+ nine

Narda was sitting in her bedroom debating what she had talked about with Nari about Chanyeol just a few days earlier. She had talked about it with Florencia and Acacia too, bringing it up at their girls night while they had pizza and icecream while watching chick flicks together. It was something they tried to do at least once a week, to balance off the stress of their daily lives. Her other friends thought the same way Nari did--that it was time to get over Baekhyun. And the two of them were more than willing to cheer for Chanyeol winning over Guti's affections.

"I'm not gonna lie to you," Florencia started, shoving a spoonful of icecream into her mouth with a vengeance. "I think Byun is super cute, and talented, and all. But he's a huge jerk. He could have easily just been honest and said he wasn't in love with you. But he led you on." She had also shamelessly added that before she met Sehun and the EXO boys followed her on instagram, she had initially thought that Chanyeol was most handsome of them. Now--she said jokingly--she would back off for Guti's sake. Like Narda, Florencia and Acacia called the EXO vocalist Byun, simply because it was easier to pronounce in their foreign tongues.

Florencia was especially pigging out that night because her SM manager--who weighed her every week without fail--had mentioned that she gained two pounds since arriving in Korea, and that she would now be required to follow a specific diet that the female idols followed from now on. They didn't just want her to shed the two pounds, but an extra seven to get her weighing at one hundred and five pounds, or forty seven kilograms. The manager had criticized rather ruthlessly that at her current weight--a hundred and fourteen pounds--she was almost the same weight as her boyfriend Sehun who weighed a hundred and twenty pounds. 

Florencia had complained to the manager that she was perfectly happy with her weight. But they pointed out that under the contract she had signed with SM Entertainment, they were entitled to tell her what she could or could not eat--they had the power to manage her diet. 

When Florencia told her mother about their intentions, Mrs. Orizaba was outraged. She thought her daughter was already thin enough, and that she didn't have to change one thing about herself unless she wanted to. As her manager in Mexico, her mother had promised to fight against the wishes of her Korean managers. But for the time being, Florencia knew she would be forced to follow her new rules.

The other girls nodded in agreement with Florencia's statement about Baekhyun. It was time for Narda to forget him. 

"That's why I support Chanyeol oppa." Nari raised her spoon up in the air with a grin. Again, the other girls nodded in agreement. To them, Chanyeol was the best choice. He was handsome, talented, absolutely worshipped Narda, and he was in their group of friends. No one had to meet him in order to approve of him because the others already liked him.

"But I'm not in love with him." Narda pointed out with some concern in her mind. To her, it was very important to be in a relationship with someone when one loved them. "I just see him as a friend. If I go out with him, wouldn't I just be doing the same thing Byun did to me?"

Acacia thought it over until she found a solution. "Maybe you can tell him from the start. Tell him that you guys can go out, but with no labels, and no strings attached. That's what Nini and I did."

"And now you're pregnant." Florencia reminded her.

"Yes." Acacia nodded her head, and then explained the one detail that she thought was crucial. "But no one was hurt emotionally because we both knew from the start. We said we would go out, no labels added to the relationship, and maybe if we turned out to really like each other we would talk about it and consider going steady. But that didn't happen and we're both happy we tried it out." What Narda thought was best was that Acacia seemed to be telling the truth. Both she and Jongin looked perfectly happy just being friends now.

Narda heaved a sigh. But she wasn't entirely convinced about what she wanted to do. "I guess I can do that." But she knew she couldn't wait around for Baekhyun forever. It was ridiculous to even think that.

"Yeah." Nari encouraged, wrapping an arm around her friend's shoulders and pulling her in for a one armed hug. She saw the hesitance in her friend's face. "Give the boy a chance....only if you really feel like you want to. I also don't want to pressure you into anything."

Narda was snapped out of her thoughts by Nari who was apparently on her way out. "Guti!" Her friend called from the living room. She was ready with her coat and her purse hanging off her shoulder. Narda left her room and went to find her friend. The moment she saw her, Nari explained in something of a rush, "I was about to go grocery shopping since we've just about run out of food. But the agency called and said they need me to come in to help the rookies with their night beauty routines. They're having an important showcase tomorrow."

Narda nodded and waited patiently. If her friend was calling her over, it probably meant she wanted a favor from her. 

As expected, Nari continued, pulling out some money from her purse along with a folded slip of paper. "Can you go buy the groceries tonight? Here's our money, and the list of food." She placed them into Narda's hands. Then she waved a short goodbye at her and hurried out of the apartment.

Normally, Narda never did the groceries. She and Nari would just pool some money together and Nari would do it, or they would do it together. But Narda had never been there alone. 

She heaved a sigh, "There's a first time for everything."

She went back to her bedroom for her coat, her purse, and left the apartment shortly after Nari left. She took a little foldable cart with her on the subway and got off at the stop nearest to the grocery store. She entered Lotte Market, and from the very beginning she was overwhelmed by the amount of Korean writing everywhere. She pulled Nari's list out to help her with her purchases and she almost face palmed herself when she saw everything was written out in Korean. 

