"Mom... yes... I know that being a photographer isn't exactly an ideal career in your eyes, but I'm doing my best here. Jobs like these don't just come out of nowhere" Sun Ae explained calmly as she sat on the arm of the couch and played with the ends of her hair.

"Darling, you have to realize how impossible this dream of your is! At least take the time to go to college and get some sort of  useful degree. I was talking to Taemin—" Her mother began calmly and Sun Ae straightened out.

"You were talking to my ex-boyfriend?!" She asked in disbelief, placing a hand on her forehead and trying not to lose her temper.

"Oh relax, you two basically grew up together. He's practically a son regardless of the problems you two had. Besides... it seems to me like he still likes you" Her mother gushed with not so subtle hints that made Sun Ae roll her eyes.

"God mom are we in the third grade? He 'likes' me? Taemin is just a spoiled brat and you're encouraging him! This is why I can't ever just get away from him!" Sun Ae said snapped finally losing her cool and pushing off the couch angrily she began to pace her living room.

"Don't get that tone with me" Her mother warned, "Anyways, I'm sorry but your father and I are going to cut off our financial support soon if you don't find some sort of job that will prove to us this career might have some merit"

"B-but mom..." She stuttered, stopping in her tracks and looking around her nice apartment. There was no way she was going to be able to afford this on her own.

"Honey I love you remember that alright? Now get going and good luck!" The older woman said with a smile in her voice as she cheerfully hung up.

Sun Ae let her arm drop to her side as she looked around feeling a little lost. Everything in this apartment, starting from the silk sheets all the way down to the freaking rugs she stepped on every day was more than she had ever made in her lifetime. She had managed to sell a photograph once in school... that wasn't even enough to pay for one day in this place. She shook her head tiredly and ran over to her laptop resting on her bed. The screen blinked to life and she immediately went straight for her email. She quickly clicked on the inbox to find only three new emails including coupons for make up and random things she didn't need. Sun Ae let out a groan and half heartedly clicked on the sent box just to double check those inquiry emails she had sent had been sent. It was maybe the sixth time she had done this and for the sixth time she was reminded that those emails had indeed been sent out. It was just that no one had replied.

That feeling of frustration welled up in her chest and she realized under the heavy weight of it, that it was beginning to become a rather familiar feeling lately. She closed her laptop and tried to take deep breaths even as her eyes began to sting. Why was she even getting this emotional? She asked herself. She reminded herself that she had signed up for this and she would stick through it. Not only for the love of photography she had, but also because her pride never let her go back on her words.

Still, it was one of those days where it was suddenly the middle of the day and Sun Ae felt like she had just wasted away the precious hours she could have spent looking for a job. And because it was one of those days, she laid back and stared up at the blank ceiling. As if the answers would simply pop up from the heavens. After about a minute she turned her head and a chuckle escaped her as she saw the letter on her bedside table. She reached out for it and read it once more.

14B,

I see your deductive skills are sharp. I did in fact mean to be loud and though it doesn’t matter. I happen to get plenty of classy girls, last Saturday’s just wasn’t one of them. As long as we’re talking about thin walls (that’s what this whole thing is about anyways) I’m not enjoying your very loud playlist of idols. DBSK ballads? You’re really ruining the mood down here. Try something more upbeat. I’m a bit disappointed your taste in music wasn’t good enough to criticize mine. Also, stop going to the bathroom in the middle of the night. The pipes are loud as hell.

