Taemin and I wasted no time getting closer together. After classes, he would pick me up on campus or sometimes I would drive him to work. A few times a week, I would visit his dance rehearsals and I even grew closer to the other members as well.

“Yoonae!” Ji Eun caught up with me after classes with a grin on her face.

“Come with me to the EXO dorm.” She said.

“Why? What are you guys doing today?” I asked.

She gave me a questioning look. “Baekhyun-oppa didn’t tell you? We’re all having dinner tonight.”

I shook my head. “I haven’t spoken to any of them in a while.” In all honesty, I had no time to speak to any of them. Between classes, work, and dating, I barely had time to sit myself down and have a proper meal.

“Not even Baekhyun?”

“Well...just a bit, but I haven’t for the past...3 days? He usually just checks up to see how I’m doing. We don’t really have time to talk anymore.”

“I should have known SHINee would take you away.” She grumbled.

“I thought you were okay with me dating Taemin.” I replied.

She winced. “I’m happy for you but...it’s just...weird. You were his biggest fan and all and...don’t you find it creepy how he looks like Kai, and you and Kai had a thing?”

“Ji Eun...you know I really don’t like seeing it that way.” Jongin was still a touchy subject for me. We still hadn’t spoken yet.

She looked at me before she softened a bit. “I know....sorry, I shouldn’t have mentioned that. Does he know though?”

“Not unless Taemin told him.” I said. She nodded.

“So....are you coming tonight or not?”

“I can’t. I’m meeting Taemin tonight. I promised to watch him practice.”

“Oh...alright. I’ll see you around then.” I nodded and gave her a brief hug before we went off on our own ways.

I arrived at the SM building after about a 15 minute drive. Going up to the familiar practice room, I silently snuck in to find Taemin and BoA practicing their choreography oh so seriously.

I smiled and waved a bit at SHINee’s nice manager and sat against the wall, watching the duo go through the routine for what must have been the hundredth time.

After the little duet bit was finished and the backup dancers took over, Taemin went over to me with a bright smile on his face. I handed him a water bottle which he gulped greedily from.

“How long have you been here?” I asked.

“I think 3 hours now? We’re just about done. Wanna go out for dinner after?”

“Sure.”

When the rehearsal finished, all the dancers bid their good-byes and I bowed several times to BoA who easily recognized me by then. I took a towel from Taemin’s gym bag and began to wipe away his sweat for him.

“Should we go now?” He asked excitedly.

“As much as I’d love to Taem, you’re sweating bullets and you need to change your clothes. How about a shower first? I wait for you here.”

He scowled but glanced at himself in the mirror before twitching at his own appearance. “Yeah I should.”

He took the towel from my hand and leaned down to kiss me. “Be right back baby.”

I grinned after him as he walked out of the room.

“You two are so cute.” I jumped at the sound of the voice, finally remembering that Taemin’s manager was still in the room.

I blushed. “Thank you.”

He chuckled and made his way to the door. “Have fun. I’m counting on you to take him home Yoonae-shi. Be careful alright?”

I promised him I would and he left.

I took my phone and fiddled around with it as I waited. Reading past texts, looking at old pictures, I found all my memories returning. I couldn’t help but laugh as I found a picture of Jongin and Sehun.

The two playful maknaes had stolen my phone and began camwhoring as we waited for the flight one of the days. They even managed to set it as my wallpaper for a while and set themselves as number 1 and 2 on my speed dial.

I had never used it before but even now, I didn’t have the heart to change the numbers back.

The wallpaper had to go though. It went through several evolutions from Luhan, to Ji Eun and I, to a group photo, to Jongin. The most recent one was replaced by Taemin and I on our first official date as a couple.

“I’m back~”

I tore my gaze away from my cellphone and looked up at my grinning boyfriend who looked much more presentable now.

I got up and ran to him, wrapping my arms around his slender body. He seemed taken aback but hugged me as well.

“What’s the matter?” He asked softly.

“Nothing.” I mumbled into his chest. “I just don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

He took a step back to look at me. I met his gaze hesitantly. Leaning in, he slowly captured my lips with his. I responded immediately, after all, it wasn’t the first time we kissed in the practice room like this. This was one of the only places we could kiss though.

Taemin didn’t like to display our affection in public. Even the few times we were back in SHINee’s dorm, we were wary around the others, not taking a single step more than a simple peck on the cheek.

In many ways, this is what made me feel so safe and secure with him. When we parted, he looked into my eyes.

“Shall we go?”

I tiptoed and placed a swift kiss on his lips before walking out.

---

On the weekend, I woke up just before noon to have lunch and prepare for work. Taemin was practicing with BoA in the early afternoon before their evening performance. I dropped by to watch as usual.

At the end of rehearsal, Taemin and I stayed behind to relax and have a small meal before his performance.

“Say ahh~” He sang. I giggled and opened my mouth for him to feed me. He broke into his famous eye smile and took a bite for himself.

It felt so comfortable to be around him. Everything was so natural, it felt like I had known him for years. The relationship wasn’t plain or boring per se but it definitely made me feel secure, something I had doubts with from the very beginning.

