It all started about many years back where I was a stylist for a group that debuted, SHINee. I had woken up late that Wednesday morning. Without bothering to grab something to eat, I washed up, changed my outfit and hurried out of my apartment. The walk itself to SM’s company was around thirty minute, fifteen by bus if there were no traffic. I glanced at my watch; I had roughly an hour to get there, do SHINee’s makeup, and set them in the right stage clothing for their performance.

As soon as I arrived at the nearest bus station near my apartment, the bus was already there. I quickly ran with all the strength I had left, and made it inside the bus just before the doors closed. I gave the bus driver a slight smile, scanned my bus pass and sat down on a seat nearest to the door. Fortunate for me, that day the traffic weren’t that jammed.

Upon arriving at my last stop, I thanked the bus driver with a quick bow and got off. I had about forty minutes left. Arriving at the entrance of SM’s company, I flashed my employee pass to the security guard. He nodded, allowing me to go in. With a tight grip on my suitcase filled with things needed for makeup, I rushed over to the elevators, pressing onto the ‘up’ button.

“Come on, come on,” I chanted over and over again, impatiently waited for the elevator door to open up. I instantly pressed on the floor number I needed to go to as soon as I set foot into the elevator.  Though, right when the elevator door was closing, a hand stopped it from doing so. I groaned, obviously frustrated at the person who opened the door again. The person then stepped inside, breathing heavily. My eyes went up to see who it was, only to find my eyes widening at the sight. Standing right next to me was SHINee’s leader, Lee Jinki, his stage name, Onew.

“Jinki-ssi.”

He turned over and his eyes widened, “Oh whoa! Hey Haeri-ssi, I didn’t see you there. You’re late?” he asked me. I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and chuckled, embarrassed, “Yeah, I woke up this morning pretty late.” He smiled that oh-so-beautiful smile of his. “Don’t worry. I’m late too. My members didn’t even bother waking me up, so it’s practically their fault,” he said, smiling once again. I actually weren’t too sure of how long I had stared at him. It must have had been a long time since something heavy on my shoulder brought me back to reality. I blinked and looked straight but to only gasp out loud, seeing how close his face was to mine. I felt my face heating up by the second. He smiled and removed his hands from my shoulders.

“Come on. Let’s go, our stop is here already.”

I shook my head, took a deep breath and walked out of the elevator, following right behind him.

“There you guys are!” Viola said, throwing both her arms into the air as we entered SHINee's changing room. “Wait, why are you both going here together?” she suspiciously asked, suddenly catching the attention from the other SHINee members.

“I woke up late today and I happened to meet Jinki-ssi in the elevator,” I explained, hoping it would clear out any misunderstanding. Viola slowly nodded, as if she didn’t believe me, nor did she press it any further though. “Well, hurry and get going on Jinki’s makeup and hair. I finished the rest already and all of you follow me,” she said and scurried off into the other room, along with the other members. “Please sit on the chair, I’ll start your makeup,” I said, feeling suddenly nervous.

He sat down on the chair as I began taking out foundation and a brush. “I-I’m going to begin now…,” I told him and started applying foundation on him. I couldn’t help but notice how soft his skin felt. “Hey, Haeri-ssi?” he suddenly called. “Yeah?” I replied, putting dabs of concealer on his flaws, which by the way were barely any. We locked eyes for a mere second before he broke out in a goofy grin. “Nothing, I just wanted to call your name.”

I blushed. “O-oh, okay.” For the rest of the time, we both stayed silent. He was on his phone, while I finished up his hairstyle and bits of makeup. As soon as I was done, I stood up, placed my hands on my hips and looked at my final product.

“I’m done! It looks good!” I beamed, putting my thumb up.

He got up, looked at the mirror and turned around to me. “Thank you,” he said and ruffled my hair.

“Stop it,” I laughed.  He smiled and stopped, “Haeri, you’re born in 1990, right?” I nodded, slightly confused to why he asked.

“Well, you should call me oppa then, I’m older than you by a year!”

But before I even had a chance to protest, he had already run out of the room, smiling and waving.