Onew wondered what was wrong with him.

At that moment on stage, so far away from home, his pulse was racing 100 kilometers an hour and the loud cheers of the Anaheim crowd were pounding in his ear.

The music started and Onew closed his eyes, focusing only on that beautiful voice.

“And let the music be your guide…”

He stepped out and joined her, and they began harmonizing together perfectly. He couldn’t help but notice how well his low voice meshed with her high one.

As his turn to lead a verse came, he watched Luna run out on the stage with her short floral dress fluttering behind her. She did a graceful twirl and his mind became blank. He briefly closed his eyes in embarrassment and then looked up and smiled, noticing her turn back around to give him an encouraging wave.

He always found it difficult to keep his cool around her. Or rather, found it more difficult than around any other person.

Suddenly he could feel her small frame against his back and even though they rehearsed hundreds of times it still felt like the very first time. A sudden impulse urged him to turn around early and then he was down on one knee and smiling up at her surprised face as she cue.

He had gotten down on his knee for a few other girls during a performance before, but with her it was different. Everything was always different with her. 

As he rose back onto his feet he could barely look away from her perpetually smiling eyes, her lively face, pretty lips curved up in a smile even when singing, and even her right hand which was always waving around adorably during a performance. She hit the high note but they never broke gazes.

They turned to face the crowd again, but all he could think about was that in a matter of seconds, she was going to be holding his hand, and when it happened he could not tear the smile off his face.

He wondered if she realized how cute he found her.

“I like cute and adorable girls.” He remembered saying once. Park Sunyoung definitely fit that description.

It took him a while to realize this foreign attraction himself. At first he thought that they would fall into a harmless oppa-dongsaeng relationship, but after spending some time with her he realized he couldn’t help but feel a little more than that. But she was still young then. She is still young now—only 19 years versus his 23 years—but after you hit your twenties and after spending years in the entertainment industry, four years is nothing.

Onew was not good at subtlety (as s and SuJu-hyungs never failed to remind him whenever the 2011 Idol Athletic Championships were brought up). Her soft hand rested atop his and he was positive his face was conveying all the exhilaration he felt. She looked particularly radiant as she smiled at him. He couldn’t help but wonder if she was only playing the part to give a good show or if she was just as happy to hold his hand as he was to hold hers.

The music drew to a close and the lights darkened. They bowed, but he didn’t release her hand as they walked backstage. Her smaller hand tugged away from his when they reached the hall and he reluctantly let go.

“Oppa, good luck on your next performance! I know you’ll be great.” Luna said, grinning up at him before she left for the f(x) dressing room.

He could never look at her smiling face without smiling back.

He walked a few paces to the door labeled ‘SHINee’ and was greeted with four snickering boys with knowing stares. He only grinned and plopped down beside them, grabbing for a bottle of water.

“Hyung…”

The next time he saw her was completely out of coincidence. He had been looking for an open practice room in the SM building and walked in on her lying flat on the wooden floor, right in the middle of the room, headphones on with an iPod in her right hand and both eyes closed.

He quietly drew near her and hovered his serious face a couple of feet above hers, waiting for her to feel his presence. Her chocolate brown hair was loose and it almost looked as if a photographer purposefully arranged each individual strand to make her appear even prettier.

As if on cue, her eyes shot open and she immediately rose, almost colliding into him as she automatically went into a bow and greeting.

“Onew-oppa! What brings you here?” He motioned for her to sit down beside him and she did.

“Just looking for a place to practice. Luna-sshi, are you alright? You look very tired.”

And she did. Her make-up may have covered the dark circles he knew were below those pretty eyes, but they didn’t hide the exhaustion that was apparent in her gaze.

“What? Oh. Yeah, we have a new album coming out in a week and I want to be ready to perform.” She smiled at him, but when it came to Luna, he could easily decipher the real smiles from the fake ones. “It’s called Electric Shock. Please buy it and listen to it well, oppa,” she recited with another short bow.

He stared at her intently. “Yes, of course.” He suddenly plopped onto his back so hard it almost hurt (“Onew sangtae,” s would claim) and spread his arms out, not unlike her pose earlier. “But only if you take a rest with me right now.” Onew wiggled his left arm behind her. “Your pillow, Luna-sshi.”

He could hear her giggle and felt her hesitantly lie down beside him, head nestled in the crook of his elbow. He could feel her soft hair tickling his arm, but it didn’t bother him the slightest. “If you need a bigger pillow, my bicep has a little more muscle.” He joked, and she laughed but didn’t move.

They laid like that for a while in a comfortable silence, staring up at the ceiling. He felt so at peace with her by his side.

“I want to hear a song from your new album.” He requested. His eyes darted to his left to read her expression, but her eyes were closed and her face was relaxed. He inwardly patted himself on the back. She was always working so hard. They all were—being part of the SM family, although rewarding, was really no joke.

