"Sungmin-ssi, have you seen my pink hoodie..." Tess' question faded as she walked into the kitchen to find the hoodie in question currently being worn by none other than Sungmin himself.

"Eh heh, nuna. Is this yours?" Sungmin said in his best aegyo voice as he smiled shyly, looking down at his feet.

Tess stood there for a moment in silence, just watching him as he tapped his sock covered toe onto the floor tiles, his hands deep in the hoddie's pockets.
She could feel it start in her hands and feet, traveling up through her sternum and into . Then, just as foolishly as all other fan girls, Tess squealed, jumping up and down with her hands covering .

"Ah, neomu gwiyeowo!" She said rushing to give him a hug.

Sungmin relished it when Tess threw herself into his arms, if the smile on his face was any indication. Eunhyuk, who was standing behind them after getting the pitcher of juice from the fridge, just scoffed at the devious Aegyo King.

Sungmin saw this from over Tess' shoulder and stuck his tongue out at the dancer, which gained him an upraised eyebrow via anchovy idol.

Tess stepped back, oblivious to what had happened behind her back, and blushed. "Sorry Sungmin-ssi. You can keep the hoddie all right? It's cuter on you anyway." She said waving her hand in front of her own face to fan the warmth away.

"Gomawo nuna."

"Nuna what are you doing down here so early this morning?" Eunhyuk asked announcing his presence to the flustered woman.

Tess turned around and smiled. "I asked Heechul if he'd seen my hoddie and he told me to ask Sungmin-ssi. It's okay though, I have a nice blue one I can wear today." She said placating the cute idol next to her, who wore a guilty expression, by rubbing his arm, earning a bright smile in return.

Eunhyuk laughed at that and stuck the clear juice container back in the fridge.
"Nuna, even you are susceptible to aegyo? I can't believe it."  He said shaking his head as he quickly left the room.

"Yah." Tess nearly whined as he ran passed her laughing, avoiding her hands when she made a grab for him.
"I'll get you later Lee Hyukjae!"

Sungmin smirked and turned back to pour himself a bowl of cereal.

"Is that all you're going to eat this morning?" Tess asked, eyeing the bowl.

Sungmin's eyebrow went up at her tone. "Neh. We haven't got much time for a hot breakfast right now. There's too much to do today. Our schedules' packed for the next two days." He said snatching a puff off the top, munching it as he put up the milk.

"You all still have Super Junior M preparations too." She said with a frown. "Don't you guys ever get tired?"

"Like you wouldn't believe." Sungmin said rolling his shoulders. "It is something that comes with being an idol."

Tess smiled at him suddenly making Sungmin choke on his spoon of cereal. Tess strode over to him and began patting him on the back. "Gwaenchanh-ayo?"

Sungmin nodded as he clutched his throat. 'It seems I'm not the only one who can pull off deadly aegyo in this building'. He thought as he stared up at his nuna's concerned face.

"Sungmin-ssi be careful next time okay? We don't need a blue faced idol on our hands." she said with a giggle as she rubbed his back for a few more seconds.
Tess looked up at the clock above their table and gasped. "Oh I am so late!" She nearly screeched. "Sorry Sungmin-ssi, I have to go. I'll see you guys later all right? Bye!" Tess said rushing from the apartment.

Sungmin stared off into space for a moment after she had left, seriously considering the reaction he'd just had. That's how Reyowook found him moments later when he came in for something to drink before leaving.

He cocked his head to the side and called Sungmin's name. When the other man had zero reaction, Reyowook strode up to him and waved his hand in the others face, snapping him out of his daze.

"What has you so contemplative this morning?"

Sungmin looked at him for a moment and turned back to his now soggy cereal with out answering his fellow band mate. Reyowook just shook his head and took out the now empty juice container.

"Eunhyukie hyeong! Did you drink all the juice and put the empty container back in the fridge again?"
There was the patter of feet leading to the entrance of the apartment then the door keyed open only to slam shut seconds later.

"Hyeong-nim!" Ryeowook shouted as he ran from the kitchen in pursuit of the slippery dance maniac.

