credit: tealightfuls via kpopxpressions

“I need to get out of this dress,” you stated abruptly.  Onew raised one eyebrow with a y grin.  “WAIT!  I mean…I…I…it’s just that it’s not comfortable any more…and…yeah,” stuttering,  you awkwardly climbed off his lap and started backing out of the room.  Onew started laughing again, amused by your obvious embarrassment at the poor choice of words. 

“Hey.  Looks like you’ve picked up a bit of my ‘Condition’!”   He bent forward, laughing harder as he covered his face with his hands.   You shook a fist in his direction, cheeks burning bright red.

Oh, if he only knew that I wish he’d help me out of this dress...

Oh, if she only knew how badly I wish I could help her out of that dress….

You turned and huffed down the hallway toward your room.  You could still hear Onew chuckling behind you.  Suddenly, it hit you again. 

You were overwhelmed by the feeling of being caught up in mourning clothes- all you wanted was to get rid of the feeling that death was clinging to you in the high narrow collar and long fitted sleeves.  It was as if the stylish dress was shrouding you in gloom-it had to come off soon.    Finally remembering, you slipped off the murderous (and fabulous) heels and carried them back toward your room. 

*Sigh*  If only he would look at you as a woman rather than the little girl, his friend, you thought, but he has no idea how much I like him.

In your room, you strode to the custom-designed closet, huge and the one indulgence that you had talked Harry into on your last trip back to Korea.  Appa had been a hard case, but he never could withstand the concerted effort (not to mention begging and pleading and judicious application of soju) of both you and Umma.  The closet had been drawn up, built & installed within a week.  And it was glorious.  The first time you stepped into it, almost as big as your bedroom, and saw the slanted shelving for shoes, the center console of drawers for folded clothes, with a sliding glass top over open compartments for jewelry & accessories….you almost cried with joy. 

Seriously.  Your eyes welled up with happy tears & your mom had squealed & helped you arrange all your clothes into the space that day.  You even had a lighted vanity to use for applying makeup and a full-length three-sided mirror.  It was a dream- perfect for the fashion designer like you who wanted a “home” for her precious clothes collection.

You smiled sadly at the memory- it dimmed the happiness you always felt when you saw your “heaven”, but you couldn’t help but be thankful that your parents loved you that much- to give you such an expensive and unnecessary gift.  The heels went back to their spot on the rear shelves, you threw the tights into the dirty clothes hamper, and you stripped off the dress.  Shoving it carelessly on a hanger, you pushed it to the very back corner of the dress rack.

God, I would be happy to never see that thing again.  I need something comfy and warm.  Why do I still feel so cold?

You pulled open a drawer & pulled out some slim-fitting sweatpants, embossed with your own “Crown of Hearts” label and went digging around for the baby-doll t-shirt Onew had brought you from the last concert tour.  “Where is it? where, where, where…Aha!”

Pulling on the pink shirt tagged with the colorful “SHINee” name, you pulled it down and sighed in bliss.  Tugging off your rings and bracelets, you opened the cabinet and placed them back in their empty spots.  One last thing…this face…urg.  You strode over to the vanity & removed what was left of your makeup along with the dried tears.  A clean face made you feel like a new person.  Pulling a brush through the tangled mess of your hair (thanks Jinki), you twisted it up into a messy knot .  And done.

Wow, the house is quiet.   Onew had stopped laughing, and no noise was filtering in from outside your room.  It was a slightly creepy effect, and you called out, “Onew-ssi? Still out there?  I’m almost done…”  Sliding into your trusty bunny slippers, you hurried back out to the main room.  “Onew-ssi?  Anneyong?”

He wasn’t in the living room.  Your teacups were gone, so you backtracked to the kitchen.  No Onew, but the cups were emptied and sitting in the sink ready to be washed.   You crossed your arms, closing your eyes as you tried to think.  Was this some sort of game?  Where could he be?  Maybe…his old room?

You turned and bumped straight into a tall…warm!....object. 

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH,” you screamed your head off,  throwing yourself away from the MURDERER  person who had managed to sneak up behind you.

“LEE JINKI!  What in **** do you THINK YOU’RE DOING,” you yelled.

“Haha, what were YOU doing, just standing around like a post in the middle of the kitchen…are you getting so old now that you’re forgetting where you’re at?  Should I start calling you Noona now?”

“Not funny. Not funny at all.  What if I had a knife, I could have stabbed you- and no one, not even your fans would blame me, since you were being an idiot scaring me like that!”

“Yeah, right.  One of my awesome fans would have totally materialized from thin air and pushed me out of the way before ninja-chopping the knife right out of your hands!  That’s how great MY fans are!” 

You started laughing hysterically, as Onew was flinging himself dramatically through the air to “demonstrate” his fans’ incredible martial arts skills.  By the time he finished, you were laughing so hard you couldn’t catch your breath.  You ended up kneeling on the floor in almost pain as your stomach muscles twitched.   Trying hard to calm down, you gulped a couple of times and peeked up at him through your fringe of bangs…and immediately started giggling again at the offended look on Onew’s face.

“YAH!  I’m serious,” he shouted, “My fans would totally defend me!”

“Ok, Arraso, Arraso, OK…just stop making me laugh,” you managed to get out, “it’s starting to hurt.”

“It’s good to hear you laugh,” he smiled, “I think you needed to…glad I could help out with that.”

A/N: Glad you’re all still here with me…Wanted to write something a bit sweet for today- Happy Valentine’s Day!