“I like that. A bit darker, but I like it,” Maria is nodding at the picture Mi Young shows her. The dressing-room backstage is lively with a lot of conversations, people coming and goes and smiling like a child Hannah is sitting with her eyes closed getting makeup done.

She met Jonghyun earlier. The first time in over a month, and she can’t stop smiling over that. It was funny because Taemin had come over and as soon as she saw him, she asked if Jonghyun was here. Taemin looked heartbroken as she hadn’t even greeted him before asking about Jonghyun, which Minho had to point out as he showed up behind Taemin. Either way, she got to embrace Jonghyun and forget the rest of the world for a few seconds.

Now she is waiting to get on stage and see how the Korean crowd reacts to her, as she has only performed for Puzzle since she got engaged. Jonghyun thinks she is overthinking, but even when saying that she saw he is slightly worried too. No one judges like the Korean crowd.

Through the mirror on the makeup table Hannah sees someone peek inside before anyone else. Brown hair and the smile of a sweetheart, Ana leans inside by the door with a large smile as she looks around until she sees Maria.

“Maria Unnie,” she lightly calls out to get her attention and Maria looks up.

“Anna, my love!” Maria is quickly up on her feet, rushing over to embrace her friend. “You’ve got some explaining to do.”

Ana’s expression changes at those last words, looking like she doesn’t know what Maria means so Maria puts a hand on her hip to show she does not believe that.

“Did you tell Hakyeon that I have been dissing his character in Sassy Go Go? That’s not cool, not cool at all,” Maria is blaming Ana, speaking English and Hannah thinks it is to not let their crew know what they are talking about. She says the drama name in Korean though.

Her friend gives an awkward smile, saying ‘he-he’ which obviously means she is guilty for doing exactly what Maria blames her for.

“I can explain that,” Ana tells Maria. She looks nervous when clearing , glancing at the others in the room before stepping outside, holding on to Maria’s hand for her to come out with her.

“Explain,” Maria focuses her eyes on Ana, doing her best to be serious while in fact she can’t really be mad as it isn’t anything to be mad over.

“He was teasing me.”

Maria raises an eyebrow at Ana. “I’m gonna need more than teasing as explanation on how I got in the conversation.”

“Hakyeon Oppa was teasing me for being too young to watch their performances with their new concept and they were really mean about it so I said … well, I said I didn’t think he was y in the new concept and he said it doesn’t matter as you, our close friend, said he is y and .. um … well…”

“You said I dissed him,” Maria finishes her sentence, accusing Ana for saying such a thing to VIXX’s N and Ana grimaces.

“I didn’t mean to.”

“You got any idea what I had to deal with?” Maria points at herself. She isn’t angry, she is a bit annoyed but overall she finds it all funny. “He texted me when I was sleeping, not once, my love, he texted me nonstop until I answered. That kid is an idiot. And you said I dissed the character I love. Not cool, Anna.”

Emelia shows up next to them, just gliding in to lean against the doorframe and as soon as her thin eyes looks at the two girls talking, Ana lowers her gaze.

“Hakyeon is born ’90,” Emelia points out to them.

“So?” Maria frowns and shakes her head when looking at Emelia.

“You just called him a kid,” Emelia answers. She smiles evilly. “What do you think he’ll say if I let him in on that? I could always add that you think he’s an idiot.”

Ana looks worried at that while Maria rolls her eyes. “Oh please, Hakyeon could be on his knees if I so asked that of him.”

The look Ana gives on that is hilarious for even Emelia who can’t help but to smirk. Hannah, on the other hand, has heard bits of what they have been saying but what she is stuck with is the name: she has no idea of who Hakyeon is. She doesn’t think too much of it as she can’t know every person her ladies know.

