(At Namdaemun)

“…” Dongwoon cursed, letting go of Gikwang as he turned around.

“Woonie, now what do we do?” Gikwang asked worriedly, walking away from the others. The rest of B2ST followed after, all staying apart from one another.

“Seungie, what’s wrong?” Victoria asked, already guessing what was wrong.

“Look behind…” Hyunseung whispered, walking beside Junhyung slowly.

As Hyunseung told her to, Victoria turned and saw what was wrong.

“I see. They don’t know, do they?” Victoria questioned. The B2ST members shook their heads and increased their speed.

“Where are they going, exactly?” Sungmin asked curiously.

“Running away from their… ummas…” Victoria hesitated, but said in the end.

“Why? What did you mean by ‘they don’t know, do they’?” it was Kyuhyun who asked this time.

“I don’t know if I should tell you this… their ummas don’t know that they’re gay. If they find out, the B2ST members will be murdered by their ummas. I swear their ummas all hate gays, a lot, especially Yoon umma and Son umma. Please keep this a secret,” Victoria pleaded.

“Sure. We care about them too, you know?” Leeteuk asked incredulously.

“Thanks. Crap… Jang umma’s coming over now… with Doori, Haekyung and Dongha and the other ummas. They’re doomed for sure…” Victoria swore under her breath. “Hurry and go! Aish…” Victoria sighed loudly, shooing the B2ST members away before turning around and smiling.

“Jang umma, it’s you! Long time no see! And Lee umma, Yong umma, Yang umma, Yoon umma, Son umma, Doori, Haekyung and Dongha too! Annyeong haseyo. These are my friends,” Victoria greeted and gestured at the idols who bowed.

“Where’s Hyunseung? I swear I saw him and Junhyung kissing just now. Tell me, Victoria. NOW,” Mrs. Jang demanded. Mrs. Yong nodded in agreement with her, and the three siblings gulped.

“I saw Gikwang and Dongwoon hugging each other,” Mrs. Lee added.

“And not to mention seeing Doojoon and Yoseob holding hands and Doojoon putting an arm around Yoseob’s shoulder,” Mrs. Yoon finished. The ummas glared at Victoria, waiting for her reply.

“They had something on, so they went back to the dorm first,” Victoria lied.

“Really? Isn’t that Junhyung right there?” Mrs. Jang asked sternly, pointing at the figure not too far from them. “Let’s go ask them, instead,” Mrs. Jang suggested.

“Ne. Come on,” Mrs. Yang ordered, walking quickly towards their children who were walking beside Junhyung.

“YONG JAESOON!” Mrs. Yong screamed, making Junhyung stop dead in his tracks.

“H-hi umma…” Junhyung greeted, turning around hesitantly and waving slowly.

“Hyungie… now what do we do?” Hyunseung hissed, turning around and smiling slightly while waving. “Annyeong haseyo umma,” Hyunseung greeted.

“Yah! Jang Hyunseung! Why was it that I saw you and Junhyung kissing just now?” Mrs. Jang asked bluntly, rushing up to stand beside Mrs. Yong.

“About that… I…” Hyunseung stuttered, looking at Junhyung for help.

Junhyung sighed and mouthed ‘just tell them’ to Hyunseung and the latter nodded, taking in a deep breath before telling his umma the truth.

“The truth is umma… I’m gay,” Hyunseung admitted, hanging his head while leaning against Junhyung for support.

“You’re WHAT?! And please don’t tell me the others are too. Gikwang and Dongwoon were hugging each other and Yoseob and Doojoon were getting all touchy and stuff,” Mrs. Yong told them rather calmly, looking at the other members who turned and waved shyly.

“Annyeong haseyo Jang umma, Yong umma,” they greeted politely.

“Dongwoon-ah, were you hugging Gikwang just now? I swear I saw you doing that. Why?” Mrs. Son asked, walking to stand beside Mrs. Jang.

“Um… we’re gay, umma,” Dongwoon admitted.

“Pardon me?” Mrs. Son asked, unable to believe her ears.

“We’re gay, Son umma. We ask that you support us in this,” Gikwang requested.

“Gikwang, you’re gay? I suppose the others are, too,” Mrs. Lee assumed.

“Yeah…” Yoseob replied, walking to the others as well. Doojoon followed behind the younger male, smiling slightly at the ummas.

“I can’t accept this. I really can’t. Dongwoon, you know how I feel about gays. How could you?” Mrs. Son asked sadly.

“Can’t accept what?” Mrs. Yang asked, approaching the B2ST family.

“The fact that we’re gay,” Doojoon said while sighing.

“MWO?!” Mrs. Yoon screeched upon hearing what her son just said.

