To: Taempest0718

Please do not inflammatory videos of our leader Onew. He’s always trying his best in everything he does and is always accommodating to his fans. It’s not right that you keep posting videos of his mistakes in performances and make fun of him. He’s tired and he has a lot to deal with as a leader and you’re being unfair to him. Please, if you care about SHINE, take the videos down, thanks.

To: Taempest0718

Yah! How can u be so mean to our oppa!? Hes the best leader there in Kpop n your only seeing his mistakes n bad sides when he has a lot of good sides! Your nothing but an attention- Youtuber who only knows how to make fun of ppl who r trying their best! Youre not a real SHINE fan!!!

To: Taempest0718

あなたのビデオはひどくない？オニュヒョンは良い人でなんでこんなに悪いビデオ作るんだ？消してください。これはまじひどいです。

To: Taempest0718

무슨 개소리야？？？ 재수없어！！



Taemin huffed and closed his inbox. He’d been getting tons of these messages since a few days ago when he uploaded a video compilation of Onew’s mistakes in their performances complete with a descriptive lol-worthy commentary. Somehow there were fans who didn’t get the joke and decided to attack him even though he was just pointing out facts which they seem to have missed.

Why couldn’t they just accept the fact that Onew is really SHINE’s biggest mistake and that he’s not worthy of being called a perfect leader? It’s just so obvious. Other people like Jonghyun shouldn’t have to suffer because of him.

Speaking of Jonghyun…

Taemin checked his watch and pulled on his windbreaker, jogging out of the Internet café and heading down the street. He received news from Twitter than SHINE planned on going back to their dorms early for the night because of their flight the next day. Since most people would be waiting by SME’s doorstep there wouldn’t be a lot of people by the dorm. And Taemin just recently made friends with one of the cleaning ladies in the building.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Taemin winced and turned around to find Jinri walking up to him. “You’re not really going to sneak into SHINE’s dorm building, are you?” Jinri’s hands were on her hips, which meant that she wasn’t really into the idea. She was one of the pure fans and didn’t like any forms of dirty game like stalk photography or smear campaigns or prying into SHINE’s life. She’ll probably stop Taemin from sneaking into the building no matter what.

But it was Taemin’s only chance! He had to go return the cleaning lady’s keys tomorrow after he “accidentally find” them where she left them in the convenience store table. It wasn’t like he’d be able to enter SHINE’s dorm itself! He just wanted to take a peek into Jonghyun’s private time as he entered the building. Or maybe score a ride with him in the elevator. Taemin just wanted contact, he wouldn’t dare do something illegal because it would be his loss—especially since Jonghyun seemed to recognize his face.

“No! I just forgot something at school and I have to hurry and get it,” Taemin fibbed, crossing his fingers behind his back. Jinri eyed him suspiciously, but couldn’t say anything else. Shrugging, the girl let him off and Taemin was free to run towards SHINE’s building before the boy band members themselves arrive.

The surroundings seemed deserted when Taemin arrived. Grinning to himself, he sprinted towards the side entrance and slipped the stolen (borrowed!) key in. He gave himself an internal cheer as the lock clicked open and he was able to get in. The lobby and first floor seemed deserted, too, probably because the majority of the building’s residents were idols and staff and they were never home early. Aside from the guards and the flickering light of the vending machines nothing seemed active in the floor at all.

Taemin sat on a line of plastic chairs near the elevator, hand pressed on his chest as he tried to steady his breathing. He shouldn’t be nervous now that he had decided to do this! He planned on hiding as soon as he spied SHINE by the door, wait until they boarded the elevator, then hurry and get in the elevator, too, and make everything appear like a coincidence. He didn’t really know how good he can act but he should be able to pull such an easy task painlessly.

But luck didn’t seem to go Taemin’s way as h ended up waiting for almost an hour with no sign of SHINE entering the building. He was getting hungry and he was sweating under his windbreaker. Taemin bounced his knees and worried that maybe, SHINE had already entered the building before him and they’re already in their dorm. Clicking his tongue, he weighed his alternatives. Maybe he should check out the dorm first and listen in if someone’s there? Or wait until someone came out (since he knew both Key and Jonghyun seemed to go out a lot at night) and follow them to the elevator. It’ll be like a reverse of his plan.

It seemed like the better idea, so Taemin got up and walked to the elevator. The lift was really small and for a building that housed idols it seemed like a mistake, not to mention the light was flickering creepily. Holding his breath and hoping he doesn’t accidentally discover that he has claustrophobia or something, Taemin stepped into the lift and pressed the button for SHINE’s floor. He sighed as the doors closed. It would be a while before he tried something this daring again, but since he’s already here, might as well get through with it!

But before the doors fully meet, a hand jammed itself in the middle, making Taemin flinch. The doors opened again and the guy apologized for the bother and entered the elevator. Taemin wanted to greet him politely and act a bit inconspicuous. He didn’t want to attract attention to himself after all. But the words wouldn’t leave his mouth and he was left gaping at the man in slight shock.

Of all the people he had to ride an elevator with, it had to be SHINE’s Onew.