Sungmin took that as a sign to finish up and get out as well. He passed wookie on his way out as the younger man grumbled about nasty habits with a disgusted look on his face.

"See you later Ryeowookie. Don't forget, todays practice will run late again!" The door slammed shut for the third time that morning as yet another person rushed from the apartment's confines.

Ryeowook made it to the kitchen sink just as the door locked behind Sungmin. "Oh come on guy's!" He said with a raised voice.
The aegyo king had left his dirty bowl sitting on the counter.

***

 She was so screwed.

Tess backed up until she felt the rough brick of the institute's back wall, eyeing the three girls that crowded just in front of her. She didn't know what she had done to piss them off, but pissed off they were. These three were helpers at this particular institute. High school helpers. Never the less, Tess didn't feel like going to the police station, so she backed off and waited for them to speak.

"Who do you think you are?" The first girl spat, her face screwing up in a sour look.

Jae-hwa. She was relatively pretty when she didn't look like she'd just swallowed a lemon, whole.
Her eyes were set wide apart on her face, which held little baby fat, and her nose was small and curved to a point. Her lips were thin but a small mole sat at the corner and her hair, a rusty brown, flamed around her head like a halo. 

"Did you think no one would find out about your ty overtures?" Another said with trembling lips as she smacked her hand on the bricks beside Tess' head.

Bong-cha, the snarky leader of the trio, had a baby face and long curly black hair that shone blue in the sun. Her eyes were big and deep amber brown, which pulled attention away from her wide nose. She wore too much makeup, trying to look older than her seventeen years, and her flamboyant style had onlookers peering at them as they communed home after a long day of work.

Home. That is definitely where Tess wanted to be right now.

"Did you not hear her, ?" The high pitched voice of the third girl rang in her ear.

Sung-hee. She was as tall as she was wide. A fluke of the gene pool, some would say, to be so perfect for playing basketball. Which she hated to be told, by the way.
She had to buy from specialty stores and always towered over her friends, but she had a pretty face and liked to push people around when she felt they needed it. Like now I suppose. Tess thought with a huffed breath.

"Look girl's, I don't know what you guy's are talking about, but I would like to go home now okay?" She tried to push past them but Sunghee grabbed her arm and threw her back against the wall.

Pain lanced up Tess' backside as she bounced from the force. It took all she had not to swing at the girl but, as stated before, she didn't want to see the police today.

"You're not going anywhere." Jaehwa said smirking.

"All right, what's this all about?" Tess said through clenched teeth.

Bongcha snorted. "Don't act stupid oegug-in. You are not good enough to be Donghae's girlfriend, so don't even think about it." She said pushing Tess back with her finger, digging in to her clavicle.

Tess opened to yell at the girl when her words registered. "What are you talking about? Donghae's... girlfriend?" Tess laughed and the other girls looked at each other with confused eyes. "Where did you hear that at?"

Sunghee looked at her like she'd grown another head.
"It was on the show." Jaehwa said in a dead-pan voice. Tess stopped laughing and stared at her.

"It was on the show? What was?"

"Oh come on!" Bongcha yelled, throwing her fists down at her sides like a child having a temper fit. "We all saw it. You hanging all over Donghae, the talks you guys have had, the looks he's been giving you. Don't try an deny it."

Tess shook her head. "I really don't know what your talking about. I did hug Donghae, but there was nothing romantic involved."

"That's not what it looked like last night when the show aired." Jaehwa said shaking her head.

"Well I can't really do anything about what PD-nim put on air so move before I make you." Tess said finally reaching her boiling point.
She got it now. They had taken footage from different filming segments and edited them together to show some kind of relationship that wasn't there. Ratings. That had to be what this was all about.

As Tess moved to leave the three Sunghee grabbed her again. Without pausing, Tess gripped Sunghee's hand between the thumb and pried her hand off her arm. The girl went with the hand lock and fell to her knees.

"Don't touch me again." Tess said as she walked down the steps away from them, leaving the other two gaping in her wake.