04A

She smiled and decided that in fact the DBSK ballads had been a good choice. She reached for a pen and paper and laid on her side. She glanced at her computer and instantly felt that frustrating feeling nearing once again. She shook her head and decided that a moment of distraction wouldn't hurt. With that thought in mind, she tried to come up with the next thing to say.

~~~~~~

Taemin checked himself in the mirror of the car he had borrowed. It was relatively out of date so that no one would think twice about seeing a car like that drive up. Even if it was a nice and safe car, he was still incredibly relieved the apartment itself had a private indoor parking lot. He pulled in, flashing the guest badge Sun Ae's mother had given to him when he had stopped by to visit. He was let in immediately and he quickly found a nice parking space. Turning off the car, he adjusted the red scarf he wore so that it covered the majority of his face. He put of a pair of shades and smirked at the well disguised image in the mirror.

He quickly stepped out and went to main lobby of the building. He walked leisurely up the staircase when someone bumped shoulders with him.

"Sorry!" The man said as he ran past him.

Taemin was about to reply when he noticed the familiar features on the fast moving man as he sprinted up the stairs. He stopped in surprised as he realized that this was the apartment that Jong In had told him he had moved into nearly a year ago. He considered saying something, but the door had already slammed and Jong In was too long gone to hear anything anyways. Taemin smiled as he realized how small the world was. Who would have thought Sun Ae and Jong In lived in the same building? He went up to the second floor though as he decided that he would simply talk to Jong In later that week when they went out to dinner like they had planned.

This visit was solely for Sun Ae he decided as he kept going.

He reached her door and for reasons he thought better not to try to examine he hesitated nervously. He could perform in front of thousands of fans, but he would always be slightly nervous when he was about to see her.  He looked down nervously and fixed the tips of his hair falling in front of his eyes. Sure, she hadn't agreed on a visit, but her mom had told him to check up on her... he was just being a nice person right?

Wrong. Even as he rang the doorbell, he knew the only reason he was here was to see her because he had missed her so damn much. He waited and rang the doorbell once more only to get no response. She must not have been home.

Taemin smiled behind his scarf and placed the key her mother had given in the lock and stepped into Sun Ae's house. He closed the door behind him and comfortably removed the scarf and shades, placing them next to the backpack he had taken off and put near his shoes. This would be an even better surprise he thought excitedly as he looked around her house. He felt a warm feeling come over him as he looked around the house that she so clearly lived in. Every single thing, including the way which it was placed, reflected her. The colors, the way the furniture was positioned, even the half opened blinds, reminded him of her.

He wandered around her kitchen, automatically grabbing the half drunk cup of tea and washing it quietly in the sink. He dried his hands and stepped into the living room. He grinned as he saw the picture framed resting on top of the fireplace. Taemin stepped up and examined each one of them. His excitement faltered a bit as he noticed there were no photographs of him. He knew why, but seeing it hurt all the same. Still, her image of a bright smiling girl took him back to a simpler time, where in a way he had been happier. He nodded to himself as he turned back around and stopped as he caught a glimpse of silver.

With long fingers he reached behind one of the perfectly positioned frames to pull out a small note card sized frame. It had been lying face down and there was a thin film of dust on it. He turned it over in his hand to see a photograph of him and Sun Ae back when they had still been kids. Before their relationship had turned complicated, back when boys didn't notice girls and girls thought of boys as nothing more than friends. He smiled gently as he wiped the dust from the glass with one finger and he looked at a younger him, a hand pulling one of Sun Ae's braids and shoving a frog in her face with a devious grin. Her face was contorted in a mix of a scream and laughter as she pushed him away.

Taemin closed his eyes, momentarily lost in the moment and finally put the frame back where he had found it. He hoped it wasn't just an accident that it was still there and ignored that the dust on it meant it hadn't been touched in a while.

He turned around taking a deep breath and walked deeper into the apartment. He stepped into the semi closed room and instantly recognized it as her room. There were large photographs framed on the walls and he was about to step back out when he saw her.

In a fraction of a second his heart rate skyrocketed and he froze. She was sprawled on her bed, her arm hugging her laptop and the papers on top of it and Taemin smiled despite himself. His eyes landed on a folded up blanket by her feet and he went for it quietly as he unfolded it and draped it on her gently. He stepped around and crouched down. Was love supposed to hurt this much? To protect her he had done what he thought needed to be done and yet... he needed her he thought quietly as he watched her sleep.

He quietly reached out as he decided to move the laptop away. He gripped the papers lying on top of it and gently tugged, but she shifted, gripping it closer to her. He grinned and reached over, carefully grabbing her wrist while trying to ignore the way his pulse raced.

Sun Ae groaned as her consciousness slowly registered that someone was making her move. She sleepily opened her eyes to find the hazy image of someone that had frozen with his hand around her wrist. For a second panic struck her half conscious mind until she blinked rapidly and the image cleared up. She stared for a few seconds and smiled as she realized it was just Taemin. With a soft nod fo her head she closed her eyes again. Sleep was just about to take over again, when the belated realization came crashing through. With a gasp she shot up off the bed and fixed a surprised glare on Taemin, who just grinned awkwardly as he instantly shot up and stepped back.

"W-what are you doing here?! How did you get into my house!?" Sun Ae asked, her voice not showing the anger that was about to come.

"I'm back? I wanted to come visit you. Your mom told me to come see you too" He explained and internally cringed as her face darkened.

"What are you here to convince me to drop photography too?" She asked bitterly as she crossed her arms in front of her and waited for the speech her mom probably prepared for him.

"Why would I want you to give up your dream?" He asked, his face turning serious and she looked at him in surprise.

"I just... since you and my mom seem to be on the same side then I just thought you'd automatically side with her" She said with a shrug as she unfolded her arms.

"I think it's a pretty safe bet to count me on your side no matter what" He said calmly as if it was a fact and Sun Ae fought the instinct to let a smile come onto her face.

"I don't need you on my side" She said stubbornly, forcing instead a frown.

"I have free will, can't I choose whatever side I want?" He asked just as stubbornly as he looked into her eyes.

As if remembering something insignificant she suddenly pointed at him angrily.

"I almost forgot! Give me those keys or whatever my mom gave you. You're definitely not allowed to come in here whenever you want!" Sun Ae demanded as she walked over to him and put her hand out.

"Sorry, I promised to return these to your mom. I can't give them to you" Taemin said playfully as he patted his back pocket.

She scoffed as she mumbled a quick whatever. Her eyes landed on the letter she had written and she decided to put it up now.

"I have to drop this letter off in the... uh... mail box. I'll be back in a second" Sun Ae said as she grabbed the letter he wrote and put it in a drawer and grabbed her own letter and carefully placed it in an envelope.

"What's it for?" Taemin asked curiously.

"Just some stupid magazine subscription" She answered calmly, "Oh, did you uh... eat?" She added awkwardly as she sealed the letter and turned to look at him.

"Not really. I was hoping we'd have dinner?" He asked hopefully.

Sun Ae bit her lip and looked away trying to decide what to do. She should turn him away, but it had been so long and they were supposed to be friends right?

"Then we can cook something and then you can go" She said somewhat stiffly, turning away as a smile broke out on his face and he watched as she walked out, letter in hand.

