We closed up the café at about 5, taking an hour to get the place ready for the club hours, which meant checking the strobe lights and disco ball, getting out all the alcohol and stuff for the drinks, clearing the floor, and changing outfits. I wore a tight leather crop top that showed off my stomach and dragon tattoo and extra-skinny black skinny jeans, keeping my wedges on and my hair up. Minho went home and his friends Jonghyun and Onew came in for the night shifts. “Hey, Maru. Looking y as usual,” Jonghyun commented as he and Onew were passing by. Onew shook his head and said, “Hey, Maru.” I greeted them back and was about to walk out of the break room/changing room in the back when Sehun appeared and stopped me.

                “I’m not working the night shift today. I’m going straight out with the guys. We’ll be here in a few hours, and then I’ll take you home, okay? I promise,” he said. I nodded. “I’ll see you when you get here, then,” I replied, looking down. Sehun tilted my head up and pressed a kiss to each of the stars behind my ear. I was actually tall enough to reach his ears with my wedges, so I leaned forward and kissed his stars as well. It had become our gesture, our nonverbal way of telling each other to be safe.

                If I lost Sehun, I would lose my world. He had stuck by me through literally everything. Our parents had been close friends, so when I was born a month after Sehun, we were put next to each other in the hospital. Every day I was in the hospital after Sehun was discharged, his parents would bring him to see me with my parents. I couldn’t lose him.

                “Love you, Maru,” he whispered, his thumb brushing over the tattoo on my wrist. “Love you, too, Sehunnie,” I replied, my fingertips outlining his matching tattoo. He closed his eyes for a while and rested his forehead against mine. “I need to talk to you when we get home,” I said. “Just go hang out with your friends. And remember your promise.” Sehun nodded and left the club.

                I sighed and got ready for the night shift. Jonghyun got behind the counter with me. “I heard your boyfriend’s not working today,” he commented, arranging the drinks behind us. “He’s not my boyfriend, Jong, and yeah, he’s going to a party with his friends,” I replied. Jonghyun shrugged and said, “Say what you want, Maru, but I see the way he looks at you.” “He just cares about me. We’ve been through a lot together,” I said, my voice getting sadder. Jonghyun got the hint and instead signaled to Onew to open up.

                We opened the club at 6 pm, and by 8, we were pretty full. By 10, we had a full house. My dance time was at 11, which was 15 minutes before my shift ended.

                Someone sat down at the bar. “What can I get you?” I asked, readying my drinks. “A kiss from the girl of my dreams would be fantastic,” a voice answered. I looked up to see Lee Donghae, a guy who went to mine and Sehun’s school, with some of his friends, Eunhyuk, Kyuhyun, and Ryeowook. “Donghae, I keep on rejecting you. Why won’t you give up?” I asked, getting him a Screwdriver, what he always got when he came here. “Cuz I want you,” he replied, smiling cheekily. “I told you, I don’t have time for a boyfriend,” I said. “Well, you could always say yes and move in with me,” he said, leaning across the counter.

                Right at that moment, Sehun and the gang walked in. Sehun scanned the club and his eyes landed on me, but they narrowed once he saw Donghae. “Oh, great,” he muttered. Kris also scanned the crowd for me, his own eyes flashing once he caught sight of my admirer. “Looks like I’m not the only one after my little treat,” Kris commented.

                I saw the gang as they were walking over to the bar. Sehun had pure anger in his eyes while Kris had revenge in his. EXO immediately crowded the bar, and most of the people already sitting there cleared the way, knowing how dangerous they could be. “Yo, Hae,” Donghae’s friend Eunhyuk said. “Check out who made the scene.” Donghae turned around and smirked when he saw EXO.

                “Out of the way, little fishy,” Kris said, his eyes on me. “She’s mine.” Donghae laughed and replied, “Really, now? Well I’ve been chasing her much longer than you have, Krissy.” Kris’s eyes flashed with anger hearing his dreaded nickname. “Move it before things get ugly,” he hissed. Donghae laughed again and shook his head. “You’re dumber than I thought, Kris. Can’t you see your little crush already belongs to one of your members?” Donghae asked, his eyes flitting over the members and resting on Sehun.

                Before Kris could discover who he was talking about, both Jonghyun and Onew came to my rescue. “I’m sorry, sirs, but our policy prevents employees flirting with clients. Please leave our Maru alone or else we’ll have to throw you all out,” Onew said. Jonghyun held my waist protectively. His huge muscles intimidated EXO, daring them to try anything. “Fine,” Suho said. “We’ll stop. We’d like to order some drinks actually.” I untied my apron and handed it to Onew. “Can you guys handle it? I have to go change and get ready,” I said. “No problem, Maru,” Jonghyun said, looking each EXO member in the eye. His eyes held disappointment when he reached Sehun. 

A/N: I just love SHINee. If they're not the main characters, they're always featured in my fics somehow. I like to feature Super Junior too. So tension between Super Junior and EXO, and now we know Kris, Sehun, AND Donghae are all after Maru. What'll happen next?