“Umma, chill. It’s perfectly normal in this day and age,” Doori tried to calm her mother down, worried for Doojoon.

“You knew and you didn’t tell me? You know that I hate gays, Doori. When did they get together?” Mrs. Yoon demanded.

“Yeah, when did they get together, Dongha?” Mrs. Son asked her son.

“When… slightly before ‘Idol Maid’… maybe a few months before that?” Doori and Dongha answered at the same time.

“Mrs. Yoon, Mrs. Son, I’m sure you can try to accept the fact that they’re together. I don’t like gays either, but Hyunseung’s still my son. I can live with it, if this is his choice,” Mrs. Jang attempted to persuade Mrs. Yoon and Mrs. Son. The other ummas nodded in agreement, finding that this situation could have been worse.

“It’s not like they’re actually married in secret or anything. Wait… are you?” Mrs. Yong asked worriedly. The B2ST members chuckled slightly and shook their heads in denial.

“See? It’s fine. No matter what, they’ll always be your beloved boys, gay or not. Just accept the fact and move on already. If we can do it, why can’t you?” Mrs. Yang asked.

“I completely agree. We were always discussing about how we would react if the pairings were real. I remember saying something like ‘I’m going to kill them’ or whatnot. Now that it really happened, I find it perfectly fine. They’re still your sons, so face reality already,” Mrs. Lee told them.

“But… it’s just strange, you know what I mean?” Mrs. Son asked, her anger subsiding slowly.

“I still won’t accept this. Doojoon, it’s either you break up with Yoseob, or you’re no longer my son. Your choice,” Mrs. Yoon said harshly, walking off alone.

“But umma, even appa respects my choice! Why can’t you?!” Doojoon asked angrily, turning to Doori. “Noona, help me change umma’s mind, ok?” Doojoon asked.

“Of course I will. I don’t need my dongsaeng and umma to fight like this. Umma, wait up!” Doori yelled. “See you soon!” Doori bid her goodbye before catching up with her umma.

“… I can’t believe umma reacted that way…” Doojoon sighed.

“Doojoon-ah, I’m sure she’ll get over it sometime. Even I find that it’s alright now. So long as you don’t get too mushy in front of me,” Mrs. Son warned KiWoon teasingly.

“Of course we won’t, umma!” Dongwoon exclaimed, hugging his umma tightly.

“Anyways, we’re going to meet Geurim, Junsung, Haeyeon noona and Yojin noona. Want to eat dinner with us?” Key invited. “By the way, I’m Key of SHINee, if you didn’t know,” Key informed them, shaking hands with the ummas courteously.

“Of course we know! Annyeong, we’re the ummas of the B2ST members. Anyway, Junhyung-ah, did you tell your appa about you being gay? And the rest of you?” Mrs. Yong asked them.

“About that… they all knew from the moment we started dating each other,” Junhyung admitted guiltily. The ummas’ eyes widened in surprise and looked at the other children who nodded sheepishly in agreement.

“They knew huh? Their all doomed when we get back. I swear to it,” Mrs. Son cursed slightly under her breath. “So, we’re going to eat dinner with you. Why’d you invite them and not us?” she asked curiously, staring at Dongwoon.

“Umma…” Dongwoon whined.

“We met them at Dongdaemun and Myeongdong. They said you let them work there for their own holiday allowance, right? And annyeong haseyo, Heechul imnida,” Heechul greeted, bowing slightly at the adults.

“Let’s go eat already!” Taemin whined rather rudely.

“Yah! Taemin-ah, don’t be so rude!” Donghae scolded.

“Come on, let’s all go eat at ‘Chickens’ Way’! My treat again, cause I’m the one who has a membership card,” Onew told the rest, bowing in greeting at the ummas. He led the way while supporting Taemin while the others followed behind him, already exasperated at his love for chicken.

“Onew… we’ve been eating chicken for the whole day already… can’t we eat something else?” Henry begged, pouting at Onew somewhat cutely.

“Hyung can’t go without chicken for 24 hours. You should know that after he talked to his chicken the other time. Whenever I’m with him, which is all the time, I only get to eat what I want once out of three days. At least three days,” Taemin told the others, causing their jaws to drop. “I’m used to it though,” he added cheekily, pecking Onew on the cheek.

“You’re gay too?” Mrs. Jang asked randomly. “I didn’t mean to be rude, but it’s strange seeing all these idols being gay and all,” she said, not wanting to offend them.

“Yep. All of us in SHINee and SuJu are gay. Except Shindong who, as you can see, is with his girlfriend Nari,” Eunhyuk told the ummas.

