Key frowned as he stepped into the small cafe. He had left the dorm this morning fully prepared for what he was planning to do today. However, that good mood had quickly dissolved into annoyance. His journey had started with him stepping into a puddle. The cold water had seeped through one of his shoes and into his sock, resulting in a very cold left foot. Then, as he was walking down the street, he had almost been recognised by a squealing pack of school girls – who should have been in school, considering it was 2.30pm on a Wednesday. It was only his quick rearrangement of his disguise and a bout of speed walking that had allowed him to avoid that disaster. Finally, he missed the bus he intended to catch, resulting in him having to walk much further than he had planned; something which wasn’t good for his still wet foot.

And now. Now he was stood in a cafe that could only be described as quaint – and he wasn’t in the mood for quaint, at all. The place was small, with a wooden bench stretching across the back, covered in coffee machines and all the other trappings of a modern coffee shop. The tables were made from the same wood, as were the chairs, and were scattered randomly around the room, making it a little difficult to navigate to the counter in places. The floors were scuffed and scratched with use and the walls could do with a fresh of paint. Although, he acquiesced, the soft maroon colour was a nice touch and the art work, although unnecessary, was tasteful.

If only it wasn’t for the large numbers of tacky Christmas ornaments spread around, the cafe could be considered well-decorated and Key may have considered coming back. But, alas, there was a cheap, plastic Santa adorning the corner of the counter, a large string of fairy lights spanned the ceiling and Tinsel hung from the picture frames in reds and greens and silvers. Even the large windows weren’t left unscathed, with large snowflake stickers spreading downwards from the top corner. Christmas may be that month but, in Key’s opinion, such decorations were unnecessary and tacky. Honestly, he couldn’t think of a single place where a plastic Santa would look good.

There were no other customers present in the cafe. That had been Key’s intention and why he had arrived at this time. Early afternoon was not exactly the most popular time to sit and have a coffee, especially on a Wednesday. Thus, he should be able to do what he intended to with minimal interruptions or chances of being recognised.

That isn’t to say he was completely alone in the cafe. Though the vast majority of the tables and even the main counter were empty, there was a young girl sat at one of the corner tables. She clearly hadn’t been there long, as she was still wearing her coat and was in the process of unpacking what looked like her homework from her bag. She was probably a staff member’s child, Key mused, noticing her comfort with her surroundings and her total lack of indication that she was going to purchase anything.

Moving into the cafe properly, Key took a few moments to adjust his outfit. He had disguised himself today, as he was heading out into public. Instead of his usual flashy, designer wear, he had donned a more muted colour scheme and simpler designs. His hooded jacket was actually one of Minho’s; he had borrowed it without permission because none of his own jackets were quite what he was looking for. The long sleeves fell past his hands and there was an excess of material around the chest and shoulders, making it hang very loose but he found he kind of liked the look. It was disguise chic. He had matched that with simple pants and shoes as well as a face mask – simple, surgical white for full camouflage – and a hat with the brim pulled low. The singer swiped some imaginary dust off his arms and removed his hat, it not being necessary in the almost empty cafe.

Approaching the counter, Key was a little surprised that no staff members had come out from the back room yet. He hadn’t exactly been quiet on his entry and the bell over the door had jingled merrily as he had pushed it open; someone should have heard him.

Leaning against the counter, he sighed and prepared himself to wait. Looking idly around the room he noticed the girl watching him, staring would be more accurate, her books not even open in front of her.

“You’re Key from SHINee!” She exclaimed, before realising she might be wrong in her assumption and looking at the table bashfully, “Right?”

Key raised one eyebrow, pulling down his face mask so it rested around his neck, “Maybe, maybe not.”

“You totally are!” She yelled, standing up from her seat. “Oh my God! I can’t believe this. This is awesome and I didn’t even have to beg Jonghyun to take me to SM with him. I was planning on sneaking into his bags and everything. I had it all planned out. I was going to meet Girls’ Gen and they would love me and adopt me and it would be awesome.”

Key didn’t bother to interrupt the girl’s rambling. It was a little amusing to watch, actually. The girl was enthusiastic, he could say that for sure. However, there was one useful titbit within her words. “You know Jonghyun?”

“Course I know him. He worked here for like forever. He used to talk to me about idols. He’s really nice. I mean, SHINee isn’t my thing. I only know so much about you guys because Jonghyun was like super obsessed. Still is I think, did you know that?”

“I did.” Key acknowledged.

“Wait, so you like, know Jonghyun? Like for real?” The girl said, her eyes wide. She leant forwards, her hands resting on the cover of her textbook, as she looked closely at Key in wonder. “He’s super cool. He said he’d get me Sunny’s autograph if he ever met Girls’ Generation.”

“I’ve met him a couple of times, yes.” Key said, turning even more so he was fully leaning against the counter. He was surprised no one had come to see what all the fuss was about out here. They weren’t being quiet.

“Cool.” The girl said, still looking impressed. “Do you know Girls’ Generation?”

“I do.” Key said, enjoying the way she gasped. “We spend a lot of time together because we’re at the same company.”

The girl pulled a face as if he was being stupid. “I know you’re both at SM.” She said, placing her hands on her hips. If she had started shaking a finger at him, it wouldn’t have been out of place. Then, realising exactly who she was talking to the girl slapped her hands over and looked at him in horror. “I’m sorry. My mouth gets away with me sometimes. I’m sorry.”

