(A day later)

“Taeminnie. Wake up. Onew hyung’s preparing breakfast already. Me, Minho and Jjong are going out at noon, and hyung has a date with Victoria noona. Where do you want to go? And no following us, we’re just going to do something for a while. Oh yeah, don’t try to practice your dancing, arasso?” Taemin heard key say softly. Opening his eyes, Taemin yawned, rubbing his eyes as he nodded at Key while smiling.

“I’m probably just going to go out to find Heechul hyung if he’s free, or maybe I’ll just stay in the dorm till you guys get back. Go shopping, maybe? And umma, obviously I won’t dance… I’m not stupid… I can practice singing though,” Taemin wondered aloud.

 Key nodded, smiling a little, but then frowning at the idea of shopping. “Heechul hyung is busy today. No shopping. You can’t possibly go far in that injured leg, and even if you can, what if fans chase you? Can you run away?” Key asked worriedly. Taemin frowned slightly, considering what Key just said and nodded. “Ok, no shopping. The three of us will be back by 3pm, or earlier if possible. Minho will bring you shopping if you want, or maybe to the arcade or something, who knows? Come on, go wash up already,” Key instructed gently. Taemin beamed, nodding and hobbling to the toilet to wash up.

*Hyung’s going out with noona again? Aish… That’s pretty sad… But at least he’s making breakfast for me! I should be glad to have such a caring leader! Ok, I’ll just ignore the fact that OnToria is going on another date. Right* Taemin persuaded himself, brushing his teeth before fixing his hair. He then put on a bright smile, walking to the kitchen where the other members were waiting for him and Onew to start breakfast.

“Tae~ I cooked eggs!” Onew announced, setting the table as Taemin sat down. “And when we’re outside, I can’t call you by your pet names…” Onew whined, walking past Taemin and giving him a quick peck on the cheek, causing Taemin to blush and hit the leader on the shoulder playfully. “It’s not my fault you’re irresistible…” Onew complained, putting the rest of their breakfast on the table and seating himself.

Inside, Minho was seething with anger. *Onew hyung has hurt Taemin so much, but Taemin still loves him… Why can’t Taemin just sense my newfound feelings for him?! Am I really so invisible? Why would he love the one who’s hurt him the most? Why can’t it be me?! Onew hyung, I’ll get you for this, someday, somehow. I swear, it’s the last thing I’ll ever do!* Minho vowed to himself, trying desperately to keep his calm.

“Hyung, don’t do that… We’re not a couple anymore, what if noona’s spying on us?” Taemin asked, whispering the last part.

Onew nodded, apologising to Taemin. Taemin just smiled and shook his head while JongKey were looking at each other, smirking to themselves. Minho, on the other hand, was clenching his fists, still angry at his hyung, but not wanting to hurt Taemin further.

“Yah! Just eat already! It’s quite late, probably 10.30am. we’re leaving at noon, so we have to be done by 11.30am! Just, stop talking and eat already… Seriously, I’m like, getting goose bumps…” Key complained, glaring at the OnTae couple who nodded sheepishly, Onew giving the order to start eating. They ate in silence, looking at each other every now and then.

By 11.15am, they were done and had gone to wash the dishes. After that, they went to prepare for their respective ‘appointments’: Onew’s date with Victoria to the amusement park; Key, Jonghyun and Minho to discuss the plan; Taemin to singing practice.

Key went into the room, putting some makeup on and changing his clothes. The other members just changed, walking to the living room.

“Well, we’ll be back by 3pm. Bye~” Key announced, Jonghyun and Minho behind him. He opened the door to find a smiling Victoria looking at him, causing him to jump in shock. “Erm… Onew hyung, Victoria noona’s here,” Key said, quickly dragging the other two out, waving at Victoria.

“Onew~ Let’s go now! Omo! Taemin’s back? What’s he going to do while we’re out? Should we get him to follow us?” Victoria asked, feigning concern while smiling innocently. *This might be the best plan yet! Taemin will be so sad when he sees OnToria in action, even if everyone knows I attacked Taemin! I’ll make sure this is the worst experience Taemin ever has!* Victoria thought evilly, grinning menacingly.

“That’s not a good idea… I need to practice my singing later,” Taemin said nervously. *Wait. What am I doing?! I should be taking this chance to spend more time with hyung… Aigo… Next time noona asks, I’m saying ‘yes’* Taemin thought to himself.

“That’s right. I don’t want him to disturb our quality time together, too. Let’s just go,” Onew said hastily, tugging Victoria’s arm while flashing Taemin an apologetic look.

“But… Onew-ah, I want him to be there… Please?” Victoria pleaded, pouting in a way that both Onew and Taemin found quite repulsive. Shaking his head furiously, Onew glared at Victoria fiercely. Victoria got a little shocked, backing off for a moment.

“Noona, no means no. I don’t need nor want Taemin there. Seriously, just forget about it! He’ll be fine here, alone or not,” Onew shouted angrily, annoyed at Victoria’s attempts to make Taemin jealous and sad.

“Hyung, you know what? I’ve changed my mind. I want to go. I can help you guys take pictures and whatever you need. Just let me go, that’s all I need,” Taemin announced, his decision to protect Onew from his clumsiness made.

“But… your leg…” Onew said, a last attempt to keep Taemin home. *I understand what he’s doing, but is it worth his feelings to protect someone like me? A bastard who’s hurt his feelings time and time again. Is it worth it?* Onew questioned himself.

“I don’t care, I’m going whether you like it or not, hyung. I’m not going to injure or wet my leg, I promise. But don’t tell Key umma, please? He’ll kill me if he knows… And don’t tell the other hyungs. I have to be back by 1.30pm, or they’ll suspect something…” Taemin sighed, knowing how Key could be when someone went against his orders.

*Aigo… He obviously knows that this is all a plot of Victoria’s to make him jealous… But if it’s what he wants, I won’t deny it from him. I’ve already done so many things he didn’t like, now it’s time for him to get what he wants!* Onew thought, determination on his face. If anything went wrong, he would protect Taemin. Sighing in defeat, Onew nodded at Taemin, “Fine, you can come along. But don’t you dare injure yourself. If Key finds a strand of hair out of place, I’m dead. He’ll know that I brought you out, although I don’t know how. Just take good care of yourself, arasso? I don’t want to die at such a young age…” Onew warned, sending Taemin his impression of a threatening look. Taemin burst into laughter, nodding at the leader. Victoria stared at OnTae weirdly, looking a little jealous, but ignored the feeling.

“Ne. Come on! We only have about an hour to play before I have to be back! Chulbal~” Taemin said, imitating Minho on ‘Oh! My School’. He walked over to the couch to get his crutches, not wanting to fall on the way there. Then he grabbed his jacket and passed Onew a beanie, pulling his own hood down. They went downstairs and hailed a cab, OnTae sitting together, leaving for the amusement park in silence.

