A/N: i updated in maldives! Though it's my last day. Boarding the seaplane now. WILL UPDATE SOON!

ENJOY!

======================================================================== 

Watching the production crew move the props around the studio, Yun Ri tightened the grip on the piece of cardboard she was holding. She was really going to do this. ‘Director Kim!’ A woman twice her age ran up to Yun Ri holding a hair brush, it took Yun Ri two seconds to process that it was her who was being addressed. ‘Yes?’ ‘The singers are ready, and they want to know if they can have supper before we start the filming,’ the middle-aged woman asked. Casting a glance at the bustling crew Yun Ri nodded, ‘Sure, actually I’ll go have supped with them and brief them about the storyboard. Give me a minute yea?’ The stylist nodded and scurried away. Yun Ri turned to the crew who were moving props, ‘Guys! I know it’s a little early but, keep up the good work! I’ll leave the storyboard here, when you guys are finished, have a look at it. I made some changes to it since the first one. We’ll start filming in 45 minutes!’  ‘Yes director Kim!’ The crew hollered. As Yun Ri slowly made her way to the dressing room, she could not help but put a bounce in her steps. ‘Oh my god, they called me director, DIRECTOR!’

  And this all happened because of a meeting 2 weeks ago.

Flashback

  ‘Sorry professor, you needed to see me?’ Yun Ri asked the old man in front of her, Professor Shim was his name and he was one of the most renowned teacher in the universities, his courses on directing and story-boarding were always being filled up fast. Coincidentally, he also happened to be the professor in the university who favors Yun Ri greatly. ‘Ah yes Yun Ri, welcome back to Korea. When you told me you needed to be excused from school for a project from SM Entertainment, I was quite skeptical but when I met Soo Man last week at a charity dinner, he actually mentioned you. I believe he was quite taken by your work. So I wanted to ask you, there is a music video that SM is making for one of their project groups, they’re trying to cut back on some budget for the promotions but doesn’t really want to sacrifice quality, so would you by any chance be interested in directing your first MV?’ All Yun Ri could do was nod.

End Flashback

    In a flurry of events, Yun Ri was once again back to receiving SM paychecks, this time as a MV director. Sure, the pay was crap, the team was made-up of mainly part-timers and volunteers (hence their unwavering respect towards her), heck, they even had to scour all these props from the storage room of SM Entertainment and off the streets. But Yun Ri would be damned if she let the lack of budget stop her from making her first major production as kick as possible.

  ‘Hello S.M. The Ballad,’ Yun Ri pulled up a chair at the table where the 4 boys and men were eating. She gave them her biggest grin, ‘This is how it’s going down.’

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Young Soo stood outside the studio, very satisfied with the progress of his ‘hostile takeover’ as Yun RI had dubbed it. It was hard getting here, he had to corner Soo Jun, bet his position in the company to force his brother into letting him take over promotion activities for S.M. The Ballad, but looking at the set for Hot Times MV, he knew things were working out. Hot Times, the original main track for S.M. The Ballad had been a hit on Music Core and its popularity had earned itself a chance to get an MV filmed. As for his girlfriend who was now shouting orders at the people on set, he knew slipping his father the photos she took during Shinee’s Taiwan trip and her portfolio would work out in his favor.

  ‘Camera man, come here!’ Yun Ri hollered, the cameraman came obediently with her to the corner. ‘Who’s your favourite out of the 4 singers?’ She asked with an ambiguous grin. The cameraman stared at the 4 idols on set and stuttered, ‘Uh…Jay?’ ‘No, your favourite singer out of all of them is Jong Hyun, then Jino. Now repeat after me, Jong Hyun and Jino.’ ‘Jong Hyun and Jino?’ ‘Good,’ Yun Ri patted him on the back, ‘Now go and make those two look exceptionally good.’ The cameraman gave her a funny look, then quickly glanced at the ‘script’ that was in the rookie director’s hands. It said: ‘Be Jong Hyun biased and make Jino look good.’ In futile attempts to control his fits of laughter, the cameraman walked back to his camera with a curt, ‘Yes ‘mam!’

