Jonghyun’s POV

        And so time passed. Days, weeks, months. From that night that I had confessed, that night I had wrecked Onew’s headphones (he had kept bugging me about buying him a new one-- when we finally went, he was ecstatic and even talked me into getting him a jumper), from that night when I felt so utterly hopeless, I had slowly started to heal. Key had helped me. Slowly I was stitched, built, until I was a faint echo of what I used to be.

        I could tell everyone was extra careful in the beginning. Nobody upset me, everybody avoided conversation. They probably didn’t want broken headphones either. Kibum attended more of his schedules, his rebellious phase over, it seemed. He was always out of the house, where, of course I knew. I didn’t want to think about it. Every time her name was brought up, I could feel my blood boiling under my skin and a gust of cold wind start blowing deep within me.

        We were sitting around the TV, watching a show we had been on a few days before. It was broadcasting now. I smiled every time the cameraman filmed Key’s face close-up. I smiled every time he talked, he looked into the camera, or he looked at me. But he wasn’t here, of course. It was just the four of us watching. Actually, he could be watching… but not with us. I frowned, distracted from the show.

        “Nice job, Jonghyun!” Minho patted my back (more like slapped it), at a part when I was singing solo. I grinned widely. Taemin nodded.

        “You sing so well, hyung!” Taemin exclaimed. “I’m jealous of your singing skillsss.”

        “You should be.” I grinned evilly.

        “Hyunngggg!” He stuck his tongue out and whipped out his gameboy. “But you can’t beat my Pikachu skills!” He said, shoving his console in my face.

        “You’re right, Taeminnie, you’re the Pokemon master.” I said, rolling my eyes. He turned the power on and started to play.

        “Look, Taemin-ah! It’s your dance part!” Minho covered his gameboy screen slightly and pointed at the TV. “Waaaah~ You’re so good, Taeminnie.” I smiled slightly at Minho’s praise and noticed Taemin smiling up at him, their faces inches apart. Of course, we all knew by now they were kind of “together”, though it had never been officially announced. They did a really good job of acting pretty normal around us, which we were grateful for, saving us the awkwardness. I was a bit jealous, just a bit. Sometimes I would imagine if that was Kibum and I… and then my thoughts would be ruined again, because of course Key doesn’t think of me anything more than a friend.

        I picked up my phone from the coffee table and sent him a text.

        Yah, Kibum-ah… Our show is being broadcasted now, go watch~ ^^

I turned my gaze back up to the screen and held the phone carefully. And just at that moment, Key’s smile filled the screen as the MC started asking him something, what I couldn’t remember.

Key’s POV

        I draped my arm lightly around Sunny’s shoulder, listening with a smile to her chatter. She waved her free hand about and widened her eyes, trying to express the size of her exam room. I listened, though a few times I got side-tracked by her hyperness and wide smiles.

        “Ehh…?” (was thinking of park bom, haha.) She stopped suddenly and held my hand.

        “Oppa, where are we going anyways?” She said, looking around us. We were walking through a few streets, passing shops, trees, etc. We had been to the mall earlier today, shopping for clothes and fun things. I had on a cap, pulled down to my eyebrows and a scarf to cover my chin.

        “We’re going back to the apartment, silly. You should really know where you are, it could help sometimes.” I said teasingly, keeping as much of a serious face as I could.

        “Which apartment?” She said, giggling.

        “Which one do you think?” I said, continuing to pull her along.

        “Well, considering you’ve been to my apartment ten times more than I’ve been to the ‘SHINee dorm’, I’m going home?” She said, after a moment’s thought. “But I don’t recognize this road.”

        I made a buzzing sound and she looked at me.

        “We’re going to the SHINee dorm!” I announced, a little louder than needed.

        A few heads turned and I noticed a girl look suspiciously at us. She was short, no older than 17 or 18, with long black hair. When she took a step towards me, I immediately felt Sunny’s hand leave mine. In a flash, she was behind me and had walked away, as if she didn’t know me. I sighed. A few steps later, the girl approached me.

