Chocolate Hearts | Jongin

14. Flour Fights

Chocolate Hearts
Chapter Fourteen
Flour Fights

Nari was a jumble of nerves on Saturday night, waiting for Jongin to arrive.

She kept glancing up at the clock, only to find two minutes had passed since the last time she looked at it, and wanted to scream. Time seemed to be going slower than usual on purpose; it was teasing her, testing her patience, waiting for her to snap.

She'd chosen her outfit carefully for the day; it was casual enough to not care if she somehow split food all over it, but also nicer than what she usually wore. She wondered how she would appear to Jongin when he arrived. Cute, beautiful, not any different than usual?

She hoped that he'd notice something, at least.

Nari groaned and paused in front of the clock, checking it instinctively. Five minutes until the time they'd set up. She tapped her foot impatiently against the floor.

She was nervous to meet Jongin again, especially after she'd realised just what she felt for him. Knowing that made her feel even more scared, since she knew she wasn't ready for love again right now, and the thought of being in love scared her. She'd been such a mess that she'd had to phone Hye-Ja about it.

She could just as easily have gone to Yumi for advice, but Hye-Ja had, in general, more lasting relationships than Yumi. She was a little more level-headed as well, so it had been Hye-Ja that Nari confessed everything to.

"So you finally realised it, huh?" Hye-Ja had asked dryly, when Nari finished talking.

Nari had balked at her friend's choice of words. "What do you - finally? What does that mean?" she spluttered incredulously.

"Please, Nari." Hye-Ja exhaled heavily, sounding exasperated. "It's been obvious that there's some kind of attraction between you two for months." Nari thought this would be one of the moments Hye-Ja would choose to raise one of her eyebrows; her friend was notorious for her eyebrow game. "Did you ever wonder why Yumi and I continued to let you leave early just to see them? You've been happier ever since you met."

"Gee. Thanks for all the help until now."

Hye-Ja chuckled. "It's more fun watching you be oblivious. We've had a few good laughs out of it."

Nari sighed and rolled her eyes. "You two are great friends," she muttered. "So supportive about everything."

Hye-Ja laughed for a while longer, and in the end even Nari had to crack an indulgent smile.

"Anyway, you wanted advice for how to act around him?" Hye-Ja asked, getting straight back to business.

Nari nodded, then remembered her friend couldn't see her on the other end of the phone. "Yeah. I don't want to make things awkward."

"Well," Hye-Ja said casually, "First off, I just want you to know I'm pretty sure he has similar feelings toward you, so you could always start by confessing." When Nari's jaw dropped and she started to splutter strangled protests, Hye-Ja laughed and added, "But if you're so instant on bottling everything up, as you always do, then just be yourself. Don't avoid him or refuse to look at him, because that will only make things more awkward. Just act like you always do."

All in all, great advice, Nari reflected a little bitterly. Of course, what Hye-Ja had said made perfect sense, and it was, now Nari thought about it, the best way to continue approaching Jongin.

But how was she supposed to act like herself when every time she saw him, her heart beat faster and she suddenly had trouble breathing?

She was jolted from her thoughts by the sudden sound of a knock at the door. Her heart hammered in her chest as she ran over. Her hand rested on the doorknob for a fraction of a second as she collected herself, and then opened it, revealing the tall figure of Jongin standing just outside.