- Key POV -

I want to believe Soo Min so desperately, I want to her on her word when she says she’ll find a solution and everything will be fine, but the events of the preceding night crept with silent feet into my brain.

*Flashback*

My breath was stuck in my throat at the sight of the pictures, especially the one that included the kiss. This girl was a psycho stalker! We would never express our love in such a way when there was even the smallest risk to be discovered by fans or paparazzi. Such a passionate kiss we would only share behind a closed dorm door. How could she ever take such a picture? Photoshop it must be, I decided. However the photo seemed so realistic, it couldn’t have been edited.

“No, you can’t give  this to the press,” I begged.

“Then say you love me.”

I swallowed audibly. There was a long silence before I opened my mouth again. Only three easy words, but so hard to express.

“I… l…love…you.”

The evil smirk  on the girl’s face widened even more. How could she enjoy hurting people like this? Was she some kind of monster?

“Now break up with him,” she ordered.

I  couldn’t ignore her words. I was sure the consequences of not listening to her would be severe, but obeying her order would also ruin my life. My head almost exploded as I was weighing the consequences. Under any circumstances, my relationship with the beautiful singer would be over, the only thing I could prevent was that the whole world would discover it first. The waterfall of tears worsened when I looked in the puppy-like eyes of my lover. ‘I’m sorry’, I mouthed before I delivered the words I detested the most.

“It’s over, Jonghyun.”

The heartbreaking words slashed my chest open and crushed my heart. The tears on both our cheeks were expressing a horrible pain that even words couldn’t describe.

*FB end*

“Hyung?” Taemin’s voice calls me back to the present.

I look up to see what the maknae has to say, but my vision is blurry because of the tears. The memories of the previous night still make me cry, even after all this hours and the promise we would not give up so easily.

“Hyung… Can you stop sobbing and come with me? You’re make-up is ruined and the concert is starting in an hour. We have to fix it.”

I smile at the worried boy. Usually I am the one who has to look after the younger boys as an overprotective mother, but this time the mother is coping with some kind of depression and I have to admit that my kids are doing surprisingly well taking care of themselves and me.

Following the maknae’s  example, I take a seat in the styling room. The moment the make-up artist starts fixing my eyeliner, the events of the preceding night come up once more.

*Flashback*

“It’s over, Jonghyun.”

I had hardly expressed the awful words and the girl’s arms were already wrapped around my neck. Her hug was so tight that I couldn’t breathe properly. But actually I didn’t care about breathing or  living anymore. My life was over the moment this red-haired devil had entered it. I dropped my arms lifelessly next to my pale body and closed my eyes. I tried to imagine it was the dinosaur-like singer who was hugging me, but the girl’s strong perfume was all but similar to Jong’s sweet scent and her scrawny arms instead of Jong’s sturdy ones felt very uncomfortable around my body.

My eyes flashed open when I felt her parched lips on mine. The red hair was way too close to my face and  her almond eyes were closed as if she was enjoying the moment to the fullest. The tears kept rolling down my cheeks, falling on hers since she wasn’t moving away at all. I gasped in surprise when her wet muscle suddenly my under-lip. The worst response I could give since my mouth was open now and she could easily shove her tongue inside. I tried to push the red-haired devil away, but the adrenaline made her extremely strong. Only when Onew pulled the girl away I could breathe again. She smirked satisfyingly as she shrugged my rescuer’s  arms off.

“You’ll soon realise I was right… he’s not the one, I am. We’ll be very happy together, but now you have to rest for your final performance tomorrow.”

“Final performance?” Onew asked before I could recover from the shock.

“You don’t expect Kibumie to stay in this stupid boy band, do you? He’s going to live with me, marry me and take care of our kids.”

Stop singing and having kids with her!? This girl has lost her mind!

“They are my friends and I enjoy singing with them. I’m not leaving SHINee because you ask me to do so.”

“You’re not? I wonder what SM Entertainment will say about this,” she said while she took the pictures out of the brown envelop again. “I don’t think SHINee will exist any longer. We’ll meet again soon, Kibumie.”

She gave a disgusting peck on my cheek before she skipped out of the house. Only when the girl has left I realised that there were only two figures standing in the living room; Onew and I.

“Where’s Jonghyun?”

“Bedroom,” the leader answered. “He left after you broke up with him.”

Why did he have to remind me again of the stupidest thing I had ever done in my life?

“I think you better go talk to him, Key.”

“But what should I say?” I sobbed between the non-stop rivers of tears.

“I know you didn’t mean these words, Key. And I’m sure Jonghyun also knows that.”

“I didn’t want to break up with him, but if I didn’t she will send that picture to the boss and all our singing careers will be over. It’s not only mine and Jong’s career that will be over, also you and the kids will be severely punished for keeping it a secret from the company. Maybe  it’s better for me to leave SHINee before it’s too late… then you four can at least continue your careers.”

“SHINee would never be the same without you. We’re not going to let one girl ruin SHINee, Key. Go talk to Jonghyun first and try to catch some sleep afterwards, okay? It’s a big day tomorrow,” Onew said before shooing me to the bedroom

A big day it was the day after indeed, it was our first independent concert… and my last one, I decided before I knocked on the bedroom door.

*FB end*