“Annyeong haseyo, Nari imnida,” Nari greeted politely.

“I know, I’ve seen the articles. But who are you three with?” Mrs. Yang asked, pointing to Heechul, Leeteuk and Siwon.

“My supposed boyfriend is in the army now,” Leeteuk said.

“Mine’s in China. He quit SuJu already…” Heechul sighed, depressed now that he was reminded of what he did earlier. “Victoria, I’m REALLY sorry about just now,” he apologised again. The latter just smiled and shook her head, brushing the matter off.

“And my boyfriend is currently pursuing his dreams as an actor,” Siwon said, his eyes never leaving the pocket bible he held in his hands.

“Is he some crazed Christian or something?” Mrs. Jang asked.

“He’s just really dedicated,” Sooyoung said defensively, wanting to protect her sunbae.

“Oh, I see. Where is this ‘Chickens’ Way’, Onew-ah?” Mrs. Jang asked in annoyance.

“It’s about another five to ten minutes’ walk. Don’t worry, it’s really worth it,” Onew told them, continuing to lead the way.

“Song Qian-ah, long time no see!” Mrs. Lee exclaimed suddenly, making Heechul, Leeteuk and Siwon cringe slightly.

“Lee umma, it’s the same here! But can you call me by my English name, ‘Victoria’? It seems weird to call me by my Chinese name, you see,” Victoria lied, not needing the three SuJu members to be reminded of what she did in the past. Luckily, Mrs. Lee nodded.

“I think we should go shopping together after this. How’s that?” surprisingly, it was Yesung who asked this.

“Sungie hyung, are you sure? Shopping for clothes, really?” Ryeowook asked his boyfriend, unsure of what the elder male was thinking.

“I completely agree with Ryeowook. What’s wrong with you, Yesung?” Shindong asked worriedly. Yesung gestured for Shindong to move closer to him and when he did so, Yesung whispered in Shindong’s ear.

“Heechul hyung… he threatened to boil the kids if I didn’t say that…” Yesung told Shindong.

“The kids? Who?” Shindong asked a little too loudly.

“AHEM! Yesung, what did you say?” Heechul asked, glaring at Yesung.

“Hyung, did you mean Ddangkkoma, Ddangkkoming and Ddangkkomaeng? When you said the kids,” Ryeowook asked knowingly.

Yesung pouted slightly and nodded, giving up on keeping the secret. Not as if it was important.

“Yeah… Heechul hyung made me swear to suggest going shopping unless I want him to burn the kids…” Yesung said accusingly.

“How could you?! Hyung, you know how much Sungie treasures the kids. He’s already sad enough that he’s going to have to give away Ddangkkoma… why’d you even threaten him with that?” Ryeowook asked defensively, hugging his depressed boyfriend.

“Well… it’s kind of embarrassing for the divas to say that all the time, isn’t it?” Heechul tried to protect himself.

“You could have asked me. I’m sort of a diva too, but I’ve never asked that a single time today,” Zhoumi stated, earning himself a smack on the head.

“Babo! Who understands you apart from the SJM people? Aish…” Heechul sighed.

“I can understand him perfectly fine,” Leeteuk told Heechul.

“Same here,” Jonghyun agreed.

“Why is everyone against me?! Fine, I was wrong. I’m sorry, Yesung. I shouldn’t have used your ‘kids’ to threaten you,” Heechul apologised half-heartedly.

“Whatever. Are we there yet?” Yesung asked Onew, tired of walking by now.

“It’s just a few stores ahead. Impatient much?” Onew complained, walking slowly due to Taemin being injured.

“And what’s so good about this place, exactly?” Sunny asked Onew.

“I’ve been there before. It’s really not bad. It has a nice, cozy feeling when you eat there,” Mrs. Yong replied. “Remember?” she asked the other ummas who nodded in agreement.

“None of us ever got the membership card though. We don’t come often enough,” Mrs. Yang told Onew who frowned.

“I always get the membership cards of whatever chicken-selling shops I go to. See?” Onew told the ummas, taking out his card case again and showing it to them.

“Omo… this is just plain madness,” Mrs. Jang announced.

“Who the hell has this many cards?! There are at least 50 here… jeongmal, Onew-ah?” Mrs. Lee asked in disbelief. The latter just beamed and nodded, stopping in front of a store.

“Here we are! It’s about… two stories high, was it?” Onew asked himself.

“Yes. It is,” Mrs. Yang agreed, gesturing for Onew to go in first.

“Mr. Lee, long time no see!” the waiter exclaimed, leading them to a private room immediately.

“Jungin, I have four more friends coming here later. And I think that with 33 people in total, we probably have to get two rooms and remove the divider. Is that too much to ask? We could just get two rooms, if you can’t do it,” Onew requested.

