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“We already know.” Onew said without much of an expression. I looked at the other guys and they’re just continuing with their food as if nothing’s going on.

“What? How? Since when?” The questions just escaped my mouth without me thinking much about it.

No one responded for a while and it was quiet. I just sighed. I don’t know if it was relief I felt or guilt.

It stayed quiet for long until everyone’s done with dinner. I volunteered to clean up everything and urged them to just rest in the living room. There’s this really awkward and sad breeze within all of us.

I have this blank mind while cleaning up and washing the dishes.

I was wondering when and how did they know about it. It’s not that I’m feeling mad about them knowing about it and not telling me. I feel bad and guilty even more, more than how I felt before for hiding it from them. Should I just act as if nothing’s bothering me? As if I told it to them and they’ve just accepted it. *sigh* This situation is even more complicated than when I was hiding it from them.

I didn’t know that I’ve been standing still and staring in space for a while, until I heard the water from the faucet stopped. I looked beside me and saw Taemin, holding the faucet and staring worriedly at me.

“Huh?” I said out of the blue. I have a feeling he said something that I didn’t hear while my mind was wandering off.

He just smiled and shook his head. He moved away a bit, leaned his back on the counter, and stared straight. I ignored him and just continued cleaning the dishes.

“Your sister sent me a message a week ago. I was really shocked!” He said with a chuckle.

I looked at him wondering what he was saying. Then he continued with his story.

“Your sister doesn’t send messages to me that much. I think she only sends me messages for special occasions, like birthday, Christmas, even the coming of age day. But what shocked me more is her message. She asked me if we’re fine being away from each other again.” He chuckled embarrassedly. My eyes widen in shock and confusion.

“They’re not aware of what happened to us, am I right?” He asked, looking at me knowingly. I don’t know how to react. I just bit my lip and quickly looked away. I wanted to explain myself but the words just won’t come out.

 I actually didn’t tell my family about what happened to us. Whenever we talked on the phone, they always ask about Taemin and I, and I would always say that we’re fine. Whenever they would ask to talk to Taemin, I would always say that he’s busy and that they should not bother him as well. My family worried a lot for me when I told them I’d like to have a serious relationship with Taemin. They were really against it before, saying that we were too young for it. I actually don’t know how and why they became fond of him. Out of the blue they were just happy for us and would always treat Taemin as their son. I don’t want them to worry or hate Taemin so I didn’t tell them. Of course, if the story would come from me, and if I told them at that moment, Taemin would really look like a bad person who hurt their daughter’s feelings.

“I figured that out, so I replied to your sister. I said that it would be fine because we’re strong and that we’ve gone through a lot already. I even said that we’re prepared for it. Haha.” He said. I looked back at him. He has this kind smile but his eyes look sad, as if he has a lot of worries in his mind.

“But, I was not prepared for her reply. She said that we should cherish our last few weeks together. Then, I realized that you would be leaving soon... I really felt sad. I have lots of plan on how we can go back to how we all used to. How we’ll spend this year with you. I even looked up our schedule for this year to plan.” He sighed heavily.

I looked away and continued cleaning up while listening to what he’s saying. I’m taking so long to clean all this up because of my thoughts.

“We’ll be out of the country most of this month. How can we even spend time together? So, I told the Hyungs and asked for advice. They didn’t give any advice because they’re also sad. Haha. We just ended up reminiscing on all our happy times and how it would be nice to spend some time together again.” He chuckled sadly.

“And like a miracle, we had this day. I’m really happy.” He said with a warm smile. I can see it even if I’m not looking at him.

Huh. I hope he didn’t plan and made up all of these ‘running away’ issues just to have time for me! Oh what am I thinking?!

“So, can we just be friends again?” He chuckled shyly and looked away. “I won’t force you to be my girlfriend again. Just… don’t run and hide from us again. Let’s be very special friends!”

I glanced at him with a smile and a raised eyebrow before going back to the dishes.

“What? Why?” He said cutely with a chuckle.

I chuckled too without looking at him. I felt really relieved and glad all of a sudden. Like his smile took away all the worries.

“Okay. Friends. I won’t cut our contact again like before.” I said without looking.

“Yess!” He said, his hands in the air. He then gave me a quick hug.

“You know you’re so slow in cleaning up. Look! There’s still a lot! I’ll help you. Move aside.” He said happily as he pushed me aside. We ended up doing the dishes together. It only took us about 2 minutes to finish everything.

Wow. I was really slow.

We went to the living room after. The guys are seated comfortably on the couch and are watching this variety show. Taemin and I sat on the floor as the couch is already occupied.

Suddenly, Key gave me a hug from behind.

“So, when will be our date? You already spent time with Taemin today. It’s my turn!” He said and whined like a kid. I just chuckled.

The other guys quickly looked at us.

“What?! No! I should be next!” Jjong said.

“I’m the oldest, I should be the first!” Onew argued.

“Huh? Are we starting already? I was not informed! Let’s do it again!” Minho said.

I was left in shock as they argue.

“What are you guys talking about?” I said, looking at all of them as I escape from Key’s hug.

