It was the first day of vacation since you had started working at JYP. Although you loved your job, the break was welcome. You looked forward to some time to relax. You jumped into your car and headed to the mall for some shopping. Small crowds were forming around  the entrance, so you curiously checked it out.

"KEY! KIBUM OPPA! KEY! LOOK OVER HERE!" fans shouts filled your ears. Unfazed, you cut through the crowd, trying to enter the mall to get to your shopping. You had almost made it through the door when a strong hand grabbed your arm and you turned.

"HEY! I had been waiting for you! Come on, let's go!" SHINee's Kim Kibum said to you. Confused, you went along with him. "Sorry girls, I have a friend to catch up with! See you later" Key called to his fans, while taking your hand and walking in the entrance.

When you got inside, and the fans finally dispersed, Key let out a sigh. "Thanks for that," he said with a smile. “Do you want my autograph as payment? Where should I sign? an album? paper? my picture? your skin?” He pulled out a pen and reached for you arm to sign it.

You pulled you arm back and looked at him, confused. "Why? wha...what just hapenned?" you asked.

"Oh I just wanted to do some shopping. I needed an excuse to ditch my fans, and then you came along! You were the only girl not screaming my name, so I hoped that maybe you would play along with my charade for the time I needed." he replied cheerily.

"Do I... know.. you?" you asked, fully aware of who you were talking to, but utterly confused as to how he knew you.

His face turned pink for a second, before he composed himself. "Do you seriously not know who I am? I’m Key. from SHINee.” He waved his hand in front of you to see if you were awake. “You’re supposed to be screaming with joy that I just held your hand, not giving me blank looks!” he continued with a frustrated tone.

You gave him a killer smile and smirked. "I do know who you are Kibum-ssi, and I’m glad I could help. It was nice meeting you!" You turned away with a wave and began to walk away before he grabbed your wrist.

“I don’t get you,” Key said pointedly. “Why aren’t you affected by the fact that I am a celebrity?”

“Not everyone is a crazy fan, Kibum-ssi,” you replied with a calmer tone than before realizing he was truly confused by your sass earlier. You contined with a gentle smile, “I just figured that as a celebrity, you wanted to be left alone and have some personal time, so I toned down my response. It really is an honor to meet you.”

He rubbed his neck awkwardly, still slightly shocked by your reaction to him but better than before. You began to walk away again, before you heard him shout after you, "I never got your name!"

"It's [your name]" you shouted back before walking off, leaving Key stunned.

Two days later, SHINee was making their Sherlock comeback on M!Countdown. You were there running errands for JYP, when you ran into the group. You bowed your head in apology and were about to go on your way, when Key called out your name. You turned, and were faced with Key beaming, and the others looking at him with curious, but oddly happy, looks.

"Who are you?" Taemin asked sweetly. "Yeah, who are you?" Jonghyun added huffily, pulling Key close to him as he said it.

"Oh guys, this is the girl I was telling you about! Its [your name]!" Key announced proudly, pulling away from Jonghyun and engulfing you in a hug. Speaking to you now, he said, "I realized after the fact who you were. You're that girl Min was telling me about, right? The tutor from JYP?" You nodded in reply, still slightly in awe that SHINee was talking to you. Even though you had controlled your reaction before at the mall, seeing them all together was overriding your fangirl instincts. You had to breathe in deeply to avoid squealing in joy.

Jonghyun's frown immediately left his face as he engulfed you in a hug. "Oh, I've heard so much about you! It's so nice to finally meet you," he cried. You later realized he had thought you were Key's girlfriend, and was therefore a little unhappy upon meeting you.

They had to get back on stage for the closing of the show, so you had to part with them, but before you left, Key made sure to exchange numbers with you.

 
The next day, you got a call from SM's Lee Soo Man. He offered you a job to work with SM artists! He had already arranged that he would pay a portion of your salary and living costs, and you would work for both companies. When asked about the sudden offer, he offhandedly replied that "Key was pestering him" so he decided you must be worth it. You thanked him kindly before hanging up. After pinching yourself to make sure you weren’t dreaming, you screamed in joy. 2AM’s Jinwoon poked his head into the room to make sure you were okay and you assured him that everything was going to be great before breaking to him, and eventually the rest of your friends, the good news.

Over the next few weeks, you acquainted yourself with all the SM artists. Even though most of them were older, some even 12 or more years older, you made friends with them. Plenty of really good friends. And then you started receiving calls from other agencies, J-Tune, CCM, Loen, Starship, and others. They had all been pestered by their artists to make a deal with JYP and have you work with their idols. Upon investigating, you realized that the cause of all of this, the catalyst for the whole event, was Key. He had talked to his wide range of celebrity friends and convinced them that you were worth meeting. You smiled to yourself, and thanked Key silently for the opportunity.
 
----
[A/N] for those of you who guessed it based on the last line of chapter 2, yes! the “almighty” individual was none other than Key! also, just in case you didn't catch it (i'm a failure at subtlety) I threw in a little jongkey! i'm not insinuating anything (or am I? *wiggles eyebrows*) but I do think that they are really close and adorable together as friends :) photocreds to whomever the picture belongs and to the ridiculously photogenic key himself!