At SuJu’s dorm, f(x), SNSD, SHINee and SM gathered. “You girls know about OnTae?! Who told you?” SM asked in shock.

“We overheard Onew oppa when he got together with Victoria unni. We also know about the other pairings in SHINee, SuJu and even DBSK,” Luna answered politely, not wanting to offend her boss or sunbaes. SM’s eyes widened, looking at SHINee and SuJu.

“MWOH?!” SM exclaimed. SHINee and SuJu shrugged, not caring about what f(x) knew anymore. “Wait, who told you about DBSK? And you are talking about YunJae and YooSu, right?” SM asked the f(x) members. They looked at SuJu, nodding at SM’s second question. “You told them about DBSK’s couples?” SM asked, calmer now. SuJu nodded, showing no hint of concern on their faces. “Fine. Just don’t ever leak any of this info out to anyone, not even others in the company, got it?” SM asked f(x), who just nodded. Key cleared his throat, directing everyone’s attention to him.

“We’re gathered here today to think of a new plan because yesterday, our dear leader Onew had a nervous breakdown, although he remembers nothing of it,” Key stated, giving the others in the room to absorb this information. Gasping in shock, SNSD, SuJu, SM and f(x) gestured for Key to continue. “He said something about us making OnTae hurt unnecessarily, and cursed at our first plan. So obviously, we had to call this meeting. Any ideas?” Key asked.

“Wait. Who wants lunch first? I mean, it’s just the time, and maybe we can think better after that,” Yuri suggested. The others nodded at her, and they ordered pizza for everyone to share.

Once they finished eating, after half an hour, they sat back down and started to think of an idea, everyone looking at each other from time to time.

Meanwhile, at the amusement park, Taemin yawned, stretching his arms. “Hyung is queuing with noona now… Hmm… I have to leave in half an hour… And I’m not allowed to play anything cause of my injured leg… Damn it,” Taemin muttered under his breath, standing up and grabbing his crutches to buy a hotdog. When he walked back to his seat, he noticed that a crowd was forming around him. “.” Taemin cursed, pulling his hood further down to block his face more. Just then, Onew and Victoria came out, walking to Taemin.

Seeing the people around Taemin, Onew started to panic. Pulling his beanie to cover his face, Onew rushed into the crowd to help Taemin. “Yah! Get away from my dongsaeng!” Onew shouted, grabbing Taemin’s arm and pulling them out of the crowd, all the while ignoring the fans’ questions of ‘Are you Lee Taemin of SHINee?’ and ‘Are you SHINee’s leader Onew?’.

“Hyung!” Taemin wailed as soon as they got out, hugging Onew like a lifeline. Onew patted Taemin’s back in comfort, glaring at Victoria accusingly.

“Tae… Taejin-ah, let’s go back now, arasso?” Onew asked, unable to think of a better name. Chuckling, Taemin looked up at his hyung and smiled, nodding as he grabbed his crutches. Supporting Taemin, Onew helped him to the exit of the amusement park, Victoria following behind them in confusion.

Back at SuJu’s dorm, Key sighed in frustration, walking to the door to check if there was anyone eavesdropping before covering the peephole with a piece of black paper. He then reassumed his place next to Jonghyun, looking at the others who were deep in thought. In the past 45 minutes, not one of them had thought of an idea, much less one that worked.

Suddenly, Leeteuk jumped. “I got it!” he exclaimed, immediately attracting the others’ attention. “Why not just let OnTae be together, but in secret? I mean, since Taemin already knows about the first plan, that Onew was lying, might as well, right? For example, at night or during your free time, arrange some SHINee-day-out or something. OnTae must both be free, and then you’ll go shopping together before splitting up. Heechul can also go shopping with Taemin and Key when he’s free, but ask Onew along! You guys understand what I mean?” Leeteuk blabbered, unable to contain his excitement any longer. “Not to mention that the SuJu couples can go out with them too!” Leeteuk added, beaming at the rest.

“We did think about letting them be together in secret, but not the rest! You’re brilliant, Leeteuk hyung!” Jonghyun complimented.

“But won’t Victoria be with Onew all day? When can you get them to be free, at the same time?” Sooyoung asked. “Not that the idea isn’t great, but they don’t really have a lot of time at night…” Sooyoung added hastily, not wanting to offend Leeteuk.

“No problem. Unni is usually back from her dates by 4pm, and they don’t go out on Sundays, anyway. I have a feeling that this is going to work,” Sulli stated. The others smiled at Leeteuk, thanking him silently.

“This is a great idea, Jungsu. Good job,” SM praised, the others nodding in agreement. “Anyone think there are problems with this plan?” SM asked the others in the room.

*Why did they have to think of a plan like this? And SHINee has to follow on their dates?! Are they thinking of these plans on purpose or what? Aish… Should I object? Of course, it’s my happiness!* Minho mentally debated, raising his hand confidently.

“Minho-ah, what problem is there with the plan?” SM asked, confused.

“It’s just… If we keep going out, won’t Victoria noona be suspicious?” Minho asked. the others furrowed their brows, considering this.

“There won’t be problems if she doesn’t know,” Jessica pointed out.

“Fine…” Minho sighed, defeated. *And here I thought that I could prevent OnTae from being together…* Minho thought to himself sadly.

“Yeah! Ok, I think we should be going soon. Taemin probably hasn’t had lunch, and we promised to take him shopping later. I guess we took too long to think of such a simple plan, huh? Oh well, at least we didn’t all gather for nothing. Come on, let’s all go back to our dorms. Bye, SuJu, SNSD and SM sunbaes. And f(x),” Key said, turning to his hoobaes, “never tell any of this to Victoria, got it?” f(x) nodded, waving goodbye and going to practice. SNSD, SHINee and SM followed behind, waving goodbye to SuJu. After the others left, Leeteuk looked at the couples in the room, looking at him pleadingly. Sighing, Leeteuk nodded at them.

“You can go, but be back by 7pm for dinner, ok? Bye~” Leeteuk instructed, the four couples nodding at him. He then waved YeWook, KyuMin, EunHae and ZhouRy out for their dates, smiling at them while telling them to be careful. “The things I do as an umma…” Leeteuk muttered, retreating into the room to rest with Siwon, Shindong and Heechul following behind him.

Meanwhile, Onew, Taemin and Victoria had returned to SHINee’s dorm, Onew carrying a sleeping Taemin into the room to rest while Victoria bid her goodbye, a fake smile on her face while she was actually fuming in anger. *I cannot believe that my plan failed. On top of that, Onew ditched our date for Taemin! AISH! But then again, he did explain it to me in the taxi…* Victoria thought, walking back to her own dorm.

 

[Flashback]

“Noona, I’m really sorry. But as SHINee’s leader, I have to be responsible for Taemin, you understand? I’ll make it up to you, I promise. Don’t be angry already, arasso?” Onew apologised for the tenth time, Taemin sleeping peacefully while leaning against his shoulder.

