Nari had found the group a table by the window, and she got them each a chocolate croissant and a cup of hot cocoa, which one of the other workers happily made for them. She sat, slouched and uncaring, beside Chanyeol, who smiled at her warmly, and eyed her with complete love.

Finally, he turned to Sehun. “I’m so sorry. I haven’t introduced you two.” He offered a small chuckle. “Nari, this is Oh Sehun, one of my bandmates. Sehun, this is Park Nariko.” Sehun offered a smile, and Nari turned her head towards him.

This was the first time he got a good look at her, and he gasped quietly. She was… so young. She had thin eyebrows, which framed the top of her dark brown almond eyes. Her nose was small and turned up at the end, giving it a sort of pixie look, and she had incredibly soft features. Her smile was white and genuine, and threw Sehun. “It’s nice to meet you.” She said easily.

“You as well,” Sehun said, picking up his mug and taking a sip of his cocoa.

Chanyeol smiled. “You know, Nari is exactly one day younger than Sehun.”

Both Sehun and Nari’s eyes widened. “Really?” They both asked, and Chanyeol nodded.

“Sehun is April 12th, Nari is April 13th.” He said, smiling. “It’s ironic really.”

Nari nodded. “Are you going to come to dinner tonight?”

Chanyeol nodded. “I will, and I’ll ask the rest of the guys to come-”

“I’ll come.” Sehun answered flatly. It wasn’t loud, or too soft, but both Nari and Chanyeol looked to him in surprise. “I’m sure the others would love to join us.”

Kai held onto Ms. Sokolov’s waist the entire time the two ran. She kept telling him to let go, that she needed to go back to her students, but he wasn’t going to let her turn around and be harassed further because he’d tried to defend her. He was near the hotel anyways.

A loud crack filled the air, and had Kai not been holding her waist, Ms. Sokolov would have collapsed on the floor. She let out a cry, and slid to the side. “What?” Kai asked, coming to a stop and turning towards her.

“My heel!” She cried out. Her foot had slipped out of her heel, which lay on the ground beside her.

Kai bent and lifted the shoe. The heel had broken off. “Just take off the other.”

“I can’t run barefoot!” She hissed.

So Kai put one hand behind her knees and the other on her back and lifted. She screamed, swinging horizontally in his arms, and he started to jog towards the hotel. It was only a street away. She punched his shoulder, and he stared down at her, surprised. “What was that for?” He demanded.

“For getting me in this situation!” She answered  angrily. The way she said her words, the way the syllables sounded, Kai knew she wasn’t just some American or Canadian who had come to teach in the country. She was from somewhere else. “My grandmother told me you Koreans were crazy, but I should have believed her, because this is beyond insane! I dont even know you!”

Kai bit back a smile as they neared the hotel. He put her down just in front of the spinning door, but pressed himself to her back and moved her into the door. She broke from him when the door opened on the opposite side, but Kai had grabbed her wrist. The crowd was right behind them, already moving for the doors. The workers behind the front desk hurried to lock the doors, but they weren’t fast enough.

“Come on!” Kai hissed, tearing her across the lobby towards the elevator. He slammed his hand on the button, and the doors opened immediately. He threw her inside and slammed his hand on the button for the sixteenth floor. The doors closed just as a small group of fans made it towards them. Hands slipped in between the doors, but the doors were closing too quickly, and the hands pulled back.

Kai turned to her and opened his mouth, but her hand landed harshly on his cheek, throwing his head the opposite way. He immediately looked back to her, eyes wide and one hand on his now throbbing cheek. “How dare you touch me like that!” She hissed. “How could you think that was appropriate? I would have been just fine, sir, had you minded your own business-”

“My name is Kai.”

“I don’t care what your name is, you’re still an !” She screamed, and even in her rage, her beautiful eyes hit him like a brick. “I have never, ever-”

He laughed. “I don’t understand why you’re mad. Because I carried you, or because I put my arm around your waist?”

She threw her arms out around her in exasperation. “Both! You’re a heathen!”