“Well, Jjong suggested it. He said we should spend a day with you before you leave.” Key said.

“We’ve decided that whoever hugged you first tonight would be the first one to spend a day with you. Aish. I thought we’ll start when it’s time to say goodnight!” Minho added.

“WHAT?! When did you guys decided on that? I didn’t know anything about that!” Taemin asked in shock.

“While you were cleaning the dishes.” Onew said blankly.

“You’re not included! You already had your date today!” Key said.

“WHYYYY?? Today doesn’t count!” Taemin argued.

I looked at them as they continue to argue. They look like kids fighting at the smallest stuff! I didn’t realize that I was laughing at them already.

“You guys! Stop it already! Hahaha!”

~~

Monday morning, we’re already preparing to leave this comfy house. I walked out of my room with my backpack. I saw that all the guys are already seating on the couch, waiting for their manager to come pick us up.

I sat beside Key. He was so busy looking at his phone. I became curious and peeked to it. Turns out he’s editing his selca through an app. I chuckled and he heard it.

“What?” He quickly hid his phone and moved away. He sounded so annoyed. Then, we both laughed.

“Let’s take a picture together!” I said as I scoot to him closer. He just rolled his eyes, pretending he doesn’t like it. But, he quickly put his phone in front of us and looked for the best angle.

We posed and took some photos. Then, suddenly, Key looked at me from head to toe.

“Tsk. You look very casual. Is that the only clothes you have?” He asked.

I looked at myself, a plain black shirt and denim shorts.

“Why? I’m not some celeb anyway.” I said. He then dragged me back to my room with his luggage.

He started looking through some of his clothes. I just realized, he has a lot of clothes for an overnight stay!

“Whoa! You’re not planning to stay here for a month, are you? What’s with all these clothes?” I said as I point through his things.

“I should look good anytime, anywhere!” He simply said.

He had found this glittery graphic tee. It looks like a girl’s shirt but I guess it would still look good on him.

“This?” I asked as I caught the shirt he tossed on me.

He just nodded and started fixing his messy luggage. I went to the bathroom to change. The shirt looks small but when I wore it, it really is big for me. It hides the shorts I’m wearing and the sleeves would reach up to my elbows. I went out of the bathroom, not knowing what to do with the shirt.

“Key, this is too big on me. Look.” I said as I got out of the bathroom.

He walked behind me. Suddenly I felt the shirt being cut!

“Whoa! Key! What are you doing?!” I asked in panic.

He quickly cut a thin triangle from the bottom of the shirt until the middle of my back. He then pulled the sides to the middle and pinned on something to hold it. I looked at it in the mirror and it turns out to be a cute robot patch. The shirt had its shape because of the cut and pin.

Key chuckled proudly while looking at his work.

“You should be proud! You’re a wearing personally made shirt by Key!” He said. I just chuckled in agreement.

We went out of the room and were shocked to see the boys staring at us. As if they were waiting for us to come out of the room.

“Of course! As expected from Kibum!” Jjong said with a proud smile as he leaned back on the couch.

“Wow. Looks good!” Minho complemented and Key flipped his invisible long hair.

“Anyways, she looks good whatever she wears.” Onew said. I smiled and felt touched by that comment.

“Yeah…even plain shirt fits her well.” Taemin added. I chuckled.

We then heard the honk of the car outside. The guys knew that it was their manager without even checking. We headed out and left with a happy heart.

“I think this should also be pinned together.” Taemin said, holding on the bottom end at the back of my shirt. Everyone laughed at him for being so conservative.

~~

Wednesday. I haven’t seen them for 3 days now. They are on tour in Japan and left the country last Monday night.

“Heeeey~!” I heard someone called out and was shocked to see who it was.

“Oh! What are you doing here?” I asked happily as I ran to hug them. It was Mark and Jinhee.

“We just thought that you might be tired and lonely working here this late.” Jinhee said as he handed out a bag of snacks.

I’ve been working here in Mr. Hong’s office until late night since Monday. We have this project to finish by the end of the week and so we stayed here for longer hours.

“Oh thanks!” I said. “Let’s seat there.”

“Yah..I was a bit upset of you. You didn’t tell me you’re with SHINee last weekend! How come Mark knew it before me?” Jinhee said while opening the snacks angrily. We just chuckled.

“It was unplanned. And it was just for 3 days. And nothing much happened. So what will I tell you? Haha Plus, Mark knew it because he called then. I just have to say that I’m away and I can’t do the errand he’s asking.” I said and ate some of the snacks.

“Still! You should have just told me that you’re with them. I can lead the conversation from there!”

“She can’t talk to you then! She’s alone with Taemin--” I hit Mark’s arm as hard as I could to stop him from telling more. He has been teasing me and making up scenarios since I came back from that trip.

“WHOA! WHAT?!” Jinhee said in shock.

“OH MY! DID SOMETHING HAPPEN?!”

“OH GOSH I CAN’T CONTAIN MYSELF! TELL ME EVERYTHIIIING!!”

“TELL MEEEEE~!”