“Ne. Of course I can understand. And anyway, your relationship with him is over. There’s no way I’m letting him snatch you away from me. You know that, don’t you?” Victoria asked menacingly, causing Onew to gulp and nod in reply.

“Yes, noona…” Onew replied softly, suddenly feeling afraid for Taemin and himself.

“Since tomorrow’s a Sunday, you’ll have it up to me on Monday. But then I have to practice for my comeback at noon…” Victoria muttered, sighing heavily.

“Can we go out in the morning? I have to practice for the upcoming SHINee World Concerts anyway, and it’s scheduled in the afternoon, too,” Onew suggested, face palming himself mentally. *Why did I say that? Oh well, I’ll just practice. Anyway, Tae needs help on his singing… We can go together!* Onew thought, grinning to himself.

Victoria misunderstood the smile, thinking that it was because of their date. Nodding, Victoria smiled back at Onew. “Arasso! It’s set, then! No backing out, got it?” Victoria asked, kissing Onew on the cheek. Thankfully, she missed the shudder that ran up Onew’s spine at that brief moment of contact. Onew just nodded, still quite disgusted at himself.

[End of flashback]

 

Victoria went back to her dorm, trying to sleep her problems away. In SHINee’s dorm, Onew had laid Taemin on his bed, putting his crutches away at the foot of the bed. Taemin stirred, waking up from his sleep, shocking Onew a little.

“Hyung, you carried me here? Wow…” Taemin said in awe, causing Onew to blush. “And I’m sorry for ruining your date. I didn’t expect so many fans to come after me… And Taejin? Really, hyung?” Taemin asked.

“Yah! I couldn’t think of a better name, ok? And don’t blame yourself for ruining the date. I’m actually thankful to you,” Onew smiled, hugging Taemin in thanks. “And anyway, I shouldn’t have let you come with us. You ended up sitting alone cause of your leg…” Onew apologised, patting Taemin’s back lightly.

“Arasso. Can we eat chicken?” Taemin asked, knowing a sure way to cheer Onew up. As expected, Onew nodded furiously, beaming brightly. Helping Taemin up, he grabbed the crutches and passed them to Taemin.

Just then, Key, Jonghyun and Minho walked into the dorm, JongKey smiling at the sight of OnTae together while Minho stayed aloof. “What’s going on?” Key asked, gesturing at Onew walking beside Taemin while supporting him slightly.

*Of course, the best way to ruin my day even more…* Minho thought, annoyed at their sweetness towards each other.

“We’re going out for chicken~ You guys want to come with us?” Onew asked, delighted at the very thought of eating chicken.

“Well… we already ate, but I guess I could eat a little more. And not to mention the fact that I need to get more clothes for Jjong. Just look at this!” Key held Jonghyun’s shirt up, looking at it in horror. “I bought it, sure, but… it’s almost a year old!” Key exclaimed, glaring at his lover who just nodded sheepishly in reply to the invitation, making Key clap excitedly.

“Minho hyung? You coming?” Taemin asked innocently, calming Minho down a little. Nodding, he smiled at Taemin.

“Sure. But after eating, I am going to the library. I need more books,” Minho stated, making Key sigh in exasperation.

“Minho, you have to get a life… Stop reading and playing soccer like, everyday! Seriously…” Key complained. Minho just shrugged, ignoring Key’s advice.

“It’s set then, let’s go now!” Onew shouted, opening the door again while Key, Jonghyun and Minho grabbed either a hoodie or beanie to wear. Walking to the lift, Onew held the door for the other members to enter before going in. Hailing a cab, they headed to the closest mall Onew knew of that sold great chicken, covering their faces with their hoodies and beanies.

Arriving at the mall, Onew silently prayed that it wouldn’t have many fans. To his surprise and relief, the mall was quite empty with the exception of a few adults and elderly. *But this mall is pretty popular, and it’s a Saturday… Why’s it so empty?* Onew thought, furrowing his brows in thought as Taemin looked over at him.

“Hyung, you know what I’m thinking? Why isn’t there a crowd at all today?” Taemin asked, reading Onew’s thoughts perfectly.

“Maybe there’s an event somewhere else…” Key speculated.

Shaking his head, Onew sighed. “No way. Me and Taeminnie have been here a few times before, and it has always been crowded. Always.” Onew said firmly, Taemin nodding in agreement. Key just shrugged, not really caring anymore.

Then, the answer to their question was heard. Far away, but distinctly, SHINee heard chants of ‘EunHae!’, ‘YeWook!’, ‘KyuMin!’ and ‘ZhouRy!’ being shouted.

“No wonder… Apparently, our dear sunbaes are here too. They come on a date, but are dumb enough to come together? All coming to one mall? That’s the smartest thing I’ve ever heard of…” Onew muttered under his breath. Suddenly, the said couples ran past them, shooting SHINee a brief glance that said ‘help’ before rushing to the exit of the mall. A huge group of fans ran behind them, chanting the couples’ names over and over again.

“Should we help? It’s not like they don’t help us when we need it…” Jonghyun asked worriedly. Key and Minho nodded while Taemin just looked confused. Onew, however, shook his head angrily.

“You can’t be thinking of Taeminnie helping them in his current state, right? No way would I ever allow that. You guys go, I’ll stay with Tae to make sure he’s safe,” Onew ordered, the other members nodding in reply before rushing to help their sunbaes.

“Hyung, you can go help the sunbaes. I’m old enough to take care of myself,” Taemin assured.

“No! You know I won’t leave you alone, Taeminnie. You’re always my first priority and always will be. Aish… Why does this always happen? When I’m with you, fans want OnTae. When I’m with noona, fans want OnToria… Jinjja…” Onew said in frustration. “But I’m really curious. Hasn’t OnToria reached the news yet? I mean, that day I went to watch the movie, this really rude fan got our autograph AND picture…” Onew blabbered, oblivious to the disappointed expression on Taemin’s face, and the fans pouring into the mall.

“What?” Taemin asked, hurt.

“Oh. Mianhae, Tae… I didn’t realise what I said…” Onew apologised. Taemin just shook his head, smiling at his lover.

JongKey and Minho walked into the mall, spotting OnTae easily through Taemin’s crutches. “You might want to pull your hoodies down a little. The sunbaes are coming to eat with us, and I’ve got their orders already. They’re currently buying some wigs, caps and new clothes, then they’ll join us. Let’s go get you chicken already,” Key whispered, making Onew jump. After getting past the initial shock, Onew nodded, leading the way to the shop while partially supporting Taemin. Minho grimaced at the sight, trying to block out his feelings.

