(A few days later)

“Hyung, wake UP!” Taemin screamed into Onew’s ear, nearly causing the latter to go deaf. Onew opened his eyelids slowly, smiling slightly at Taemin. He sat up on his bed and rubbed the back of his neck wearily. They stayed up till about 3am last night, practicing their choreography for the next SHINee World Concert.

It was exactly one week, seven days, one hundred and sixty-eight hours, away from Valentine’s Day. The couple was scheduled to go out with Victoria for the day, but Onew had to go for his program in the morning, and that didn’t start till two hours from now.

“Taeminnie, why’d you wake me up so early?” Onew asked in confusion. Taemin beamed at his boyfriend cheekily.

“Gyeongshik hyung said that your schedule was cancelled cause one MC fell sick. So we get to go out early!” Taemin exclaimed excitedly, bouncing on the bed, overly-hyper.

Onew stared at Taemin blankly and looked at the clock: 7am. Usually, he would have slept at least half an hour later before preparing for his schedule. Now, his schedule was cancelled and he had a day off, but he was woken up at 7am?

“Tae, couldn’t you have slept in then?”

“Noona found out about you being free in the morning and instructed me to wake you up at 7am sharp. Mianhae hyung,” Taemin apologized. Seeing his lover’s crestfallen look, Onew’s expression softened. He pulled Taemin to him gently and his hair.

“Arasso, I’ll get up. Tell noona that I’ll be ready in an hour. Are we eating breakfast together?” Onew asked, hoping that the answer was no. Much to his dismay, Taemin nodded and smiled slightly before getting off his bed.

Without saying anything, Taemin grabbed his crutches and went to the toilet, waiting for Onew to follow him. Obviously, the leader did as expected. They brushed their teeth quietly, in silence, and went to change to suitable clothes to hide their identity.

Taemin wore a grey hoodie jacket and black skinny jeans. Inside, he wore a black shirt that was given to him by the fans. The front didn’t have any wordings, just a bottle of banana milk, but the back had his name, banana milk, dolphins, etc. He wore a pair of dark blue sneakers.

Onew, on the other hand, wore a plain white tee with a jacket over it, navy blue jeans, and he grabbed a beanie from his drawer. He wore a pair of shoes that they had endorsed some time ago and brought a backpack along, putting some snacks and jackets in it.

Once they were done, they set off to the canteen upstairs, where Victoria was already waiting for the couple. When they saw her, they looked at each other and sighed.

“Let’s hope she’s not up to anything bad today. I can’t stand having to worry about getting seriously injured or being murdered every time we go out. Noona is really a tough force to reckon with,” Taemin finally spoke, sighing again.

“It’s alright. If she does that, I’ll just do twice of what she does to you. It’ll be ok,” Onew assured him and slowly walked over to the table, waving slightly at Victoria. The latter seemed to be on high, waving like a madwoman and jumping in order to get their attention.

“Hi noona,” Onew greeted, followed by Taemin who did the same.

“Good morning boys! Let’s eat some waffles and we’ll go out!” Victoria exclaimed, faking enthusiasm. The smile didn’t really reach her eyes; it was obvious that she was angry.

“You got the food for us already? Thanks noona!” Taemin thanked and headed to her table, sitting down and digging in without a thought. Onew smiled slightly at Taemin’s cuteness and sat down beside the latter, beginning to eat as well.

Brief as it was, Victoria did not miss the small smile that Onew flashed. She growled a little, annoyed. No one was to touch HER Onew. Well, to her, anyway. It was clear that nobody really liked her at all. Not even her band mates, currently.

Either way, she suppressed her jealousy and walked over to the table with a smile, sitting opposite from the couple.

“Aren’t you going to eat, noona?” Taemin asked, tilting his head in confusion. Victoria shook her head and tried to brighten her smile.

“I ate before you guys came here,” she explained. Taemin just said ‘oh’ and continued to eat his waffles till they were gone. Onew finished a while after Taemin, offering to return the plates and leaving the two alone. A bad mistake on his part.

Once Onew was out of earshot, Victoria smirked.

“Taemin-ah~” she sang seductively, but creepily at the same time. A shiver ran up Taemin’s spine but nonetheless, he looked at her with a faint smile.

“Ne?”

