~~Chapter 019~~

Onew watched Sunyoung leave the karaoke room and was about to catch to her, when Key stopped him.

"We watched Sunyoung's press conference. Isn't the album extremely meaningful?" Key said.

"Yes, it is. I need to go to the bathroom. I'll be back, okay?" Onew smiled and left before Key could say anything.

Onew jogged to the restroom area where he saw a man hovering over the women's' restroom.

"Jonghyun? What are you doing there?" Onew asked, perplexed.

"Onew hyung, I was waiting for Sunyoung to come out so I can congratulate her on her first Korean album." Jonghyun stumbled over his words. He ran his fingers through his hair and preyed his eyes on the ground.

"Why can't you do it when she comes back?" Onew questioned.

"I don't know. I just felt like doing it right away." Jonghyun mumbled, walking away.

Onew frowned at Jonghyun's peculiar behavior and waited for Sunyoung.

Sunyoung opened the restroom door and found Onew to be staring at her with worry.

"Sunyoung, are you okay? You left in a hurry!" Onew exclaimed.

"Yes, I'm fine. Were you waiting for me all this time?" Sunyoung asked.

"No. Jonghyun was standing here first and then he left for some reason." Onew answered.

"Okay then. Let's go back." Sunyoung said. Onew nodded, and followed her back to the karaoke room.

~~~

"Annyeong haseyo, this is the fifth episode of 'SMTOWN: The Secrets and Joys'! Today there will be reflections from Park Sunyoung and SHINee. We are heading into our fourth challenge and this time it will be an athletic challenge. Our MC for the day is EXO's Sehun. Thank you and enjoy the episode!" f(x)'s Amber introduced.

"Thank you Amber. Annyeong haseyo, EXO's Sehun imnida. Today we have twelve SM idols with us. Everyone please come out." The camera shifted to a sports arena-type field, similar to the one from MBC's sports championship competition for idols.

"Everyone, please introduce yourselves." MC Sehun said.

"Annyeong, Girls' Generation's Sooyoung imnida."

"Annyeong haseyo, Girls' Generation's Seohyun imnida."

"Annyeong haseyo, I am EXO's Baekhyun. Please take care of me!"

"Annyeong! This is EXO's Suho!"

"Annyeong haseyo. I am EXO's Chanyeol." 

"Annyeong haseyo, I am SHINee's Jonghyun."

"Annyeong viewers! This is SHINee's leader Onew!"

"Annyeong haseyo. I'm f(x)'s maknae Krystal!"

"Annyeong haseyo! I am f(x)'s leader Victoria!"

"Annyeong! This is Amber of f(x)!"

"Annyeong haseyo, everyone. I am Park Sunyoung. I'll work hard today!"

"This is the maknae of Super Junior, Kyuhyun."

"Thank you everyone. We randomly chose teams and they are Team Strawberry and Team Cherry. On Team Cherry, we have Sunyoung, Amber, Onew, Victoria, Chanyeol, and Jonghyun! On Team Strawberry, we have Sooyoung, Kyuhyun, Krystal, Suho, Baekhyun, and Seohyun! We will have five sporting events, such as high jumps, hurdling, meter races, and so on. At least five members from each team will come to participate. It does not matter who wins if you're on the same team. If Seohyun wins, but Suho loses, Team Strawberry still wins because Seohyun is on Team Strawberry and that team won. Does everyone understand?" MC Sehun announced.

"Yes!" Everyone shouted.

"Alright. Please put on your uniforms and we'll start the first race which is high jumping. Participating from Team Cherry are Amber, Victoria, Chanyeol, Jonghyun, and Onew! Sunyoung, feel free to stretch now. From Team Strawberry, we have Baekhyun, Kyuhyun, Sooyoung, Seohyun, and Suho. Krystal, you can stretch, too."

"Fighting!" Sunyoung cheered for her team. "Come on, Jonghyun! Come on Victoria unni!"

"Sunyoung, why are you particularly cheering for Jonghyun?" MC Sehun smirked.

"I am not only cheering on only Jonghyun. I'm cheering for both Victoria unni and Jonghyun in particular because they seem nervous! See, Onew is also looking anxious! Onew, fighting! You can do it!" Sunyoung shouted jubilantly. Her hair bounced up and down as she jumped excitedly for her team to win.

"Wow, if Minho was on our team, we would've had an easy victory." Jonghyun chuckled with Chanyeol.

"We have Sunyoung though. She's very athletic. Have you watched the American show she was on where she ran a mile in six minutes? That's only one minute slower than Minho." Chanyeol commented.

"Really? Sunyoung can run that quickly?" Onew dropped his jaw in shock. He reached for his foot and held it for thirty seconds before releasing it.

