When it was 7pm, Nari and her friends found themselves sitting around a large dining room table speaking comfortable with her sister and her nephew. Andrew, Nari’s brother-in-law, had to work late that night and would not be joining them. Nari spoke only to her friends and her sister, ignoring her father and step-mother completely. 
When Mary spread all the dishes on the table, her sister complimented Mary on the aroma and said her cooking was improving significantly. Nari stayed quiet and watched each dish, deciding if she could eat them and if she could, how much. 
Right before they began to serve themselves, there was a ring throughout the house, signaling that someone was outside.
“That must be our other guests. They’re quite late,” Mary declared, heading for the front door. 
Nari looked around the table, noticing that there was room for a few more people, but she assumed that the chairs were only there to make the table look less bare. 
“Whoa, what smells so good?” someone said, loudly. From the sound of it, there seemed to be more than a couple of people. 
When they all entered and took their seats, Nari stared at them, confused. In front of her now sat her fellow members on 2D1N. 
“What- what are you guys doing here?” Nari asked, desperate for an explanation.
“I invited them,” Mary told her, smiling. “They seemed to enjoy the food so much last time, that I figured I’d invite them over for another meal.” 
Nari glanced around, smiling politely at each of the members. All of them were there except for TaeHyun, JoonYoung and JooHyuk. 
Getting up from her seat, Nari excused herself to go get some fresh air, away from both the new visitors and the numerous food choices.

Once outside, she paced on the lawn and heard the front gate open.  She automatically noticed the tall man entering.
“Oppa,” Nari whispered. 
The man turned towards her and remained standing, still. “Nari-ah.”
Nari walked cautiously over to JooHyuk and asked, “You were invited too, huh?”
He nodded and continued to stare at her, unsure of what to do. 
“You can go inside. I’m just getting some fresh air.”
With that, JooHyuk continued his way towards the house. 
“Enjoy the food,” Nari called after him. 
JooHyuk’s footsteps stopped. “Are you going to eat anything?” 
Nari turned towards him. She thought, she might as well get it over with. She walked up to him and held his hand. She averted her gaze to look at him. 
“Let’s go,” she said, making a move forward. However, she was pulled back and now stood directly in front of JooHyuk.
With his right hand, he held her face. Instinctively, Nari leaned into it, basking in the familiar feeling of comfort. 
“Does it have to be like this?” JooHyuk asked. “I don’t know if I can control myself when you’re around.”
Nari looked down and considered his question. “For now, we’ll have to try, at least.” 
Behind them, the front door opened and Nari’s father came out. He stopped short, upon seeing the two’s closeness. “Nari-ah, come inside. It’s time to eat.”
JooHyuk dropped his hand from her face and greeted her father. 
“Let’s go, for real this time,” JooHyuk told her, nudging her towards the house. 

