From: {♛ Diva!-Key
To: Mi-ja ★
I’m in, Mi-baby~!! (￣^￣) ゞ
See you in Gangnam! ㅋㅋㅋ

As the bus halted to a stop, I rose from my seat. The bus was almost empty, save for the bus driver and the elders who sat in the back, but it felt refreshing as I needed some peace and quiet to require some thinking time.

I thanked the bus driver as I got out and even waved as it drove off, going further away from sight.

Why am I being so overly happy? Maybe it’s because I’m going out with Key. N-Not as a date, though! I still don’t have any romantic feelings for him at all! …Or do I?

I shook my head, my eyebrows furrowing at the thought of even liking him. If I liked him, I shouldn’t have rejected the confession! It’s sick of me to know that I’m beginning to like him after I rejected his confession. Key wouldn’t like what my mind had gone through.

Babo: babo me and my brain, he would say.

I clutched onto my bag strap as I walked to my assigned destination.

Alright, I know I have come here before with Kangdae-oppa, so the mall shouldn’t be too far. It’s just around—

I collided into the back of a man due to me going in too deep with my thoughts. I let out a soft groan before shaking my head.

“Ack—oh, mianhaeyo…! I wasn’t seeing where I was going.”

“Oh, it’s not a prob—Mi-ja?”

Hearing my name, I looked up. My eyes widened at the appearance of this person.

“K-Kai-oppa…?”

Our faces broke into a wide grin and I just…I just jumped onto him, my arms wrapped around his neck as I hugged him.

“Hahaha~ Mi-ja~ you’re still the same as ever since you left me back in America!” He grinned, spinning me around. Then he put me down, his hands on my waist.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be here!” I said with a grin before I smacked his arm with a pout.

Kai whined, “Ow, what was that for?”

“You should have called me that you were in Korea! How dare you try to come here without telling me?”

The male smiled and held me close, “I wanted to surprise you, but instead, you surprised me.” Aw, how sweet.

I hugged him again and said, “I really missed you. I could have you around once in a while…”

We stopped hugging and pulled away from each other. “I missed you too Mi-ja; it was so lonely without your bright smile.”

My cheeks burned red as I smiled. “There! That’s the smile I wanted to see!”

“Well, you saw it.” We both giggled before Kai asked me,

“You seem to be in a hurry. Where are you going?”

I remember that I yet have to meet up with Key at the mall and told him, “I’m meeting up with a friend of mine. I made a promise to go shopping with him.”

“Oh. Well, I wouldn’t want to waste any of your time then. I hope you had a good day with your friend.” His eyes turned into crescents as he grinned and I smiled back before I went forward.

“Annyeong Kai-oppa!” I cried out, waving goodbye before running off to get to the place, his figure now not in my line of sight anymore as I turned away.

“Yah~ Mi-baby, where were you?!” Key cried out, his voice showing an hint of annoyance yet worry when he saw me coming over, almost out of breath from all that running.

“Mianhaemida, but I—aish, wait a moment,” I paused as I bent down, my hands on my lap. I tried to catch my breath, exhaling and inhaling a couple of times before I spoke again, “I ran into my best friend today!”

Key seems surprised by this announcement. “Eh? Best friend? You have a best friend?”

I scowled, “Wae, wae? You make it sound like I never had friends—of course I do!”

“It’s not that you never had friends, it’s just that… you always act reserved so I thought…” Key trailed off from his sentence, looking down and fiddling with his fingers. I could only give him a small smile at this.

“That’s not true. I wasn’t a wallflower back in America. I was pretty much liked by certain groups of people. But of course, I have a best friend and he’s here!”

“He…? Ah,” he said, his eyes growing dull and he seems uneasy but he shrugged it off with a (slightly nervous) smile as he then told me, “That’s good; at least you got to see him again. I hope he’s staying in Korea for good – I’d love to meet him.”

“Definitely~”

I grinned happily, my head just full at the thought of seeing Kai once again. I really missed him and his jokes. And his dancing too – omo, he’s a great dancer.