***

 SM Entertainment. The building wasn't much to look at, just beige brick and glass but Tess was glaring at it as if it held the worst of criminals inside.
She had already been to SBS, only to be told they were following orders given by the boys higher up's. Namely, Hong PD and Hwang PD the producer of 'living with idols'. It made no sense to Tess, when they were the ones to warn her about such a thing at the beginning themselves.

She walked in and was met by the receptionist, who had seen her standing outside. "Tess-ssi, what brings you here today?" She asked politely. Tess' eyebrow went up at the sound of her name.

"I'm here to meet with the boy's." She lied with a smile.

"Oh, they didn't tell me to expect you." She said walking back to check her book once again.

"That's Heechul for you." Tess laughed.
She smiled and nodded, motioning with her hand for Tess to enter after handing her a visitors pass.

Tess let out a breath as she made her way down the long hall, not believing how easy that was.
She took the elevator up to the second from the top floor and walked to the desk. The secretary wasn't there, which made things infinitely better for Tess and she barged into the CEO's office.

Kim Young-min was sitting behind his desk with his head in his hands. "If you are here to curse me out for the media frenzy, your too late. Donghae and Siwon have already been here." He said tiredly. Then he raised his head and his eyes grew wide with shock.

"Apparently I am the last person you thought you would see standing in your office." Tess said crossing her arms over her chest.

"Tess-ssi. How did you... never mind. I had nothing to do with this decision. It was completely not my idea." He said standing and coming around the desk, buttoning his tan suite jacket.

"Are you telling me that this went above you're head?"

"No, not at all. The producers felt they were losing some of the target audience, the ratings fell. While watching your interactions with the members some of the staff thought you and Donghae-ssi would make a good couple. The producer thought so too, so he had a talk with He-min, ah Hong PD, and they agreed to let you two have a relationship on camera."

"Did you ever think to ask us how we felt about this?" Tess asked with a catch in her breath.

"I think this might not be such a bad decision, you two have more in common than you think. He said the exact same thing." Young-min said smiling. "Please come with me. I will drop you off at the rehearsal room before I leave for my meeting." He said motioning with his hand, showing her the door.

Tess sighed and walked ahead of him, knowing there was no way out of this now.
They took the elevator down to the second floor and walked down to the last set of doors, took a right and wound up before a set of steps.

"Just go up there and take a left. It's the first door on your right." He told her. She bowed goodbye and went up the set of four steps.

The guys were in there all right. Music blared from the stereo. Through the small window she could see some of the guys laying on the floor, sweat drenching their bodies, Eunhyuk, along with Donghae, were dancing to their new Mandarin song while the two joked with each other at the same time. Tess sighed and pulled open the door.

It was as if she had pulled the plug on them. Everything stopped. The music blared for a moment longer after the door shut until Siwon turned it off, while all the guys just stared at her.

Tess laughed at their expressions. "What, you guys never thought you'd see me here?"

"Nuna!" Yesung said coming from the side. She turned and smiled at him, with a little wave. He grinned back and came over to her.
"What are you doing here? Did you hear about..."

"Yes. I got cornered by some crazed fans and thought I'd come see what all the fuss was about." She turned to Donghae and waved. "Annyeongha namja chingu."

Donghae hung his head and sighed. "Mianhae nuna. I didn't want this to happen."

Tess looked at him for a moment and let her self slowly take on a hurt expression. As the tears slowly started forming, her eyes took on a glistening appearance. Eunhyuk nudged Donghae, panic started to over take his features.

"You don't... don't want t-to be my boyfriend? You don't like m-me?"

Donghae quickly put his hands up and waved them back and forth, fear in every plain of his face.
 Heechul started snickering in the back and it took all Tess had not to follow.

"That... that's not w-what I m-ment at all, Tess-ssi! I like you, really! I just thought you would be upset and..."

She couldn't hold it any longer and burst out laughing so hard she bent double, placing her hands on her knees.

"Oh, oh your face!" Tess gasped out. Heechul stumbled over, holding his side, to lean on Tess' shoulder.

