When Two Unlikely Worlds Meet, Seokjin x Normani

Chapter Ten

Early the next morning, Normani woke up and made last minute preparations for her dad and grandma's arrival, her mom had spent the night at Khalid's house to monitor the health progress made by his mother. Overall, from their conversation the day before, it seemed that whatever bout of illness Khalid's mother had been experiencing on Sunday had passed and she was back to her regular self by Monday evening. Normani headed to the studio to work for a few more hours before the lunch date with Jin. She also mentally planned out how to ask about the meaning behind the conversation they had had the previous night or at least try to discern Jin's purpose for asking those questions. The work at the recording studio took longer than anticipated and by eleven in the morning she knew that it would be difficult to make it to lunch by twelve. Normani felt a little guilty about cancelling last minute on it but couldn't think of any other solution at the moment. Jin answered the text she sent requesting a rain check on the lunch date within minutes asking if she had a little time to talk. Under the guise of taking a short stretch break, Normani headed out to the parking lot area and gave him a call.

"Hi oppa! I'm sorry, there's so much I have to finish at the studio before I can head to the airport to pick my dad and grandma up, can we please do lunch another time?" Normani asked as soon as Jin answered the call. There is momentarily silence on the other side before Jin answers, "How about we push the time up on it, if I could be waiting at the restaurant by one in the afternoon do you think you could make it then?" Normani takes a few minutes to consider the question and think about the work that remained. It could work if she delegated a few minor parts to the rest of the team. With that she agrees to the new time but warns him that depending on how long it took to get there she could be running late. They agree to meet at the Genwa Korean BBQ in Beverly Hills at one thirty instead. Initially they would have gone to an Italian restaurant but their reservation at noon would have to be cancelled. To make up for the inconvenience to him, Normani offered to try a Korean place, thinking to herself this would be more comfortable and familiar environment for him. They end the conversation and she hastily heads back to work on the remaining items on the to do list for her that day.

The text from Normani asking to cancel their lunch date threw an unexpected kink to Jin's plan. He wondered if there was a way around it and sent a response to see if they could have an actual conversation and maybe get a chance to convince her to keep the date plan on for the day as he would be leaving for Korea on Wednesday. She was open to changing the time which worked well for the plan he had in mind. If lunch took longer than previously planned, they would need to get to the airport together for her to make it there on time. Jin planned to arrive at the restaurant around fifteen minutes later than the appointed time to give her room to arrive late. They could be up to fifteen minutes late for the reservation anyhow and the guys were planning to head out for more shopping and sightseeing around one that afternoon. Jin would get the driver to drop him off at the restaurant on their way to the mall to await her arrival. The fact that she had offered to go to lunch at a Korean restaurant, worked in his favor as he could ask for a delay in the food arrival if need be to extend the time spent having lunch. Jin then headed back to the studio where they had been working on a collaboration song with Shawn to let the others know about his change of plan for the afternoon as he had previously arranged for a ride from Khalid who was heading to the recording studio with Calvin in half an hour and would have dropped Jin off at Normani's studio on his way there.

At around one fifteen, Normani was finally able to complete most of the work and left the rest for the team to continue working on. After a quick run to the lady's room and touching up her make-up and doing a lastminute outfit check, she leaves for the restaurant. She manages to arrive there at one fifty, twenty minutes later than the original agreed upon time. Opting to valet park instead of taking more time looking for parking she rushes inside the restaurant. It is a charming place and appears family friendly, as she takes note of two families eating at their tables upon entering the restaurant. Normani proceeds to let the hostess know that she was joining someone probably already there waiting on her arrival. The Korean hostess nodded and walked her to where Jin was seated waiting. After exchanging greetings and her apologizing profusely for being late, they settle down to order their meal. Normani had no clue as to what the different menu items were and accepted his offer to order. While waiting on the food and drinks they resume their conversation from the previous night. This time Normani asks him why he was interested in such personal details of her life before responding to his questions. He then looked lost in thought and a small silence stretched before them prior to him looking at her in a way that made her blush a little and her heart beat pick up a notch. "If honesty is what you want from me now, I can tell you what I am feeling towards you, but I am not sure if you are ready to hear me out as we just recently got introduced to each other. So, would you like me to tell you how I feel now or wait for later?" He asks gently. Feeling suddenly nervous about what he would say next, Normani interrupts to ask that he excuses her for a few minutes to use the lady's room before they talk any further.