Baekhyun’s eyes slowly fluttered open. He immediately groaned and sat up on the bed ever so carefully. Grabbing his aching head, he looked around to see that Soojung was no longer beside him. He shifted his gaze to the clock on the bed-side table and saw that it was only 4:00 am.

The longer he stayed awake, the harder the pounding in his head became. Still, he wobbly got off the bed and headed for the kitchen where some sounds of activity were coming from.

Soojung was quietly chopping some vegetables to add to the noodle soup she was cooking. Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and with a pained groan, Baekhyun propped his head on the crook of her neck. He inhaled deeply, taking in her scent. Just having her so close made him feel better already.

“You’re awake? You should’ve slept more” Soojung commented matter-of-factly, not deviating from her chore. Baekhyun didn’t answer and just hugged her tighter.

For a while, nothing was heard except for Soojung’s knife against the wooden chopping board and the boiling soup by the stove.

…

“Hey, Baek?” she spoke softly. “Mmmm?” Baekhyun’s voice was muffled through her shirt.

“What’s wrong?”

“What?” Baekhyun shifted his head from her neck to her shoulder.

“Why did you get drunk last night? And why did you come home depressed from London?” she asked.

Again, Baekhyun didn’t answer. He quietly just eyed the cooking ingredients that Soojung was working on.

Sensing his unwillingness to answer her questions, Soojung sighed and was about to stop working when …

“No, don’t” Baekhyun said, hugging her even tighter “Don’t stop. I like watching you cook” he added, almost smiling. Soojung processed that for a while then sighed again and continued chopping “You’re really going to be like this?” she prodded.

“Hey, Love …”

“What?”

…

“Won’t you just marry me?”

SHINee, particularly Onew, Jonghyun, Key and Minho, were gathered in a certain meeting room in the EXO organization. No, they weren’t engaged in a serious discussion. In fact, all five members were all smiles and seemed to just be lounging around. They were actually waiting to welcome the arrival of the EXO organization’s guests.

“Taemin’s kinda taking a long time, huh?” Jonghyun commented as he stared at the ceiling in boredom. “He probably took a detour to go sightseeing or something, that brat” Key mumbled, shaking his head. “Well, pilot work is one of his favourite tasks so maybe he’s just enjoying it” Onew blinked at them. “A little too much” Minho chuckled.

At that moment, the door opened and Taemin poked his head in. “Taem!” SHINee exclaimed. “Hi, hyungs!” Taemin beamed and entered the room “Sorry, I was late. Switzerland is an AWESOME skydiving venue!”. Key facepalmed “I just know I’m right when I’m right” he groaned “Ya! You brat! You were sent there to pick up the guys! Not play around!”

Taemin just shrugged happily, ignoring the SHINee umma’s scoldings. He plopped himself on the chair beside Key. “So … where are they?” Jonghyun asked.

“Right here, hyung …” came a voice from the door, followed by more familiar voices from outside.

This time, Soojung put down her knife and turned around, Baekhyun had no choice but to loosen his hold on her waist and step back.

“Baek …” she sighed disappointedly. “I know …” Baekhyun scratched the back of his head “I know. Sorry” he mumbled sadly. He knew Soojun