"That was so great. Your face was like, ergh." Heechul giggled making a parody of Donghae's expression.
   Donghae glared at the two. "Hyeong! Tess-ssi, that was not funny."

Tess stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes. She saw most of the others trying to hold back there own laughter, a few unsuccessful and receiving more glares from the flustered gominam.

"Hyeongdeul!"

"I'm sorry Donghae-ssi, it was just to good to pass up." Tess said seriously, taking his left hand in hers. He sighed again and nodded.

"It's all right. I guess I am a little gullible. But, was it true? You got cornered by fans?"

The guys sobered up when she answered the affirmative.

"I knew something like this would happen! That's why I went to talk to Young-min hyeong with Donghae." Siwon said in a frustrated tone as he rubbed his head with both hands, locking the fingers at his crown.

"Don't worry Siwon-ssi, I'll be fine. Those girls, at least, won't bother me again." Tess said confidently.

Too confidently, it seemed. The guys all looked at her with worry. Siwon put his hands down at his sides, his eyes wide. Eunhyuk's mouth was hanging open slightly, and Heechul just stared at her.

"You didn't... hurt any of our fans, Tess-ssi?" Eeteuk asked hesatantly.

Tess scoffed. "Of course not! Who do you think I am a gangster? I just made some girls in my institute a little more aware than they were previously." Tess put her hands on her hips.
"Was it okay for them to push me into a wall so hard I bounced off? I see, you guys don't care about me as long as your fans still like you!" She huffed.

"No, that's not it at all!" Shindong said quickly stepping forward. 

Sungmin came up behind her and hugged her. "Don't act like that nuna." he whispered in her ear.

"Yah Sungminie, you better watch it or you'll start a war within suju. Donghae vs. Sungmin, ugh!" Heechul said with a shiver.

Sungmin stepped back and Ryeowook took Tess' arm, steering her over to a seat by the mirrors. "Nunim, don't think like that. We all care about you. We don't want you to get hurt by rumors and things like that."

Tess smiled at the younger man. "Ryeowook, you really are sweet. Thank you." She patted his hand. He smiled back and handed her a water bottle. "You will get to meet the other two members of Super Junior M now." he said sitting beside her.

"Oh really? Are they coming today?"

"They should be here any time now. We'll rehearse with them for a few hours, go over the dances and stuff, then we can all go out and eat." He said happily.

"I can't wait." Tess said laughing with him in his enthusiasm.

Just then the door opened admitting two men. One was extreamly tall to Tess' eyes and the other shorter. She didn't get a chance to see his face before he turned and shut the door. All the members of Super Junior crowded around the new commers with excited chatter and greetings. Ryeowook grabbed her hand and pulled her along with him, pushing her into the mix.

"Ah Tess-ssi this is Zhoumi! He is one of our Super Junior M members." Siwon introduced them and they shook hands.

"Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ ." Tess said in Mandarin, surprising everyone around her.

"Tess-ssi I didn't know you could speak Mandarin." Donghae said in awe.
"Zhoumi, this is the lady that is living with us while we film 'living with idol's'" Donghae explained.

 "It's nice to meet you as well Tess-ssi." Zhoumi said in Korean. They both smiled brightly at each other.

 "Watch out Mi, she's Donghae's woman!" Heechul said from behind her. She turned to whack him and instead met the other man that had come in face to face. Her eye's bugged out, mirroring the expression in his own.

 "Tess."

 "Henry?"

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hangul:                    Romanization:           English translation:

너무 귀여워           neomu gwiyeowo                so cute

애교                            aegyo                       acting charming or cute

외국인                      oegug-in                            foreigner

안녕하 남자 친구 !!  annyeongha namja chingu       hello boyfriend

고미남                       gominam                           pretty boy

형들                          hyeongdul                          brothers     

Of course I slipped a bit of Mandarin in on you guy's. I'm not too sure about this one. Chinese characters are too hard for me, so if you know it's wrong, drop me a line and I'll fix it quick!  (｡◕‿◕｡)       

很高兴认识你        Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ       Nice to meet you.   

  애교 aaegyo                   ageyohello