Narrator’s POV

While SHINee was now practising their songs, Ha Neul was still sitting behind the main control desk and was making the last preparations for the concert and running some additional test to make sure everything was working. Though while the programs were running, she had a lot of time to watch the five handsome guys dancing and singing on the stage.

Though actually, her eyes were only following one of the five. His dark brown hair was lovingly tousled and as always he was wearing skinny pants. Right now they were white, just like his ed jacket and the tank top underneath. Only his leather boots and his “belt”, which just looked like some undefinable bunch of cloths, were black.

Actually, the others too wore only black and white; that was the concept in fact, but Ha Neul didn’t really notice. Too much was her attention taken by one single man.

At the end of each song she would again will herself to continue with her work only to find herself drawn into the next song as soon as she would raise her head from behind her laptop or hear Jonghyun’s voice. She couldn’t remember to have ever worked so inefficiently.

But somehow she still managed to get everything done that she needed until their rehearsal ended and when Taemin came running over and asked whether she wanted to hang out with them until the concert started she had no excuse to refuse anymore.

There wasn’t much time anymore though and there were still some interviews to give and probably some touch-up of the costumes, hair, and make-up needed to be done too. Hence, they couldn’t really choose where to spend the remaining time and they went back to their dressing room.

When Ha Neul entered the said room, she felt like she’d stepped into the eye of a hurricane. Outside everyone had been running and shouting around hectically. But inside it was unexpectedly quiet.

They all sat down onto the couches around the salon table in the middle of the room and started unpacking the snack that their manager had thoughtfully bought for them.

Jonghyun was sitting right opposite of Ha Neul and when he saw her not eating he frowned at her. “Yah, are you not hungry?”

Onew who was sitting to Ha Neul’s right looked up from his fried chicken and turned around to her too. “Omo, you don’t have to be so polite! Just help yourself!” And he nodded at the food.

“That’s what he says now! But if you touch his chicken you can just put yourself on the frying pan!” Key joked and everyone laughed.

“So, what would you like?” Minho then asked. “Meat? Fish? Vegetables? Rice? Or everything mixed together?”

Ha Neul thankfully declined though. “It’s alright; I already ate something before I got here. But thanks for the offer.”

Taemin looked at her sceptically. “Really? And you’re not already hungry again? It’s already been some time since then…” He could eat all the time, so he couldn’t understand how she could not be hungry again after having worked for more than two hours.

But as they didn’t want to force her either, they let her be. Except for Jonghyun. Until now he had just quietly observed her but he was pretty sure he recognised the expression on Ha Neul’s face: It was the exact same one she had worn that day at the restaurant at the amusement park where she had refused to eat too, despite being hungry.

He mentally shook his head. That girl really couldn’t look after herself!

Then he snatched the sushi box away from under Key’s chopsticks, conveniently ignored the latter’s complaints, placed two of the rolls onto his own plate, and put the box down on the table in front of Ha Neul. “Eat. It’s going to be a long evening.” He ordered without looking up and continued eating.

For a moment everyone just stared at him in silence.

Key was the first to find his voice again. “YAH! What the hell was that?! I was still eating, you know?!”

“Um, I’m sorry!” Ha Neul quickly tried to give the box back to Key. “Here—“

But before Key could take it, Jonghyun had already pushed it back down on the table in front of Ha Neul. “I said eat. You’re in Japan, the country of your favourite food. You can’t not eat it.”

At that everybody’s head snapped up. “Ehh? Sushi is your favourite food?” Minho exclaimed.

“Omo, I didn’t know!” Key added. “In that case you can have it of course!”

Ha Neul smiled at him a little embarrassed. “Err, thanks.”

“Oh!” Key whipped his head to Jonghyun. “But how did you know it was her favourite?”

“Uh… just somehow…?” Jonghyun answered monosyllabically and shoved one of the sushi rolls into his mouth.

“But you pick out two rolls for yourself?! Don't lie; you just wanted to eat the sushi yourself! Admit it!” Key accused and pursed his lips. “Pfsh! Cheapskate!”

But Jonghyun only shrugged his shoulders and picked up the second roll. That was when Ha Neul noticed. “He didn't lie...” She mumbled so softly they almost didn’t hear her. “He didn't pick those two rolls just because he wanted to eat them himself…”

“Huh?”

“The two rolls were with cucumbers… I don’t like cucumbers…”

And once again, the rest of SHINee looked surprised at Ha Neul and Jonghyun who quickly busied themselves with the food in front of them.

"Something smells fishy here...!" Key commented and squinted his eyes at the two. "You two are acting strange..."

Ha Neul and Jonghyun both glanced up but as soon as their eyes met they quickly looked away again.

"Okay, what's going on here?" Key demanded to know and leaned forward. He looked around the table but no one answered him. While Minho looked just as clueless as him, Onew and Taemin were trying their best to keep the amused grin from showing on their faces. And Ha Neul and Jonghyun obviously acted as if Key's question had nothing to do with them and continued to keep their eyes focused on their plates.

Key was already taking a deep breath to continue his inquiry, when Ha Neul and Jonghyun got saved by SHINee’s manager who brought along the staff for the interview. Ha Neul quickly took the chance and excused herself in order for the camera man to get SHINee alone one the video.