“Not judging,” Key said, not caring how the girl spoke. She was a little refreshing, actually, after all of the squealing fan girls. He supposed it was because she wasn’t officially a SHINee fan. Thus, when encountering a SHINee member, she was still able to formulate sentences. That was a rare thing, he had come to realise over the years. He had had many a conversation where he was the only one to actually say words, the other party remaining mute or only letting out squeaks or squeals. “I like your spunk.”

“Daddy always says I’m spunky like my mum.” The girl said, looking proud. “Oh, right. I’m Sooyoung, I’m thirteen and my dad owns this cafe.”

“Sooyoung,” A voice sounded from behind Key, making him jump. “Are you bothering the customers?”

“Me, bother people? Daddy!” The girl said, acting as if what the man had said was greatly offensive to her. Her hand clutched to her chest, she collapsed back into her chair and acted as if she was mortally wounded.

Key used her distraction as a chance to pull himself together. The unknown man had been remarkably quiet as he came up behind the singer and he Key not been prepared for it. He was glad no one seemed to be paying attention to his reaction as he was sure it was embarrassing. He had definitely ruffled his outfit a little when he was startled.

“I apologise for my daughter,” The man said, “I am the owner of this cafe. Sorry about the delay, I’m the only one here and one of the boilers in the back decided to spew water everywhere, it’s basically a mess. What can I get you?”

The man seemed nice enough, Key supposed, in a homely sort of way. He would never be described as exceptional by anyone but he clearly had a life for himself here. His daughter was obviously happy and well-adjusted, he had a business and a livelihood and he looked content. The only thing he needed to fix was that horrible shirt. A green shirt with a pink apron, really? And it wasn’t even a nice shade of green.

“I’m actually here looking for someone.” Key said, “One of your former employees.”

“I’m not sure I can-“ The man began before being cut off by his daughter.

“It’s Jonghyun right, you want to see Jonghyun again?” The girl butted in.

“Sort of.” Key agreed, looking away from the girl’s father towards the girl herself.

“Don’t you have his number?” The girl asked.

“I don’t. But it’s not really him I want to see.” Seeing the girl’s confused face, he elaborated, “I want to talk to someone close to him, his friends maybe. I need to ask them something.”

“Oh my gosh! You’re planning him a surprise aren’t you?” The girl exclaimed, moving around the table and coming to stand in front of the idol. Key was amused to notice that she was a good foot shorter than him and only came up to his chest, she would never be a tall girl. “You should talk to his sister, she would totes help you!”

“Sooyoung, I’m not sure this is appropriate to tell strangers.” The girl’s father said, looking concerned.

Sooyoung waved him off, “Don’t worry about it. This is Key, daddy.” The man looked nonplussed at that statement and the girl huffed, as if ashamed her father didn’t know. “You know, Key!” She said, gesticulating at the idol. “From SHINee!”

“That band Jonghyun was always on about?” The man asked, confused.

“Duh. Key.” The girl said, gesturing at the idol again, as if that solved anything.

“I remember when he wrote a song for you guys. The kid was so nervous.” The man said, chuckling, his worries apparently alleviated. “Go ahead. Sooyoung will get you in contact with Sodam. I’m going to go mop this floor.”

Key was a little confused about his sudden change in mood, although he supposed it was the fame that made the man so relaxed. In essence, Key was still a stranger. He had met Jonghyun properly only a couple of times and he had never interacted with these two people before, yet they were immediately treating him like he was safe and trustworthy. Well, he was. But they didn’t know that, not for sure. Fame was a strange thing.

“Right!” The girl said, suddenly acting all business-like. “Come sit and I’ll message Sodam and find out when she can come talk to you.”

Key did as he was told, finding the girl amusing. She was bossy and a little obnoxious but on a girl her age it wasn’t too irritating. She was only young, she would probably mellow out as she got older. Hell, Taemin was a monster when he was younger (off-camera, of course) and he much more tolerable now.

Seeing the idol was sat down, the girl proceeded to text Sodam. She seemed incredibly proud that she possessed the phone number of a girl so much older than herself. Apparently it was a status symbol to have older friends. Key wasn’t sure, his schooling was a little abnormal due to his wish to become an idol, so he missed out on many of these experiences.

Luckily, the college student answered her messages fairly rapidly and less than half an hour later Key had a meeting penciled into his schedule. It was to be at the same café he was in now, at 10am the following Tuesday. There had been a few scheduling conflicts due to Key’s hectic idol lifestyle – even when they were between comebacks – and the girl’s college classes but they had eventually found a time that worked for them both. It was a little later than Key would have liked, but beggars can’t be choosers and he was happy enough with the next week.

Waving goodbye to the enthusiastic girl and promising to send her regards to Girls’ Generation, the idol pulled his mask back over his face, placed his hat back on his head and stepped out of the quaint cafe.

Hopefully, his plan would come to fruition.

 

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CHAPTER NOTES: Key is planning things. Suspicious.

Also 100 thosand words hype. Whoop whoop.

Sorry for the few days delay in posting guys and gals. I flew out of Melbourne on the 23rd. Arrived in Incheon on the 24th and now, on the 25th, I am in my apartment in Hoengseong, in Gangwon. (Fun fact, Heechul from SuJu is from around here somewhere). It's a super rural farming kinda place in the mountains. I live in a biggish town from what I've seen. But one of the 4 (4!! D:) schools I teach at has a grand total of 30 students :P

I'll post a blog about everything at some point soon. But just know, I'm in, I have internet and I'm able to update now :D