Sunhwa woke up to the sound of beeping. She opened her eyes and tried to sit up to turn her annoying alarm off, but as soon as her body lifted, her muscles screamed at her to lie back down. Sunhwa collapsed back onto the blankets with a groan.

Blinking to get used to the light, Sunhwa slowly struggled into a sitting position and sighed with relief as she finally settled into the pillows and tried to stop her head from swimming.

She was in a white room, in a bed that was definitely not hers. Her clothes had been changed into an awkward-looking gown, and she was suddenly thankful that she was unconscious for whenever that happened. There were a few monitors set up next to her, and the beeping was coming from one of them. Basically, it was a hospital.

What am I doing here? was her first thought. And then came, I need to get out of here!

Sunhwa spied a remote with buttons on the side of her bed and made the effort of reaching over to get it. “Hm…” she scanned the buttons until she found the one she was looking for: “Nurse call.”

After she pressed the button, she threw it onto her covers and closed her eyes. After a few moments, she became aware of the dryness in .

“Park Sunhwa?” A nurse’s voice said softly.

Sunhwa opened one eye and peeked at the nurse. “Neh?”

The nurse smiled at her. “You’re awake. Good.”

“Yes, I am,” she agreed, and then coughed. “Do you have water?”

“Of course,” the nurse said. She poured some from a pitcher and handed it to Sunhwa, who drank it greedily.

“Ah,” Sunhwa smacked her lips and leaned back again. “That’s better.”

“Mm,” the nurse checked something on her clipboard. “Well, you seem to feel a lot better than you did last night.”

At this, Sunhwa jerked open her eyes again. “What did happen last night?”
 

“Well,” the nurse said, leaning in closer and voice becoming dramatic, “you were carried in by SHINee last night! They said that you had passed out and knocked your head. Poor thing,” she clucked sympathetically. “We treated the bruise, but I would expect a pretty big bump for a while. Don’t touch it!” she warned as Sunhwa automatically reached up, felt her head, and then winced.

“I’m fine,” Sunhwa grimaced as she withdrew her hand from the bump. “So can I go home now?”

“Of course not!” the nurse scolded. “I’ve just called SHINee’s manager and all of them will be arriving shortly.”

“Why?” Sunhwa groaned. “Can’t I just go home and we can all pretend like nothing happened?”

“Not really,” the nurse said. “Especially SHINee. They looked very concerned about your health.” She winked. “Don’t worry, all of this is being kept from the press. Very hush-hush, you know.” With that, she smiled one final time and swept out of the room.

She’s too cheerful for a place like this, Sunhwa thought as she rested against the pillows. Remind me of Hyun Jin…but in a weird way.

Now, where are my clothes? Sunhwa thought. Her hospital gown was way too uncomfortable and scratchy…not to mention it only had an awkward tie in the back to hold the papery cloth together. This was not how she wanted her friends to see her.

“My friends?” Sunhwa murmured to herself as she hoisted herself out of bed and tottered over to a chair where her clothes were. In the middle of straining to pull on her sweatpants, she decided, My friends.

Sunhwa barely pulled on her shirt and flopped back onto her pillows, scolding herself for being tired from the simple effort of dressing, but her body refusing to comply. The door opened. “Sunhwa?”

“SHE’S OKAY!” Hyun Jin pounced on Sunhwa, tackling her in a typical hyper hug. Sulli and Luna eagerly joined in.

Even though she was feeling as tired as heck, Sunhwa let herself be hugged, and despite herself, a foolish smile spread upon her face.

“Yah! Let the girl have some rest,” Jonghyun finally ordered, plopping a large gift basket filled to the brim with goodies on her bed.

“Are you feeling okay, Sunhwa yah?” Manager Kim oppa asked, concerned.

“Neh, of course I’m fine,” Sunhwa responded, sitting up and hiding a slight wince. It was not lost on the rest of them. “Can I go home now?”

“Of course not!” Hyun Jin looked horrified at the very idea. Her face reminded Sunhwa of the nurse, who had said exactly the same words earlier. “You fainted last night, or do you not even remember?”

“I wouldn’t really care anyways,” Sunhwa said matter-of-factly. “The point is, I’m feeling fine now.”

Key had not said a word the entire time and stood, arms crossed, leaning against the side of the small room. Sulli pushed Sunhwa back down onto the bed and sat on her stomach. “You listen here, missy,” she started, wagging a threatening finger in front of Sunhwa’s face.

Sunhwa started, “Sulli unnie – ”

“Uh uh. Don’t even start with me. Last night, you fainted at norebang and hit your head on the side of the table. The nurse told us it was from exhaustion and lack of sleep. If you don’t even have the common sense to take care of yourself, then it looks like we will have to!”

Sunhwa looked around at the faces of her friends, each one nodding in agreement with Sulli’s words. Sunhwa felt a warm rush of thankfulness, but didn’t let it show one bit as she lay back onto the pillows with a resigned sigh. “Arasso. What do you want me to do now?”

With a victorious smile, Sulli got off of Sunhwa’s stomach and looked at Manager Kim oppa. “Manager oppa, what do you think we should do?”

He said thoughtfully, “Well, she obviously won’t be able to stay at her own house.”

