+ thirty

Narda and Chanyeol arrived at the karaoke place together, and he parked his car in the back lot. Narda had even commented jokingly that he was a tribute to his name, since he had Park Chanyeoled the car so well. Chanyeol failed to understand what she meant, since his English wasn't exactly the best and most of the time he could only understand about sixty percent of what she said. Sometimes he would even ask her to speak slower, to help him comprehend. But when he saw her laugh, he only laughed along because her smile was contagious. He didn't realize that she had actually made a bad joke.

When they arrived, Kyungsoo and Nari arrived not long after, only within minutes of them. They emerged from the car and Narda said to her friend with excitement, "You wanted to come here tonight. Since we went somewhere I wanted, I thought we could go somewhere you wanted."

Kyungsoo nudged Nari, who was standing by his side, now an embarrassed expression on her face. "Since when do you like karaoke?" He asked her, a hint of amusement poking through his words. "You can't sing to save your life, jagi."

Nari pulled a smile onto her face and reached up to pinch his cheek. "I love to sing, darling."

Narda had overheard their brief little comments and happily linked arms with her friend. "Don't worry Nari. I have zero singing talent too." She confessed as she exhaled with a sigh. Still, the confession did nothing to deter her from wanting to go into that karaoke place. "My musical talent is dancing. Maybe the boys can give us a solo concert or something, if they don't want us to make their ears bleed." Nari grinned at the idea, but more because of the fact that she was getting to spend time with Narda again.

Since she left home and became a hairstylist, many of her rich friends had stopped talking to her. They didn't want to be friends with a person who wanted to style hair for a living, since most of them were being groomed to go into politics upon growing up. Her only friends now were EXO, a few of the other stylists, and Narda. But she clung to Narda the most because everyone else had become her friend because of work--because they saw her almost everyday. Narda became her friend through circumstance. 

Chanyeol had stepped off to the side, putting on a show about how he had been trying to contact the others. But it was all pretend. He had gone as far as putting the phone to his ear and pretended he had actually dialed the other boys' numbers.

He got back to them, shoving his phone into his pocket. "The others won't answer. And I texted Taeyeon noona. She said she and Baek are gonna go watch a movie."

Narda tried not to let their relationship bother her. With a chipper shrug of her shoulders, she said to the three others, "That's fine. The four of us can make our own fun. I was thinking of inviting Daniel, but--" She had been thinking about what Nari told her days ago. That she needed to find someone else if Baekhyun was going to continue giving her the cold shoulder. But she was confused by his reactions. He didn't want to talk to her, and he didn't want her close to him, but he didn't want her with other people. It was unfair, and Narda thought it was ridiculous to comply. To be faithful to a relationship that didn't exist. She was done with it.

Now she had one of two options--Chanyeol or Daniel. Chanyeol was her friend, and Baekhyun's friend. She thought about the drama that would take place. And she just didn't see Chanyeol as more than a friend. She loved him, and she loved the way he was able to make her happy. She couldn't deny that he was handsome, and charming. But she didn't love him the way that he wanted. 

Daniel was more like her. He was from the same place, and they were good friends who got along well. She thought he was handsome, but sometimes thought that the only reason they even got along was because they reminded each other of home. Maybe they both clung to that familiarity, not wanting to lose those memories while being abroad.

Ultimately, she thought she had more to lose if she dated Chanyeol. Because of his friendship with Baekhyun, because of her friendship with him, and because of his fame.

"Please no." Chanyeol said, horrified at the thought of inviting Daniel. 

He had gone through all that trouble to be paired with her. He didn't want someone else swooping in to steal her attention.

Nari shot him a look that screamed be cool.

The EXO rapper gave a nervous laugh and explained to Narda. "I was just saying because--you know--there would be five of us and it would be uneven. Odd numbers are awkward."

"I guess." Narda agreed half-heartedly.

They entered the building which was nothing like Narda could have imagined. At the end of the hall was a sign above a pair of double doors that read Karaoke Party. The woman at the front desk informed them that it was a ballroom for many people to enjoy. But she also told them they had private rooms for small groups. The four immediately agreed to rent one of the private rooms. She handed them a key and they were on their way.

They entered the room, which was the size of a bedroom with light blue painted walls. On one of the side walls was a giant flat screen television with a table below it that had four microphones, a three ring binder with the selection of music and a remote to choose and play it on the screen.

It was dark in the room and there were couches for them to sit on. As Narda plopped down on one of them, she grinned, "You know what would get this party started?"

They all waited expectantly for her answer.

"Booze." She grinned, making a sign with her hand in the shape of an alcoholic drink.

Chanyeol was on board with anything Narda could suggest. But he had one set back to her plan. "Will you and Nari go buy it? People will start talking if they see Soo and I buying beer in the middle of the night." He was on board with driving the getaway vehicle, as he saw it. But he didn't want to be caught in another gossip magazine.

Narda shook her head. "Uber delivers."

When they watched her with confusion, she explained.

"Last summer my friends and I got drunk in the university dorms." She said, sighing at the memory. It was the first time she had even gotten drunk. "We didn't want to drive down to the store for more Strawberritas, so we called an Uber. But the store was going to close in fifteen minutes so we didn't have enough time. So we still paid for the ride, but we asked the driver to buy beer and bring it to us, and we paid for the beer when he dropped it off."

Nari shrugged. "Lets do that then."

