The Story of Taemin

"We don't have a lot of time, so hurry and buy it already."

Taemin took the yuan gratefully. It was finally his turn! He had caught glimpses of Ikki through the red covers of her teriyaki shop, and was curious about her personality.

But there was one slight problem. Taemin sighed and looked to his right, where a tall, blonde-haired boy was walking alongside him. He had a rather interesting face and thin features, as well as black earrings dangling from his ears. The boy had a very laid-back manner, and was whistling through his teeth as he walked - a sharp little tune that was spirited and warbly at the same time. Jonghyun was coming with him as a chaperone.

They were still treating him like a kid!

Huffily, Taemin picked up his pace, and entered the teriyaki shop.

.

Ikki looked up, and was met by the sight of two more good looking boys. She turned her attention quickly to the vegetables she was cutting at the moment, remembering how painful the word "" had been.

"Here you are," She served an old gentleman sitting at the long bar table. "Still working awful hours at that company?"

"Still not in college?" He retorted good-naturedly, and took a swig from his beer can.

Ikki didn't respond, although she usually would have. Instead, reluctantly, she turned to face her new customers.

"Hello!" Her voice was far more reserved than usual. Ikki cursed herself inwardly for letting those three girls affect her like this. So what if she wasn't in college? It was....

To her horror, she realized that she had forgotten to ask them what they wanted.

Thankfully, the two of them weren't really paying attention to her and were reading the signs posted above instead. They looked slightly amazed, and their distraction allowed her to study them a bit closer. One had unusually dyed hair. Blonde hair was usually for delinquents, but this one had probably dyed it as a part of fashion. Maybe he was in the modeling industry? He certainly looked up to it. The other one was round-faced and young. He had a dark leather jacket and a very clean face, and his awed expression made him look more childish than he was. He nudged the blonde boy, whispering "He really memorized each and every item on here! Wow!"

Ikki returned to her space behind the counter, waiting patiently.

While the blonde-haired one was still reading the signs, the young-faced one looked down and caught her eye. He smiled. "Do you run this shop?"

"Yes."

"Wow! That's amazing. You look so young, you must still be in college."

For a few frozen seconds, all Ikki wanted to do was to pick up her cleaver and throw it at the wall. Why was everyone so...

"I dropped out." She said bluntly, instead. Her fists clenched, and her mind suddenly recalled her grandfather's voice reciting sutras to the dead. Something about acceptance, and dignity in death. Always good advice, that, no matter how repetitious it got.

.

Taemin saw something heartbreaking on her face, and realized that he had brought up a sensitive subject. "I'm sorry," he backtracked quickly. "I didn't mean to...."

The girl fought to smile, but it was a wry one, full of bitterness. "You don't have to be sorry."

He looked at her silently. In Korea, he had a loving family. And even when he had joined SM, Taemin had the protection and guidance of his hyungs. There was always someone there for him, someone to look up to or turn to.

So when this girl turned and began to pile the unused plates into a silver sink to the side, Taemin realized that something had gone terribly wrong for this girl. She seemed to have had neither parents nor any support. Usually shopkeepers her age were assistance or part-timers. None of the owners were this young.

Taemin knew this because he had eaten out at far more shops in Japan than his hyungs. And he had noticed that shopkeepers were mostly middle-aged and older, running the shop with their spouses or family.

Whatever she told Onew, Taemin thought to himself, it was a lie.

.

.

.

The Story of Jonghyun

Jonghyun sat at the long bar with a long stem of straw in his teeth, gratefully sipping a cool drink. He chatted with Ikki casually, asking her what kind of music she liked, what news was circulating the streets. He tensed suddenly when she mentioned the band SHINee.

"There's a lot of tourists around, visiting for the concert." She mentioned thoughtfully. Her eyes had a calculating gleam. "It's a band from overseas, I'm not too sure. But they're insanely popular. A lot of the girl customers that I'm getting lately are huge fans of SHINee. Lately, there's been a huge surge. It's good for business, but it's also getting on the local's nerves."

"Are you a fan of SHINee?" Jonghyun asked.

Ikki laughed. "I haven't even heard any of their songs before."

"Would you like to hear some?"