He watched as her lips parted and that beautiful voice that he loved to listen to softly filled the room. No one could deny the power behind that voice. It never failed to captivate his attention completely, whether she was singing or just talking.

“Gipeun chimmuk soge damkyeojin iyagi… dareun moseub tto daruen sesangeseo on oneo.”

She sang it slowly and soothingly, and he wanted to close his eyes too so he could maybe hear it better, but his brain refused to look away from her.

“Gin soneul ppeopdeo nal parabomyeon… niga inneun goseuro hammkke deryeoga jwo. Uh oh uh oh oh, beautiful stranger. Uh oh uh oh oh, beautiful stranger. Uh oh uh oh oh, beautiful stranger. Uh oh uh oh oh…”

He expected her eyes to open and catch him in the act, but while her lips did close into a smile, her eyes never opened.

“That’s all you get, oppa. If you want to hear the rest you should buy our album.”

Onew laughed and only then he realized his whole body had curled onto its side to face her. “Park Luna-sshi with the golden voice. One of my favorites.”

She laughed and shifted a bit, head rolling a little closer to him. He ignored the way his heart was beating a few counts faster.

“Onew-oppa’s voice is my favorite. Can you sing me a song, too? I just sang you one!”

He brightened at that statement and continued to smile at her carefree expression.

“Which song?”

“Any one. I like them all.”

He hummed for a bit, glancing at her face one more time before closing his eyes.

“Luna neomu yeppeoseo,” He could hear her girlish laughter fill the room and smiled as he continued to sing. “Namjadeuri gaman an dwo. Heundeullineun geuyeoui mam sasir algo isseo.”

“Geunyeoege sarangeun hansunganui neukkimir ppun, mwora haedo naegen salmui everything. Ama geunyeoneun eorin naega budamseureoungabwa, nal baraboneun nunici malhaejujanha... And I think I’m gonna hate it girl, kkeuti daga oneuon geol, gaseumi malheajunda, nuga mworaedo.”

Her laughter quieted and he could feel her turn to face him, but he kept his eyes closed. He wondered how close their faces were now.

“Luna neomu yeppeo…”

She joined him, singing with a distinct lilt in her voice, as if she was trying to keep herself from giggling again. “Geu-geunyeoreur boneun nanuen,”

“Michyeo…”

“Ha-hajiman ijen jichyeoo,”

“Replay, replay, replay.” Their voices harmonized together with little effort and he finally opened his lids, surprised to see her staring right at him.

“Chueogi nae mameur halkwieo…”

“A-apaseo ijen mameur,”

“Gocheyo…”

“Da-dagaor ibyeore nan,”

“Replay, replay, replay…”

They looked at each other in silence, his lips lifting up in a small smile at her grinning expression. He could have stayed like that forever.

Her eyes fluttered shut again and he felt her head nestle more deeply into his arm, which he just noticed was beginning to sting. He ignored the slight pain.

“Please keep singing, oppa.”

His laugh rumbled deep within his belly.

It had been a while since he saw her last, aside from the occasional short run-ins here and there in the building.

He was lazing on the couch exhausted, having just got back from the airport a mere hour ago. He could hear the Key blasting American music in the shower room (he had just pitched in for more shower gel). Their maknae was knocked out in bed, the older boys having let him shower first. Jonghyun plopped haphazardly on the couch beside him and the television.

At that moment, Minho walked out of his room with a laptop in hand and sat beside him.

“Hey hyung, look at this.” Minho pointed to an open article about MBC’s Starry Starry Night. “f(x)’s Krystal wants to collaborate with Jessica.” He read out in his low voice.

Onew hummed and rested his head on Minho’s shoulder. “That could be fun.”

“And f(x)’s Luna chose SHINee’s Onew, stating that ‘Onew and I work well together. I want to officially duet with him.’” Minho turned to smirk at him.

Jonghyun laughed as Onew grinned and buried his head deeper into Minho’s sturdy build as he closed his eyes for a nap, mind lighter than it had been all day and a fluttering in his chest.

“Now all you have to do is wait for manager-hyung to send you to the recording studio.” Jonghyun said. “A lot of shawols love you two together.” He was sure it was because of his inability to hide his fascination of her. They did look good together.

“And hyung, her twentieth birthday is in less than two months.” Ah, so he would no longer be verging on ia either.

He briefly wondered if she still thought he was perfect husband material.

“We’re performing on Mnet’s special stage with them soon also.” His cheekbones rose skyward.

This was going to be their year.

Lyrics from kpopquote.wordpress.com and wonderfulgeneration.net

"Replay" by SHINee; "Beautiful Stranger" by Amber, Krystal, and Luna of f(x)