Arriving at the shop, SHINee asked for a table for 13 near an empty spot, shocking the waiter. Upon seeing Onew’s platinum membership card, the waiter gladly showed them to the private room. Key ordered for the sunbaes and himself before letting the other members order, Onew’s order shocking the waiter the most. Bowing, the waiter hastily left the room to give their orders to the kitchen staff. Key then texted Eunhyuk, telling the sunbae where they were and how to get into the room. Eunhyuk replied, saying that they would reach in 15 minutes, and thanks for the help. Satisfied, Key put down his phone, staring at Onew suspiciously.

“What is it, Key?” Onew asked, slightly freaked out by the stare.

“When exactly did you get a PLATINUM membership card to ‘Chicken’s Place’? And what’s with the name?” Key asked, referring to the shop they were currently in. Hearing this, Taemin burst into a fit of laughter, causing Onew to start laughing, too. “What’s so funny?” Key asked, annoyed. Taemin tried to stop laughing, managing to reduce his laughter to chuckles.

Wiping his tears, Onew stopped laughing. “Duh, I got it when I first came here. Silly Key, you’re always asking obvious questions, aren’t you?” Onew teased, causing Key to smack his shoulder. “Ouch… I have all the membership cards of chicken stores I’ve been to, those that offer them, anyway. See?” Onew stated easily, taking out his card holder labeled ‘Chicken Restaurant Membership Cards’ and showing it to the other members. Key, Jonghyun and Minho’s eyes widened, gaping at the unusual number of cards.

Finally calming down, Taemin looked at his hyungs in amusement. “It’s alright, hyungs. That’s my reaction when I first saw that, so… Yeah, it’s normal,” Taemin explained. The three of them nodded, looking at each other while wondering if they should discuss the new plan. Key and Minho nodded at Jonghyun who cleared his throat to speak.

“We were thinking that we should hang out every few days, a SHINee-day-out, you know? Then we split up and OnTae can have a date. Taemin, you can shop with your two ummas, Key and Heechul hyung, then Onew can tag along, to let you two spend more time together. After OnToria’s date, of course. What do you think?” Jonghyun asked, anticipating OnTae’s answer.

Looking at each other, OnTae nodded, smiling brightly. Minho groaned inwardly, secretly wishing that they would say no.

Just then, the SuJu couples walked into the room, hand-in-hand, seating themselves and raising a brow at Onew. “ ‘Chicken’s Place’? Really, Onew? And how did you get this private room, may I ask?” Eunhyuk questioned.

Without a word, Onew took his card holder again, showing it to his sunbaes, a simple explanation. While most of them were shocked, YeWook and Donghae just nodded in understanding, causing Eunhyuk to gasp.

“You knew?! Aww… And you didn’t tell me, Hae… How could you?!” Eunhyuk asked incredulously, feeling betrayed.

“He showed it to me once, when he dropped it and I asked what it was. Chill, Hyukkie, it’s nothing. I didn’t expect him to have so many cards though, even if we all know about his obsession over chicken,” Donghae said, Eunhyuk heaving a sigh in relief.

“And how did YeWook hyungs know?” Henry asked, pouting a little for being somewhat outdated, to himself, anyway. Seeing this, Zhoumi couldn’t resist the temptation and pinched Henry’s cheeks. “Yah! Not here, Zhoumi gege…” Henry whined, making Zhoumi want to pinch him all over again. Yesung cleared his throat, attracting the others’ attention.

“Basically, we asked him to recommend some chicken restaurants to us, and he asked us if we needed his cards for a special discount or a better seat. He could list all the cards he has, seriously…” Ryeowook said, Onew shrugging his shoulders.

“Frankly speaking, we’ve known him for four years already, if not more, and we just found about that,” Key said, referring to the cards, “today.”

SuJu (those who didn’t know) nodded in agreement, waiting for their orders to come. Within five minutes, the waiter walked into the room, carrying their food in. There were nine bowls/plates for Onew, two each for Taemin and Eunhyuk, and one each for the rest.

“Hyung… Really? Ok, even I have to admit, I never knew you could eat that much. Not that we ate chicken outside together very often, but still… Seriously?” Minho asked, anger being replaced by shock for now. OnTae simply nodded together in reply.

The rest (apart from Taemin) stared at Onew, mouths agape. Taemin sighed, unable to believe his hyungs. “Oh come on people. No offense intended, but I’ve seen him eat fifteen bowls before. Wait, was it fifteen?” Taemin asked Onew for confirmation.

“Nope. Sixteen,” Onew answered easily.

“Fine, sixteen bowls. If he’s kept away from chicken for twenty-four hours, he’ll eat that much. I mean it,” Taemin said, causing the others’ mouths to open even wider, continuously staring a Onew. Taemin sighed, not knowing what to do.

“Hey, my chickens’ are going to get cold soon. You don’t want that, do you, chickens? Of course not. Daddy will keep you warm in my stomach, arasso?” Onew said to his chicken, making the others to look at him as if he was crazy. Taemin, sensing Onew’s hunger, started to get panicked, trying to stay as calm as possible.

“H-he talks to his chicken w-when h-he want it r-really badly…” Taemin explained, stuttering a few times. “Yes-sung hyung, p-please tell them to eat already… Onew h-hyung’s going to go c-crazy if h-he doesn’t g-get his chicken s-soon,” Taemin told Yesung, the eldest amongst them, worriedly. The others snapped out of their shock, looking at Yesung.

“Ok? Let’s eat!” Yesung exclaimed, giving the order to start eating. Immediately, Onew picked up his chicken and nearly stuffed the whole thing down his throat, Taemin putting a restraining hand on his boyfriend’s back before he choked.

Throughout 45 minutes, the thirteen people talked about random stuff like singing, dancing, rapping, Taemin’s leg injury and some others. By then, Onew had finished his chicken, smiling in satisfaction. “Chicken is the best~” Onew sang.

“And to think I took that amount of time to eat one big bowl of ginseng chicken…” Kyuhyun sighed. “Ah well, at least I know I’m the best in Starcraft!” Kyuhyun exclaimed to himself, smiling as he took his laptop out.

Sungmin stared in shock at his boyfriend, not knowing what to say. “Kyu, not now… We’re supposed to go shopping, and you’re here playing Starcraft?” Sungmin asked, feeling slightly embarrassed as Kyuhyun nodded. “Unbelievable…” Sungmin muttered, using his last resort. “Cho Kyuhyun! Do NOT make me give you my favourite pink-coloured, pumpkin-scented rabbit suit to wear AGAIN. I brought it, Kyuhyun. I swear you’ll be wearing it around the mall if you turn your laptop on. Your choice,” Sungmin threatened.

“Oh my god, no way am I going through THAT again… Fine, I won’t play… Just leave the suit alone, ok, Min?” Kyuhyun asked, keeping his laptop in its bag. Sungmin held his hand out, Kyuhyun sighing in defeat as he passed the bag to Sungmin. Smiling in satisfaction, Sungmin gave his boyfriend a short kiss on the lips in thanks.

