Onew POV: >> 1 month later

The day was hot, really hot. Nobody wanted to go out. Today was July 1st. It's been a month since what happened between Rachel, Jonghyun, and I. I told Jonghyun that I wanted him to stay away from Rachel, and he did. I'm really proud of him. He really wants to make things right, but I don't know what to do next. How do I change his feelings for my girlfriend? As of now, I can't. But something will come along and fix our problems. Hopefully. Rachel and I were spending time in her dorm alone, eating, watching movies and laughing. It felt like old times again. Not once did she bring up Jjong, but I know she misses talking to him. I separated two best friends, and I feel horribe. I feel like I'm in control of the situation, but I didn't know what to do next. I had to switch it up. We can't live like this forever.

After spending the whole day together, Rachel was getting tired, but she told me she didn't wanted me to leave. 

"Oh! I bought something for you! Hold on a minute" Rachel beamed and ran into the kitchen. I just sat by her couch waiting. What could it be. Then she started talking to me from the kitchen. "Remember when I brought up that I loved ginger snaps?" she asked. "Yeah?" 

"And then you said you wanted to try them?"

"Yeah. But they don't have them in Korea." I frowned. I really did want to try them. They sounded so good. Rachel emerged from the kitchen with a cream colored bag in her hand behind her back. "Well... I had my resources from America bring you something special" she said showing me the bag which read "Old fashioned ginger snaps" I couldn't contain my excitement. "Oh my gosh! You actually got them!" I squealed. "Yupp. And the expiration date isn't for another year and a half. So that means they're fresh" she said sitting down next to me. "May I?" I said, building up the suspense. "You may, my good sir" she said handing me the bag of cookies. "YES!!" I grabbed the bag out of her hands and opened it. I immeadiately smelled ginger and it was amazing. "The smell of ginger... It smells better than I imagined" I sighed. "Wait... You've never tried ginger?" Rachel snapped at me. "No, well if you count---" "Try it now!" she yelled taking a small cookie out of the bag and shoving into my mouth. She almost choked me with it. I finally started chewing. It was really.. "Spicy" I said aloud. "Yeah.. Ginger is really spicy" she sighed thinking I wouldn't like it. "I love it" I beamed. A long and fulfilled smile grew on Rachel's face. "Well don't eat all of them, I want you to save some for the other members" she giggled. Soon, the excitement in the room started to die down, I ate a couple more ginger snaps and then closed the bag. I looked over at Rachel who had her head down. She seemed disappointed. "Yeobo. What's wrong?" I asked her. She sighed "Today is July 1st."

"Well. July 2rd now that it's almost 2am" I said looking at the clock

"And soon it'll be July 4th..."

"Yeah... Wednesday. So? Is July 4th special?"

"Well..."

"Is it a birthday?"

"No."

"Anniversary?"

"No"

"Is it a--"

"Let's just say.. You probably won't guess because you're Korean.."

"A... Holiday?" 

"National holiday" 

And then it hit me..

"It's your independence day!"

"My parents' favorite national holiday"

I sighed... "And the reason you're upset.. Is because you won't be able to celebrate it.." 

"Yeah..."

I then realized that she must be torn up about it. Rachel was a er for United States history. And she's told me that if she hadn't become a singer, she would've been a historian. Her family was really patriotic, and so was she. She gets all upset when she doesn't get to have fun on American holidays and sometimes she misses it. But then she reassures me that this is her home now, and she wouldn't trade us for the world. "Well.. What do you do to celebrate independence day?" I asked. She simply said "fireworks"..

"Oh, well.."

"I know.. They're hard to come by"

"Well.. yeah" 

"We'd sometimes go to baseball games too, my family and I." she explained. 

"Oh I see.. "

"Well I shouldn't be all sad about it. I should be more prepared for this when I moved to Korea, so why am I being like this?"

"Well it's okay to feel homesick.." I tried to say to cheer her up.

"But that place isn't my home. It was, but not anymore.. This is my home now" she smiled. And that gave me a little spark in my heart.

