Your POV

You rushed into the workroom at the SM Buildling a good 30 minutes late. The morning had been crazy so far, with stalkers and fear and adrenaline.  Luckily, your outward appearance didn't give you away.  If there was one thing you could count on, it was your clothes.  Your number one assistant and close friend since the last year of university, Min Ha, watched while you tried to juggle coat, tote bag, phone, and travel coffee mug.  She rolled her eyes in the familiar way she always did, the way that said “If I didn’t take care of this girl, she’d probably be broke and starving within a week”.

It was a patented look tinged with the slightest hint of exasperation.  She even had a specific way of angling her head down so she could ‘shoot’ the look at you over the upper rims of her stylish glasses.

“Stop giving me the Disappointed Umma Face!  Get over here and help me out,” you tossed her way, adding a belated, “Please?”

Min Ha hurried up to take some of the burdens off your hands, folding your coat neatly over her arm and shouldering the ridiculously heavy bag.

“What did you pack this morning, rocks?”

“Close-I’ve got those beaded appliqués for the jacket lapels, finally, and some of the studded belts, plus the sketch books, and of course, the ever-present dayplanner.  I think the dayplanner probably weighs more than anything else,” you  joked as you both headed to your desk. 

“We were beginning to wonder if we should start calling the hospitals,” she sated with a serious look.

You froze in momentary fear.  Hospital? Has someone been hurt?  Has he….has he hurt Onew? or someone else?  Is this what he meant by an accident on the way to work?  It wasn’t me, but someone else!?!

You grabbed her arm, clutching it in apprehension.  “Was someone hurt?”  “Pali, who’s in the hospital?!”

Min Ha laughed a little; her reaction confused you.  “Ani, ani- I’m talking about YOU, pabo.  You’re so obsessively on time, its like a phobia that you can’t be late to anything.  This is the first time I’ve seen you be tardy since college!  We were joking around that you must have collapsed from stress after looking at your watch or something!”

You sighed and slumped a little in relief.  Being a close friend, she noticed your mood right away.  Her laughter sputtered to a stop.

“Waeyo?  Did something really happen,” she asked in concern.  She put a hand over yours (still clutching her sleeve), and guided you down into your desk chair.  “____-ah, gwenchana?  You look pale.”

You nodded reassuringly, giving her a weak smile.  “You scared me for a minute there…I just thought someone had been hurt, and with the presentation so near, it would have been a disaster.”  

Suddenly, you remembered the cameras hidden somewhere.  You knew they existed for real now.  Best to appear unshaken.  You flashed Min Ha a brighter smile, hoping it would disguise the vague uneasiness you still felt.  “I’m fine, really.” 

“Okay then,” she replied. 

She set down your stuff and began the morning status report.  The minutae of the project let you focus on the one area you still felt like you had some control over in your life.  Design.  Fashion.  In this at least, you knew you were on solid ground.

Like that, the morning flew by, in cutting and stiching, working patterns, contacting buyers, and all the thousand and one little things that seemed to need your personal supervision.  Your face was buried in the bowels of an industrial embroidering machine, muttered curses clouding the air, as you tried to get some heavy-weight thread unwound from the largest, nastiest tangled mess you’d ever seen in a piece of equipment, when a sudden loud clearing of a throat made you jump. 

Rubbing the smarting place on the back of your skull, you pulled out of the metallic monstrosity ready to tear a strip off of coughing idiot who dared to disturb your task.

“WHAT,” you snarled, turning to the offender, “is so gosh-darn IMPORTANT that you’re...bugging..me…”

You trailed off in embarrassment as you saw Onew with his patented brighter-than-the-sun smile politely waiting to speak.   His eyes were laughing at you, and you could almost feel the amusement bubbling away in his brain. 

Oh, I’m so going to hear about this later.  As soon as we’re alone, the teasing will begin.  Why is it always HIM when I’m acting all weird….blech.