“Sungmin, you made Kyuhyun wear something like that before? And he agreed?!” Donghae asked in disbelief. Sungmin grinned, nodding as Kyuhyun did, too. “I’m just glad Hyukkie hasn’t given me a monkey suit to wear…” Donghae said, sighing in relief.

“Do you want to?” Eunhyuk asked excitedly, bouncing in his seat.

Immediately panicking, Donghae shook his head. “No way! That will be so damn embarrassing…” Donghae pouted, making Eunhyuk pinch his cheeks. “And Hyukkie, you ate sweets today, didn’t you?” Donghae asked knowingly as his lover nodded, obviously on high. “I told you not to eat more than three…” Donghae sighed.

“Really? I ate ten. Hehe…” Eunhyuk admitted, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. “Hae, can you give me a fishy suit to wear?” Eunhyuk asked. Shaking his head, Donghae smacked his lover on the head. “Ouch… Fine, I won’t ask…” Eunhyuk said, defeated.

“Sungie hyung, why don’t you give me a giraffe suit to wear?” Ryeowook asked sadly.

“Aww… But Wookie… You don’t give me turtle suits either…” Yesung whined.

“Weren’t the couples giving each other their own favourite animal shirt?” Kyuhyun asked, confused. “YeWook are the weirdest people yet…” Kyuhyun mumbled, not wanting to understand how the couple thought.

“Oh. My. God. Leave out all the fluffiness already, please…” Zhoumi complained, pissed off at all the couples in front of him.

“You don’t like me acting cute?” Henry asked, pretending to sob.

“No, I don’t mean it like that…” Zhoumi explained.

“PRANKED!” Henry shouted in Zhoumi’s face, laughing like crazy. Zhoumi smiled at his boyfriend’s childishness, shaking his head.

“Me and Jjong don’t give each other puppy and kitty suits, so stop complaining to each other already… Aren’t you supposed to be more mature than us?” Key asked. the SuJu couples looked at him, shaking their head, causing him to sigh in frustration.

“Yeah. Taeminnie doesn’t give me a dolphin suit, and I don’t give him a chicken suit. IT’S NORMAL, sunbaes.  Aish… I’ll go pay now. Come on, Tae,” Onew said, getting off his chair and helping Taemin up before leaving the walking to the counter, Taemin following behind him slowly.

“Hyung’s right, let’s just go. Minho, stop reading already…” Jonghyun sighed, taking his dongsaeng’s book and closing it, earning a protest from Minho.

“Hyung! I didn’t remember the page! Now how am I supposed know where I stopped reading?!” Minho shouted angrily.

Standing up, Jonghyun passed Minho his book back, walking out with Key next to him. The other couples just shrugged, following JongKey out of the shop with a very annoyed Minho flipping through his book, trying to find the last page he read.

After paying, Onew kept his wallet and walked out of the shop while waiting for the others to come out. Taemin followed Onew, giving his hyung a questioning look.

“Hyung, do you want to buy anything besides clothes? And no more chicken, I mean it! Maybe we should celebrate our anniversary early! Hmm… What do you think?” Taemin asked, his face falling as Onew shook his head, frowning at Taemin. “Why?” Taemin asked sadly.

“I’m sure f(x) told you about me taking a day off from my ‘daily date’ next week. I’m planning a surprise, so no way are you going to ruin it, arasso?” Onew asked, trying to act fierce. Taemin smiled and nodded at his boyfriend as the others walked towards them.

“Ne, hyung. The rest are here already, so let’s go! We’ll go buy some couple shirts and well, just shirts, I guess. Then we can go eat ice-cream and head to the pet shop! I feel like buying something for Eve. I miss her…” Taemin said, sighing inwardly. Onew nodded obediently, kissing Taemin lightly on the cheek.

Kyuhyun reached them first, waving at his hoobaes. “Let’s split up. The couples will go to wherever they want together. Of course, Minho will go alone. Well, I’m going to the gaming store. Let’s go, Min! Bye!” Kyuhyun announced, dragging Sungmin away from the group, all the while ignoring his lover’s protests.

“Let’s go to the pet store, Wookie! Onwards~” Yesung sang, tugging Ryeowook away, his arm s around his boyfriend’s waist.

“We’re going to the aquarium!” Donghae exclaimed, pulling Eunhyuk with him.

“Musical instruments, here I come! Let’s go, Zhoumi gege!” Henry shouted, Zhoumi leading the way while keeping a close eye on Henry.

“We are going to shop for clothes! Time to get another few months’ supply of clothes! And Jjong, no complaints,” Key ordered, Jonghyun sighing in defeat. He nodded at Key, giving OnTae a pleading look as Key dragged him away.

“Library. Bye,” Minho said simply, his head buried in his book as he walked slowly, avoiding the crowd walking past him.

“Should we follow Key? Or go for ice-cream first? Maybe we should go to the pet shop…” Onew thought aloud, Taemin thinking about his choices.

“Umma! Wait for us!” Taemin shouted, knowing that Key would understand. Stopping, Key turned around and waited patiently for OnTae to reach them before continuing towards the department store. Onew sighed, afraid for himself. Key would never let him off for wearing a six-month-old shirt, and he knew it.

Arriving at the department store, key immediately sifted through the rack of clothes, throwing a few of them at Jonghyun before looking again. Picking a few for himself, Key smiled in satisfaction and headed into the changing room beside Jonghyun.

Taemin, upon finding two couple shirts, smiled to himself, holding them out to let Onew see. One had a chicken on it, while the other had the words ‘I love chicken’. “Hyung! Here! Let’s go change,” Taemin said, hobbling into the last empty changing room with the same shirts in a different colour, Onew walking in with him before he managed to close the door.

*How does he find these?* Onew thought incredulously, locking the door before turning to face Taemin, who was pouting at him.

“Hyung…” Taemin whined, embarrassed.

“This isn’t the first time I’ve seen you topless, and there’s no way you can balance yourself in here, not without any support. So no complaining,” Onew instructed, Taemin nodding his head in defeat.

“Fine. Help me change?” Taemin asked, Onew smiling in reply. He pulled Taemin’s shirt off, making sure his boyfriend didn’t fall, before putting the new shirt on. He then proceeded to changing his own shirt, looking at their reflection in the mirror. Turning to Taemin, Onew kissed him fully on the lips, causing the younger to blush.

“… hyung…” Taemin whispered, at a loss for words. Onew just said nothing, grinning at his lover.

“Well, we haven’t done that in a long time. Stop whining already, Taeminnie. Come on, let’s change into the other shirt!” Onew exclaimed, helping Taemin change before he changed.