Taemin forced a smile and bowed slightly. “G-g-good evening.”

Onew stared at him for a while and Taemin was worried he might have recognized him from the fansign event a few weeks ago, but Onew eventually smiled and returned the greeting without showing any signs of recognition. Somehow, that relieved Taemin a bit. The least he wanted was for any SHINE member to catch him as a guilty stalker.

The trip was quiet, with Taemin fidgeting a bit because the elevator was just too small and he could literally smell Onew’s perfume in the cramped space. Somehow it smelled different from Jonghyun’s sweet scent (Taemin bought the same bottle when Jonghyun confessed his favorite brand in Twitter). It was a bit musky and reminded Taemin of libraries. It wasn’t a bad scent, but obviously Jonghyun’s was better. But somehow it suited Onew? Probably because he was old… Taemin started to chuckle.

Suddenly, there was a sudden lurch as the elevator stopped and the lights flickered out. Taemin let out an exclamation as he held on to the side of the elevator. “What the hell?!”

“Oh, not again,” came Onew’s reply. Taemin had almost forgotten that the guy was with him. He couldn’t see anything, but he could feel and hear Onew slightly moving about and pressing the emergency call button. “They should really fix the elevator. This is the third time it happened just this month.”

“What?” Taemin choked out. “H-how long will it take for them to fix this then?” he asked, trying not to sound urgent and panicky about getting trapped in the dark with a guy he thoroughly disliked. He felt Onew lean on the other side of the elevator, making the lift move a bit and causing Taemin to curse.

“Sorry,” came Onew’s voice again. “It’ll probably take about 15 minutes. The staff here is really slow.” A chuckle followed the sad statement.

Taemin made a face as he squatted on the floor of the lift. “Why do they even use this building as an idol dorm if they can’t even fix the elevators? What if they get hurt or trapped for a long time? God, SME can be such a sometimes.” Suddenly he realized what he just said and slapped a hand over his mouth. He just had to dig a hole for himself deeper by bashing SHINE’s own company.

He didn’t expect a reply from Onew, but he got a laugh and a few words. “Most residents of this building knew about the elevator problem, which is why my members took the stairs. But you didn’t so why are you here if you’re not a resident?”

Taemin wanted to cry. But he never cries and he’d never start in front of blackhole!Onew, even if they could barely see each other. Instead he cleared his throat and tried to think of an excuse. “I’m…visiting someone who lives here. Of course I wouldn’t know about the elevator!”

“I do recognize you from the fansign two weeks ago. Since you’re the only one who didn’t take my signature.”

Somewhere in his panicked mind, Taemin wished the lift would just drop back to the ground floor. He could take a sprain or fracture as long as he could run away from this hateful guy. He took a deep breath and clenched his fists. “So what? That proves nothing. And I don’t want your signature, simple as that.”

Onew didn’t say anything after that, although Taemin could hear him breathing. He decided to stay put, too, but the cramped space was heating up and he was starting to sweat a lot. Sighing, he slipped his windbreaker off and rubbed a hand over his head. It was really hot and he was already hungry. Guilt about how he shouldn’t have abused the connection and tried stalking jarred his mind but he wasn’t really ready to deal with that now. He just wanted to get out of the elevator and run as far as he could away from Onew.

As he thought of how he could escape the lift in the least embarrassing way possible, a cold thing was pressed against his cheek, making him jump. “What are you doing?!” he yelled, wincing when his voice bounced back to them in the small lift.

“Sorry,” Onew’s gentle voice came, and for a bit, Taemin thought he could already see Onew’s features in the darkness. “I’m just giving you this, since it’s so hot and it won’t be good if we get dehydrated in this heat.”

“What’s this?” Taemin took the container from Onew’s hands.

“Banana milk,” the older man said, a smile hinted in his voice. “Don’t worry. It’s safe. I’m supposed to give them to the members when we arrive but you need it more now.”

Taemin really wanted to throw the banana milk on the floor and swear that he’d never ever consume anything Onew gives him but his stomach was churning and it was one of his favorite drinks. Grasping the straw stuck at the side of the bottle and poking the container with it with much difficulty, Taemin sipped the drink thankfully, but he didn’t really want to admit how thankful he was.

“Is it good?” Onew asked.

Taemin nodded but realized the guy wouldn’t see him. “Yeah,” he croaked. “Th-thanks.” He winced at himself as the word left his mouth and the desire to cover it up was great. “But…but I still won’t get your signature, just saying.”

“It’s not a bribe,” Onew answered, laughing heartily that Taemin wanted to jam the container in his mouth if he could see. “I mean, you must have your reasons for that and I respect that. I just feel sad that someone would hate me that much that they don’t even want my name in their CD, but I guess I understand.”

“You must think it will never happen to you,” Taemin found himself saying, mouth running away with him before he could stop. “Since everyone seems to love you.”

Onew didn’t answer, not even with a sound and Taemin was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Just when he opened his mouth to say something more, Onew had another question for him. “Who is your favorite SHINE member then?”

