Weeks passed and the only updates I got from Key were from his Instagram account and other broadcasted shows. Not that it mattered, he was obviously super busy. I just missed him... I lived my life like how I would, even though something big happened to me. Nobody else knew about those two days and I couldn’t even bring myself to talk about it without feeling sad.

I felt guilty about not telling my best friend, who loves SHINee as much as I do. That I met them, that I spent time with Key, and that her bias, Onew was as sweet as he is in shows and in their music. Was it too late to tell her now? I felt that she’d get angry that I didn’t tell her when it happened…

            Honk honk.

“Ellie-Elle-Elle!” Dang, she got here fast. I walked out of the front door of the house and said bye to my parents.

            “All ready?” my best friend asked from her car window.

            “How ready am I supposed to be, it’s a late-night drive-in movie,” I said and hopped in the front seat of her car, then she started driving.

            “I was just trying to be cool, like one of those scenes in movies where the best friend picks up her best friend to have a girls’ night out, jeeeez,” she explained. Kris and I have been best friends since we were eleven years old, so this ten-year friendship has been going strong. Would she hate me if I told her I met SHINee by myself? I shook my head and shrugged to get my mind off it.

            “Let’s grab food first,” I perked up.

            “Good idea,” she said and turned in at the next convenience store we saw.

            “Okay, that was officially, the worst movie I’ve seen this year,” she said as we drove out of the drive-in theatre. I was laughing so hard because of how bad it actually was.

            “Yooo, oh my gosh that was actually really bad but it was so funny ‘cause it was so bad,” I said in between my laughter.

After we’ve calmed down from laughing, we drove and I connected my phone to her radio on Bluetooth so I could play my music. It was a long drive from the theatre back to where we lived, but we didn’t mind. We were singing our hearts out to the song ‘Colourful’ by SHINee (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-lHvqXpXag ), then mid-chorus, my phone stopped playing the music and I was getting a call. I quickly looked at who it was on the car screen and it said ‘KIBUM AHJUSSI’. My eyes widened and didn’t know what to do with my hands. Kris was going to see, thank God she never takes her eyes off the road whenever she drove. I picked up the call because this was the first phone call he was giving me.

            “Hello?” I said.

            “Hi Aunty!” Kris said, not knowing who I was talking to.

            “My chingu! Facetime right now?!” Shoot! I was still on Bluetooth and I don’t doubt that Kris would be able to recognize that voice. She turned to me, taking her eyes off the road.

            “Yah! Who’s that?!?!” she yelled out, trying to grab my phone.

            “Yah! You’re gonna kill us with you swerving the car like that!” I pushed her hand off me and put it on the wheel.

            “Ellie-ah, are you okay??” Kibum asked, sounding worried.

            “Mmhm!”

            “Yah! Yah! YAH! If you don’t tell me who that is right now, you’re getting off this car right now,” Kris threatened.

            “Yah! I don’t kick you off my car when I drive you dimwit!” I yelled back at her.

            “Uhh, I could call back later…” Key whispered, not knowing that the whole car could hear him. How the frick do you take this off Bluetooth! I opened every icon in the ‘settings’ to find the disable button for Bluetooth.

            “No no!” I said to Kibum. I glared at Kris to keep her quiet, who was still freaking out, I couldn’t figure out if she was confused and angry or confused and excited. “Is everything okay?” I asked him.

            “Mmmm, I just missed my chingu!” he said cheerfully. “Can you facetime right now?” he asked.

            “Uh…” I said, unsure if I was ready for Kris to find out. I glanced at her and she was looking at me, stabbing me with her stare.

            “Do it,” she mouthed. “I better see who that is,” she whispered.

            “Jeez, okay uh, yeah let’s facetime,” I said to Key.

            “Okay!” he said and I looked in the mirror in the car and the lights to see if I looked okay. I turned the phone towards me and answered the facetime call.

            “Annyeong!” I waved with my right hand. And there he was. Kim Kibum, who I haven’t seen in almost a month. He smiled a bright smile.

            “Annyeong my chingu!” He said and waved too.

            “Show me you wanker,” Kris demanded, trying to get a look at my phone. I groaned and switched the camera to face the other side so Kris wouldn’t have to show her face to SHINee’s Key. I inhaled then exhaled, then showed her Key on my phone, who was on a couch with his two dogs. Kris gasped and pressed the brakes of the car abruptly and the car halted, in the middle of the dark and quiet highway.