  Seeing this, Young Soo smiled to himself, yes, things were definitely working out.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jinki’s POV:

  I looked around the room at my tired members. The final new year countdown event has finally came to an end and we’re now sitting in the comfort of our own apartment, getting some well-deserved rest. ‘Here you go, a cup of warm tea for each of you,’ Nick hyung said as he passed out the warm cups. Tired murmurs of thanks could be heard as we accepted his tea. I grinned warily into my cup of tea as I thought back about how Nick hyung have taken over Ki Bum’s place as the mother of Shinee. Ki Bum still nagged alright, but he’s usually too busy hanging all over Jong Hyun, literally, that and no matter how motherly Ki Bum might be, Nick trounced him in the kitchen. Well agreed that our new manager assistant was a better cook than Ki Bum, who could only make simple dishes, which is feat on its own seeing as Ki Bum’s an only child in a traditional Korean family. Men aren’t expected to know how to cook in our culture. But let me put it this way, Nick can make kimchi from scratch and he’s not even Korean.

  Young Soo hyung was still typing on his laptop; like he had been the moment we got on our van. His dark circles were beyond evident and as a joke, Yun Ri had bought him concealer as an early birthday question, but the satisfied grin on his face offset his tiredness. He had his reasons to be smug of course. After he had taken over the promotional activities for S.M. The Ballad , the group’s popularity and success skyrocketed. Jino is now one of the most searched names on naver and Jong Hyun’s fangirls have come swooning right back into his arms, Shine Se Kyung be damned. The scandal have blown over now, whilst the bitter fangirls remain bitter, many have started enjoying the guilty pleasure of being in love with a taken man. What’s more exciting than fantasizing Bling Bling Jong Hyun choosing you over the beautiful Shin Se Kyung right?

  Not everything was perfect though. In order to promote S.M. The Ballad, as the leader of Shinee, I have to admit that Young Soo hyung had neglected us quite a bit. Our end of year performances were a little lackluster in terms of surprise, with f(x) as our surprise elements. Though as the leader I should have brought this point up to him, since this was all for the greater good of Jong Hyun and Shinee, the rest of us decided to let the matter slide. That and because thanks to Nick hyung helping us plan our first every concert in Japan, it had turned out as a huge success. The foresight Lee Soo Man has sometimes to assign us 2 managers is truly admirable.

  Another matter was Young Soo hyung and Yun Ri’s relationship. They’ve been dating for almost 2 months now, but after Lee Soo Man found out, he had a serious word with the two, especially with Young Soo hyung about involving his girlfriend in productions, citing it as highly unprofessional. Because of that not only have Yun Ri been banned from taking on projects from SM, Young Soo hyung actually started distancing himself from her. Needless to say, Yun Ri is less than happy and is constantly urging Young Soo stop allowing his father from pushing him around. In short, the couple’s relationship is very strained.

  The biggest matter isn’t Young Soo hyung and Yun Ri’s relationship however, it was Jong Hyun’s upcoming surgery. We received news about it in the car just now. Young Soo hyung must have been really tired to let it slip, because normally we would be allowed to bask in the success of our performances after shows. All of us have thought that Jong Hyun have almost recovered, seeing as he has been joining in the simple dances onstage and have been running around with us, especially during our concert in Japan. Turns out though, he was doing all that because the company figured if he’s getting surgery anyways, what’s wrong with straining his injury a little more for performances? Money-minded SM Entertainment…

3^rd Person’s POV:

  ‘We’re going to bed,’ a worried Ki Bum said as he tugged the lead singer in the direction of their room. The remaining occupants in the room grunted in acknowledgement, too tired to move and watched the couple retreat to their room. ‘Ki Bum hyung’s worried about Jong Hyun hyung’s operation isn’t he?’ Tae Min said while sitting up. No one replied, but they all shared Ki Bum’s worry. Silently, Min Ho slipped his arm arount Tae Min’s lithe form while Jinki nodded.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jong Hyun’s POV:

  I can tell that Ki Bum’s worried about me, it’s written all over his face. I pressed my thumb against his frown, ‘Don’t frown babe, you’ll get wrinkles.’ He stuck his tongue out at me. Removing my shirt out of habit, I pulled him against me so that we were snuggling. As usual, a red blush rose to his cheeks. ‘It’s WINTER Jongie, at least wear your shirt!’ I chuckled, he’s so cute, using the weather as his excuse, we did not move into this apartment for its poor heating system. Playfully I tugged at his shirt, ‘If you’re so worried about me catching a cold, then warm me up with your body heat~’ I didn’t really expect him to comply, because he usually doesn’t, but to my surprise, Ki Bum pushed my hands off him, got up and removed his shirt. Through the dim lights, I could see his pale skin and blushed. We see each other often enough in changing rooms but this is different. He laid back down into my embrace, and I can’t help but look away to hide my blush, our skins touching.

