a/n: written for Shoes of a Unicorn Writing Contest. I have literally no idea how this got to be as long as it was. What was supposed to be an one shot ended up being a nine-shot (is that a thing, i'm too used to writing one shots to know any of this) and ended up being worked on each and every day for the last week and a half. i don't know how i really feel about it, but it's an accomplishment to say at least. it's probably riddled with mistakes and typos, but lol, i'll get back to them at some point. the story is inspired by my own 2016. where kibum represents some of the problems i faced about a month ago, and what taeyeon holds some problems that i'm currently facing but understanding. wonwoo ended up being a character that i see in a lot of people my age, and i don't know what the answer is. i don't know what the ending should be for people like that. this is just my personal interpretation of it. it's honestly so scary to see people in that situation and to know that i will some day participate in that event. it's a hard time. 

truth be told, i really didn't think that any of these characters were going to go the way they were gonna go. the only one that is even close to the one i had in mind was wheein, but even she went in a different direction.

but it's surprising what the later half of my 2016 ended up being. as i finally enrolled in my first four year university, i ended up losing a lot and learning a lot. and, i sometimes think that i wouldn't have gotten this far. and i try again and again, if this would was supposed to happen. i still have a lot to work to do as a writer, i still have a lot to do as a human being, and writing parts of me in my stories help develop some of it. 

i definitely didn't think i'd be participating in so many heart to hearts without much thought on the college level, and it's crazy to think that i would be. and so, this story is just some of the craziness i've learned. 

also, i tried my best to throw in some of kuro's faves in there. whether it be from taeyeon and the taeyeon/gdragon, or kibum and some of her fave pairings, i just wanted her to enjoy this fic too. it's hard to read things that don't interest you so i wanted to help out with that.

my parameters were: 1. One of the main characters is: serious, harsh, strong, rarely gets irritated, and has dry humor. 2. Key from SHINee is a main character. 3. Your story is inspired by the SHINee song, "1 of 1."

And lemme just say, I nailed number two. I'm not sure if any of my characters are serious, but they are most of the time. i think taeyeon fits number two the most, but you can decide. AND I KNOW 1 OF 1 IS A ROMANTIC SONG, BUT I DECIDED IT WAS MORE ON THE IDEA THAT EVERYONE WAS UNIQUE AND DIFFERENT. but lolol, then everyone is 1 of 1. hmm, hard decision. 

and with that, enjoy. thanks for reading. 

poster and background by mizusora