“Why not?” Sunhwa asked, almost rising again. “I’m perfectly fine there!”

“You’ve told us before that your mom is at work most of the time, so who is supposed to take care of you?” Minho scolded.

Sigh. “Fine.” I don’t want umma finding out about this, either.

“Sulli and Luna, do you have space to bunk at your apartment?” Manager Kim oppa asked, turning towards the two girls.

“I wish we did,” Luna said regretfully. “But the apartment space is a bit tight as it is, and we’re usually both out of the house practicing.”

“Hm…”

“I know!” an unlikely voice said. “How about she stays with us?”
 

All heads turned to the source, a grinning Taemin. “She can stay at the dorm, right?”

Key spluttered at once, “Absolutely not! That sounds – ”

“Actually, it sounds like a great idea,” Onew nodded with a smile.

“I can’t do that,” Sunhwa protested. “You guys are really busy right now.”
 

“We’d never be busy enough to not welcome your company,” Jonghyun assured her with the typical wink.

“Stop,” Sunhwa groaned. “I’m serious.”

“And so are we,” Minho retorted. “You can’t stay home by yourself in this condition, so it’s only logical that we can take you in for a while.”

Key’s cool façade had slipped, and he was looking a little desperate now. “Hold on, Manager hyung – ”

“That’s perfect, boys,” Manager Kim nodded. “Any objections?”

All of SHINee shook their heads in agreement, save for Key, who muttered under his breath angrily, “Yes.” Sunhwa heard but chose to ignore it.

“Then it’s settled,” Manager Kim said. “Sunhwa will stay at the SHINee dorm for a few days while she recovers.”

“Who says I needed a few days to recover?” Sunhwa piped, her protest sounding less defiant and more like a resigned complaint.

“We do,” Luna said with a bright smile. “Now let’s get you out of here.”

-

After SHINee had left to clean up the van for Sunhwa, only the girls were left in the room. “You know, Sunhwa yah,” Hyun Jin said, sitting on the bed with a mischievous smile, “I would have been more than happy to take you in, but I didn’t.”

“Why not?” Sunhwa demanded. “Now I have to spend time with Key, in their dorm!”

“Exactly,” Hyun Jin said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Bonding time!”

“Good idea,” Sulli said, high-fiving Hyun Jin. Sunhwa frowned and glared, and Luna laughed quietly.

The blonde dancer assured Sunhwa, “Don’t worry, I’m sure they’re going to be perfectly nice to you.”

“The rest of them, maybe,” Sunhwa grumbled. “But definitely not Key. He has it out for me, but I don’t even know why.”

Hyun Jin opened to say something, but at that moment, the door burst open. Jonghyun strode in with the rest of the members, wearing a smile that was a bit too playful for Sunhwa. “Are you ready?” he asked.

“Not really,” Sunhwa muttered, but she was suddenly swept up into Taemin’s arms. “Yah! What the heck do you think you’re doing?”

“Mianhe, Sunhwa yah, but I’m taking you to the car,” Taemin told her, a shy grin on his face.

“Dear God,” Sunhwa mumbled. She slapped his arm weakly. “Fine, then. But no funny business, arasso?”

“Of course,” Taemin answered with a plucky grin. “We would never,” Minho added.

Sunhwa sighed. “Let’s go!” Onew said cheerfully, and she was carried out of the room. Hyun Jin, Sulli, and Luna grinned and waved at her through the window, and Sunhwa childishly stuck her tongue at them, looking awkward in Taemin’s arms.

“She really is lucky,” Hyun Jin sighed wistfully, her eyes on Taemin’s retreating back.

“Yeah,” Sulli nodded, standing up and stretching with a grin. “Almost makes me wish I had fainted myself.”

-

Sunhwa was carried into the SHINee dorm. Most other girls would have looked around and maybe even taken a few photos. Sunhwa, however, was not most other girls, and immediately found the nearest piece of furniture (a chair), plopped herself in it, and promptly fell asleep.

“Not there, Sunhwa yah!” Onew yelped, and then sighed. “And…she’s asleep.”

Minho chuckled, shook his head, and then went to his and Taemin’s room. Onew and Jonghyun were the two oldest, so they shared a room also. Key had thrown a fit when told to share a room, so he had one to himself.

“Do you think it would be okay if I moved her?” Taemin asked concernedly, biting his lip.

Onew shrugged. “I dunno. As long as she’s comfortable and doesn’t wake up and slap you.” He wandered off to the kitchen area, muttering to himself, “Chicken…chicken.”

Key had long since disappeared into his room in a huff, so Taemin was left alone. He hesitated for a moment before sliding an arm underneath Sunhwa’s back and another under her legs, moving her effortlessly to the couch. He found a warm blanket and tucked around the sleeping girl gently.

She really is pretty, Taemin thought as he sat next to her and stared at her face. Though she didn’t wear any makeup, from the day he had first saw her at the audition, he had felt drawn to her. And they were both dancers, after all.

Taemin brushed a few strands of hair from Sunhwa’s face and gazed at her softly. When he stood up, he stopped for a moment, leaned in, and brushed his lips to her forehead slightly. “Sleep well, Sunhwa yah,” he murmured. Then, with one last look, he left the room.

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YES SUNLIGHT SUMMER YES

- tigress