  ‘You’re that worried about me huh?’ I teased, trying to ease the awkwardness. He pushed himself up so that he was staring directly in my eyes, ‘Worried? I’m not worried,’ he said in his usual proud manner. I brushed his bangs to the side, ‘Fine, you’re not worried, you just felt like cuddling with me .’ Almost immediately, he scrambled off me and turned so that his back faced me. Instead of turning him back, I took the chance to spoon with him. ‘Darling, are you angry with me?’ I muttered, pressing my lips against his neck. I felt him shake his head furiously while shuddering. He’s always been sensitive. ‘Ki Bum ah, you know I love you right?’ To emphasize my point, I lightly trailed a path along the base of his neck to his ear with my tongue. His shudder intensified and my grin widened.

Ki Bum’s POV:

  ‘You know I love you right?’ I heard Jong Hyun whisper in my ear huskily before a trail up my neck. I can’t help but shudder. Damn that dinosaur and his skinship prowess. His ministrations continued on until his hands slowly reached down to the waistbands of my briefs. ‘Jong Hyun?’ I stiffened. He hands stopped. ‘Ki Bum, I love you. Do you love me?’ He asked in all seriousness. I nodded but tried to get out of his grasp. ‘I do, but..I’m tired! You’re tired. We should rest..’ A finger on my lips silenced me. ‘I didn’t hear you complaining about it a few minutes ago.’ I stared into his eyes and saw the overwhelming lust in them. I squirmed harder.

  I’m not ready yet, I’m not ing ready yet.

  My fear must have reflected in my eyes because immediately, disappointment replaced lust in his eyes and he let go of me, throwing my shirt at me in the process. ‘Put it on, don’t catch a cold.’ I flinched at the cold tone of his voice. He turned away from me and slept. Not knowing what to do, I put on my shirt and laid down stiffly.

  I’m sorry Jong Hyun, I’m not ready yet.

  Not ready for you to know that I’m not a .

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3^rd person’s POV:

  ‘Guys, where’s Jong Hyun?’ Yun Ri asked as she walked into the room, eyes deliberately avoiding Young Soo. ‘They’re sleeping already,’ Tae Min piped up. ‘Oh…’ She said, somewhat disappointed. ‘What’s wrong?’ Nick cut in, seeing her expression. ‘You know I bought a new phone yea?’ Those in the room who still had energy nodded. ‘I got the same model as Jong Hyun, I think he grabbed mine by accident after the performance, I came to return his phone,’ Yun Ri said as she held up a Blackberry. ‘Leave it on the table, I’ll pass it to them. It’s late, you’re disturbing he rest of us from resting.’ Young Soo complained without looking up. Yun Ri ‘s hand that was about to place the phone on the coffee table froze. ‘On second thought, I’ll hold on to it until I see him. They have tomorrow off yea Nick?’ Yun Ri asked again, blatantly ignoring her boyfriend. Nick nodded, unable to speak under the intense glare of Young Soo. Nodding, Yun Ri walked out into her new apartment that was just below Shinee’s.

  ‘You have one message!’ The screen of Jong Hyun’s blackberry flashed. Yun Ri grabbed the contraption with more force than necessary, still upset with Young Soo’s less than stellar attitude, ‘Stupid phone.’ In her frustration, she accidently pressed the enter button and the message opened up.

  From: Se Kyung

  I know you’re using me.

  In the freezing cold of Seoul’s bitter winter, Yun Ri stared at the phone. No matter how she tried to decipher the message, she could only come to one conclusion about the message. ‘She knows…’

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  2 Minutes after Se Kyung’s hands left the keypad of her phone, the gadget buzzed. She picked it up and opened the new message.

  From: Jong Hyun<3

  Meet me tomorrow at O‘Sulloc at Myeong Dong, 3pm.

  The actress snapped her phone shut.

  She was going to make this work out, her way.