“You’re going to be really pissed when you find out where I’m taking you then.”

“You aren’t taking me anywhere!” She shouted angrily.

Kai smirked. “So you’re going to run around outside in a soaked white shirt?” He asked, looking to her chest and then back to her face, crossing his arms over his chest. “Wouldn’t that be a sight?”

Her lips pursed and she turned away from him, staring at the doors of the elevator. With a sigh, she inched towards the reflective doors and began fixing her hair. Her eyes would flick towards Kai’s reflection, and he would smirk, at which time she would immediately look the other way.

Finally, having had enough of trying to just patch her bun, she pulled her hair from it’s clasp, allowing the dark brown and honey colored curls to tumble down her shoulders, stopping halfway down her back. She shook her head, allowing the curls to unravel themselves, and then she moved to pull her hair back again, but the band she’d been using snapped, at which point she gasped, and then groaned in annoyance.

“Your hair looks fine,” Kai offered, and she shot him a glare. “I mean, to tell you the truth, having your hair in a bun really makes you look severe,” He said, moving so he could see her face. She didn’t look happy, whatsoever. “This way you look young, approachable… beautiful,” He said breathily, moving the hair away from her face, using his fingers to tuck the hair behind her ear.

This earned him another hand. “Jesus!” He hissed. “What are you, some kind of professional?” He asked, looking in his reflection to make sure no marks had shown up. He was alright, at the point.

She shot a glare that could have killed in his direction and crossed her arms over her chest. The doors opened and Kai stood straight, but she didn’t move. “Aren’t you going to get out?”

“No,” She answered. “You are, and I’m going back down to the lobby.” She said flatly.

Kai sighed. “Come on. I’ll call you a cab,” He said, moving past her. At this point, she reached for the elevator buttons. “Yah!” Kai shouted, startling her into stopping. She stared at him, her eyes wide and doey. “Do you really want to go back down there and get trampled by those girls?”

“They’re my students.” She answered.

“Students or not, they would have tackled you to get near me, and a few attacked you. Now, they aren’t going to let you leave peacefully!” He said, grabbing her hand and pulling her from the elevator. “Come inside and let me call you a cab.”

She glared up at him. “I’m still going to have to go down to the lobby, Kai.”

He could feel his eyes widening. The way she said his name sounded like a full symphony hitting some magnificent crescendo. “I’ll have someone you,” He said, still holding her hand as he led her down the hall towards his shared hotel room.

Chanyeol stood first. “We’d better get back before the others get worried,” He said, leaning towards Nari and giving her a hug.

She looked up at him and frowned, so he pressed a kiss on her forehead. This didn’t change anything. “Do you really have to leave, Oppa?” She asked, her soft eyes landing on his.

He nodded. “We’ll see you tonight, I promise.” Nari nodded, but her frown didn’t disappear. “Thank you for the food, Nari.”

Sehun stood and wiped his mouth, and Nari turned and gave him a shocked look. “Oh Sehun! Sorry you couldn’t stay longer,” She offered, giving him a light smile. “It was nice to meet you.”

“You as well.” He said quietly, moving to Chanyeol’s side.

Chanyeol smiled and waved. “Bye Nari.” She waved back, and then the two turned and moved out of the bakery. Chanyeol sighed contently, a wide smile dawning his face, and he started down the street with Sehun at his side. “She’s great, huh?”

“Hyung, is Nari your girlfriend?”

Chanyeol stopped and looked at Sehun, a mixed look of shock and disgust gracing his features. “Are you insane?” He asked, shaking his head. Sehun nodded, confused. “Nari is my cousin! Oh my goodness, no! She grew up with me.”

“Oh. Did you live in the same house?” Chanyeol nodded. “That must have been cramped.”

“Not really.”

“You must have had a big house then. Your parents, her parents-”

Chanyeol laughed. “No, I don’t think you get it Sehun. Nari’s parents aren’t in the picture.” He said, shaking his head. “She was taken away from her family, and we took her in. She moved in with us when she was five, and never left.” He said, pressing the crosswalk button.

