Chapter 15

Over the next few weeks, the feelers of the members of Super Junior kept SHINee’s head above water as far as appearances went, but there were many close calls and a couple instances of double bookings where they just had to split themselves and not send everyone to one location.  But always, Taemin was never left alone.  Not only would Key refuse to allow the maknae to be alone, concerned for his safety, but the other members either consciously or unconsciously were closing ranks around the group and placing their weakest member in the middle. 

Then it seemed that their manager changed tactics.  Rather than messing up their bookings or overbooking them and running them ragged, the man had suddenly called an all-stop to all SHINee appearances.  At first, the boys were so shocked that they were convinced that the man had found a way around their hyungs’ informing them.  They were in a panic on the first day, confused and oddly relieved on the second, and by the third they had realized that the man was either lulling them into a false sense of security before striking again or was planning a new way to make their lives hell.

After a couple of days of rest though, SHINee was starting to worry about not having any appearances at all.  So as the leader, Onew stepped up to take of the position of manager as well as leader.  Suddenly, it was Onew making the calls to television stations and show producers to put the members on their shows.  Onew who was making sure that all the members had rides to get to their schedules.  Onew who coordinated the stylists and production team and everything and everyone that went into SHINee making appearances on shows.  And it was Onew who scheduled in their practice times, their dancing in the studio and vocal lesson and the like.  While their manager tried to hurt them and their careers by being absent after his attempts at sabotage through them not being aware of their next appearances.  All he had proven was that Onew was a more capable leader than any of them had known.  That Onew had paid close attention all these years and knew what was necessary in order to produce the best results. 

The best part was that since one of the members was the one in charge, the schedules were much better on the members.  They weren’t having to do back to back tapings.  They weren’t waking up at 4AM to get ready for the first program and finally falling into bed around midnight only to have to do the same thing again the next day.  Their voices weren’t getting over-taxed so their performances on shows started to improve.  In fact since Onew took over, his and Jonghyun’s voices almost never cracked on air anymore just because he had enough time to rest.  And Taemin was missing far less school, and it was amazing how much more sense homework made when you had actually sat in for the lesson rather than trying to teach yourself. 

They found themselves actually liking this new arrangement, though they knew that it could never be more than temporary because Onew would only be able to play two parts for so long before it all caught up with him. 

That was when the packages started to arrive.

Occasionally, fans would be dedicated enough to track down their address, but that did not happen often.  But they had noticed that at least once a day they were finding packages from fans being delivered to their dorm.  Not to their company and then forwarded to them, but to their address directly. 

Then it was the girls.  Every morning a growing crowd of girls would wait outside the gates and scream out their names, the noise reaching a fever pitch as they walked past a window – do they had to shut all of the blinds and shades in their apartment. 

Moving into week two of the siege, as their were calling it, Minho came into the kitchen where everyone else was eating their breakfast with his laptop.  Placing it on the table, he caught everyone’s attention.  “I know how they’ve all figured out where we live.” 

Jonghyun paused with his spoon halfway to his mouth, milk dribbling back into the bowl as his cereal went neglected.  The others put their utensils down and turned all of their attention towards the rapper.

He turned the computer around so that all of them could see the screen.  It was opened up to a fan forum where their address was clearly posted up for all the world to see.  And it wasn’t just that page, Minho clicked through to over a dozen different forums, on all of which someone had posted their address up. 

“Well,” Onew said, rubbing his hand over his face in a tired manner, “That explains that.” 

The rest of breakfast was endured in an uneasy silence as each contemplated what having their correct address published would mean.  But soon it was time to really start the day. 

Taemin re-appeared from the bedroom, dressed in his school uniform and double checking his bag to make sure all of his assignments were in it.  True to form, Key could be found straightening the maknae’s tie and brushing invisible lint off of the jacket Taemin had just slipped on. 

“Aigoo, always a mess in the morning,” Key murmured, smiling affectionately and fixing a wayward strand of hair.  They were standing in the small hallway leading off to their door, and a quick glance behind them told Taemin that none of the other members were watching.  He quickly grabbed up Key’s hand and held it securely, noticing for the first time that his hands had grown bigger than his hyung’s over the years. 