“I hope you received my message. Like it? The one that was handed to you when everyone got sick,” Victoria reminded. Taemin’s mind flashed back to the image of red, bolded letters, and he shivered involuntarily again. He nodded slightly, hesitantly.

“I just wanted to say that I meant what I say. You won’t win, and you never will. Onew will be mine, eventually, and you’ll still be at the losing end. Why not just give up? It’s better for all of us,” Victoria tried to reason, purposely trying to sound more convincing.

Taemin shook his head firmly, his lips set in a thin line.

“I won’t betray hyung. Unless he really falls for you, I’ll never leave him alone. I promised that a year ago, and I’ll keep that promise of mine. I won’t be the one to break the promise,” Taemin said, taking his stand without cowering in fear.

Victoria sneered, glaring at Taemin.

“You can’t keep your promise if you’re dead, now can you?”

Taemin’s eyes widened, but he shook his thoughts away.

“I love hyung. That’s something that’ll never change. I’ve loved him since trainee days, and I won’t have mixed feelings just cause I’m threatened. I don’t think you understand the concept of love, noona. It’s when you love someone so much that you’ll do anything for them. That’s what I feel. That’s how hyung feels. And that will never change because of a measly, timid, selfish like you,” Taemin spat the words into Victoria’s face. Where had the innocent, angelic maknae gone?

Yes, Taemin was being nice all along. Onew knew that, and he knew what Taemin was going through because he felt the same about Minho’s tactics. From afar, Onew watched the exchange between them, nodding at what Taemin said. The maknae was right, Victoria didn’t understand anything. She claimed to love him, but she never did prove it with her actions. All she did was prove that she was selfish and only cared about how she felt, instead of Onew.

Taemin continued.

“And being in love, it makes you feel like you’re on cloud nine and you’ll never get off. Even if you’re broke and living in the streets, as long as you have each other, you’ll be ok. You’d do anything to make sure your beloved is happy, even at the cost of your own happiness. That, noona, is what love truly means, and you’ll never know what it really means until you experience it yourself, with someone who’s not Onew hyung,” Taemin ended, glaring at Victoria. Onew chose that moment to walk back so that Taemin won’t have to be rebuked by Victoria.

Victoria stared at Taemin, not able to comprehend what he just said. However, a small part of her agreed with Taemin. Yeah, unless she found a person who truly loved her, she’ll never understand what it means to love and be loved. She will never get what she really wants: companionship. Under that facade, she was just the same as any other person, longing for a partner to share weal and woe with, go through thick and thin with. That was her wish.

All Victoria responded with was a simple nod and she looked down at her lap before deciding to calm herself down in the toilet. Standing up, she bowed a little and walked off quickly, not wanting to face the reality that Taemin was right. That he’d always been.

 

Outside, Onew beamed at Taemin proudly. The latter didn’t know that the leader had heard everything, but he didn’t have to. He just had to understand that Onew loves him just as much as he loved Onew, and that was enough to make him happy.

“Hyung? Hello?” Taemin asked, waving his hand in front of Onew. The leader had been smiling at him creepily and he didn’t understand why. He was kind of freaked out by it, in fact.

Onew snapped back to reality and blinked.

“Yes, Tae?”

“Nothing. You were just blanking out and I was worried. Do you think I went too far?” Taemin asked, feeling somewhat guilty. As much as Victoria had deserved that ranting, Taemin still respected her as his elder. And contrary to what Onew thought, Taemin had noticed that he was eavesdropping on the conversation earlier on.

Onew blushed, but he shook his head.

“She pretty much deserved that. It’s better if she leaves us alone,” Onew said, knowing that it wouldn’t happen anytime soon. Taemin nodded in agreement and looked at the entrance to the toilet, waiting for Victoria so that they could set off.

A while later, after Onew and Taemin talked about some stuff that happened in the past, Victoria walked back to the table and picked her bag up, putting it on her shoulder and knocking the table to get the couple’s attention.

“Sorry to break you guys up, but we should get going before my schedule starts,” Victoria said. OnTae looked at each other and shrugged, Onew grabbing his bag before helping Taemin up and heading to the lift slowly. Speechless at how she was ignored, Victoria decided to just follow behind the two and not disrupt them. As long as nothing happened, such as the compromise being broken, Victoria was fine with them if they behaved appropriately.