At the dinner table, JooHyuk ate as much as he wanted, but he always kept his eyes on Nari and her eating habits. He watched as Nari inspected each dish and served herself small amounts. Even when her plate had food, she pushed around the food with her chopsticks, making small talk with her sister and her friend, Meri, who sat beside her. While everyone else was stuffing their faces, Nari sipped on numerous glasses of water. He wondered what her problem with food could be, and made a mental note to ask her about it another time. 
After most of the food was consumed, the 2D1N members lay back in their chairs, clutching their stomachs, full to the brim with food. 
While the YongKi members helped Mary carry the dirty dishes to the kitchen, Nari remained in her seat, sitting perfectly upright. With the seat next to her free, at last, JooHyuk moved to join her. Nari seemed too caught up in her thoughts to notice him. She stared straight ahead, at where her plate just was. 
“Nari-ah,” JooHyuk whispered, trying to get a reaction from her, but she didn’t stir. He poked her shoulder, and she jumped. She turned to look at him, an empty look in her eyes. 
“Oh, sorry, Oppa,” she said, quietly. 
“Could I ask you something, that  may seem a little personal?”
Nari nodded, wondering what he could possibly have to ask her in private.
“Well, I was watching you, and you never really eat anything. I was wondering, why is that?” 
Nari’s eyes widened once she heard the topic of food. She did not want to get into this topic with him right now. The day started so well, with her song’s success and now JooHyuk wanted to delve into the darker areas of her life. She wondered how she could change the topic, but any attempts would make it obvious that she was hiding something from him. She glanced around, hoping that someone would come up and interrupt the conversation. However, she was having terrible luck that night, or so she thought. 
Her father walked up to her and asked to speak with her in private. JooHyuk nodded and moved to join his dongsaengs in the living room. 
Nari followed her father to the front of the house, where she ran into JooHyuk before. 
“Nari-ah,” he spoke, with a serious look on his face. “Please tell me that there is nothing romantic going on between you and that man,” he continued, clearly referring to JooHyuk. 
Nari’s first instinct was to deny his accusation, but then her smirky side came to the forefront. “And what if there is?” she challenged.
Her father breathed deeply, obviously getting more angry by the minute. 
“Would it be so bad if there was?”
“Nari-ah, please, don’t get involved in a relationship like that.” Her father looked at her directly in her eyes. Although he was angry, she sensed his pleading. “You really shouldn’t be with someone so much older than you. It gives the wrong impression.”
Nari chuckled, amazed at how hypocritical he was being. She, herself, was getting angrier as well. She wanted this conversation to end, quickly. “That’s funny,” she said, slightly glaring at him. “Do you think that’s what Mary’s father told her before she left home?”
Her father’s face fell, shocked that his daughter would bring that up. He knew Nari had not entirely accepted the idea of his new marriage, but he never thought that she would challenge him so bluntly. He looked at her, speechless. 
Nari knew the conversation was over; she had won. She left her father standing there and headed back into the house. She looked enraged and when Laura and Meri saw her, they stood up, worried. 
“Okay, we’ve had dinner. I think it’s time to go now,” Nari told the girls. Not wanting to question their leader, the girls stood up and headed to put on their shoes. Nari said goodbye to the 2D1N members and her sister, thanking Mary lastly for dinner as best as she could. JooHyuk looked at her, ready to go after her. 
Once the YongKi members left the house, and piled into their van, Nari headed to the driver’s side. She got in and started the engine, ready to leave the neighborhood as quickly as she could. However, before she could leave, there was a knock on the window. 
JooHyuk stood outside, looking very concerned
“Nari-ah,” he said when she put the door glass down. “You really shouldn’t drive in this state.”
“I’m fine,” she responded, behind clenched teeth.
“No, you’re not. Let me drive, please.”
Nari, still upset, chuckled to herself. She didn’t want to be rude to JooHyuk, but she really needed to be alone right now. “You can’t protect me all the time, Oppa.” 
JooHyuk was shocked. He hadn’t anticipated that kind of reaction. He took a step back and watched her, hurt. Nari pulled the car onto the road and drove off into the night.
“You shouldn’t have told him that, Unnie,” Meri said from the backseat. 
“Yeah, he didn’t deserve that,” Momo chimed in. 
“It doesn’t matter. None of this matters, don’t you see? We came here for one reason and that was to make music and save up money for whatever we want to do later on. All of this- these relationships-, will amount to nothing. So, it makes no sense trying to salvage something that’s doomed from the beginning.” Nari was ranting and the girls knew that when she started, it was best to keep quiet and let her be. “I mean, first he watches me eat and then confronts me about it?” Nari went on. “So what if I don’t eat as much as they do? We have idol images to uphold! We can’t just eat whatever we want!”
The girls looked at each other and Laura finally spoke up, “but, Nari-ah, you were like that before we came to Korea.”
“Yeah, but why does he care so much?” That was the last thing she said till they reached their apartment. 

Inside, the girls watched Nari carefully, but breathed sighs of relief as she shut her door for the night.
They had seen Nari get upset and rant, but never about her eating habits. They knew this was getting out of hand, and JooHyuk deserved an explanation before things got worse.
Right there and then, the girls decided to call him and tell him the truth, as to why Nari eats the way she does. They just hoped that he wouldn’t give up on Nari anytime soon.