“Hey Kibum!” Cat chirped merrily as she walked over to the idol and hugged him tightly, before turning to Onew and doing the same. “Hi Onew! How are you two? It’s been so long.”

“Well, it’s not necessarily my fault you didn’t answer your phone when I called you, Cat.” Key teased, nudging her side playfully, laughing when she stuck out her tongue at him and began to protest. “I know, I know; you’ve been busy. I’m kidding!”

“It’s nice to see you, Liz..” Onew spoke quietly, and suddenly the ring on her hand felt as if it weighed 300 pounds. He made no move to embrace her, and despite herself she felt herself wince as if slapped.

“It’s nice to see both of you.” She replied, putting on a fake smile and waving to Key. Turning to the group of VIXX members, she smiled and bowed, waving with both hands. “Hello! I’m Elizabeth, but you can call me Liz. I’m the-…”

“You’re the choreo-noona for SHINee and EXO; we know. Onew told us!” The one called Ravi grinned, winking at Onew who rolled his eyes. “And your sister Cat is the makeup guru, yea?” He chuckled, standing and walking over to Cat, who was closer. “It’s nice to meet you!” Before anyone could warn her he swept the younger up into his arms and hugged her tight. “My name is-…”

“Ravi. I know who you are.” Cat chuckled shyly, blushing as she entangled herself from his long arms. “I know who all of you are. I’m a big fan.” Bowing again, she heard Key chuckle behind her and she jerked up, putting her fists on her hips. “And whyyyy are you laughing?”

“You’ve been here a year, met some of the biggest names of SM, and you’re acting like a little fan.” He laughed as she swatted at him, ducking behind Ravi who was staring at the girl with a surprised expression.

“Calm down Key, you’re just jealous.” Another member, Ken, laughed as he stood from the table and walked over to Cat, extending his hand to shake hers, then leaning in conspiratorially. “Kibum’s just jealous that little Cat is blushing over someone else. I’m Ken, by the way.”

Laughing Liz nodded, winking at Key who was now fuming. Shaking Ken’s hand, she yelped as he, too, pulled into a hug, which was soon dominated by Ravi running over and hugging both of them.

“It’s like we finally have little sisters!” Hongbin chuckled as he remained sitting, instead raising his hand and waving. “I won’t hug you, because I’m afraid you are a little overwhelmed. I’m Hongbin! Nice to meet you!”

“Nice to meet you, too!” Cat and Liz replied in unison, Liz’s voice a little strained as she squirmed in Ravi and Ken’s grip.

N laughed from his place against the wall, watching everything with a calm expression. “You guys already met me, I’m N, but you can also call me Hakyeon if you want. This is Hyuk, and over there is Leo.”

Liz blushed at the mention of her bias’ name, and she looked up at the remaining two idols and bowed deeply to hide her reddened cheeks, pleased to see that Cat was doing the same. “It’s nice to meet you all. We’ve been fans of you for a long time.”

When she returned to straightened position, her heart skipped a beat as she saw him staring at his, his eyes dark and intense as his mouth quirked into a small smile. He said nothing, but Liz felt her face flame bright pink.

“Well well well! It seems obvious who Liz favors!” Ken crowed, nudging her and winking at Leo, who frowned and looked down at the ground.

N immediately dove over and slid his arm around his friend’s shoulder, swatting at Ken. “Yaaaa! That’s not nice, Ken.” He leaned close to Leo’s ear and murmured to him, glaring at Ken over his shoulder.

Shrugging and waving off N’s reprimands, Ken slunk up and slid his arm around the sister’s shoulders, apparently unaware of the facial expressions from the SHINee boys. “Well ladies, come sit with us! Onew and Kibum just ordered lunch, but we would love for you two to eat with us!” Without waiting for an answer he swept the two of them to empty seats around the round table.

Liz he sat directly across from Leo, while Cat he placed next to N. Key immediately darted over and took the chair on the other side of Cat, while Onew kept his distance from Liz and sat across from Cat.