“Oh, it’s no problem. Wait a moment, come into the room first. We’ll get someone to remove the divider. Do you need to move the tables together or can you just speak across the room?” Jungin, the waiter, asked.

“We can make do with speaking across the room. After all, it is soundproof, is it not? And stop calling me Mr. Lee. How many times have I told you to call me Jinki? We’re almost the same age anyways,” Onew joked, following Jungin into the private room at the back. The others followed behind the two, and of course Onew didn’t forget to support Taemin even while he was talking.

“Sure. No problem Mr. L- Jinki,” Jungin changed his choice of words, smiling brightly at Onew. “I assume that you and Taemin-sshi will be having your usual?” Jungin asked, as if he were talking to a regular customer.

“Ne. And the rest can order now,” Onew told them.

“Wait a minute. Let me get my order list and someone to remove the divider. Meanwhile, discuss how many of each dish you want. I’ll be back soon,” Jungin told them, bowing before he left the room to get another worker.

“So… I want two bowls of ginseng chicken,” Eunhyuk shouted.

“Let’s do this in a systematic way. But first, can the B2ST members inform your siblings and cousin of where we are? And maybe ask them what they want,” Onew told them.

“Arasso,” Yoseob, Junhyung and Hyunseung replied at the same time. They took their phones out and dialed their siblings’ numbers, waiting to get past the dial tone.

“Geurim-ah, we’re at ‘Chickens’ Way’ in Namdaemun right now. Come find us and tell them to lead you to the room that Mr. Lee Jinki and his friends are in. But firstly, what do you want to eat? Ok, see you!”

“Junsung, we’re at ‘Chickens’ Way’ in Namdaemun. You’re near here? Tell them to lead you to the room that Mr. Lee Jinki is in. what do you want to eat? Ne, I’ll help you order first. Hurry!”

“Haeyeon noona, we’re already at ‘Chickens’ Way’ in Namdaemun. Ask the waiter to lead you to the room which Mr. Lee Jinki is in. What do you and Yojin noona want to eat? I see. See you and hurry! Umma’s here too!”

The three ended their calls at about the same time, waiting for someone to help them order.

“Ok, who wants ginseng chicken? Raise a finger for a bowl, and two for two bowls. Go!” Onew cued, as if they were in some sort of competition. Anyway, he counted twenty-two fingers and wrote it down on a napkin before moving on.

“Fried chicken? One finger per plate. Go!” Onew shouted again. He counted eight fingers and wrote that down, too.

“Boiled chicken? They come in plates. Go!” Onew repeated, counting six fingers and writing it down before naming the last dish.

“Rice, anyone?” he asked for the last time. All those who didn’t want to eat ginseng chicken all raised their hands, and he wrote in down before asking about beverages.

“Coffee?” Ten fingers.

“Coke?” Thirteen fingers.

“Tea?” Eight fingers.

“Ok, done. Who ordered more than one plate or bowl of rice or chicken?” Onew asked. Eunhyuk, Shindong, Key, Mrs. Yang and Yoseob raised their hands. “What did you order? I need to make sure the correct dish gets to you. And those who ordered ginseng chicken, sit together. Those who ordered boiled or fried chicken, sit together. And the drinks can be sorted out later,” Onew instructed, waiting for the five who raised their hands to answer him.

“I got two bowls of rice and fried chicken, each,” Yoseob answered.

“I got two bowls of ginseng chicken,” Key told Onew.

“I got two bowls of boiled chicken and three bowls of rice,” it was Shindong this time.

“For me, two bowls of rice,” Mrs. Yang replied.

“Two bowls of fried chicken and rice for me, same as Yoseob,” Eunhyuk said.

Onew nodded and wrote all of that down, just as Jungin and his colleague walked into the room to remove the divider and get their orders.

“Jungin, here. Can you write all that down and pass the paper back to me? I need to make sure that the right food gets to each person,” Onew told Jungin.

“Sure. Hurry and get the divider removed already!” Jungin shouted at his colleague.

“Jungin, don’t be so mean. Who is he, anyway? I’ve never seen him before,” Onew mumbled to himself, eyeing the worker carefully.

“He’s this new guy called Sungjin. Don’t mind him, he’s new and slow to this job,” Jungin apologised. Sungmin suddenly gained interest in the worker and studied the obviously younger male.

“Sungjin?” Sungmin gasped, causing the worker to run around in shock.

“Hyung? Why are you here?” Sungjin asked in surprise.

“We’re here to shop and eat dinner. And you?” Sungmin asked.

