Chocolate Hearts
Chapter One
Sweet Surprise
The only downside of owning and working in a patisserie was the early mornings.
To be fair, there were two sides of that coin. Waking up early was definitely the downside. Nari had never been a morning person; when she woke up, she felt like a zombie or something half-dead. She'd move sluggishly around the house as she got ready, fighting back yawns and rubbing her eyes that would continually droop from tiredness, sometimes putting the her shoes on the wrong foot.
But there was an upside that got Nari through each morning; she loved watching the sun rise up into the sky, which would be coloured shades of beautiful light pink and blue. The world seemed to remain still, if only for a moment, and everything was so peaceful on her way to work. The air was fresh and crisp, and Nari loved it.
When she got to the patisserie she owned, she'd meet her two coworkers, Hye-ja and Yumi, and they'd get started on the baking for the day. They'd talk as they worked, mixing pastry dough and spilling flour all over their aprons, though mornings were mostly quiet as they went through their own motions of waking up.
It was baking that also gave Nari the motivation to go through the motions of arising from her morning state. Nothing other than guitar gave Nari more joy than baking. She'd grown up baking with her grandmother on weekends and when she was older, Nari continued to bake and experiment with recipes. She'd spend hours in her family kitchen, flour getting all over her clothes and up to her elbows as she tried new cakes, pastries, and came up with her own little creations.
It wasn't like she had to compete with anyone her family for the kitchen, anyway. They were hardly ever home - her mother had left them when she was young, her father worked long nights, and her brother had hardly ever been home, preferring to spend late nights partying and spending time with his friends. Nari had grown up alone for most of her teenage years, and resorted to baking to keep herself entertained.
Another thing she loved about working at the patisserie was that she had the company of Hye-Ja and Yumi. Nari had met them when she had been in college, and they were in the same class. On their first day they'd all gotten lost, and stuck together as they looked for their class. Ever since then, the three of them had grown closer and decided to open a patisserie together, and from the moment they'd opened a year ago Nari had no regrets. She was twenty-one now, and the past year had been the best of her life, getting to do what she loved every day with people whose company she treasured. Sweet Delights, they'd named their shop, and every day they joyed in handing out their own creations.
Especially popular were their chocolate hearts, which were literally chocolates in the shape of hearts, with different fillings inside. They were popular with couples, especially around Valentine's. It had been Yumi's idea, which she'd put forth around Valentine's last year, and Nari had agreed. Nari hadn't expected the hearts to be such s popular hit, but they were relatively simple to make and earned them good money, so she wasn't about to complain. What was supposed to just be a Valentine's special became something they constantly had on offer.
Often while they baked early in the morning they'd put on music in the background. Every day they took turns to choose the music they'd listen to that way. Whenever it was Nari's turn, she'd always choose Exo, to the amusement of her friends. They teased her about it and always asked why Exo, but Nari wouldn't tell them. Who would believe her, anyway? Besides, they put forth good music, and Nari really did enjoy listening to them.
The days had worked out that Nari had slotted into a comfortable routine. She hadn't expected it to change too drastically, for she enjoyed what she did and didn't want to change a thing.
This was her life and she was happy with it, so why should she change anything?
That's what she'd been telling herself for years, anyway.
* * *
If there was one thing Nari loved almost as much as baking, it would have to be her guitar.
It was a common sight for Nari to rock up to the patisserie with her guitar slung over one shoulder, which she would keep in the back, along with a change of clothes, until it was time to leave. Hye-Ja and Yumi had known of her love for the instrument since college, and had never found it unusual how Nari would walk in with her guitar, and sometimes strum a few chords during her break.
They closed their store at five, and once the doors were shut the three of them would stay back to clean up. When they were done, Nari planned to walk out to one of her favourite secluded areas in the nearby park and softly play a few songs.
They were just finishing up, and Yumi was animatedly telling him about her new boyfriend - her fourth one in as many months. She'd met him at a club three days ago, and they'd started dating yesterday after they'd met up for coffee.