When they got downstairs, Victoria flagged a cab and they got in, heading towards, apparently, a place run by a group of young girls. Victoria had gone to the place with her high school friends a few years back and she hadn’t been able to forget the place since. It was a really meaningful place where you’d go with your best friends or boyfriend/girlfriend. A place called ‘Timeless’.

 

When they arrived about an hour later, they got off and looked around the place. It didn’t exactly look special, but there were all sorts of fun things you could do in the place: Karaoke, dance floor, a club, ice-skating and whatnot. They also had a theatre and a few restaurants in there, set with different songs for different moods. If you went there with friends, naturally you’d go to the happier-looking restaurant. If you went with your partner, then you’d go into the more romantic restaurant. Also, families went there for bonding time. It was a really wonderful place.

Outside the mall was a water park full of children dressed in swimsuits, running around and jumping into the shallow pool. Teens went to the deeper pool or just ran around, splashing water all over their best friends. Adults went there to enjoy the scenery and wind, sitting down on benches and just talking about life matters.

Immediately, Taemin pointed at the karaoke, ‘Fairytale’, and rushed there as quickly as he could. Shaking his head at Taemin’s cute but childish ways, he followed behind, Victoria trailing behind both of them. Seeing as how he was an idol, the girl in charge of the karaoke, Hope, let them in right away, leading them into one of the VIP rooms, and gestured for them to sit down.

“Just press the call button whenever you need drinks and one of our staff members should come right away. If you need any help, feel free to ask. I’m Hope, by the way. And I hope you enjoy singing. You can stay for as long as you want. Thank you for your patronage,” Hope said and went out, closing the door and squealing like the fan girl she was.

“That girl was nice. I bet she wasn’t even twenty and she’s already helping to run this place!” Taemin exclaimed in awe. Victoria rolled her eyes.

“Please. You’re not even twenty and you’re a successful idol. Don’t compare her to yourself and put yourself down. It’s obvious that we’re of different standards. Anyway, this place was run by the five girls’ fathers who handed it down to them,” Victoria snorted.

*Noona is… rude. She says things like she’s so superior but if she was she probably wouldn’t need to fight with someone younger than her for a guy. Aish…*Onew sighed and looked at Taemin who was already flipping through the book of songs.

“Lucifer!”

“Nu abo!”

“Replay!”

“Sorry Sorry!”

Taemin squealed and entered a few of SM Town’s member’s songs into the list. He then found songs from B2ST and 4Minute. He also came across ‘Before the Dawn’ by Infinite, the super rookie group who just debuted in the previous June. He had heard about their amazing synchronization and their famous scorpion dance, causing them to be known as the ’99.9% in-sync group’. To judge, Taemin had to watch the MV with his own eyes before he could believe the rumors.

He placed BTD at the top of the list and watched how they danced, paying attention to the catchy lyrics as well. For a rookie group, they were really good.

Onew, on the other hand, already knew the lyrics, and was singing along to the song. Victoria, just like Taemin, was scrutinizing the rookies for signs for mistakes. She too had heard about the super rookies and wanted to watch if it was true. The song had only come out a month ago and the karaoke version was already out. That had to stand for something, right?

As the song ended, Taemin played it again. He had to pay more attention to their synchronization during the scorpion dance. Onew, however, just sang along once more.

 

Because I listen to my heart beat one by one
Because I listen to my heart
heart heart to to my heart heart

If I can’t get you no matter how hard I try
You aren’t the one, I feel like a beggar
I-I, can’t let you go like this, its suffocating
And I don’t know what to do

 

Victoria sighed and nodded, feeling sympathetic for herself.

 

Why Why … Why Why … Why Why …

Before the dawn... Before the dawn...
My heart isn’t obsessed
Before the dawn... Before the dawn...
I want to capture you no matter what

Those two lips that whispered love
Those two eyes that close at the right chance
The sides fly to me heart,
I’ll be there by you side (huh)

I became used to only looking at you
Lingering around you, I feel like a beggar
I want to let go of everything now, and that’s suffocating
And I don’t know what to do

 

OnTae both agreed with this line; they won’t know what to do if they looked at someone else other than each other. They’d been so accustomed to being in their own world when they were alone that nothing could penetrate the wall that was formed when they were engaged in what seems to be a boring conversation. But those were actually really meaningful to them.

