Chapter 4

“I’m Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun.”

Nari froze as she looked at his hand, not knowing if she should introduce herself. If she introduced herself then it would be easier for him to taunt him for her careless words and she did not feel like being ridiculed. But she was too polite to actually follow through with ignoring his greeting so she mustered up what courage she had left and took his hand.

“Kwon Nari,” she gave her signature smile as she stood up properly and looked him in the eyes.

They were still glimmering with mischief as he continued to smirk at her. Nari was really starting to hate his smirk even though it’s been less than five minutes since they started talking to each other. He just exuded confidence, and not in the good way, that radiated from where he was standing.

“Nari,” he repeated after her introduction. “So what brings you to Rome?”

“What makes you think I’m new around here?” she didn’t know where her smart mouth came from.

He chuckled before pointing with his eyes at the piece of paper that was still on the table next to an empty tray where her pizza once was. Nari looked over and saw the map she got from the hotel and proceeded to cringe with embarrassment.

Baekhyun two, Nari zero.

“Are you here alone? Trip with family? Friends? A loved one?” Baekhyun asked as he put his hands through the pocket of his white hoodie. His head leaned to the side and he stared at Nari with a slight pout on his lips.

Nari used her right hand to grab onto her ring finger, ready to show off her engagement and wedding bands so that he would finally leave her alone. However, she found her ring finger bare. She panicked for a moment before realizing had she had packed her rings away in her luggage before going through TSA. Although she did unpack her things once they got to the hotel, she forgot to actually open her jewelry box and fish the rings out.

“I’m just exploring the city by myself,” Nari didn’t know why she didn’t mention Kyungsoo as the words came out of . Technically she wasn’t lying as Kyungsoo didn’t want to accompany her meaning she would be going around alone.

Baekhyun nodded as he stared at her for a while, pout turning into that smirk that she was starting to really hate. “Well since you are obviously new around here, how about I be your tour guide for the day?”

Nari scoffed, something that she rarely did in front of a person. Grabbing her map and camera and making sure her purse was securely fastened, she said, “I think I’ll do fine on my own.”

She knelt down and petted Milo one last time before standing up and slightly bowing to Baekhyun. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I should start my da—hey!”

Baekhyun had stolen her map and camera right from her hands. He used the camera strap to hang the camera around his neck before opening the map and gazing at it intensely. “Where should we go first... ahh! I know!”

“Come back!” Nari yelled as she tried to keep up with Baekhyun, who was already heading down the street with his dog.

Turns out Baekhyun wasn’t planning to walk to a near attraction, but instead went to a local park. Milo apparently wasn’t his dog, but his landlord’s dog and needed to give him back before he could continue to torture her. Nari looked out of place as she shyly stood a few feet away from them, with the two conversing and occasionally looking at her. Finally, the landlord hooked a leash onto Milo’s collar and proceeded in the opposite direction from where she was standing.

“It’d be hard to travel with a dog, don’t you think?” Baekhyun said as he approached her. Without any warning, he grabbed her wrist and dragged her towards the street. “Let’s go!”

Nari couldn’t believe this guy’s boldness. They just met and he was already trying to man handle her. “How about you let me go?! And give me back my things!”

Baekhyun didn’t hear any of it, or chose not to, as he continued to pull her until they reached the side walk where he decided to hail a taxi. Making sure Nari was in the taxi before he got in, he told the driver, “St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City!”

“Eh?? That’s so far!” Nari said as she stole the map from him. She was worried that the petty cash she brought wasn’t enough and didn’t know if they took the credit card she brought with her.

Again Baekhyun decided to ignore her protests as he rolled his window down and slightly stuck his head out. “You’ll never forget this day, that I promise you Kwon Nari!”

After nearly a hour and a very expensive bill, which Baekhyun insisted he would pay for, they arrived at what was probably the most breath-taking building she had ever seen in her life. Being from a construction company, Nari had seen her share of beautiful buildings that were both classic and modern, but nothing as grand as the place before her.

“Welcome to St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest church in the world!” Baekhyun said beside her, smiling at the girl before him who could not keep closed.

Nari had learned about Italian architecture and the renaissance period during her time at university and had seen pictures of their structures but never did she realize how grand they would be in person. The renaissance period was actually her favorite period of architecture to learn about because she believed everything they built came from the soul and not the mind. Even from where she stood at St. Peter’s Square, shivers ran down her spine at the beauty before her. There were over one hundred statues on the of the pillars and two elegant fountains on either side of the square. Hundreds of people were walking around, trying to get a better view just like Nari.

She heard a click from beside her and looked over at Baekhyun, who was lowering her camera from eye level. “I’m surprised you even realized I was next to you with your dumbfounded look. A fan of the architecture?”

“You can say that,” Nari didn’t have to tell him that it was actually one of her majors and that she was fascinated by the renaissance period in particular.

“I’ll be in charge of the photos today,” Baekhyun announced as he brought the camera back up to his eye level. “You should be in front of the camera, not behind. It is your first time after all. And I must say, I do take pretty great photos since it’s been long-time hobby of mine.”

Nari could only nod in agreement and she mindlessly walked towards the center of the square, earning a chuckle from Baekhyun. After a couple of moments, she heard someone call her name and looked behind her to see that Baekhyun still stood in the same spot as before. “Smile for the camera!”

Nari couldn’t help but laugh as she turned her body and stood straight, her signature smile plastered on her face. “You look too stiff, pabo!” Baekhyun .

“Yah! I’m not stupid! And how else am I supposed to take a photo?” Nari didn’t think the way she stood was wrong.

“Jump for joy, make a peace sign, do something!”

“This guy,“ she mumbled to herself. With hesitation, she slowly raised her right hand, making a peace sign. “L-like this?” She questioned through her smile.

“Wow! Gorgeous, amazing, beautiful, exquisite!” Baekhyun kept yelling random words in English as he took multiple photos.

Nari’s cheeks felt hot as she saw nearby people look amusingly at the pair of them. “Yah Baekhyun, shut up!” She said through gritted teeth.

It went on like that for the rest of their time at the church, although Baekhyun did calm down once they were inside the church out of respect. Nari would continue to be floored by the intricate details from wall to wall and was rendered speechless every time she looked up to the ceilings. She felt like she was somehow in heaven, even if she didn’t hold any religious beliefs.

Baekhyun would capture Nari’s every expression and movement, sparingly taking the focus away from her to take pictures of the monuments. He found himself smiling without realizing, liking the way the girl before him was so absorbed in every detail that she would almost run into other people or even walls hadn’t it been for him reaching out for her in time. It had been a while since he truly enjoyed the company of another person as he was actually a lone traveler that had been moving from one place to another for over a year now.

“Nari, smile!” he said once again to the girl in front of him. This time, she put up no fight as she turned around and smiled so big that her eyes formed into crescent moons. “Beautiful, indeed.”

He wasn