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It was already dark and snow was falling silently, when Kim Jinhyuk returned to his family's cottage a little bit outside of Tokyo. Because of his frequent business visits to Tokyo he had bought the cottage so he could bring his family along during the kids' holidays. He already saw them seldom enough with the busy schedule he had and hence every second he could spend together with them was precious to him. Moreover, the children loved the a bit old fashioned character of the house and its big garden that was perfect for boisterous snowball fights and building igloos and snowmen. Since they were three siblings, there was always someone who wanted to play.

On his way from then car to the house Jinhyuk saw his children's achievements from the day and he smiled. His eldest daughter's infatuation with horses and her artistic talent were clearly showing in the snow sculptures she had made. And her two younger brother's fortress looked also quite impressive in the dark.

Jinhyuk's eyes then wandered over to the brightly lit window of the living room. His expression softened as he saw his wife sitting on one of the divans, reading a story to Youngjae, his youngest son. The elder ones were sitting on the wooden floor and completely engrossed in the game they were playing.

Suddenly, as if she had sensed his presence, his wife looked up and their eyes met. She smiled warmly and then said something to the kids. Whereupon they all turned towards the window and, upon seeing their dad outside, waved at him wildly before they ran out of the room.

Jinhyuk exchanged another affectionate smile with his wife before he turned away and entered the house to greet his three little angels. They flew into his arms and were all over him, telling him about their day and the amazing things they had seen, until their mother finally stepped in and told them to be a little patient and at least allow their dad to change clothes before they'd attack him.

When Jinhyuk returned from the bedroom again, he found his wife waiting alone for him in the hallway; the kids had already returned to the living room and were playing again.

"Yeobo, I'm home," Jinhyuk said. He pulled his wife into a hug and gave her a short peck on the lips.

"Welcome home," she answered softly and put her chin on his chest, looking up to him. "How was your day?"

"Fine, I guess." He looked down at her and into her beautiful eyes. "But I missed you."

His wife chuckled. "You always say that when you get home. Even if you have only been away for an hour."

But instead of an answer Jinhyuk just tightened his hug and cuddled her. He wiggled her body like a little kid would his teddy bear and nuzzled her neck. "It's the truth, though," he whispered and before she could reply anything he had already claimed her lips. Sae Ryung’s eyes fluttered close and she leaned in even more against Jinhyuk’s firm chest, savouring the blissful feeling of lying in her husband’s arms. She rested her hands on her husband’s broad back and tilted her head to answer his kiss.

When they broke out of the kiss again, her cheeks were a tad rosier than before and her hair maybe a bit messier. They were now married for almost ten years and her husband still had the power to make her flustered. Though, that probably was a good thing.

“So, have you eaten yet?” She asked, even though she already knew that he’d probably already eaten dinner out somewhere. Maybe with a client or on his way back. It was almost 9pm after all.

“Yes, I’m sorry,” Jinhyuk affirmed it. “Did you guys eat at home?”

His wife nodded. “The kids played outside in the snow all day and were too tired to go eat out.”

“I saw Young Mi’s horse sculpture outside. She really is talented.”

“I know, right? I wonder who she got that from… Neither you nor I have that ability.”

They entered the living room and looked at her lovely daughter, who was now sitting at the table and drawing a horse’s head.

Jinhyuk gave a short laugh at his wife’s comment. “You’re right. Well, I guess she’s got it from her uncle then; he’s the only one in our family with an artistic streak.”

Hearing their uncle’s name, the tree kids immediately perked up. “What about oppa?” The girl turned around on her chair and looked at her father curiously. “Yes, yes! What about hyung?” The two boys also wanted to know and their eyes sparkled expectantly. If there was someone these three kids absolutely adored, it was their uncle.

Smiling, Jinhyuk ruffled his daughter’s hair before he sat down next to his sons. “I went to visit him today. But as he’s busy working I couldn’t stay long.”

“Oh, you went to visit Jonghyun?” His wife interjected surprised and Jinhyuk looked up to her.

“Yes, I was in the area so I spontaneously decided to drop by. Ah!” He then remembered. “And on the way, I bumped into a girl who reminded me of you from when you were still young.”

“Are you trying to tell me that I’m old right now?!” His wife playfully huffed at him.

“Anyia, anyia!” Jinhyuk quickly corrected himself. “My Sae Ryung-ah is still as beautiful as a peony and as young as a stag, of course!”

“You sound very sincere,” Sae Ryung chuckled but she knew her husband well enough to see the sincere feelings behind his words. “So, you say, that girl reminded you of me? How so?”

“You know you have that ability of concentrating on one thing so much that you forget everything else around you, right?”

Sae Ryung smiled a little embarrassed. “Yes?”

“Well, that girl was like that, too. She was walking back and forth in front of the Tokyo Dome so absorbed into her thoughts that she completely overlooked me and ran into me head on. She was just as clumsy as you. And she even thanked me for catching her like you did back then when we first met…!” Jinhyuk laughed a little at the memory and shook his head. “It felt like a déjà vu…”

“That’s a funny thing indeed,” Sae Ryung smiled back at her husband; also remembering their first meeting. “I wonder who it was, though…?”

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I just realised this chapter went missing somehow... O.o So, well, here it is again... ^^''