"Yeah, I remember that episode." Jonghyun recalled, shaking his head in shame.

"How do you know that?" Onew frowned at Jonghyun.

"I am Sunyoung's fan, you know. I have all her albums in my room and her music on my iPod." Jonghyun admitted.

"What? You never told me this!" Onew exclaimed.

"It's embarrassing, though." Jonghyun sheepishly smiled.

"Everyone, to your places!" MC Sehun interrupted Jonghyun's, Chanyeol's, and Onew's conversation. The boys walked to their places in the line and prepared themselves for jumping.

"I should've watched Minho more closely in 'To The Beautiful You'." Onew muttered to himself. He watched Sooyoung smoothly jump over the pole. The height of the pole wasn't very high and everyone passed the round, except for Chanyeol, who's toes touched the pole before he fell onto the mat.

The participants continuously took turns going until MC Sehun twisted the challenge slightly.

"There are four people remaining on each team. Onew, Jonghyun, Sooyoung, and Amber from Team Cherry and Victoria, Kyuhyun, Baekhyun, and Suho from Team Strawberry. Pair yourselves up with another person on your team and you'll jump together. Let's start!"

First jumpers from Team Cherry were Onew and Jonghyun. Sunyoung nervously watched Onew and Jonghyun walk to their positions.

"Hwaiting, Onew!" Sunyoung held up a fist cutely.

Onew paused to stare at Sunyoung for a moment and then smiled brightly.

Both of them successfully completed the jump and Team Cherry burst into cheers. The high jumping continued until only Onew and Victoria remained. They would go singularly, according to the MC.

Sooyoung jumped over the pole with facility and threw her hands up in the air victoriously.

"Unni, Onew still has to go!" Sunyoung reminded.

Onew grinned and rushed to the high jump. He looked at all his teammates, before glancing at Sunyoung. smiled at him, though her eyes seemed cold, like her usual behavior towards him. Onew closed his eyes and opened them. He began to sprint towards the bar and jumped with his strength, until he felt a sharp pain from his foot. The pole had hit his foot, after he had slightly dropped the level of his foot.

"Sorry, Onew and Team Cherry, but this first round Team Strawberry has won!"

Onew sighed and slouched on the mat.

"It's okay. We have four more chances of winning." Sunyoung assured. 

Onew nodded and stood up.

The next challenge was another victory for Team Strawberry. However, the competition increased when Team Cherry took the next two victories. It was the last challenge, the three-legged Couple race that would determine the winner.

"Everyone on Team Cherry and Strawberry quickly pair up with someone of the opposite gender." MC Sehun stated.

Victoria, Chanyeol, and Amber grinned at each other. Victoria gave Amber a look and Amber rushed to be partners with Jonghyun. Victoria paired up with Chanyeol, with Sunyoung and Onew staring awkwardly at the ground.

"So, do you want to just partner up? I thought Chanyeol would hopefully partner up with you." Onew said.

Sunyoung glared at him and when he turned to look at her, she nodded, expressionless.

"Alright. The rules of this event is to tie a ribbon around one of your partner's legs and one of your legs. So, both of your legs should become one leg. Now, you have three legs. You must walk like that to the end over there. Whichever couple reaches there first, they win and so does their team. Now, start tying and go to the finish line." MC Sehun explained.

Sunyoung and Onew walked to their spot and Onew bent down to tie their legs together.

"Let's win this, okay?" Sunyoung smiled.

"We'll try our best." Onew said, smiling back. The race began and all the teams sped off. Except Sunyoung and Onew.

"Yah, why are you walking so slowly? Hurry up!" Sunyoung scolded.

"I'm trying to, but you're going too fast!" Onew responded loudly.

"Aiish! You're so bothersome!" Sunyoung muttered, walking even quicker.

"You know what? I'll walk faster, okay?" Onew glared at Sunyoung.

He began to power walk and Sunyoung could not keep up her pace. Eventually, her legs tripped over the ribbon and she fell to the ground. Onew's eyes darted to her immediately and he held on to her hand tightly. Sunyoung accepted his hand and stood up.

"Sunyoung-ah, are you okay? I am here, okay?" Onew whispered, so the camera's built-in audio system won't pick his voice up.

