(A day later)

Hello, hel-

“Yeoboseyo?” Onew said into the phone speaker, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

“Where are we going today and with who?” Victoria whispered into the phone, not wanting to wake the others up. They had been practicing till around 2am, and it was only 6am right now.

“We met Tiffany and Jessica noonas last night while practicing our singing, and they’re coming along. None of the SuJu members though, cause they’re going to Singapore for SS3 soon. And if you want, we can ask B2ST next time, but I think they’re busy today. The rest of SHINee is coming too. And I think we should go to the wind village. You know where it is? And after that, I know of an animal farm not too far away from the village. We should go there afterwards!” Onew suggested.

“I think I know where you’re talking about. It’s the Uiyaji Wind Village in Gangwondo, right?” Victoria asked Onew over the phone.

“Ne,” Onew replied simply.

“Ok, I know the animal farm too. See you later and wake the others up already. Bye!” Victoria exclaimed softly, ending the call before going to the toilet to wash up.

“Bye?” Onew said to nobody, closing his phone and waking the other members up.

“Yah! Wake up~” Onew sang, knocking on the members’ bedframes. That was except for Taemin, of course. The injured boy needed a little more rest.

“What time is it?” Key looked at his phone. “Why is it so early?” he complained, rubbing his eyes as he climbed down the stairs of his bunk bed. Minho and Jonghyun followed Key and got off their beds, heading for the toilet as Onew stayed in the room with Taemin.

“Yah, Lee Taemin, wake up,” Onew whispered into his boyfriend’s ear, startling the younger male and causing him to jump a little.

“Hyung? Oh yeah, we’re going out with the noonas today, right? What about the SuJu and B2ST hyungs?” Taemin asked curiously.

“SuJu hyungs are preparing for SS3 in Singapore and B2ST are… I don’t know, busy? Wait, today’s Sunday, right?” Onew asked Taemin who checked his phone.

“Yeah, why?” Taemin asked in confusion.

“I just remembered that Gikwang has Inkigayo today. So it’s only SHINee, Victoria noona, Tiffany noona and Jessica noona,” Onew informed Taemin, grabbing the crutches at the foot of the bed and passing them to Taemin.

“Come on, let’s wash up and eat,” Onew told Taemin cheekily, supporting him to the toilet that Minho had just vacated.

“I’ll help Key to prepare breakfast,” Minho said quietly.

*Strange… maybe he gave up already* Onew thought, feeling somewhat happy. But he knew it was impossible, it was just his fantasy.

“Hyung, do you think that Minho hyung was kind of weird?” Taemin asked Onew while brushing his teeth. Onew shrugged, not knowing how to answer.

“Maybe the idea that we’re together was finally drilled into his mind,” Onew speculated.

“I doubt so. Minho hyung never gives up till he wins. I’ve seen it before, seriously,” Taemin said seriously, facing Onew with what was supposed to be a stare. However, it just made Onew get a laughing fit and he nearly choked on the toothpaste.

“Yah! Am I the hyung, or are you? Jinjja…” Taemin sighed in defeat, gurgled his mouth and spit the water out before letting Onew do so. They then washed their faces and dried their faces before making their way to the dining room.

“So what’s for breakfast?” Jonghyun asked.

“Weren’t you here?” Onew asked, looking at Jonghyun weirdly.

“I didn’t let him see. I was preparing this!” Key announced, holding up a plate with a pancake on it. On the pancake were the words ‘JongKey’ in Korean and English. Below that were a heart shape and a dinosaur.

“Aww, that’s so sweet!” Taemin cooed, making Key blush in embarrassment.

Suddenly, Eve appeared out of nowhere and nearly knocked the plate out of Key’s hand by jumping at him. She did manage to make the pancake fall, though. Luckily, it was caught by Minho who literally dived for the pancake.

“Omo! Minho-ah, kamsa hamnida! I don’t know what I would have done to Eve if the pancake really hit the floor,” Key heaved a huge sigh of relief.

Taemin picked his dog up from the floor and held her up to his eye level. “Eve Lee, you are not to do that again, understood?” Taemin said sternly. As if she really understood, Eve whined and nodded. However a dog nodded, anyway.

“Come on, let’s eat! Then we’ll meet Victoria noona, Jessica noona and Tiffany noona downstairs by 8am. The two SNSD noonas don’t know where we’re going, but Victoria noona already called me this morning,” Onew informed the others. For some reason unbeknownst to himself, Taemin felt slightly jealous. Maybe it was because Onew wasn’t as sweet to him as before.

For the next half an hour, the SHINee members ate in silence. Taemin gave Eve some pieces of his pancake when he saw how sad his poor puppy looked.

When they were done, JongKey washed the dishes and OnTae went to change. Minho decided to clean up the table for the first time ever, and it really came as a shock to even JongKey.

