√ 𝐸𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡 // 𝐻𝑤𝑎𝑛𝑔 𝐻𝑦𝑢𝑛𝑗𝑖𝑛

forty nine.

Somehow Chan already knew the layout of most of the safe house. Big brain things.

Nari was stuck following him to the dining hall with her jaw hanging open, every new turn leaving her impressed with the size and perfect organization of the place. Every few rooms also led her to a member of NCT, all of whom were clearly unsure of how to treat her. All of them were kind and respectful of course, but Nari didn't blame them for being nervous. Her brother was a force of a nature when he got upset about anything.

Finally, the space opened up, several large, long tables set up with tons of dishes all over them. Almost the entirety of both gangs were there, which meant the food was almost gone and it was very loud.

Nari literally had to cover her ears when the sound reached her. "How are they not deaf yet?" she yelled to Chan, who was somehow surviving with no problems.

"You get used to it," he replied, clapping a hand on her shoulder before choosing a spot to sit.

A scoff falling from her lips, Nari let her hands fall from her ears and scanned the crowd, her fingers fiddling with the fabric of her shirt as she searched for an empty seat.

"Let's go," Hyunjin suddenly said from beside her. Nari jumped, her hand leaping to her chest as her heart fluttered.

"Geez, Hyunjin! You can't just..."

Her protest faded as she saw the full plates in Hyunjin's hands, the bottles of water tucked beneath his arm. He was waiting expectantly for her to follow him, apparently back through the doors she and Chan had entered through.

"Go? Go where?" she asked hesitantly, eyes still on the food he was holding.

Hyunjin rolled his eyes. "Back to the room, of course. I figured you'd want to eat somewhere quiet, and look! I got all of your favorites," he said as he nodded down at the plates, piled high with what were indeed her favorite dishes.

"You... you got me food?"

To others, it was stupid. But Nari was still getting used to the fact that more than one person in the world truly cared for her, and was willing to do things like make sure she had clean clothes and enough to eat. And after all the chaos that had just gone down? They still remembered.

Hyunjin's brows furrowed and he looked at her strangely, trying to gauge her reaction. "Of course I did. Come on, silly," he urged, gesturing towards the door.

So they walked all the way back to their temporary housing, Hyunjin refusing to let Nari carry anything even though her hands were empty. He carefully set the food down when they arrived, not bothering to turn the light on since the bathroom's was still on and bright enough, and smacked Nari's hands away when she tried to snatch the water from him.

"Just sit down," he whined in annoyance. "Sit and chill."

Grumbling, Nari sat cross-legged on one of the beds, grumpily watching as the boy organized her food in front of her, even going so far as to twist the cap of her water bottle off for her.

"Hyunjin, I'm capable of opening my own water, just sit down, please," she pleaded, gripping his shirt and violently yanking at it.

He yelped before jumping back, a frown on his face while he tidied his clothes, smoothing the wrinkles out of the shirt. "This is brand new, how dare you," he scowled at her, then immediately plopping down on the same bed with a cute smile.

Nari stared for a second, amazed at his attitude shifts. "I literally cannot keep up with you."

"Who can?" he asked while picking up his chopsticks. To that, Nari didn't have an answer.