When Hannah is done at the makeup table she head out the room with her phone in hand, texting Jonghyun to ask if he is busy, but she is stopped by Maria and Ana chatting outside the room. The talk about Hakyeon has moved on to a movie night. Ana is invited to 5 Pieces’ house after the concert, to watch a movie or to just sleep, depending on how they feel. Hannah doubts they will decide to sleep, and it they decide to watch a movie it will end two ways; they end up sleeping or they end up talking throughout the whole movie. Either way, Hannah wants in. Any chance she can take to spend with Ana is a chance she can take.

“Where are you going?” Maria bursts out when Hannah starts to leave them.

Hannah turns around, gaping as she tries to answer but ends up grimacing for a second first. “The room next to ours?”

“Oh, I’ll come with you,” Ana eagerly bounces and smiles widely to Maria. “Taemin Oppa said he will give me something later. And later should be now.”

“Give you what?” Maria and Hannah both asks.

“I don’t know,” Ana shakes her head with honesty before smiling widely again. Maria squeals over how pure she is and decides to come along too. Hannah grimaces when looking at Maria wrapping her arm around Ana to head to SHINee’s dressing-room.

“No glaring, baby,” Maria doesn’t miss the look Hannah gives her. Ana frowns at them both though, asking what Hannah would be glaring over. “Our baby is a bit in love, a lot in love actually, so I asked her earlier if she could stop looking at the door.”

Ana looks confused and Hannah rolls her eyes, stopping outside SHINee’s room and turns to her two friends.

“First off, I didn’t glare at you. And secondly, I wasn’t looking at the door. I looked once and you saw me-”

“That’s bull,” Maria laughs, leaning on Ana.

“Even I think its bull,” Ana nods in agreement and Maria opens her hand to Hannah as if Ana’s words prove it all. Hannah grimaces at them both but on the inside she is really happy that they are fooling around like this.

Turning around to head inside the room, Hannah stops her steps right away and bites her lip at the sight of Jonghyun leaning against the open door, looking at them.

“I find it pretty unfair that the three of you don’t speak Korean with each other,” Jonghyun points out to them. Maria laughs. “That way I can’t eavesdrop.”

Ana looks at Maria to ask what ‘eavesdrop’ means, while Hannah doesn’t even care what it means as she is just smiling at Jonghyun. The way they look at each other makes Maria push Ana through to get past them, as if they are in their own world and no one should disturb. Maria sighs dramatically when stepping over to wrap her arms around Minho for a hug, hearing him gasp when her hand grabs his bottom.

“Why do you never do that to me?” Key asks, sitting on a chair getting a touch on his makeup, and also getting a front sight of Maria grabbing Minho’s .

Maria smiles at Minho after hugging him, knowing she has been grabbing his for years and he might get surprised at times but he doesn’t mind. With Key’s question, Maria hugs on to Minho’s arm and gives Key a look of pity.

“I can’t resist his , it feels amazing,” she answers, nodding to Minho who is the one sighing now. Ana has taken a seat next to Taemin, though she said she was going to get a gift she only starts talking about other things with him. Maria keeps praising Minho’s and Hannah is by the door talking to Jonghyun.

When some members of a girl-group walks by outside the room, Jonghyun slinks his fingers around Hannah’s wrist to lead her closer to him, smiling at the girls passing by while Hannah is smiling at Jonghyun.

“I’m meeting some friends after my radio show tonight,” Jonghyun brings up in a low voice, his fingers slinks down to hers. “Do you want to come?”

Hannah pouts when looking down at his hand, his fingers touching her skin. “You’re meeting who?” she quietly asks, not sure who she wants to meet.

“Some friends. Myung is coming too,” Jonghyun answers. “Just a few drinks.”

He his lips when glancing down at her hand. He is asking her to join him and his friends for a drink. It makes her smile too.

“Well,” Hannah starts to say, clearing when meeting his gaze. “If Myung is going, I can come too.”’

“HA!” Jonghyun doesn’t hold back the shock in both voice and face-expression at her words and he stares at her. “You’re going because of Myung?”

Hannah shrug her shoulder, taking a step inside the room. “It’s one of the reasons.”

