+ twelve

-

Dinner ended within the hour and the boys had eaten more than they originally planned. They had finished about half of the meat and tortillas available in the large containers. As Nari and Kyungsoo cleared the table together, she made sure to pack the left overs in an organized way and placed them in the lounge refrigerator for the boys to eat the next day. Of all people, Baekhyun had taken it upon himself to claim most of the leftover food as his own to eat the following day for dinner.

She folded up the cart and Kyungsoo helped her get it across the street to her apartment. Truthfully, she didn't need any help with it, but she did want his company.

They arrived at her door within minutes and he heaved a sigh of content. "I'm so full, I can barely walk." He said to her with a chuckle, his lips making that signature heart shape more prominent, and he placed a hand on his stomach with exaggeration. He felt full--but he couldn't say he regretted eating all that food. It was his first time eating tacos and he had thoroughly enjoyed them.

Nari nodded in agreement, her back pressed up against the wall in the hallway. "Me too."

There was a short silence between them before he blurted out a shy offer, "Do you want to go watch a movie with me tonight, jagi?" He asked her, adding after a moment, "There aren't a lot of people at the shopping center at this time, so no one will see us." But Nari already knew that. It had been the same when they visited the movie theater in Hunan. Because of his contract and the rules that were put in place at SM, they couldn't go out together in public. Whenever they did go out, it was in the middle of the night when no one could see them. Always hiding from the watchful eyes of the fans and the agency. Even then, they sometimes had some of the members tag along just to avoid any suspicion.

She shook her head and crinkled up her nose as she prepared herself to decline the offer. "Not tonight, Soo oppa. I have to call my friend and ask her to come back to the apartment. She told me she had nowhere to go. What if she's out there sleeping on a park bench?" Nari didn't know that before talking to her, Chanyeol had talked to Narda and suggested a hotel for her to stay in.

He sighed, recalling when he had seen Narda. "Wasn't she that girl Baekhyun was carrying all over the dorm building?"

It was the first time he had ever mentioned to Nari that he had seen Narda before--outside of her apartment. When he first saw her in the dorm building with Baekhyun, he had easily recognized her from Nari's apartment--the foreign girl from across the street. She was difficult to miss because she was so different and stood out too much. The second time he had seen her was on the television in the hotel room in Hunan, when they were watching the televised contest where Narda had won a prize.

Nari looked back at the boy standing in front of her with wide eyes. "You met her too? Did she harass you?"

He shook his head in response to her second question, then provided his response to the first with honesty. "I saw her once with Baekhyun when I was coming back from your place. When I saw her, I thought she would recognize me from your apartment, but she didn't. Then I thought she was there because Baekhyun was starting to date someone and brought a girl home to meet the guys. She didn't look like she was harassing anyone really and she didn't look like a fan either--since she wasn't screaming at the top of her lungs or crying inconsolably. She seemed perfectly innocent to me."

Nari brought her hands to her face in frustration. "She's met all of you and she didn't even tell me. This is why I didn't want anyone in my apartment, but I needed the extra money."

"I told you I could help with that." He reminded her.

But she gave a shake of her head. "And I told you I wouldn't accept."

Returning to the topic of the foreign girl who had been kicked out of Nari's apartment just hours earlier, Kyungsoo said, "Well, like I said. She looked harmless to me, and she acted so normal around us. Like she didn't even know who we were."

"I guess I'll just ask her to tone it down and to keep me out of it since the only one who really complained about her was Byun oppa. I don't think she even knows that I know you boys and I'd like to keep it that way for now." Nari sighed. She didn't want to go through the trouble of finding another flat mate, not when Narda had been such a good one other than the fact that she had been stalking EXO. But she had been so good about it that it had taken Nari a whole month to find out about it, and the only reason she even found out was when Baekhyun told her. "She paid her rent on time, she helps with the chores without complaining, she cooks like a pro, and all that aside she was a good friend to me. She respected our privacy, Soo. Do you see my dilemma? I don't know what to do." She said, thinking back to all the times Narda would avoid being around Nari when she was busy with her guest. That was what she had most liked about her flat mate.

"Call your friend and we'll go pick her up, wherever she is." He suggested to her.

Narda had done nothing to bother him, and Nari had been right. She was very good about giving them their privacy.

With a sigh, Nari got her phone out and dialed Narda's number.

-

Nari called Narda that night, but got no answer. It wasn't too late at night, but Nari knew already that Narda got into bed early on week nights because of her teaching job. Kyungsoo left Nari at her apartment and the hair stylist left her friend a text message, asking her to call back as soon as she could so that they could talk.

It wasn't until the next day in the afternoon that Nari heard from Narda again. The foreigner did call back, but she sounded hesitant, almost like she expected Nari to treat her as coldly as she had the previous afternoon. When she heard that Nari wanted to talk to her in person, she replied with a sigh that they would meet at Nari's apartment. The foreigner arrived quicker than Nari expected. But she didn't know that Narda was staying in a hotel only five streets away, per the suggestion of Chanyeol.

There was a knock on the door--Narda no longer had her keys to the apartment--and Nari answered it with a bit of nervousness. She knew there was a possibility Narda wouldn't want to return.

"You said you wanted to talk to me." Narda started with a sigh that made its way out of her mouth, stepping into the apartment and standing by the doorway as though it were an unfamiliar place. But she had been unwelcome there when she left.

Nari nodded and gestured to one of the couches, inviting her to sit down. When Narda did, Nari followed and made herself comfortable before speaking. "Narda, I just want to apologize for the way I treated you yesterday. I was very rude and that's really not me. I was just very upset because this was just the kind of thing I wanted to avoid-"

Narda shook her head and Nari paused in her explanation and apology, giving her the opportunity to speak. "You don't have to apologize, Nari." Narda assured her with barely a hint of a smile to show there were no hard feelings between them. "I understand why you did it and I'm not mad about it or anything. You had your rules and I broke them. Besides, its your apartment and you get to decide who your flat mate is."

