Chapter I

Dear Nana, I N-CITY #3
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I've been thinkin' 'bout my father lately
The person that he made me
The person I've become
And I've been tryna fill all of this empty
But, , I'm still so empty
And I could use some love

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They say the universe sends you people when they think you most deserve it.

I think that’s why the universe sent me Nana.

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It was a big move, from my old house to an apartment with the only adult figure I would continue to have in my life.

The divorce between my parents had been settled and as much as I hated that it ended the way it did with them, even at 16, I knew that their relationship was beyond repair. Being an only child just made it worse because it crept up to me at night when I would hear my mother crying in the kitchen, trying to muffle her sobs with the mittens she would use when she baked.

But alas, adolescence is something we all go through and it had matured me beyond my years. I was sixteen, yet the burden of having to be an emotional pillar for my single and working mother was heavy on my shoulders. However, there was no time to be selfish and demand fun while doing the same things other kids would do my age because it was just the two of us.

I remember praying for a friend one night, someone who I would be able to talk to without having to see the look of judgment on their face. I was an introvert and a feeler, quite sensitive to those around me and I could see it in their eyes that they weren’t the least interested in how I was coping with my parent’s separation.

But I understood; and slowly and surely, I began to distance myself from the rest of them.

And then I met Nana.

It started when my mother was having another one of her mental breakdowns. She was mumbling about how she had lost all of our old photos from one family reunion. She wanted to make a scrapbook, another hobby she had picked up for her to distract herself.

Before this, it was swimming.

Before this, it was cooking.

And the cycle continued.

“Honey, you sure you don’t have any photos from that reunion?” she asked me for the nth time and I struggled to keep my voice steady. I was still young than at the time of the reunion and I knew it was her coping mechanism; that’s why she was so adamant to get the pictures. “I really want to finish that scrapbook. Your Auntie Rose took so many beautiful photos and I—”

Her voice cracked and I began to panic, knowing a breakdown was on the way.

“Mom, can’t you ask Auntie Rose?” I asked.

Ask questions, distract her, she’ll get through this; my mind reciting steps I read on the internet.

“I don’t, I remember saving her number on that old phone your father bought for you. I don’t think… I don’t think—” my mother paced around the room and I felt her anxiety rise. Thinking fast, I stood up to calm her down, telling her that I’d find a way to contact Auntie Rose—whoever she was.

I didn’t recall ever having an Aunt called  Rose but I did recall having an old phone. It was a normal flip phone; one I would hang around my neck. I was taught carefully to answer it when it rang. I had brought it everywhere with me and even if my mother used it more than I did, it played a big part in my safety when I was young.

And that is how I found myself digging through old boxes when we moved, my hands searching for any solid shape that would feel similar to that old pink flip phone. I finally found it hidden at the side of the box, a charger with it.

The feeling of victory made me smile even though it was a short while, my hands flipping open the phone to see that it was dead.

I made my way out of the storage room before I sat down and charged the phone, my eyes waiting for the screen to light up. I felt nostalgic looking at the device. It was nothing compared to the iPhone I was using now and I crossed my legs when a ding sounded to show that it was now on and slowly charging.

I went straight to the contacts of the phone to find an Auntie Rose when all I saw were numbers.

Closing my eyes in frustration, I reminded that it wasn’t supposed to be easy.

Nothing was easy these days.

How would I find who was Auntie Rose then? I chewed on my bottom lip, scrolling through the 50 numbers that were saved. A couple, I knew, would be numbers of some kids I met in summer camp when I was like… six. Or maybe, their parent’s numbers because we were too young to have our own phones.

It wasn’t a big deal. I hardly think that they would be bothered by a single message. With that thought, I pressed repeatedly on each button with difficulty while I curated a message. In the background, I saw my mother stare sadly at her scrapbook and my heart dropped.

Her expression only made me more determined and after a lot of pressing and a lot of deleting because of the typos I had written; it was a simple one-liner but I was proud of it.

“Hello. Is this Auntie Rose?”