*Is he sick? Why’s he so nice today? Usually he’d try to be closer to Taemin. Now that I think of it, he always seemed to enjoy sticking to Taemin, even before all of this happened. Weird…* Jonghyun thought, staring at Minho as he washed the plates absentmindedly.

“Jjong? JJONG!” Key shouted at his boyfriend, shocking Jonghyun and almost causing him to drop the plate he was holding.

“Mwoh?” Jonghyun asked in confusion.

“You’ve been washing that same plate for ten minutes already. Come on, let me wash it and we can change. Minho, you’re done right?” Key asked.

“Yeah. OnTae are done changing, and I’ll go now. Hurry, we don’t have much time left. We’re going by cab, right?” Minho confirmed.

“I guess so. Manager hyung’s car can’t fit eight people in it, especially with one person injured. OnTae and Victoria noona will take one cab while the three of us and the two SNSD noonas take another cab, arasso?” Key asked Minho.

“Sure, no problem. I’ll go in to change first,” Minho told Key, dumping the cloth that he was wiping the table with and heading for the bedroom just as OnTae came out.

“Whoa! You scared me. Nice clothes though. Maybe I should go shopping with you guys next time,” Minho made a mental note to himself.

“Right… well, we already put on some light makeup so Key doesn’t have to worry. And hurry,” Onew shooed Minho out of their way as OnTae made their way to the couch to wait.

“Eh? You’re done? We won’t take long. Key, let’s go,” Jonghyun grabbed Key’s arm and dragged him into the bedroom to find clothes.

After several minutes, Jonghyun and Minho emerged from the room. Needless to say, Key was still fussing over his looks.

“Key is, well… you understand,” Jonghyun told OnTae.

“I feel your pain, Jonghyun hyung. KEY UMMA! HURRY!” Taemin screamed.

“Aish, Tae… not so loud. Some other sunbaes or hoobaes might still be sleeping. Chill, ok?” Onew soothed the impatient boy, pecking him lightly on the lips.

Minho was trying his best to keep calm, but it didn’t seem to be working out very well.

After another few minutes, Key came out, looking as if he was going onto a runway.

 

When they got down, they noticed that they were late for about five minutes. The three women were already there, well-dressed and feeling annoyed.

“Sorry for being late. Key hyung here was trying to fix his hair and face,” Minho told the three sarcastically. Key rolled his eyes at the statement.

“For your info, I am only trying to look as good as possible. It’s not my fault that you don’t appear to care about your looks,” Key scoffed.

“Break it up. We’re running late already. Let’s go,” Tiffany said, effectively preventing the coming fight. The eight idols hailed two cabs and went to Gangwondo. Fortunately, it wasn’t really far from where they were and they managed to save quite a lot of money.

“Wah~ I’ve never been here before!” Taemin exclaimed like a little kid who was excited to explore a new place. “Of all times to be injured…” Taemin whined, walking around Uiyaji Village. Well, the entrance of it, anyway.

“I just remembered something,” Jessica muttered.

“Huh? What did you say?” Minho asked the sunbae.

“I realised that my umma works here…” Jessica murmured.

“Jeongmal? Let’s go then! We’ll go make some cheese first. I’ve tried it before when I was young, it’s really fun!” Onew exclaimed, running towards the house meant for that.

“Hyung! YAH!” Taemin shouted in annoyance.

“Hehe… mianhae,” Onew apologised, walking back to Taemin.

“Hmph!” Taemin huffed.

“Sorry…” Onew apologised again, dancing to ‘Sorry Sorry’ this time, causing the younger male to chuckle slightly.

“Fine, let’s go,” Taemin tried to sound annoyed. Onew smiled goofily at his lover and supported Taemin to the house.

“Wait for us!” Victoria shouted, catching up with OnTae and chatting with them.

“They seem to be on good terms now, aren’t they?” Jessica said in approval.

“Yeah. Ever since noona learnt that OnTae was still together, she became a lot nicer. She already accepted the fact that hyung will never love her. She just wants him to go out with her at three days a week. It’s not much, but when we have schedule, then there’s a problem,” Key explained to the two SNSD members.

“Are you trying to imply something? That she gets angry when Onew can’t make it?” Tiffany asked curiously. Key was about to answer when Jonghyun cut him off.

“Can we walk while talking? OnTae and Victoria noona are already there. Minho made his way there too,” Jonghyun pointed at four figures in the distance.

“Erm… ok, let’s do that,” Key said. They began walking and continued their conversation.

“Like I was saying, the problem isn’t Victoria noona, remember?” Key asked.

“Oh yeah. It’s Minho…” Jessica and Tiffany said in unison.

“I think he still hasn’t given up. He’s been nicer though, yesterday and today. He didn’t bother OnTae at all last night. Its way out of character for him,” Jonghyun suddenly said.

“Then what do we do? Wait for him to take action?” Jessica asked.

“I guess so. Let’s stop talking about this. He can hear us from here,” Key lowered his voice. The other three nodded and walked faster to the others.

