WOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! It's here!!! =D 

ENJOY!!!!!!!!! <3

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The rest of the day was a repeat. They went to classes, people jeered at him, they threw bits of erasers. The only difference was the girls; they weren’t trying to cling to him. He chanced a glance at a few of them on his way to English. Most of them were glaring at Jae. He could see the jealousy seeping from their bodies. He scoffed, and imagined if things were turned. If they were in Jae’s shoes would they still be the same clingy fan-girls? He just shrugged it off. It was one less thing he had to worry about.

The end of the day came around and to their surprise, Jae and Taemin were allowed to leave five minutes early. Her hand found his backpack as they exited the class. He smiled, ‘This will be nice. Not have to deal with fan-girls or bullies.’

Once outside, they stood on the sidewalk and Taemin took his phone out. He had a text from Onew.

Sorry Taemin. We won’t be coming to get you. Manager hyung booked the rest of us for an afternoon radio show. Practice is moved back to 7pm. Go do whatever homework you have and fix yourself dinner. We’ll grab something on the way to the studio. – Onew

He leaned his head back, and groaned. He’d discovered earlier that he’d left his dorm key beside his lunch which was sitting on the kitchen counter.

“Is something wrong?”

He turned to find Jae still beside him, concern on her face. He sighed, “My…roommates aren’t going to be able to pick me up. They’ve……had a change of plans.” He flipped his phone closed and stashed it in his jacket pocket.

She nervously toed the ground. “Could I ask you a favor?” He eyed her curiously. When he didn’t respond, she shook her head, “Never mind. I’ll find it. Sorry to bother you.” She went to turn away, but he reached out and grasped her wrist. The gesture shocked him. He normally didn’t do things like this.

“What is it you wanted to ask?”

She bit her lip, “If it’s not too much trouble, would you mind walking me home? My sister dropped me off this morning and I got note during study hall that she was going to be working late tonight and I don’t know my way around here yet…..” Her sentence trailed off in uncertainty.

He smiled, “No I don’t mind.” He shrugged off his backpack and pulled out a hoodie and pair of sunglasses he’d stowed off to the side of his books. Quickly changing jackets, he pulled his hood up and shoved a pair of large sunglasses on his nose. “Okay let’s go,” he said as he draped his school jacket over his arm.

She smiled and grasped his backpack. They walked in silence for about ten minutes. He glanced over at her and studied her face. She was a very pretty girl, her bangs hung down to below her eyebrows, while her hair remained pulled back into ponytail. She had a very smooth complexion that wasn’t smeared with makeup like most of the girls at their school wore. She seemed to keep things simple. There were two things about her that seemed to never change: her smile, which was always there, and her eyes remained closed. This struck Taemin as odd. He’d seen a blind person once when he was little. They hadn’t kept their eyes shut like Jae. They just didn’t move their eyes around as much.

Shaking his head, he decided to break the silence, “So what do you think of school so far?”

She smiled, “It seems fine so far. The lessons are very good and the teachers seem nice. You’re the only student I’ve talked to though.” He frowned. Being her for just a day had hindered her from making any friends. This saddened him. “There is something that’s been striking me as odd.”

He glanced at her again, “Oh. What’s that?”

She pursed her lips, “The other students seem mean. We always happen to be walking by them as their picking on someone. I believe it’s that celebrity that those two girls were talking about in the office.” He began to grow uncomfortable and fiddled with his hoodie string. “It makes me sad. He doesn’t deserve that. What did he do to them? He only followed his dream and he got it. People should be happy for him. I know I am.”

“You don’t even know him. How can you be happy for him?” He asked, genuinely interested.

She tilted her head and replied, "Doing something that makes one happy shouldn't mean that someone else turns bitter. If you love what you’re doing with your life, why would I want to screw that up?" Shocked, Taemin turned to study her expression for the hundredth time today. For some strange reason he believed her.

"Seeing others happy makes me happy," she whispered, causing him to smile. "Did you ever figure out who it was?"

She shook her head and sighed, "No. It makes me sad knowing that I can’t really do anything to help him.”