-

They had barely gotten a few drinks in them when Nari started blurting out the truth. "Guti," She called while her friend was belting out the lyrics to La Bamba with Chanyeol--the version from the Ritchie Valens movie. More surprising than the fact that the song was included in the master list was the fact that Chanyeol was singing it with her, and he was having little difficulty keeping up. Narda joked that when drunk, he seemed to be a secret Spanish speaker. They paused through the ending of the song and Narda turned towards her friend. Nari continued in a semi drunken slur. "I am jealous of Kkoch. What's she have that I don't? Is it because she's Mexican? I wish I was Mexican so you would pay more attention to me." 

By her side on the couch, Kyungsoo groaned and face palmed himself. When he suggested she should talk to her friend about how she felt, he hadn't meant as a drunken embarrassment to herself. But it seemed that was the only way she was going to get the words out. 

Narda giggled. "Who is Kkoch?"

She didn't know it was the name SM Entertainment and Korean media had given Florencia because her real name was much too difficult for them to pronounce.

"That girl who has a football team and a town named after her family." Nari clarified.

"Ah," It all sunk in for Narda. "You mean Florencia."

Chanyeol soon joined in the whining. "And Daniel too. You pay more attention to them than us. We just want you to love us."

Narda laughed at their complaints because she thought they were being silly, and the alcohol in her system wasn't making things easier on her. She sucked in a breath to calm herself down before explaining to them, "I love you guys so much. But its different with Florencia, Acacia, and Daniel. They know how I feel. They speak my language. They like the same things that I like. They know what I'm talking about if I mention my favorite football team, or the national team of our country, or the latest novela. But all of that doesn't mean I don't like you guys anymore."

"That's what I said." Kyungsoo slurred, raising his hand. "But did they listen to me? No."

"I also don't blame you for not speaking Spanish or for not doing all those things I do with my Mexican friends." She grabbed Chanyeol by the hand and led him over to the couch where Nari and Kyungsoo sat. The two made some room for them and they squeezed into the three seated couch together. Narda sat in between Nari and Chanyeol. She grabbed their hands and told them with a reassurance, "Stop being jealous of Flora. You're worse than me, and Mexicans are known for being extremely jealous people."

Nari threw her arms around her friend and cried into the fabric of her dress. The fact that she was drunk had magnified her emotions. "I love you, Guti."

Kyungsoo protested playfully. "Better not love her more than me."

Narda stuck her tongue out at him.

Their four person party resumed its course and eventually, Kyungsoo and Nari were glued to the couch, making out. Narda and Chanyeol were the only ones using the karaoke machine. He was letting Narda pick all the songs and when she selected Sabor a Mi, he asked her to let him sing it to her. It was the same song they sang at Music Bank Mexico, and he currently knew the lyrics by heart. Narda sat down on one of the opposite couches, as she watched him sing for her.

As he finished the song, Narda clapped her hands, grinning with excitement.

"You know, a lot of guys pick this song when they want to serenade the woman they love." She informed him. It was the song her father said he sang to her mother the night before they got married. In Mexican culture, it was a very beloved song. "Its tradition that when I guy serenades a woman in Mexico, she has to throw a bucket of cold water on him. It means she liked it."

"I don't even know what the lyrics mean." He told her sheepishly.

"It says: we've enjoyed this love for so long, our souls came together just like this, that I've kept your taste, but taste of me also remains on you. If you ever deny my existence in your life, it would only suffice to hold you in my arms. I gave you so much life, that by force you now carry the taste of me. I don't claim to be your owner, I am nothing, I have no vanity. I give you all the good in my life. I'm so poor, what more can I give you? More than a thousand years may pass, many more. I don't know if there is love in the afterlife, but there just like here, on your lips you'll always have the taste of me." Though she was drunk, she was able to translate and recite the lyrics so fluidly. Chanyeol was surprised with her.

"That's beautiful." He told her, glad that he finally knew the meaning of the song he and the others sang when they visited Mexico.

There was a knock on the door that snapped them out of their conversation. "Fifteen minutes left on the rental of this room." The woman from the reception desk informed them.

Narda gasped. "How are we supposed to get home now?"

"Maybe we can pay for the whole night here." Chanyeol suggested.

Gesturing to the couple making out on the couch, Narda said, "It doesn't look like they'll be able to get home any time soon. And we can't drive in the state that we're in. Maybe someone can pick us up. Can you call Byun?"

He shook his head. "We don't need his help. I'll just pay for the rest of the night."

Chanyeol turned and left the room while Narda sat on the couch opposite Nari and Kyungsoo. It took nearly twenty minutes for Chanyeol to return, and when he opened the door, Narda was already asleep on the couch. Kyungsoo and Nari were sleeping side by side on the opposite one.

He entered the room and locked the door behind himself. He immediately laid down on the floor next to Narda and got his phone out, unable to sleep.

He went on instagram, where almost minutes after he left, Narda had uploaded a picture.

It was one of her and Nari from earlier that night. She had taken pictures with Kyungsoo and Chanyeol too, but she had promised them she wouldn't post them online. She didn't want their fans sending them hate comments.

♥ 92 likes

gutilozz: had a great time at the new karaoke bar in seoul, with my best friend @nari_stylist <3

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gutilozz tagged nari_stylist in her photo.

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a long ish chapter than the ones i've been writing for this story. thank you all so much for reading. the countdown begins now. there are about ten more updates before this story ends.

thank you all so much who have read and voted on this story.

i hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!

-clary