Taemin's POV.

I quickly push Minho away and look up at him in surprise, "M-Minho? What are you doing?"

He gives a small smile then shakes his head, "I knew I shouldn't have done that...I'm sorry Taemin."

I stare at him for a long time and finally find the words to say, "Is that why you tried to come between me and Hae-Ra?"

He nods guiltily, "Neh...I love you, Taemin."

I'm stunned again and take a seat on my bed, "...Love...? Me...? Minho...Minho, I have Hae-Ra. We're together and-"

"-I know, I know! But I've been trying to tell you for all these years that I've been in love with you ever since we first met. I know this isn't the right time but-"

"-Minho..." I start, still bewildered, "That was a long time ago. Things have changed. I know...that what we had in the past was real. It was good and fun at the time but I've moved on. I'm not the same Taemin I was back then. I was confused, stupid and maybe even a little lonely, but that's changed now. I love Hae-Ra now and we're happy together. She makes me feel...so good and alive. I've never felt anything like that in my life."

Minho's eyes turn weary and sad, "I thought...I thought I made you feel like that...I thought we were..."

"We were...but it's all over now."

Minho nods then heads for the door, "Yeah, I guess you're right." He turns the lock on the door and opens it to find Jonghyun and Key laying on the floor, panting like dogs. They get up quickly, rushing through the door before we could say anything.

"Taemin!" Key pants, "Are you ok?"

I nod, "Yeah, I'm fine."

He turns to Minho and shakes his head, "You stay away from him, you hear me!?"

Minho keeps quiet and walks out of the room.

Key turns back to me, brushing off my shirt and straightening my hair. "You sure you're ok?" He asks again.

"Yes."

"Good, because we have an interview in 15 minutes. Get dressed."

He leaves the room followed by Jonghyun and Onew. I look for Minho but he's already out of sight.

Good, now we're on the same page.

- - -

"Welcome, SHINee! So glad you came back to the real world.!" The interviewer speaks.

"Glad to be back." Key grins.

I roll my eyes then put on a fake smile for the man.

"So, Taemin," He says obviously taking note of my rudeness, "how have you been? You don't seem like your regular self today."

"I'm feeling a bit under the weather." I lie.

"Sorry to hear that. So here come the questions, ready?"

We nod simultaneously, ready.

"Alright, so who did you guys spend your time with?"

We look at each other in surprise then Key decides to speak up on our behalf, "We uh, stayed at a friend's house."

"That friend is?" The interviewer pries.

"Uh-"

"-Not important!" I interrupt. "It's...not important..."

I get looks from the guys but ignore them.

"Um...ok.." The man clears his throat. "So, have you met any girls while you were gone?"

Ugh! Can this guy get any nosier! Why does he have to know!? What does it matter!

"Why do you have to know?" I ask without thinking.

Key, Jonghyun, Onew and Minho turn to me suddenly with widened eyes and confused looks.

"Taemin," Key starts, "what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." I state. "I just want to know why it matters if we met anyone while we were gone or not. It's not much of an important question therefore I think we should drop it."

"Taemin, you're being very rude right now." Jonghyun warns. "Don't mind him." He says turning back to the interviewer, "he's a little delusional."

I put my hands up in defeat and sit back, "Whatever...just tell him to stop with the personal questions." Meeting the gaze of our interviewer, I glare at him so hard that my temples begin to hurt. The man doesn't say a word, instead, he breaks my gaze and jots down some stuff on a little notepad he's got perched on his lap. A minute goes by and the man's still scribbling away on his pad.

What are you writing...? I feel like asking. Stop writing...

The man continues to scratch on until he takes a slight glimpse of my face and gives a little smirk. Immediately he goes back to writing, making the room uncomfortable and unbearable. I decide to break the silence by asking, "What are you smiling about?"

All eyes-as usual-are on me. The interviewer clears his throat in the most annoying way possible and shrugs, "It seems like your fans have been misled by you."

"Yeah, so?"

"So." He grins, "I'd be more than happy to expose the REAL diva of SHINee. Not Key, but you, Taemin."

My heart sinks at his accusation.

Diva!? Do I look like a Diva!? This guy is ridiculous!

I'm literally fuming in my seat. My fingernails dig into my chair, jaw clenched tight and body temperature raising considerably high. I could just kill him!

"Oh, so I'm the new Diva? What a stupid thing to say, especially coming from a man your age."

"Taemin!" Minho snaps, "What's gotten into you! Pull yourself together! You're making a fool out of yourself and out of this group!"

Making a fool out of this group!? Are you kidding me right now!? My thoughts simmer inside my head until I can't take the headache any longer. I gotta get out of here. I stand up quickly and leave the room, passing by a small crowd of screaming Shawols.

"Taemin-ah!" One of them yells. I stop at the sudden familiarity of those words.

Hae-Ra.

Spinning around quickly, I turn to face the crowd with teary eyes. The girl that I wish was Hae-Ra turns out to be a younger girl with glasses and a side ponytail. She beams brightly in my face and screams, "Saranghae!"

I tremble as her words float through the air like soft angel wings. They're genuine and pure...like Hae-Ra...
A pang of guilt hits me and I shake my head sadly, "I'm sorry..."

The crowd dies down immediately.

"I'm sorry..." I repeat again. "You remind me..."

The little Shawol meets my eyes with a sad but hopeful stare. "Neh..."

I spin around dramatically and rush into a nearby room, slamming the door behind me. I let the sadness and sickness inside me consume my entire being and cry for what feels like ages. Everything is blocked out around me, all I can see is the shattered image of me and Hae-Ra. It fades in and out at different times until it's dismissed once I hear the door behind me shut.

"Taemin?"

I look up half expecting to see the little fan-girl standing with hopeful eyes. It turns out to be Minho, the one who claimed I was 'making a fool out of myself and the group'.

"Taemin, are you alright? I'm sorry about my harsh words in there but I need to know if you're alright."

The words that I've been biting back come shooting out as though I have no filter.

"IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! IF YOU HAD NEVER-"

Suddenly, a random reporter comes over with a tape recorder in hand and tries to barge through the door. Minho pushes the door back, causing his tape recorder to crash to the ground.

Minho shakes his head and grabs hold of my shoulders, "How many times do I have to say I'm sorry!?"

The reporter is persistent in trying to open the door. But Minho keeps him at bay.

"YOU STOLE MY HAE-RA! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

"Taemin," Minho struggles with the door, "mianhae, but we have to get back to the interview! The interviewer is waiting for us!"

I shake my head and push past him and the obnoxious reporter, "I HATE YOU! JUST GET AWAY FROM ME! " I storm out of the room and out the door of the building.

"TAEMIN, WHERE ARE YOU GOING!" Minho calls after.

To her.

I storm away quietly while Minho has to tackle annoying paparazzi.

-Musician

                        Awww, T T!

Oh, & Nosey Reporter = Cho Bin Cho.