He laughs behind her, loudly to get the attention but genuinely happy over the teasing she gives him. Maria is smiling at them, only because she can’t stop thinking that even after a lot of trouble and obstacles, they behave like they just fell in love. She is fascinated by that, happy for her friend of course, overjoyed even. Jonghyun follows Hannah when she takes a seat next to Ana, he almost sits down on Hannah when sitting down next to her, putting an arm around her so he can kiss her shoulder.

“What was so funny?” Ana is curious to know, leaning forward to look at Jonghyun.

“She’s teasing me,” Jonghyun answers before asking Hannah; “But you will come, will you?”

“I’ll come,” Hannah nods.

“Where?” Ana curiously wonders, smiling from Hannah to Jonghyun.

“Off limits for you,” Jonghyun answers with a finger pointing at Ana while he leans towards Hannah as if he needs to cuddle. “We’re going out for some drinks later.”

Ana pouts for being told it’s off limits because of age before her pout turns into a frown and she looks at Hannah. “Aren’t you watching a movie with us tonight?”

Hannah opens when remembering she is booked tonight. Looking at Ana she then glances at Jonghyun and back at her friend.

“But I can go out after the movie,” Hannah suggests, glancing from one to another again as if asking them with her eyes if it is a good suggestion.

Ana doesn’t seem to like it as she gives out a sound and turns to look what Taemin is doing on his phone instead and Hannah pouts to Jonghyun.

“If you ask me,” Jonghyun says, loud enough for Ana to hear, “A movie night with Ana will end up in sleep. So then she won’t know when you leave to hang out with me.”

“Hey!” Ana turns back with a hurt sound in her voice. “That’s not fair, Oppa.”

Hannah leans back with a smile, looking at her phone that’s vibrating. She frowns seeing she is getting an online call from Sweden, from her sister. Hearing Jonghyun’s voice next to her, talking to Ana, Hannah gets up on her feet to take the call.

“Jen?” she answers it when walking over to the door, more to get some privacy than to get away from the noise in the room.

“Hannah, is that you?”

Hannah turns around to look in the room, seeing her friends talk and smile. It’s not her sister on the phone. “Mother?” Hannah asks, surprised to hear her voice.

“Is it true what I’m hearing? What I saw on YouTube?” her mother sounds as angry as always and she keeps talking before Hannah can ask what she means. Hannah steps outside the room to not show her friends how upset she is, hearing her mother’s angry voice. “Are you engaged with one of them?”

One of them.

Hannah turns to face the wall with a grimace, so angry that tears fill her eyes as she has been so worried about her fans that the thought of how her family would react wasn’t such a big deal. Now, hearing her mother call and straight up angrily ask about the engagement and for saying ‘one of them’, Hannah doesn’t have the patience to deal with this.

“What do you want, mother?” Hannah asks.

“Tell me you are not that stupid,” her mother answers, “You cannot do this to me.”

“Do what to you?” Hannah sounds slightly shocked. “You are my mother, but what I do with my life-”

“Don’t talk nonsense, Hannah, you are not going to marry one of them. I won’t allow it. Do you want me to come to China and get you? Is that what you want?”

She keeps saying ‘one of them’, she has always said ‘China’ though Hannah is certain her mother knows which country she actually is. Hannah turns around again to lean against the wall, seeing Maria is standing in front of her with eyes focused on Hannah’s and those big eyes, Hannah isn’t sure if Maria looks angry or concerned but either way Hannah is certain her friend has heard who it is on the phone.

“I’m going to marry him, mother,” Hannah answers, trying to stay calm while all she does it trying to not cry. Her eyes are on Maria, knowing that’s why she can speak these words without shouting. “I will get married in South Korea and there is nothing you can do about it. If that’s all, I will hang up now.”

“No, no, no, no, NO! Do you hear yourself? I let you do your thing over there but this, this is way over the line, Hannah, I will not-”

“You know what,” Hannah interrupts her, turning away from Maria as those eyes are piercing through her. “I don’t care what you think; do you get that? I don’t care. You never want to know what I am doing so don’t bother caring for this either because