Title: Tricked?
Pairing: Kim Jongdae (Chen) & Kim Namjoo [ Chenjoo ]
Written: March 9, 2013
Words: 1,644
Author's Note: Chenjoo is completed! ^^ You know what that means? ...Two more pairings to go until the project is finally finished! I'm really sorry for all my lack of updates and how late this project went on ;~; I hope you guys are all enjoying it though! ouo Also, thank you for the upvotes, it's really nice! ^^ I got inspired by Chen and his love for R&B, so hopefully this will be nice ^^ I was listening to the instrumental of Sorry by Ciara and Back at One by Brian McKnight! ^^

☁☁☁

“Yah, Kim Namjoo, you must be trolling me, right? Don’t tell me you’re giving me your fail chocolate,” Jongdae gives a hysterical laugh as he shakes his head. Having Namjoo as a best friend, he knows that she’ll never like him back. Yes, he likes her.

However, he covers up his feelings by being a playful and teasing guy towards her. Namjoo her dry lips, hanging her head down slightly as she laughs quietly, “Yeah, that’s right. My fail chocolate.” Well, now it’s a fail chocolate because you think it’s a joke.

Jongdae gently takes the box and grins, “Well, thank you. I’ll eat it well.” He raises a thumb up and nods, opening the cover and taking a bite. His eyes widen as he chews slowly, taking in the flavor. Whoa, it’s really sweet. How can a guy reject her with this kind of chocolate?

That was one year ago and Namjoo has continued to put up with his playful tactics. How can she handle his so-called trolling? It’s a mystery to everyone. Everyone knows how much they like each other, but both of them are oblivious to the fact that they do.

Now that they’re in their senior year of high school, Valentine’s Day was nearing in a matter of a week. After school, Jongdae and his friends were walking around the campus, wearing their uniforms in a sloppy way.

“Hey, what are you guys going to do on Valentine’s Day?” Jongdae asks as he sticks his hands in his pockets, puffing out some air in stress.

“Naeun and I will be going to a restaurant,” A tanned boy grins proudly as he looks out the windows, “I’m glad she said yes to the date.”

Another boy (who was actually almost as tan as the other boy) scoffs as he shakes his head, “Restaurants are so mainstream. I’m taking Bomi to the amusement park.”

“Both of yours are mainstream,” The taller one beams. Note that he’s actually really pale among the other two. “Hayoung and I are just going to be plain and simple by just making a cake with each other, watching a movie on the couch, and just cuddle. Valentine’s Day isn’t the only special day, you know? Every day is.”

Everyone stays silent as they stare at the male. “I can’t believe it; the youngest one here has the most knowledge in love. Tell me your ways,” Jongdae looks up at him and purses his lips.

“Just ask Namjoo out on a date, alright?” The youngest one replies as he punches the other’s arm lightly, “She’ll say yes, I promise.”

-

“Namjoo,” Jongdae pokes her cheek as he sits next to her in class, propping his elbow up to cup his own cheek. “What?” She whispers as she tries to finish up last minute homework, a small yawn escaping her lips. “How about we go someplace this weekend? It’s Valentine’s Day today, you know!” Jongdae grins sheepishly as he continues to look at her.

Namjoo glances at him, flabbergasted, “Seriously? Where should we go then?” Jongdae purses his lips and hums quietly, “The café that we always go to. We can meet at…7:30 at night.” Namjoo blinks and nods slowly, mentally reminding herself the details. “Okay, I’ll meet you there.”

Was she really serious? Does he really believe her? Well, it’s worth a shot.

-

That night, Namjoo sits inside the café. Being a little paranoid, she decided to come earlier than planned—well, one hour earlier than planned. She needed to calm down her nerves of excitement with herbal tea and a blueberry muffin. Glancing at her watch, she watches the time tick by. Her feelings overwhelm as she holds her hands together on the table. Looking out the window, she watches the sun slowly starting to set and the red orange shades turning into misty clouds and a dark blue coming into view.

“Where is he?” She mumbles to herself while glancing at her watch again.

7:29 PM

He’s still not present. Namjoo purses her lips and lets out a small sigh. Maybe there’s traffic.

7:35 PM

Yeah, he’s totally in traffic. Maybe there was a huge accident somewhere.

…He couldn’t be the one in an accident, right?

