

Irene wandered around to her front garden with a refreshing glass of lemonade after washing up. She turned the corner only to see a mad woman clambering over her fence. How peculiar, she thought as she sipped her drink. She flattened her black hair and dawdled over to the seemingly crazy person, who was now humming a tune?

The sight is quite amusing from Irene's point of view. This woman, who is presumably her new neighbour, has her arm shoved into the fence with her head awkwardly jammed against the wood, her butt pointing skywards as she leans down.
'Come on, you rascal, I know you're there!', the woman exclaims.
She's facing away from Irene, who has said, 'excuse me', for the second time.

Irene has had enough of trying to get her attention and decided to try another, less polite method. This is a trespasser after all. She marches over and roughly bonks her on the arm, 'Yah!'
This was a mistake apparently as the other woman screamed loudly and ripped her arm from the fence, causing a nasty graze and a little bleeding. She whipped her head round to Irene who was a little startled herself. They stared at eachother silently for a moment.

'Who are you?', they both asked together.

Seulgi shook her head, 'Look, I don't like games Miss, just tell me who you are...', she raised an eyebrow at the suspicious woman before her.

Irene was about to retort until she saw the girl gripping her arm. Mom mode: Activated.
'Hey, let me see that? Are you hurt?', she softly grabbed the girl, not waiting for a reply.
Irene removed the hand and gasped. She dragged her towards her house immediately. This was not the first impression she intended to give to her new neighbour. Pabo you need to be careful and not kill your neighbours.

-

Seulgi was baffled, to say the least. She had just arrived home, only to to be harrassed by a mad woman. Tch. She could sue, this was practically assault. As she was being dragged across the grass, she realised that the it was to the house nextdoor. It was unlocked. Weird. She was pulled in and told to wait in the kitchen by the frantic woman. She decided she might as well get comfortable and slid onto the island. Suddenly the pieces came together, it clicked. But I was only gone for two days!?

Seulgi watched as the tiny lady raced round and rummaged through drawers. She didn't need to worry so much, it was just a cut. Besides, her first aid kit was on the table in the living room. Seulgi decided to just take care of it herself and slipped off the counter, which went unnoticed by Irene, who was still running around like a headless chicken.

Seulgi got damp tissue and rubbed her arm clean. She then wandered into the living room and took the liberty of cutting a bandage for herself. Ta-dah! All better! After using her A1 nursing skills, she wandered back into the kitchen and passed Irene, who was precariously balancing on a stool to reach the cupboard.

'Hey, you should really go grocery shopping y'know...', she trailed as she buried her nose in the stranger's fridge.

Irene was dumbfounded as she watched the girl from her perch. Tch, who does she think she is?
'Hey, what do you think you're doing?'

Completely ignored.

'Seriously, what are we gonna eat? You only have day old sushi and an egg.'

Irene was slightly impressed. Not even five minutes ago, this girl was foraging for worms or whatever else in her garden, and she had the nerve to criticise Irene's fridge. Unbelievable. Wait, did she say w-

'Do you wanna go to the store?'

'How do I know you're not crazy?'

'I'm not the one standing on a stool in my own kitchen', the girl annoyingly grinned up at her.

'Yes, but I'm not the one who was screaming like a deranged cat in my neighbour's garden', Irene shot back.

Touché.

'I guess you'll have to take my word for it. I promise not to kidnap and/or murder you. '

'It seems so. I promise I won't kill you either, yet.'

Seulgi smiled. Her new neighbour was pretty cool. The woman carefully climbed down and grabbed her purse and two water bottles. She handed one to Seulgi as they walked to the door. She muttered a small 'thanks', it was much needed with weather like this. If you took two steps, your clothes would be stuck to you.

'So, I never did get your name?'

'I'm Kang Seulgi', she cheerfully introduced herself.

'Bae Irene', she said with a smile, locking the door.