            “Yah! Keep driving! You stupid!” I yelled and looked around to make sure there were no other cars around. It was almost 2 in the morning, so the road was empty.

            “Ellie-ah, I can see the road, are you driving?! Omo, get off your phone,” Key said, with his face close to his phone.

            “Oh aniya, my friend is driving,” we were talking in Korean.

            “Oh really? Does she, uh..know..?” he asked hesitantly.

            “Well, she found out just now…” I said quietly. Kris was still freaking out and talking by herself while I conversed with Key.

            “It’s frickin Key of SHINee, on facetime like they’re bff’s, what’s that about? Am I dreaming? Maybe i’m crazy? Maybe that’s just a look alike? What is going on? I’m so confused,” Kris kept muttering these things as she drove.

            “Oh...turn the camera back to you!” Key said and so I did. “Waaaaaaaaa, you’ve gotten prettier,” he smiled and showed those dimples I adore so much.

            “Yah,” I said shyly.

            “Asdfghjsadfghj,” Kris was basically talking gibberish when she heard this.

            “How are you??” Kibum asked.

            “I’m good! Were you busy? Oh, did you get in trouble from that night?” I asked him worriedly.

            “What night? What night?” Kris was moving her body up and down excitedly but also, irritated.

            “Uh...no, not really, they thought you were a fan that we met inside the hotel,” he explained, while petting Comme Des, his dog.

            “Oh I see, that’s good. So, you’re back in Seoul now I see,” I said.

            “Mm-hmm! I just came home from practice… but I have to leave again soon to go to drama filming,” he explained.

            “Oh my, you should go take a nap then, you’re gonna be so tired if you don’t,” I said. Why do I sound so sweet?

            “Aigoooo, are you worried about me, chingu? He asked cutely.

            “Yeah, I am,” I said bluntly and he stopped smiling because of my straight-forwardness. “Don’t you have school tomorrow?” I asked him.

            “Yes, I do,” he smiled at the fact that I remembered this, at least I was pretty sure that was why he smiled.

            “Oh my gosh, you’ll be so tired! Go sleep,” I said, rushing him.

            “Mmm...okay, but could you call me in one hour to wake me up?” he pleaded as he walked to his bedroom and laid down. I guess the time difference didn’t occur in his head yet. In an hour, it’ll be 3 in the morning here…

            “Sure! I’ll call you!” I said excitedly. But this meant, I’d have to stay up until 3...I was already so tired.

            “Okay, see you in an hour!” he said and waved.

            “Mmm! Bye!” I said and pressed end call. I had forgotten that Kris was still here and she looked at me like she was about to pull my hair. But she stayed silent until we were in front of my house.

            “What was that? Who was that? When? How? What?!” She asked frantically, stopping me when I was about to get out of the car.

“Err...yeah,” I said quietly, avoiding her eyes.

“Oh my God!” she said loudly. I looked at her and she looked excited.

“What? You’re not mad?” I asked.

“No! Of course not! Well, I don’t know what and how this happened yet, but why the frick would I be mad when you know SHINee’s Key?!?! If anything, I’d be taking advantage of this relationship!” she said and threw her hands up in the air. I stared at her, not knowing whether I should be grateful or what. “Oh my God...” she said, at a loss for words.

“I knooow….” I said, holding my voice back. I felt my excitement rushing to get out. I haven’t really had the chance to fangirl since those two days, ‘cause I didn’t tell anyone about it.

“Oh. My. God.” Kris kept saying. I ended up moving up and down in my seat.

“I know! Oh my gosh!!!” I grabbed her arms and we moved up and down in the car. We got so excited and I explained to her what had happened and why I didn’t tell her. I told her everything and at the end she asked,

“So, what are you guys?”

“Uh, what do you mean?” I asked, confused.

“Like, what’s your relationship!?”

“Oh, we’re friends,” I said blankly.

“Oh you two are not just friends! From what you’ve told me, it sure sounds like somethin’, plus the back and forth flirting? Hellooo! ‘You’ve gotten prettier’ ‘oh you should get some sleep’” she said, trying to impersonate us.

“Oh shut up! We’re just friends okay?” I scoffed at her and kept scoffing until I was out of breath.