8:01 PM

Namjoo pouts as she taps her fingers on the table quietly, looking outside the window. She could see small snowflakes drop down as she looks at them hit the ground.

8:15 PM

“Do you want a refill?” A waiter asks as Namjoo shakes her head. She was a regular the café, so all the workers were well acquainted with her, even with Jongdae. “No, it’s okay, Yixing. Hey—do you know how Jongdae would do at this time?” She asks while glancing at him. Yixing shakes his head and bows his head, “No, sorry. But hey, it’s Saturday night, you should be doing something more productive!”

I was going to…

8:30 PM

He totally trolled me, didn’t he?

Soon as the minutes pass by, the thought of her being stood up and being joked to brought a sharp pain to her heart. How can her best friend do this to her?

She slowly stands up and places a tip on the table, waving towards the employees that were working the night shift. Walking out of the café, Namjoo hangs her head down slightly to see the snow gradually adding a layer to the ground. She watches how her feet makes small imprints, trying to cheer herself up with the distraction.

On the other hand, heavy footsteps dash towards the café with a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates in both hands. “Where’s Namjoo?” A heavy pant escapes the runner’s lips. “Namjoo? She just left,” Yixing informs as the runner dashes out of the café. He looks left and right, almost admitting defeat, “Namjoo…”

He looks at the ground in dissatisfaction, but soon sees footprints left on the snow. His eyes widen and he quickly sprints in that direction, “Kim Namjoo!”

Namjoo swear she heard the voice, but she decides that it was just her imagination. It made her hurt even more in the fact that she admits she’s turning delusional. She can feel her vision turning blurry with the tears that yearns to escape. “That jerk…” She mumbles out loud as she stops in place, placing her forearm over her eyes.

“I know I am,” A familiar voice tries to say as smoothly as possible, but it kept being interrupted by the energy he put in to run. Namjoo slowly brings her arm down, turning around to see Jongdae with the two items.

“Y-yah! Where have you been?!” She shouts as she lightly forms her hands into a fist, hitting his chest gently. He closes his eyes and bites his lip, “Here’s the story…I woke up late and I wanted to finish my gift to you. Then, my friend calls me up to tell me that he can’t help me with the last parts of the gift. He had all the items too, so I had to dash to his house, but it turns out that he was all the way in another part of Seoul. So, by the time I got there I was supposed to start heading towards the café. I guess you can say—procrastination was at its finest…” He hangs his head down and sighs deeply, the air making his breath visible.

Namjoo lets out an unbelievable laugh, “I really thought you stood me up, Jongdae.” He looks up at her and shakes his head, “I would never do anything like that to hurt your feelings. I wanted to call you to notify that I was coming late, but my phone ran out of the battery.”

She cracks a small smile, “It’s okay, oppa. I was just—starting to get really saddened and disappointed.” Jongdae nods and purses his lips, “I know, but can I make it up to you by singing you a song at the café? I didn’t finish my gift, but I want to at least repay you back with a song that I really want to sing to you.”

With some persistence, Namjoo nods and follows him. They soon arrive back at the café and Jongdae seats Namjoo on the chair that’s closest by the small stage. The stage was always used as entertainment or when someone wants to step up and do some type of entertainment. It was a nice feature for the café.

Jongdae nods as he looks at the piano, speaking into the microphone, “Good evening. I’m Kim Jongdae and to be in the Valentine’s theme, I want to dedicate this song to Kim Namjoo. She’s my best friend…” He pauses and looks at Namjoo with sincere and gentle eyes, “And I hope that she’ll be the one that’ll be by my side after tonight.”

Namjoo’s heart flutters as she couldn’t help but smile like an idiot. Jongdae chuckles quietly and takes a deep breath, “This song is Back at One by Brian McKnight.” He looks at the piano keys and closes his eyes, beginning the song. His love for R&B songs couldn’t compare to his undying love for Namjoo. It’s been years since he’s had feelings for her and he always had her as an inspiration.

Jongdae starts singing as his strong, but steady voice echoes quietly in the café. The light is dim with the spotlight on him, enhancing his emotions attached to the song. Namjoo sways her body left to right in her chair, her eyes gluing to Jongdae.

It's so incredible, the way things work themselves out. And all emotional once you know what it's all about, hey. And undesirable for us to be apart, I never would've made it very far. ‘Cause you now you got the keys to my heart. (BRIAN MCKNIGHT - BACK AT ONE LYRICS)