Nothing as usual. Her mind was void. The more she thought the further away her thoughts got. Maybe if she shook her head something would fall out eventually?

Nari sat at her desk mindlessly, all her pages blank, swinging her head around and around in circles, her eyes fixed on Friday the 15th.

“Nari! Come help set out the tables!” her mother called.

Nari’s brain clicked and she automatically stood up and ran down the stairs. She almost fell onto her face as she ran down, spotting the usual boys setting up the tables. Her abrupt stop gave her time to take a deep breath before entering, trying her best to appear calm. She grabbed some cutlery from the basket and placed herself on the furthest table away from the three boys.

Everything seemed to be going smoother than possible for Nari, with no obvious mistakes leading her to spiral into a mental breakdown, when Sehun walked into the room. He waltzed over to Nari with a bright smile but all it did was ruin her already mediocre mood.

“Why are you here?!” she whisper-shouted.

Sehun chuckled as he grabbed some cutlery from the basket.

“To help you. I thought we could go to the arcade once you were done,” he suggested, nudging her shoulder.

Nari sighed. “You know you only attract attention when you come here.”

She checked over her shoulder at Yixing, Yifan and Minseok and, sure enough, they were looking on with eavesdropping eyes. Sehun placed a fork and knife next to a plate.

“Are you saying I’m attractive?”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Sehun. You know I prefer the least number of eyes on me at one time.”

Nari nodded towards the wide-eared boys subtly, causing Sehun to chuckle once more.

He came closer to her ear, “What do you think they think we’re talking about?”

Shivers sprawled uneasily through Nari’s head from the tickling in her ears. She shoved him away lightly.

“Nothing of importance.”

Sehun stepped back with his mouth wide open and his hand clutching his chest. She was about to hit him when her eyes caught three bodies approaching them eagerly.

“We’ve been seeing you a lot these days,” Yifan started, eyeing Sehun.

Sehun’s face went blank and expressionless, “That would make sense since I’m Nari’s friend.”

“Really? Doesn’t look like it…” Yixing chuckled.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Sehun replied.

Nari nudged him slightly with her arm. He looked down at her and she shook her head but he didn’t seem to understand.

“Why are you here anyway?” Sehun asked.

“Is it so bad to feel a little protective over our boss’ daughter?” Minseok said.

Sehun just glared in response, meanwhile Nari constantly nudging him to stop. It was bad enough he had come and brought their attention towards her but she couldn’t stand it when they asked questions. Luckily enough for her, someone always seemed to understand.

“Nari, if you have plans with your friend we can finish up here,” Junmyeon offered as he walked in from the kitchen with Luhan.

Her whole body relaxed, smiling softly at him in gratitude. Junmyeon always had perfect timing.

She grabbed Sehun’s arm and swiftly dragged him out of the room after bowing to the boys. As they were leaving, she could hear the mumbles and complaints of the other three. We had more to ask, Junmyeon! Isn’t he her boyfriend? Don’t we need to approve of him first? She knew there would be a quiz on it when she got home, but in that moment, she just wanted to get out of there.

“Have fun on your date!” all three of them called out.

They always need the last word… Nari thought.

Sehun was pulled all the way out to the entrance of the restaurant which was when Nari finally dropped his arm.

“Where are we going then?” Nari asked.

“Am I a tool now?” he crossed his arms with a disapproving look.

“What else would you be?”

Nari giggled as he stared at her in disbelief, moving to clutch his chest once more.

“Come on, Sehun! Just tell me where we are going.”

He eyed her up and down, “Follow me.”

Sehun grabbed Nari’s hand and started on his way down the street. She sped up her steps to match his, her eyes naturally drifting to their clasped hands. Bricks piled on her chest as she looked up at him, surprised to see that his nose was twitching again. It had been awhile since it last happened, and she had almost forgotten it did, but seeing it again made her that much more curious about it.

However, no matter how hard she stared, his eyes kept themselves straight ahead and his feet kept themselves with purpose. So, her hand kept itself shakily in place and her feet kept themselves following diligently.

Sehun led them down the main road, not speaking a word as he turned off down a side road, making more detours and changes of direction. His steps sped gradually over time, faster and faster as they moved further and further away from Nari’s family’s restaurant. He was almost jogging as they passed the third convenience store she’d seen and it was getting increasingly hard for Nari’s short legs to keep up with Sehun’s long ones. They turned another corner. And then soon after another came and the stableness of Nari’s tiny feet lost itself as her hand slipped out of Sehun’s and her knees crumbled to the ground. Her palms broke her fall, hitting the pavement roughly. Sehun immediately turned around at the loss of her warmth, eyes bursting out of their sockets as he knelt beside her.

“Are you okay, Nari?” he asked frantically.

She sat up on her knees, wincing at her scraped palms. He grasped her hands and examined her palms, forehead creased.

“I’m so sorry, Nari. I wasn’t thinking.” Sehun looked up at her.

But looking into his eyes in that moment made everything flashback. Instead of the dark, handsome guy she had come used to in his teenage years, her eyes only saw the cute, dorky boy she had met ten years ago. He smiled brightly at her, eyes scrunching together. His dishevelled mop of hair swayed recklessly in the wind as he held his hand out to her, mouthing a word that must have been ‘hello’. Her insides tingled as he continued to talk cheerfully.

“N