“What took you so long? Aish,” Minho sighed.

“Anyway, let’s go in!” Victoria exclaimed.

They opened the doors to reveal a few couples at various tables, all making something that seemed to look inedible. The store owner noticed the idols and her gaze shifted to Tiffany almost instantly.

“Jessica?” it was her umma. Even her own umma was used to calling her by English name.

Jessica squinted her eyes and gasped slightly. The other idols followed her gaze and nodded knowingly.

“Umma? It’s really you? I completely forgot that you worked here! Well, I remembered it just now but that’s not the point,” Jessica said, mostly to herself. She walked to her umma and hugged her tightly, smiling contentedly in her mother’s embrace.

“Sica, I haven’t seen you in so long! I can only see you on TV. You know how saddening that is?” Mrs. Jung asked. Jessica nodded, feeling tears well up in her eyes.

“Can we go to the back first, Mrs. Jung? People are starting to look at us. You have enough workers to help first, right?” Victoria requested. Mrs. Jung nodded and led them to the kitchen before Jessica could finally let the tears flow.

“Umma, I missed you!” Jessica sobbed. Everyone was shocked, even Tiffany. The Jessica they knew would never have shown her weak side to anyone.

“I missed you too. How’s life as an idol? Is it tough?” Mrs. Jung asked in concern. Jessica just said nothing and nodded. Although Mrs. Jung wasn’t crying, her eyes were already red.

“What brings you here?” Mrs. Jung asked.

“We’re here to make cheese! Hana, dul, set. Annyeong haseyo, shining SHINee imnida,” Onew and the other SHINee members greeted Mrs. Jung politely.

“Annyeong haseyo, Victoria Song imnida,” Victoria was next.

“Mrs. Jung, long time no see!” Tiffany exclaimed, hugging the elder slightly.

“Sica, are you ok already? If you are, we can go make the cheese now. I’m sure you don’t have much time to waste here,” Mrs. Jung said.

Jessica sniffled and nodded, wiping her tears away as she did so.

“Do I look presentable?” Jessica asked the idols.

“You’ll always be pretty. Come on,” Tiffany joked.

Mrs. Jung led them out and asked one of her employees to help the idols first. She told them that she had something important to attend to.

“Annyeong haseyo, Yoon Doori imnida,” the employee greeted. OnTae, JongKey and Victoria’s heads snapped up at that voice and name.

“DOORI UNNI?” Victoria gasped in shock.

“Victoria? And SHINee? I’m sorry yesterday ended so abruptly. I’m still in the middle of negotiating with my umma. Appa’s on his side too. Pass that on to Doojoon ok?” Doori requested. Victoria smiled and nodded.

“Who’s this? And which Doojoon are you guys talking about?” Minho asked in confusion.

“I told you already, my name is Yoon Doori,” Doori rolled her eyes.

“It’s Doojoon’s noona. Doojoon of B2ST, you know?” Victoria asked the others.

“I see. What do you mean by yesterday?” Tiffany asked in confusion.

“Let me guess. You guys went out without Minho. B2ST was there, and you guys met Doori and Mrs. Yoon. Maybe you met other people, who knows? Then you guys had a conflict and Mrs. Yoon went off. Doori unni then tried to solve the dispute but it’s not done yet. Did I get anything wrong?” Jessica hypothesized.

“Not at all…” OnTae, JongKey, Victoria and Doori gasped in awe.

“What can I say? I rock,” Jessica praised herself.

“Yah, Sica. Don’t get so cocky. Anyway, where do we start?” Tiffany asked Doori.

 

Throughout the next hour, the idols had a lot of fun making their own cheese, adding the flavoring and some flowers at the bottom.

“I never knew that you could add flowers and strawberry flavoring in cheese! And it tastes good, too. Anyone want some red wine to go with it?” Minho asked randomly.

“I don’t think so… maybe a small cup for each of us?” Onew said, but it sounded more like a question. Minho just shrugged and took eight paper cups, filling them with wine up to one quarter of each cup. He then passed them out to each idol and they drank the wine while eating the small piece of cheese. When they were done, they stood up and went to the kitchen.

“Umma? What exactly are you doing here?” Jessica asked curiously.

Mrs. Jung turned around and passed a bag to Jessica. Her eyes were red and swollen.

“Sica, these homemade foods are for you to bring back to the dorm. You can share them with your members, arasso?” Jessica nodded, tears already welling up in her eyes. “But I prepared all your favourites, so I’m not sure if the others will like them,” Mrs. Jung explained.

“Umma… you didn’t have to do all this. But I’m sure the other members will love your food. If they don’t, I’ll eat it on my own,” Jessica said, putting the bag down on a table and hugging her umma tightly.

“Yah, don’t you have to go somewhere else? Don’t let me hold you guys up,” Mrs. Jung chided Jessica who just nodded, still sniffling.