 

Why Why … Why Why … Why Why

Before the dawn.. Before the dawn..
My heart isn’t obsessed
Before the dawn.. Before the dawn..
I want to capture you no matter what

Without knowing, I step on your shadow
I’m probably gradually getting crazier
Because I listen to my heart beat one by one
To my eyes that sees everything to be dark,
You’re the only one that shines brightly
Because I listen to my heart heart, heart

 

Taemin saw how they did the scorpion dance and gaped. It was perfectly synchronized. The rumors weren’t fake; Infinite really was the super rookie group. If BTD had come out before the 25^th Golden Disk Awards was that near, they would have won the rookie awards. Their abilities were nothing to joke about, young as they were.

 

Before the dawn (ye ye ye)
Before the dawn (ye ye ye)
I’ll stop you before it’s too late
Before the dawn (ye ye ye)
Before the dawn (ye ye ye)
I want to have you in the end no matter what

(Before the dawn)
close your eye and close your mind,
your road that’s covered with veils
I want to protect you from a future
that seems to be captured in secrets
Because its, you must love me
(Before the dawn)
I’ll hold on tightly so you can’t leave
I’ll grab onto you so I won’t have to cry
No matter how many times you throw me away,
Or how much you prevent it, I’m never going to let you go

 

Victoria felt touched by the song. She could totally relate to it. She felt the exact same way about Onew. The only reason she clung onto him so desperately was because of her sad past relationship with a man named Steven, also from China.

He had been completely wonderful to her, which made the truth more unbearable. What was the truth, exactly? Well, let’s see then.

 

[Flashback]

Victoria and Steven was one of the sweetest couples that anyone had ever known. They did almost everything together, and they were engaged. Yesterday was their first time, and Victoria was probably the happiest woman alive. She had never felt anything better than last night, truth to be told, and she never wanted to forget that first time with her fiancé.

She was happily heading towards Steven’s house to visit his sick mother and of course, to see Steven. As she approached the door, she saw Steven kissing some woman. It’s not that she wasn’t pretty, but she looked like one of Victoria’s good friends.

Even as Victoria approached, they seemed to be in a heated make out session.

Victoria could make out the woman’s face now. It was her best friend, Elaine.

Victoria’s world fell apart. Her best friend was kissing her fiancé. It wasn’t even kissing; they were practically eating each other’s faces. She stood there, silent until they broke apart to breathe. Even then, they didn’t notice her.

“Elaine, I’ll see you around. Maybe tomorrow we’ll continue from where we started off. Toria’s coming over to visit my ma. Love you,” Steven said and kissed her again.

“Yeah. I love Victoria and all, but… love can’t be controlled. Love you too Steve,” Elaine said and waved, turning towards where Victoria was standing. It was only then that Elaine gasped and dropped her handbag on the ground, attracting Steven’s attention. They both looked at Victoria’s tear streaked face. She wasn’t even aware that she was crying.

“Victoria…”

The two of them reached out to touch her elbow, but she automatically flinched away from them. She trembled and walked backwards slowly, shaking her head. She stumbled on a rock and fell, but when they tried to help her up, she just shrunk back.

“How… how could you?”

Victoria forced the words out, trembling harder and harder till even her vision wasn’t clear. But maybe that was because of her tears; she didn’t know anymore. All she knew was that her heart was shattered into a million pieces, never to be perfect again.

“We… we never meant for you to find out,” Steven said, but realized that he said the wrong things. But what’s done was done.

“You didn’t plan for me to find out? Then when, huh? Maybe when we married and I find Elaine in our bed after work. Is that what you want? Dammit Steven, speak up!” Victoria exploded, feelings of anger and betrayal let out. She couldn’t stand it anymore; she had to leave.

“Victoria, I’m so sorry. I never expected this to happen. When it did, we just didn’t know what to do. We only knew that it’d be best if you never found out,” Elaine explained.

Victoria laughed sarcastically, coldly, before she just started to sob.

“I TRUSTED YOU! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!”

“Victoria, dear, I am so, so sorry,” Steven apologised. Victoria shook her head, getting up and slapping him. Then she walked over to stand in front of Elaine, glaring at the latter. Her eyes looked lifeless, as if her purpose in life was no longer there.

“I trusted you. But you betrayed me. Go to hell,” Victoria said and slapped Elaine, even harder than she did to Steven, before running away while crying. On the ground were her handbag and a gift basket for Steven’s mother.

Elaine picked the bag up and opened it, looking at its contents. There was a card addressed to Steven. The said male immediately grabbed the card and read it.