You gave an awkward cough,  finally noticing that your helpers were giggling behind their hands.  Your cheeks heated, but you rolled your eyes with good natured defeat.

“Onew-ssi,” you started again in a more civil tone, “what brings you here?” 

Your eyes widened in slight panic. 

“We didn’t have a fitting scheduled for you today, did we?  I’m almost sure we didn’t!”  You circled around him and ran to snatch up your day planner, searching the entries for Onew’s appointment. 

He strolled over to you at a leisurely pace. 

“No fitting.  No appointment.  Some of the guys from DBSK and Super Junior have decided to go to lunch.  They asked me to invite you, seeing as how I’m a friend of your family.”  He leaned in a little and whispered, but a loud whisper that was perfectly audible to everyone in the room, “I think they just want to try and talk to you about clothes and their albums.  Apparently, some of them are fans of your work.”

Min Ha chimed in from her bench, “Oooo, ___-ah, maybe you’ll get an admirer to take you out on a date.”  She sighed dreamily, and looked to the other female staff.  “I would die to lunch with Eunhyuk.”

Similar praises flooded out across the room as Onew looked back at you and winked.  

“Give me Changmin any day!”  “To watch Donghae pull out a chair for me…oh!”  “So amazing…those beautiful men treating me to lunch!”  “Omo!  I would be too shy to even talk to them…”

You gave them a mock-glare, and they brought the volume down to a less ear-piercing level. 

Onew was shaking his head sadly. 

“It appears no one wants to eat with Shinee, then.”   He shot the girls a sad puppy-dog pout.  “I guess it’s to be expected.  DBSK & SuJu sunbaenims are really the best.”

Immediately, a tidal wave of assurances flowed from the helpers.   Onew’s pout disappeared in a happy grin again, the false-sadness vanishing as if it had never been.   “So, _____-ssi, are you coming?”

You wanted to go so desperately, but you had an appointment to keep at lunch.  An appointment that Onew coud not find out about….for his own protection.    You shook your head sadly.  

“Mianhe, I can’t,” you apologized.   As you can see, I’m a bit hung up today.” 

Your gesture took in the broken machine, the chaos of fabrics and thread.  You didn’t have to fake a disappointed look- you were genuinely disappointed that you couldn’t spend a happy lunch talking to your new SM artist friends. 

“Maybe tomorrow?”

Onew looked sad too, but he nodded in understanding.  “I’ll let the others know.  And I’ll tentatively agree that lunch is on for tomorrow.”  He laughed a little.  “If I don’t, then they won’t quit bothering me until you come out!”  

You joined in the general laughter.  “Well, you are right, though….some people should get to have  a good lunch at least!”   You turned to the staff and announced another long lunch, and dodged the flurry of activity as Onew bowed and wandered out, followed by the crowd of your minions.

And now for the hard part…getting out to meet my security guy & back unnoticed.

A/N:  I finally updated!  woo-hoo!   I am writing, I swear...its just hard to get it all edited and to a decent quality level before I post, especially with all my crazy life stuff going on.  *bows head in shame*- Yes, I know that I often urge other authors to update regardless of how life is going- *sighs in resignation*- I guess I should take my own advice, eh???  Oh well.  Hope this chapter was okay- I've got the whole rest of the plot done, so it should be exciting.  :D

And in apology- its time for....drum roll.... 2PM SPAM!  For all those Hottests(ests) out there (and all other handsome-lad-lovers like this noona)

<<------LOL the man of a thousand expressions...I think he's flippin hilarious (and hot, of course)

A/N#2: thought it was over, eh?  lol.  Just thought I'd mention (b'c I'm such a nerd- I mean, a nerdi-nerd-nerdiful-nerd)  that the title of this chapter is a reference to a line from Walter Scott (though often mistakenly attributed to Shakespeare)-

"Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive."    

So, there.  You learn something every day. My gift to you *hug*  :D