At first, I was hesitant about it all but now...I started falling for Taemin. Everything is perfect. At least it was until reality came crashing down on me, hard.

Taemin and I exited the room with 20 minutes to go before we were expected at the recording studio.

As we closed the door behind us, we spotted Jongin and Krystal talking at the end of the hall.

My heart skipped a beat, and I froze on spot.

Taemin stopped with me. “It’s alright. I’m here.” He reminded me as he took my hand.

“I-I’m okay.” I tried saying, failing to convince even myself. He squeezed my hand and led me forward. Jongin and Krystal seemed to be in a heated conversation and barely acknowledged us as we walked by.

Key word: barely.

In the brief second that I took a hesitant glimpse up at him, he turned to look at me. I flinched but followed Taemin as he pulled me away. It was how many weeks since the incident? Yet all the memories came flooding back as soon as I saw him again.

“You alright?” Taemin asked.

I was just about to tell him another reassuring lie when I spotted two familiar figures standing in the hallway. They seemed to see us too.

“Yoonae!” Sehun cried, waving us over. I in a huge breath before joining him and Baekhyun. Sehun immediately pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.

“I miss you~” He whined as he shook me from side to side.

“I miss you too.” I replied, feeling relaxed once again. “I really do Sehun.”

He pulled back a bit and held me at arms’ length. “Where have you been? You didn’t even show up for last SM Town.”

“I took a break for a bit and then they relocated me to SHINee’s team.” I said. It wasn’t entirely a lie...but it wasn’t the truth either. My eyes flashed to Baekhyun for a second. He didn’t seem convinced at all that what I said was true.

“Taemin-oppa!”

We all turned to face the newcomer to the group. I stiffened as I realized Jongin and Krystal were walking towards us. The latter of the two waved to Taemin over enthusiastically while Jongin had his eyes trained on me.

I stepped away from Sehun and instinctively stepped closer to Taemin who took my hand as he greeted the female singer and his best friend.

I looked at my shoes and focused entirely on it, every little spec of dirt and dust there was, as the idols conversed amongst themselves. It beat looking at Jongin and her. The only problem with my one solution was that it didn’t stop him from looking at me.

The entire time, I felt his gaze on me, neither of us paying attention to the conversation around us. I risked a peek up at him. He didn’t look happy. His eyes flashed between mine, and mine and Taemin’s interlaced fingers, almost as if he was asking a silent question.

Krystal seemed to be a step ahead of him though.

“Oppa, is this your girlfriend?”

That’s when I tore my gaze away from Jongin and looked up at Taemin. His eyes met mine and he smiled.

“Yeah. Krystal, this is Yoonae, my girlfriend.”

I looked over at the tall, pretty, and friendly girl and forced myself to smile at her.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Yoonae.” I forced out.

“Krystal.” She replied. A part of me regretted hating her. If it wasn’t for the drunken incident...then I would have known her as such a friendly person but unfortunately, every time I saw her, it hurt. Memories came back and I began to feel nauseous just watching the two stand next to each other.

“T-Taemin.” I barely managed to whisper. He turned to me in concern.

“Should we go now?” I asked. “We’re going to be late.”

“Right. I’ll see you guys later!” He said to the others before leading me out. Needless to say, I was glad to be out of there.

---

About two hours later, the performance had finished and I was waiting for Taemin to finish changing before leaving. The recording took quite some time so while I was backstage, I had nothing to do than spend my time thinking about the confrontation earlier in the day. Jongin and Krystal...Krystal and Jongin. They were so perfect together, I couldn’t help but feel jealous.

I sighed and leaned back against the couch, wiping a few tears out of my eyes. No, I couldn’t cry now.

I jumped as the couch sunk down abruptedly beside me, less than seconds later, I was engulfed in a tight hug.

“How did I do today?”

“G-good.” I hated that I had to struggle for the one worded answer. Taemin looked me in eye.

“You didn’t pay attention did you?”

“Yes I did.”

“No, you were thinking about him, weren’t you?” He sighed, leaning back a bit. “Don’t lie to me Yoonae, I know how much he means to you.”

He got up and began to walk away. I immediately chased after him.

“Wait! Taemin, please!”

He turned around, hurt evident in his eyes. I took it as my only opportunity to speak up.

“Taemin, I’m sorry. I’m trying, I really am and...I like you...a lot.”

I scanned his expression, waiting for any sign of reply. He closed his eyes and let out a giant breath before opening them again and taking my hands.

“Believe me, I know. And I’ll help you...Do you trust me?”

Hadn’t I already? I nodded. He smiled, causing me to do the same. We leaned in and slowly, our lips met.

---

A/N: Hiii everyone!

Sorry for the uber late update. I totally lost track of the days since I last updated. To compensate, I am going to release a double update today =] This would be the first of the two chapters. Not to mention, I will start writing the alternate POV. If you still haven't casted your votes and you're interested, do so ASAP as I will begin writing it soon ^^

Thanks for all the support guys!

-Ryeowook, Sungmin, Taemin, Luhan, Jongin, Chen, Youngmin, Kwangmin, Baekhyun, Sehun, Sungjong, and Myungsoo's Wifey<3