Ken plopped down between Key and Liz, grinning at himself for having invited the girls. Ravi took the chair on the other side from Liz, Hongbin sat in the empty seat between Ravi and Onew, which left the last chair on Leo’s left for Hyuk.

“Everyone cozy?” Hyuk grinned as he playfully elbowed Onew, who smiled wanly. “Sorry the table is so small… but this was the only room free!”

“It’s fine, Hyuk-ssi.” Cat chuckled, painfully aware of being seated between two of her biases, one of whom was doing everything he could to keep her attention away from N. “So what did you order, Onew-ah?”

Looking up as if startled, a soft smile slipped onto his lips. “I ordered rice, kimchi, some cold meats, and some fruits and vegetables. Is there anything else you want? I can still get it.” He pushed his chair back as if to go, but Cat laughed, shaking her head.

“No no no! No need, that’s fine Onew-oppa.”

He grinned as she called him oppa, and nodded, feeling slightly more at ease. “Okay then. It should be here soon.”

“And if it isn’t, I’d hate to see the wrath of a hungry Leo.” Hongbin teased, leaning back against his chair and chuckling.

Leo looked up from the floor and smiled faintly, but his eyes soon found Liz’s again, and this time he locked on unabashedly. Liz’s face flushed as she noticed, and a small smirk tugged on the corner of his mouth…. He knew exactly what he was doing.

“Soooo Cat. We obviously know who Liz’s favorite is…. But what about yours?” Ken wondered, leaning forward onto his elbows on the table, eyebrow raised.

Swallowing hard Liz sat back, tearing her eyes away from Leo to look carefully at her sister. To her credit, Cat merely smiled at Ken and leaned forward herself, mirroring his position down to her own arched eyebrow. “Wouldn’t you like to know, Ken-ssi?”

The table burst out into laughter, even Onew laughing along with the group. Holding up his hands in apology, Ken snickered. “Okay, okay. I get it. I won’t ask. Buuuut… for now we’re just going to operate under the impression that it’s me okay? Okay.”

Laughing, Liz rolled her eyes and let out the breath she didn’t know she had been holding. “It seems that you hold yourself on a freakin’ high pedestal there, Ken.”

“Oh he definitely does.” Hyuk grinned, leaning back comfortably in his seat, one arm slung carelessly over the back.

“So you guys work for Jellyfish, right? What brings you to SM?” Cat asked, glancing around the table at all the members, her eyes lingering momentarily on N. At that same moment Leo’s eyes flicked toward hers, and a glimmer of acknowledgement sparkled in the dark pools.

Cat immediately froze as her skin prickled with fear. Staring at him, she saw a small smile tug at the corner of his mouth and almost imperceptibly he shook his head, causing relief to flood through her. He wouldn’t tell.

“Key owed us lunch! And we wouldn’t let him back out of that deal.” N grinned, winking over at Key who rolled his eyes. “It also gave us the chance to chat with Onew, and to meet you two lovely girls.”

Pouting, Key leaned forward over Cat, holding his finger up to N’s face. “You used the girl’s against me to ensure I paid you!”

“To be fair, he only used one of them against you.” Hongbin chuckled, smirking as he leaned back in his hair, looking at Cat as her face flamed pink at the insinuation. Winking at the girl, he suddenly sniffed the air excitedly. “Food!”

Confused, Liz blinked as she chuckled. “How the hell can you smell cold rice?”

“It’s a weird talent he has; don’t worry about it.” Onew smiled faintly, looking up at the door as some assistants brought in the heavy plates, smiling at the members and bowing pleasantly. “On the table is fine, please.”

Soon the food was presented, and both girls just stared at the table in wonder. “Okay seriously. How the heck can you guys eat so much, but stay so skinny?!” Cat cried in wonder, watching the boys hungrily scoop food into their bowls.

“It’s a gift.” Ravi crowed, shoving a bite of kimchi into his mouth.

The conversation lulled as everyone picked at the food, occasionally murmuring to their neighbors to pass them something across the table. Soon enough the girls sat back, crying that their stomachs were too full and they couldn’t eat another bite, but the boys kept on eating.