On it was written:

Happy anniversary honey! I love you <3 I got a surprise for you, but don’t see it till I tell you to! It’s in the envelope with this card. NO CHEATING! :D

Steven gasped; he had forgotten their third year anniversary.

Victoria managed to run to the park, a good kilometer from Steven’s house, and hid at the playground. She remembered when she played with Steven there, just for the sake of it. She imagined them playing on the swings, happily laughing with each other.

The last thing she thought about was their last date at the theatre. And then she out.

[End of flashback]

 

That was why Victoria targeted HanChul, KangTeuk and SiBum. She was jealous that they could have such a wonderful love story, but she was stuck with her horrible past. She was scarred and afraid of rejection, of betrayal, so she targeted those who were already attached. At least this way, she’ll know who they’ll return to, instead of being betrayed by another person whom she didn’t even know of. It was sad, but it was the truth.

Right now, Victoria really believed that she loved Onew. But it just didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel the same when she was with him. And she guessed it never would. Oh well, at least she could break another couple up. Or so she’d thought.

After that day, she’d been brought to Korea to stay with her cousin, a SM staff, who offered a place for her as a trainee. She gladly accepted it, wanting to forget about the incident. However, all she managed to do was break people’s hearts and ruin their relationships.

She looked over at OnTae, happily singing to ‘Ring Ding Dong’, and smiled bitterly to herself. She would never have that, so why would they? She felt unfairness, and she was going to make things right. They were NOT having their happy ending.

 

As the song ended, ‘Nu abo’ came on and Victoria reacted naturally, dancing along to the song like she had been trained to. Once that ended, Victoria turned to Onew. He was singing along to ‘Replay’, just like Taemin was, and took no notice of her. She made use of that opportunity to steal a kiss from Onew, forcefully.

The singer gasped and pushed her away, staring at her in shock.

“What the bloody hell, noona?!”

Taemin only saw the kiss before turning away and running away with his crutches. No one even noticed his absence in the room.

“What? I felt like it. That’s all,” Victoria shrugged, trying not to let her anger overflow. It’s been too long since she’d felt anything close to love, and now that she had, she was not going to let go. Not until she had managed to break Onew’s heart.

“How could you? I thought that we’d already reached a compromise!” Onew exclaimed in horror, still not noticing that Taemin had gone off.

“You know as well as I do that you’ve broken it. All I need to find out is when, and then I’ll be able to exact my revenge on you bastards. You think it’s fun to cheat on your boyfriend in broad daylight, huh?” Victoria asked angrily. Onew looked at her and slapped her.

“Damn you. You’re the one causing all the trouble, so don’t even try to push the blame onto him. If he hadn’t been threatened by you, I wouldn’t have had to cheat on him,” Onew spat at her.

“Who told you that homouality is right?” Victoria retorted.

“Who told you that love is wrong?”

At that, Victoria froze. Onew was right.

“You don’t seem to understand the magnitude of your actions. Taeminnie had been very seriously injured and still is. Look at his cast!” Onew pointed to where Taemin had been sitting. His expression changed from one of anger to dread. He looked back at Victoria and stood up, ready to run out of the door to look for Taemin.

“Onew, I-”

SLAP!

“If anything happens to Tae, I swear, I’ll kill you with my bare hands,” Onew hissed and ran off, panicked and worried about his lover.

*Stay safe Taeminnie. Please.*

 

Taemin had made it to the water park before he stumbled, but luckily, he didn’t fall. Tears streamed down the sides of his face as he thought about what had just happened. It was like a movie, where the protagonist had to face all types of challenges before he could finally be with his loved one. But would Taemin ever overcome those obstacles?

When he made it under a small, enclosed space, he let himself slide onto the ground before really letting himself cry. He should have expected it. He knew that Onew didn’t want that kiss, but he still couldn’t face the reality that Victoria was going all out just to break him and Onew up. She hadn’t been like that a year ago, so why now?

“Taemin hyung?”

Hearing that, Taemin whirled around to face Junhyung’s younger brother.

“What happened to you?”

That was all it took for Taemin to burst into tears all over again. Junsung crouched down and hugged the elder male tightly, patting his back in comfort. He didn’t know what had happened just now, but Taemin was one of the people that Junsung really liked, in both character and talents. He couldn’t let this pass without finding out the truth.

