"Of course it is. They shouldn't control your life."

"But they do. I can't change that."

"Good morning, Ms. Chin. Are you all set?" 

Suyeon slowly entered Chin's room, the magazine in her right hand. "Shall we do a quick test?" Both girls laughed as Chin replied, "Let's do it! I don't want to be embarassed in front of them. I want to make sure I give them a good impression. Hmph, their manager surely didn't do that."

"Yes, I heard from Madam. Wasn't it that you walked in on them in the middle of their recording, and the manager went berserk? He even shouted at the boys, right? If you ask me, that was really unprofessional."

Chin shook her head. "It really was. I didn't get to meet them anymore. I guess today's the day!" She put in her favorite gray cardigan from Zara into the luggage bag and closed it up. "Do you think they'll like me? I mean, won't it be awkward, not having common things to talk about? I'm not one of their fangirls who knows things about them."

"They won't just like you, they'll love you!"

"I don't want what happened before to happen again. I'm still not over the first time," Chin remarked, lowering her head. 

Suyeon laughed and then commented, "Someone's getting serious! Come, let's finish packing up."

___

"I hope you're okay with just sleeping on a mattress in the living room. Have you seen the bedroom of the boys? There isn't enough space even for the five of them. We wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable, being squished in the room with them."

Yong Jae Gwa pulled Chin's luggage into the living room and then clapped his hands. 

"So, this is their dorm! How do you like it? It's not much, but the boys are simple and so it's okay with them. Nice, don't you think?"

Chin walked over to the kitchen and leaned against the counter. "Nice kitchen."

"I know it's not much, and you're probably used to so much more, but this is really all we can provide." Yong Jae Gwa bowed several times that Chin had to stop him.

"It's alright," she assured him as she laughed. "All i said was that the kitchen is nice. Did I say something offensive?"

"No, not at all..."

"Anyway," she said, observing the kitchen, "I really do like the kitchen. Am I allowed to cook here?"

"Of course, of course!" He walked over to her and started pointing around. "This turns on the gasoline, this is for the oven-"

"I know how to work my way around the kitchen, don't worry. Just because my family is rich and important doesn't mean that we don't live like normal people do sometimes. My mother is actually a very good cook, and my father is very talented when it comes to baking. I got both their skills." 

"Maybe you should cook for the SHINee boys then. They normally buy take-out...it's so unhealthy for them, especially since they have such a rigorous schedule. They should be eating healthy food!"

"I'd be glad to do that. I just hope my skills are good enough for them."

Yong Jae raised his eyebrow. "Would you like to try this amazing kitchen out?"

___

"This is what I call apple-filled meatballs fried in sesame oil. I invented this dish a couple of years back, and it's been a family favorite ever since. You know my mother is half-Filipina right? They love meatballs in the Philippines."

Chin took two meatballs with her tongs and placed them on the paper towels. She rolled them around lightly, making sure that most of the oil would be absorbed. 

Yong Jae took a meatball and tossed the whole thing in his mouth. "It's good. Hmm. They'll like this. It's simple but really good." He reached for another but Chin slapped his wrist. 

"I didn't make these for you, arasso? These are for the guys."

"Are you serious? You made enough meatballs for a feast between SHINee, Super Junior and SNSD combined...with leftovers, mind you. I think you can spare another one...after all, I pulled your heavy luggage bag in here." He picked up two meatballs and popped them in his mouth. 

Chin held his cheeks and shouted, "Hey, you said just one! Give me-"

Before she could finish, she heard the front door open, and a voice say, "Mr. Yong Jae Gwa! Are you here?"

She turned to what she was cooking, making her back face SHINee. 

Yong Jae quickly swallowed the food and walked over to them. "Annyeong haseyo! How was the recording? Did you get to finish? Mianhae for what happened yesterday, ah? Anyway, she's already here, and she cooked for you five!"

He reached for Chin's wrist and then quickly whirled her around. 

"Hmmm, what's cooking? Smells good, Mr. Yong-" Onew couldn't finish what he wanted to say, because as soon as he saw Chin, he got hit.

Chin bowed and then quietly said, "Annyeong. My name is Chin Sung Bae. It's nice to meet you all." She smiled awkwardly, waiting for one of them to say something. 

Jonghyun took a step forward and held his hand out. "Hello, I'm Bling Bling Jonghyun, but you can just call me Jonghyun. It's nice to meet you, Chin." She shook his hand and then slowly let go. 

Onew was the next to approach her, but as fate would have it, his condition struck. He tripped on Yong Jae's foot and lunged towards Chin. Good for her, Taemin's reflexes were quick, and he was able to push Onew back. With his palm still pushed against Onew's chest, he turned to Chin and said rather flirtatiously, "Hi, I'm Lee Taemin. You can call me Taemin, or maybe even Taeminnie. Whatever works for you. You're my noona, right?" 

He reached for hand and shook it for about thirty seconds. Chin started to laugh as Key pulled Taemin's hand away. "Whoa, back up, tiger. How old are you again?" Key chuckled before continuing, "The one who just tripped is Lee Jinki, but you can call him Onew."

"Hi!" Onew had backed away from Chin and was waving like a child at her. "I'm the leader!"

Key laughed and then stood directly in front of her. "I'm Kim Kibum, but you can just call me Key. I really hope you enjoy your stay with us." He bowed lightly and then slowly backed away. 

Yong Jae looked around and then remarked, "Four introductions. Someone's missing."

The other members started looking around until Onew shouted, "I know! I know! It's Minho!" He pointed to Minho sitting quietly on the sofa. "Hey punk! Get over here and introduce yourself to the neomu yeppeo girl!" 

Minho slowly stood up, walked over to Chin, took her hand and lightly kissed the top of it. "Annyeong haseyo, I'm Choi Minho."

He slowly leaned in, brought his mouth less than an inch away from her ear and whispered so quietly like it was his deepest, darkest secret. The warmth of his breath spread out all over her neck and her face, making her shiver.

"Do you remember me?"