[Sorry people, this is one of the most boring chapters…I think (that I’ve typed so far…), but also a very important one for you guys to understand the rest of the story. So please bear with me ^^.]

Finally, she had stopped screaming and hung lifelessly on the chair. Their eyes widened in horror as the doctor unlocked the door to check on her. They remained silent as they waited patiently for the doctor’s analysis. Water started to build up in their eyelids, waiting to overflow once the doctor announced her death.

The devastating sight instantly took their breaths away, causing their bodies to naturally tremble. The sudden wind touched their necks with its tenderness, which caused them stay in their fixed position until the doctor spoke.

“S-she’s a-alive.” The doctor blinked in confusion, obviously stating that he was shocked as well.

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THREE YEARS LATER - 2008
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Karen was busily working on another masterpiece of hers in her room. Yet the picture would always be the same; it would be the image of Kibum which she couldn’t remove after all those years. Every time when she reviewed her artworks after she completed them, endless tears would fall, causing her heart to break again.

Suddenly, the television beside her caught her attention. A bad habit of hers was what she described it as; switching the TV on even though she doesn’t watch it.

The news was on and it was showing a picture of five boys, a picture which included a boy with a fairly familiar face, a face which she longed to see; Kibum. He had finally debuted as Key, a member of SHINee along with Lee Jinki, Kim Jonghyun, Choi Minho and Lee Taemin.

She held onto her pillow tightly as she watched him on the screen. She wasn’t surprised because she had never lost faith in him, not even a second as she knew he would succeed. She smiled a little, since she was proud of her determination to break up with him. However, she couldn’t help but feel a little sour at the same time, because she knew that he would never be hers again.

Her eyes remained fixed onto the screen, even though the news about him had ended.

“You haven’t changed a bit, have you?” She whispered emotionlessly with her dry lips before chuckling sarcastically like a fool.

“Are you still drawing him?” Karen snapped out from her trance and spun her head around to see Renee behind her.

“I did knock.” She quickly added, before Karen would think that her privacy was being invaded. “Isn’t it great now? He’s an artist in SM. A lot of girls will just stick his face on the wall and drool all over him.” She sniggered, which caused Karen to roll her eyes. “What? Wasn’t that what you wanted?” Renee pretended to be shocked by her dongsaeng’s reaction, which caused Karen to giggle at her exaggerated acting skills.

“You go and bug Steph or something. I want to draw a little longer.” She resumed back to the drawing of Kibum, but the liveliness quickly disappeared, as she couldn’t help but feel slightly discontent due to the irritating feeling inside her.

“I just came in to tell you that lunch is ready and Steph is currently out. So hurry up! I don’t want to be eating on my own.” Renee pouted innocently, so that she could distract Karen from feeling depressed. The younger one simply shook her head as she obediently followed her.

Just when the two sat down, the phone started to ring. Renee narrowed her eyes as she stumped her way across the room to pick it up.

“This is Rae here. The three of you must come to the Headquarters immediately!” Rae ordered urgently before Renee even had the chance to greet her. Karen on the other hand, just sat at the dining table with a frown, since she was too familiar with that expression on Renee. It was her infamous ‘we-have-to-work-again’ look.

“I got it. This is Renee by the way and it’s polite to say ‘hi’ before you order us around. We’ll be there in 10 minutes.” She grumbled childishly before she phoned Steph.

“Unnie! We need to go to the Headquarters.” She declared once Steph answered her mobile.

“Right…Ack!” Renee then heard a loud thud from her and the repetition of ‘sorry’ every 0.28 seconds. It wasn’t unusual, since that was just an aspect of her ‘timid’ character, which she uses when she’s with people who weren’t a part of the Headquarters.

“Unnie…Mind telling me what you’re up to?” The younger one grew suspicious, but Steph simply ignored her curiosity as she hung up on her. Renee was obviously not amused by how she was treated by her two unnies. One ordered her around, the other ignored her.

“No lunch then?” Karen asked mockingly whilst she fiddled with the utensils that Renee had laid out before.

“They’ll feed us. Let’s go!” Renee grabbed her brown leather jacket and keys before dashing towards the door.

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At The Headquarters
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Rae glanced down at the young trio before her as she slammed a stack of files which was about 10cm thick. The trio looked up questionably just to earn themselves a mischievous smirk from the elder one.

