Ephemeral, adj.
-lasting a very short time; short-lived; transitory
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“Don’t be so nervous, both of you. We just wanted to know if it was true, and so it is. You two make a lovely pair.”

“Don’t worry about us forbidding you to date, you can see each other as you please. However, it seems that you two were spotted on a date today.”

“The incident at Music Core was forgotten as that girl didn’t have any photographs and she didn’t see you clearly, but today, it looks like it was captured on camera, even though it was only your backs.”

“Did you want to keep your relationship secret?”

“Ne. We want to keep it a secret for a while, but eventually we would reveal it.”

“That’s the problem. You might have to change those plans now.  It seems that we have to do some damage control. Do you have any plans on how you want to handle this?”

“Did the photographs show us holding hands, or anything more than our backs?”

"I don't think it did, but, just to be sure, if you are asked about the rumours of your dating, you may choose what you want to do. Just inform us first"

"Ok. We will say it was us."

"Are you sure?"

"Ne. It's better to be honest now than get found out later and have angry fans because we lied to them. Since we would reveal it later anyway, we should just reveal it now."

“Are the both of you sure? There will be some repercussions to this. For both of you.”

Taemin and Naeun looked at each other and smiled, then turned to face their company presidents and nodded their heads in unison.

"Ok. We won't release any statements unless absolutely necessary."

"Thank you for understanding us."

"It's fine. You should enjoy yourselves while you're young."

Taemin and Naeun ate dinner with their CEO's and were very relieved that they would be allowed to keep their relationship.

When it was time for them to leave, they bowed and then left for the car. Taemin dropped Naeun off at her dorm and then went back to his dorm. He found his hyungs waiting for him.

"Maknae-yah! You need to see this!"

They handed him an iPad. It seemed that even without a proper confirmation of their relationship the fans and netizens had already made up their mind about his relationship. Some were nice and very supportive, but others were quite unapologetically rude. Taemin knew that he would need to answer questions about this tomorrow at their interview. 

The next day, SHINee made their way to a broadcasting station for an interview with a live audience. The first half had gone well: his hyungs were doing their service to the fans by answering their questions and trying to draw the attention away from Taemin by interjecting comments and telling jokes. However, the MC finally got a word in and asked Taemin about the elephant in the room; the question that everyone had wanted an answer to since news erupted about it the previous day.

"Taemin-ssi, are the rumours true? Are you and APINK's Son Naeun dating?"

Before Taemin had a chance to answer one fan shouted out "break up with her!" while another shouted "she's not good enough for you." One of the fans yelled out afterwards “You don’t need to keep pretending to like her! The show’s over!”

The MC was a little taken aback as well as the members of SHINee. Taemin, especially, his face darkened and his expression wasn't well but he tried his best to control it. Carefully, with a level voice he started to speak.

"Ne. Naeun and I are dating. I will continue to work hard in SHINee for the fans and for my hyungs, but I hope that you will continue to support me in my relationship with Naeun. I also hope that you will support Naeun. Thank you."

The atmosphere became slightly awkward and sour, but luckily, the MC only had a few more questions left. Taemin remained silent for the rest of the interview and kept his head low, playing with his rosary bracelet.

When it ended, the members were ushered off the stage where Taemin was given a reassuring pat on the back from his hyungs.

"Gwaenchanha?"

Taemin nodded and they walked off to their van. Once they were safely inside, Taemin checked his phone. News did travel fast, he thought. The events that had taken place were already on the news trail as well as a whole load of comments were flooding in. To add to the hysteria, the topic of Taemin and Naeun dating was trending on all social media websites.

Taemin knew that Naeun was at her dorm and probably browsing online. Taemin called Naeun. She picked up on the first ring.

"Yeoboseyo, Oppa?"

"Naeun-ah...are you okay?"

"Mmmm..."

Taemin heard her whimper slightly. She wasn't doing fine. She had probably seen the comments. Taemin didn't know how to stop her from seeing all those hateful comments, so he did the next best thing.

"I love you. No matter what happens, I love you. So much. Don't ever forget that. I'll always be by your side."

"I love you too, Oppa. We'll get through this together."

Suddenly, a plan formed in his head.

"Are you free tomorrow?"

"Ne. I have the next two days off. CEO told me to lay low for a while."

"Ahrasso. Can you pack an overnight bag? I'm coming over."

Taemin went back to his dorm and packed a suitcase and took his car. He told his manager and hyungs his plan and they agreed and said he should take a break. He drove over to APINK's dorm and called Naeun to tell her he was there and waiting for her.

Naeun said goodbye to her members and rushed to meet Taemin at the carpark. She ran into his awaiting arms.

"Are you okay?"

She nodded against his chest.

"I just missed you..."

Taemin just hugged her even tighter.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise. I think you and I just need to escape for a while."

They got into the car and Taemin started to drive. They had been driving for about an hour and a half and Naeun had started to see some greenery.

"Oppa, where are you taking me?"

"To a romantic getaway. That's all you're getting. Be patient and trust me. You’ll find out when we get there"

Taemin turned the radio on low volume to try and distract her. Naeun leaned over to give him a peck on the cheek.

"I love you."

Taemin beamed at her. The atmosphere was so sweet in the car that they hadn't noticed the clouds had started to turn grey or the weather report on the radio saying that it would be raining for the next two days. Nothing could spoil their mood.

"We'll have a picnic outside and watch the clouds, hold hands and sing and dance and sleep by a campfire..."

"That sounds great, Oppa"

Just then they heard the roar of thunder...