Jinhee continued to whine while I hit Mark some more. I breathed deeply before turning back to her.

“Nothing. He’s just making things up.” I said blankly.

“Really? Ey~ that’s so boring… And that’s so you.” She sounded so disappointed.

“What?” I said and just chuckled. We all just chuckled.

 It was then silent for a while after all the chuckles.

“So, have you told them that you’re leaving next week?” Mark suddenly asked.

I was hesitant to answer at first, but I said it anyway.

“They actually knew about it before I said it.” I said and sighed after. It was quiet.

“How?” Jinhee asked.

“Well…my sister messaged Taemin.”

“Ayy..that’s why I was telling you before that you should tell your family about it.” Jinhee said. I just nodded.

“Nothing we can do about it. It already happened. So, did Taemin tell your sister that you already broke up?” Mark asked.

“No. He pretended that there’s nothing wrong.” I said with a chuckle.

“Tsk. You should stop with all these pretending and hiding you know. So, when will you tell your family? Just be honest, they’ll understand.” Jinhee said.

“I don’t know…maybe when I get back.”

“Wow. Taemin has some sense huh. Does he know that your family’s unaware of the situation?” Mark asked.

“No. He just figured it out.”

“He really is such a good guy. I think he worries about you too. Waah..for this time, I think he’s better for you compared to my brother.” Mark said. We all laughed at that statement.

~~

Friday. Well, technically it’s already Saturday. It is 3AM and my day’s still not over. We’re finishing up some works for the exhibit of the project tomorrow. I think I need some coffee to wake me up. But just as I was about to leave my seat, I cup of coffee appeared in front of my face. I was startled and moved back a bit. I looked who’s behind and was more shocked.

“Yah! Key! Why are you here?!” I asked happily and hugged him.

“When did you get back?” I said as I dragged a chair for him. We sat down.

“Just a few hours ago. Sorry we couldn’t contact you. We were so busy and tired.” He said as he put out the coffee and bread he bought.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry, I understand. Hehe. How did you know I was here?” I asked.

“Thanks.” I added while I sipped on my cup of coffee.

“I asked your friend, Jinhee. I didn’t know how, but I have her contact on my phone. Haha. I wanted to surprise you so I came here without telling you.”

“Why didn’t you just rest at your dorm? You look so tired.” I asked worriedly.

“Haaaay…This is already our date. Remember the one we talked about last weekend? The four of us will have a day with you. Unfortunately we can’t because of our packed schedule.” Key sighed in disappointment.

“Aww..you don’t have to do that. You should just rest whenever you have the chance! Aside from your tour you still have individual schedules. You should take care of your health and rest well.” I said worriedly.

“But we want to. When you leave, it would be impossible to have this chance again.”

“We can just contact each other online.”

“You know that’s not easy as well.”

I just nodded and continued with the bread. It was quiet for a while.

“So, what are you doing here this late?” Key said as he glanced around the dimly lit office.

“I’m working, editing photos and all. We have this exhibit by tomorrow. We still have some photos to finish.”

“Are those the printed ones?” Key pointed out at the covered frames and rolled paper leaned on the wall.

“Yep. Some are already installed on the venue. Those will be installed later together with the ones we’re still working on tonight.”

“Wow it’s Bigbang’s T.O.P.?!”

I chuckled at his reaction and nodded. He looks so amazed, like a little kid seeing these things for the first time.

“Right. I forgot to ask. What happened to your date with Taemin?” He asked excitedly and teasingly.

“Nothing much happened. Haha I got injured.”

“Not that. I mean, did you guys have a serious talk?”

“Well, yeah. I think. We decided to be good friends.”

“Huh?! WHY?” He sounded so disappointed and shocked.

“Well, that’s the best.”

“Why?”

“You know… It’s hard…”

“But that’s part of it. You’ll get stronger because of that.”

“I know. But… Haaay…it’s best for now. I need to grow by myself first. Plus, I don’t want to be a burden and the reason for his worries.”

“Dear…you’re not a burden, I’m telling you.”

“But I feel like I am… I know myself. And I know that I’m not good for Taemin.”

“What if you’re really meant for each other? You’re missing the chance.”

“But, what if we’re not? We would be wasting our time together with all these problems when we could have met a better partner.”

“What? So, you’re thinking of being with someone else now?” He sounded so shocked.

“Nooo. That’s not what I mean--”

“Can you stand it seeing Taemin with someone else?” He asked and I was quiet for a while.

“If he’s happy then I would be happy for him.”

“Wow. You sound so cliché. I’ve heard that a lot from others.” He sounded so annoyed. I just chuckled and stayed quiet.

“But, really. I have this feeling that you’ll end up together and be happy forever.” He said with a warm smile.

“Maybe... Let’s see about that. But for now, this is the best solution. We have to grow on our own and think of our own happiness. It’s time to mature, especially for me. Who knows? If we’re for each other, fate will lead us back together.” I chuckled. “I sounded so cliché.”

“Whatever.”

So..they have decided to stay as friends...

What do you think?

THANK YOU FOR READING! :)

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