Sehun nodded. “I see.”

“Why did you ask?” Chanyeol asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Sehun shrugged. “I wasn’t sure. She called you Oppa a lot.” And she started at him with such admiration.

Chanyeol shook his head. “I’m older than her, Sehun. By quite a few years.” He smiled. “She’s great though. I love her a lot. I kinda wish she was my sister, like actually having the same parents. I mean, she’s pretty much my sister anyways.”

Sehun nodded, but kept silent. There was nothing else for him to say, really. Nari was incredibly nice, and her food was incredibly good. But he was afraid that if he continued, he would make it obvious that he was incredibly attracted to Chanyeol’s cousin.

Kai opened the door to his hotel room, and Corina peered over his shoulder. It wasn’t too small of a room. In fact, it was relatively big. He hadn’t let go of her hand, though, so when he started into the room, he brought her with him. “I’ve brought home a friend,” He said, and Corina was about to ask him who he was talking to.

She looked to the side to see a boy sitting on one of the beds in the room. He was small, incredibly frail looking, with large doey eyes that zeroed in on Corina, and he scowled. “What happened to your shirt?” He asked immediately.

“Some fans threw soda or something onto her.” Kai explained. “Uhm… this is my band mate, Dyo Kyungsoo.”

Kyungsoo stood and bowed his head. Corina followed his lead, and then reached towards him, offering her hand. “Corina Sokolov.” She said, smiling. He was much shorter than she, and looked up at her when she said this, a small smile pulling the corners of his lips. Whatever he had been watching on his computer continued to play. “Your movie,” She said, pointing to the screen when he released her hand.

He shrugged. “It’s fine. I’ll go to Suho’s room then.” Kai nodded and watched as Kyungsoo moved out of the room in silence.

Corina turned to Kai. “What was that about?” She asked.

“Your name is Corina?” He asked, ignoring her question entirely.

Corina stared at him for a moment. “Yes. Yes, my name is Corina.” She answered, shaking her head. “Now answer my question. What was that about? Why is he leaving? Did I offend him?”

Kai sighed. “It’s just the way things work. Typically, when I bring back a girl, Kyungsoo leaves the room. Even if this time is different, it’s pretty much a reflex for him.” He said, leaning against the desk of the room and grabbing an apple from the fruit basket that sat beside him. He tossed it from hand to hand, smirking. “What kind of teacher are you, Corina?”

“Ms. Sokolov, please,” She said, looking around the room. “And I don’t think it’s appropriate for us to make small talk. I have, after all, slapped you twice.” She said, looking to the phone for the room. “Would you mind calling me a cab, please.”

Kai looked her over. “Your clothes are ruined.” He said lightly. Corina looked down. He wasn’t wrong. Whatever liquid those girls had thrown on her had entirely soaked through the front of her shirt, jacket and her skirt. It looked like she’d missed while drinking black coffee. He moved off the desk and took a bite of his apple as he moved towards the dresser on the other side of the room. He opened the top drawer and grabbed a white tee and then closed the drawer. He then opened the next drawer and pulled out a pair of black bottoms. He tossed them towards her, then took the apple from his mouth. “Change into those.”

Corina let the clothes drop to the floor, and crossed her arms over her chest. “No.” She said flatly, and when he started towards her, she flinched back a bit.

He bent to pick the clothes up and walked past her, into the bathroom of the hotel room. Corina couldn’t see him for a moment, but when he reemerged he was empty handed. “Seriously,” He said, grabbing her by her waist and leading her towards the bathroom. “Change. You’ll look a little less out of place.” He said, pushing her into the bathroom and closing the door.

Corina spun around and grabbed the handle, but he was holding it on the other side, so she slammed her fist against the door. “Let me out, you creep!”

“If it makes you feel better, I’ll send you the dry cleaning bill.”

“How would that make me feel better!” She hissed, and she could hear him laughing on the other side of the door.