Hye-Ja and Nari had shot each other a look. Yumi really was the life of the party; she loved going out and letting her hair down. She was the polar opposite of introverted Nari, but Nari still loved her friend dearly. She was bright and fun and always brought a smile to her face.
"What's his name?" Hye-Ja asked dryly, wiping a table clean.
Yumi beamed, tucking a few locks of her voluminous, wavy hair behind her ear. She'd recently had it died pink, a vibrant colour to match her vibrant personality. Yumi's hair was always changing, unlike Nari's, who preferred to keep it in its long, natural state. "Chi-won. He's really nice, and he's got the most gorgeous eyes!" She laughed giddily.
Nari rolled her eyes. "What do you love more, his personality or his eyes?" Yumi had sounded like she was about to faint when she mentioned Chi-won's eyes.
"You care more about their physical features than anything else," Hye-Ja sighed. She glanced over at Nari. "How long do you think this one's staying around?"
Nari considered this for a few seconds. "Three weeks. The ones with nice eyes tend to hang around a bit longer."
"I think you're being too generous, Nari. I reckon this Chi-won won't last a week."
"Guys, you realise I'm right here don't you?" Yumi fumed, placing her hands on her hips and shooting daggers their direction.
"Don't act like anything different is going to happen, Yumi, you know it's going to end up like this," Nari teased over her shoulder. "I'll bet you on that, Hye-Ja."
Hye-Ja raised one eyebrow, invoking a challenge. "You'll lose."
"No, I won't," Nari sang, and they both laughed, much to Yumi's irritation.
"I'll prove you both wrong!" she exclaimed, one of her eyebrows twitching.
"Yumi, the day you can keep a boy for more than two months is the day our chocolate hearts stop selling," Nari fired back, though she was grinning.
This happened all the time Yumi got a new boyfriend - Nari and Hye-Ja would tease her, she'd yell that this time would be different, then would end up dumping the guy a week later anyway. "Don't act like it's not true!"
Yumi rolled her eyes. "Whatever. At least I'm having fun. The day you open up to someone other than us, Nari, is... is the day we have to close up shop!"
Nari shrugged and returned to her work. "Then that's definitely not happening." Nari didn't mind not having a wide circle of friends - having Hye-Ja and Yumi by her side was enough for her.
They worked in comfortable silence for the last five minutes before they finished. When they did, Nari walked back to the rear of the building and grabbed her guitar. She'd already changed into her outfit for going out - slim black jeans and a thick, pale pink jumper. A scarf was wrapped snug around her neck. It might be reaching the end of winter, but it was still cold. "Okay, I'm off."
"Guitar?" Hye-Ja called.
Nari patted her guitar case and winked. "What else? I'll see you guys tomorrow!"
"Yeah, see you!"
The early January air was cool. Nari wrapped her scarf more securely around her neck as she walked through the streets. Christmas had been only little more than a week ago, and New Years a few days ago. Both had been rather quiet events for Nari. She'd spent Christmas with Hye-Ja's family, and New Years on her own, curled up by the fire with a good book and music in the background.
As she walked, Nari fished out her iPod and placed the earphones in her ears. She flicked through a few songs before settling on Exo's Love Me Right album. With a smile she pressed play, the familiar beat of Love me Right hitting her ears. She hummed to the lyrics under her breath as she walked.
She loved Exo, and not just because they produced good music. It was because an old friend of hers was in the group. They might not be as close as they were years ago, but Nari always smiled when she heard Kim Jongdae's voice sing above others in songs, and during performances her eyes would instantly seek him out.
She'd met Jongdae when she was fifteen. She'd been playing her guitar in the park after a hard day, and she'd wanted to get away from her house and forget everything, and just lose herself in music for a while. Jongdae had approached her and said he thought she was good, and after a few more meetings they'd fallen in a comfortable friendship.
He was older than her by two years, but that didn't stop their friendship. She'd play songs on guitar and sometimes he'd sing along, sometimes she'd bring what she'd baked that day over. They became rather close, but Nari didn't feel anything but strong friendship for him. She didn't believe in love, anyway.