After Taemin had cried to his heart’s content, he broke the hug and looked at Junsung.

Junsung looked back at his hyung, once bright eyes becoming dull and lifeless. Taemin’s eyes were red and puffy, obvious signs of crying a lot. Junsung was really worried as to what had happened. Had Onew done the dancer some injustice?

“Thanks, Junsung-ah. I feel a lot better after crying everything out. Now if you would help me get up, I’m sure hyung’s worried sick about me,” Taemin said, his voice coming out in a croak. Even his voice was a tell-tale sign of crying.

“Hyung, can you please explain what happened?” Junsung pleaded, not wanting Taemin to go back and face Onew with the burden of having to bottle everything up. Taemin felt no reason to refuse, so he nodded and began to tell his story.

After explaining everything, Taemin tried to flash a small smile.

“Can you keep this to yourself? I don’t want my hyungs – or yours – to worry too much about me. Is that alright?” Taemin asked. Junsung smiled warmly and nodded, wrapping his pinky around Taemin’s before hugging the latter.

“I’m glad you feel better, hyung. If you ever need anything, feel free to call. I’m always free for you to talk about your feelings,” Junsung assured Taemin. Taemin smiled and hugged Junsung back, not even aware of Onew who had finally found his boyfriend.

Onew looked at the seemingly endearing boys in front of him, not being able to see Junsung’s face. He could, however, see Taemin’s small smile. It was natural to be jealous, and the leader of SHINee ran up to the two and pulled Junsung away from Taemin, pushing Junsung to the floor.

“…hyung!”

Taemin lagged for a while, processing what just happened before shouting out his protest. Now Onew could see Junsung's face, and he felt guilty instantly.

“Junsung…?”

The said boy nodded and winced as he moved his left wrist. It seemed to be injured. Oh well, this way, he could finally have a break off of being a waiter.

Onew bowed and apologized for what seemed to be at least a hundred times before helping Junsung, then Taemin, up. Taemin smiled apologetically at Junsung and apologized again on Onew’s behalf. Junsung just refused their apologies.

“Don’t worry hyung; I know you were jealous of me hugging your boyfriend. I won’t do it again, promise. I’ll see you around then. Bye!” Junsung reassured them, turning to walk back to his group of friends when Onew stopped him.

“I saw you when you moved your hand. Let me see it,” Onew instructed. Junsung nodded and held the injured wrist for Onew to inspect, wincing when the elder applied force on it. After a few minutes, Onew nodded at Taemin who nodded in reply.

“I know of a clinic nearby. Let’s go,” Taemin said and tugged on Junsung's right hand. The younger male looked at his friends but nodded anyway.

“Let me call them first,” Junsung said and took his phone out. “Yah, Jinshin, I injured my left wrist. My hyung’s friends are bringing me to a clinic. Help me tell everyone that I’m sorry for leaving early. Thanks! Yeah, I hope so too. Bye!”

“Everything settled?” Junsung nodded. Onew flagged down a cab and helped the two injured people on before getting in and letting Taemin lead the way. He thought of Victoria and decided to leave her alone. She probably had to sort her feelings out.

It wasn’t long before they reached the clinic and Junsung called his brother to get him after he was treated. Being Monday, Junhyung wasn’t that busy. In fact, he was off on a date with Hyunseung as they had no schedule for the day.

Upon hearing that his baby brother was injured, Junhyung rushed to the clinic with Hyunseung.

“Junsung, what happened?” Junhyung asked as he entered the waiting room with Hyunseung. Junsung smiled and held his left wrist up for JunSeung to see. It was in a cast – a small one, but a cast nonetheless. It covered from below his wrist to his fingers.

“Taemin and Onew? What’re you doing here?” Hyunseung asked, spotting the familiar figures beside Junsung. They waved slightly and smiled.

“I was kind of the one who injured Junsung by accident so I brought him to the clinic the moment I noticed that he was injured. It wasn’t that serious, just a minor fracture. I’ll pay for everything and bring him for his medical appointments if you aren’t free on those days,” Onew told Junhyung. The rapper nodded and walked to his brother before looking at his wrist.

“What happened?”

“I was upset when Junsung discovered me, so he lent me his shoulder to cry on. Afterwards, we hugged and Onew hyung could only see the back of Junsung’s body, so he assumed that I was kind of getting together with someone since I was smiling. Then he pulled Junsung away from me and pushed him to the ground, thus causing the injury. Long story short, hyung got jealous and let his feelings control him,” Taemin explained.