Taemin looked at the mirror, smiling to himself as an idea popped up in his head. He copied exactly what Onew just did, holding onto his hyung for balance. Shocked, Onew pulled away slightly, his cheeks turning red. Taemin just laughed at Onew’s expression, still holding onto Onew tightly. Onew just helped Taemin change back into his original clothes, changing his own clothes afterwards. Satisfied with himself, Taemin opened the door and stepped out, waiting for Onew.

“Taemin-ah, can you hold this first?” Onew asked Taemin, passing the clothes to Taemin. “I’m just going to-” Onew said, unable to complete his sentence as he was met with a bunch of flying clothes. He caught them hastily, almost dropping one of them.

“Hyung, your clothes are HALF A YEAR OLD. HOW CAN YOU STAND TO WEAR THEM? Although Jjong is worse, but still… HOW COULD YOU?” Key asked Onew, staring at him. “Go change. Now.” Key ordered, Onew nodding hesitantly, walking back into the changing room.

“Knew it…” Onew murmured to himself as he looked through the clothes. He found two hoodies, a pair of jeans and a shirt that read ‘I’m with him’ with an arrow pointing to the right. There was a heart shape above the words, and Onew laughed to himself. “Trust Key to find these…” Onew said to himself, smiling slightly. Then, as an afterthought, he frowned. *What if noona sees this? Taeminnie is getting to get one that has an arrow pointing to the left, I just know it… Let’s just hope that noona won’t see any of this…* Onew thought, shuddering at the thought of Victoria hurting Taemin. Shaking the thought off, Onew changed into the other clothes, nodding to himself. After looking at Key’s fashion for him, he changed back into his original clothes, walking out of the changing room. “Key, are you paying for these? Or do I pay? And Tae, too,” Onew asked.

“I paid for our clothes already, so you can carry them!” Taemin exclaimed, passing the bags to Onew. Looking at Key, Onew raised a brow.

“I’m paying, so you’ll carry your own clothes. Jjong, help me carry all these clothes,” Key ordered, shoving several bags into Jonghyun’s hands. Onew nodded, grabbing the bags as the salesperson put the clothes into one bag. After paying for the clothes, Key looked at OnTae. “You do know that Taeminnie has another one of the couple shirt that I gave you. And you’re welcome,” Key said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

“Oh. Key, kamsa hamnida. And for Taeminnie’s shirt, too,” Onew said. Key nodded, looking at his boyfriend in irritation.

“Kibummie, kamsa hamnida~” Jonghyun sang, kissing his lover on the cheek.

“Ok. We’ll meet everyone at the entrance at about 4.30pm, arasso?” Key asked. The others nodded, Key taking his phone out to text the sunbaes and Minho.

 

{From: Kibum

Hey! Meet at the entrance of the mall by 4.30pm. That gives you about an hour more. Have fun and see you! :))

To: Kyuhyun hyung

       Ryeowook hyung

       Donghae hyung

       Henry hyung

       Minho}

 

The said people, seeing the message, just replied ‘Yes’, ‘Ne’, ‘Ok’, ‘Fine’ and ‘Arasso’. Key kept his phone after seeing the replies, looking at Jonghyun. “Let’s go to the next clothes store!” Key exclaimed cheerfully. Jonghyun suppressed a groan, nodding and looking at OnTae, almost as if begging them to go along. “You two coming?” Key asked. Jonghyun nodded furiously at OnTae, wanting them to help him. Onew shook his head, causing Jonghyun’s face to fall almost immediately.

“Nope. We’re going to eat ice-cream now. Have fun, Jonghyun hyung!” Taemin said, smiling evilly to Jonghyun as he waved. Onew, waving to JongKey, supported Taemin a little, leading the way to the ice-cream store.

Arriving at the ice-cream store, OnTae spotted YeWook almost immediately and made their way to the table. “Hyungs? Why are you here so early? Didn’t you go to the pet shop?” Taemin asked curiously. Onew nodded in agreement with Taemin, also wanting to know why the sunbaes weren’t shopping instead.

“Wookie was pretty depressed cause the pet shop didn’t have a giraffe… I didn’t find any turtles similar to mine, and I already bought whatever toys and stuff that I could ever pamper my turtles with… I’m depressed…” Yesung admitted, sighing deeply. OnTae nodded at Yesung, noticing the empty containers of ice-cream on the table.

“Please don’t tell me your way of distressing is to eat ice-cream, hyungs…” Onew said, shaking his head when YeWook nodded in unison.

“How’d you know? Oh… the containers… We have been here for the past hour, so it makes sense to eat ice-cream, right? I mean, this is an ice-cream store, after all… And chocolate ice-cream is one of my loves! After Sungie hyung, of course!” Ryeowook added mischievously, Yesung grinning and kissing his boyfriend on the lips.

“Ok… Can we join you? We’ll only be here for half an hour, at most. Oh, and you know, you two could go buy some clothes… I mean… Erm… . I’m becoming like Key…” Onew said, horrified at himself as Taemin laughed.

“It’s alright. You can stay for as long as you want. We don’t mind. Just, don’t ever tell us to get clothes. Heechul hyung does enough of that. Buying clothes, I mean. Not telling US to buy clothes. That’s crazy!” Yesung exclaimed, laughing.

“Yeah, I understand how you feel. And thanks! By the way, I don’t think you should eat so much ice-cream in one day… No offense, but I think there’s at least 15 containers of ice-cream on this table…” Onew warned them good-naturedly as he pulled a chair out for Taemin before seating himself. Ryeowook laughed, shaking his head in reply.

“Nah, I don’t really care. We practice so much, dancing all the extra energy away…” Ryeowook said, trailing off as he saw tears form in Taemin’s eyes. “Oh. Mianhae, Taemin-ah. I didn’t mean to…” Ryeowook apologised, truly regretful about his choice of words. Taemin wiped his tears away, smiling at his sunbae.

*Damn. Why am I such a crybaby?! And I wanted to be strong for Onew hyung, when I can’t even be strong for myself? I’m so hopeless… Oh well… Hmm, didn’t notice that Ryeowook hyung was so… bad. Somewhat.* Taemin thought, determined to be stronger, at least emotionally. “It’s alright, hyung. And I never knew you were this carefree. Always thought of you as the obedient, innocent and cute type… Oops,” Taemin blurted out.

“What?” Yesung asked, offended by the careless comment.

“Yah! Sungie, don’t be so mean. You had the same reaction when you found out about my slightly rebellious-like personality. Leave Taemin alone already,” Ryeowook said, putting a hand on Yesung’s arm. Yesung nodded, sighing and looking at Taemin apologetically.

“Sorry, Taemin-ah. I was just getting a little overprotective…” Yesung said.

“A LITTLE?” Onew asked incredulously, causing the other three to laugh.

“Fine, fine. VERY overprotective, ok?” Yesung asked jokingly when they stopped laughing. Onew nodded in satisfaction, causing them to burst out into laughter again.