She could read all of it, but she had no idea what anything meant. All she could think to do now was to match the writing with any products she saw around the store. She went down the first aisle, where there was all kinds of ramen and dry soups. She was walking down with her now unfolded cart when she got a text message. As she got her phone to open it, she saw that it was a text from Chanyeol.

♫chan♫: hey guti :)

♫chan♫: wanna hang out??

narda: cant channie

narda: nari's busy today, so im doing the grocery shopping...

narda: (photo attachment)

narda: can u tell that im dead inside?? lol D:

♫chan♫: u look so done with this life kekeke

♫chan♫: need help? :p

narda: yES

♫chan♫: that'll cost u $$

narda: ten cents if u come over here, help me 

with the groceries and then carry me home on
ur back ^.^ sounds fair to me.

♫chan♫: how about a kiss? :D 

narda: boi

narda: i'll think about hugging u

Narda gave him the address to the market she was shopping at and he promised he would be there as soon as possible. To her surprise, he was there within ten minutes. He explained to her that he was already in the area, since the SM building was close by and he was there late working on a project. When Narda tried to pry for details, he only grinned and said it was a surprise.

He was dressed in his dance practice clothes, a big sweatshirt black sweat pants, and a cap over his head. Even though it was afternoon and they were indoors, he also wore a mask, and some sunglasses to conceal his identity. 

"I think that just draws more attention to yourself." Narda pointed out with a hint of amusement in her words. But quickly changing the subject, she handed Chanyeol the list. "I can read everything on this list. But I have no idea what it means." She confessed to him sheepishly.

He held the list in his hand and scanned over it. "She wants cereal, meat, eggs, milk, some fruits and vegetables...and...pads." He felt his face go red as he read the last item.

Narda rolled her eyes and then let out an amused giggle. "Don't tell me that makes you uncomfortable."

"It doesn't." He quickly shook his head.

"Come on." She pushed the cart with one hand and grabbed a hold of his hand with the other. Chanyeol looked down at their intertwined fingers, the way her small hand seemed to fit perfectly in his. "Lets just get that out of the way right now." She led him through each aisle until they found the one with feminine products. "One day you might need to visit this aisle for your girlfriend, so you need to know all the brands and which are more absorbent and all of that." She explained, whilst Chanyeol appeared tortured and now more red in the face than before.

After grocery shopping, Chanyeol offered to call a company car for them. But she assured him that it was fine. She would just take the train, since SM wasn't exactly fond of her.

It was dark outside and Chanyeol then made a second offer, to walk home with her, taking public transportation on the way there. They walked to the subway together, making conversation about the most random things. Chanyeol pushed the little cart of groceries and Narda walked beside him. 

Once they were near the station, the smell of food filled their senses. Narda's stomach grumbled loudly and Chanyeol stopped, gesturing to a small stand on the sidewalk that was selling beef skewers. They bought a few of them and ate them on the way to the train, finishing them just as it arrived at the station to pick them up. 

They were back at her apartment within a half hour and they stopped at her door. "Thanks for helping me out with the groceries Channie." She smiled at him. Remembering what the girls said to her, she added, "Do you want to go up to the rooftop? I really want to talk to you about something important."

He gave a nod of his head, wondering what she wanted to say to him. Narda opened the door to the apartment and left the cart inside before heading with Chanyeol to the rooftop. Once there, they sat on a bench that overlooked the whole town which was illuminated in bright lights. Narda hesitated for a moment, playing nervously with her fingers as she debated whether to tell him or not. Chanyeol only watched her, eyes full of curiosity. 

"Chan, I was thinking..." She paused for an instant before continuing. "Maybe it would be nice to try dating for a while." Her words made his eyes widen in surprise. He never imagined Narda would ever actually agree to date him, since he knew how much she loved Baekhyun. "I just...don't want to put any official labels on it for the time being." Even with that, he didn't see the offer as a deal breaker. It seemed like the words were taking a while to sink in, since his reaction was slow. To clarify things for him, she continued. "You can kiss me if you want, we can hold hands, you can hold me."

A grin spread across his lips. "I'm happy with that. For now."

He planned to win her over eventually.

"So..." He started slowly, biting his lower lip. His eyes were trained on her own lips. "Can I kiss you right now?"

Narda nodded her head slowly and closed her eyes, bracing herself. He leaned in with excitement, all too quickly, and ended up colliding with her face for their first real kiss as an almost-couple. Both of them laughed and Narda touched her lip, feeling a slight pain. 

"Sorry. I closed my eyes too." He chuckled. 

Then he gave it a second try. This time he cupped her face and kept his eyes open until he was close enough to kiss her. 

As they melted into the kiss, he couldn't help but think that this was the greatest day of his life.

-

a filler-ish chapter for now and i should probably go to sleep since im working early tomorrow. but at least i'll also be getting off early. so that's nice. thank you all so much for reading and supporting me. it means a lot.

also, i know its a baekhyun story and the boy has not really been mentioned all that much since the story started. but not to worry. he'll make it back into the loop of the plot.

i hope you're all having a wonderful day.

-clary