“Umma told me to work for my own money since I’m old enough. Don’t you have practice or something?” Sungjin asked again.

“Nah, we’re having a day off today. As in we don’t have any schedules, weirdly enough. Onew, can you ask him,” Sungmin said, pointing at Jungin, “to stop shouting at my dongsaeng?”

“Jungin, you heard him. Not that I want to be bossy or anything, but say sorry, ok?” Onew asked. Jungin sighed and nodded, apologising to Sungjin before going to give their orders to the kitchen. Sungjin followed shortly after, waving goodbye to KyuMin before returning to work.

“Don’t you find it weird that all our siblings are working for their holiday allowance?” Yoseob asked once Sungjin was out of the room. All the idols sat down according to how Onew told them to and started chatting.

“If you’re referring to Haeyeon or Yojin, it’s because they asked me for money first,” Mrs. Yang told Yoseob, just as her phone vibrated. “Wait,” she told the others.

“Yeoboseyo?”

“Umma…” Haeyeon whined.

“What is it, Haeyeon-ah?”

“They don’t believe that we’re with Onew. Junsung and Geurim are here too, but they still don’t believe us! What now? Can you ask Onew to let us in?”

“Erm, wait,” she covered the speaker. “Onew-ah, can you go and let the other kids in? The waiters don’t seem to believe that they’re with you. Apparently they think that the kids are fans or something,” Mrs. Yang told Onew.

“No problem, I’ll go now,” Onew replied, standing up from his seat and walking out.

“Haeyeon, he’s going already. See you and bye!” she ended the call.

Barely a minute later, Onew walked back into the room with the other four, pecking Taemin on the cheek before sitting down beside him. Not surprisingly, he was sandwiched between Taemin and Victoria, a somewhat awkward situation.

“So you ordered for us already, right oppa? Hi umma,” Geurim greeted after asking Hyunseung.

“So how was work?” Mrs. Yong asked Junsung who sat beside her.

“Fine. I was a waiter at the restaurant that hyung ate at for lunch, that’s why they invited me here,” Junsung told his umma.

“Jinjja? I see,” Mrs. Yong said.

“And how about you two?” Mrs. Yang asked Haeyeon and Yojin.

“It was fine. They were shopping at Myeongdong when they saw us at the counter, so here we are,” Yojin explained.

“And how about you, Geurim? Why’s your oppa ask you here?” Mrs. Jang asked.

“They were asking for directions at Dongdaemun,” Geurim told her, making the ummas laugh.

“You don’t know you way around Dongdaemun?” Mrs. Lee asked in disbelief, chuckling when the idols all shook their heads.

“We do, a little, but we were asking if there were any album stores around there…” Zhoumi told them, but didn’t manage to stop their laughing.

“Umma, stop laughing already. It isn’t nice, ok?” Geurim chided her umma.

“Aigo, fine. When is our food coming, anyways?” Mrs. Jang asked, her stomach growling.

“I don’t know. It usually takes five, maybe ten, minutes, but I’m always here with Tae so it’s only two people. Now that there are 33 people here, who knows how long it could take? But I’m guessing that it won’t be longer than half an hour,” Onew estimated.

“It’s been ten minutes so… what are we going to do for the next several minutes?” Mrs. Yong questioned. The idols thought about this, shrugged, and took their phones out. Kyuhyun was the only exception. Somehow, he managed to make a laptop magically appear out of thin air.

“You brought that? Since when?!” Sungmin asked.

“Well… I kind of asked manager hyung to pass it to me when we got here just now… told him when we were reaching and begged him to bring my laptop and poof! Here it is,” Kyuhyun explained.

“I can’t believe you… you know what I can do? I can poof a pink, pumpkin-scented bunny suit onto you. I mean it, just like the other time,” Sungmin warned.

“I don’t care… We’re still banned from skinship, right Teukie hyung?” Kyuhyun asked.

“I’m with Sungmin on this. Put the suit on him!” Leeteuk cheered the younger male on.

“YAY! Kamsa hamnida Teukie hyung! I love you~” Sungmin sang, pulling the said suit out of a bag and grinning menacingly at Kyuhyun.

“Hyung, you betrayed me…” Kyuhyun sighed, but still continued turning his laptop on.

“Does this place even have Wi-Fi? I doubt so. And Kyu, you have until the count of three to turn that laptop off. One…” Sungmin started counting down slowly.

“Hmm… there really isn’t any connection…” Kyuhyun complained.

“Two…” Sungmin continued.

“Well, I guess I should keep it. Since I have no internet to use,” Kyuhyun thought aloud.

“Two and a HALF,” Sungmin stressed the word.

