Matchmaker: BOOK I [Y/N X KAI]

✨ Chapter 46 ✨

"Oh?" his cheeks flashes a red. Oh Nini, if you're trying to not be cute, let me say this isn't helping at all!

"Yep. It’s just so adorable when I see a brother caring about his sister. And it's so obvious that you love her very much!" I exclaim.

"Of course, I do. I mean, have you met Aria? How can someone not love her? Besides, she's my baby sister. I'll always want the best for her, no matter what," he says.

"I want her to be happy too," I say.

He nods, "I think I'm starting to understand that. I just hope I'm not wrong in trusting you to take care of her. And that you're fully committed to give her the best wedding possible."

"Oh, come on," I pout, "You can be protective of your sister and not be a jerk at the same time!"

He sighs, "I suppose that's fair. But like I said, I've a bad habit of not knowing how to turn the event planner Kim Jongin off. But if you can promise to try and not screw anything up with the wedding, I'll promise to try and be more Nini."

"That sounds like a pretty good deal to me!" I exclaim.

Eventually, we arrive at the Ice-cream stand in the park. Nini orders for us and then brings mine back to me. A peace offering.

Yum..

"Cheers! To the less insufferable version of Kim Jongin, he's actually kind of fun to hangout with!" I rise my cone.

"And cheers to the Nikita Khan that's not throwing a tantrum of chewing someone out in the middle of a dress shop, I'm enjoying getting to know her," he clinks his cone with mine.

Touche, Nini.

"I've to admit, it's nice to get away from event planner Kim Jongin. I've to be him so often, I tend to forget I can be any other way," he sighs.

"Do you regret going into your line of work?" I pop the question out of blue.

"No, but I do wonder what'd it be like to do something different.."

He sounds..sad. Or maybe resigned. Like he's had this conversation with himself a hundred times. And now it's just an old news.

After a while, he continues,"My father was in event planning. He had his own company. I grew up knowing that he expected me to continue the legacy. I always imagined it'd be responsibility someday. I never had the chance to develope my own interest like Aria did."

Oh boy, I actually feel bad for him.

"Well, now's the perfect time to fantasize! The game's still on, right? You're not event planner Kim Jongin for the rest of this walk," I step out in front of him "For the rest of the time, you're Nini the male model!"

"I..don't know about that.." he mumbles.

It looks like I've finally rendered him speechless.

"Why, this is the nickname I gave you when I first saw you," I laugh.

"Really? You mean, on Chanyeol's wedding day? You really found me that good-looking?" he gasps.

"Is it that surprising? Look at you!" I pose a fake camera with my hands and frame him, "You could totally pull it off. You've got the presence. Let's see, event planner, male model, jazz dancer.."

"Hey, I wouldn’t have told you my secret if I knew you were going to use them against me.." he chuckles.

"This hardly qualifies as a secret, Nini," I grin.

He shakes his head,"I mean, I always wanted to take my dance courses seriously, and turn it into something more than a hobby.."

"Well, there's no time better than the present time. Give me your best dance break," I wink.

No joke, he actually humors me a little and strikes a few half-hearted moves as he walks.

"Wow, you're a natural!" I clap.

He breaks out laughing, "No why, you're just so kind."

Before I realize, we were actually close to my house. The path to my house has never felt so short.

"Well, seems like we're here already. I guess you can go back to being Kim Jongin again," I sigh.

Wow, he almost looks like he's.. disappointed?

"This was..nice, Niki. I've enjoyed getting to know a different side of you today.." he whispers.

"Same here. Anytime you feel like shedding the control freak thing, you know where to find me," I shrug.

"Noted. And..regardless of any history between the two of us, I owe Aria's happiness today to you. I won't ever forget that, Niki. Count me forever grateful to you," he looks up to steady his gaze into my eyes.

I think we're having a moment right now. Maybe like five percent of a moment, but I think it still counts.

What's the protocol of saying goodbye here?

People say that Professionalism is the key, but again, there's also a saying that Go big or go home, right?

I lean in and wrap my arms around his muscled torso. His strong arms encircle me.

"I feel like we bonded today. Hopefully, now, we can stop trying to bite each other's heads off every time we're around each other," I whisper.

I tilt my head back to look at him and notice how close our faces are.. I can smell his cologne.

"I'd like that," I whisper back.

We linger there for a moment before we both pull back, almost at the exact same time.

"..Good. Thank you so much for walking me home today, Nini," I smile.

"Anytime.." Nini smiles.

✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨

A few days later, I'm at Piyuu's apartment, filling her in with everything that happened and she doesn’t know.

"..And they went through it! I still can't believe I had to be there! If I had my way, I would've been five thousand miles away from my ex's wedding venue," I groan.

Actually, five thousand miles isn’t enough. I would've preferred to be on another planet entirely.

✨ To Be Continued ✨