Hmm…now that I think of it, he’s quite similar to Taemin-oppa…

Taemin-oppa… My eyes went downcast as I thought of him and his ex-girlfriend. They used to be so happy together, but now… Sulli looked like she’s fine, but Taemin…

I know that deep down inside, he’s still in love with her. There shouldn’t be a reason why I should fall in love with him. I shouldn’t fall in love with him, I shouldn’t.

Liking a guy who is still in love with his ex-girlfriend had never felt so wrong.

Plus, I’ve got Minho and Jonghyun to worry about. They keep glaring at each other as if competing to see who gets me first. That means if I chose one of them, the latter would be upset. And then there’s Onew… he may be scary when he’s in his ‘leader’ mode but he’s actually quite sweet and clumsy and I like how his eyes squints into crescents every time he does his cheeky, angelic smile – I don’t know what to do! I almost cried just thinking about it. It’s so hard to choose one out of all of them when your mind is foggy and messed up because of them! Oh, my dearest heart, I really need your help here!

“Is choosing one guy really that difficult?”

I stepped back in surprise, looking at Key with wide eyes. “How did you…?”

He smiled and grabbed my hand, “Well, what else would make you look like you’re deep in thoughts?”

I smiled, my hand gripping tightly onto his. “Yeah… I suppose you could say that.” I felt his thumb rubbing on the back of my palm as he looked at me with his glassy brown eyes.

“Don’t worry about it too much. Time will tell and in the moment, your heart will do the talking.”

Such wise words… I could only nod before I let myself get dragged into the mall with a happy Key.

“Ugh, wow, Jonghyun-oppa weren’t kidding when he said that you shop a lot.” I groaned out to myself, carrying the bags as we went around the mall. Even though he had found some clothes for me and I found some clothes for him, the bags never seem to stop growing.

I currently have five in arms now.

…At least Key carried one.

“I think I’m being reminded of Min-Ae again.” I muttered to myself, remembering how I always get my arms full with my and her books.

“Hmm…? You said something?” Key turned, eyebrows raised as if he didn’t hear me the first time.

I refrained myself from scowling and rolling my eyes and just smiled falsely as I complimented his beautiful appearance, “You look fabulous.”

Key grinned and turned away, “Why, thank you!” He cried out from behind as we explored the mall.

I rolled my eyes and just went along with it. Psh, what a diva! I nearly bumped into him when he suddenly stopped walking all of a sudden. I had to tighten my grip on the bags, to prevent them from falling and creating a mess. “Ugh,” I groaned out before shaking off the collision and looked up at the back of Key’s head. “Um~ Key-umma…? Is something the matter?”

“Hwang Su-Min,” he replied with a hint of annoyance in his voice. My eyes widened in shock.

“Mwoya, are you serious?!” I exclaimed before I began to peek from behind him to follow his gaze. I pushed my glasses up my nose bridge to make my vision clearer. He was right: I could see her long black hair tied up into a ponytail, her side profile in view as she walked, browsing the high heels. What in the blaze is she doing here?! Well, obviously women like her would do some shopping but I wasn’t expecting to see her on the weekends. It seems that she didn’t see us because she didn’t even bother turn her head to our direction.

“Damn it…! And I was going to find some good shoes for you there! Why did I have to see her?” He whined. He was stomping his foot like an upset child. I looked around to see eyes on us, questioning us as Key was being the adorable brat he was in public. Then I saw Su-Min’s head looking up, her eyebrows furrowed. She must have heard him! Must hide! I made no second thoughts and grabbed Key by the collar. I ran, dragging him along, and shoved us both into the changing room, slamming the door shut.

“Aish, that hurts…” Key whined, rubbing his head. Oops, must have shoved his head against the wall, my bad…

“Mianhae,” I whispered, rubbing his head, hoping that the pain would ease. “I didn’t know I shoved you that hard… I’m sorry…”

Key shook his head, his face red underneath the lit lamp in the changing room. “A-Ani… i-it’s okay…” Why was he so embarrassed? I could feel his hands on my hips and I was beginning to wonder why my body was pressing up against him… I looked at the position I was in.

Oh.

