The mornings in Japan were always dull and sleepy. Onew slowly stumbled through the last vestiges of his dream as he got up and looked for the fridge. - He peeked outside of the apartment. Gorgeous skyscrapers, gorgeous streets, gorgeous parks, and fog. Onew groaned. Japan could market the whole 'Land Where The Sun Rises' skidoosh all it wanted, but a soggy sun was a soggy sun.

The schedule for the day, he thought, was probably the easiest it would be for a long time. They'd been touring in Japan for three weeks. Wild concerts, awesome performances, high ticket sales, and no chicken.

How could there be no chicken in Japan?!? How could there be no chicken in ANY civilized part of the world?!? Onew had been shocked to realize that the KFC in Japan didn't serve chicken. How could a restaurant not sell something that was in it's own freaking name?!? Onew had gone without chicken for three weeks.

Hence, his misery.

Hey, Onew was a simple guy with simple needs.

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It had become a daily routine. "Everyone, wake up." Onew rapped sharply on the door frame. As the leader, he was responsible for taking care of his dongsaengs. Sometimes, though, he wondered if he took that too far.

"Go away, Onew." Key mumbled through his pillow.

"Yeah, we need our sleep." Jonghyun groaned and turned over.

"We all performed until 2:00 this morning. Give us a break, hyung. Even the managers aren't awake yet." Minho, as always, was the most eloquent.

Onew looked toward the snoring lion in the corner. "And you, Taemin?" There was no answer. And Onew knew from experience that it would take an elephant and an alien to wake Taemin when the kid was asleep.

"Okay," Onew backed out quietly. "I guess I'll go buy our groceries then."

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He stepped out of the apartment, and his blood froze. Not because of the paparazzi. Not because of the bear. Nor because of the extremely strange balloon with his face and the rest of SHINee's faces on it. No, not even because of the screaming fangirls chanting "Onew, Onew, Onew!".

Something smelled like...but no it couldn't be...but it was!!!

His head whipped around, and his hair flew out gloriously and settled to frame a set and handsome face.His eyes were sparkling with a hidden strength, a great determination. His leaned forward on the balcony, a perfect picture of expectation. The paparazzi snapped great photos, the fangirls were wiped out by an attack of aegyo, and Onew felt the same way the fangirls did.

Chicken!

He shot off at a sprint, leaving the paparazzi with no choice but to remain where they were. The cameras were to heavy to carry while chasing after Onew. So the cameramen just sat back down, disappointed, resolving to wait for the next member of SHINee. Little did they know that it would be a long, very long, wait.

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He found the source of his great joy and great agony on the corner of the street, two streets down, in the section of Tokyo that was still built with stones and bricks. The shop was covered with a red cloth, but the legs of a few stools were visible from underneath the cover. Onew ducked inside, momentarily forgetting to be respectful.

"Obaa-San," he asked urgently. "Can I buy one of those?"

The lady that turned around was surprisingly young. The bandana wrapped around her forehead covered up her long hair, and her face was pretty. She had unnaturally wide eyes. Her cheeks had a rosy tint to them because of the kitchen fires. Onew realized the gravity of his mistake as soon as he saw her glare.

"G-Gomen," he tried to explain himself in halting Japanese. "I'm sorry, I thought..."

Her expression softened, and she set down the boiling pot on the counter. "A foreigner? Are you Korean?"

Onew nodded, but now he was utterly distracted by the smell emanating from the pot. It was thick and rich, and slightly oily as well. This was it. This was the source of the smell. He inched closer, filled with apprehension.

"700 yen, please," the girl said with a smile. "Our teriyaki chicken is the best in Tokyo."

Onew looked in his pocket, and then gasped. He had forgotten the money in the apartment!!!