“Um, Mrs. Jung, we’d better get going now,” Onew said awkwardly, feeling guilty for ruining the moment. Mrs. Jung broke the hug, looked at Onew and nodded.

“Umma, I’ll call you tomorrow. And I’ll visit when I’m free! Tell appa that I love him. I love you too,” Jessica told her umma, wiping her tears away and pecking her umma on the cheek.

“I love you too. Help me pass the message to Krystal, arasso?” Mrs. Jung asked.

“Of course I will. Bye umma!” Jessica exclaimed, waving to her umma as she took the bag from the table. The other idols bid their goodbyes and waved too before leaving the room.

“Doori unni, we’ll see you again next time. I hope everything goes well with Yoon umma,” Victoria told Doori who smiled and nodded.

“Thanks. See you again!” Doori exclaimed, waving to the idols before returning to work.

When they walked out of the house, the idols looked at Onew.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” Onew asked in horror.

“Hyung, you planned all this so you should know something. Where are we going next?” Taemin asked the obviously confused leader.

“Oh! We’ll go feed the sheep now. I think it’s that way,” Onew said. It was obvious that he was unsure. Key clucked his tongue in disapproval.

“Hyung, you can’t be serious, right? You brought us here and now you tell us that you don’t know how to go to our next destination?!” Key exclaimed in agitation.

Onew scratched the back of his head, feeling embarrassed. “Well… I’m Onew, remember?” he explained, making Key smack him on the back of his head.

“Let’s just go find some signs or something. And stop fighting,” Jonghyun sighed, looking around them. He spotted a sign that said ‘Sheep Feeding’ and pointed to the right. “Yah, let’s go that way,” Jonghyun told the others who nodded and followed Jonghyun’s lead.

“Next time, don’t ask Onew hyung to plan our outings,” Key huffed.

“Stop it, hyungs. Let’s hurry,” Minho told them. They just nodded and continued walking till they found the area with a herd of sheep.

“Annyeong haseyo, how may I help you?” a man said. His nametag read ‘Jung Changsun’.

“We’re here to feed sheep,” Tiffany said.

“I see. You’ll have to pay for the food. You know that, right?” Changsun asked. Onew nodded while the others just looked at him blankly.

“You’re paying,” Key said to Onew.

“Who said I wasn’t?” Onew asked incredulously.

“Stop. It.” Victoria said sternly, shutting the two younger males up.

“So how many bowls of food do you want?” Changsun asked.

“Four. Two of us will share one. That’s fine with you guys, right?” Onew asked. the rest just nodded and Changsun went into the storeroom to get the food.

“So who’s sharing with who?” Minho asked curiously.

“Victoria noona, do you want to share with Minho or OnTae?” Onew asked the elder.

*What should I say? I’d rather be with OnTae, since I’ve accepted them already. But at the same time, Minho’s been quite nice today…* Victoria thought, frustrated.

In the end, she made up her mind. “With Minho…” she sighed.

“Jinjja?!” Onew’s eyes widened before he cleared his throat. “I mean arasso.”

When Changsun came back, he passed a bowl of food to OnTae, JongKey, Jessica and Tiffany, and Victoria and Minho.

“Just put the food on your hand and let them eat from it. Call me if you need help,” Changsun told them. He then retreated to the storeroom to slack.

“Right… come on Taeminnie!” Onew exclaimed, pulling Taemin towards the sheep pen. Of course, the older male was careful when he pulled Taemin.

Awkward silence hung between Victoria and Minho as neither of them made a move. The other pairs were already off, feeding the sheep and having tons of fun.

“So, did you tell Onew hyung anything that he shouldn’t do?” Minho asked.

“Even if I did, why would I tell you? Babo,” Victoria rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, Taemin shrieked.

“What happened?” everyone’s heads turned to face Taemin who just blushed.

“Mianhae. It was just ticklish,” Taemin chuckled. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief and went back to whatever they were doing previously.

“But seriously noona, I really want to make sure that Onew hyung doesn’t betray you. Just tell me,” Minho tried to convince Victoria.

“Aish, shut up. I’m going to join OnTae. Bye retard,” Victoria waved, annoyed with Minho’s behavior and walked over to OnTae.

“Noona? Want to join us?” Onew asked, smiling at the elder. Victoria returned the smile and nodded, so Onew put some sheep food onto her opened palm.

“What do I do?” Victoria asked. This was her first time doing this, after all.

“Just put your hand through the hole. The sheep will come to eat the food,” Onew explained.

Victoria nodded. “Arasso.”

“But beware, noona. It’s really ticklish. I’m not kidding!” Taemin warned her seriously.

“I got it,” Victoria smiled at Taemin, finding him really cute right then. *Why’d I even have the heart to hurt him back then? But I’ll be nice from now, right?* Victoria questioned herself, pushing her thoughts into the corner of her mind while she fed the sheep.

