Enter: You, 15 years old.
Enter Taemin, 16 years old.

After that visit, he was gone as quickly as he came. It felt weird, saying goodbye to him again, though the same empty feeling reverberated over and over. You told him to do his best, just as he did back during the audition. Maybe he wasn't so annoying, after all. 

'Lucifer' did wonders to SHINee. Suddenly, they were recognized as one of the big groups of K-pop. They were viral all over Korea, and even through other fansites or websites across the world. You rarely checked up on him any more because for some reason, it stung. With fame came fans, and with fans came biases. Visiting one of their most famous fansites, you saw that pictures of him flooded the page, streamed with pink hearts and stars. 

"Who told you to be like this, huh?" you said to a picture of him, eyes barely visible through his bangs. He looked good with long hair. 

Until recently, SHINee's group activities composed of going on concerts and tours. They released a song called 'Hello', which was a dramatic twist from their pretty-boy image back in Lucifer. They all dressed like legitimate boyfriends instead of fashion models, which was interesting. 

Ring, ring.

"Hello?" you answered, pressing the phone between your ear and shoulder while looking about at more of Taeminnie's grown up image. 

"Hey, there's a package for you from Taemin and it came in our mail." Taesun's familiar voice said, the sound of ripping paper in the background. "We all got something, and I'll just give you the stuff for your parents." 

In the short span between the release of Lucifer and Hello, your relationship with Taesun really just stayed the same. Before Taemin left, he told you to keep him updated with everything. He used to call from his dorm phone, but now he just texts over his cellphone. His replies came late because he always lost it, and asked his hyungs to find it for him. 

Even so, you always sent him picture messages of your day. When you went shopping with your mom, it was vegetables. When it was school, it was your desk. When you were out, it was with Taesun. The descriptions were short so Taemin didn't have to read much. "Math test tomorrow...", "These taste really good! Umma will cook for you,", "Night was really pretty! Taesun was cold", or "Kekeke," was the basic gist of it. 

He didn't always reply, but you hoped that telling him about your day lightened up his mood. You avoided pat bing soo for a while, even though it was the best thing to have during summer. After what he said before he left, the nervous fluttery feeling always came around at the thought of shaved ice. Was it odd? 

You walked over to the Lee's home, and knocked on their door. "Ya, Taesun! I'm here!" 

Mr. Lee opened the door, his greeting as formal as ever even though he was like your second father. "You came for the packages, right? Yours is rather box-like, while ours were all clothes." 

"Yo~" Taesun called from the livingroom, a pile of boxes near the couch. "Taemin didn't give you a shirt, how inconsiderate! Considering we all did..." he scowled. 

You picked up your box and fervently opened it in front of them. It wasn't a shirt, no. Instead, it was like a keepsake. "Isn't this...?" 

Mrs. Lee laughed in delight. "Wasn't that from the Hello music video? Ah, how pleasant!"

You looked at the figure, white with small colorful designs all over the image. What was it supposed to mean...? It looked kind of like a monkey with a really big head. Either way, you took Taemin's presents for you and your parents and headed back home, saying thank you before you left. 

You left the presents in your parents' room, taking yours to the confinement and secrecy of your own room. You kept looking at it for a while, until you noticed a bit of writing at the sole of the toy's foot. 

It was written in pencil, which explained why it was blurry. Someone probably touched the bottom with damp hands before placing it insde the box. However because of this, you couldn't fully read the message he wrote underneath. 

"...s thin... you." 

Left in the dark, you watched the music video once more, until you flushed at realization. Near the end of the music video, though they were no longer singing, he gently touched foreheads with the figure in a thoughtful expression, as if he remembered someone precious. For others, it probably just seemed like he was acting for the music video. For you, though, it pieced together what he was trying to say on the figure's foot. 

You quickly took a selca of yourself, the toy in hand, and wrote in a small caption: 

"I always think of you, too."