The lights went out and for a second there was total silence in the room. Not a second later, all that could be heard were thousands of voices cheering and screaming in unison. Jonghyun was yelling along with them, fully swept up in the atmosphere of the room.

He wondered what would be first up. The rehearsal had been cleverly organised, in such a way that those fans watching were unable to determine which song would be performed when or what special effects would be used. The SHINee members had also been tight lipped, refusing to tell the composer anything. Although, Jonghyun believed this was partly because the singers themselves were unsure of the order of performances. They had worked on this show up until the very last minute.

If possible, the screams got louder as the first strains of music could be heard and a video began playing on the large screens behind the stage. Jonghyun absently noted Ayumi yell something inarticulately from next to him. Evidently, this was the girl’s favourite song.

Then, after a cute video and an extended musical introduction, the boys were finally, finally on the stage. Their outfits looked good, those last minute meetings with wardrobe people were not in vain and the elaborate clothing fit them well. Jonghyun leant forward against the barrier, feeling the movement of people against his back. He was prepared to just stand and watch, taking it all in. Taemin, who was on the same side of the stage as the composer scanned the crowd briefly as he danced, then winked in his friend’s direction. The screams of the girls around the blue-haired male raised in pitch and volume causing Jonghyun to chuckle and a smirk to spread across Taemin’s face.

The show was overall, incredible. Jonghyun had known the group were skilled, he was around them enough to realise that. However, they had really stepped it up for this show. Their dancing and singing were impeccable and even their little bantering sessions between songs were impressive. Where, in the shows the composer had seen in the past, the group would chat and mess around and it was all around enjoyable, they weren’t always audible to the crowd or they’d talk over each other. This time, it was like they were trained in the art of conversation – which he guessed they were, considering all the ‘training for TV’ sessions they attended.

The moment near the end, when they thanked the crowd for supporting them and all the members had to fight tears – some better than others – was emotional and Jonghyun found himself crying along with them. He understood now exactly how much work went into what they did and he also understood that their job, their lives, would not be possible without all the people in the room with them. It was a humbling thought and one that so many celebrities seemed to forget.

He had also taken lots of pictures. Many were not even aimed properly; he pointed, shot and hoped he had managed to get something interesting in frame. A few weren’t even of the SHINee members. He had photographed a security guard who had gotten into the music at one point and could be seen getting down, a particularly enthusiastic backing dancer and even the stage effects when they were particularly impressive. Before this job, these photos would be for himself, he would share the best ones online but, overall, they were to act as memories and reinforcement that he was fans of these boys for a reason. That point still stood, of course, but now they would also function as inspiration. He had a folder on his computer labeled ‘inspirational crap’ – he was a master of naming things – and he looked through it whenever he was feeling uncreative and burned out. It included a range of things, from songs to photographs of landscapes to artwork and even a few pieces of fan art he had found of himself (he had almost choked on his drink when he found those) and everything in there could be used to draw ideas from. Now he would have a few more images to add to that.

As the room began to empty, now that SHINee had exited the stage and the lights had come back on in the room, Jonghyun turned and grinned at his three companions. The girls were all hovering awkwardly nearby, not sure what to do with themselves.

“Good show, huh?” He asked, grinning, as he gestured them to follow him and headed to the side of the stage where a few security guards were congregating.

Jieun and Ayumi merely nodded, as if unsure how to articulate their feelings but Sohee answered verbally. “It was pretty good, I guess.” She said, shrugging pseudo-nonchalantly.

Jonghyun chuckled. As hard as the girl pretended to be unaffected, she was practically grinning in exhilaration and her enjoyment of the show was obvious. Approaching one of the members of security in one of their obnoxiously orange shirts, the composer showed him his pass and signalled the girls to do the same.

The man said something Jonghyun didn’t understand, it being in Japanese and Ayumi, seeing his blank look, chimed in, “He asked if you know where going.”

“Oh,” Jonghyun said, “Yeah, yeah I do. Arigato.” He finished, bowing to the man.

Ayumi rolled her eyes behind him where the composer couldn’t see her. She said something to the man in Japanese and the group were waved through.