My face burned red as realization slapped me in the face. I was straddling him. No wonder why he sounded so embarrassed. I quickly got off of him and smoothed my clothes, trying to distract myself to lessen the red on my cheeks. “S-Sorry, I didn’t know!”

Key shook his head again, mumbling, “It’s fine,” with his cheeks tinted red. Aw great, now we can’t go outside together! After what happened, it’ll feel like we just did… um… you know, that private thing two people do in a room. Omo, I feel like a child who can’t describe what is. Aish, this was not part of my schedule!

“I’ll, um, go outside first. Can’t afford to have people thinking the wrong way, hahaha…ha…” I laughed awkwardly as I picked up three of the bags, leaving Key with the other two. He reluctantly nodded at the idea and I made my cue, stepping out slowly and blocking any view of the idol inside as I shut the door in front of me. I sighed, letting out a shaky breath as my cheeks were tinted red before I turned around. I shrieked when I saw Su-Min right in my face.

“Oh, hello there Su-Min, I wasn’t expecting to see you here…” I stammered a little, stumbling over my words as my eyes went wide in shock to see the glaring female in front of me.

She scoffed and stood up straight, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here either; a nerd like you, shopping for clothes? How ridiculous – none of them will suit your style.” She seems ticked off – it’s like she’s angry just staring at my face. Same here, , I wanted to say but clamp my lips shut. “Though…” she trailed off, narrowing her eyes at me before her eyes moved to the door behind me. My heart thudded. She can’t find out, she can’t! She mustn’t know that I’m hanging out with Key!

“I thought I saw someone with you, but I was mistaken.” Thank God she didn’t suspect anything! I only gave her a weak smile and rubbed my nose with the back of my palm. Then she pointed at me straight in the face, “Remember my words, Baek Mi-ja. I am getting SHINee and make them mine, no matter what. I’ll make sure you’ll lose that showdown. You’re just nobody – and nobody would ever like you.” She smirked before telling me this in a fake cheery voice, “Have fun~”

I glared at her from behind as she turned her back on him and skipped away into the depths of the mall. Then the door behind me slammed open, knocking me off-guard as I yelped, the bags falling out of my hands while I crashed to the ground. There revealed a pissed off Key.

“Well, you too !” He screamed, causing more attention on us. God, I thought in frustration as I picked myself up, pushing my glasses up my nose bridge. Stop being such a drama queen! “This is why I and the rest of us will never like her – omo, she’s so obsessed with us and I hate it. That Su-Min needs to go, like jeongmal, jeongmal,” he huffed, being the y diva he is. At least he’s honest with his words. And I’ll have to say, I actually agree with him on that for once. But still…he needs to keep his personal feelings to himself – I can’t risk getting his image damaged.

I glared at him from behind my hair as I sat up on the ground, the bags all around me. “Well, yeah, I suppose. Now are you going to help me get up or stand there rambling on like a girl?”

Key seemed to notice this as he looked at me shocked. “Oh! Mianhaemida, I didn’t realize that I knocked you over!” He exclaimed, crouching down and outstretched his hand to me. I smiled and wrapped my hand with his, pulling myself up.

“It’s not a problem,” I said, bending down to pick up the three bags, having them back into my hands. “But you shouldn’t get yourself involved with my problems. I know Su-Min ticked both of us off, but it’s none of your concern.”

“But—”

“But, nothing, Key-umma,” I finished the subject before smiling and holding his hand. “You shouldn’t worry about me too much, Key-umma. In fact, worry about yourself and your self being. But let’s just forget that she was ever here and enjoy our shopping time, ne?”

Key stood silent, his eyes on our hands whose fingers were intertwined. Then he looked up at me and I smiled at him. I felt his grip on my hand tightening as he nodded meekly. I grinned, my eyes sparkling before I said, “Now let’s go for the shoes!” I squealed, dragging Key with me with the bags in hand. I wanted to spend as much time with him – even if it means losing some money and getting a scolding from Appa…

It was almost evening as we sat in front of a café, taking our sips of smoothies after we had finished with our meals. The sky was growing darker as we speak, and I began to worry. We shouldn’t stay out here for too long because of the dangers Gangnam contains around here at night.

