Swapping Partner [IZ*ONE x SVT]

Stars (NxJ)

The ride down elevator was quiet. Nako shut her eyes tight and clutched on Jihoon's arm. Meanwhile, the guy pats the lady's hand. Tried his hardest to calm her down. When they heard the 'ding' sound, Nako immediately let go of his hands. The tension went awkward between the two of them.

Jihoon scratched the back of his neck while cleared his throat before spoke to her, "So, is it okay to use my vehicle to our next destination since I brought it here?"

"Eh?" Nako checked around to her surroundings. Now she noticed that they were in the hotel's basement. She wasn't aware beforehand because of her fear. "Of course, it's okay."

"Okay," he cleared his throat again, "this way, please."

The petite lady clung onto her sky blue sling bag. Her head hung low and then decided to paid attention to her white sneakers. She noticed the dirt on the right side of her shoes. 'I need to clean them after I got home,' she thought. Then, she observes Jihoon's footwear. He wore a sporty type of shoes. The long sleeve grey polo shirt and khaki trousers combined make a casual look but still appeared classy. Thankfully, she decided to went with casual style too earlier, so they didn't have the mismatched look.

It doesn't mean she wanted to match with him, though.

Jihoon stood beside his car and opened the door of the passenger seat. "Please," he said. Nako threw a shy glance before she got in the car.

"Thank you," she whispered. The guy replied with a smile, then closed the door for her.

The first fifteen minutes ride was complete silence. Jihoon concentrated real hard on the road, meanwhile Nako unable to voice out her thoughts. She gathered her courage and took a deep breath before open the conversation.

"Jihoon-sshi," she called. The guy hummed as a response. "Do you live far from the hotel?"

He chuckled before reacted with, "Why? Is it because I brought a car?"

The shade of pink appeared in her face. "I'm sorry, I just curious."

"There's no need to be sorry for, Nako-sshi. You just curious, that's all." He smiled softly. "I live twenty minutes away from the hotel by car and fifteen minutes on foot from my workplace. But that's not the reason why I bring this along. I was planning to take you and Yena whenever you ladies wanted to go."

"Really?" Nako sounded surprised. "That's so thoughtful, Jihoon-sshi. Thank you."

He chuckled again. "Aren't you thanking me too much today?"

"Is that so?" The blushed made way to her cheek once again. "I just thought you're a nice gentleman, so I naturally thank you way too much. Is that a bother to you?"

"No. Who's in the world can be bothered with a lot of thank you in a day from a lady? Not me, of course," he grinned playfully. "You just set a record for me. It will be hard to break."

"Is that a compliment?" her tone sounded lighter. Indicated that she became more relaxed.

"Of course." Then he proceeds to laugh for a while. "You're a nice lady, Nako-sshi."

"Thank you."

Jihoon let out a heartfelt laugh. "A new set of record!"

---

The next minutes of the ride went pretty well. Started with a light conversation, they continue to chat about the basic knowledge of each other. The pair then talk about favorite colors, foods, and found out that they have the same interest in piano. They even engaged in the topic 'greatest pianist of all time' for ten minutes straight. After nearly an hour's ride, Jihoon parked his car.