They glanced into each others eyes for a moment and moved in for a gentle kiss.  Nothing mind-blowing, but it meant more than they could say at the moment.  That connection and that knowledge that someone was there for them, that would stay with them despite all of this crap that was going on was mind-blowing enough for both of them.  As Taemin’s full lips met Key’s slimmer ones, it just felt like it fit.  They meshed up at the perfect angle to induce everything from a sense of calming to toe-curling pleasure. 

Hearing footsteps coming towards them, they quickly disengaged and Key stopped to slip his own shoes on while Taemin slipped his bag over his head.  Key was taking Taemin to school today.  True to their words, none of the members had let Taemin go out alone anywhere, at least one of them always remains by his side so that their manager wouldn’t be able to corner Taemin when he was all alone. 

Onew came around the corner, surprising dressed up in a grey suit with a dark blue dress shirt underneath and a lighter blue tie laying undone around his neck.  “Do either of you know where my dress shoes are?” He asked, looking at the floor around him as though they might suddenly appear.  He glanced up and saw Key with his mouth dropped slightly open and Taemin raising an eyebrow.  “What?”

“What?! What do you mean what?!” Snapped Key, slapping Onew’s upper arm for good measure.  His loud voice carried through the apartment and seemed to call the attention of the other two to their doorway.

“What’s with the get up Onew?” Said Jonghyun, knowing that Onew never voluntarily wears a suit, none of them did, not even Key.

Onew looked around at them and sighed.  “I’ve had enough.  He can mess with our schedules, yell and scream all he wants, but posting our address online – that threatens our safety.”  He shook his head.  “I can’t keep acting as our manager forever anyway, so it’s time to go to the top and ask for a new one.”

“To the top…?” Taemin started.

“You’re going to see Lee Sooman aren’t you?” Minho said, startling the rest of them as he was his usual quiet self and no one had noticed him yet in the conversation.  “You’re going to tell him everything…”

Anxious faces turned to Onew.

“I have to.  There is no other road to take at this point.  He’s going to start finding out soon enough that I’m the one who had been making the schedules anyway and that our manager has been yanking us around, though…” He paused for a moment looking at Key and Taemin, “though, I will probably have to tell him the reason why as well.”

The couple hung their heads.  They had tried for so long to play off the manager’s antics because they didn’t want anyone outside their group to know.  It might mean firing from their contract; it might mean sanction from on top.  They liked being a part of SHINee, and they didn’t want to give any of this up.  But this was where their road had led them and this was the newest obstacle in their path – they could take it. 

“Hyung…do you want us there with you?”  Taemin asked.

Onew tried to smile his normal wide grin, but it didn’t meet his eyes.  “No Taemin, you go to school.  I can do this on my own.  I am the leader of the group aren’t I?”

There was a forces laughed that went around, with everyone trying to pretend like Onew going to see the head of their company was no big deal.

Jonghyun scratched his head, “I think I saw your shoes, they might have been shoved into my part of the closet.  I’ll go check.”

Key squeaked at seeing the time and made to shove Taemin out the door so they could get to his school on time.

Onew stood there, struggling to figure out his tie before Minho took pity on him, “Hyung, come here.”  And what had take Onew about five minutes to utterly ravage, Minho accomplished in fifteen seconds.  “One of these days you will learn how to tie a tie properly.” 

“Why should I?  You’re around!”  Onew said with his cheesy smile, but again it didn’t quite make the mark. 

“Hyung, seriously, if you want I can go with you.”  Minho said quietly as Jonghyun came back.

“I know you would go, but I think this falls under the ‘Onew’s responsibility’ category.  I’ll be back as soon as I can. 

Jonghyun came in with the shoes that had indeed been hiding under some of his dirty clothing that he had thrown on the floor.  “Tada!  Suit, tie, shoes equals instant respectability.”

Onew made quick work of the rest of his outfit and left for his meeting, leaving Minho and Jonghyun to star at the door with trepidation, wondering what the next obstacle in their path would result in. 

This isn't a really fun chapter but it is kind of a necessary one.  Trust me, things pick up soon, and there will be an ALL KEYTAE chapter soon - it is sorely lacking in this story.

Thanks for reading and please comment!