+ eighteen

Narda ended up going to the supermarket with Nari and the Orizaba sisters. Narda had grabbed a big tub of icecream to share with her boyfriend and all other sorts of unhealthy snacks. Nari tried to get her to save her energy for tryouts the next morning, but Narda felt defeated. She didn't want to be somewhere where they didn't want her. She had no intentions of returning the next morning. Acacia grabbed snacks like it was the beginning of the apocalypse, using her hands to scoop up as many things as she could and she threw them in the cart.

Florencia only watched with hesitance. She was having weigh ins each week to keep her weight down, but she was also put on a special diet to shed some pounds that her managers thought she had extra. She had lost the weight all too quickly and her cheeks appeared hollowed. Her face was lifeless and unhealthy.

They were starving her in order to get her light as a feather, like all the other SM female idols. Flroencia had informed them several times that most of her extra weight was in her legs and her butt. But no one listened to her. Now all the weight she was losing was mostly leaving her face and her chest. Very little of it was being shed from her legs because it was just her body type. She had always had thicker legs than her sisters. Even so, judges had found her beautiful enough to make her Miss Universe--the most beautiful woman in the world. In Korean beauty standards, her managers hardly agreed.

With her green eyes and pale complexion, it wasn't enough for them. She had to be perfect and her managers were going to get her there.

Even Sehun didn't like what he was seeing and had tried to talk to his managers--Jongdae did the same--and they wouldn't listen to them either. As SM idols, they weren't to interfere with managements' decisions, even if it concerned another idol that they were worried about. Florencia's managers had politely urged them to mind their own business and stop meddling in their business.

Narda, Nari, and Acacia often encouraged her to eat if she wished to. They told her that she would be happier, and that people would love her more if she would just love herself the way she was. But that wasn't the problem. She never had a problem with the way she looked before. It was SM Entertainment that was drilling into her head the thought that she was overweight. Now she assured her sister and her friends that she was fine, and that she was choosing not to eat on her own because she wanted to be healthier.

They returned to the apartment within the hour and Narda waited for Chanyeol to contact her. At about eight sharp, he texted her saying that he was waiting right outside her building. She grabbed her bags with snacks and ice cream, said goodnight to Nari, and was out the door.

She met her boyfriend outside, right in front of her apartment building and he pulled her in for a hug, stealing a quick kiss after making sure the coast was clear. The two walked across the street together and Chanyeol snuck her into the building through one of the side doors that went out into the alley. They climbed up the steps to his floor and went right into the lounge room. Chanyeol had made sure to specifically let the other members know that Narda would be coming and that he wanted no interruptions. He had told everyone but Baekhyun and he hoped his room mate would barge in to see them together.

Narda had chosen the movie Instructions Not Included, about a playboy who had been forced to grow up when one of his former lovers dropped off their daughter with him and then mysteriously disappeared. Chanyeol had briefly mentioned it to some of the other boys and Jongdae had informed him that it was a great movie to watch.

They had been sitting on the couch together, Narda cuddled up with Chanyeol and his arms wrapped around her. Her legs were draped over his lap and she wore one of his sweaters to keep warm. On her, it was more like she was wearing a blanket and she was nearly lost inside it. She was immersed in the movie while all Chanyeol was doing was nuzzling his face into her neck and pressing sweet kisses to her skin every now and then.

"You're not even watching the movie." She tried to whine a complaint, but ended up giggling as he felt his lips attach to her neck once more. But she was doing nothing to stop him.

"I am watching." He defended himself playfully.

But he wasn't even looking towards the screen. He instead had his face buried in her neck like it was the only place he needed to be for the rest of his life. He was comfortable and so was she. She said nothing more to him and continued to watch the movie until she felt a jolt of pain in her neck. It was a slight pain that went away within a few seconds. But she could already feel a bruise forming.

"What are you doing?" She asked him, but she already knew what it was. She didn't have to guess.

"A love bite." He replied with a grin. "So everyone can see you have someone who loves you."

Narda thought it was a cheeky gesture, maybe even cute, but she wasn't entirely pleased. As a primary school teacher, she would need to cover it up the next morning to go to work. 

"Like I said the other day," She repeated with a small smile. "You're so needy lately."

He was about to reply to her words when the door to the lounge swung open. "Chanyeol, can I borrow your phone charger? I can't find mine--" He stopped mid sentence when he saw the couple in the room. Chanyeol had immediately cupped his girlfriend's face in his hands and pressed his lips to hers. Narda had been taken by surprise and gripped at his shoulders, trying to push him away. Not necessarily because of Baekhyun, but because of the surprise of the kiss.