“Thanks,” Jonghyun chuckled.

Leading the way through the maze of corridors, Jonghyun hoped he wouldn’t get lost. That would be embarrassing. He had only been here once and many of the passages backstage looked the same. The large numbers of people bustling around and starting to clean up the venue were not helping.

After around five minutes of walking, in which time Sohee had worked out he wasn’t quite sure where he was going and had started muttering insults in his general direction, Jonghyun found a corridor he recognised. Making a small noise of approval he approached the SHINee dressing room door. He knocked, absently hoping that one of the staff members (or Taemin) had warned the group that he was bringing guests. He assumed they would have, the staff were usually pretty organised with things like that (although Taemin wasn’t).

It took a few seconds for the door to be opened and behind him, none of the girls made any noise. It was like they were worried that any sound, or even movement, from them would make this whole situation disappear and they would suddenly be outside with the rest of the fans once more. Even Sohee’s threats had become quieter as the girl realised they were at the door and they had stopped entirely when the composer had knocked. When the door opened from the other side, Jonghyun could have sworn he heard a muttered curse from the girl, but it was so quiet he couldn’t be sure.

“Jjong and friends, come in!” Taemin grinned, gesturing the small group into the room. All four entered, Ayumi only moving after a small tug on her arm by Jieun as the Japanese girl just stared blankly at her favourite member of the group.

The singers had already changed into, still stylish, but more comfortable clothes. Their makeup was also simpler, it was still present, but the dramatic stage eyeliner had been toned down a little. Jonghyun felt a little bad at making them do more fan interactions when they were probably tired from the show. However, the group didn’t seem too bothered by the intrusion.

Key was lounged on one of the small sofas, browsing through his phone. Minho was standing in an empty area of the room. He had apparently been doing some sort of post-show stretches and had continued to do so as the door opened. However, both had looked up in interest when Taemin opened the door and had smiled in greeting as the group entered. Only Onew wasn’t paying attention to them. He was turned away from the door, checking his makeup in the large mirror that was mounted on one wall. However, as if feeling Jonghyun’s eyes on him, he turned and smiled at the three girls.

“Did you enjoy the show?” He asked, his voice soft, probably to preserve his throat.

“It was amazing.” Sohee said. Jonghyun couldn’t help but chuckle, waving off Key and Taemin’s confused looks as he apparently laughed at nothing. The girl’s sudden turnaround from strong girl who didn’t take anything from anyone to shy girl who was meeting her favourite idols was stark and quite funny. Especially since, when he had asked the very same question, the girl had been so blasé with her answer.

Ayumi said something in Japanese, apparently forgetting her ability to speak Korean in her excitement and nervousness. Luckily, all the members of SHINee could speak the language and Key responded to her statement in kind. Whatever he said caused the girl to blush dramatically and hide her face behind her hair.

“Come sit down,” Minho invited, gesturing to the other couch. “Let’s introduce ourselves, shall we?”

The group did, moving to sit on the couches. Taemin, Minho and Key shared one couch whilst the girls sat on the other. Onew remained on his chair in the corner and Jonghyun took up residence on the floor. The only other seat in the room had been next to Onew and he wasn’t sure he was comfortable sitting so close to the other male. Sohee had shot him an odd look as he sat down and he merely shrugged and mentioned that he found the floor more comfortable.

“So, I’m Taemin, though you probably know that.” Taemin began, chuckling at the girls’ expressions he gestured to the other men in the room, “Tall and lanky is Minho, the one glaring at me is Key and the loner in the corner is Onew. Plus everyone’s favourite song writer, Jonghyun.”

“We can introduce ourselves, you know?” Key said. His voice was snippy but the expression on his face was of tolerant annoyance. “So, what are your names?” He asked, turning to the three girls.

The SHINee fans had all been watching the exchange with thinly veiled amusement, however, the second the singer had addressed them directly, they had frozen like rabbits in the headlights.

Jieun was the first to speak, her accent coming across stronger than ever, “I’m Jieun, from Busan.”

“Long way,” Minho commented.

The girl blushed and corrected, “I live in Kyoto now.”

