Breaking the Rules (EXO)

20: Stress

Nari walked down the street in complete silence. She felt off, almost wrong, but she didn't entirely mind. She and Sehun had settled pretty easily on a secret date. Nari would figure out when Roman was flying in to town, when Corina would have to leave to get him, when Min Young would leave to meet friends or family, and would work out a time then. She knew it would be easy, the two were always busy. The tricky part was Sehun being able to be free.

Their plans consisted of cooking dinner, something Nari was good at. Sehun said he wanted her to teach him new ways of cooking, and she'd happily complied. She hoped, surprisingly, that everything would work out the way they had planned.

The day had started off rather well. She didn't have much to do, other than run a few errands. The apartment was entirely wiped of food, since she'd cooked a meal for thirteen people. She'd need to stock the cabinets and the fridge quickly, even if the others often only ate out. She figured she could help them start saving money by keeping them from eating out every single meal, even if it did kill some of her traffic at work. She also needed to run out and buy clothes, since a majority of hers were singed.

She wasn't sure how long that would take, though she doubted it would take long, and decided to walk to the subway station instead of back to the apartment.

While walking, she tried hard to think of things she and Sehun could make. She didn't want it to be obvious she was trying to make dishes that he would be able to perfect with ease. She also didn't want to make something so over the top that he struggled to make it. Maybe dinner was a bad idea. For whatever reason, every time she tried to teach another person how to cook food for lunch or dinner they panicked, like the food was going to come to life and scream at them.

Then again, making dessert food was always more fun, and more pleasing to the eye. Maybe they could make a cake or some cupcakes or something. She'd have to call him later that evening and ask him what he thought.

And it was in that moment, as she was boarding the subway and debating on what kind of flavor best suited Sehun, that she realized she was overthinking everything. She was overthinking the whole date, and she was overthinking it because she was actually scared. She was nervous about being on a date, which was something she hadn't experienced in a long time.

Corina dragged her feet across the floor towards where she would be meeting Min Young before going home for the evening. She had an exhausting day. By now it was only going to get worse. Exams were approaching and her students often shirked their work because they thought her classes were easy, only to find out that they were not and demand her help last minute. Sure, she would enjoy the extra money for tutoring after school and on weekends, but her feet weren't enjoying the constant standing and walking and running from place to place. She was still in the process of entirely finishing her room and parts of the apartment, she was still trying to find a place for her brother to live should it not work out with him living with her and she was trying not to overthink the fact that Roman was in contact with Grigory once again.

She could see Min Young standing in front of the school, his briefcase in one hand and his phone in the other, raised to his ear. He was looking back into the school, through the glass sliding doors that lead to the shoe lockers. She smiled at him, waving lightly before opening the locker and switching out her slippers for her black Louboutins.

She hurried out the doors, clutching her briefcase in one hand and her pea coat in the other as she hurried towards Min Young. "Sorry! One of the girls needed some last minute help," She said, coming to a stop beside him long enough to tug on her jacket and button the front. "Are you ready to go?" She asked.