~~~~~~

Jong In moped tiredly on his couch, staring at the TV even though he wasn't even watching it. He thought about his future. In the end would he ever even debut? He had seen those more talented come and go. There was one who stayed 8 years only to finally be forced to quit, there were simply no groups to place him into. A shudder ran through his body as he imagined himself and something like that happening.

"What's wrong with you?" Baekhyun asked as he came into the apartment, "Don't tell me this is the reason you didn't bother to come practice today?"

"You say that as if it actually mattered" He grumbled from the couch.

"Well I checked for you and this came" Baekhyun said as he waved  a white envelope.

Jong In gave him a sideways glance and stuck out his arm, moving his wrist slightly to indicate he wanted the letter. Baekhyun stared and raised an eyebrow at the rather pampered image his friend gave out. With a snort he stayed in place until Jong In turned his head to face him.

"Since it looks like you're too depressed to get your letter I'm just gonna go throw it away. Who cares right?" He teased.

"It's mine" Jong In insisted as he actually moved and stood up, "So you can't throw it away" He flaunted as he snatched the letter from his friend and returned to his spot on the couch.

Jong In ignored the way that Baekhyun laughed and instead focused on his letter. He smiled despite himself as he opened it and pulled out the neatly folded sheet of paper.

04A,

DBSK are legends got it? Now that I’ve got that out of the way. I can’t control my bodily functions, but thank you for letting me know about the pipes. Since you had the… decency to throw a party on a Tuesday night I’ll be sure to drink plenty of water before bed. I might even set a timer so I wake up at the most inopportune time possible ^^

I hope you enjoy sleep deprivation .

14B

Jong In stifled a laugh before he just finally sat up and laughed clearly.

"What did she say this time?" Baekhyun asked as he walked back into the room, amazed at the sudden change in mood.

"She's so dumb" He said in between laughs as he stood up and stretched out, "I'm gonna head down to the dance studio for a while. I'll be back soon"

"I thought you were giving up"

"Random burst of energy" Jong In said dismissively as he  went to his room to pack a gym bag.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Happy New Years! I hope you all have an amazing year ^_^ I'm not sure if it's a good thing, but here's a long chapter!

And... feel free to leave comments cuz they're nice to read XD