“Let’s hurry,” I said after finishing my drink, “We shouldn’t be stay out too late.” I paused. Then I smiled at the black-haired male who looked at me with his sparkling brown, feline eyes. “Plus, you have to prepare for your newest album and your next tour concert.”

He nodded and we both stood up from our seats, taking our bags. I smiled at Key. “I’ll go inside and pay the bills for the meal; you go on ahead.” He only nodded again in response before I left, taking both the trays with me as I entered the café.

Key’s POV

I actually didn’t want to be alone out here… But I didn’t want to cause her any trouble so I just agreed to go ahead of her. I threw the empty cup away into the nearest trash bin after walking a few meters away from the café. I gripped onto the handle of the bags tightly, my eyes scanning the dark place. This gives me the creeps… With each step I took, my heart thudded in fear. “Damn it… I should have said ‘no’ and stayed behind to wait for her.” I pouted, kicking a small rock into the dark alleyway.

Thud! I froze when I heard a deep groan. “Ow, what the …?” , need to leave now! I walked quickly, away from the alley, hoping that he hadn’t seen me. But unfortunately, that person did. I felt a strong hand pulling me back, facing the man. He was tall and buff, twice the muscle size as Minho and Jonghyun and he had scars all over his face. He looked ugly.

“You stupid little pretty-boy ,” I tell that he was drunk by the way his voice was slurred. I glanced from behind him and saw that there’s more than just him. Double , I thought to myself in panic, I just angered a gang of thugs. Not a good sign. I gasped when his hand wrapped around my neck, completely strangling me. My feet were off the ground and my grip onto the bags had loosened as they fell onto the concrete floor. “You will pay for that!” I coughed at his breath – he reeks!

“Yeah right,” I scoffed, “Not with that ing stinky breath of yours!” I rasped out before pulling my legs up and stomped onto his face. He roared in pain, dropping me abruptly. I hissed as I crashed onto the concrete before quickly grabbing the bags and running as fast as I can. I can hear the men screaming at me and running footsteps. Great, just great! I’m being chased. Why did I leave Mi-ja? I should have just stayed at the café and waited for her, not running away from a group of thugs, god! If I ever got one scratch on my face…my manager would freak. The public media would freak out and make rumors, and SHINee will be in a misunderstanding. I can’t let this happen!

Okay, screw the bags. As soon as I was in a safe distance from them, I dropped the bags in front of a door in the neighborhood. Mi-ja might find them, right? “Hey!” I heard his voice from the distance. I looked and almost screamed—he was like a raging bull! I ran again, trying to get as far away as possible, in all hopes to lose them. I hated running, as far as I know, but this is an urgent situation. I panted as I took a turn into another alleyway, hoping that they’ve lost me. But then I ran into a dead end. I ran into the barricade, my fingers slipping through the small gaps of the fence. I looked around frantically. I can’t climb up; there are sharp pickets on the fence, preventing me to go over it. Even if I did, I’ll end up getting injured. I tensed up when I heard sneers from behind me. I slowly turned to see the man, an evil smirk on his face as he cracked his knuckles. His men came up to me and I could only press myself up against the barricade.

“Are you ready for a beating, pretty boy?” One of them said and to cover up my fear, I sneered.

“Tsk, as if.” I received a punch to the jaw. I bit my tongue by accident when the impact came again when one of them struck a blow at my cheek, causing me to fall onto the ground. I spat out the blood that pooled inside my mouth, tasting the copper taste. I can’t fight at all – I can never fight anyone at all… Even when I was younger, I can only do verbal fighting; I’m never good at physical ones – my members says that I’m weak at them and is always the easy target. I hissed when they kicked me right in the guts. I gasped, the air escaping my lungs. Everything was so getting blurry…

“Hey, you bastards, look over here!” I heard a voice, a familiar voice. I blinked back my tears and my eyes widened to see hair full of auburn, eyes fierce and strong as that person held all seven bags – the three of them which I have left by the door in the neighborhood.

“Mi-ja…?” I whispered out, full of relief and yet, full of worry.