It was a stormy afternoon in Seoul. Rain fell against the double-paned glass in rushed rivulets. Laying on my stomach upon my bed, clad in a tanktop and gray sweats, I graded homework. I gently chewed the lid of a red pen as I read over the English homework, circling incorrect answers where I saw them. My eyes, tired with exhaustion, I let out a pregnant sigh. I stop my work for a moment to gaze out the window again and watch the rain fall against it. I always felt the most relaxed during a rainstorm. Right now, I wanted nothing more than to drink some hot tea, curl up with my blanket and watch the rain fall...but that wasn't an option. I desperately needed to get this homework graded before school started tomorrow. I went to work on it again, desperately trying to corral my mind to stay on the correct spelling of the vocabulary homework, but it was no use. After twenty minutes, and only grading five more papers in that amount of time, I gave up. 

"Man I can't focus," I said to no one in particular, not like anyone was there anyway. I grabbed my water kettle and filled it halfway with bottled water before turning my glass stove on high and setting the kettle on the heated surface. It had been three long days since I had last heard anything from the members of SHINee. Not that they owed me anything, I was an average person, they were celebrities, they didn't owe me a damn thing. We have gone weeks with no communication between any of us before. Three days was nothing. Why was I thinking about them right now anyway? I have 30 more vocab papers sitting on my bed, screaming for my attention, SHINee should be the last of my worries.  

My thoughts were interrupted by the whistling of the water kettle as the steam had reached max capacity in the tiny metal vessel and was forced through the small hole at an awesome velocity. I took it off the heating element and placed it on the counter before taking out a mug and tea bag from the cupboard. I prepared my tea just how I liked it, four teaspoons of sugar in a 12 oz mug of earl grey. That should lift my spirits, and hopefully, the caffeine would give me a swift kick in the . Something I desperately needed right about now. 

Cup of tea in hand, I walked over to the couch, and just as I set the cup down on the cherry wood coffee table, there was a frantic knock at the door. I paused what I was doing and stared at the hallway in which the door was located. Who could possibly be here at this time? I thought SHINee was busy with schedules all week. I abandoned my hot tea and quickly made my way to the door. My hand closed around the handle and I opened the door.

Standing before me, was a sopping wet Jinki. It was like he walked all the way here, which was quite a walk from their dorm. My mouth froze open, as I tried to find the words that I wanted to say.

"Jinki! Uh, um--what are you doing here? Are you okay?" I asked, my eyes meeting his. I could tell he was uncomfortable. 

"Um...can I talk to you?"

"S-sure? Come in. I think I have some of your clothes you left here last time..." I said, opening the door fully and allowing him in. I walked over to the dresser and went through my drawers, looking for Jinki's clothes. Pulling out his graphic t-shirt and some skinny jeans I handed the items to Jinki, who was dripping rainwater all over the wood floors of the apartment.

"Thank you..."

"No problem, get out of those clothes then we can talk, okay?" Jinki nods and then disappeared into the bathroom. I decided that Jinki could do with a cup of hot tea. So I made him a cup, setting the sugar container and cup of steeping tea onto the coffee table. I glanced at the pile of neglected homework on my bed and sighed. It was going to have to wait until tonight to get any more attention from me.  I sipped on my tea while patiently waiting for Jinki to come out of the bathroom. 

A few moments passed before the bathroom door was pulled open and Jinki stepped out in the dry graphic tee with the skinny jeans hanging on his hips. He had lost weight since the last I saw him. Why didn't I notice this before?

"Have you eaten at all?"

"No, I've had no time. That's what I came over for, I needed to get away. I can't take this anymore..."

"What's going on?" I asked, getting up and grabbing some delivery menus off my fridge. The damn things were like spam mail here in Korea, nearly every day I had another delivery menu from yet another restaurant. Handing them to Jinki, he quickly chose one and I hung the rest of them back up onto my fridge. 

"SM is putting so much pressure on us it's insane. None of us can agree on anything, and I just broke up a fight between Jonghyun and Taemin."  He paused as he set the menu on the coffee table and his eyes widened as he noticed the cup of hot tea sitting there."Is this for me?"

"Yeah," Nodding, he put a teaspoon of sugar into the hot liquid and gave it a quick stir. Bringing the cup to his lips he sipped at the hot liquid, getting a good mouthful before taking the cup away again and placing it back on the coffee table.

"Thank you," Jinki said, gratefully. I walked back to the couch and sat down next to him, taking another sip of my tea as wel