"But you've been such a great flat mate." Nari informed her. There was a few second pause before the hair stylist added, "And you've been an even better friend to me. Friends don't treat friends like that. I should have been more understanding."

"Nari." Narda bit down on her lip. "Please stop apologizing for something that wasn't your fault. I decided to do all of those things on my own."

"What I'm really trying to say is that I want you to come back." Nari blurted, finally getting the words out. This took Narda by surprise because when she first met Nari, she had seen her as a person who really stuck to her own rules. But it seemed that she and Narda had really connected as friends and both really understood each other. It was what had convinced Nari to ask her to come back. Her tone taking a rather serious turn again, for a brief moment, she warned, "But this would be the last chance. Its okay if you like EXO and all, but I don't want to be involved in any of it. What you do on your free time that has to do with them, is your business. I don't want them coming here to complain about you again, please."

As Nari's words registered in the foreign girl's mind, she thought that maybe Nari didn't like EXO. Perhaps it was the reason she wanted nothing to do with them. She didn't want any trouble.

A wide smile formed on Narda's lips and she shot up from her seat on the couch. She cut the distance between herself and Nari, pulling her into something of a bone crushing hug. "Thank you, Nari. You are truly an amazing friend that I've been blessed with."

Nari hugged her back, saying in a teasing way, "And you're really annoying. Now go get your things and bring them here before I change my mind."

With a nod of her head, Narda raced out of the apartment and left the building. As though he had been watching for her the entire time, Chanyeol saw her leave the building from across the street and called out to her. "Hey, little liar!" He yelled over the roaring of vehicles on the street and people who passed them by to get her attention. His accent was thick and foreign as he tried to speak her language.

His deep voice immediately caught her attention, and she smiled at him as he crossed the street to meet up with her.

"Its usted, back again." She grinned at him, happier than she had been in days. She could barely contain her smile now that she would be allowed back at Nari's apartment. It seemed that just when things had gotten cloudy for her, the sun started shining again. She didn't yet know--or suspect--that she had none other than Chanyeol to thank for that. She hadn't even questioned--or seemed to realize--that he had been watching for her from the other side of the street on both occasions. Then again, she never would have thought it a possibility that Chanyeol of EXO would be looking out for her.

For a moment, he eyed her confused when he noticed what she was wearing. A blue and green plaid uniform outfit with a navy blue sweater over it. She had rushed out of the hotel so fast to meet with Nari that she hadn't even changed out of her work uniform. Gesturing to her outfit, he asked her in English, "Why are you dressed like a school girl? I didn't know you were into that." Though he personally didn't mind. He thought it suited her well, and made her look like an innocent little girl.

Narda looked down at her clothes and tugged down on the skirt part of her dress subconsciously. "Its my work uniform." She replied with a nervous smile. He then remembered that she had mentioned during the trivia segment that she worked at Seoul Foreign School.

"So you're a sasaeng and a teacher? You look more like a student rather than a teacher though." He pointed out in a teasing way, shooting her a wink.

She blew him a raspberry, and proceeded to tell a story. "Everyone thinks I'm a student even though I look totally foreign. The other day a police officer actually stopped me when I was on my way back to the school after lunch and asked me: shouldn't you be at school? I didn't understand what he meant at first, so I told him that was exactly where I was going. He almost arrested me because he thought I was ditching class until I showed him my staff identification from the school. I was so scared." She confessed with a laugh, bringing her hands to her chest dramatically. It had been frightening for her at the time, but as she thought back on it now, it had been rather amusing.

Chanyeol couldn't help but laugh along with her.

"So what happened with your housing situation? Did you solve that already?" He wondered, trying to sound casual. As though he hadn't been the one to talk to Nari and convince her to let Narda back. But he didn't want her to know that.

Her smiled seemed to grow even bigger then. "My friend is letting me move back in. I was just going back to the hotel--which you suggested, thank you by the way--to get my things."

"I'm glad to hear that." He said with a nod and a smile on his face. She was just about to turn and walk away when he shot her an offer, "I can help you get your things if you want, so you won't have to make several trips back and forth."

Narda thought about it for a moment and shook her head. "I can't accept the offer, usted. How can I let Chanyeol of EXO--my favorite kpop group--help me carry my things back to my apartment? Your fangirls would eat me alive if they found out." She teased at the last thing she said to him. Though she wasn't entirely lying. For one, they would kill her because they wouldn't want their bias communicating with anyone from the opposite sex. And then there was the fact that she would be verbally murdered for making him carry heavy things.

She was surprised she wasn't the social pariah on the internet already for proclaiming herself Byun Baekhyun's biggest fan. Then again, perhaps they just hadn't found her social media accounts.

He dismissed her words with a wave of his hands. "Fans will do what they want, and they flip out about everything. Once, before people knew I had a sister, fangirls harassed her on social media because they thought she was my girlfriend. But she survived, and you will too."

"I'm not your sister." Narda pointed out.

"Yeah." He agreed with a shrug of his shoulders. "But the point I wanted to make was that everybody talks."

Narda sighed. "That's true."

Taking a few steps ahead of her down the street, he stopped after a moment and gestured for her to follow. "Come on. I'll help you get your things back in your apartment and then I'll invite you to dinner since we did eat all the food you made yesterday."

-

update for this one because im celebrating that replacement reached 2k reads! im going to try to update "no you girls" as well ^.^ just as a celebration like i said. all stories updated on the same day. at the top is a pic of narda in her work uniform.

school tomorrow tho. kill me D:

have a nice week everyone!

-clary xx