Okay, here was the hard part. How was I supposed to send it to all of them? Was there a button? I squinted and slowly pressed the down keys when the option came up: “Send to all contacts.”

With a definite nod, I pressed down on the option before telling my mother that I had found a way to contact Auntie Rose, but I would have to wait a bit. She immediately brightened up and I knew it was worth it, excusing myself to go back to my room to rest.

How emotionally draining.

I sat on the bed, closing my eyes to let sleep take over me without knowing that my prayers would be answered that night.

And that morning, I woke up to look through the same old phone just to see one reply and one missed call.

“Yes.”

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I didn’t like talking to people through the phone, but I noticed that the number that replied and the number that called were two different numbers. Maybe Auntie Rose had two different numbers, I found myself thinking. I cracked my knuckles to prepare to type down a full-on massage. Massaging my fingers for preparation, I pressed the buttons.

“Hello, Auntie… My mother is Ms. Kang and she wants pictures you took at your last family reunion. She’s making a scrapbook so it would mean so much if you could email it to me. My email is [email protected]. Looking forward to hearing from you.”

I sent the long text message after a lot of pressing before going down to have breakfast. I went to class another slow day where girls talked about their boyfriends and what to do after class. I felt a pang of envy at how happy they were before telling myself that my time would come.

Patience was a virtue.

It was math class and I prepared all my things when a ding sounded from my phone and I unlocked the screen under the table to avoid getting caught. It was an email from an unknown person, the email’s name was “Nana” and it went: [email protected].

I frowned, recalling not knowing anyone named “Nana” when I opened up the email just to be greeted by a meme.

I blinked. Wrong person, maybe? I scrolled past the meme just to be greeted by a simple email.

[Okay, I'm actually not Auntie Rose but I have to say that it was fun trying to mess with you. Sorry that I don't have the photos you need but I hope you find them.]

Wait…

Then who did I send the text message to? Did that mean that the person who called was actually Auntie Rose and the one who messaged me back was a different person?

[Also, who uses Yahoo? Everyone uses Gmail now.]

At the sight of the person’s reply, I glared at the email. I could use whatever I wanted and with that, I pressed down on my screen to reply when I felt something solid hit my head. I jolted up to see that my teacher had flung a pencil at me and I turned red with embarrassment.

Two years of this. Two years of high school left and I had to take it day by day.

The class erupted into laughter and I gritted my teeth.

Patience is a virtue, I repeated to myself.

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Deciding to c

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Comments

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sweetch3rry
#1
Chapter 4: I really enjoyed the story. It was cute and sweet how he helped her gain courage. Their online friendship turned relationship was interesting and heartwarming.
Lemonzest95
#2
Chapter 4: Waaaahh this greatly satisfied my fluff needs
WinterShadows #3
Chapter 4: Such a wonderful and delightful fanfic
This was totally the best fluff story I’ve ever read
-NeonBlues
#4
Chapter 4: Oh my gosh, this was absolutely cute and a beautiful masterpiece
I wish it was longer! I couldn’t get enough of Nana and Yahoo
JongByung #5
Chapter 4: how interesting of their relationships! so, did Yahoo get to meet Auntie Rose?
junmyeonese
#6
Chapter 1: And now all is left is for OC to recognise who’s the one behind the name nana!!
MultiStanK
#7
Chapter 4: I've said this before, but I'll say it again, it is so weird seeing NCT in this universe after reading IOK2BK! A very sweet weird tho, because Jaemin is so frickin' soft in this storyyy, I really like how he's so encouraging and so kind to Yahoo (on a separate note tho, I felt so attacked when Jaemin said, who uses yahoo? like, dude me). Gahh, my uwus, take them alllll <3
wxnlingg_ #8
Chapter 4: ahhhh yayy nana and yahoo, all the names of the girl characters in this series are interesting
wxnlingg_ #9
Chapter 3: OMG HAAHHA i would faint too kekeke
wxnlingg_ #10
Chapter 2: from the stories i read before until now, jeno and his girlfriend has so much energy omg i don't think i can ever handle them and the girl is abt to know nana