Nari moved out of the bathroom, Corina in tow, and made her way back towards the kitchen. As she walked, she noted that Chanyeol and his friends, including Kai, were back at their table and were silent, all aside from Tao. Tao was talking animatedly to Jae-Hyun.

She smiled to herself and walked into the kitchen. Employees weren’t really supposed to get too friendly with customers, but Jae-Hyun didn’t have many friends, and she didn’t talk to many people, so Nari was happy she was openly talking to anyone.

Yumei was standing by the sink of the kitchen, eyes wide. “I cannot believe that happened! Who does she think she is, slapping Kai from EXO?”

Nari frowned. “Yumei, he’s been bothering her for a bit now. From what I hear, he almost cost her her job. That isn’t okay, regardless of who he is.” Yumei opened to argue with the statement, but Nari just shook her head and moved towards the stove.

For the duration of the night, she bustled around the kitchen, making dish after dish, seasoning plates that the others couldn’t quite perfect, and listening for Jae-Hyun to return with EXO’s orders.

It was Yumei’s turn to close, so at about eight, Nari took off her apron and turned to Yumei. “Have a nice night, okay?” She said, placing a hand on her friend’s shoulder and moving towards the doors of the kitchen. On her way out, everyone waved and said goodbye to her, and Jae-Hyun looped arms with her, following her towards the door. “Do you need a ride home?”

“I’ll be alright. I’ll just get a cab.”

Nari frowned. “Those are expensive. Let me drive you.”

“Nari!” Chanyeol’s voice called, and Nari looked to the side long enough for Jae-Hyun to slip away. He smiled at Nari and hurried towards her, his friends in tow. “Hey! Dinner was incredible!”

“I’m impressed. Your cousin is skilled.” Kyungsoo added, bowing his head at Nari and smiling slightly, though the smile made Nari feel a little uncomfortable.

Chanyeol nodded. “Mom and Dad would be so proud of you. They tell me they come by often anyways.” Nari nodded. “We’re on our way out, but I want to see you again. After all, our dorm isn’t all too far off from here.”

Nari smiled. “I’ll work out some time and come down to see you.”

Chanyeol nodded again, turning towards his group of friends. Tao moved forward first. “Thank you so much for the food, Nari. It really was incredible.”

Nari smiled. “Thank you for being so caring towards Jae-Hyun.” Tao’s face pinked a bit. “I noticed you two talking. Jae-Hyun seemed to be having a good time.”

Tao smiled awkwardly. “Yeah, he’s a pretty cool guy.”

Nari’s jaw dropped, and she moved to correct him, but one of the other members, Suho, reached towards her, shaking her hand. “It was a pleasure to meet you and to taste your incredible menu.” He smiled genuinely at her. “I am definitely going to come here regularly.”

Chanyeol’s other friends laughed, and Nari said her goodbyes, entirely exhausted, and hurried for the door. Jae-Hyun had already disappeared and Nari wasn’t entirely in the mood to track her down.

But Corina stood a few feet away, with the friend she’d brought to dinner with her. She looked a little annoyed, and her friend was rambling on beside her, a phone pressed to his cheek. Nari inched towards him. “Boyfriend?” She asked quietly, pointing to her friend.

Corina laughed. “Dear god no. Roommate.” She answered, turning towards Nari. “And how about you?” She asked, pointing towards the car that had pulled up, which EXO was walking towards. Her finger landed in the direction where Chanyeol stood. “Boyfriend?”

“Cousin,” Nari answered. “His parents raised me so he’s pretty much my brother.” She nodded her head. “I’d say I’ll introduce you, but you probably already know him.” She laughed at her own joke.

Corina clearly found this funny as well. She shook her head. “Briefly. We’ve met briefly during my kidnapping.” She sighed and Nari turned towards the car. Kai had clearly spotted her, as his eyes were locked in their direction, and he was unmoving. Suho saw this and grabbed his shoulders immediately, steering him towards the car.

Nari turned back to Corina and offered another smile. “You should tell me about that some time.” Corina smirked and shook her head. “Tell you what,” She said, turning and making sure her cousin’s car was already driving away. “Let’s go out. We can go get a drink, or go do karaoke or something.”

Corina looked to her roommate, who was laughing hard about whoever he was talking to, and she nodded. “I’m so in.” She said, walking towards Nari. “What’s the plan then?”

Corina wasn’t sure how she was feeling about the club that she and Nari had found, but she wanted to be out of the apartment, so she didn’t have to relive everything with Min Young, and she didn’t really have anywhere else to go aside from the apartment.

She’d found herself in the middle of the dance floor, winning over more attention than she had intended to. Nari wasn’t too far away, sitting at the small table the two had found, which was now occupied by two boys who was smiling in an overly sincere way, but Nari was bold faced, and friendly about not wanting them around her.

Corina, whose feet were killing her from dancing in heels, started back towards Nari, but a hand caught her arm. She turned, surprised, and noticed that one of her students was standing in front of her. “What are you doing here? This is a bar!” She hissed.

The girl shrugged her shoulders. “Are you dating Kai Oppa?” She asked immediately, and Corina spun around, forcing her way back towards Nari. Nari looked up at her, clearly surprised by her sudden presence, and Corina shook her head. “We need to leave. We need to leave now,” She said, her eyes landing on another one of her students.

Were they following her? Was she being delusional? What the hell was going on!

Nari didn’t question her. She leapt up and started towards the door, Corina in tow behind her. They broke out of the club, and Nari turned to Corina. “What’s going on?” She asked.

Corina shook her head, starting towards Nari’s car. “A few of my students were in the club. They all know what happened. They’re all aware about the Kai incident and asked me about it just now.”

Nari’s face contorted into a disgusted look and she opened to speak, but Corina’s phone rang and Nari said nothing as Corina reached for it. The number displayed on the screen was the board of education. Corina was in for it.

She answered. An automated voice began playing. “Hello, Corina. A recent report of actions has been reported to the Board of Education, and you are in line for a hearing. Please contact your supervisor to learn more about your hearing. Press one to listen to this message again.”

Corina’s face fell, and Nari reached towards her. “What happened?”

“I-” She shook her head. “I just got a call from the board of education. There’s going to be some kind of hearing.” She slid the phone into her pocket and covered her face with her hands and angled her face up at the sky. “I am going to kill Kai.”

Nari reached forward. “Give me your phone,” She demanded. Corina did, and Nari dialed her own number. “I’m putting my number in your phone. You are going to call me and tell me everything that happens. I will work some magic, make sure you aren’t held accountable, and you wont have to worry about it, okay?”

Corina shook her head. “You don’t have to worry about it.”

“I am worried about it. I don’t want Kai to be the reason you lose your job. He isn’t worth that.” She said, smiling. “From what I’ve seen, after all.”

Corina shrugged. “He was polite enough, after everything he did to piss me off.”

Nari raised an eyebrow and smirked. “He’s cute huh?”

Corina’s jaw dropped. “Ew no! He’s a weirdo who is self centered, arrogant and-”

“And cute.” Nari winked. “It’s okay you can just say it.”