“Come on, Yesung hyung. I’m going to buy ice-cream for me and Taemin. You’re buying more ice-cream too, right?” Onew asked. Yesung nodded, standing up to follow Onew to the counter.

“One chocolate ice-cream, one strawberry ice-cream,” Yesung ordered.

“Two chocolate ice-creams,” Onew ordered, Yesung staring at him, humour on his face. “Ne?” Onew asked, confused.

“Are you enjoying your date?” Yesung asked, smirking. Onew immediately got what his hyung meant, face palming himself.

“Don’t tell me…” Onew sighed, already knowing the answer. Yesung nodded, grinning brightly, causing Onew to groan. *And I thought it was all a coincidence… Aish… The ideas that the SM family come up with… What if noona finds out one day?* Onew thought worriedly, resisting the urge to glare at his sunbae.

As his reading Onew’s mind, Yesung patted the younger’s back lightly. “It’s alright, Victoria won’t find out. Not if SNSD, f(x), SM, SHINee or SuJu tell her, anyway. It’s alright. Chill already. Have trust in your love for Taemin, arasso? Everything will be fine,” Yesung persuaded gently. Onew looked at his sunbae, nodding reluctantly, knowing that Yesung spoke the truth.

“Let’s go,” Onew said, paying for his ice-cream and heading back to the table. Placing the ice-cream on the table, Onew sat down, Taemin pecking his cheek lightly as he did so. Onew beamed, turning to see Yesung walking towards the table. Putting the ice-cream down, Yesung just took his container and sat down, ignoring the others as he ate.

“Sungie, are you mad at me?” Ryeowook asked, pouting at Yesung. Shaking his head, Yesung continued eating, not saying a word. Ryeowook’s brows furrowed in thought, an idea popping into his head. OnTae just watched their sunbae eat, worried about what would happen. Suddenly, Ryeowook turned and kissed Yesung on the lips.

Immediately, Yesung’s face brighten up, Onew looking at YeWook in disbelief. *What the hell just happened?* Onew thought to himself.

Yesung turned to Ryeowook, beaming at his lover. “Wookie, how’d you know I was jealous? You know me too well,” Yesung said, poking Ryeowook’s stomach, causing Taemin to laugh. YeWook just ignored him, being in their own world. “And Wookie, you’re getting FAT!” Yesung whined, still poking Ryeowook’s stomach, causing the younger to wriggle around like a worm.

“STOP TICKLING ME!” Ryeowook screeched loudly, attracting the attention of some other shoppers who stared at the commotion curiously. Yesung immediately stopped, blushing a bright red. “Mianhae…” Ryeowook said to the crowd before turning his attention back to Yesung. “Of course I know you well, we’ve been a couple for almost five years already. You saw Taemin kissing Onew when he got back, and when I didn’t do that, you got jealous. It’s normal,” Ryeowook shrugged. “And as for me getting fat… SO ARE YOU!” Ryeowook exclaimed, pointing and laughing at Yesung’s shocked expression.

“Wait. Let me get this straight. Yesung hyung was jealous cause Ryeowook hyung didn’t kiss him when he returned to the table. Then when you kissed him, he wasn’t jealous anymore, right?” Taemin confirmed, looking at Ryeowook who nodded in reply. “Ok. Pretty weird though,” Taemin said absentmindedly.

“I know we’re weird. Weird equals awesome!” Yesung cheered, smiling brightly at his hoobaes who just stared back.

“Let’s eat, Tae. We’re going soon,” Onew said, starting to eat. The others followed, finishing the ice-cream in five minutes.

“Bye, sunbaes! See you in a half hour~” Onew sang, helping Taemin up as he waved. Waving back, Ryeowook stood up to buy another ice-cream. Once they walked out of the ice-cream store, Onew turned to Taemin. “Let’s go to the pet shop now!” Onew exclaimed, Taemin’s face brightening almost instantaneously.

“PET SHOP!!!” Taemin squealed. Onew smiled at his cute boyfriend, supporting him as he walked slowly to the pet shop nearby. “Wait. Why?” Taemin asked in confusion.

“You’ve wanted to buy some new toys for Eve since my birthday. Don’t you remember?” Onew told Taemin, who blushed and nodded.

“Oh yeah… I completely forgot. Damn, I miss Eve so much…” Taemin sighed, walking beside Onew towards the pet shop.

Upon arriving at the pet shop, Onew saw EunHae. Eunhyuk was giving the poor shop assistant by asking her to find a monkey. Deciding that this was enough, Onew brought Taemin over to EunHae, wanting to help the assistant.

“Hyung. Don’t ask for a monkey. You’ll only find those in Africa. Or at least you can buy them in Africa…” Onew said, the shop assistant smiling at Onew gratefully as she walked off to attend to another customer. Eunhyuk, upon hearing Onew’s words, turned to Donghae and started bouncing on the spot continuously.

“HAE! Let’s go to Africa and buy a monkey. Come on!” Eunhyuk told his lover, pulling his sleeve lightly. Sighing, Donghae looked at Onew.

“No, Hyukkie. We don’t have the time or money. I didn’t buy any fish cause you wanted to come here. Give the shop assistant and me a break already…” Donghae said tiredly. Pouting sadly, Eunhyuk hesitated, nodding when he saw Donghae’s expression.

Ignoring the sunbaes, Taemin looked at Onew. “Hyung, what can I buy for Eve? Ball? Toy bone? Chew toy? Treats? But she already has all that…” Taemin whined. Onew thought about this for a moment, grinning to himself as he thought of an idea.

“How about, you buy all those toys, treats and food, and bring Eve over to the dorm? She can stay with us while you’re recovering. Since you did say that you missed her and all,” Onew suggested. Taemin nodded furiously, calling the assistant to go over to them. He then bought all the things previously mentioned and hobbled to the counter with Onew, taking his wallet out. Onew put a restraining hand in front of his boyfriend, taking his own wallet out and paying for the items. Taemin pouted, feeling guilty for making Onew pay for everything.

“Hyung, you’re already carrying the stuff. Why can’t I pay for it?” Taemin asked. Onew shook his head, smiling at his lover.

EunHae walked over to them, Eunhyuk offering a hand to Onew, who gratefully passed the bag of food to him before passing the other bag to Donghae. “We’re sorry for the commotion just now. It’s just that I wanted a monkey so badly… I know you tried to get me to stop being obsessed with the monkey, but I’ll always be me, so… Yeah,” Eunhyuk said. Onew nodded, bowing slightly in gratitude to his sunbaes for carrying the bags for him.

“It’s almost 4.20pm! We have to go. Come on,” Donghae exclaimed, walking out of the shop with the others trailing slowly behind him.

The four of them reached the entrance of the mall at exactly 4.30pm, meeting the others who were already there.

“We managed to buy at least half a year’s worth of clothes!” Key exclaimed happily, a very tired Jonghyun standing behind him.