“Eeeeeeey, okay obviously, I know you like him. I mean he’s been your bias since like, forever!” she said and rolled her eyes at me.

“Just shut it okay? We’re just friends and I don’t wanna ruin that,” I mumbled as I prepared to get off the car.

“Okay, get out. You better tell me everything relating to them, okay? Out of the goodness of my heart, I forgave you,” she said and gestured a halo on top of her head.

“Whatever,” I got out and threw a kleenex at her and shut the door.

Jeez. That was such a long conversation. I looked at my watch and it was almost 3 in the morning.

“See you tomorrow!” she yelled out and drove away.

After I showered and got ready for bed, I laid down and called Key on Facetime. Krrriiiiing krrrring krriiing krrriiiiing krrrriiing.

I was about to hang up then he answered and his hood was up and his bangs were all over the place.

“Hello..” he said in English with a raspy voice.

“Wake up, Kibum-ah!” I said loudly so he would wake up.

“You’re so loud,” he said as he rubbed his eyes. He looks so cute I just wanna pinch his cheeks.

“Are you home now?” he asked and checked himself out in the camera.

“Mmhm, i’m going to sleep soon,” I yawned.

“Aigoooo, close your mouth I can see your brain,” when he said this, I glared at him and he chuckled.

“Go brush your teeth. I can smell your breath all the way over here,” I replied.

“Yah!” he sat up suddenly and eyed me. “When are you gonna sleep?” he asked as he walked around his place, preparing probably.

“Wheeeen we hang up,” I said and turned to my side.

“Oh okay, what time is it there?” he asked as he placed his phone down on his kitchen counter, i’m guessing, since behind him was a fridge.

“It’s past 3 am here,” I said and pulled the blanket up to my head. He stopped what he was doing and looked at me.

“What!?!” he shouted. “Oh my gosh, I forgot about the time difference! I’m so sorry! I even asked you to call, omo omo, you should sleep now,” he said frantically.

“Aniya, I just got home so it’s okay,” I muttered through my blanket.

“Mwo?! Why were you out so late?” he asked, surprised.

“Oh I went out with my best friend,” I explained vaguely.

“Oh ok ok,” he said and returned to what he was doing.

“So what’s up? Why did you call earlier?” I asked.

“Nothing really, we just haven’t talked or seen each other since I left...I wanted to see how you are,” he shrugged while putting blackberries in a Tupperware.

“Ahh, you’re so sweet!” I said, feeling giddy. Wait, we’re just friends. What am I thinking.

“Of course!” he lit up.

“But how have you been though? Are you tired? Are you eating? Are you drinking lots of water?” I asked.

“Mmm i’m okay, i’m tired a lot these days. There’s lots to do...” he trailed off and drank a glass of water. “Comme Des yah, Garcons, where are you guys?” he yelled out. “Come here, come here,” he said and looked down at his dogs. “Do you have school tomorrow?” he asked, nowhere in sight. He was probably kneeling down, feeding Comme Des and Garcons.

“I have work in the morning then I have dance, then school then gym at night,” I mumbled because I was already feeling sleepy.

“Omo, go sleep!” he said and stood up right away.

“Okay,” I said with no hesitation.

“Waa, you’re not even saying ‘nooo it’s okay’ I thought you were my fan huh,” he said jokingly.

“Oh shut up, bye bye,” I said and yawned again.

“Okaaay,” he said and lifted phone and put it closer to his face.

“Make sure they make you look good in the drama,”

“Girl, I always look good,” he said raising his eyebrows.

“Whatever ugly,” I said, teasing him.

“Yah! Y-” he yelled, but I pressed the end button before he could say anything else. Aigooo, what a cutie patootie.

I turned off my lamp and closed my eyes so I could sleep.

Dirori...

Who is this now? I’m trying to sleep.

I checked my phone and it was a message from ‘KIBUM AHJUSSI’

3:23 A.M.

‘How dare you hang up at the Almighty Key! Rude!’ then there was an angry sticker gif he sent.

Dirori...

‘P.S. thank you for waking me up, you monster!’

I laughed at this. What a moody man.

‘Go away you diva, i’m trying to sleep,’ I typed.

Dirori...

‘Then don’t reply,’

I could hear his sassy tone just by reading the text.

Dirori...

‘Or am I just so irresistible?’

He replied with another gif of a character winking. I didn’t reply to prove my point and with that, my night ended.