Happy Endings ⁘ Chenle

84 ⁘ Next

introducing radio host Eric Nam for this chapter

⁘ 84 ⁘

Chae-bong was smiling proudly, his inner dad coming out. He put a hand on Da-eun's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"I'm more than proud of you for taking this step," he assured.

To say that she had been nervous about asking him about his opinion on her leaving the editing team after this project to pursue acting was an understatement. She had grown attached to him and Yu-rou. Working with them was wonderful, having gotten the chance to get to know them was amazing. Because of this she really wanted them to support her, even if it meant saying goodbye for a while.

That was why Chae-bong's reaction reassured the endlessly nervous girl. She inhaled deeply as she felt relief wash over her.

"Thank you so much," she pushed out quietly, feeling herself get tired now that this was discussed. She looked to the side, her eyes finding the clock on the wall. Its arm was just done moving up another line, resting awfully close to the last line of the old hour.

Chae-bong followed her gaze. He hummed to himself. "You said you have another meeting with the casting director in an hour?" She nodded. "Shouldn't you get going?"

"I should..." she said quietly, getting somewhat lost in her own nervosity. This was getting a little too real. Although this was what she wanted and what she was looking forward to, it was also a lot more intimidating than she would have liked it to be.

Chae-bong was quick to notice that. He got her attention back through another soft squeeze of her shoulder. She looked at him and he smiled at her right away.

"You'll do fine," he assured earnestly. She was a good friend and a great co-worker. He believed in her with all his heart. "But even if it doesn't work out, you still have us."

He inhaled deeply before stepping closer and embracing her in a tight hug. One last hug before she had to leave for the callback. Today, Da-eun was busy.

But not only she was busy - her boyfriend was too.

Chenle sat in his favourite radio station's recording room. He looked at his friend with a grin as he watched him read off his script with the same sense of enthusiasm that he has always had. Eric loved his job and it was easy to tell. So his eyes lit up all on their own when the music died down and he pushed out an energetic,

"'Hear Me Out' - one of my current favourites, I hope you guys enjoyed it too! We actually got this one requested insanely often the last few days. EXO-L or not, this song's super popular."

He took a break to take a breath ere his gaze lifted off his script and settled on Chenle who still carried his smile. Chenle only heard Eric through the thick headphones he was wearing despite how close they were. Still, his voice was as warm and friendly as ever.

"But today, I don't only want to hear EXO out, I am also excited to talk to a good friend of mine again. I haven't seen him in a while - what a busy boy," he said with a laugh. "Let's have a chat with the lovely, talented Zhong Chenle now. How are you man?"

"I'm good!" He tilted his head to the side as he looked at Eric and wondered, "It really has been a while, right? We didn't see each other in person since I came here after coming back from Canada."

Eric gasped. "So long?" he questioned, not so sure himself. Suddenly, he laughed, eyes on the cameras around them. "This sounds kind of... I promise we are close, we just don't get to hang out much."

Chenle quickly agreed with a nod. "Yeah, we still chat and call," he pointed out. "But it's nice finally being here again."

"Yeah this is really nice," he commented before his eyes fell back down to his script. He gained some time through a stretched exhale, then continued with, "I'd like to claim that that's how I know that you are busy with work but I just usually see it via social media. I feel like you don't mention work much when we talk."