“I bought a faster mouse for my laptop!” Kyuhyun said, beaming brightly.

“HE ALMOST BOUGHT A NEW LAPTOP!” Sungmin screeched, unable to believe his lover.

“Kyuhyun will be Kyuhyun. I understand how you feel, Sungmin hyung,” Henry said, Sungmin smiling at his dongsaeng in appreciation.

“I bought new clothes, and Henry bought new violin strings,” Zhoumi said, holding up all the bags that he was carrying as proof.

“We walked around the pet shop looking for a giraffe and some stuff for turtles. Sadly but obviously, we failed… We did manage to eat ice-cream for an hour and a half though! But still…” Ryeowook sighed, defeated as Yesung nodded in agreement.

“We went to the aquarium, but I couldn’t find any fish that I extremely liked…” Donghae said sadly.

“I tried to find a monkey, but…” Eunhyuk sighed.

“Is it just me, or are Eunhyuk and Ryeowook hyungs obsessed with the wrong animals?” Kyuhyun asked, smirking at his hyungs.

“Yah!” Donghae, Yesung and Sungmin all shouted at once.

“Kidding…” Kyuhyun said. Donghae and Yesung heaved a sigh of relief, smiling at their lover.

“I went to the library and borrowed four books,” Minho announced proudly.

“We bought clothes with JongKey, ate ice-cream with YeWook and…” Onew trailed off, looking at Taemin who immediately got the hint.

“We met EunHae at the pet store and bought stuff for Eve!” Taemin finished.

“Let’s leave already, I’m exhausted,” Jonghyun said tiredly, glaring at his boyfriend who just smiled and shrugged. Jonghyun trudged towards the exit, the others following behind him. They hailed a few taxis, waiting at SM’s building for the rest before returning to their respective dorms to rest and take a bath.

SHINee walked into their dorm, putting all the shopping down. Taemin plopped onto the couch and took his phone out, calling his mother immediately.

“Hello? Umma? Can you bring Eve over tomorrow? Please? Umma… Omo! You will? Kamsa hamnida, umma!” Taemin exclaimed, ending the call. Turning to Onew, he hugged his lover. *Eve is going to stay with me for at least three months~* Taemin sang in his head, smiling brightly before breaking the hug.

“Eve is coming over? When?” Key asked immediately.

“Tomorrow. My umma’s going to drive here, talk with me while dropping Eve off, and returning a little after noon,” Taemin explained, the rest of SHINee nodding at him.

“Come on, Taeminnie. Let’s go bathe~ I’ll help you!” Onew suggested, carrying Taemin into the toilet as he went into the bedroom to retrieve his clothes. Taemin trashed around, whining a little.

“Yah! Hyung…” Taemin protested.

“I’m going in, I don’t care. It’s not the first time I’ve seen you , ok? Before and after debut, I’ve seen you before. You can’t balance yourself in there,” Onew said, walking into the toilet when Taemin reluctantly gave in,

Outside, Key was being his usual self, nagging at Jonghyun and Minho. “Jjong! Help me with the laundry. Minho! Stop reading! Aish…” Key sighed, giving up on changing Minho’s weird habits as he walked into the kitchen and turned the washing machine on.

*Why can’t I be the one with Taemin? This is going too far… I need to get Taemin out of my head. Right.* Minho told himself, putting his book down and opening the door. “Key! I’m going to practice. I’ll be back by 6pm, promise. Bye!” Minho shouted, closing the door behind him, his feet leading him to the park, instead.

“Smart guy… Escaping the laundry and abandoning me…” Jonghyun muttered under his breath, taking the new clothes and dumping them into the washing machine.

Meanwhile, Onew had stripped Taemin’s pants and lifted his injured leg onto a chair before taking Taemin’s top off. He then turned the shower on, careful not to wet his leg. He then supported Taemin as he soaped himself and put shampoo on his hair. After that, Onew rinsed the soap off Taemin’s body, not leaving a single bit of soap before drying Taemin and pulling a shirt over Taemin’s head., Taemin then held onto Onew and wore his underwear and shorts, slowly walking out, careful not to slip on the soap.

“My turn to bathe~ Tae, can you help me take my clothes? I forgot… Thanks!” Onew shouted as Taemin went to get the set of clothes. He walked back to the toilet door and held the clothes and towel inside, going to the couch when Onew took the clothes.

Sitting down, Taemin dried his hair and combed it before going into the bedroom and lay down on the bed.

Meanwhile, at the park, Minho walked to the lakeside, wanting to vent his frustrations. “Why must Taemin be with Onew hyung?! Why can’t it be me?! WHY?!” Minho screamed. A few people stopped to stare at him, and Minho apologised to them before sitting down on an empty bench, burrowing his head in his hands. “It’s so unfair… Onew hyung caused Taemin so much pain, but he still loves him… Why?” Minho questioned, cursing under his breath. Sighing loudly, Minho sat there and watched the people pass by till it reached 5.30pm. then, he started to make his way back to the dorm slowly, not looking forward to seeing OnTae together.

At the dorm, Taemin was watching his hyungs cook dinner from the couch while Onew had just finished his bath.

“We’ll start eating when Minho gets back. We’re almost done,” Key announced, setting the last dish on the table as he clapped to himself in satisfaction. Onew decided to sit beside Taemin on the couch while waiting for Minho. At exactly 6pm sharp, Minho walked into the dorm and SHINee walked to the dining table, Onew giving the order to start eating.

After  dinner, OnTae decided to practice singing for a while, the other three members going to sleep. Taemin sang ‘Hello’, ‘Lucifer’ and ‘Ring Ding Dong’ a few times each, Onew giving some suggestions to improve Taemin’s singing.

On the way back to the dorm from the practice room, Taemin brought up an unusual subject.

“Minho hyung looks so tired and angry nowadays… I wonder what happened to him. Should we ask?” Taemin suddenly said, shocking Onew a little.

“Nah. I think he’s just tired, that’s all,” Onew said, shaking his head. *Let’s hope that my suspicions aren’t true…* Onew thought, praying hard.

“Let’s hope so…” Taemin sighed, worried for his hyung.

When they got back to the dorm, the two of them found everyone asleep, deciding to go to bed too. After brushing their teeth, Onew and Taemin went to their bed, lying down. Saying goodnight to each other, Onew kissed Taemin on the lips, the kiss lasting until they had break apart to breathe. Blushing, Taemin hid beneath his blanket, causing Onew to face palm himself.

“Why did I do that?!” Onew scolded himself, deciding to brush the matter off. He went to sleep almost immediately, not knowing that someone had seen the stolen kiss, and that someone was now seething with anger.

 

 

 

 

Well, you all can really see Minho's jealousy, but that'll be further elaborated on next time:)) in the meantime, please remember to comment and tell me if you want me to change anything! :D thx and keep reading^^ next chapter will probably be out by next Tues or Wed XD