You looked around the table.

*This is awkward...*

The only sounds you could hear were the clang of chopsticks against bowls and SHINee chewing the rice.

*Too awkward….*

You sighed at what had happened 10 minutes ago. When SHINee had come back from their schedule, Jonghyun was leaning just centimetres above you against a wall and the members were probably shocked with what they were seeing. They've heard of idols flirting with other idols but never a Hallyu star doing it with a maid!

All of them didn't talk for a few seconds and when they had finish processing the shocking scene in front of them, they all shouted at the same time with the same tone:

"Hyung, what are you doing to her?!"

Jonghyun slowly stood back upright and had an expression that made it seem like nothing had happened between the two of you. "Hey, be quieter. The neighbours will hear you. Do you really want to move into another building again?" he asked. The members suddenly remembered that the door was opened and Taemin quickly shut the door. Now, no one could hear what was going on in the SHINee house.

"Jonghyun-ah, what were you doing to poor ~~~~~-ssi?" Onew asked softly. Your shoulders softened at the sound of his voice. It was gentle and comforting, like lavender put into words. Turning your head to Jonghyun, you too were anticipating the answer Jonghyun was going to give. The rest SHINee was interested too but Key looked… sort of disgusted.

"Nothing much. I just wanted to give our maid a thank you gift for making our dinner for us. After all, we haven't eaten anything homemade for a long time" Jonghyun said calmly. For some reason, your shoulders deflated. You actually let yourself believe that Jonghyun would've been doing that for something other than thanking you. But as soon as that thought surfaced, you shook it away.

*No, I'm only a maid for SHINee. I can't let my feelings get in the way of my work. I finally found a job and I'm going to be paid heartily! Maybe I should just think about the money I'll be getting this week. I'm going to be richer by $10,000 dollars!* When you've returned back to Planet Earth, you could see Key giving you a dirty stare and the elevator look.

"Hyung, why did you spend your time thanking her? She's nothing but a simple maid that is paid to look after us. Don't waste your time thanking her, of all people. She's nothing but a slave" sneered Key and gave you one more look before sitting himself down at the table, crossing his legs and folding his arms. "Oi, maid. I'm waiting for my food so get it out here!" he commanded.

You gasped in shock and held in the urge to shove the hot curry in his face. *Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Come on ~~~~~, you can do this. Don't let Key ruin your job and especially don't let him ruin your life!* You looked down, sorting out your emotions and keeping in the anger. Key smiled evilly. Maybe if he were to blow your top,  Kim Sungmin would fire you and hopefully not hire anybody else.

So when you looked up and smiled sweetly like someone filming a commercial, he was surprised and could not believe that you had just soaked in that comment about you like that. "Of course, I shall go get it right away," you said and gestured to the other members. "Please, sit down at the table. The curry has finished cooking so it'll be nice and hot."

The other members were too, surprised at the sudden change of character and they suspiciously sat down at the marble dining table with gold lining the edges. Of course, they still haven't forgotten about the incident that had happened just minutes ago and they weren't going to let it go any time soon.

So that's how you got into this awkward first dinner with SHINee. *Great… Taemin, Key, Onew and Minho must be thinking that I had something to do with Jonghyun… Well, I can't blame them. Who wouldn't think something is fishy if they see someone flirting with a maid. But, I can't stand working for them with an atmosphere like this…. I have to sort this out!*

You stood up so fast with your hands slamming on the table that while Key was swallowing, he chocked and out came this motorbike sound. *Hmmph, serves you right for saying something so mean. Wait, that's not what I wanted to say!*

"Uh… Um…. Well, the reason I stood up was… uh..." you stuttered and you felt your palms getting sweaty. *It's okay, just say it Jang ~~~~~.* "Please don't misunderstand!" you shouted. SHINee looked up at you in confusion. "Well, when Jonghyun was…. on top of me- wait, that sounds weird. Like, when Jonghyun was leaning on top of me, it wasn't anything scandalous…! He just wanted to thank me because I was cooking for you guys so uh…. If you were thinking of anything else, forget about it! Really, it wasn't anything at all. I have absolutely NO interest in Jonghyun!" you said, flustered.