“Why. Is. It. So. Damn. TICKLISH?!” Victoria screamed, pulling her hand back. One of the sheep seemed to have gotten angry and jumped out of the pen, making the idols panic and run into the storehouse.

“CHANGSUN! THERE’S A SHEEP RUNNING LOOSE!” Onew shouted at the poor man who was jolted from his slumber.

“What? Omo! Wait here!” Changsun told them, running out while grabbing some food from a shelf. The idols watched in wonder as Changsun chased the runaway sheep around, finally managing to catch it and hold it in place with the food. He then led the sheep back into the pen and returned into the storehouse.

“What did you do to make that sheep run out?” Changsun interrogated. Victoria let out a nervous chuckle and hung her head.

“About that… the sheep was tickling me so I kind of pulled my hand away. Then it ran out,” Victoria said guiltily.

“Whatever. The sheep don’t usually have such violent reactions though…” Changsun paused, putting his finger on his chin for the extra effect. In the end he just shrugged. “Anyway, I don’t think you guys should continue this. Come back another day, when the sheep are calmer,” Changsun advised. Onew nodded in agreement and put the bowl of food down on the table nearby. The other followed suit and they bowed before leaving.

“We’ll see you again then. Bye!” Onew waved to Changsun and left with the rest.

“That failed. Now what?” Tiffany asked, turning her attention to Onew. This caused her to trip and almost fall. She would have if it hadn’t been for Jessica who managed to catch her. But this resulted in Jessica’s boxes of food dropping onto the floor and a few of them opened, leaking the contents onto the ground.

“OMO!” Jessica screeched, bending down to keep the food into the boxes hurriedly. Luckily, not much food was spilt, but Jessica still cried over it.

“Tiffany… this is entirely your fault!” Jessica said accusingly.

“Yah! I didn’t ask you to catch me. Why didn’t you just let me fall then?” Tiffany shot back.

“You caused this and still blame me? Dammit, I never knew you were so stuck up! It’s obviously your fault, can’t you just admit it?!” Jessica screamed at her member. The idols were all taken aback. What happened to the polite, caring and kind Jessica they all knew?

“Jessica noona…” Key began, putting his hand on her shoulder. Jessica ignored him and even swatted his hand away like it was a pest.

“Shush! I’m still trying to talk here. Fany, you really think it’s my fault? My umma prepared this, and so much of it is wasted already! Can’t you just apologise?!” Jessica shouted. The idols looked at each other quizzically. What did she mean by ‘so much’?

Taemin turned to look at the ground. *There’s less than a handful. Is noona mad?* Taemin’s eyes widened. He wanted to voice out his thoughts, but what if Jessica went violent on him?

“What’s with her?” Jonghyun whispered to Victoria. They seemed to be on relatively good terms now. She shrugged, not knowing either.

“But seriously, there’s so little food wasted. Is she nuts?” Victoria whispered back.

“Who knows? I’ve never seen Jessica noona like this before. She must really love her umma to treasure the food so much. But this is really freaking me out,” Jonghyun told Victoria, shuddering a little. The elder female nodded in agreement and looked at the two SNSD members.

“Noonas, can’t you just solve this peacefully? You can’t be angry at each other forever, right?” Minho said, trying to make peace. He walked in between the two girls who had, amazingly enough, walked to each other without anyone noticing it.

“She’s valiantly accusing me of something that wasn’t even my fault! Damn, I could have just fallen you know? I didn’t need your help only to be shouted at!” Tiffany screamed.

“Don’t you know how important my umma is to me?! You should know me well enough to know how much my umma means to me! Can’t you just apologise to appease me?!” Jessica asked angrily. The idols watched their violent exchange of words with Minho sandwiched in between them.

“Noonas! JUST APOLOGISE TO EACH OTHER!” Minho shouted, getting frustrated as well.

“NO!” they shouted together, sending each other an accusatory glare.

 

In the practice room, Taeyeon was dancing and stopped for a moment to rest while the choreographer was telling her about her mistakes.

Mr. Taxi Taxi Tax-

“Mianhae,” Taeyeon apologised and ran to her bag.

“Yeoboseyo?” Taeyeon answered the phone, a hint of irritation in her voice. It was bad enough that she had to practice alone. It was her fault for going out the previous day but still.

“Taeyeon? I’m sorry for calling you now. I’m sure you’re busy. But I really need a favour from you,” Victoria pleaded. In the background, Taeyeon swore that she could hear two of her members shouting at each other.

“What’s wrong?” Taeyeon asked worriedly.

“SHINee, Jessica, Tiffany and I came to Gangwondo in the morning. It isn’t too far from SM’s building. They’re fighting now because Tiffany nearly fell and when Jessica caught her, she dropped some of the food that her umma gave her. Help,” Victoria begged.

‘IT’S NOT MY FAULT! WHY SHOULD I APOLOGISE TO YOU?! IT’S YOUR FAULT!’ Taeyeon heard Tiffany scream. She had to hold the phone away from her ear as it was really loud.

