“Hey Jjong,” Onew said one day, as the two males were hanging out in Jonghyun’s apartment watching bad TV, “do you wanna meet the other guys again?”

Jonghyun looked at his friend startled and all the attention he was previously fixing on the TV – not that the show was particularly good anyway – was forced onto Onew at those words. He hadn’t even considered that Onew would be able to introduce him to other celebrities. Even with people like Jiwoong continuously bugging Jonghyun, and occasionally the idol himself, for numbers of various girl group members, the idea hadn’t even occurred to him. He had assumed their friendship would remain the way it was now, quiet and personal. Onew had given no indication he wished, or had even considered, anything different. The idol had become quite good at dodging Jonghyun’s roommate’s questions, possibly due to his training that he and every other idol at SM Entertainment were required to complete; training in public speaking, media handling and how to present themselves to the masses. Jonghyun had also always thought that the other SHINee members would be hard work to deal with, which was only emphasised by meeting them in person – even if it was a few years ago – and their recent TV appearances. Onew must get a lot of practice in patience and question deflection at the dorm.

So, the question, asked so casually, by Onew completely sidelined the composer as he hadn’t had time to prepare for the possibility. He had only just gotten used to having an idol in his house, let alone adding more idols to the mix.

“You serious?” Jonghyun asked, staring at his friend. He was certain the look on his face was completely ridiculous but he couldn’t bring himself to care; Onew had probably seen him looking worse – the time he fell asleep during a movie was probably not his finest moment, appearance wise. “Of course I would.”

The idol raised one eyebrow, able to imagine pretty easily what was going through the younger male’s head. “You’re having a fan moment right now, aren’t you?”

Jonghyun looked away, shifting slightly in his seat and twisting his hands together in his lap. “No, of course not.”

“No, of course not,” Onew mimicked with over the top shifty eyes and an obvious fake twitch.

“Ok, fine.” Jonghyun acquiesced, shrugging. “Maybe I am. I’m used to you but the others are still idols to me.”

“You saying I’m not an idol?” Onew asked, chuckling. He knew exactly what the blonde meant but it was really amusing to . Whenever Onew brought up things like this, the composer became flustered and defensive and it was incredibly amusing to older male to watch him squirm.

“That’s not what I meant!” Jonghyun protested, grasping his friend’s leg as he spoke. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

“Hmm, I don’t know. I feel pretty insulted.” Onew said, looking at his nails in mock indifference.

“You’re a , Jinks.” Jonghyun pouted, crossing his arms.

“So,” Onew said, sticking his tongue out at the blonde before going back to the previous topic of conversation, “I take it you wanna see them again?”

-

So, here Jonghyun was, a few days later, stood outside the SHINee dorm, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot as his friend keyed in the code to unlock the door. The idol was laughing at him; Jonghyun knew he was, he could see it in the way his shoulders shook as he faced the door. He had been suppressing chuckles since the two males pulled out of Jonghyun’s apartment building’s parking garage in Onew’s car.

In order to calm his nerves, Jonghyun began to observe his surroundings. The apartment building that housed the dorm was large and posh; it wasn’t super high-class but it was definitely more so than the slightly run-down building Jonghyun lived in. The security was tight, as would be expected, and the door guard downstairs had walked Jonghyun through a sign in process as he entered the building. He had looked at his friend in shock when he had signed some sort of form that would apparently allow Jonghyun entry to the building at any time, as long as he showed ID. Of course, that didn’t give him access to the SHINee dorm but it did make access a lot easier, as Onew did not need to come downstairs to meet him.

Even today, just for a short trip from Jonghyun’s apartment to the SHINee dorm, the two were disguised, albeit only slightly. The idol had come to pick up Jonghyun from his apartment and had driven the male to the dorm room. In order to prevent recognition and potentially incite more online hate, he had suggested the blonde wear a hooded jacket and he himself was wearing a mask and sunglasses. Personally, Jonghyun thought it was obvious the two were trying to be inconspicuous, which totally defeated the point of the disguise. However, Onew had insisted they do so every time they go outside and Jonghyun wasn’t going to argue with him. Whatever made him happy. It wasn’t like it was any skin off Jonghyun’s back, even if the outfits got a little stuffy on hot days.

Cheering softly to himself and dancing a little in one spot, Onew finally managed to get the door open. Ignoring his friend’s snicker, the idol turned around and gestured him in, “I can never get that right first time.” He said as he toed off his shoes, placing them on the small pile of other shoes near the door. “Sorry in advance for the mess.”

Looking around the entryway, Jonghyun stayed silent. The dorm, what he could see of it, was as clean as one would expect a place that contained four males to be. There was clear evidence of multiple different personalities in the room. A soccer ball was tossed in one corner next to a discarded set of shoes that were completely impractical for any form of physical exercise. A highly tailored coat in a bright shade of red was hung next to a dull rain coat that looked a little worse for wear.