“…I seriously don’t know how you do it.” Liz murmured, watching Ken with a puzzled expression.

Snorting around a mouthful of rice, he shrugged and swallowed. “We rehearse a LOT.”

“We do too, with EXO and SHINee, but if I look at a milkshake I gain like three pounds!”

“You barely look like you eat at all, Liz-ah. Don’t worry.” N smiled, shaking his head at her. “Both of you look beautiful.” He murmured, glancing down at Cat as he spoke.

A crimson blush slashed across her face, and Hyuk hopped to his feet, crowing excitedly. “I figured it out!!!”

“Hyuk…” Liz warned, staring at him hard.

“Shut up, Hyuk.” Key growled, narrowing his eyes and sliding his arm protectively around Cat’s chair, who was staring at Hyuk wide eyed, her face pale of the blush that was there moments before.

Smoothly N stood and rested his hand on Cat’s shoulder, and he looked at with narrowed eyes, silently challenging him to speak. Even Leo was staring at Hyuk with pleading eyes, chopsticks poised over his bowl of rice.

Hyuk’s mouth flopped open, but after a moment he nodded and closed his mouth, bowing. “I… I apologize for my behavior.” He spoke quietly, his face pink with shame and embarrassment.

Again, Liz let out a breath and leaned back in her chair, glancing over at her sister. What a sight she made, sitting there between two of Korea’s biggest idols, pale and afraid. “Well now… that was fun.”

Laughter bubbled around the table, the tension dissipating smoothly. N gave Cat’s shoulder a gentle squeeze and sat back down, glancing once more at Hyuk. He completely missed the look of barely contained rage from Key, which fizzled out immediately when Cat turned and began murmuring to him quietly.

Liz smiled softly and stood, wiping her hands on her napkin. “I’ll be right back guys, please don’t kill my sister.” She chuckled, walking out of the room and down the hall, searching for the rest rooms.

“Liz!”

Turning around, she sighed as she saw Onew trotting up after her. “Onew…”

“Before you tell me to get lost, please let me talk to you.” He begged, his voice so thick with emotion it caused Liz’s heart to ache. “I’m sorry for what happened; I never really apologized to you. I should have stopped it… we were drunk and I wanted to be with you so badly but… I shouldn’t have.” He hung his head, his fists clenched at his side.

“Onew, I-..” She tried again, only to be stopped as he held up his hand.

“I can understand if you don’t want to work with me again… but please don’t stop working with the rest of the guys. Key would be heartbroken if he couldn’t see Cat again, and the rest of the guys love you both. We love your work and would be honored to keep working with you!” He cried, dropping to his knees in front of her and putting his forehead to the floor in a deep bow.

Immediately she kneeled beside him, gingerly touching his shoulders as he saw them quake, hearing the soft sobs he was trying to contain. “Onew… I’m not mad at you… I just needed time. It wasn’t completely your fault; I definitely did not help.” Pulling him up from the kneeling position, she pushed his hair out of his face and rubbed the tears from his cheeks with her thumbs. “And trust me… We’re not going anywhere.” She spoke quietly, smiling gently at him and cupping his face in his hands. “We’re still going to work with EXO and SHINee.”

A grin danced across Onew’s face, albeit a weak one. “And again… I’m sorry for.. for everything. For any stress I may have caused you and Chanyeol.”

“We’re okay, Onew. Both Channie and me, and you and me. Everyone is okay.” She smiled softly, and kissed his forehead before standing. “Now can I please go wash my hands?”

“…you touched my face with oily hands?!” He cried out in mock terror, diving into the bathroom to undoubtedly wash his face clean, causing Liz to burst out into peals of laughter.

----

After she had washed her hands, she returned back to the room, finding Cat laughing heartily at some joke one of the members had said. She was sitting on a couch in the far corner, leaning against the arm of the chair with her legs draped over N’s lap, Key leaning protectively over the back of the couch.

“And what do we have here?” Liz chuckled, sitting down on the other couch beside Ravi and raising an eyebrow at her sister.