“No problem. I’ll be there as soon as possible,” Taeyeon said without hesitation. She grabbed a towel and looked at the choreographer apologetically.

“Can we continue another day? This is really an emergency,” she told the choreographer, Shin Jaewon, or better known as ‘Famous_Jae’.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, genuinely concerned.

“I’ll tell you next time. I’m really sorry. Bye!” Taeyeon waved as she ran off.

“Taeyeon, you there?” Victoria asked.

“Ne. What is it?” she asked, impatiently tapping her foot as she waited for the lift to go to the ground floor.

“We’re on our way to an animal farm from Uiyagi Wind Village. Tell that to the cab driver. See you and thanks!” Victoria exclaimed.

“It’s my members we’re talking about here. See you,” Taeyeon said as she ended the call.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Victoria unni!” Taeyeon called out when she spotted the figures in the distance.

“Taeyeon? Oh my god, you’re finally here! They’ve been fighting for nearly half an hour already!” Victoria cried in exasperation.

“I only took fifteen minutes to get here…” Taeyeon mumbled, running to the two members.

“Taeyeon?” Tiffany and Jessica were momentarily shocked. After a moment, they went back to quarrelling. Taeyeon sighed, and pulled the two apart forcefully.

“Minho, if you’re not going to do anything, get out of my way. If you want to help, hold Fany in place. Victoria unni, hold Sica in place,” Taeyeon instructed. Minho and Victoria both nodded, moving forward to hold the two girls in place.

“LET GO OF ME!” Tiffany shrieked, kicking the air as Minho held her by her waist.

“Jonghyun, help Victoria unni,” Taeyeon said. “Key, do not get jealous,” she added as an afterthought. Key frowned and nodded.

“I’m not that petty,” he complained. Taeyeon just ignored him and went back to business.

“You two can be so childish, can’t you? Does that look like a lot of food wasted? It’s only a handful, literally. Just forgive and forget already,” Taeyeon ordered. Jessica glared at her leader and shook her head forcefully.

“Unni’s right. Sorry Sica,” Tiffany apologised. This came as a shock to the idols, somewhat.

“I don’t care. You better find some way to fix this mess,” Jessica refused to give in.

Tiffany was close to tears, and she started to look at the others for help.

“Sica, why don’t we just go back and ask Mrs. Jung to make some more of the food for you?” Taeyeon suggested.

“NO! My umma’s already getting aged. I don’t want her to worry about me,” Jessica protested.

“Then just forget about it, noona,” Taemin told her.

“But… my umma made this…” Jessica whispered. They could tell that she was tired of fighting. Nonetheless, she still didn’t let down.

“I’m sure Mrs. Jung will understand, won’t she? It was only an accident, noona. She can’t blame you. Just take it as Tiffany noona’s share. Then she won’t get to eat the food, that’s all,” Jonghyun said.

“That isn’t a bad idea! Jjong, you’re finally using that brain of yours!” Key exclaimed merrily, forgetting the situation at the moment. Jonghyun blushed and smacked Key on the back of his head, causing the younger male to pout. “Yah!” he shouted.

“What? It’s not only today that I use my brain, ok? Aish,” Jonghyun shook his head.

“Hello? More important business here,” Onew reminded the couple.

“Sorry,” they said together.

“So? I think Jonghyun’s idea isn’t that bad, like Key said. Come on, we don’t like to see our friends fighting,” Victoria said. The others nodded in agreement at her last statement.

“… Fine,” Jessica said reluctantly, holding out her hand. Tiffany smiled lightly and shook hands with Jessica as a form of truce.

“I’m really sorry,” Tiffany apologised again. Jessica sighed and shook her head.

“It’s my fault. I know that it wasn’t your fault that the food dropped. I was just upset that umma’s efforts went to waste,” Jessica replied guiltily.

“Let’s just forgive and forget already,” Victoria said. They just nodded blankly at her and grinned.

“But Taeyeon noona, you really are something else,” Onew complimented.

“Why?” she asked curiously.

“You see, before you came, we were constantly trying to stop them from continuing the quarrel. We failed for half an hour but you solved it within ten minutes!” Minho exclaimed.

“It’s nothing…” Taeyeon said humbly. “I know what they’re like after so long, so naturally I’d know the best way to prevent them from fighting,” she explained.

“But I’ve known the SHINee members for so long already. But when they fight, I’m still at a loss for what to do,” Key complained.

“I am the leader too. They have to listen to and respect me cause I’m the eldest. Maybe that’s your problem,” Taeyeon told Key who thought about this and shrugged.

“Anyway, we’re going to the animal farm now. You can join us if you have time,” Victoria invited.

“Nah. I got to go back to practice,” Taeyeon declined the offer.

“That’s ok. We’ll go out some other day!” Victoria exclaimed, waving to Taeyeon as she left.

