Chapter 9

“Wow the articles are insane!” Jonghyun cried the following morning from the room he was sharing with Key and Minho.

Key stuck his head out of the bathroom, looking at the older boy curiously. “Why, what are they saying?”

“Mainly that it was a great night, but they’ve picked up on so many little things. Stuff about Krystal looking like she didn’t want to be there, and Leeteuk’s funny slip up on the night. And there’s even one about our Minho!”

“What?” he asked, sitting up in his bed more and frowning. “Why me?”

“I’ll read it.” Jonghyun smirked and then cleared his throat. “Fans were surprised to see a drift in the ever loved “Kyu Line” at last night’s SMTOWN in Los Angeles. SHINee’s Minho, along with Super Junior’s Kyuhyun and TVXQ’s Max Changmin make up the basic members of the infamous group, which is on level with other idol groups like the Chocoballs, headed by fellow Super Junior’s Kim Heechul and Lee Hongki from FT Island. In the ending segment of SMTOWN, Minho was seen dancing with the ladies of Girl’s Generation when Changmin approached his close friend and serenaded him. Kyuhyun was also not far behind and the three boys stirred the crowd into frenzy. However, it wasn’t long until some fans noticed the SHINee member was feeling awkward in the company of his great pals. He was seen later over with the girls from f(x) and members of his own group having fun again, whilst Changmin and Kyuhyun continued to watch their friend from afar, talking to each other quietly. Has something gone wrong with the trio to make Minho feel less comfortable in their presence? Perhaps the older two, who are known for their cheeky ways, have tricked Minho behind the scenes and he was just acting out to stir up his hyungs. Whatever has happened, we certainly hope it doesn’t last, as fans love these three adorable SM artists together.”

Minho became rigid again whilst the other two broke into laughter. Jonghyun had already struggled to read it without bursting into chuckles the entire time, and was making up for it by laughing and rolling around on his bed. Key jumped onto the end of Minho’s leg and poked him. “What’s going on with you and the hyungs eh?”

“Nothing.”

“Fans see everything Minho,” Jonghyun pointed out, trying to remove the amusement from his expression. He couldn’t though and broke into laughter again. “Man they are too observant sometimes. Maybe you need to go out there right now, find Max and Kyu-hyung and take heaps of photos so you don’t stress the Kyu Line fans out by being distant!”

“Oh my god, that’s just stupid. When Nicole and Jinwoon had that scandal about dating, just because they’re in the ninety-one line I was involved too. Don’t worry about it Minho, fans can misconstrue everything. It’s probably more the media that presented it in the article as being more of an issue than it actually was. So you walked away and didn’t spend so much time with them. Why aren’t they bringing up that you didn’t dance with Donghae and Eunhyuk hyungs, or share hugs with Leeteuk and Siwon either? See, it’s just foolish.” Key smiled brightly and then looked at Jonghyun. “I’m hungry, hurry up so we can go get food.”

“Alright.” Jonghyun leapt up and then glanced over at Minho. “You going to join us?”

“Actually, I have something I need to do. I’ll catch up!”

Ignoring the teasing Jonghyun was saying and Key’s scolding of him; Minho reached for his phone and searched for what he needed. He sent a text message, asking to meet up later that day. Hoping to get a reply, he then got ready, taking a shower before joining the rest of his friends for breakfast.

As suggested earlier, Minho spent his day with Changmin and Kyuhyun. The pair were both in teasing mode, bringing up their article in every way possible. Minho had to admit, it had been silly of him to walk away and cause a scene, when he was aiming to not make one in the first place. However, his hyungs seemed to find it hilarious, and the fussing over it actually comforted him. He was soon laughing away with them over the topic too, and it died down as they ate a delicious lunch together before going out onto the Boulevard to explore.

“Minho, over here!” Kyuhyun called and the youngest boy glanced in his direction. Kyu was pointing at a set of matching shirts. “We should get these.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Changmin protested, scrunching his nose up. “Since when did you like matching stuff? Don’t you think we wear enough stupid things in our line of work?”

“What, like that shredded top you wore last night hyung?” Minho teased, and Changmin thumped him in the shoulder playfully. Minho laughed loudly and looked back at Kyuhyun who was still pointing at the tees. They had the same logo on the front but were displayed in sky blue, pink and purple.

“Why though, it’s just a top?” Changmin continued, though walked over to inspect them.

“Because we could get them and put them on now and take a photo for twitter? Kyu Line made up with couple tees! It’d be funny.”

“Hyung, we weren’t exactly off.”

“You were,” Changmin pointed out to Minho with a grin and then folded his arms across his chest. “I wonder if they have any other colours?”

“Why, isn’t pink to your liking?” Kyuhyun mentioned with a laugh. Minho couldn’t help but grin at Changmin’s expression.

“Oh, I was just being polite for you two since I’m definitely wearing the purple one.”

Minho shot his hand up. “I choose blue!”

“Why you little,” Kyuhyun started and narrowed his eyes. “I suggested this!”

“More reason to wear the pink then, since you’re forcing us to dress the same,” Changmin quipped and Minho gave him a high five. Further grumbling continued but they all went and bought the tops, changing into them in the dressing rooms before heading back out into the Los Angeles heat.

Minho checked his watch and then signalled his friends. “Guys, we need to choose a place soon to take photos since I have to meet someone at five.”

“You’re leaving us?!” Kyuhyun teased whilst Changmin clapped his hands together in amusement. “But I thought Kyu Line was forever!”

“This joke isn’t going to get old with you two any time soon, is it?”

Changmin shook his head and slung his arms around both his friends. “No, but let’s enjoy it until it does.”