Chocolate Hearts | Jongin

06. Not Alone

Chocolate Hearts
Chapter Six
Not Alone

For a heartbeat, there was only silence. Or maybe someone said something and Nari missed it. Her attention was on the people in front of her. She hardly dared to believe that Exo was, indeed, in her humble little shop. Sure, Jongdae might have been her friend, but there were plentiful other cafes in Seoul. Hers was just one amongst many; the chances were low. There were plentiful other cafes closer, after all.

But somehow it had happened, and now here she was, looking at members of Exo, and had been saving from falling by Kai. It was a situation she hadn't even dreamed about before.

Baekhyun grinned. "What does it look like? We'd like to eat."

"We had a fan signing nearby and felt hungry afterwards, so Chen mentioned that you were nearby," Xiumin explained. Jongdae nodded in the background.

"Oh. I see. I should've guessed. Why else would you be here?" Nari laughed, then realised that Kai was still holding her arm. She flushed and moved it slightly. Kai caught her movement and started as he too realised he was still holding on to her. He sent her an apology and let go. Nari's arm hung awkwardly in the air for a moment before she let it drop back down to her side.

"Was that you playing guitar just then?" Kai inquired, to break to silence in the air.

Nari stiffened when she realised that they would have heard her playing earlier. It wasn't exactly soundproof in here. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, diverting her gaze, suddenly nervous about how she sounded. She thought back to a chord she'd missed and winced, wondering if they'd picked it up. "Yeah."

"You were very good," Chanyeol complimented.

Nari could feel her cheeks begin to heat up so she ducked her head, allowing a few loose strands to fall down and cover her cheeks. "Thank you."

"I told you she was good!" Jongdae exclaimed, which made Nari blush even more.

"So, would you like to order?" Hye-Ja asked, taking charge of the situation, as she always did. Nari flashed a smile at her friend. Hye-Ja really was a saviour; she always seemed to know what to do.

"Oh yes," Baekhyun said cheerily, and went on to browse the options available.

Soon, after a minute of deliberation, everyone came to their decisions and placed their orders. Nari and Hye-Ja worked to get the orders together – they had sent Yumi away to calm down – then took the orders to the table where they were all seated.

"Join us, Nari!" Jongdae called, indicating to the empty seat between him and Kai.

Nari's eyes widened. She looked back at the other members, searching for signs of discontent or disagreement, but they were nodding a little in agreement.

"I can't," she stammered, though all of her being was screaming at her say yes. "I have to work -"

"Hey, Nari," Hye-Ja said quietly behind her. Nari turned to see her friend smiling at her. Hye-Ja's eyes twinkled, as though she knew something Nari didn't. "It's not for long. We can handle a few minutes without you."

Nari stared wordlessly at her friend for a moment. Then she to smiled, trying to convey all her thanks with that simple action. "Thanks, Hye-Ja."

Hye-Ja rested a hand on her friend's shoulder before she departed back to the kitchen. Nari turned back to the others and made her way over, taking her seat and offering them a smile. They smiled back, eating contentedly at their food.

Kai paused after a few bites of his order, a chocolate brownie. "Aren't you going to eat something?" Kai asked. "It feels rude to eat when you have nothing."