“Now that that’s over, let’s go to the animal farm! There’s a show not long from now and we have to get tickets. Let’s go!” Onew rushed them, almost running off if it hadn’t been for Taemin’s glare burning him. Almost literally.

“Hyung~” Taemin whined. Minho nearly puked at the aegyo. Where did the Taemin who screamed at him go? He couldn’t understand what the maknae was thinking.

“Haha,” Onew laughed, “sorry. I forgot again, didn’t I?”

“Duh…” Taemin rolled his eyes. Victoria linked arms with the maknae.

“Taemin-ah, if Onew doesn’t want to help you, I’ll do it!” Victoria exclaimed, walking off slowly with Taemin. Their arms were still linked and it made them look like a couple.

“Yah! Wait for me!” Onew shouted at them, running towards the two friends.

“Childish. Come on Jjong. Minho, you can stay with the noonas and protect them from, I don’t know, thieves, I guess?” Key told Minho, grabbing Jonghyun’s hand and walking off quickly.

“Noonas, did Victoria noona mention anything about doing something to Onew hyung? I mean if he betrays her,” Minho questioned once JongKey were out of earshot.

“She did mention something about killing Taemin if Onew propo-” Tiffany was cut off when Jessica clamped her hand down on the younger girl’s mouth.

“Babo,” she whispered angrily in Tiffany’s ear. Tiffany gulped and closed her eyes tightly. Jessica took her hand off her dongsaeng’s mouth.

“E-erm, Minho, forget what I said,” Tiffany stuttered. Jessica rolled her eyes and stormed off to find the Onew, Taemin and Victoria.

*Tiffany can be so naïve and simple-minded sometimes. Wait. Did I say sometimes? I meant all the time. I have to admit, the incident earlier on really wasn’t her fault, but her idiocy has gone far enough!* Jessica thought angrily. What Tiffany just revealed could place Taemin in a heck lot of danger from Victoria. Onew would be in danger from Minho, too. Who knows what the tall boy could do? He had already done things that even SHINee thought inconceivable. Now what?

“Onew!” Jessica shouted, running up to the three of them before pulling them into an alleyway that she knew of. It’s a good thing she was familiar with the place.

“What? And don’t pull Tae like that. He’s still injured!” Onew hissed.

“Shh, don’t be so loud. Come here,” Jessica told them, walking further into the alleyway where there was barely any light. At the back was a door, and Jessica entered the shed before turning the lights on. Onew looked at Taemin and Victoria before walking in with the two of them behind him.

 Jessica immediately shut the door and held her finger to her lips. “Wait,” she whispered, taking her phone out.

 

{From: Sica :)

Key, help me tell the others that we went to the toilet. Yes. Me, Victoria noona, Onew and Taemin went together. We’ll meet you guys in a few. Get the tickets first! The show starts in around 45 minutes. Thanks and see ya! ;D

To: Key X)}

 

“Noona, what’s this about?” Taemin asked, feeling afraid.

“Tiffany was being retarded and told Minho about what the conditions for you being safe were,” Jessica said. As soon as she let the words slip, she knew it was a mistake.

Taemin’s eyes widened. “What conditions?” he asked in horror.

“Don’t worry. Onew isn’t supposed to propose to you and let me know. He’s also supposed to go out with me at least three times a week, if his schedule allows it. Nothing much,” Victoria shrugged.

“But Tiffany told Minho about the proposal thing. She almost finished it, but I stopped her. I think Minho will still be able to figure it out,” Jessica told them worriedly.

“But if Victoria noona doesn’t believe him, what can he do?” Onew asked, but in his mind he was panicking. *WHAT THE HECK?! Doesn’t that mean that Minho will STALK me around to see if I propose?!?!* Onew thought hysterically.

“But you forgot one important fact: I’m a VERY gullible person. If he tells me that you really did so, then I will believe him, regardless of what others say,” Victoria cautioned.

“Then don’t talk to him! Let’s leave this matter alone and go to watch the show already,” Onew huffed. Taemin, Jessica and Victoria looked at each other in confusion, shrugged and walked behind Onew hastily.

“We’re back~” Onew sang, trying to cover his annoyance at the tall male.

“Oh, just in time! The show starts in a few minutes! Come on,” Tiffany exclaimed, grabbing Jessica's hand roughly and causing her to almost drop the food again.

“Yah! Babo, do you WANT history to repeat itself?” Jessica asked rhetorically. Tiffany stared at her and shook her head.

 

“Wah!” Taemin said in awe, staring intently at the geese and pigs sliding down the water slide.

“But I think the pigs are being really mean. They made all the geese go to the back and eat that little bit of food while they get most of the carrots. Pigs are so inconsiderate,” Victoria remarked.

“Yeah, agreed,” Jessica said as she hi-fived Victoria.

