As SHINee, the Wondergirls, and Beast did their sets, 2PM went into a side room for vocal rest and discussion. Minkyung came up to Nick, “Nick-shi~ there’s a man here from America asking to see Taren-unnie,” the Sound Director said respectfully, and immediately Junho/Taec said, “Man?!” Jay, ever-so-much the responsible leader, stepped forward, bowing slightly, “Okay- she isn’t here yet, but please, let him come see us, and we’ll take care of it.” Minkyung nodded cutely, “Okay!!”As she went to let in the guest, Junho turned and faced the others with such a look of stone that Woo/Chan burst out laughing. “What~I take no chances when it comes to my love-“

 “But you have risked her life so many times already~” a mixed American of Ethnic descent entered the room without ceremony, cutting the vocalist off smoothly and closing the door behind him in his wake. Immediately, everyone was on their guard- Chan’s eyes warmed with fire, Junsu’s eyes became hazy as he opened a quick Mind Link to TOP, Taec’s muscles bristled while Woo reached into his back pocket for a weapon- and Jay stood in front of a twitching Nick and said, “And may I ask who you are?” The man chuckled and did a little bow. “Oh, where are my manners? I do hope you’ll forgive my intrusion- I’m not normally that rude. I am Anthony, and I am Taren Diego’s husband.”

 Multiple things happened at the same time- some of the lightbulbs in the big room exploded due to Chan’s solar shock, a bottle of water shattered as Junho took an angry gain step towards the man, but was held back by Junsu and Woo, Taec’s fine hair stood on end as he growled, and Nick sidestepped in front of Jay, sure that Jay would say something inappropriate (while fighting the urge to do so himself)- and finally, the Thai Prince could only go with, “Excuse me?”

Anthony raised one hand, “Oh, I’m sorry- I plan to propose to her tomorrow on Valentine’s Day, but since I know that I will succeed in everything that I do I just started to call us ‘Husband & Wife’”, he finished, smug and in all of his glory. “You’ve only been here for a minute, but you’re already encroaching on dangerous territory,” a trembling Junho spoke at last, and Anthony only laughed. “So what? What are you gonna do, Junho?” He opened the question up to everyone, “What can any of you do?” Nick suddenly came to a realization:

“ Oh, he’s just some guy who thinks that I’m his little housewife-don’t worry, it’s not gonna happen, ever,” Taren said as Junho choked and they all laughed over their Tatami…

“Guys, this is the guy that was calling Taren during our rehearsal the other day,” Nick told the others, and Anthony smiled broadly, “But of course- I had to make sure that nothing happened to my angel while she was out of my care.” Chan stepped forward, “What do you want? Taren made it pretty clear that she wants nothing to do with you on a love level.” Anthony merely threw his head back and laughed- causing Woo to quickly pull the maknae back, as Chan’s hand began to heat up in a familiar flair. “Want? I want nothing. When I see something I want, I simply reach out and take it, isn’t that how you all work, too?”

Jay stepped forward, “I think you need to go back to the States- there’s nothing for you to take here-,” and Anthony stepped forward too, and coyly said, “Or what? You haven’t answered my question yet- what will you do if I stay?” He looked at everyone in the group, one by one, “Chansung will incinerate me to death if Junsu’s flimsy Charm doesn’t work?” The others had shocked expressions on their faces as he continued triumphantly, “ If I start running, will Wooyoung shoot me in the back from one of his regurgitated guns? Will Junho follow me into the bathroom and drown me with his water at the sink, and then have Nichkhun call on the moon to cover it up? Or will you wait until I’m in a back alley and then have your animals Jaebeom and Taecyeon maul me to death?” Anthony grinned, as the others were at a loss, and Woo said quietly, “How do you know…?” Anthony threw his arms wide, “But isn’t it obvious- I’m the Link in the Chain of Hatred!!”