*Chapter 6

Suho is on the phone with his client. He walks back and forth, sometimes with a creased forehead. He mouthed to Nara, asking her to find a certain file on his notebook. She quickly open his notebook which she carries everywhere since this morning. She still manages to take a sip of her caramel macchiato when Suho is not looking at her direction. When she finally found it, the man’s smile slowly spreads on his lips. He didn’t need a long time to finally cut off the complaint call after. He sighs and takes a seat beside her.

“Is everything okay?” Nara turns her head and asks him.

He nods and answers her with a long explanation about what was just happened. Some of the time Nara chuckles because of his funny way to talk, the thing that no one else can’t do freely. Being a personal assistant could give you some benefits, one of them is to get to know your boss better than anyone else. At the first time she got in the company, she knew well that everyone in the office respect him. Even some of them just have a gut to greet him, nothing further. But after personally picked by him to be his assistant for a while, Nara started to get to know that actually Suho is a warm person. He just needs to keep that pride of a CEO in front of his employer.

Nara finished her macchiato before raises from their seat when the flight call announced. Suho brings his own bag and not letting her to take it. He just smiles and says ‘it’s okay’ to her.

Kim Jongin walks out from his room going straight to the elevator. Luckily the elevator slides open right after he presses the button. It’s empty. The digital clock shows 2.30 pm. He quickly takes a look on his own wristwatch and realizes that it is not working. Maybe it’s run out of battery, he thinks. He is going down to the cafeteria to have lunch. He needed to check a lot documents before so he decided to delay his lunch for a while until he finished it. Jongin takes a swift check on his phone, slightly hoped that there will be at least a message or missed call from his wife. But he got nothing. His phone is clean. The only notification came from his email. His wife must be on the plane right now. He actually regretted their fight. Something that shouldn’t happened in the first place. She must be really angry with him right now that she didn’t even want to call him a bit before leaving for Paris.

Jongin steps out from the elevator. The first floor is much busier than his on the fifth. Of course, he laughs to himself. There are three companies on that building, and the first floor is the place where everyone can meet. Jongin quicken his pace, worried that there are nothing left on the cafeteria. When he is about to turn, someone in the receptions called him. He stops and stares at the woman who called him. She walks towards his direction.

“Sir, I’m sorry. You’ve got a package. I want to tell you earlier, but your line was always busy, and I thought you were on a meeting.” The woman says. She looks a bit nervous. From the uniform which she wears, Jongin can tell that she is new in the office and maybe is still on training before employed.

“Oh, it’s okay. What is it?” He asks. The woman bows slightly and then run to her table. Jongin follows her to the reception desk. She takes a neatly wrapped box and gives it to Jongin.

“This morning, a woman came and asked me to give it to you. She said it’s your lunch.”

He knows that box.

“She just gave this and then left?”

“Ah, when I was here, she came from the elevator, so I thought she was from the building, and yes she left right after.”

Jongin mumbling thanks after he got the package. He turns his direction to the elevator and goes back to his room. He will eat that instead of coming to the cafeteria. The box wrapped with a blue ribbon. Neat and nice. Who else will give him this lunch box if it’s not his wife. His fingers are fiddling the ribbon. He cupped his face and sighs. Why Nara didn’t come here, he thinks. But she said that Nara came from the elevator. Did she come here when I was out, but then Sora should've told me about that. There are many questions popping on his head right now. His feeling tells him that something is not right. He runs his hand through the hair frustratingly. He let out a deep breath before finally opening the wrap. There’s a card inside with simple writing. Simple writing which simply breaks his heart.

Happy 4th anniversary, Kim Jongin.

I'm sorry,

Thank you,

I love you.

“I really didn’t think that I will end up with you all the time boss. The schedule is so tight like their underwear. I just hope that I can get a little get away with So Yeon.” Nara pulls her hair and ties it up. The weather is so hot that day. Even wearing a light t-shirt doesn’t help at all.

“I told you many times, just call me Suho, I’m getting uncomfortable with the boss. We’re not in the office anyway.” Suho finished his last gulp of iced Americano. “Let me see the third day schedule.”

Nara hands him a booklet which contain the Fashion Week’s schedule. They are currently in the coffee shop not far from the venue, waiting for their friends. “How about we go for a walk tonight? So Yeon told me she wants to go to one of the schedule tonight but we’re not going right?”

Suho is still flipping the pages, scanning through the pages. “It sounds great.” He turns his head towards the girl who is now fanning herself with her hand, “Where do you want to go?” He gives the booklet back to Nara.

“Take me anywhere. I just want to walk along the road, or a park, maybe. Anywhere is fine.”

Nara cleans herself under the cold shower. The weather is really hot outside. She keeps sweating when she got out from the venue. Even her t-shirt was almost soaked. She loves to walk around, but she can’t stand the hot weather. She quickly jumps out from the tub and wraps the towel around her wet body. Nara needs to dry her hair first before going out with Suho. She took too long in the bathroom she didn’t even realize it. A pink heavy tank looks really match with a red light cardigan, in case the flustering Paris weather will change, she won’t be cold. She pulls her hair up into a bun after she dried it. Short pants or jeans, the question that still haven’t been solved. After a while of going back and forth in front of the mirror, she takes the short pants. She just hopes that the weather will be nice to her tonight.

“Qu'est-ce que vous voudrez, Monsieur?”

“Je voudrais un café au lait et un chocolat.”

“Oh, your French is pretty good.” Nara whispers. Suho just smiles to her. The two leaves as soon as they get the drink, coffee with warmed milk for Suho and hot chocolate for Nara.

They walk along the street that runs to the left side of Notre Dame. Suho thinks that this is a great place to just walk around, like what Nara wants. He tells everything he knows about the place. He also tells her that when they get to the end of the street, she needs to take a left across to pont St. Louis and onto the island. The bridge is closed to traffic, and it’s very often has strange and sometimes wonderful entertainment. From someone who might bring a centuries old band machine, until some people who pretend to be statues. Nara seems pretty interested. This is the first time she visits the place. She looks happy. They laugh on simple jokes, trying to forget heavy load of problems on their head. Sometimes they stop on a souvenirs shop just to look around. The two also come to a candy shop and pick some candies and pralines. They almost reach half of the long street when Suho saw a bench and asks her to sit for a while.

Nara spins the cup of her running-cold chocolate before speaks. “Oppa,” Suho turns his head, looking at the speaking girl. “Why are you not married.. yet?”

Suho just laughs a little. His hands are on the bench, holding his weight. He looks at his shoes, “I don’t know.” He took a deep breath before he continues his words. “I just.. haven’t meet the right one yet?” Nara laughs back at him. “Why are you laughing?” He hits her arm lightly and laughs “I know, it sounds so lame right? My parents actually bid some girls, most of them are in relation to our company.” He stops and takes a sip from his cup which already turned cold. “I know they are all pretty, great, and well educated. But.. just no. I want to find one on my own.”

Nara listens to him while watching the calm water of Seine. “How would you find one on your own if you spend your whole day in the office? You just can’t do that.” Her voice is so soft on his ears. The wind blows, making her voice vague like a whisper.

“What if.. I’ve already found her, but she didn’t mean to be with me?” He turns his head towards the girl, watching her lip slowly curls up. The wind blows her short strands which couldn’t be tied, making her looks prettier. “You know, you look pretty when you smile.”

The girl turns her head, baffled, but then she laughs loudly “Everyone does.” She says. Suho just smile, and then he laughs although she hears it more like a scoff