“How do you know it’s a boy? It could be a girl.”

She shook her head, “They kept saying ‘He’s not that handsome’ in the hallways. So that pretty much sums it up.” He scrunched his nose at her comment. “But I really can’t agree or disagree with them. Seeing as I can’t see him, my opinion doesn’t count.”

Taemin shook his head, “You shouldn’t say things like that. It only seems like your putting yourself down. You seem too nice for that.” She blushed slightly and put her head down, and mumbled what sounded like “Thanks.”

He had her repeat her address as they neared her house. He was surprised to discover that her apartment was a few blocks away from their practice building. At least he wouldn’t have to go far to get to practice today. He frowned and sighed slightly. Jae’s hand tightened on his bag strap. “Is something wrong?” This girl’s ability to detect his emotions was a little unsettling.

He shrugged. “The place my…roommates were supposed to meet me is a few blocks from here. They said they won’t be able to be there until around seven. My dorm is about five minutes from here when they’re driving. So it’ll be pointless to go home.”

Her lips twisted as she thought, then returned to her normal smile. “Well, you could come to my place until you have to leave. That way you don’t have to backtrack. Plus it gives us more time to get to know one another.” He was about to refuse her when he noticed a few girls standing on the other side of the street whisper and point at him. ‘,’ he thought.

“Yeah, that sounds like fun,” he replied while quickly hiding his face from the other girls. He was staring at the ground so intently that he almost walked past Jae’s building. They quickly entered, Taemin keeping his head down until they reached the elevator. Once outside her apartment, he slightly regretted agreeing to come. After the years of high school torment that he went through, he couldn’t trust anyone except his family and his hyungs. He pushed it aside as she unlocked her door and stepped inside. He took his shoes off and looked down. There were a few pairs of slippers but none near his size.

“Umm. You don’t have any slippers that will fit me…” he trailed off.

“Oh…. I’m sorry. I don’t think my sister is use to having men in the house. I’ll make sure we have some from now on. In case you want to come back over.” She folded her cane and laid it on a table near the door, along with her keys, walked a few feet to her left and set her backpack on the counter. Everything seemed to have a certain place. Earlier when she was packing her bento up after lunch he noticed how straight and organized her things were. Everything here seemed to be the same way.

She turned back to him, “Do you want something to drink or eat? I know we both didn’t get a lot at lunch.”

Smiling, he nodded, “Sure.” She turned and went to the fridge but stopped with her hand on the handle. “Umm…. Would you mind coming and helping? I’m still trying to figure out where everything is.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Let’s see what we have….”

She smiled and went to grab plates and two glasses from a cabinet above the sink. He skimmed the fridge and pulled out some strawberries, grapes, and a bottle of apple juice and set them on the counter. Jae washed her hands, then the fruit, handing it to Taemin to cut. As he was finishing the strawberries, she began to slowly pour the juice, trying to keep it in the glass. She missed once… then twice. Before she started a third time, Taemin reached over and gently grasped the bottle. “Here let me help.”

She bit her lip as he came behind her, grasping the hand holding the cup and slowly maneuvering her other hand to the glass. After both glasses had been filled, he put the bottle back in the fridge and joined her at the counter. She was looking down towards the fruit, a small frown upon her face. “Are you okay, Jae?”

She forced a small smile, but it quickly disappeared, “I’m sorry. I just hate having to rely on others so much.” She tilted her head to the side, sadness now covering her entire expression, and her voice low, “It makes me think I’m weak.”

Her last sentence pulled on his heart. He didn’t see her that way. A sad smile crept upon his face as he walked over to her. He gently pulled her into a comforting hug; she let out a small gasp. He leaned his cheek against her hair, “I don’t see you as weak. You’ve just been dealt a bad hand in life.” A sniffle reached his ears and he let a breathy chuckle escape his lips, “Besides….I like it when girls have to rely on someone for something. It makes you seem…..delicate. Not weak.”