Following Onew deeper into the apartment, the two walked into the living room. It was a large space, as big as Jonghyun’s living room and kitchen combined, and contained all the gadgets Jiwoong wished he could afford. Sitting down on the couch when instructed by Onew, the composer continued to observe, looking around in interest.

The majority of one wall was taken up with a large TV and sound system – one Jonghyun had seen used on multiple occasions in TV broadcasts that took place in the SHINee dorm. Another wall was consumed by a large window and door which led to a balcony and the wall behind the couch was home to a large piece of abstract art that reminded Jonghyun strongly of the art on display in the SM Entertainment lobby.

“The other guys aren’t here right now.” Onew said, explaining the silence that Jonghyun gathered was uncharacteristic in this dorm. “Minho’s at the gym and I’m not sure where the other two went. They’ll be back later.”

“Cool,” Jonghyun said, a little glad they weren’t there at that moment. It would be quite nice to get used to the idea he was in SHINee’s dorm before he met SHINee themselves.

“Do you want a drink or something?” Onew asked, standing up, “I’m grabbing a water for myself.”

“Water sounds good,” Jonghyun said, standing up and trailing after his friend. He felt mildly uncomfortable in this dorm and he wasn’t sure he wanted to be in that room alone; no matter how comfortable that couch was.

Onew filled two glasses from a pitcher in the fridge and handed one to the blonde. After drinking half of his glass, the singer spoke, “Do you want a tour or something?”

“Sounds good,” Jonghyun agreed, taking a small sip of his own water.

“Ok, cool.” Onew grinned, leaving his still half-full glass on the kitchen counter and walking back into the living room. “Living room.” He stated, gesturing around him dramatically. This drew a snort from the blonde that was clearly translated as ‘well, duh’. Rolling his eyes at his friend, Onew continued talking, “so this is the hub. The command room, if you will.”

Jonghyun coughed conspicuously, the word “nerd” clearly audible.

“Whatever,” the singer said, mock offended, “I’d be a great commander and you know it. So this is where all the team bonding and yelling happens.”

“Do a lot of yelling do we?” Jonghyun teased, taking another sip of his water.

Onew just looked at him with a deadpan expression, “You know the others.”

“Actually,” Jonghyun corrected, “I don’t.”

“Technicalities,” Onew said, waving off Jonghyun’s comment with a dismissive gesture. “They’re basically the same in real life as they are on TV and I complain about them enough.”

Jonghyun’s inner SHINee fan let out a squeal of happiness at this tidbit of information. It was exactly what he had been saying for years. He felt vindicated that he was right. However, it was also a little sad that he was unable to tell anyone. Even if he could still go on the SHINee forums regularly – he still checked and posted occasionally but it just wasn’t the same – he wouldn’t have been able to tell anyone about this without a series of awkward questions arising about how he came about the information.

“So yeah,” The singer said, looking around the room one final time, “Living room. You saw the kitchen, obviously. That’s basically Kibum’s domain, no one else can really cook.”

“Aww,” Jonghyun joked, “and here I was hoping to make you my little housewife.”

He didn’t see, as the idol turned away too fast, but a light blush bloomed over the singer’s cheeks at those words. “If anything, you’d be the housewife. I’d be the main breadwinner in this relationship.” He shot back, his voice giving no indication of his embarrassment.

“I am a successful composer, I’ll have you know.” Jonghyun argued, puffing up his chest and posing dramatically, the image only slightly ruined by the glass of water still held in his hand. The idea of Onew being in a relationship with him had caused the composer’s heart to jump in ways he didn’t want to analyse just yet. He had completely come to terms with his massive crush on the singer years ago. However, that crush was on Onew, the charismatic and slightly dorky leader of SHINee. He wasn’t quite ready to think about having a relationship with Lee Jinki, one of his closest friends, just yet. Even if it would be purely hypothetical.

“As if,” Onew countered, starting to walk once more. Heading through the apartment, he gestured at the doors as he passed, “The room by the entrance is Kibum’s, Minho’s here and Taemin has this one.” Reaching the final door in the apartment, apart from the bathroom, he opened it and gestured the blonde inside. “And this is my room. The spare bed is for the manager when he chooses to stay with us.”

Looking around, Jonghyun was really intrigued by everything he saw. The room was tastefully decorated, if a little plain. The walls were a soft blue to match the darker blue bed sheets and the furniture was all in pine, the pale wood contrasting nicely with the walls. The room was clean, far cleaner than Jonghyun’s ever was, however, there was the occasional item that was clearly out of place.

The desk and the top surface of a small chest of drawers were littered with various things, some which seemed to have been placed there deliberately and others placed there casually when they were no longer needed. Walking over to the desk, Jonghyun observed everything on it before picking up and inspecting a small clay model that was clearly meant to be of the singer himself.

“This is cute.” He said, grinning. Holding the model up to Onew he compared the two, his eyebrows furrowing in concentration, “They got your eyes right but the smile’s a little wrong.” He concluded.

Placing the model back on the desk, straightening it so it looked out into the room, the composer continued to observe the various items scattered on the desk. His scrutiny complete, he spun on the spot and looked back at the singer. The idol was just watching him and Jonghyun blushed at the scrutiny.