The next day>>

Amber POV:

F(x) and I finally had our comeback on M!Countdown. Rachel was one of the MC's so I got to see her. We had a drink and talked about how the last month has gone. She said that she was bummed that she couldn't celebrate 'Murrica Day, but I told her that maybe we can do something on the 4th since we had that day off. When we got home, we were so pooped.. It was 10pm and Luna, Krystal and Vic were sleeping while Sul and I  played video games. After a while with moving back in with F(x), we've been bonding all over again and I was so happy, still upset deep down that Rachel had to live alone, but she was surviving and that's all that mattered us. We had just got done playing Mario Kart when the doorbell rang. I decided to get up to answer and the person at the door was Sungwoon, the first guy that I'd met when I moved to South Korea in 2007. "Amber!" he beamed and gave me a tight hug. "Sungwoon oppa! What are you doing here?" I smiled. "I just saw you perform! You did amazing, along with the other four beautiful girls" he said. Sungwoon was a very polite, honest guy. He's Jonghyun's age, he has long brown hair and pearly white teeth and an amazing smile. When I first met him, we had feelings for each other. But after I debuted, and met someone else, my feelings for him slowly deteriorated and I left him. "Listen, is it okay if we talk? just for a little? I've missed you so much" he said, taking my hand. Oh jeez, he must still like me. He doesn't even know what my life has been like when we wasn't there. My involvment with Key, and how we are together and how much I love him. The pregnancy, the miscarriage. "Uhhh, sure I guess" I said letting him and closing the door. We walked over to the couch where Sulli was playing video games by herself. "Sulli, it's time to go to bed" I said, trying to get her to leave. "Pssh, you can't tell me what to do" Sulli said without even looking at me 'Sul... Now" I said more sternly. She looked up at me and then she saw Sungwoon. She got up quickly and left the room without another word. Me and Sungwoon sat down "What is it that you want to talk about?" I asked.

"Amber. I know we had our time apart.. And I know that you've probably had a lot of fun without me"

"Oh trust me. My life has been a roller coaster since you saw me last" I laughed

"But I just need to let you know that.. I love you.. Please take me back?" he said, holding my hands tight. I was going to tell him why I couldn't but then I felt two lips crash up against mine. He was kissing me! Nostalgia hit me really hard and I remembered all the good times we had. And all of the things we said to each other. I started to kiss him back. I didn't know what to do. I slowly closed my eyes and kissed back. Sungwoon changed my life. Then I remembered. "Wait!" I said pushing him off of me. "I can't take you back. My life has changed too much. I have a new best friend. She's an American" I said that because Sungwoon was judgemental against Americans. "I have a whole new group of friends outside of here. I have another best friend, who is dating my best friend. I have a best friend that's the same age as you.. And most importantly, I've found someone else. I have a new boyfriend, and I love him so much. I lost his ity to him, Sungwoon. And he got me pregnant" I had to let him know everything. "We were going to have the baby and put it up for adoption, but I had a miscarriage. But before that, my boyfriend proposed to me and someday I want to marry him. I'm sorry Sungwoon, but after all I've been through.. You just can't change my mind" I sighed, taking in a deep breath. "Wow.." he said. He really seemed shocked. But then after he got over the shock, he started to get angry. "How can that man do those terrible things to you?" I was assuming he was referring to Key. "What? No! He has never done anything terrible to me! I let him take my ity and that was by my own doing, but he has never hurt me. He supported me whenever I needed him and he still does. And he was there with me to cry with me when we lost our child. He's so kind and gentle with me and that's exactly what I need in a man. Not that I'm saying you weren't, but there's something about him that's different. I need him in my life. I can't be with you, after all I've been through with him" I cried. "What is this man's name?" he asked. I was hesitant to give him Key's real name. "Kim Kibum" I sighed. "From SHINee?? I thought he was gay!" he yelled. "He's not gay! Far from it!" I snapped. "I need to talk to him" And that's when I froze, I didn't want him to talk to Key. What if Sungwoon hurts him? He was, indeed, stronger than he looked. "I don't think I want you to do that" I said. "And also, why would an American want to befriend you? They're disgusting and hateful" he yelled. That's when I went off on him "Are you kidding me?? She's beautful and kind! She has accepted me and taught me so many things. She's strong. She's lost her parents and she gave up living in America to live amongst us. She's never hated anyone in her life!" I was so ready to hit him, but I couldn't. He was my first real love. "Soon you'll realize that Kibum isn't right for you. After listening to you talk about him, he sounds like nothing but trouble. I want to talk to him. I want to let him know how I feel. Everything will be okay. I just want to talk. That's all" he explained. I trusted Sungwoon. He didn't seem like the fighting type anyway. I gave him SHINee's address and soon after, Sungwoon tried to kiss me again. He got closer and closer until he kissed me on the lips gently, then all the mean things he said about Rachel replayed in my head and I pulled away. "Just please.. Just go" I whispered. He sighed and walked out the door. Nothing he could say would make me hate him, because I loved him once. He definitely changed me. But I just couldn't leave Key. I love him now, too much.

