The five said their goodbyes to their fellow entertainers. Finally, the performance was over. For the first time in maybe weeks, all five of them had some time off at the same time.
In a white van with their manager in the driver's seat, they rode quietly. They were just so tired. Of course, they never seemed tired on stage. They sang their new song "Ring Ding Dong" with feeling. Their performance was as fierce as their new looks.

Little did the public know, little did their precious SHINee World fans know, that that was their true image. Underneath their adorable boyish exteriors were hearts that were made of more darkness than most humans could comprehend. Even sweet Taemin, innocent adorable Taemin, was made of more evil than some of the worst criminals. It was by sheer chance that these five teenage males were put together. SM Entertainment brought them together and formed one of the most popular idol groups in South Korea. SM Entertainment made such a horrible mistake, bringing such beings to work together.

The van came to a stop and the boys got off. They walked through a throng of fans who knew where they were staying. They kept their heads down and pushed through the crowd with the help of security. It was so hard to keep the location of where they stayed a secret nowadays. Back when they were still newbies, it was so much easier to move around in public. It was more peaceful. They entered the hotel and took an elevator up to their room. The manager congratulated them on their good work for the day and left them to pack up their stuff from the hotel room. They had half an hour to gather their belongings and move out. They weren't taking the van again, they had a different car ready for them in the parking garage to use.

"A whole week off! It's about time!" Taemin stretched his arms over his head.

Onew zipped up his duffel bag and let a smirk grace his features. Otherwise, he made no sound.

Key stepped out of the bathroom while wiping water from his face with a white washcloth. "I can finally get this eyeliner off!"

"Aw...you look good in eyeliner though," teased Taemin.

Key glared hard at the younger boy. People generally said the eyeliner on Key made him look fiercer. Even lacking eyeliner now, if people could see the expression on his face at the moment, they would agree it was the fiercest expression that they would have ever seen on their Almighty Key's face. The maknae of the group just smiled wider, his eyes twinkling.

Minho warned Taemin, "You better back off Taeminnie. Kibum looks pissed."

Taemin laughed lightly while stuffing some stolen hotel towels into his duffel, "Nobody could ever hit little old me. I'm the adorable maknae. The baby of SHINee."

Key walked passed Taemin, bumping his shoulder somewhat forcefully against the other boy, "Ha! Baby! That still makes me laugh even over a year after our debut. You're older than most of our fans Taeminnie." He still couldn't help being the umma though. "Make sure you double check your stuff before you leave."

"Hey, as long as I look seventeen, that's what the stupid people will believe." Taemin said flippantly. "Just like all of you look 19 and 20 too." He zipped up his bag and sat next to it on the bed. "A whole week off! So generous of the big man to give us so much time off. Thank you Dong Bang Shin Gi sunbaes for fighting your contracts! Makes life easier for us!"

Jonghyun hummed softly to their new song while he listened to the others talk.

Minho ed a few of the top buttons to his shirt while looking at himself in the mirror. He ran a hand through his hair and examined his reflection as he commented, "Yeah. Soo Man wants to keep his money making machines happy so that there aren't any more conflicts. I still hope Yoochun-hyung, Jaejoong-hyung, and Junsu-hyung win this case though. Kick Soo Man down a few notches."

"Aw...too bad DBSK is booked all week. I would have loved to go drinking with them..." Taemin sighed. "A "vacation" they give us and I can't think of anything to do. Like hell I'm going home. What are you guys planning to do during break?" Fans would have been appalled by their innocent Taemin's tone and choice of words.

Jonghyun zipped up his bag and sang softly, "...I call you butterfly..." He looked up and found the other four boys staring at him. They all wore identical smirks and had the same glint in their eyes. One by one, they all picked up their luggage and moved out of the door, each humming the song and thinking about the same thing.

They took the elevator down to the parking garage. They stepped out of the elevator. No screaming fangirls. They looked around. Nobody within sight. Good. They could leave in peace. Key took out his keys and started walking towards a stark black Jaguar. The car alarm deactivated and he pulled the door open. Jonghyun went around to the passenger side and opened the door. He pulled up the seat to let the other three into the backseat of the sports car.

They were on the road now. It was dusk and the dark blue and black of the night sky was creeping up. The black jag sped through curves that hugged the mountains. Where they were heading, only those five knew. Hours later, they were closer to their destination but had still not arrived. It was nearly pitch black outside. It was amazing how Key did not drive straight off the cliff.

Minho, who was staring out of the window into the darkness, spoke up, "I miss her."

Jonghyun closed his eyes, "I do too... Probably more than you do. You saw her last week. I haven't visited her in two weeks."

Minho kicked the back of Jonghyun's seat. Jonghyun was jolted from his imagination. "Hey!"
Minho did not reply and continued to stare out the window.

"Shut up you two," Onew commanded.

"We all miss her," Key said sternly.

Taemin commented out of nowhere, "I need to get laid."

Nobody said anything but they all looked at the youngest member with eyebrows raised. Even Key, who was still driving with no problems, was looking at the boy via the rear view mirror.

"What?" He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. They continued to stare at him. "It's not like you all don't want to get some too...," he trailed off.

Onew lightly hit him upside the head. "Ow!" Taemin cried. Minho gazed out the window again. Key kept his eyes on the winding road that cut through the forest. Jonghyun put his headphones on and listened to music with his eyes closed.

"But it's true...." Taemin half grumbled, half whined.

And indeed it was true.

Suddenly, Key took the car off the road and between two trees of some woods, in which a faint path could be followed. A good ten minutes later, the black car stopped in front of what could only be described as a mansion. They climbed out of the car and took the pathway leading up to the white doors with the gold brass handles.

Without a pause or blink, they stepped right through the seemingly solid doors without opening them. As each boy passed through, the door's surface would shimmer slightly and distort. It could be compared to the ripples created when someone would touch the surface of still water.

They left their bags on the ground and looked around the empty foyer. A huge crystal chandelier hung above the direct center of the large rectangular room. Heavy, drapes of alternating navy blue and maroon hung from the ceiling in a pattern that followed the perimeter of the room. The walls were completely mirrored, only interrupted by a doorway or hallway.

As if to welcome their arrival, the gray clouds broke apart and revealed the bright moon. Its light beamed down through the nearly all glass ceiling. Shadows danced across the boys' features, giving them an evil glow.

Key smirked and whispered, "Ring. Ding. Dong."

Jonghyun broke into a big smile, "Let's see who finds her first! No cheating!" He picked up his bag and walked towards one of the many doorways. Once he was engulfed in the hallway's darkness, Taemin laughed.

"No cheating? Yeah, sure. Right..." A little pepper-colored field mouse scurried towards the youngest SHINee member. He bent down and let the creature sit in his palm. "Show me the way little buddy." The mouse jumped off his hand and ran towards a different hallway. After shouldering his bag, Taemin followed.
Onew watched the youngest leave and turned just in time to see Key's foot disappear through a mirror.

"Jonghyun is too optimistic. We all know Key is going to be the one to win. Possibly Taemin if he's lucky. We get the short end of the stick...," Onew sighed.

Minho just smiled slightly, picked up the handle of his bag and walked away. Onew followed suit.

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Last edited: 2010 Jan. 4
Posted: 2010 July 18
Approx. 3 pages out of 25 total for this story. (according to MS Word size 10 Verdana font