“Jonghyun-hyung,” Taemin immediately answered. He waited for Onew to ask him why and he was already organizing thoughts in his head to explain why Jonghyun was his ultimate favorite. But the follow-up question never came.

Instead, Onew hummed an affirmation. “That’s nice. He’s a good person. As long as you like one SHINE member a lot, that’s okay.”

Taemin wanted to be annoyed and throw a sarcastic remark along the lines of, “Hell yeah because he’s so much better than you why don’t you follow my advice and give up the leadership to him?” but everything was lost in his throat. Instead, he could feel warmth rising to his cheeks for some reason. It was the weirdest thing to feel in this situation and Taemin had to take his mind off it before he embarrassed himself further. Graspingly, he tried to think of other things to talk about before Onew could ask any more questions.

“Oh yeah. You knew about the elevator problem, didn’t you?” Taemin said as he slurped the last of his banana milk. “Why did you get in it if you knew it’ll probably end up like this? Are you an idiot?” The last part was something Taemin didn’t mean to add, but he seemed too kind if he left the question as it was.

Onew chuckled again (Taemin hated Onew’s chuckles, he decided, because for some reason they make Taemin shiver), and his silhouette showed Taemin that he was shaking his head. “Sorry. It’s just that I saw you getting on and I was afraid the elevator would stop and you’ll be left alone.”

Taemin dropped the banana milk container.

“I guess…in hindsight that was really stupid. Since you wouldn’t really want to share a lift with someone you don’t like,” Onew said and for some reason, his voice’s dropped a pitch lower, as if he was trying to hide his disappointment. “But…even if it’s with someone you don’t like, being stuck is better when someone else with you, right?”

As Jinki spoke, the lights in the elevator turned back on and the lift moved upwards once more. Taemin rubbed his eyes to adjust to the light and found himself staring back at Onew. The older man wore glasses and a thin shirt and in his hand was a plastic bag with bottles in it. He had no makeup on and his eyes seemed smaller than usual. His hair was unkempt, probably because he took off his cap while they were stranded. Taemin only noticed those details now and he shouldn’t be staring, actually.

As he whisked his eyes away from the smiling guy, the door to the lift opened and the other SHINE members were waiting outside. Taemin blinked and wondered if his hair was still okay or if he looked like someone who just ran a marathon and was drenched in sweat.

“Hyung!” Jonghyun grabbed Onew’s arm as the guy stepped out of the elevator. “Are you alright? We were so worried we thought they wouldn’t fix it this time and…”

“Why did you even use the elevator, idiot!” Key was shaking his head. “We already reminded you about it, so don’t tell me you forgot!”

“Sorry,” Onew grinned at them fondly before turning back to Taemin. “Are you alright?”

“Who’s that?” Minho asked, towering above everyone as he studied Taemin stepping of the lift.

Jonghyun stared at Taemin, too, and the boy just wanted to shrink away from everyone’s eyes. He wanted to meet Jonghyun but not this way! What if he remembered the fansign and what if he thought Taemin was a stalker?

“You look familiar but I can’t remember where I saw you,” Jonghyun said, shrugging and turning back to Onew. “Is he the reason why you took the lift? Do you know him?”

“No, no! I’m just really stupid,” Onew said, laughing. “But it’s fortunate he was in the lift with me or I would’ve been scared to death. We talked a lot and it’s like I made a new friend.”

“Is that so?” Jonghyun said, seemingly wary but nevertheless trusting of his hyung. He turned to Taemin again and smiled. “Well, I guess thanks for taking care of our absent-minded hyung uh…uh…what is your name?”

A lump formed in Taemin’s throat. So it wasn’t true that Jonghyun remembered him in the fansign after all. Maybe he was just seen as one of those rare male fans they get? Still, they were expecting an answer from him. He wanted to give a fake name but somehow there was no more energy in him to fib. “Taemin,” he softly said, bowing his head as he did so. “My name is Taemin.”

“Thanks, Taemin-ssi,” Minho said as Key tried to drag Onew off. “Which floor do you live in, by the way? Do you need assistance in going there or…”

“It’s fine!” Taemin said, forcing a smile. “I’ll go by myself. Thanks for your concern.” He looked at Jonghyun, but the man wasn’t looking at him. Rather he was looking at his phone with a goofy smile on his face. “I guess…bye.” He turned around to go towards the stairs, and he could hear SHINE walking to the opposite direction, with Key giving their leader a tongue-lashing for being so careless.

As he reached the stairwell, he heard Onew shout, “Take care going home, Taemin!” before the telltale sound of a door being closed echoed in the hallway.

Taemin sat at the top of the stairs, hands clutching his windbreaker. His luck was in the pits today and everything was a big mess. He hated how Onew just brushed everything off, including Taemin’s hate, as something trivial. He hated how Onew still showed concern for him despite knowing his feelings. He hated how Onew..how Onew was just like what his fans said—a kind leader.

The thought left a bitter taste in his mouth, mixing with the sweet banana milk aftertaste. Gritting his teeth, Taemin made his way back to the lobby using the stairs, muttering as he descended.

“You are a big idiot, Onew, and I still hate you.”