Ha Neul's POV

The next morning, I was dreaming of delicious pancakes and hot chocolate before I woke up. I slowly opened my eyes, the delicious scent still in my nose, when I realised that the scent was real. Which meant.... that mom was making pancakes!

But then I laid eyes on the suitcases and bags beside my bed filled with my stuff and I started to gather that that was impossible.

Recounting yesterday’s events it slowly came back to me; this was Kim Jonghyun of SHINee’s apartment and I had blackmailed him into letting me move in with him! Awsome, now I've even got a criminal record... :[

But on the other hand, if I hadn’t, I would have been homeless. I guess I choose being a criminal over being a bum. =.=

Anyways, who was making the pancakes then?

I walked towards the kitchen and peered around the wall. But the scene I saw seemed so unreal I had to look twice until I believed my eyes.

His back facing me, Jonghyun stood in front of the cooking stove flipping pancakes like a professional and dancing to the music from his headphones. Who knew arrogant and childish idol Bling Bling Jonghyun could cook!? *smirk*

He was wearing dark grey skinny jeans and a green sweater with V-neck. (I had to say, concerning that, he did have some fashion sense…) But over that he had put on one of those ridiculously frilly aprons – and even worse, a pink one (!) – which completely ruined his outfit! It was kinda cute though; even if he’d probably kill me for thinking this. ^^

He was so immersed in cooking and dancing that he didn’t notice me until my stomach decided to speak up. Upon hearing it's grumbling he jumped and spun around.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?!" He asked wearing a frightened expression and pointing his ladle at me. "And how did you get in?”

“I slept here, don’t you remember?” I guess he’d forgotten too… ^-^

I could see the realisation dawn on his face.

“Oh, yeah… right,” he groaned and covered his face. "Hoped it was a dream..."

“Nice fashion style though,” I remarked and nodded at his apron. “You really never fail to surprise me.”

He looked down and his eyes widened. He hurriedly turned away and untied the apron. I could tell he was extremely embarrassed because his ears were bright red! Now, this was cute!!!

I walked around the cooking isle and smelled at the already cooked pancakes. Mmmmm, delicious! But knowing his personality I probably won’t get one…

“Can I have one?” I tried nonetheless.

“No way,” he replied and took the plate away. Awww… I looked at the pancakes longingly.

“Pleeeease? Pretty, pretty pleeeease?” I tried my puppy eyes; Woohyun oppa always fell for those.

“No,” he refused immediately. “And if those are supposed to be puppy eyes then you’re insulting the dogs.”

Damn him! I slouched to the fridge and took out some instant breakfast. Luckily, I had remembered to buy supplies yesterday…

I sat down at the table and enviously watched him devour the whole plate of delicious pancakes all by himself. *sniff*

I then remembered something.

“Um, Jonghyun-ssi?”

He looked up from his plate; his mouth full with pancakes. “Bwat?”

“Are you going to SM this morning?”

He swallowed his food. “Yes. Why?” He looked at me suspiciously.

“Errr, could you please take me with you?” I tried my luck.

“Out of the question,” he replied instantly and continued eating.

“But you see, I have no clue how to get there from here and you probably don’t know either where the next bus station is, right?” I really didn’t know how to get anywhere from here! T_T

“No, I don’t. But why do you need to go there anyway? Aren’t you a student?” He asked and reached for his glass of water.

“I, uh… work part-time there…”

He spit the water all over the table. “WHAT?!?!”

“I said, I work part-time there,” I repeated. “As uncle Soo Jong’s assistant.”

“You’re Kwang Soo Jong-ssi’s new assistant?!”

I nodded.

“Urghh, this is going from bad to insufferable!” He groaned. “Only thing missing is you already being friends with the other members!”

I guiltily lowered my head and continued eating. Of course, he noticed.

“Second, you’re not telling me…?”

“Sorry,” I gave him an apologetic smile. “We’ve met a few times by coincidence and decided to go drink some coffee... They’re really nice!”

“Arrgghhh!” He screamed. “My peaceful life! Come back!!!”

I just concentrated on eating my breakfast. Better not say any more… -_-

“Okay, fine,” he said after a while. “I’ll take you with me; we need to discuss and plan this thoroughly! And I’m in a hurry. But this will be the first and last time! Arraji?!”

“Deee.”

"And I'm leaving in five minutes sharp! If you're not ready, then that’s that!"

I nodded and got up, put my dishes into the dishwasher and hurried to the bathroom. The five minutes were just enough to get ready; Jonghyun was already impatiently waiting by the door when I ran out of his guest room.

We went down to the garage and I followed him through the greatest assembly of luxurious cars I'd ever seen. I did not understand much of cars but the few glimpses I'd gotten on oppa's car magazines were sufficient for me to know that there was a lot of money parked here. Even stretch limousines were represented multiple times!

