Chocolate Hearts
Chapter Eighteen
Effortless
Nari was almost embarrassed to admit how long it took her to become confident enough to dance on her own.
More than a week passed before Nari was ready to tackle choreography on her own. To make things a little better for her, Jongin offered to teach her the dance to Love Me Right, remembering that was her favourite song. Nari agreed, and together they went through the beginning of the choreography.
Nari wished that she was able to dance as well as Jongin was able to bake. She wasn't as uncoordinated as she once had been, but in her opinion, she still wasn't great.
Then again, Jongin had been dancing ever since he was young. She'd only just started.
When they finally called it a day, Nari's breathing was laboured and her face was bright red. She fell to the floor, and Jongin sat beside her, shooting her a grin.
"Your dancing keeps getting better," he complimented. "I'm impressed, Nari."
She laughed. "It's only because you're such a good teacher."
"Thanks. You are as well, you know."
"The messiest teacher, though," she said with a laugh, thinking back to bench tops covered in flour of chocolate powder and leftover dough. No matter how long she baked Nari felt like she only became messier.
Well, as long as they still tasted nice, she didn't see why having a messy bench was a problem. She cleaned up when she finished, anyway.
"That makes it more fun," Jongin said with a grin.
Nari rolled her eyes; she was sure he was only saying that because of their flour fights.
The dark-haired girl leaned over and grabbed her water bottle, taking several long gulps.
"How's things with your family?" Jongin asked presently, his voice gentle.
Nari shrugged. "My mum's getting better and beginning to move on with her life. Hyeon is actually improving. I think I can start to accept him now, especially considering everything he's done for Mum." She smiled softly. "He's basically got everything sorted out."
Nari had tried to help with the rest of their mum's divorce, but Hyeon had already done so much that there's barely been anything left for her to do. In the end, as much as she loathed herself for it, she let Hyeon finish everything. He knew everything that was going on, and had from the start. He understood things already that left Nari bewildered. For the speed of the procedure, she'd conceded that it was best to leave everything to him, though she'd vowed she'd help him out with something else at some point in the future.
Jongin took her hand and squeezed it. "I'm glad things are getting better for you."
"Thanks." Nari smiled, her eyes glued to their entwined hands. "I don't feel so isolated anymore. You wouldn't know just what this means to me."
"I don't, but I can guess." He grinned. "I can see it in your smile, your eyes. You smile more frequently and your eyes shine more often."
Nari felt like she'd just received an electric shock. Her eyes widened, her hand flying to touch the skin just beneath them.
My eyes shine more often? How would he have been able to pick up on that?
"Those are really minute details," she whispered.
Nari found herself staring at Jongin, and he was looking back at her. She gasped when she realised how she could tell how little aspects of his face had changed from when they first met, and they were little things - things she wouldn't have been able able to tell without paying close attention for a long time.
Nari wondered just how much time they actually did spend looking at each other, whether they were staring at each other, sneaking looks out of the corner of their eyes, or simply looking at each other to talk.
"Oh, there you two are. I should've known I'd find you both in here," a voice said from the doorway.
Both Jongin and Nari jumped as they faced the speaker. Nari sighed in relief when she found it was just Suho looking in, and not someone they didn't know. Suho was already stepping inside and quickly shutting the door behind him before anyone else could peek inside and see the minimal distance between them.
"Suho-hyung," Jongin greeted.
Suho smiled at him, then faced Nari. "Nari, it's good to see you again."
"You as well," she said, beaming.
He looked them over, taking in their red, sweaty faces and their slightly laboured breathing. "How did the dancing go?"
Nari gave him a thumbs-up, a lazy grin on her face. "Great! I'm getting Jongin to teach me your dance to Love Me Right."
"And she's doing really well," Jongin said.
Nari sighed. "No I'm not! I nearly tripped twice, I would've fallen if you hadn't grabbed me."
"You're being modest. You really were good. And it's an improvement, you used to trip five times in the first two minutes alone."
"Okay, so my coordination has gotten a little better, I'll admit," Nari said with a roll of her eyes. "But I'm still only ah average dancer."
"And I'm only an average cook," he retorted, grinning. "You're having fun though, right?"
She couldn't help but smile. "Yeah," she murmured. "I am."
He smiled, and suddenly their eyes were locked, and Nari couldn't bring herself to look away. Jongin just looked so beautiful when he smiled; his eyes lit up, and the tiredness seemed to vanish from his face. She could feel her heart skip a beat. She was lost, captivated by Jongin, and she wondered how she could possibly properly function again.
There was the sound of someone clearing their throat.
"Um, I am still here," Suho said, in a pointed tone of voice.
