| Fan Fiction |
by Take_Flight
"Oh wow! Brainfreeze!" Nadine suddenly squealed, holding her head in her hands. "Is this your idea of wake-up call?" she asked, looking at him with wide eyes.
Changmin laughed at the expression on her face instead of being apologetic. "Since it's working, why not?" he said, leaning forward.
"Aren't you going to have any? This stuff is good!" Nadine told him as she took another sip of the Lime Frizz he had recommended for her to buy. The drink basically was only club soda but it was the lime sorbet in it that can serve as a wake-up call. The sorbet was a family secret the shop owns plus other five different flavors and it has been a crowd's favorite ever since it first opened.
"Do you go here all the time?" Nadine asked him, as she took the spoon and starting scooping the ice cream up. Changmin shook his head. "Well, not all the time. I usually head down here when I need...to think"
Nadine swallowed the ice-cream and glanced around the place. "Here? To think?" she asked, looking puzzled. Changmin chuckled. "I know what you're thinking. This place is forever packed with people, especially tourists. How can I get a moment of peace here, right?"
Nadine nodded. "Yeah. It seems every corner of this area is jam packed" she told him.
"Sometimes you just got to find your own spot, you know what I mean?" Changmin said. "I'll show it to you later. Now drink it up. We've got a long day to go" he said, leaning on his seat.
Nadine looked up at him uncertaintly. "Long day? I thought we're only getting my stuff...and then head home?" she said in a small voice. "Oh...you have something on...after this?" Changmin asked, feeling a bit disappointed that it was going to be a short day. Nadine shook her head and finished up her drink. "Nope, no plans. It's just...it didn't cross my mind that we'll be spending the rest of the day here" she told him, stirring the straw in the empty glass.
Changmin felt a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth when he realised that Nadine was actually...nervous. She kept licking her lips and poking the straw at the bottom of the empty glass. She nervous...to spend the day...with him? Changmin got up and Nadine glanced up at him. "Come on, let's go" he said this time taking her hand in his without hesitation.
"We'll first find whatever you need and then we can proceed to the other shops here. What say you?" Changmin questioned her. Nadine nodded. "Sounds good" she told him.
"Why do you need those stuff anyway? Is the Art Studio running out of it?" Changmin wanted to know. Nadine shook her head. "It's for personal use actually" she said.
"Personal use? So you're destined to be an artist eh?" Changmin said. "Not..really. No one in my family was ever into Arts, except for me and my aunt. My aunt was an Art teacher in a college and she...she's really incredible. She's just so passionate with her job and her talents and dreams, that I guess I took after her. She usually brings me to her school during weekends while I was young and then sometimes we ended up messing around with the clay or any paint jobs" Nadine explained.
"Sounds fun. Is she still teaching?"
Nadine shook her head sadly. "She died two years ago...cancer" she muttered, looking down at the ground. Changmin glanced down at her and squeezed her hand lightly. "I'm sorry"
Nadine looked up at him with a small smile. "Nah..it's okay. I'm sure she's happy up there. She managed to fulfill a lot of things before she passed away" she told him. "Hey, is that the shop?" she suddenly asked, pointing to a two storey brown building a few feet away from them with the sign "The Palette" in gold at the front.
Changmin nodded. "Yeah, that's the one" he said as they quickened their pace and walked up the front steps of the building. The moment they entered the front door, Nadine was like a little girl in a candy store as she gasped at the interior of the shop. "This...is..heaven" she whispered to him as he observed her scanned the shop's polished wooden floor together with it's antique setting; from the chandelier hanging above them, the sofa with the carved handrest.
"Why..are we whispering?" Changmin asked in a low tone. Nadine looked at him with a grin. "I..don't know. This place looks...so fragile" she admitted. Just then a loud booming voice interrupted the silence causing them to jump.
"Changmin! My my! It's been a while! i knew it was you when I heard the door opened" the gruffy man, Lee Chung-Hee, was saying when he appeared behind the counter.
"How did you know it was me?" Changmin wanted to know. "Just a hunch...so! Are you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?" Chung-Hee asked, winking at the both of them,
Changmin felt Nadine slipping her hand out of his grip, as she gave the owner of the shop a polite smile. "I'll go get my stuff" she told him before walking away. Changmin joined Chung-Hee at the counter making a face at him. "Oh..I just ruined the moment didn't I?" Chung-Hee whispered and then laughed to himself.
"Sir, do you have any calligraphy papers?" Nadine suddenly asked. "That will be at the second floor. Go on upstairs, someone will be there to assist you" Chung-Hee told her. Nadine beamed and thanked him.
"She's...a friend" Changmin quickly said before Chung-Hee could teased him. "Friend....right...hmmm" Chung-Hee went on to say as he pressed a few buttons on the cash register.
"How's business?" Changmin asked him, changing the subject. "Same old same old" Chung-Hee told him, scribbling something in a notebook. "How are you these days? I rarely see you coming down here anymore. Abandoning your old friend already now that you're got a partner huh?" he added, looking a bit hurt.
Changmin rolled his eyes just as Nadine came walking down the spiral staircase with Chung-Hee's wife beside her, both of them in a deep conversation. "I think I can get something like that for you" the wife, Hae-Won, was saying when they reached the counter. "Hello Changmin! Haven't seen you in a while" Hae-Won said when she saw him.
"Shall I ring this all up?" Chung-Hee asked, pointing to the two boxes of graphic pens and a stack of calligraphy papers. Nadine nodded and Changmin fished out his wallet. "How much?" he asked.
Nadine shook her head at him. "What? No..I'm paying for those" she hissed, grabbing his hand to prevent him from taking out any cash. Changmin swiftly handed the money to Chung-Hee and winked at her.
"Come again soon!" Chung-Hee called out as they left the shop and Changmin could hear the couple laughing to themselves after that.
"Changmin, I could pay for those you know" Nadine was grumbling as they walked side by side. "You're upset?" Changmin asked her as they slowed down near an entrance to a small garden. A few people were hanging around, taking pictures and admiring the beauty of the place.
"Not..really..you're just making me feel bad that's all" Nadine admitted and then paused to look around the surrounding area. "What's this?" she asked.
"My...oasis?" Changmin told her. They continued walking through the garden and he could sense that Nadine liked it by the way she kept turning her head right and left and gazing at the mini sculptures strewn all over the place. "Amazing" she kept saying. She walked ahead of him and climbed up three wooden steps that lead them to where Changmin usually sits when he needs some quiet. It was actually a small timber platform with a few benches overlooking the entire Happy Ocean and of course...the blue ocean itself.
"Nice..." Nadine told him as she leaned on the railing, with the wind blowing her hair. Changmin caught a whiff of sandalwood and he immediately recognized the scent. It was from the card. It was HER scent as well...and it was like a drug to him...pulling him to her.
"I could build a house here if they let me" Changmin said, standing beside her. Nadine turned to him and laughed. "I get what you mean" she said, looking at him straight in the eyes.
Nothing could be heard after that, except for the crash of the waves on the shore, the seagulls squawking near the beach area, the bustling of the crowd from below as both of them locked their gaze on each other. Changmin felt his heartbeat racing as he tore his gaze from Nadine's eyes and then it travelled to her lips.
"N..Nadine..." Changmin said in a husky voice before crushing his lips on hers.
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