One day he'd come to visit at her house, when she was sixteen. She'd been playing her guitar at the time, seating on one of the couches and playing the chords to her favourite song at the time, singing softly under her breath. Jongdae had christened the song as 'Nari's Song,' since she played it so often.
"It's sounding good, Nari," he'd commented cheerily, walking into the room. He'd taken a seat on the armrest of the couch she'd been sitting on, a grin on his face.
"It still needs work," Nari had muttered. There was a part of the bridge that she'd been struggling with at the time, and wasn't sounding as fluent as Nari would've liked.
"No, Nari, it really did sound good!" Jongdae enthused. He slipped off the armrest so he was next to her, and placed an arm around her shoulders.
Nari smiled and placed her guitar back in its case. Jongdae's eyes travelled around her home, and froze when he saw what was resting on the kitchen bench. "Is that chocolate cake?"
"Baked it from scratch this morning. Help yourself."
He hadn't needed any further invitation, leaping off the couch and making a dash for the cake. "Thanks!" he called, and helped himself to a slice that Nari had already cut. He came back with two plates and handed one to Nari, who had munched on her cake quietly.
Jongdae had been quiet while he'd eaten all the cake. "You always bake the most delicious things!" he'd said once everything - even the crumbs - had been cleared from his plate.
"I practically grew up in the kitchen. This is second nature to me now."
There was a bit of frosting left on Jongdae's plate. He grinned and scooped it up on his finger and, before she knew what he was doing, he'd flicked the icing on to her nose.
"Jongdae!" she'd squealed, but was laughing, and made no move to wipe the chocolate off her face just yet.
Nari smiled fondly at the memory. She hadn't seen her friend in years, ever since he signed on with SM Entertainment. They'd kept in touch through text messages and phone calls, until he became part of the group Exo. He was so busy that they hardly were able to talk anymore, and their texts became less and less frequent. They still kept in contact, though barely. Sometimes Nari would wake up and see a, Hello! in her messages, and they'd exchange a few words, but they didn't have lengthy conversations like they used to.
She hadn't told anyone about her friendship with Jongdae. She doubted anyone would believe her. And if they believed her or she showed them the conversations on her phone, no doubt she'd be bombarded with questions with what he was like. Nari preferred a quiet lifestyle, and didn't want to be in the focus of attention just for that reason.
She arrived at the park soon after. It was fairly empty, mostly occupied by couples taking late strolls or people walking their dogs. Nari smiled at the sight. She loved dogs but because of her work, she didn't think it would be their best idea.
She made her way through the park, and ducked off to a side a little closed off from everything else. Not many people came this way, which was all the better for Nari. She grabbed her acoustic guitar from her case and settled it on her knee. She strummed a few chords to warm up, and then her fingers started playing her song, and soon the soft notes of Nari's song floated through the air.
Music and baking had always been large parts of Nari's life, helping her through some of her struggles as a teenager. She'd never been good at expressing her emotions to others, and instead of talking about her feelings she showed them through her guitar. Her guitar was her comfort, her way of dealing with her emotions, and baking was how she took her mind off things. She couldn't imagine her life without either thing in it.
She lost herself in the music, fingers flying over the strings. All too soon the song came to an end and she sighed, thinking about which song to play next.
But the silence was interrupted by eager applause from what sounded to be one person, and the voice that called, "Nari, you just keep getting better!"
Nari froze at the voice as it registered in her mind. She felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. That voice... surely not...
Her eyes lifted and she gasped, taking in the figure before her, someone she hadn't seen in years. He had attempted a disguise, but Nari could instantly tell that it was him.
"Jongdae?"
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kathy, jongdae is for you :D
so what do you think? hopefully it's not too boring, the next chapter will be more interesting! so nari knows jongdae and they've just run into each other after years... what do you think is going to happen?
kai and the others will be entering the story soon! and also quickly, as much as i would love to write the original 12 members, i'll only be writing the remaining 9. believe me, I would freaking love to write kris, luhan, and tao, but since they've left exo by at time I started this, they unfortunately won't be included. that doesn't mean i still don't love those three dearly <3