“Ok, you win this time. I’ll keep it,” Kyuhyun said, giving in as he kept his laptop. “No internet to use… stupid place…” Kyuhyun murmured under his breath.

“You listened to me! I’m amazed! Come on, stop complaining already. If you keep playing, you might go blind or something,” Sungmin tried to calm Kyuhyun down somehow, deciding on giving the maknae a kiss on the lips.

“Holy ! Which part of ‘no mushiness in front of me’ do you people not understand?” Mrs. Son asked in exasperation.

“Umma, wasn’t that just for us?” Dongwoon asked in confusion.

“Yeah. I clearly remember you telling KiWoon ‘no acting mushy in front of me’. Only to them,” Mrs. Lee reminded Mrs. Son.

“Now you’re on their side? And you call them KIWOON?” Mrs. Son asked in disbelief.

“They told me all about the pairing names. I don’t mind my son being gay so long as they don’t hide it. I think I was madder when they didn’t tell any of us about it. They only told their appas and siblings, but not us!” Mrs. Lee exclaimed.

“Well, none of our appas seemed to be against gays. You guys always told us how disgusting you found gays. We can’t control how we feel about each other you know,” Hyunseung told the ummas.

“Not to mention the fact that our siblings not only support us, but also help us keep it a secret and defend us when you ummas found out just now. I still don’t want to think about why my umma was so mad… because of that, Doori noona isn’t here either,” Doojoon said guiltily.

“It’s ok, she’ll come to her senses soon enough. I’m sure your noona and appa are both putting in a good word for you,” Mrs. Yang reassured Doojoon.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to do to your appa later on though. How dare he keep this a secret from me?” Mrs. Jang asked.

“Umma, he was only helping me…” Hyunseung said dryly.

“But still, as your ummas and their wives, they shouldn’t be keeping secrets from us. Like seriously…” Mrs. Yong sighed.

“This isn’t too bad a drama,” Onew whispered into Taemin’s ear, making the younger male laugh.

“I know right? It’s so weird… the things they quarrel about…” Taemin whispered back.

“Well, the point is that umma should really respect my decision. I’m an adult already. She can’t keep controlling every single aspect of my life,” Doojoon said, angry at his umma.

“Joonie, apologise to her but tell her that you won’t change just because of her, ok? I’m sure Doori noona and Yoon appa will help you. It’s not worth getting so angry over this matter,” Yoseob persuaded Doojoon, calming his boyfriend down.

“Maybe I’ll tell her when I next see her, then. I just hope that noona will find a good way to calm umma down,” Doojoon sighed sadly.

“Until then, I think we should ju-” Yoseob was cut off when Jungin walked in with Sungjin behind him, holding many two trays each.

“Onew, this is yours and Taemin’s,” Jungin said, putting a tray on the table. “Then here’s your paper with the orders on them. I think there are a few more trays. Sort this out while we go get the other trays,” Jungin told them, putting the other tray down and gesturing for Sungjin to do the same before they both walked out.

“So the ginseng chicken is for that table,” Onew said to himself, carrying the tray with only ginseng chicken to the other table.

“This is mine.”

“And this is mine.”

“Here’s mine and yours.”

The same few sentences were repeated till all the food was given out, just as Jungin and Sungjin walked in, too.

“And here are the rest. Sungmin-sshi, I’m really sorry for shouting at Sungjin just now. I didn’t know that he was your brother,” Jungin apologised again.

“Apologise to my dongsaeng, not me. Just treat him better, please? He’s my only sibling and I care a lot about him. But if he says that he forgives you, then I do too,” Sungmin told Jungin kindheartedly.

“Kamsa hamnida. Sungjin, I’m really sorry,” Jungin apologised. Sungjin just smiled and shook his head, waving to the idols before leaving the room.

“Well. Onew, is that your usual when you come here?” Victoria asked, pointing to the tray in front of Onew. The tray held at least two plates of fried, boiled, steamed, and ginseng chicken each. Onew nodded, feeling embarrassed.

“Then how often do you come here?” Sunny asked curiously.

“Often enough that they know his and Taemin’s orders, apparently,” Nari remarked.

“We used to come here at least once a week every week. And that went on for at least a year,” Taemin told the others.

“But Onew oppa, do you really have to eat so much?” Geurim asked politely.

“He ate as much during lunch,” Hyunseung told his sister casually.

“I never knew that an idol could eat so much. Is he always like this?” Junsung asked.

“Yeah. He once ate sixteen plates and bowls of chicken when he was separated from his beloved chicken for 24 hours. Or so OnTae told us,” Jonghyun told them.

“What the heck?” Mrs. Yang said suddenly.