“Last week, we received some news saying that a SM trainee died in the building. However, no one reported this case to the police. Therefore, your job would be to confirm whether or not this is true.” Rae spoke formally as she adjusted her glasses which she didn’t even need.

“Anyways,” she continued after she distributed the files amongst the three. “The roles have already been confirmed. Karen will be a trainee within the company; therefore your job is to get as much information from the trainees as you can. Renee, you’ll be working as a bodyguard for one of the bands. If you notice anything suspicious about them, you must report immediately. As for Steph, you would have to get close to the founder of the company; Lee So Man. You have the permission to get anyone in any departments to help you to meet him.” Rae rubbed her temples as she was having difficulties reciting the papers.

Rae waited for a response, but none of them seemed to be paying any attention to what she was saying. Calmly, she blew some air out from her lips to restrain herself from slapping herself.

“Right…If you guys haven’t got any questions you may be dismissed and proceed to your assignment immediately. The best thing for you three to do after you’ve entered the company is to find a trainee who is also a part of the Headquarters. Unfortunately, I don’t have any details of her to tell you guys, but she’s a girl if that’s helpful.”

The three of them stared at her with an expression which clearly said they were not amused by how insufficient she worked, since the most Rae was able to tell them was that ‘the trainee was a girl’.

“Do I get no say in this whatsoever?” Renee pouted like a little child, hoping Rae would change her mind and make someone else do her work.

“Your father, I mean; The CEO of this organisation has set this assignment himself. Not me. You better stay in my office for now, since I’ve got something to show you. Now, you three remember. Don’t do anything irrational until you’ve gathered enough evidence.”

The three of them glanced at each other before going to places where they were supposed to be, since it seemed like there was no chance of them avoiding it.

-

When Renee and Rae were left alone in the room, Rae pushed a button on her telephone to instruct someone to tell ‘them’ to go in. Renee’s eyes widened in bewilderment after acknowledging the band that she was going to protect was already waiting outside. Possibilities of ‘them’ kept popping up into her head, causing her to feel slightly troubled. Since she was working as a bodyguard for a band, it was surely going to be a girl band right? But which would it be? SNSD? The Grace? She was almost positive it wasn’t going to be a boy band since she was a girl herself, but she still wanted to ask Rae who her client was.

Before any words were able to come out, the door began to open and her heart began to race. It was beating so fast that she could literally feel it beating in . Her eyes narrowed once she realised who her ‘clients’ were.

Stepping into the room one by one were members of the new boy band; SHINee. Renee instantly froze as her eyes were fixed on one member in particular; Kim Kibum. Once he recognised her, he stared at her in disgust.

“Oh, it’s you.” He rolled his eyes as he folded his arms. The other members glanced at him with a surprised expression as it wasn’t like him to be so rude.

Renee glared daggers into him. She was astonished because she knew that even if she picked a random girl in the streets, she wouldn’t be as y as him. What amazed her most was how he was able to change so much; from her impression of a ‘lover boy’ to a…’’?

“Yes, it’s ME! Hiew Renee! Do you have a problem with that mister? Because I assure you that I have a problem with you!” Renee growled and even attempted to throw her shoe at him, but luckily Rae stopped her.

“You can’t assault someone you’re going to protect!” Rae screamed which caused Renee to drop her shoe.

“P-protect? You mean…my assignment is to protect them?” Renee muttered absentmindedly, since she had already forgotten the objective of their meeting. Rae crossed her arms and just sighed at her, signalling her that she was correct.

“I’m sorry,” another member called Jonghyun spoke, interrupting their little ‘mind fight’. “But how can a little girl like her protect five big guys like us?” He smiled politely as he waved at Renee. Renee on the other hand, refused to wave back or even smile after Kibum’s rudeness towards her.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much. She may be young, but she’s one of the best within this company. I assure you that there are no bodyguards out there who can match up to her.” Rae stated positively whilst she shoved the papers in front of their manager to sign.

---

Meanwhile, Karen was given a tour around the company by one of the trainees; Lee Anna.

Karen could not help but admire the trainees face. She was amazed by how her features were able to come together so perfectly. Unlike many people who probably have one or two feature which were beautiful, hers were practically idyllic. It was as if she was a character from a manga who just happened to come alive in one of Karen’s abstract dreams.

“Karen, are you ok?” Anna asked with concern as she observed Karen’s expression.