Jae let out a small laugh. He patted her hair as she slowly stepped away and turned back to the food, that smile back in place. They talked for the next few hours about everything; family, friends, personal interests, and about music. She went and grabbed her Zune from her nightstand and let him flip through her selection. Her most played song was Bolero by DBSK with Love In The Ice only two plays away from being number one. In fact most of her top played songs were by DBSK. He was surprised that she didn’t have any artists that were playing now. It confirmed his suspicions that she genuinely didn’t know who he was. “That’s not all I have. I bought another artist’s discography online before I went to school. It should be done downloading now, so I’ll put it on there later.” He was about to ask what she had gotten, but his phone began to ring.

He handed her Zune back and pulled his phone out, “Yeboseyo?”

“Taemin-ah. Where are you?” Minho’s voice drifted through the speaker.

“Minho hyung. I’m with a….friend.”

“A friend? Do we know them?”

“Aniyo. I just met her today.”

“Her?”

“Yeah, she’s really nice. I walked her home after school and she invited me to stay until we had practice tonight since she lives a few blocks away.”

“Why would you need to do that? Where’s your key?”

He bit his lip, “I left it at home this morning.........along with my lunch…….”

He heard the older man sigh, “Taemin-ah… what are we going to do with you? You should make sure you have everything ready the night before AND before you leave the house, so things like this won’t happen. How do you that your ‘friend’ is not some crazed fan or an anti-fan?”

“She’s not like that hyung.” He turned to find Jae, but saw an empty living room. She had left to give him some privacy for his call. He whispered, “I’m pretty sure she doesn’t even know who SHINee is.”

“What? Does she live under a rock or something?” Taemin just rolled his eyes.

“No hyung. She seems kind of reclusive. Her favorite band is a band that is not even together or on speaking terms right now.”

Minho remained silent for a few seconds, “Well, she’ll find out sooner or later. You might as well tell her who you are.”

Taemin hesitated, “Yes, hyung.”

“Anyway, are you going to stay there until practice? Would you like for us to swing back and pick you up before seven? Maybe around five thirty so we can go out and grab some dinner together.”

“I’d like that. So I’ll see you guys then?”

“Yeah, just make sure you have ALL your things BEFORE we get there? Araso?”

“Yes, hyung. Anhyeong.” ‘Gah. Minho is starting to turn into Key umma,’ Taemin thought as he pocketed his phone.

He stood and walked around the apartment trying to find Jae. He went to the room she had disappeared into earlier and found the door ajar. He quietly pushed it open, and was about to step in when she rushed out, pushing him back and shutting the door. “Sorry. It’s messy in there and I don’t want you to see it.”

He chuckled, “You know I don’t think a little filth will send me running and screaming.”

She blushed, “I’m just not used to people in my room, so one step at a time.”

He pursed his lips but nodded, “Okay. I won’t go in until you invite me.” She laughed and playfully pushed his arm. They strolled back to the living room, her hand on his arm, Jae looked deep in thought. She sat on the couch and turned to him.

“I’ve been thinking about something all day. There's this thing……well a way that I can ‘see’. Well not really see…..” she babbled on. He just stared at her curious.

“What is it?”

She bit her lip and turned to him, “Well, I was wondering if….you’d let me….feel…your face?”

His eyebrows shot to his hairline. That was a bold request. He normally didn’t like people touching him period. He and his hyungs played around a lot but he had gotten used to it after the first couple months. His curiosity getting the better of him, he asked, “How does that work?”

“I haven’t always been blind. But right after it happened, I had to relearn how to ‘see’ things. I ‘see’ though touching things. I use to practice with my sister and my mom. Would you mind if I showed you?”

He was hesitant but his curiosity won, “Sure.” She smiled and turned to face him. Her small hands reached towards his face, he flinched slightly seeing how close they were. She slowly traced his eyebrows, his nose, his eyes, and chin over and over, measuring the distance between them. She hesitated at his lips but after a few seconds, quickly traced her fingers over them, causing them to part of their own accord. She then reached up and started feeling his hair, running her fingers through his long locks, pushing it behind his ears and slowly traced back to his cheekbones. This went on for a couple minutes, before her smiled widened, “There you are.”