Nari started, and reality came crashing back down on her shoulders. She gasped, and then she and Jongin quickly tore their eyes away from each other and started at anything other than the person beside them.
"Sorry, hyung," Jongin apologised, while Nari nodded in the background. There was an embarrassed flush to her cheeks.
Suho waved the apology aside. "It's fine," he insisted. Nari didn't miss the small, fond smile on his face.
Jongin pushed himself to his feet. "I need to use the restroom, anyway. I'll see you in a few minutes."
He left the room, leaving Nari and Suho alone in the room. Nari bit her lip. Now she thought about it, she'd never been alone with Suho before. There'd always been someone else there.
"How are you?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I'm good, I suppose. You?"
"I'd say the same." He paused. "You two really have gotten close."
Close? We kind of confessed to each other weeks ago... and each day we only seem to become closer to each other.
"I suppose we have," she said softly. "Jongin really has been a big support for me over the past few months."
"The attraction between you two is obvious to anyone a mile away. Why are you still refusing each other? Anyone can tell that you care deeply for one another."
Nari blinked. "You're not going to discourage us?"
She'd thought that Suho, being the leader of Exo, might have discouraged their relationship. His first concern was the other members, after all, and even Nari knew that it would be hard for Jongin to be in a relationship with anyone.
"Things will be difficult, since Jongin is an idol," Suho admitted. "There will be days when you'll hardly get to see him, and weeks on end when you can only talk on the phone because of tours. You'll have to be careful with the media as well."
Nari's stomach twisted at the mention of the media. She'd seen what several articles and fans had to say when idols started dating someone else, and dreaded to think what sort of comments might be directed her way should she and Jongin start dating.
"But," Suho continued, so quickly that Nari barely had time to fret over the media, "You two are so close and care so much about one another and, more importantly, you make each other happy." He smiled. "I've noticed how much happier you've become since you first met us, Nari."
Nari flushed. "You have?" Was I incredibly miserable months ago or something? Just how much have I changed over these past few months?
"We all have," he said. "I see no reason why you shouldn't be together. As long as you're careful, you should be fine."
Nari's heart skipped a beat. "So, you think we should just go for it?"
Suho nodded. "You'll have all our support," he said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "People have started placing bets on when you'll finally get together."
"They have?" she asked in a whisper. When Suho nodded, Nari moaned and buried her face in her hands. "Oh no. That's so embarrassing!"
"I can tell them not to, if you don't like it," he said gently.
Nari shook her head. "Don't," she mumbled. She sighed and raised her head. "It's not hurting me. They can have their fun."
Nari glanced across at Suho, and her heart stilled. She could see the concern in his eyes, real concern, as he worried about her. The way his lips pressed into a line as he looked her over, trying to make out any sign if she was lying...
That was the kind of concern she'd expect her own family, her father, to have about her. Suho was being more supportive of her than her family had been when she grew up.
She couldn't help but snort.
Suho frowned. "What's funny?"
Nari shook her head. "I was just thinking... you're being more supportive of me than my own father ever was." Her voice faded and quietened down at the end.
Silence settled in the room briefly.
"Jongdae did mention you had a hard family life once, but he never went into details," Suho said quietly. "I'm sorry you had to suffer like that."
Nari shrugged. "It's fine." She managed a small smile. "You guys are my family now."
He smiled back. "We'll look out for you. We all have you back."
"Hey Nari, Suho-hyung!" The two looked back to see Lay poke his head around the door. "Dinner's arrived!"
"We're coming!" Nari called, and scrambled to her feet. She didn't even question if she'd be able to eat with them; being with them was so natural to her now that it didn't even feel odd to eat dinner with all of them now. It really was like she was a part of them.
Nari and Suho followed Lay outside to a dining area, where there was plentiful food available. Nari waved to everyone as she entered and loaded her plate. After a quick observation, she realised her helping was miniscule compared to everyone else.
Nari grabbed a spot at the table next to Jongdae, where Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Sehun were also seated. There was a spot empty beside her.
"Where's Kai?" Baekhyun asked, when Nari slipped into her seat.
"He went to the restroom," she reported. "He'll be back soon."
She eagerly began to ate her dinner, but didn't miss the way the others at her table shook their heads at anyone who tried to fill the vacant spot beside her. They only let up when Jongin arrived and sat himself next to her.
"Is that chicken?" Jongin demanded, as he looked over at Nari's plate.
Nari laughed. "Help yourself."
Jongin grinned and grabbed some of her chicken, and Nari evened it out by grabbing some of his own food. She could hear laughter from the others but, in that moment, she really couldn't care less.
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i'm sorry if this chapter wasn't as good as usual, i lost inspiration halfway through! still, i hope you enjoyed it somewhat, at least!