        “Um… annyeonghasaeyo…” The girl said feebly, bowing. I smiled as politely as I could, but my hand was already lonely and cold. I resisted the urge to turn around and scurry to Sunny’s side.

        “Annyeonghasaeyo.” I said warmly. This was how Sunny and I had met, I randomly remembered.

        “E-Excuse me, but are you Key from SHINee?” She mumbled, already pulling out a notepad and pen from her bag.

        “Yes, that’s me. Would you like me to sign?” I said.

        “Ne, please.” She held her pen out and flipped open the notepad. I scribbled in my signature and handed it back to her, impatient. I could feel Sunny’s gaze burning into my back.

        “Kamsahamnida!” She said happily as she put them away. I nodded in response, my smile getting weaker by the second.

        “If it’s not inconvenient, could I also have a picture?” The camera was already in her hand.

        “Of course,” I said, standing next to the girl and making a V-Sign. She quickly took a photo and bowed, thanking me again.

        “No problem. Take care~” I waved and waited a few seconds until I passed a corner and she was out of sight. Once she was gone, I whipped around and waited a few seconds for Sunny, the smile returning to my face. She came back to me, silent, her hand slipping into me.

        Every time something like this happened, it would always get awkward and uncomfortable. We walked for a few minutes without talking, and the silence got painful.

        “I don’t like it.” Her voice broke the silence. I looked down at her, but she broke the silence.

        “I know, baby, I know.” I hated it too. To have to hide away from the rest of the world.

        “Why can’t we just be public? It will save all the stress and fear and—”

        “We can’t!” She looked up at me finally, her eyes a mixed emotion I couldn’t figure out. I kissed the top of her forehead. “My manager has strict rules about dating. We’ll tell him when it’s time.” I told her that every single time she would ask me. She frowned.

        “Are you sure we should go to the dorm?” She asked, changing the subject. “Every time I go Jonghyun just storms off. I ruin the peace there, get Jonghyun upset, and the mood awkward.”

        She was right. Jonghyun hated it when she came over. He was always miserable for the rest of the day, which was why I didn’t bring her over often when he was home.

        “It’s fine.” I said simply, unable to say anything else without lying too blatantly. I would have to make sure they didn’t cross paths, they didn’t speak, they didn’t see each other too much. I couldn’t hurt Jjong, but I didn’t want to be mean to Sunny either.

        We walked for a few more minutes, almost reaching our destination. I kept my head tucked down as we strolled, not bringing much attention to myself. Sunny seemed to have cheered up a bit and was striding, almost skipping, with a smile on her face.

       I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and I took my arm off from around her, keeping my hand in hers, and took out my iPhone. Text from Jjong.

        yah, kibum-ah… our show is being broadcasted now, go watch~ ^^

        Really? Right now? I showed the text to Sunny and she smiled.

        “Best get there earlier.” I nodded.

        arassoooo… i’ll be there in a few mins…

        At first I had typed “we’ll”, then quickly changed it. He didn’t need to be upset for longer than he needed to. Slipping the phone back in my pocket, I hugged Sunny quickly and we continued walking.

        I looked up a bit in shock when I felt her grip suddenly snap away from mine. Was she angry? I felt a flood of relief but anger when she had a playful smile on her face.         

       “You can’t catch me!” She stuck out her tongue. “Mehrong~” Oh, so this was what this was about. A smirk spread on my lips as she started running, through the streets, knowing the route already.

        “Yah!” Without another word I raced after her, her giggle echoing down the street. 

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HAYYYYY GUYYSSSSS~ So I haven't updated in what? a week? two weeks? and I am AS;LKHGPOIWYTPOAKSHG sorry for making you wait soooo looooonggggg. I won't be able to update reguarly anymore, due to my personal life, but I will continue with this fanfic and finish it at some point. I am not on hiatus or quitting, I will just not be updating as quickly. thank you all for staying with me~ and a bit of a longer chapter in reward! ^^