“The show is over! Please head out or go and feed the other animals. Kamsa hamnida!” the animal trainer shouted to the audience.

“That was cool, but the pigs were just…” Jonghyun shook his head in disapproval.

“I know right? Come on, let’s split into the previous pairings,” Key told them. Victoria took a glance at Minho and shook her head.

“It’s alright; I’ll go with Sica and Fany. That’s fine with you guys, right?” Victoria asked politely. The two of them smiled at her and nodded. Victoria took it as a sign to join them as Key gave out the bags of carrots.

“We’re heading to the horse!” Taemin exclaimed excitedly.

“Rabbits?” Jonghyun asked Key who nodded.

“Then we’ll go find either the horses or donkeys,” Tiffany decided.

“And me?” Minho asked.

“You’re on your own, stupid. Go find an animal to feed,” Victoria answered crudely.

Minho glared at her, deciding to go and feed rabbits as well.

When OnTae, Victoria, Jessica and Tiffany walked over to the horses, the first thing they did was to pat the horses’ manes.

“It feels like…” Tiffany couldn’t put a finger on what that thing was.

“Dried hair? Horribly unconditioned hair? Grass?” Jessica listed.

“OMO THAT’S SO TRUE!” Onew squealed weirdly, attracting the attention of others.

“Onew, you’re not a five-year-old boy…” Victoria pointed out dryly.

“I know…” Onew sighed sadly, suddenly feeling old.

For the next half hour, the idols went around feeding and playing with animals in the farm. By the time they were done, it was already the afternoon.

“You guys want to eat here or go back to SM’s building?” Onew asked.

“Since today’s a Sunday and we don’t have much schedule, let’s head to a mall to eat. But Key, NO SHOPPING,” Victoria stressed, causing the younger boy to frown sadly.

The idols hailed two cabs and went to the closest mall, finding a shop and eating their food. Taemin had ordered steak, Onew had chicken, and the rest just ate the normal rice, kimchi and soup. By the end of the hour, they had finished eating and were on their way back to SM.

 

“Bye noonas!” Taemin waved to the SNSD members and Victoria as SHINee returned to their dorm. The SNSD members stayed in the lift while Victoria went the other way.

“Bye!” they said in unison as the lift doors closed.

“We have to practice now, because of our Japan debut. Let’s take a quick bathe and go to the singing room,” Onew told the others. He walked into the bedroom, grabbed Taemin’s and his clothes and towels before heading to the toilet.

“Hyung,” Taemin called out. Onew poked his head out of the door.

“What?”

“Where do I put my crutches and how do I go in without them?” Taemin asked. Lately, he had become really dependent on his crutches. It wasn’t as if his condition was improving that quickly. Onew scratched the back of his head sheepishly and helped Taemin into the toilet before putting his crutches on his bed. He then returned to the toilet to help Taemin bathe. Again.

By the time all the SHINee members had taken their baths, more than half an hour had passed and they rushed to the singing room.

They practiced for basically the entire day, till night, even. Their manager had to buy food for them and watch them practice their singing. After that, they went to practice dancing. Onew kept making the same mistakes and they could tell that the choreographer was getting annoyed. Finally, past midnight, they were done with practice for the day.

“I’m so tired…” Key said as he stretched on the way back to their dorm. The rest of SHINee nodded in agreement, even Taemin. Although he didn’t dance due to his leg injury, he was still practicing his singing at the side.

“Let’s just forget about bathing. We can do that tomorrow. Let’s sleep,” Onew suggested, opening the door to their dorm and walking into the bedroom.

“Ne. Goodnight,” Taemin said as he plopped down onto his bed. Onew smiled and turned around, brushing Taemin’s fringe away from his forehead before pecking the younger male lightly.

“Night, Tae. Saranghae,” Onew sighed contentedly as he slept. Unknowingly, Taemin’s mouth curved upwards into a smile.

*Taeminnie, I know I haven't been as sweet as before. I know you'll understand, right? I need to plan something extra special for you. Thanks for being understanding, Tae!* Onew thought gleefully.

*Hyung, are you really drifting away? Can't you understand that I don't like this distancing?* Taemin thought sadly.

“They’re so sweet, aren’t they?” Key cooed to Jonghyun as he got climbed up to his bed.

“I know. Come here,” Jonghyun joked as he got on the stairs to Key’s bed, gave his lover a passionate kiss before going back onto his bed.

“Night, Jjong,” Key said, beaming in the dark.

“Nights, Bummie,” Jonghyun chuckled before letting sleep take over him.

*What am I? Invisible? This isn’t going to end well, but that’s how I like it. I’ll start planning tomorrow then. Yeah!* Minho thought excitedly as he smirked and went to sleep as well.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally updated in soooo long :D anyways, my exams are next week and i'm still too lazy to study T.T oh well, i can't really be bothered anymore XP keep reading and comments are loved :)) thanks and hope you enjoyed this chappie~~~!! XD