"Lana! Please come here!"
Nari's heart drops. Her smile drops as well, and Goeun notices this.
"Is everything okay?"
"Oh uhm," she smiles once again. "Yeah..."
Lana walks into the room. Clearly surprised to see Nari in there.
Goeun switches her gaze between the girls. She clears her throat. "Please show Nari around. Show her how to work things, what to do, and the other stuff."
She walks out of the room, leaving the two alone.
"Pleasure seeing you here, Kang." Lana smirks at her. "Let's get started shall we?"
•
Nari walks out of the restaurant. She rubs her temples, relieved to finally escaping Lana'a backhanded compliments and feedback.
"Oh." She hears someone nearby say.
She glances at whoever made the sound.
"Hyunjae?"
"Hey," he walks towards her smiling.
"What are you doing here?" she asks.
"Oh, I work part time at that restaurant—" he points at the building she just exited. "—in the kitchen. I mostly fry stuff, but I help with other things too."
She slowly nods as rambles about his job.
"How about you?" he asks. "Did you apply for a job there? They are hiring."
She looks at him and nods. "Kevin tutors and Juyeon goes to a dance studio sometimes. And it gets lonely at the apartment, so why not?" she shrugs. "And I can't keep relying on my parents."
Hyunjae smiles. "Wait, but weren't you offered a scholarship..?"
She slowly nods. "My parents insisted on giving me money to pay rent and other things..."
"Ah..." Hyunjae nods. "Spoiled." He teasingly shakes his head, waving his index finger in front of her.
Nari lets out a small laugh, slapping his arm. "Well see you around, Jaehyun."
He frowns at her. "HowmanytimesdoIhavetotellyou," he quickly states. "I prefer Hyunjae. Hyun-jae. H-Y-U-N-Jae."
She laughs at him. Nari waves goodbye as she walks away from him.
・・・
Nari walks along the dark road. She's been out almost all day, mindlessly walking around. Her phone had died, so she has no way to contact any of her friends.
She doesn't even know what time it is, but judging from the sky, it's way pass the usual time she gets home.
Knowing the vulnerability of women, especially during the night time, walking alone made her feel anxious.
You'll be fine. Just keep walking. No one's gonna kidnap you.
With a face like yours, and a body like that, of course no one will。
Nari frowns at the voice in her head. "Well damn..." she whispers. She sniffs, hugging herself to bring more warmth to her body.
"What is it so cold for?" she huffs.
She sees a man in the distance, and from the way they walk, she could tell that they were definitely drunk.
"Oh fuck," she whispers. She lowers her hood even more to cover her face, and brings her head down to avoid contact with the intoxicated individual.
Nari bites her lips as they walk past each other. She sighs in relief after passing him with no trouble. But a sudden thud makes her look behind.
Her eyes widen. The man had passed out. Nari looks around, obviously no one was near. She takes a deep breath before hesitantly walking closer to the person.