“Umma, don’t curse!” Haeyeon scolded.

“Haeyeon-ah, I think you sound more like the umma right now,” Yojin commented.

“Who cares? Anyway, what were you about to say just now, Yoseob?” Mrs. Jang asked.

“Oh, right. I was about to say that we act as if we aren’t together already, then maybe we can slowly show that we actually still are. Meaning that we act like a couple, but only a little,” Yoseob said.

“That isn’t too bad. Sorry for my input on this. Anyways, like I was saying, it isn’t a bad idea. But the thing is… what if you get carried away with acting and really get separated?” Donghae asked in concern.

“That’s never going to happen. Seobie loves me too much,” Doojoon said, making the younger male pound on his chest girlishly.

“Yah! Arrogant …” Yoseob muttered.

“But you love him anyway,” Siwon said, smiling as he put his bible down.

“If he keeps being so full of himself, maybe I won’t love him,” Yoseob warned.

“I think you’ll still love him, Yoseob,” Dongha thought aloud.

“I agree with Dongha,” Mrs. Son said. The others nodded, smiling at DooSeob encouragingly.

“You should go ahead with the plan though. It seems to be able to work, and you can slowly go back to what you once were. In front of your umma, I mean. In the dorm, you can do whatever you want,” Heechul told them suggestively.

“Heechul, stop being so erted,” Leeteuk chided.

“Heechul hyung has always been like this, remember? Especially when… pardon me for saying this, hyung, but when Hankyung hyung was here,” Ryeowook said quickly.

As Ryeowook predicted, Heechul’s face darkened, and he glared at Ryeowook.

“Hyung, Wookie didn’t mean anything, ok?” Yesung said defensively.

“He had to mention that jerk’s name?” Heechul asked rhetorically, almost shouting at Ryeowook. Yesung walked in front of Ryeowook, glaring back at Heechul.

“If it’s because of Victoria noona, then it’s not worth getting angry,” Kyuhyun said carefully.

*I can’t believe he left Heechul hyung for something like a ‘slave contract’…* Onew thought sadly, remembering when he was still a trainee and went to stay with SuJu once to practice his singing with Yesung. They called this kind of lessons ‘night lessons’, where the ‘student’ would learn at night at the ‘teacher’s’ house and stay there for the night.

 

[Flashback]

“Chullie, I love you, you know that?” Hankyung asked.

Heechul nodded, hugging his boyfriend. “You’re never going to leave me, right?” Heechul asked, holding out his pinky.

“Of course not!” Hankyung promised, hooking his pinky around Heechul’s.

“I love you too,” Heechul told Hankyung, smiling contentedly as he rested his head against Hankyung’s chest.

“What would you do if I left you? Or worse, betrayed you?” Hankyung asked worriedly.

“Nothing, cause you’ll never do that!” Heechul said, trusting Hankyung’s words.

“Yeah, I definitely won’t,” Hankyung replied nervously.

*The contract… it’s been two and a half years since we debuted, but SM Entertainment still doesn’t let me go back home every now and then. I can’t bring my parents here, either…* Hankyung thought sadly, deciding not to pursue the matter unless it got too bad.

“You sound worried. What’s wrong?” Heechul asked his boyfriend.

“N-nothing…” Hankyung stammered, smiling at Heechul and giving his boyfriend a peck on the forehead. “Come on, let’s sleep,” Hankyung suggested.

“Arasso,” Heechul agreed, walking to his bed, which was beside Hankyung’s.

“Night, Chullie,” Hankyung said.

“Goodnight, Hannie,” Heechul replied.

They seemed to be happy then, and Heechul didn’t care too much about Hankyung's tone of voice earlier on. Who would have guessed what Hankyung did two years later?

[End of flashback]

 

“It’s not because of noona, but don’t press Heechul hyung for the reason, ok?” Onew asked the other SuJu members.

*He was there. Oh god, he was there that night wasn’t he? Dammit…* Heechul cursed mentally, but smiled at Onew in gratitude nonetheless.

“Fine, we won’t be so mean to him,” Shindong promised on behalf of the others.

“But Ryeowook, I’m sorry for being shouting at you,” Heechul apologised, managing a small smile. But his face was back to its original expression after that.

“But Onew, how do you know what happened?” Sungmin asked in confusion.

Onew shook his head, not wanting to answer the question.

“Erm, let’s just eat now. Forget everything, ok?” Haekyung suggested.

“Come on, let’s eat,” Mrs. Yong agreed, digging in. the others followed her lead and they ate, talking about their schedules and lives as idols. After an hour, they were all done and got ready to leave for shopping.

“So which shop do you recommend?” Mrs. Lee asked the idols.