“Sorry,” he apologised, placing down the award he was inspecting – he wasn’t quite sure what it was for exactly, but there was a cast of a microphone on top so he assumed singing in some form.

Onew chuckled lightly, sitting down on the bed, “No issue, I did the same thing in your room.”

“You did?!” Jonghyun exclaimed, sitting down next to the idol and looking at him in shock. “When?”

“That time you went to buy supplies for dinner and left me alone.” The singer said, shrugging unapologetically.

Jonghyun was a little embarrassed. The singer had seen his room many times. It was unavoidable in an apartment as small as his was. However, he hadn’t expected the male to actually look through his stuff. Although, in retrospect, he probably should have. Most people would do exactly the same thing if put in a situation that allowed it – in fact, he just did do so himself and the singer was in the room with him.

He really hoped the idol didn’t find anything embarrassing. He still had a lot of the SHINee merchandise lying around that he had purchased before he had become Jinki’s friend. It had become a little awkward to buy the merchandise since they had started talking more regularly. However, he couldn’t just throw his old stuff out. It was special to him. Not that he ever wanted Onew to know he had it.

The idol grinned at him, sensing his embarrassment, and spoke once more, “So, that’s the tour. Want to sit in the living room? I think Minho and Taemin got some new games for the console.”

Jonghyun was a little glad for the change of subject and agreed easily. The two settled down in the dorm living room for a day of intense competition.

It was as the two were reaching the final lap in a particularly dramatic race on some car racing game neither of them had ever heard of before that the door opened. This resulted in Jonghyun becoming instantly flustered and distracted, his car in response swerved off the track and began to drive into the barrier, the front bumber giving off sparks. Onew, oblivious to the cause of Jonghyun’s distraction, whooped in delight when he crossed the finish line in first place.

“I win!” He cheered, standing up from his seat and doing an obnoxious happy dance.

“At being a loser,” The new entrant to the room commented, his deep voice travelling easily from the doorway of the living room.

“Choi Minho!” The leader berated playfully. It was clear he knew the younger male was not being serious, “I deserve to be treated with respect.”

“Respect is earned, not given.” The tall rapper commented, unlacing his shoes and throwing them casually onto the pile of shoes in the entry way. Stepping into the room and seeing the blonde seated on the couch – still looking a little bit shell shocked – he walked closer and held out his hand. “You must be Jonghyun, it’s good to see you again.”

His gentle smile put Jonghyun a little more at ease and the composer scrambled quickly to his feet in order to reciprocate the hand shake. “Good to see you again, too.” He responded, his voice a little more formal than it would be usually. If Onew’s laugh behind him was any indication, he was exactly as smooth as he felt he was, which honestly, was not at all.

“Well,” Minho said, addressing his group leader more than Jonghyun, “I’m gonna go shower. Any idea when the other two are getting back?”

“No idea.” Onew said, shaking his head. “I don’t even know where they went.”

“Shopping, I think,” the rapper mused.

“They’ll be a while then,” Onew said, “go shower, you stink.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Minho said, waving his hand absently behind him as he walked, “I’m going.”

Jonghyun, the second Minho had left the room, collapsed onto the leather couch gracelessly, ignoring the squeak of the material under his face. “I am so not ready for this,” he mumbled, his voice muffled in the squishy couch cushions.

Onew sat next to him and patted his shoulder in mock sympathy. “They aren’t that scary.” He said, “You’ll be fine.”

Jonghyun made a wordless sound of agreement before rolling back into a sitting position. “I know I will. I’m just going to have a minor freak out when they aren’t in the room.”

Onew snorted and rubbed a comforting hand over Jonghyun’s knee. “I always forget how much of a fan you are. You usually hide that fan mentality well.”

“The insanity you mean?” Jonghyun asked, grasping onto the topic change, hoping to take his mind off Minho, who was currently and only a couple of rooms away.

“Yes…” Onew said, like he wasn’t sure if he should be admitting that fact aloud. “Some fans get… scary.”

“Believe me,” Jonghyun agreed, “I know. It’s scary from a fan’s perspective to see another fan like that, too.”

“Good to know.” Onew grinned, “Minho will be a while, so… rematch?”

Jonghyun grinned at his friend, wanting to get his revenge for that cheat of a victory. “Always.”

For now he would just play. He would leave the freaking out and the stress for when Minho or the other two idols returned. Right now he had a race to win and his best friend was going down.
 

---

CHAPTER NOTES: This is split into 3 parts. Partly because they would be too long (compared to the other chapters) if I combined them and partly because I am mean. Either way, I got more SHINee in there, even if the Jongyu isn't yet progressing (also because I'm mean (and Jjong is emotionally dense)) :D

Also...kinda 2 chapters in one day. If you count 3am to be tomorrow, then it's not 2 in one day. But if 3am is still yesterday...today... then it's not. It's 3am and I am confusing myself. I'll stop.