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  Alice was sitting at her desk, looking at stuff on her computer while Belle and Adriel did the same on their own. She rolled her eyes at the younger girls who argued about a Korean boy on Adriel’s screen. She on the other hand was trying to plan out what they would be doing that evening for fun. There was lots she wanted to show them and lots she herself had yet to see. Not only that, but she wanted to keep other things last on her mind: like Yamaa.

  “That’s not him,” Belle was saying. “I told you he’s the one in blue!”

  “No, I promise you that’s him,” Adriel countered. “and he’s mine anyways.” She flipped her hair indignantly and Alice couldn’t keep the smile off her face.

  Belle was complaining when Key paraded into the room. Oh, the diva in him, Alice rolled her eyes, but watched closely. He studied the picture out of curiosity, draping himself over Adriel as he did so.

  “Why are you looking at Infinite’s L?” he scoffed. “You’re supposed to only have eyes for meee.” He put his hand on his chest dramatically, but Alice heard the double meaning with ease.

  “I told you it was L,” Adriel stuck her tongue out at Belle, who rolled her eyes and turned to see a smirking Alice. “So what do you need Kibum?”

  Belle began to scoff and Alice muffled her giggles. It was just too funny!

  “Yah! Why are you laughing!” complained Adriel in English.

  “Yeah, you’re always laughing at me. Is there something funny about me?” the diva looked at the girls crossly, his accent heavy as he spoke in English.

  “There’s nothing funny, you’re perfect,” Adriel patted Key to placate him. A big giddy grin spread across his face.

  “Alright, I’m gonna go,” Belle rose from her place on the bed. “I’ll need some crackers if you guys are going to be this cheesy.” The redhead kept a straight face while Alice finally burst into a fit of laughter, earning glares from the pair.

  “Just get out of here,” Adriel waved her hand at Belle. “So did you need something Key-oppa?”

  “Tch. Fine,” Belle rolled her eyes and strolled out the door.

  “I just wanted to be with you I guess,” Key shrugged.

  Alice tuned them out, only checking up on them every so often. It wasn't long before Minho burst into the room. Adriel eventually greeted the rapper and asked if he’d like to join her and Key. Alice watched with mild amusement as the diva reluctantly let go of Adriel and Minho wedged himself between the two, earning a glare from Key. Alice hadn’t helped much by inviting him in, from what she could read of Key’s body language. Minho of course thanking her, some hope sparking in his chest.

  The rose and Alice felt as if she were suffocating, but remained where she was, if only to keep an eye on her iimoto and her admirers. Eventually Minho offered to teach Adriel how to French braid.

  “You could have asked me to teach you,” Alice pointed out to Adriel, slightly hurt.

  “Oppa’s gonna teach me now,” her sister stuck her tongue out at her.

  “Soon Minho was braiding Adriel’s hair while the Key worked on her nails. As soon as Minho finished, Adriel’s eyes widened as she saw the end result using the reflection of her phone.

  “I’ll let you practice on me,” Alice laughed. She made her way to the bed and plopped down. Minho’s hands soon worked through her hair as he explained to Adriel.

  “I get it!” Adriel squealed. “That’s easy!”

  “Of course it is, because I’m the master teacher,” he pinched Adriel’s cheeks, making her squirm.

  “Yah!” Key snapped. “Do you want red all over your hands?”

  “Then she’ll look like she killed someone,” Alice laughed as Adriel apologized. Suddenly a loud thump reached their ears. “What was that?”

  “I don’t know,” Adriel cocked her head. “Who’s next door?”

  Onew peeked inside. “Is everyone okay? I heard a noise.”

  “Wasn’t us,” Adriel answered, “It came from the next room.”

  The leader’s eyes widened. “Oh snap!”

  “What?” Key asked.

  At the same time Minho tilted his head, “Hyung?”

  “Taemin and Belle are in there!” he turned to run out the door but tripped and fell face first on the carpet, “Why does this have to happen at an important time?” he whimpered to himself.

  “Aish,” Key stood up. He instructed Adriel to stay put and went out to check on Belle and Taemin while Alice got up to help Onew.

  “You alright Onew-oppa?” she led him to the kitchen. His only response was an appreciative whimper as they left the room.

  “Alice-ah?” Onew looked at Alice.

  “Mmm?” they stopped just a little ways from the kitchen.

  “Go on a date with Jonghyun today,” Alice looked at SHINee’s leader in surprise.

  “Waeyo?” she asked why in Korean.

  He blinked a few times, caught off guard by the sudden Korean used by Alice, “Um, you two may not get another chance. Not that I’m being biased because he’s my band mate or anything, but you should give it a shot.” They continued on to the kitchen. “He deserves a fair shot, as hard as that may be for the two of you at the moment. He’s waiting for you downstairs.”