“That one!” the divas, Heechul, Hyunseung, Junhyung and Key shouted, pointing at the same store all at the same time.

“Weird chemistry between the divas…” Henry said.

“Anyway, come on!” Mrs. Jang and Mrs. Yong exclaimed.

“And there goes the diva ummas…” Dongwoon joked.

“Seriously, let’s go!” Zhoumi chimed in, causing the others to laugh and follow the divas’ lead.

They went into the store and as usual, the divas threw clothes at their respective members while the women were choosing their clothes in a civilized manner.

After an hour or so, they paid for their clothes and left to go home.

“See you soon ummas!” Gikwang exclaimed as the B2ST members got into their manager’s car.

“We have to hang out again soon. Call us when you have time!” Heechul told the B2ST members before they closed the door. They nodded and their manager sped off.

The ummas and siblings left as well, all taking public transport to go back home.

Victoria took the car with SHINee and their manager.

SuJu took the car and Shindong would go with their manager to drop Nari off at her house. Of course, the other members would return first.

When SHINee and Victoria arrived at the SM building, they got off the car and their manager went to park the car, telling them to go up first.

The five of them went up to the fourth floor and they went their separate ways, bidding each other goodnight.

The SHINee members walked into the dorm and found Minho in their bedroom, staring at the computer screen.

They walked over to the computer and peeked over Minho’s shoulders, shocked to find that he was playing Starcraft. Sadly for him, he still at it.

Onew read the username on the computer: minnielover91.

“What the…” Onew gasped, making the younger male jump in his seat.

“You’re back? How’s my Starcraft? Maybe I should play with Kyuhyun hyung sometime. My skills seem alright, don’t they?” Minho asked.

“Well, you died once, in the one time we saw you play. Your level on an overall is 5, and your percentage of winning is 23%. Kyuhyun hyung is different. His level on an overall is 21, his percentage of winning is 96% and we never see him lose when he plays. Yeah, you’ll definitely win,” Key asked sarcastically.

“I didn’t know that…” Minho mumbled.

“How long have you been playing?” Jonghyun asked.

“Since the afternoon, or maybe earlier. What time is it?” Minho asked, taking a quick glance at the clock before turning back to his game. “It’s only 9pm, no worries. I’m a little hungry though. Key hyung, can you make something for me? And Taemin, flowers for you,” Minho said boldly.

“Hyung, what flowers are these?” Taemin asked Onew, picking the bouquet of pink flowers  from his bed and showing it to Onew.

“They’re pink camellias, symbolizing longing. Minho, you’re really getting bolder, aren’t you?” Onew asked the younger male.

“Don’t know, don’t care. Key UMMA, PLEASE help me make dinner,” Minho repeated, stressing the words that he knew Key would like to hear.

“Fine, I’ll make you rice with kimchi stew. But by the time I’m done, you’d better turn the computer off, arasso?” Key told Minho who nodded.

While Taemin and Onew bathed, Jonghyun and Key were making Minho’s dinner.

“Minho, we’re done!” Key shouted, going into the room to get Minho.

“What did I tell you? Aish, jinjja…” Key sighed, turning the main switch off.

“Yah! I’ll go, but I was WINNING! Hmph!” Minho whined weirdly, stomping out and eating his dinner.

When OnTae finished bathing, JongKey went to bathe next, in different toilets, of course. After a while, Minho was done eating his dinner and went to get ready to bathe too.

OnTae had gone to practice singing again, and JongKey went to practice their dancing once they finished bathing. Minho then went to research a little more on what flowers to buy tomorrow before going to take a walk into the park before going to dance practice as well. Their synchronization for ‘Lucifer’ and ‘Hello’ still wasn’t very good due to the injuries during that period of time.

Not long later, OnTae went to the dance practice room and Onew practiced too. Before that, they met Tiffany and Jessica at the practice room and arranged to go out tomorrow, with the rest of SHINee and Victoria, who all didn’t have many things on in the morning or afternoon, either. Taemin sat by the side and watched as the others danced. Fortunately, he was the best dancer so it would be easy for him to catch up with them.

Strangely enough, Minho left OnTae alone, even during the short breaks that their choreographer gave them. They were grateful for this though, very grateful.

After practicing, at around 1.30am, they all returned to the dorm and slept. But even then, Minho left OnTae alone. They found it weird but didn’t ask Minho about it. Who knows? Maybe he gave up already, and was moving on to find someone better.

Anyway, OnTae wasn’t harassed by Minho at all, and they literally thanked god for that.

But good things never last long.

 

 

 

 

my exams are in 2 weeks so i won't update till it's over... anyway, keep reading and commenting^^