“Huh? Oh, yes. I am.” Karen beamed shyly as she felt heat rushing into her cheeks, changing them to a rosy pink colour. “Erm, excuse me, but have you happened to…” Just when she was about to ask whether Anna knew about the murdered trainee, she was interrupted by Anna greeting another girl.

“Hey Kira! Look, we’ve got a new trainee.” Anna smiled radiantly as glanced amongst the two.

“Hi.” Karen waved, and gave her one of her biggest smiles as she wanted to make a good first impression. However, Kira only gave Karen a quick smile which immediately turned into a frown as she strolled away.

Karen’s eyebrows furrowed as she stared intently at her back. The aura, the vibes she received from that girl, gave Karen an unpleasant as well as an uneasy feeling.

Her suspicions grew and finally, she came up with a theory; Kira could be the murderer. Surely, it was too early for anyone to presume anything, but since Karen was known for her strong sixth sense, it was no surprise that she would rely on her senses.

“Karen, don’t mind her. She’s always like that to people she doesn’t know.” Anna reassured her, but it wasn’t going to change Karen’s impression of her.

Suddenly, someone came rushing towards them in a panicking manner.

Karen stared at the man who just stopped in front of them. There was something familiar about him, but she still couldn’t recognise him, especially since his head was down as he tried to catch his breath back.

“A-Anna, ha-have you s-se-seen Kyuhyun?” He panted heavily. Once he lifted his head up, Karen’s eyes widened in bewilderment as she saw the no-makeup-Sungmin. She even blinked a few times to make sure her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her.

Anna looked at him questionably and simply shook her head.

“We haven’t seen him for three days now. We’ve asked nearly everyone but no one knows. D-do you think Kyuhyun would be murdered next?” He rubbed his sweaty hands nervously.

“Say it quietly, will you? It’s meant to be a secret. What do you think would happen if this leaks out to the public? Besides…” Anna glanced at Karen for a while before resuming back to their conversation. “She’s new; you don’t want to scare her, right?” Anna whispered, praying that the younger one wouldn’t be able to hear.

“I’m sorry, but can you tell me more about it?” Just like that, Karen seized her opportunity.

---

It was 11:32am and Steph was waiting for the moment to arrive, the moment where she could put her plans to action.

“Ya! How long do we have to wait in this heat?” One of her ‘companions’ complained whilst they fanned themselves.

“Ya! Don’t get cocky with me. You do realise when the organisation let me use the two of you in my assignment, they’ve given me the right to remove you two off the surface of this Earth. Be quiet.” Steph threatened menacingly, since she was getting slightly impatient and the fact that she was stuck with two whiny men did not help at all. “You guys think I want to hide behind this stupid brick wall?” She uttered irritably.

At last, their target had arrived, and it was time for their drama to take place. Off she went, sprinting towards the target and purposely tripped right in front of him.

“Ya! Come back here you little brat!” Her partners yelled as they chased her with a baseball bat and knife.

She tried to continue running, but they caught her by the hair. She tried to struggle from the grasp but it appeared that they were much stronger than her. The three of them simply caused a racket which was too much for the old man to handle.

“Please stop this or I’ll call the police!” Lee So Man stared at them sternly. The three did as they were told and waited for the next scene to occur.

Gradually, Lee So Man made his way towards Steph as he noticed the rags that she was wearing, as well as the dirty, coarse, damp hair that covered three-quarters of her face. Their eyes made contact and instantly, his eyes softened. ‘Pity’ was what immediately came to her mind. It was just the way humans worked. They always want to be the hero, doing what they think is classified as justice. When in reality, they only do it to make them look good, to make themselves feel better because they’ve done a good deed so people can praise their ‘kind hearts’. Shakespeare was right; life is merely a performance on a stage. Actors are just waiting for their time to make their exit.

“What’s your name?” He asked her in his most gentle tone of voice, as if he was afraid that she would run away he if spoke any louder.

“Lee Stephanie, sir.”

Like I said before, not a great chapter, don't expect too much ^^'.
Thanks to all those who commented!!! I can't believe people are actually read this xD thanks a lot *bows to everyone*
From now on, other characters should come on a lot more besides from the three girls which just constantly popped up in this fic *coughs* They're annoying aren't they? hehe

R e a d | C o m m e n t | S u b s c r i b e ^___^

S.Y waves goodbyeee~