Taemin nudged him warningly. They had all promised Onew that they would not blow his cover. For some strange reason Onew was afraid that if Ikki knew what job he had after the mornings, she would refuse to let him work there anymore. And to Onew, whether it was the lack of proximity to chicken or the broken relationship to Ikki that he feared, that was unacceptable.

Jonghyun nudged back. Take it easy, he mouthed as he winked to Taemin.

Ikki had a slight smile on her face, and tilted her head questioningly. "Are you carrying one of those fancy new phones or players that have been so popular lately?"

Instead, Jonghyun leaned back with a grin and hummed the first few notes under his breath. He shot Taemin a look that invited him to sing along.

Taemin sighed. He couldn't resist singing when there was an audience. And if his hyung was going to do it, then why shouldn't he?

"A-yo, when it’s tough
Doong tah dak, lean on the rhythm, oh
With our song for you
Everyone a-yo, everyone a-yo..."

Ikki's eyes widened. She had heard that before! In the very same spot, surrounded by stools and mystery, Onew had sung the exact same song with his warm voice and serious expression.

She should've known.

"A-yo, when you can’t sleep
Tap brush it off, leave it to the rhythm, oh
With the anticipation of the unfolding tomorrow
Everyone a-yo, everyone a-yo"

They were all fans of SHINee too!

Jonghyun faltered when he saw Ikki's shocked expression. He looked confusedly at Taemin, who shut his mouth before he could sing his next line. "Is something wrong?" He asked Ikki.

"Oh no! It's just that I heard the song before. Doesn't one part go like this?"

And then Ikki hesitated, unconfident in her singing abilities.

.

Sitting on the public bench, Onew was too far away to hear any singing. And so, he was completely oblivious to the chain of events that had begun unfolding. It was a very hot day, with the bright sun out for a rare few hours before the clouds came back. The humidity wasn't as bad as it was in the past few days.

Minho and Key were playing a game that involved something about moving your face in the opposite direction of where the other person's hand went...They had tried to explain it to Onew but the leader of SHINee was just too distracted.

"Are they still not done yet?"

Onew paced back and forth, not knowing why he was worrying. It should be okay. He had made all of them promise not to reveal his identity. They would go in, meet Ikki once, leave, and satisfy their curiosity. He would still be the same shopkeeper's assistant that helped out in the morning and hummed the songs that she liked and got free chicken on good days.

He was lost in his thoughts until he realized that it might be a good idea to check the time.

Then he looked at his watch.

Then time stopped, in the exact moment when Ikki hesitated a few meters away in her shop. For both of them, an icy feeling consumed them and froze their throats as horrible memories posessed them. For Onew, it was the cold dissapointment of his managers and for Ikki it was a burning house and the eerie chanting of sutras.

Onew, naturally, recovered faster.

"YOU GUYS!" Onew bellowed, completely forgetting both his Japanese and his disguise. His voice had a panicked edge to it that made the other people in the street look at him. Ikki didn't know where the voice came from at first, but her head shot up and she looked around, confused.

"What?" Jonghyun recognized Onew's voice, and already knew where the rest of the band was hiding.

"WE'RE LATE FOR PRACTICE!"

This got Taemin's attention. "Oh !"

The maknae of SHINee hurriedly threw down some money, and scooped up his jacket and bags. "We gotta run, Jonghyun!"

Jonghyun was already out on the street, sprinting for all he was worth. He was blessed with a rather simple mind that only knew the orders: get up, get out, and run for all you're worth.

Taemin, on the other, hand, had a more active imagination and made a slightly less desicive exit. "Tha-thank you for the food." He messed up his Japanese, slipped into Korean halfway through, and was already out onto the street before he could think of fixing his terrible grammar. I have failed my teachers, he sobbed in his heart.

Onew, being the responsible type of hyung, let Taemin pass him so that he wouldn't be the last one - the one most likely to take the manager's wrath. In a flurry of movement, there was nothing but confusion and panic. Onlookers stared; it was rare to see five handsome boys running down the streets as if an oni was chasing them and trying to eat them.

In fact, the onlookers even looked down the other side of the street to see if there was actually an oni chasing them and trying to eat them.

They saw a shopkeeper instead.

An angry one.