Jonghyun stopped in front of a black Lexus with tinted windows. (I knew that much because it was my brothers favourite brand and every time we'd come across one he'd force us to wait so that he could marvel at it =_=)

Carefully I sat onto the passenger's seat and looked out the window.

Although, earlier, he had said we had to discuss things thoroughly, we didn’t talk much. After he’d ordered me to keep our relationship (which he called non-existence by the way =.=) a secret, even from the other SHINee members (which I did not understand; what bad would it do if they knew?), and to spend as little time as possible with them, we were silent for the rest of the ride. It wasn’t an awkward silence though. He might have the talent to annoy the crap out of me but, surprisingly, it was rather comfortable to sit in his car like that. Soothing even.

And soon, I felt my eyelids getting heavy.

Narrator's POV

While Ha Neul was blissfully off into a dreamland full of pancakes, Jonghyun was facing some unexpected troubles.

Because, even though he wasn't that tired, he found it gradually more difficult to concentrate on driving.

As for a reason he could not fathom, his eyes kept darting over to the sleeping girl beside him. Like some strange force made his eyes turn to her face over and over again.

It wasn’t that he’d never felt attracted to a girl before. On the contrary, he knew more beautiful girls than he could enjoy.

So he recognised this feeling all too well.

And it disturbed him. Badly.

Because the girl sleeping on the passenger's seat of his car didn’t reveal that blinding beauty. Indeed, one would call her features average; they would easily let her disappear in a crowd of people.

So, why could he still not divert his eyes? What was it about that average face that made it more enticing than any flawless beauty he’d ever seen?

Was it because she looked so different to when she was awake? So fragile and innocent? Was it because that guarded look in her eyes and that sharpness about her were gone? Was it the small, genuine, and somehow insanely mesmerising smile that he believed to see on her lips?

Or the fact, that to him, this scene was a picture of pure peacefulness?

And what was this unfamiliar tinge he felt in the pit of his stomach? This feeling that he couldn’t put anywhere? That he’d never felt before? Not with even one of those gorgeous women he’d lain with before?

And who was this girl to stir up this many questions inside him?

It was this flood of unanswered question that confused him beyond reason.

Jonghyun's POV

When we had arrived waking her up felt like I was destroying something.

But, not having much of a choice, I shook her slightly.

“Wake up, Ghosty. We’re here,” I said softly.

Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at me confusedly. But after she’d scanned her surroundings that look vanished and she was back to being the guarded and distant girl who’d intruded my life yesterday.

“Ghosty?” She frowned.

I sighed. “Yup, Ghosty! Don’t like it?” I felt he corners of my mouth twitch. “Well, too bad for you.”

She rolled her eyes and looked away.

“I guess we’re here. I’m getting out then. Thanks for the ride, Mr. Terrorist,” she said stressing the last word and reached for the door handle.

Just then I saw a movement in the corner of my eyes. Immediately, I leaned over and grabbed Ha Neul’s wrist preventing her from opening the door.

Looking up, I caught my breath. Two big, beautiful, orbs, filled with shock and surprise, were gazing at me.

I froze; my mind devoid of all thoughts except one.

Since when did she have such pretty eyes? I marvelled.

I felt my stupid heart alternately skipping beats and thumping like crazy. If the theory of every being, be it mouse or turtle, having about the same amount of heartbeats to live was true, then I must have just lost a year.

I have no idea for how long we stayed like that. But until Ha Neul finally cleared and looked away my body refused to carry out any command my brain issued. I swallowed hard and slowly leaned back.

Averting my eyes I mumbled: “Key was walking past us… It would have become complicated if he’d seen you get out of my car…”

She just nodded.

“But now, it’s clear. You can get out…” I trailed off; still looking at anything but her.

When I heard the door click shut I exhaled deeply and dared to look up again. Ha Neul was walking towards the elevator without glancing back even once.

I hadn't noticed before but she actually seemed to know how to pick her cloths. She was wearing dark skinny jeans and a quite complimenting light yellow blouse. A light dark-rose scarf with a matching yellow pattern was nicely draped around her neck dancing with her every stepp. And even her ballerinas with the same dark-rose colour supported her feather-light gait. And again, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her… that same strange force was at it again.

Then, the elevator doors closed behind her obscuring her from my sight. I closed my eyes and buried my face in my hands. What the hell had just happened?!?

Recalling the image of her big, dark orbs, I felt like getting lost in them again. Those somehow insanely beautiful eyes... That sweet scent of hers that seemed to envelop me... The strange feeling of her thin wrist in my hand... Her slender frame and then, the way her gait seemed to own the world…

The more I thought about it the more restless I got. I felt my blood, spiked with adrenalin, rush to my head allowing my mind to reproduce the images even clearer.