Jonghyun POV >> next day July 3rd

It's been a month since I've talked to Rachel. I still fell bad for what I did. I try to talk to Onew hyung like nothing happened. But the memory comes back to me and it just ruins it. My thoughts of Rachel have started to become less frequent. I do miss her as a best friend though. Hyung must really know what he's doing. It's one day before America Day, and I'm sitting in a Starbucks. I needed to get out of the house for some fresh air. Nothing is on my mind, absolutely nothing. Until..

"What can I get you sir?" I heard a woman's voice from up above. I had my head down so I looked up to see a girl, looking down at me with a notepad in her hand. "Uhhmmm... I.." I sputtered.. She's really... Pretty. "Well, I assumed you wanted something. You've been sitting here for almost half an hour now" she explained. "Oh.. Well.. I'm not in the mood for coffee.. I just.. Uh.." I stopped when she smiled. Her smile was so beautiful. "I just needed to leave my dorm for a while.. I didn't know where to go.." I tried to explain. "Are you lonely? You look a little sad.." she said a little concerned. "Umm.. Sorta.." I confessed. "Well, my break is about to start, I'll sit down and talk with you. I have no where to go either" She's gunna talk to me?? She's actually willing? "Sure. That would be nice" I looked up and smiled. And she smiled back. Don't mess this up Jonghyun. She sat down across the table from me. "So, I don't want to sound cocky right now but.. Do you know who I am?" I whispered. "Yeah. You're Jonghyun from SHINee" she said. Surprisingly she wasn't all.. Fan girly. Well, that's rather refreshing. "Not a fan?" I asked. "Of course I am! I love your music!" she beamed "I just don't really react like other girls do. I mean. Just because you're famous, does not mean that I should be surprised that you're here talking to me. Celebs are humans too" she explained. Wow, she's great. I couldn't help but smile. "Well thanks. It's very nice to here you say that" I told her. 

We talked at the table for an hour and then she had to go back to work for an hour. Then when she was done, we talked again for hours. When I finally decided to go home, it was almost 9:30pm and the sun finally went down. When I walked into our dorm, the first thing I saw was Taemin's face. "Where have you been hyung? We were gunna play charades!" the maknae pouted. Then I looked over at the couch and saw Minho and Kibum on the couch looking at me, Then I looked over at the kitchen and saw Jinki looking at me with a confused look. "I told you I was going to get some fresh air, didn't I?" I barked and started to walk upstairs. "But you've been gone for hours" I heard Taemin squeak from downstairs. 

Onew POV

"I told you I was going to get some fresh air, didn't I?" Jjong said loud before marching upstairs. I turned around and picked up my phone and dialed Rachel's number. "But you've been gone for hours!" Taemin pouted. "It's okay, yeobo. We'll play some other time" Minho said putting his arm on Taemin's waist. I wasn't paying attention to the phone until I heard Rachel's voice in my ear "Yobseyo?" 