"Onew, we have to go. We'll first move the outer legs and then move our tied legs, okay? I'll call what leg to move and you follow."

"Sure. Fighting!" Onew looked ahead and saw that only three teams were ahead of them. 

They began to work together, as Sunyoung called out what legs to use. They neared the leading team, Seohyun and Kyuhyun. Without notice, Sunyoung began to jog and Onew frantically imitated her movements.

They crossed over the white line and Team Cherry cheered.

"Onew! We did it!" Sunyoung held up a hand to give Onew a high five.

Onew opened his mouth into a radiant smile and hugged Sunyoung.

"Team Cherry has won!!!" MC Sehun announced.

Now let's hear Park Sunyoung's and SHINee's reflections. A narrator announced.

"Annyeong haseyo, Park Sunyoung imnida. From the moment I entered into the singing industry in America, I told myself I would come home to Korea. Korea has been a place with so many memories, both good and bad. I missed life here, too. My joining into SM Entertainment was completely unexpected and pleasing. I always wanted to join this company. However, I expected that if I was lucky, maybe a smaller company would accept me. This was during my training years that I had these type of thoughts. I wondered if this was really my path. I have average looks, and to become a singer, I thought shouldn't you have talent and beauty? So, I worked out a lot and went on a diet. My social contact decreased a lot and I went close to depression because my self esteem was almost gone. I thought I could not do anything right. I did not want to tell anyone at first, but later I contacted a close friend and my parents and they helped me very much. I am very thankful to them. I am thankful to every single person who worked to make me a singer. Manager unni, I love you. You keep my life so organized and I can't do anything without you. Thank you to my fans. You really make me content and are a part of me that will never leave. The bond we share is indestructible. I hope to show a continuously optimistic and bright side of me forever. Thank you." Sunyoung revealed, her eyes watery.

The screen shifted to Onew and began to speak.

"Annyeong haseyo, this is SHINee's leader Onew. I love to sing and I never realized it until I grew up. I always did well in school, so I thought I can start a company of a new software that I would create myself. However, I began to sing for charity events one day and found that singing was extremely enjoyable. I was happy doing this and I wanted it to be my future. My parents were supportive and I am happy for that. I am thankful for the fans SHINee has, too. You really made us successful. My members...Without them, SHINee wouldn't be SHINee. Jonghyun-ah, you really are backbone. You support everything I do and I will do the same because I know you make good choices. I love you as a brother. Kibum....you really cheer me up! I love your sweet smile every morning and it brightens the start to my day. Please keep smiling because if you don't, who will? I love you. Minho-yah, I haven' t seen a more kind person than you. You really care about the members more than yourself. It makes me so thankful and happy. You really are amazing. I love you, too. Taeminnie, you really are growing up, right? I will continue to guide you in the right way, okay. I'll be there when you need me. You are growing well, though. I'm proud of how much you improved as a singer. I knew you can do it. I love you, okay? Thank you to everyone!" 

~~~

"Omo, that was great! Sunyoung noona and Onew hyung were together too often though!!! What is this? You aren't even a couple!" Key teased. SHINee, f(x), Sulli, and Sunyoung had finished watching the recent episode of the SM reality show.

"I know. I saw more of those two together than seperated." Victoria smirked.

"You really are concerned for her, Onew hyung." Taemin laughed.

"Yah, she fell! Of course, I would help her up!" Onew exclaimed, frustrated.

"That's it. I totally ship you too. What should be their name?" Amber thought aloud. 

"I know! OnYoung! Or SuNew!" Minho called out. 

"OnYoung  sounds better." Sulli suggested.

"Okay! OnYoung forever!" Krystal cheered, raising her hands in the air. Sunyoung and Onew frowned and then made eye contact, but quickly broke it. What were their friends doing?