5 long seconds of awkward silence passed before they all started laughing except Key who was… cackling. You looked around, surprised. *Was what I said funny? It wasn't supposed to be…. I thought I was quite serious*

By the time they've finished, Key was crying and holding his stomach from laughing cackling too much. "Boy… We've got some maid on our sleeves…." gasped Key, wiping his reddened eyes. He pointed at you and gave you the 'Are-you-serious?' look. "Did you actually think that Jonghyun liked you or something? Sorry to break it to you lady, but he ain't got the slightest interest in you so you can just back off."

Your jaw dropped and it refused to be closed so it was left dangling there and you looked like a puppy that has just been abandoned. The last thing you saw before your eyes started to burn from tears was Key standing up and leaving to go to his room. The rest of the members just  stood up and followed Key, walking past you as if you had never been standing in front of them for the past 3 minutes.

Expecting Minho to leave like the rest of the members, you turned sharply to go to your own room when you heard a chair sliding and felt a hand grab onto your wrist. Shocked, you looked up quickly and saw how shocked Minho was from you crying. But, he seemed to know exactly what to do as he grabbed the box of tissues, led you to the sofa and stayed with you until you finished sobbing.

When you had finished, your eyes were swollen, your throat felt like something was stuck there and you had a serious case of the blocked nose. You were about to leave when you felt Minho's hand on your shoulder and he you softly, similar to how your mother had done for you when you were a kid. It was soothing, relaxing and somehow made you give all your trust to him.

"Are you okay?" Minho asked quietly. You only nodded and stared down. Nobody looks attractive after a good cry. He kept on your back as he was talking to you. "I know Key might not seem like the most nicest person you've met but he is a nice guy he just…. has his own problems so he tends to take them out on people. Let me apologise for them. I'm sorry we've made your job so hard on you…." said Minho, sounding actually upset.

You looked up and forgot about your unattractive face for that moment. Studying his face, you knew he was telling the truth and couldn't help but be… touched. Not many people have apologised whole-heatedly to you and have treated you so nicely so it was a good feeling to have. Soon, a smile formed onto your face and your throat was cleared. "Oh, that's okay. It doesn't matter. Well, I'll try my best to reach to every one of them… starting tomorrow. Right, how was that curry I made today? Was it to your liking?" you asked curiously.

Minho pretended to think hard about it and smiled. "Mm, it was good. But next, mind the amount of salt and curry paste you put in. Today, it was just a bit salty and the paste was slightly overpowering" he said. You nodded and mentally jotted down all of the points he just said. Quietly, you admired the sense of taste he had.

Suddenly, Minho jumped up from the sofa and gave you a heart attack. He bent down to be at eye level with you and you could see his eyes twinkle like he had some sort of genius idea. "I just had an awesome thought! How about I teach you how to cook tomorrow? I can show you a lot of cooking techniques my mum taught me" he asked, clearly wanting you to agree.

Of course, you would love to learn from Minho - who wouldn't? But then you thought of a problem that might get it the way of your lesson. "I'd love to. But Minho-ssi, don't you have a schedule tomorrow?" you asked. On the outside, you looked normal but on the inside, you were begging your lucky stars that he would be free tomorrow. *Oh please, please, PLEASE! Let him be free!!!! I'll do anything he asks me so please… LET HIM BE FREE!*

Minho thought about it for a moment and smiled sweetly. "No, I actually don't have anything on tomorrow. So we're good right? Oh yeah! Be prepared to learn from the great Minho!" he cheered and that made you laugh. Seeing you look so happy since Key's biting words made his expression softer. He patted your head and you looked up.

"~~~~~-ssi, that smile is the prettiest thing I have seen from you today. Don't let anything tarnish that wonderful smile. Well, its late and you should get some sleep if we are to make anything good tomorrow. A good student should not be tired during class. Goodnight, sweet dreams" he said and left. You watched him until he went into his room and closed the door.

Somehow, after that talk you felt lighter and much more happier. "Thank you, Minho-ssi" you whispered and walked happily into your room, getting ready for tomorrow's cooking class. After hearing you close your door, Minho stepped out quietly and went into the kitchen as it was far away from the rooms. He dialled in Kim Sungmin's number and waited until  his manager picked up.

"...Yeoboseyo?"

"Sungmin hyung, cancel all of my plans tomorrow. I have something more important than those interviews and magazine shoots."

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Yay, an update!

I always get excited when it's update time~

Ohmigosh, it's winter and I have caught a cold…. MAN! Cue the blocked nose and a box of tissues~

But it's okay, I have you guys to read my fanfic~ My cold shall get better in no time~

Wow, Minho is SO nice! I. SO. JELLY~ >v<