Chocolate Hearts | Jongin

15. Comfort

Chocolate Hearts
Chapter Fifteen
Comfort

Nari just about jumped out of her skin when Jongdae rang.

She'd been so absorbed in her book that she hadn't noticed much else and, on top of that, it had been quiet, her mind lost in thoughts about the past two weeks and endless dance practices and baking sessions with Jongin. She'd just about mastered Moonlight now, and last time she and Jongin baked they ate the entire batch of jam tarts they'd made. He'd mentioned that Taemin would be coming back in a few days, so it wouldn't be too long until they all met up.

Her phone's ringtone seemed to come out of nowhere and on top of giving her a heart attack, nearly caused her to miss the call as she recovered from the shock.

"Nari, hey," Jongdae greeted brightly, after Nari gasped a hello into the phone. "Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and I are going cycling, do you want to join us?"

She beamed. "Sure. It's been too long."

"We're nearby now, about five minutes away. We'll see you then!"

Nari grinned and bade her friend goodbye before she hung up. As soon as she put her phone down she dashed to her bedroom and put on clothes more suitable for cycling, namely her tracksuit pants, and a jumper over her sweater. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail, laced up her sneakers, then grabbed her helmet and wheeled her bike outside so she could meet everyone as they arrived.

A minute after she stepped outside the others arrived; Baekhyun let go of one of the handles to wave at her. They dismounted in front of her. Nari beamed at them all. It had been too long since she'd really seen any of them.

Baekhyun was the first to approach her. "Nari!" the lead singer greeted eagerly, hugging her. "How are you? It's been too long since we properly met up!"

"I'm good," she responded, and soon found herself being dwarfed by Chanyeol, who too greeted her with a quick embrace.

"Kai keeps stealing you, so we've hardly seen either of you," the tall male said, as Nari quickly turned to greet Jongdae with a warm smile and found herself enveloped in one of Jongdae's famous bear-hugs.

Baekhyun nodded in agreement. "Kai already stays behind later to practice, but now he meets up with you as well. It's almost as though he prefers your company to our own!" He pretended to pout, which made Nari laugh, though her cheeks were now tinged pink.

Is Jongin really spending that much time with me now? Since when did that happen?

"And then when he is around, he won't shut up about you!" Chanyeol added. It sounded a bit like he was complaining.

She mustn't have been the only one to pick up on it, because Baekhyun laughed.

"Chanyeol's a bit put out about it," he said, ignoring Chanyeol's glare. "He is Kai's biggest fan, after all, and you're stealing him away."

Nari's eyes widened and she waved her hands frantically. "Jah! Stop!" she exclaimed. "We're just friends! I'm not trying to steal him away or anything!"

The others stared at her for a moment, then simultaneous burst into laughter.

Jongdae grinned as Nari stared dumbfounded at the others.

"They're teasing," he snickered, and placed an arm around her shoulders. "Though I must say, your reaction was cute."

Nari rolled her eyes and pushed his arm off, hoping her offhand action hid how flustered she was. "Let's just go."