***

“You can roam around the dorm but please… please… please… don’t you ever go outside and let yourself be seen by fans.” Key nagged as he tried pointing out the things Christine should do while she’s alone. “And lastly… don’t mess around. It’s hard for me to maintain the cleanliness of the dorm so please don’t mess this up.”

Christine roamed her eyes around as if she was inspecting, “But this isn’t as clean as what you think anyways.” Key raised an eyebrow while she just shrugged her shoulder. “At least for us, girls. Nevermind… I’ll clean the house while you guys are away. I’ll show you what true cleanliness means.” She smiled.

“Whatever you say.” Key snapped out and walked passed her. Onew then came in and bid goodbye while uttering reminders, too.

“Don’t ever allow someone come in, okay? People who have authority over here know the password. When someone knocks, don’t open it. You have to take care of yourself while we are not around because there are a lot of sasaeng fans at this area.” He said. “You can watch TV, DVD, Sleep, do whatever but don’t go outside or they’ll see you. Do you get it all?” He said like a father talking to his naughty little daughter.

“Key said all that just a while ago.” She uttered.

“Really? Then I guess you understand it.” He patted her arms gently and smiled. “Do well, Christine.” Then he walked passed her to check if the other members are ready to go.

Then Minho saw Christine. He went to her and said, “Be careful with the sasaeng fans and don’t ever open the door when someone knocks…” Minho almost repeated what Onew and Key said a while ago.

She smiled and said, “I got it.”

Then Jonghyun came in… “Yah, Christine-ah… if someone knocks, don’t—“

“I know, I know, the 3 of them already said it. I know what to do now.” She said, not sounding irritated. She was rather amused at how consistent every member was when it comes to their security.

Then Taemin came towards her, “Noona.”

“If you’re gonna tell me to not open the door when someone knocks then it’s fine, they’ve been saying the same thing all the time.” She said.

Taemin shook his head, “No. I just heard you will clean the house later.” Christine nodded and said yes. “Then… can you find my phone’s charger? I’ve been searching for it since yesterday and I can’t find it.”

“Oh… Okay.” She said and smiled. “I got it. I’ll find it later when I clean.”

A little while later and everybody left, leaving last minute reminder of not opening the door when someone knocks in.

***

She tied her hair on a messy updo and put a towel around her neck. She’s holding a broom on one hand and a mop on the other. “The cleaning shall start now.” She said to herself and giggled, “Oh I look like an idiot.”

She was busying herself in sweeping the floor when she heard the clicking of the door. Someone just came in. She slowly made her way to the door and saw a lady with 2 bags of groceries with her.

She must be SHINee’s personal housekeeper. She ran to help the woman carry the groceries.

“Let me help you, ahjumma ~” She said and carried the bags.

The old lady looked at her confusingly at first. She smiled awkwardly and then the lady smiled back. “You must be their new housekeeper.” She said.

She was confused. If she thought her to be the housekeeper, then who is she?

“I’m sorry I have to drop here suddenly. I just missed cooking for my son so I went to cook something nice for him and the other kids.” She said sounding like a real loving mother.

“It’s so nice of you, omoni~” She said after realizing she is one of SHINee’s mothers. “You must love him so much that you personally take time to go here and do something for him.”

“Jinki is the greatest treasure in my life. You cannot set aside the people that make you really happy and complete, you know.”

So… she is Onew’s mother. What kind of fate brought the two of them together?

“He is the luckiest to have a mother like you.” She said dearly.

“Actually…” She said while bringing out the goods she bought from the market. “I am the luckiest to have a son like him. He might be naughty and playful, but he knows how to take care of the people around him well.” She smiled.

“You brought him very well.” She said.

“So I did a good job then?”

“A job very well done, omoni.” Both of them chuckled. “If you don’t mind… can I help you out in the kitchen?”

“Of course!” She clasped her hands together. “I would love, too, my dear lady. But first… you should finish cleaning on that part.”

“Oh right!” She ran to the living area and finished cleaning before coming back.

“So… when did you start working here?” She said while cutting some vegetables.

“Actually… I don’t work here.” She admitted. “I’m Onew oppa’s friend and I didn’t have any acquaintance here in Korea so they allowed me to stay for just 2 days.” She explained.

His mother looked blankly at her for a moment then smiled… “Oh… I see.” She nodded. “You are probably close to him.”

“Deh?”

“I know my son, darling.” She said with a very mischievous smile. “Anyways… you said you have no acquaintance here, so where are you originally from then?”

“Philippines.”

“But you look Korean, and you speak well with language.”

“Deh, my father is a pure blooded Korean, and he’s married to my Filipina mother. I grew there and this is actually my first time in this country and I’m only here for a vacation.” She said.

“First time?” She was in deep thought and then nodded again. “So when are you coming back in your country?”

“The day after tomorrow.” She said.

“You’re a guest, but you’re cleaning everything right now. They shouldn’t allow you do all that.” She said after a while.

“It’s okay, omoni. After all, I want to do this as a return of their warm welcome.” She smiled. “They’re so good to me.”

Onew’s mother sighed and smiled half bitter. “He grew really fast.” She uttered. “I didn’t realize he almost doesn’t need me at all. He can do well by himself now.”

“He still needs you.” She said. “A mother will always be a mother. Whether we, kids, grow and be adults, we will always need that special someone who carried us inside their wombs for 9 months. He might be already grown up and he knows how to handle himself now, but that won’t change the fact that you are his most necessity in life.”

“You speak so well, my dear. You’re mom must be so proud of you.”

“That is also because you told me you can’t set aside the people that make you really happy and complete. Onew oppa feels the same towards you, omoni~ so he won’t ever set you aside. Trust him.”

Her eyes started to wet from tears. She felt so touched at those words she uttered.

They told random stories about each other until the thing they were already talking about was his mother’s all time favorite drama. It’s about a girl who left her husband because she found happiness in someone else’s arms.

“But omoni~ Why does she have to do that? I mean… the guy loved her so much. He almost gave the world to her!” She said in anxiety over the story. What hurts her most was when the guy the girl left committed suicide.

“Darling…” She patted her legs gently. “Not because you think it’s perfect doesn’t mean it’s right.” She said in a very serious voice. “People sometimes wish to have perfect relationship, be always happy, experience no difficulty at all. But sooner they will realize that the best things that happened in their life were during the times the embraced imperfection.”

“I don’t understand.” She said. “I mean… why do we have to let go of the things that seem so perfect when we already have it in our hands?”

“Because those things only seem perfect from the outside.” She answered. “What we have to never let go of are the things that fulfill our hearts. Those things that make us contented without being perfect.” She sighed and smiled at her. “You’ll realize it when you happen to be in the same situation. One that will make you happy not by making you feel perfect, but rather making you happily contented.”

--=Author's Note=-

Hello everyone! :)) Hohoho~ I wrote this after coming home from the seminar I had a while ago. I fell asleep, seriously. I think half of his lecture had me in my dreamland. Tomorrow will be the start of the leadership training so I will be out for almost 2 days. Not updating will kill me~ :| Wait. I shall prepare my things and do random updates super later. :)) For the mean time... Give me some comments and love. Do subscribe, too. :D