Baekhyun's hand closed into a fist at his side and he swallowed the desire to pry them apart. He instead apologized quickly. "Oh. Sorry." Then he turned and left the room before he could let his jealousy get the best of him.

There was nothing he could do.

Narda and Chanyeol were together. And they seemed to be doing well as a couple. Chanyeol was happier than ever with her, while Baekhyun was hurting.

-

While he had been waiting to perform on stage the previous afternoon, Chanyeol had made it his mission to find the football facilities where Narda had tried out. He found their website online and called their phone number. He had used his influence to call in a favor and one of the other coaches at the facilities assured him that they would talk to Coach c Choi. Chanyeol had informed Narda of this after the movie and begged her to go to try outs the next day. 

He left a text message for Nari as well, asking her to convince Narda to attend the try outs.

In the end, Nari had been able to convince her by lying to her. She had explained that the coach had called back and asked her to attend the try outs. It wasn't entirely true, but only partially. Chanyeol had talked to the people at the sports complex and they had promised to talk to him.

Nari knew it would only be a matter of time. 

The two girls showed up later that morning and were stopped by none other than the same coach who had asked her not to return. "I thought I asked you to stay home today. You're no longer part of these tryouts." He said to her harshly. By his side was a young man who the girls immediately recognized as Choi Minho from SHINee. Nari looked from one to the other and immediately made the connection.

"Minho oppa!" She nearly shouted in surprise at him.

The coach looked from one to the other, "You two know each other?"

Nari gave a nod of her head, and Minho did as well. But it was he who started to explain. "She's a hairstylist for the agency. She works mostly with EXO, but I've seen her around the building a few times." Looking to Nari with confusion, he added the question, "Are you here to try out for my dad's team?" 

"No." Nari quickly cleared up. "I'm here with my friend Guti. You met her before too. She tried out yesterday, but she was asked not to come back because she missed a penalty."

Minho had nodded when she said that he had met Narda before. But Coach Choi defended himself from her subtle accusation. "She has to be able to play well under pressure. We need footballers who will not let anything take them down."

"Abeoji," Minho started. From the very moment that he opened his mouth to speak, Nari knew that he was going to put in a good word for Narda. "I think you should give her another chance. I've seen her play and she's really good. Plus, didn't you once tell me a story about how you had missed a penalty that could've won the game? When the fans booed at you, the only person who said some words of encouragement to you was your coach. You should pass on a good deed instead of keeping it to yourself. Isn't that what you've always taught me?"

Minho didn't know Narda too well, had only met her about three times. But he thought she was a good person, and she was likeable. He also wasn't lying when he said he had seen her play. He had once gone up to the rooftop for some fresh air and found some of the EXO members playing football with her. He had been impressed with her skills.

The football coach heaved a sigh, having been convinced by his son. "I suppose we could give her another chance. But she'll need to really impress me to get on this team."

He gestured for Narda to go ahead and join the rest of the girls who were warming up. Narda nodded gratefully to both him and Minho and sprinted off to join the group. Nari stood off to the side with them as try outs started and she asked Minho once they were alone. "What brings you here, Minho oppa?" 

The two were sitting on the bleachers now and he gave a tiny shrug of his shoulders. "I had the morning free today and thought I'd visit my dad. When he told me he was hosting tryouts, I wanted to come and play a little football with the prospective football players. I thought it was for the boys team though. He runs the men's team normally, but apparently now they want him leading both the women and the men teams." As though barely noticing who she was, he asked a confused question in return. "Why are you here, Nari-yah? Junmyeon said EXO's really busy lately. I would think they'd need their hairstylist." And by really, it wasn't an exaggeration. EXO were everywhere lately--on music shows, variety shows, fansigns, interviews. They barely had any time to sleep or eat. 

Nari also gave a shrug of her own. "Lately they've been asking me to take days off, even when the guys are busy." I think they can feel the tension between Soo and I, she guessed in her mind. But she would never say it out loud. Other than Guti, the Orizaba sisters, and the EXO memebers, no one else knew that she and Soo were together.

All most people knew was that they were good friends.

But they weren't even that lately. Soo was being distant with her and it wasn't just a one time thing. It was happening often and it was something Nari worried about. Soo and Narda were the people she most felt close to. 

The thought of losing one of them was one she couldn't bear to think about. 

-

another filler ish chapter for this story. its going to start to get good again, so not to worry my little dumplings. also, i might start writing soo and nari's story because it starts off a few months after this moment. it starts out with an explanation to all their fighting. 

so please stay tuned for that. im going to try to post an update for roulette next today. i haven't written in there in days.

then tomorrow im going to disneyland! the happiest place on earth.

thank you for reading.

-clary