His brow furrowed. Her fingers happened to skim over them right afterwards, and her smiled dropped. “You shouldn’t do that. It means you’re not smiling. Speaking of which, smile for me.” He complied, but she didn’t seem satisfied. “That’s not a real smile. Now smile or I’ll make you smile.” She placed one of her hands on his side and started to tickle him.

He tried to keep it in but failed as her hand hit a very sensitive spot and he laughed out loud. Her hand reappeared in front of his face and quickly skimmed his face again. Smiling, she said, “There it is. You should smile for often. You look good when you smile.” 

He just chuckled and shook his head. “I’ll try to remember that.”

After her exploration, they didn’t have much time left to talk, so he explained that his ‘roommates’ were picking him up early and helped clean up their snack and the few dishes. He was double checking his bag when his phone vibrated with a new text. He flipped it open to find a message from Minho.

Hey we’re outside waiting. Hurry we want to grab some dinner before we have to go practice.

He texted a short ‘Coming’ and slung his bag over his shoulder. Jae walked up and asked, “Are they outside?”

“Yeah. They haven’t eaten yet so we’re going to get dinner first.” She nodded and walked him towards the door. “Hey are you going to be alright by yourself until your sister gets home?”

She nodded, “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about me.”

As he was slipping his shoes on, he asked, “Do you have a phone? I can text you when I get done with my roommates.”

She shook her head, “No point in really having one. I can’t read the text or anything.” That disturbed him a bit.

“So you don’t have a way to reach anyone? What happens if you get hurt?”

She shrugged, “I’ll be fine. Beside my sister should be home soon.”  He pursed his lips but decided to drop the issue for now. As he opened the door, she tapped his shoulder. He turned and saw her arms snake out and wrap around his stomach. He smiled and returned the hug, grinning. “Thanks again for today. I’m sorry if I’ve been in inconvenience to you.” His smile dropped as he remembered their day of school and her not meeting anyone but him. ‘Seems like I was the inconvenience.’ He was about to open his mouth and try to tell her the truth but she cut him off, “You’d better go. Your roommates are waiting.”

He nodded, “Yeah…. So I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow. She nodded and gave him another quick hug and turned to the door.

“And hey,” she called. He turned back curious. “Don’t forget your lunch tomorrow. I might not share mine every day with you.”

“Did you not want to today?”

She shrugged, “I was still a bit hungry, but I lived. I felt bad for you. But don’t get used to it; I won’t do it every day. So don’t forget your lunch tomorrow.” She laughed, sticking her tongue out and retreated to her home giggling. He stood shocked to the spot. His vibrating phone in his pocket drew him out of his trance. He looked down to see another message from Minho.

WHERE ARE YOU?? Onew is getting impatient and he threatening us if we don’t get him chicken soon. Get down here quick!!

He chuckled and pocketed his phone. This was defiantly going to be an interesting friendship with Yeo Ae-Min Jae.

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WOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^_^ <3 

As always many many many thanks to my lovely dongsaeng Kate for having time to beta this for me =D Saranghaeyo Kate <3<3<3

Please comment and let me know what you think. If you love it let me know!!!! And if you think its a piece of dog crap that I tried to shine and put on display........then alright!! At least you let me know what you thought =D hahaha <3

And as always.......................................MY END OF CHAPTER TREATS!!!!!!!!! I couldn't chose which one to do today so you get all of them. =) Enjoy!!!

I love them in this. ^_^

EVIL DONGSAENGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! hahaha                  I love how Onew is running around in the backgroud of the one with Taemin X3

Back up dancer to the resuce!!! =D 

HEHEHEHE!!!!!!

And if you can't see it, this is my background for the story:

Might change it later but I like it for now. =)

And I have to post these.....................SO CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3

    Hahaha Yunho you meanie!!!!!!! Jaejoong <3

OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND LEMONSWRILS IS MAKING ME A BANNER FOR THIS STORY!!!!!!!!!!!! <3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3 So that will be posted with the next chapter update. =D 

So for now, I take my leave. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please keep stalking me and my stories. Hopefully I'll have another update for you soon. <3