  “Huh?” Alice sat on a stool, stunned. “But the others…”

  “What about the others?” laughter soon filled the whole penthouse. “We’ll be fine.”

  “But it isn’t fair,” Alice sighed. “I wanted to go out with all of you today. Spend time with my little sister and Belle.”

  “We’ll go out on our own,” he opened the fridge. “We’ll be fine. Just come back early enough so we can all have dinner together.”

  “Onew-oppa…” Alice reluctantly stood up.

  “Go,” Onew looked over his shoulder and smiled.

  “Okay. But don’t eat the chicken!” Alice headed to the door, grabbing her coat and shoes as she went. “Kamsahamnida!”

 

  The singer paced back and forth impatiently and nervously. What if she didn’t want to go on a date? he thought. He wore a fedora and big nerd glasses he found on Yamapi’s desk. He received many odd stares from those around him as he paced back and forth. Sometimes girls would run their eyes up and down him, but he never paid them any attention. The only thoughts in his head were of Alice... and the kiss.

  “Sumimasen,” an elegant young and beautiful woman approached him. “I couldn’t helpt but—”

  “Japanese not speak,” he answered distractedly in Japanese, looking over her head towards the elevators.

  “Korean?” she fluttered her eyes.

  “No,” he looked at her, annoyed.

  “Do you need some assistance?” she grabbed his arm.

  “I don’t even know you,” he glared at her.

  “You can get to know me,” she hinted.

  “I’m waiting for someone,” he snapped.

  “Girl or boy?” she pressed her body closer to his.

  “Girl,” he tried shaking her off.

  “Girlfriend?” her voice went flat.

  This made him freeze. Oh, to be able to say Alice was his girlfriend! But things were complicated, that’s why he wanted to take her on a date. Many dates. He so much wanted her to choose him.

  “I’ll take that as a no,” her voice brought him back from his daze. “She won’t mind, let’s go!”

  “Please stop,” Jonghyun tried sounding polite. Just then, the elevator doors opened again and he saw her. Alice spotted him and the girl right away as she made her way to him, a raised eyebrow in amusement seeing his predicament. The girl clinging onto Jonghyun noticed his gaze and turned to look at Alice.

  “Hmph,” she stood next to him, not letting go of his arm. “A foreigner?”

  “Looks like you found some company,” Alice stopped in front of him, speaking in English.

  “I’m sorry,” the girl beside Jonghyun said in English. “But he can’t hang out with you today; we’re going on a date. He doesn’t date Americans.”

  “Yah!” Jonghyun tried pushing her away again.

  “Especially when they can’t speak any other languages,” she smirked. The girl was cocky, but she felt threatened by Alice.

  Alice’s eyes flared. “As, soo desu ne? Watashi ha, nihongo, to supango, to furansugo wo hanasemasenka?” the girls eyes widened.  “Chincha? Ah, eotteoke…”

  “Eeto,” she let go of Jonghyun’s arms. “Anata ha, otokono no tanoyo desu ka?”

  “Hai, tanoyo desu,” Alice smirked.  Without another word, the girl turned and fled, embarrassment plain on her features.

  “What did you say?” Jonghyun looked at Alice with amazement.

  “I asked her if I couldn’t speak Japanese, Spanish and French,” Alice blushed, refusing to tell him the last of it.

  “What did she ask after?” Jonghyun stepped closer to Alice.

 “If I was…” she turned away, turning an even deeper shade of red.

  “Let me guess?” Jonghyun bit his lip thoughtfully as he tilted Alice’s chin up to face him. “She asked if you were my girlfriend and you said yes, knowing she would leave right after that.” Alice dropped her gaze. “I hope I can make it true someday soon.” Alice’s shot up to meet his. “C’mon, let’s go.” He took her hand in his and led the way, both their hearts pounding in their chests.

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  “A gum that will refresh your breath,” Yamaa winked at the camera.

  “Cut!” the director called. “Alright, good job everyone, you’re all free to go.”

  “Yamapi!” he turned and spotted Maki making her way to him. “Hey baby!”

  “Hey…” Yamaa ran a hand through his hair.

  “You okay?” she walked in step with him.

  “Yeah, just tired.”

  “Ah,” she grinned at him. “Let’s go on a date today!”

  “Huh?” he stopped. “Maki-san…”

  “You finished early today, and I did too,” she sighed. “We haven’t gone on a date for a while, you know? Besides, I want to know more about the girl you’re hosting.”

  Yamaa in some air and continued walking. The last thing he wanted to do was talk about Alice to Maki. She would find him out, and he wasn’t ready to face the problem it would bring so soon. Not yet, at least. Not until he was sure of Alice’s feelings. So, being the actor he was, he nodded, smiled, and took her hand.