"So what did you do today?"

"Good news! My landlord finally agreed to let me have a pet in my dorm! Isn't it amazing?? I'm at the pet store right now. I'm gunna adopt a kitten!" Rachel yelled into the phone with joy. "That's great, yeobo. But I meant what have you been doing today?"

"I went to my friend's dorm to help her clean out her room, I went over to SM to work out, and I went over to F(x)'s dorm. Amber said she needed to talk to me about something important. Why do you ask?" Rachel said all in one breath in 5 seconds. She must've been busy all day. "Good boy" I thought in my head while looking up the stairs. "Nothing" I said in the phone. "Stay right there. We'll pick out a kitten together" I smiled and hung up the phone

Minho POV>> next day July 4th

"This is gunna be so cool!" I said while leading Rachel to where we were going. She had a blindfold on. "This better not make me angry.." Rachel sighed. "It won't" I laughed. I finally got her to the place. "Okay, stand still" I sighed and took the blindfold off of her. Her reaction was priceless.

Rachel POV

Roses are black

Voilets are black

Everything is black

I'm blind

"Okay, stand still" I heard Minho say next to me shortly before he took my blindfold off. When I finally could see, I saw something that I haven't seen in years. It was a baseball field. Filled with people. It was a game, between the Nexen Heroes and the Hanwha Eagles. I couldn't believe what I saw. It brought me close to tears. Then from behind me, was SHINee, Girls' Generation, Super Junior, and F(x). So many of my friends together, and they were here to watch a baseball game with me. "Happy independence day!" I heard Shindong yell from behind everyone. Everyone couldn't help but laugh at his lonely voice. But he finally emerged from the crowd. "But.. you guys--" I tried to say "We know we can't share in the excitement of America's independence" Minho said, still standing next to me. "But we can watch you be excited" Sooyoung laughed. "But.. No.. Not just for me.." I shook my head. "It's not just for you" I heard Jessica say in the crowd. Tiffany, Jessica, and Krystal all came up to me. "Do you know how many years we spent celebrating this day with our family?" Jessica asked, smiling. "And when we moved here--" Krystal tried to say. "We thought we'd never have the chance to celebrate it again" I said finishing her sentence. Tiffany nodded with me. This was one of the best days of my life. "Well.. Let's go watch some baseball!" Hyoyeon declared. Everyone cheered and started to walk down the bleachers. While I walked over to Jinki, I shook my head. "This.. was all your idea, wasn't it?" I said with a smile. "No!" Onew tried to defend himself. "Yes.. It was all him!" Key chirped from behind Amber. Jinki started to blush. "Thank you" I whispered and kissed him on the cheek. At this point, Minho, Taemin, Key, and Amber had all joined our big group in the bleachers. "I also wanted to say sorry.." Jinki continued. "For what?" I asked. Then a figure emerged from the shadows. It was Jonghyun. "Putting a best friend's friendship on hiatus was the wrong thing to do. No matter what the situation. And I'm sorry" Jinki apologized again. I gave him a hug. Then I gestured Jonghyun over to us and we had a little group hug. "I have to tell you who I met the other day" Jonghyun whispered to me with a smile. After that we finally joined everyone else to the bleachers.

Amber POV:

Tonight was great, there was so many laughs. Everyone laughed tonight at least once. We watched the game all the way through and when it was almost over, there were fireworks. So many of them. I sat next to Key the whole night holding his hand. It was the best feeling ever. Rachel finally got to sit next Jonghyun and talk with him. But after a while, Rachel spent the rest of her night at Jinki's side. After the game was over and everyone left. Onew and Siwon bribed the people in charge of the lights to leave them on for us so we can play baseball. And we played baseball all night. After a while, my phone rang. It was Sungwoon. Since I was busy, I ignored the call. But he called back again and againd. I had to yank the battery out of my phone to get it to stop. 

I lost a subscriber. Dang it. They were probably waiting for 2min. their loss because the next chapter will have 2min! And a lot of it xD Stay tuned