“I would blame him, but I’d do the same if it were Seungie. Oh well, let’s forgive and forget,” Junhyung said. All of them nodded in agreement, just as Junsung was called to take his medicine, medical certificate and his appointment schedule. He had to return every week to change the cast on his wrist. Wonderful.

“Let’s go home then. I told umma and she was dead worried. Not to mention the fact that she’s been clamoring for me to bring Seungie back to meet her again,” Junhyung winked at his blushing boyfriend. Junsung smiled and nodded.

“Bye hyungs! See you soon!” Junsung waved goodbye to OnTae and left with JunSeung.

“I’m glad Junhyung wasn’t mad. Let’s get back to Victoria then. Hope she’s still there instead of being more pissed off,” Onew said and shuddered at the thought. Taemin nodded in agreement and waited for Onew to flag a cab before getting on and heading back to ‘Timeless’ to find Victoria, hoping that she was feeling normal.

 

Back in the karaoke room, Victoria was singing sad songs to herself. The song that was playing currently was ‘Obsession’ by SHINee, completely relevant to her current feelings: depressed, obsessed, lonely.

OnTae entered the room a little warily, but relaxed after seeing Victoria’s relaxed expression. She was just upset, not pissed or anything.

“Noona, we’re back. Sorry for ditching you earlier,” Taemin apologized. Images of her kissing Onew were still fresh in his mind, but he shook them off, not wanting to keep talking about it.

“Sorry for kissing Onew unexpectedly. That was uncalled for. Let’s just go for lunch and head back to SM’s building. Today didn’t turn out very well. And I know Onew’s busy on Valentine’s, so I won’t disturb you by forcing you to cancel and go out with me instead,” Victoria sighed.

*I said I won’t make him go out with me, but I can still follow, can’t I?*

Victoria hid her victorious smirk. Onew nodded apprehensively, not sure of why she suddenly changed attitudes. Nonetheless, he smiled lightly at her.

“Then we’ll head to the restaurant for friends. I can’t imagine the three of us going to the restaurant for lovers,” Onew said nervously. Much to his relief – and surprise – Victoria just nodded and led the way there, without saying anything.

When they walked to the counter to pay, Hope shook her head.

“All we ask for is autographs from the three of you. I understand how unprofessional this is, but my friends and I are really huge fans of K-pop, no matter which company and band you’re from. Like I said before, my name is Hope. My friends are Faith, Destiny, Miracle, and Peace,” Hope told the three idols who gave her their brightest smile and signed for the five friends, on five different autographs, with five different messages.

Once they were done, Hope shook hands with each of them before bowing.

“Thank you! I hope to see you again soon!”

“Bye!” Taemin shouted back rather enthusiastically, quite effectively causing the squealing girl to have a mini heart attack.

They headed off to the restaurants where they met Faith.

Then, at the club for minors, they met Destiny.

They met Peace at the dance floor, where Taemin just sat down. The idols didn’t stay there for long and just headed to the water park.

When they went outside, it was pretty cold. Onew took the jackets out from his backpack and handed it out to the other two who gladly put it on. They met Miracle there and just said a simple hi before sitting on the benches for ten minutes or so, sorting out their feelings. After that, they finally left to return for some well-deserved rest from all the happenings of the day.

They got into a cab, not saying anything to each other, and returned to their respective dorms the same way; wordlessly. They just waved goodbye and went their separate ways.

Once OnTae returned to their dorm, they plopped down onto the couch. Minho was, no doubt, with the Kyu-line or DBSK. JongKey were obviously out together. That meant they were alone.

“Let’s take a bath and go practice singing,” Onew suggested. Taemin agreed, wanting to avoid awkwardness. It would all be gone by tomorrow, anyway.

The couple left for the practice room and Onew helped Taemin with his singing. Then Taemin helped Onew with his dancing. Before they knew it, it was nighttime. They returned to the dorm for dinner and watched TV. Then they went to bed early, before anyone else returned.

It was Valentine’s Day next week.

Would Victoria keep her promise?

 

 

 

 

one last chapter! who will win? Taemin or Victoria? stay tuned to find out! XD

anyways, comments are loved and just support me for another chapter please? ^^