“Hakyeon decided to carry me to the couch when I said I was too full to move.” She gasped between giggles, wiping tears from her eyes. “Then the guys were telling jokes; they have such a weird sense of humor, Lizzy!”

“I’m sure they do; for some reason they’re friends with SHINee!” Liz grinned, trying in vain to get Key to laugh, her eyes trained on the far-too-serious idol. A small smile quirked at the corner of his mouth, but did not reach his eyes. Sighing, she looked down at her watch and blinked in surprise; it was so late! “Kitty Cat, we should probably get going. It’s getting late, and undoubtedly they have rehearsals to get to.”

Nodding, Cat slid from the couch and brushed off her pants, smiling at the boys around them who were frowning. “Awh guys, we can hang out again! I’m sure Kibum could arrange something.”

“Hm? Oh, yea.. sure.” Key replied quietly, nodding absently as he straightened from the back.

“It was a pleasure to meet you guys; hopefully we can see each other again soon!” Liz chirped, smiling and bowing politely to the girls, grabbing her jacket off the back of her chair and tossing Cat hers. As she did so, a small motion caught her eye and she looked to see Leo staring at her intensely, a look of sorrow in his eyes that made her frown. His hand raised slightly and gave a very subtle wave, smiling softly at her.

“I’ll walk you guys to the elevator.” Key spoke up quickly, walking over to them and nodding.

“Thanks Kibum.” Cat grinned, oblivious to the obvious tension going on between Key and N, who was standing by the couch; clearly he had planned on offering the same courtesy. “It was nice to see you all! Please come by and visit us someday!” Bowing and waving with both hands, she stepped out of the room and walked down the hall with Key and Cat, whom were both eerily quiet.

Once they were both safely in the elevator, Liz whirled around and glared at Key. “What the heck, Kibum. What was that?!” She snapped, staring at him incredulously. “You were so rude in front of people who are supposed to be your friends!”

“Liz, don’t-“ Cat started, but Liz shook her head, holding up her hand to make her pause.

“You didn’t see it the way I did, Cat. He was doing everything he could to not let Hakyeon talk to you. My god Key you could almost see the jealousy painted on your face when Cat was talking to him on the couch!” She snapped, pointing at his chest. “She’s not yours! Why don’t you get that!? She’s allowed to have friends!”

Key merely stood there, looking at Liz with faintly veiled contempt. His arms folded over his chest, and his mouth twitched but he said nothing until the elevator slid to a stop on his floor. Ignoring Liz entirely, he turned to Cat and smiled faintly, bowing his head. “Have a good night, Cat-ah.” Turning on his heel he left the elevator, hands shoved into his pockets.

Turning to Liz, Cat blinked in confusion, staring at her sister. “What the hell was that?”

“He looked like he was plotting Hakyeon’s murder for even touching you, Cat. He’s still so territorial of you… and he has no reason to be. He seems to have a hard time realizing that you’re not his girl!” Liz sighed, leaning against the elevator wall and pressing her hand wearily to her forehead.

Cat chewed on her lip and sighed, hanging her head back and groaning. “Okay, okay. I’ll talk to him… He shouldn’t be acting this way.”

Liz smiled softly and touched her shoulder. “Don’t feel bad; I just had to have the ‘I’m sorry please forgive me’ talk with Onew in the hallway… Poor kid broke down and cried.”

“Awhhh!! That’s oddly and sadly cute. So are you two going to finally talk again!?” Cat cheered happily, linking arms with her sister as they walked out of the elevator onto their floor.

“I think so… I think we can finally be friends again.” Liz smiled, her heart feeling warm again. It felt really good to finally be able to talk to him again. Despite all their history, she really didn’t like not being able to talk to someone she had admired for so many years, not to mention someone she has to work with on a weekly basis.

“So what are you and Channie up to tonight?”

“Oh, we’re going out to dinner tonight; Just the two of us.” Liz grinned excitedly, hopping beside her sister. “I don’t know what time we’ll be back, though.”

“That’s fine. You guys deserve to have some fun.”