“Still a long way,” Taemin said, grinning at her.

Key then said something in Japanese to Ayumi who replied quietly, stuttering slightly, “I am Ayumi. I speak Korean if easier?”

“Whatever makes you comfortable,” Onew commented from the corner.

“The only one who won’t understand you is Jjong here, his Japanese .” Taemin quipped, prompting Jonghyun to stick his tongue out at the younger male. Taemin stuck his out in return. Onew, in the corner had looked like he was going to say more, however, upon Taemin’s interruption, he had closed his mouth and settled back to watch, a strange expression on his face.

“We know. I don’t even speak Japanese and even I can tell.” Sohee said, finally finding her confidence once more. All the idols turned to look at her as she spoke and that confidence didn’t last long. “Sohee,” she muttered playing with her hair. “I came from Seoul.”

“How’d you manage to come to Japan and only meet Koreans, Jjong?” Taemin asked.

“Ayumi’s Japanese!” Jonghyun protested, before trying to defend himself, “I was in the VIP queue and we were chatting and you know I at Japanese.”

“You do,” Key agreed, his tone a little frank for him to be kidding around. Jonghyun went silent. He still wasn’t sure where he stood with the sassy rapper and so it could be a little uncomfortable when they conversed; especially as Key often spoke in a way that could be considered rude by many people. Often these verbal barbs were aimed straight at Jonghyun’s weak points and the animosity the singer had previously held for him still hadn’t fully evaporated. Jonghyun had to treat him well because of his job and Key’s role in his acquisition of it but it was still awkward.

“So, how did you like the show?” Minho asked, echoing Onew’s earlier question. Due to the girls’ shell-shock they hadn’t received a good answer.

“What was your favourite part?” Taemin tacked on, interested to hear the girls’ answers.

The conversation flowed a little easier from then. It was still a little awkward, as the girls never truly relaxed in the presence of their idols, but overall it was nice. They discussed the concert in detail, the singers taking particular heed of what parts of their performance they most enjoyed and Jonghyun knew that, in the future, they would consider those opinions when planning a show. Conversation flowed from there, how they came to like SHINee, what their favourite song was (SHINee or otherwise), other groups they liked, their opinion on the latest TV shows, anything and everything.

So, an hour after they entered, when Manager came to collect the SHINee members, it was three happy girls who left the room. Each clutched an autographed photograph in their hands, courtesy of a Polaroid camera that Minho had had on him for some reason, which featured them and the SHINee members (and in Jieun’s case, Jonghyun too).

Before they left, Jieun turned to Jonghyun and embraced him quickly in a hug, “Thank you, you are a beautiful man.” That said, she scurried after the staff member who would guide the group out of the building.

“Oooh,” Taemin mocked, “Someone has an admirer.”

“Hardly,” Jonghyun chuckled, “And even if I did, it wouldn’t matter.”

“Aww, why not?” Taemin chuckled.

“You know why,” Jonghyun said, deliberately not looking at anyone in the room. He avoided Onew’s gaze for obvious reasons, not wanting to see his expression at that revelation. However, he also avoided the others’ eyes because they too knew the reason and he couldn’t face the judgement from Key. He was sure Minho wouldn’t be too harsh or judgmental, the other male had always been a little more accepting of Jonghyun and Onew’s relationship, however, the tall man was stood right next to Key.

“Right,” Manager announced, clapping his hands to get the men’s’ attention, “let’s head out.”

Jonghyun blushed as he realised the man was still in the room. He hadn’t considered that he wouldn’t know. There was no way he could know. Kicking himself, the composer followed after the group. At least he hadn’t said anything too incriminating and therefore hadn’t jeopardised anything. Although, even if he had given anything away, it didn’t matter since the affair was long over at this point.

Shaking his head to dislodge his melancholy thoughts, Jonghyun boarded the van that would take them all back to the hotel. The SHINee members took up residence in the back seats with Jonghyun up front and Manager driving. He had had a fantastic, but long, day and couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel and sleep. Especially as there was another show the following night. This one he would actually view from backstage. It was sure to give him a different perspective of the performance and, hopefully, more song writing fodder as well.