 

  “What should we do?” Maki was happily skipping by his side.

  “Well, what would you like to do?” Yamaa gave her a warm smile.

  “Let’s go to the park for a bit, then the Tokyo tower!” she stepped and turned to look at him. “That was where we first kissed, remember?”

  “Yeah, I do,” he just smiled, looking happy on the outside, but on the inside, guilt gnawed at his stomach. “Alright, let’s go!” That day had been the day they had started dating. It had been stressful for him, but now, he only hoped Alice was taking everyone out and that Tokyo was one of them. He so much wanted to see her smiling face again.

  “Yamapi…” he looked down at Maki.

  “Hm?” he cocked his head.

  “Do you think this girl is the one?” Maki raised an eyebrow.

  “The one?” his heart skipped a beat. Did she know? “Oh!” realization set in “Could be. I’m not sure yet, you know?”

  “True,” she giggled. “It’s too soon to tell.”

  “Yes, too soon,” Yamaa took her hand. “This way Kiki.”

  They walked in silence, hand in hand; Maki happy to be with her “Yamapi” and Yamaa worried about Alice. He worried about her thoughts, her feelings, and how she fared in general. But more importantly, how she felt about Jonghyun. He felt as he were already losing to him, and he hated it. He so strongly wanted to make her his, and his only, because he loved her.

  Soon they were at the observatory, enjoying the view; well, Maki was. Yamaa kept glancing around here and there, hoping to catch a glimpse of Alice and the others. As he glanced in the direction of the elevators, the doors opened and Yamaa watched as tourists stepped out. Then he saw her, amongst the crowd. She was smiling, eyes bright, as she talked to someone. Someone who made him bristle. The two were alone from what he could tell, hand in hand.

  “Are you okay Yamapi?” Make placed a hand on his shoulder. “You seem upset.”

  “Oh, um,” Yamaa shrugged. “I’m fine. No worries.”

  “Okay, well,” Maki backed away. “I’m going to the ladies room. Back in a few!”

  “Alright,” Yamaa nodded and as soon as she was gone, he scanned the area for the two. Finally, having found them, he made his way over.

  “Oppa!” Alice giggled.

  “It’s true though,” Jonghyun answered in English. “Ask Onew-hyung.”

  “Uhuh,” she let go of his hand and looked over the city. Yamaa watched her, transfixed, but wasn’t the only one. “It’s beautiful.”

  “You are beautiful,” Jonghyun stood behind her, arms on either side of Alice on the rail. Yamaa felt how the atmosphere changed between the two, and he didn’t like it.

  “Jjongie-oppa,” Alice looked up at him.

  “Kiss me?” he looked down into her blue eyes. Yamaa felt a ‘no’ rise up in his throat, but was stopped by someone grabbing his arm.

  “Jealous of their atmosphere?” Maki asked.

  “You’re back,” he gave her a quick glance, ignoring her question before turning to look at the other two again. He saw it, their kiss.

  “Jonghyun,” Alice sighed, turning red. “We should head back soon. I need to prepare dinner.”

  “Mkay,” Jonghyun hugged her close. “I hope you—”

  “Yamapi, let’s go!” Make said loudly. Yamaa’s head snapped down to look at her.

  “Maki!” he said bewildered. He turned to look in Alice direction again. Both Alice and Jonghyun were looking at him in shock. That’s when he noticed the glasses Jonghyun was wearing. The ones Alice had given him in Kyoto as a disguise. “Sorry Maki, let’s go and figure out where we should go for dinner.” He grabbed Maki’s wrist and quickly led the way to the elevators. He’d been caught. But not only that, he’d seen her kiss him. She’d smiled and not rejected him. They’d also been holding hands. “Ah damnit,” he said under his breath.

  “Yamapi,” whimpered Maki. “Yamapi, stop! You’re hurting me!”

  Yamaa and Maki were the only ones in the elevator now, and he was still holding on to Maki’s wrist tightly. He let go and apologized. “I’m… sumimasen!” he bowed to her.

  “Daijyoubu,” she ruffled his hair. “But, are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” he gave her a small smile.

  “Kiss me,” she suddenly stepped towards him. “Please?”     

  “Maki,” he froze. “Where’s this coming from?”

  “After I saw that couple kiss,” she looked down shyly. “I wanted to kiss you again. It’s been so long since we went on a date or kissed…”

“Oh Maki,” he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

  “Please?” she took another step forward. And another and another. She eventually had him cornered.

  “Maki,” he gulped. He couldn’t imagine kissing her. He couldn’t imagine kissing anyone other than Alice again. All he could think about was Alice, and how she’d kissed Jonghyun. She’d chosen it, it seemed, and it wasn’t him she’d chosen. He felt crushed. “Okay,” he leaned down to kiss Maki, and just then, the doors dinged open and they jumped apart, much to Yamaa’s relief.