It felt like I was going crazy.

I clenched my teeth, slammed the car door open, jumped out, and ran towards the elevator. But halfway I decided otherwise and turned for the staircase.

After I'd run them up all the way to the 25^th floor and back down to the 21^st, where SHINee’s practice room was, my mind felt clear again. I mentally deleted the past two hours from the calendar and opened the door to the studio.

Only Key and Teamin where here yet. Onew was probably still dreaming about chicken, obstinately ignoring his alarm clock while Minho would have forgotten the time again doing his daily morning exercise.

Key was standing in front of a mirror checking his outfit. I turned the other way immediately; only to remind myself a millisecond later that, since the past two hours did not exist, he had caused no incident this morning and that there was thus no reason at all for me to avoid him.

Just then, the door slammed open revealing huffing Minho and Onew. “Sorry, I’m late!” They both shouted at the same time.

We just nodded and Taemin said: “Okay. Let’s get started then!” It was too tiring to reprimand those two every morning… :I

Somewhere before lunch ---

“Okay, any longer and I’ll starve to death!” Our leader exclaimed and sat down. “Let’s go to the cafeteria! The chicken’s calling me.”

No one wanted to object that. We were all pretty beat; sweat dripping from our faces and running down our backs.

“Okay.” Minho was the first one to get up. He took off his shirt (A/N: Kyaaaaa XD), threw it onto his bag, and disappeared through the shower doors.

After we’d all taken a shower we went to the cafeteria located a few storeys down. We were early and thus managed to get a table near the window.

“Too bad the weather's already so cold! Else we could have eaten outside…” Minho sighed and looked longingly at the empty tables beneath the trees.

As the storey the cafeteria was in was the first floor of the ‘tower’, one could eat outside in the little rooftop-park in summer. (A/N: I have no clue what the SM building looks like, so I selfishly decided that it’s like this: ^^

) All idols of SM Entertainment liked that park a lot. After all, it was probably the only park in Asia where we could hang out without either having to wear a disguise or risk being chased by fans!

“Leadaaar, what’s on the menu today? Besides chicken?” I asked. If anyone knew, it’d be him.

“Besides chicken? Don’t care, don’t know.” He shrugged his shoulders and headed for the stand selling chicken. Well, that’s our chicken-crazy leader for you…

I was too lazy to check out all the menus so I just grabbed the nearest one and walked back to our table.

But a few meters before reaching it I stopped dead; her back facing me, on the chair vis-à-vis to the only empty chair left and thus mine, there sat a girl wearing a light yellow blouse and a dark-rose and light yellow scarf.

What the is she doing?!? Didn’t I tell her just this morning to spend as LESS time as possible with the members?! But now she’s having lunch with us?! Does she have the brain capacity of a bird?!?

I slammed my tablet down on the table, sat down, and grimmly started shoving the food into my mouth.

Onew, who was sitting beside me, nudged me while giving me a questioning look. I just ignored him.

On the other side of the table I could hear Key apologising to Ha Neul in a low voice that he didn’t know either why I was behaving this way, and that I’d usually be delighted to have such a nice and pretty girl as herself eating lunch with me!

(I instantly cut off the images from this morning that wanted to resurface at the mention of the word ‘pretty’.) (A/N: Hahaha, he's in full denial! ;P)

Is he an idiot or what?! Where the heck is she nice?! Or even more; PRETTY?!?

I glared at her; making it very clear that I was not happy about her not following what I’d said. She just smiled apologetically. I rolled my eyes.

“Hyung, this is Hwang Ha Neul! Kwon Soo Jong-ssi’s new assistant!” Our maknae cheered trying to brighten the atmosphere. “She’s very nice! Even though she’s got a lot of work, she still made the time to eat lunch with us!”

Really? Especially made time?! Ghosty, you’re dead.

“You know, she didn’t have much of a choice,” Minho then accused Taemin. “You practically dragged her here!”

Apparently guilty, the maknae lowered his head.

“But you like eating with us so it’s not too big of a problem, right noona?” He then asked hopefully. Seriously, noona?!?

After giving me an unsure side-glance the 'noona' stupidly nodded. I’m saying ‘stupidly’ because if she’d shook her head and denied it, then our maknae wouldn’t have gotten to ask the next question. And the next question was what ruined my evening that was initially going to be relaxing and stress-free:

“Noona! Then, if you have time tonight, would you like to come with us to Jonghyun’s apartment and hang out?”

----------------------

Hey, everyone! :D

Here's the weekly update!
Gosh, I kept rewriting the scene in the car... >< (and I'm still only partly satisified with it... tsk)

But, maybe you can enjoy this chapter nontheless...!

And please don't forget to comment/subscribe! :)