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  Alice and Jonghyun walked hand in hand in silence, refusing to mention their encounter with Yamaa and his girlfriend. Alice couldn’t shake the image from her mind. She felt confused by seeing his seemingly shocked and hurt reaction. She had also felt some jealousy to seeing Maki at his side, and hurt. She had had a sinking feeling after finally seeing with her own eyes, his relationship with Maki.

  “Is there anything we need to buy for dinner?” Jonghyun finally broke the silence.

  “Umm,” Alice was thankful to have something else to think about, “Yeah, just a few things.”

  “We still have the rest of the week to get to know each other,”  he grinned.

  “Huh?” she coked her head at him. “Guess you’ll be sick of me by the time you leave then!”

  He laughed. “I could never get sick of you.” He let go of her hand but put an arm around her shoulders. “I really wish you could come with us.”

  “You know…” she remembered the ticket she had won… “I have a ticket to Korea and back. I might just pay you all a visit!”

  “Really?” he pulled her in for a hug and picked her up. “That’s great!”

  “Oppa~!” she laughed. “Put me down!”

  “Okay, okay,” but as he lowered her down, he stole a kiss, making her cheeks flush pink.

  “Alice! Oppa!” a girls voice met their ears.

  “Nee-chan!” Adriel’s voice came next. They were a block away from the apartment. “We saw that.”

  “Adriel,” Onew elbowed her playfully.

  “They stand out so much!” Belle giggled.

  “Stop it you guys!” Alice snapped. Jonghyun was the one blushing now.

  “Yah!” Key grumbled. He was standing right behind Adriel, hands on both her shoulders. “Let’s go and get ready for dinner.”

  “First I have to buy some things,” Alice said. A thought suddenly occurred to her as she watched Minho who stood close to her sister. “Key, you should come with me since you’ll be helping me prepare dinner.” Key glanced kind of sadly at Adriel but thought better of it as he realized it was an opportunity to get closer to get to Adriel’s sister. Minho seemed excited as well, thinking about finally getting some time with Adriel without Key, but then remembered what Belle had said. “Minho, you too. You will help carry the groceries. I might as well prepare for the week.” Jonghyun began to complain but stopped when he realized what he was doing. “Everyone else head home and hang out. Just don’t crash the place, or you’re all dead to me.” She winked.

  “Why don’t we all go though?” Adriel asked.

  “Attract too much attention,” Onew nodded, knowing it was necessary. “We’ll see you in a bit then.”

  “Okay…” Adriel pouted. Alice watched her sister closely, making sure of who she liked best. She nodded to herself, confirming her thoughts.

  The three watched them go in silence before turning and headed to the super market. Alice led the way, not saying a word, waiting for the two boys to start competing. She didn’t know how long it would take, but knew it was only a matter of time from how she’d seen them act before. So for two blocks they walked in silence, the two boys itching in anticipation, but eyeing each other, calculating. The trio gained lots attention; even with the boys in disguise, they still looked great and Alice herself received a few awestruck gazes.

  “What are you thinking of preparing?” Key finally asked.

  “Japanese traditional dishes and some Korean ones,” she shrugged, “That’s where you come in.”

  “Oh, I see,” Key smiled.

   “You better feel honored,” Alice smirked. “I don’t let just anyone cook with me, really.”

  “Oh really?” Key couldn’t keep a grin from spreading over his face. “Thank you!”

  Minho wanted to say something, anything, but at that point in time, nothing came to mind and Key stuck his tongue out at him quickly over Alice’s head. Minho looked down at Alice’s expression, knowing, from what Belle said, that Alice had noticed it.

  “Do you really need me to come along?” Minho ignored Key.

  “Yes I do,” Alice frowned. “Do you not want to spend time with Adriel’s unnie?” she put weight under every word, making Minho grimace with each syllable, “Oh, relax Minho!”

  “Huh?” Minho bit his lip.

  “Both of you need to get over yourself,” Alice said no more as she stepped into the super market, leaving the two SHINee boys to scramble after her.

  “Alice-ssi!” they stepped on either side of her as she studied something on a shelf.

  “Mm?” she smiled pleasantly. “Something wrong?’

  “Full of ourselves?” Minho inquired.

  “Did I ever say that?” Alice shrugged and walked to a different isle.

  “Yah!” Key was losing his patience. “Why are you being like this?”

  “Don’t ‘Yah’ me,” Alice whipped around to face the boy, “Look, just because you’re famous, good looking, rich, and have a pretty voice, that doesn’t mean a thing when it comes to my little sister.”

  The two boys took a step back, taken by surprise at Alice’s ferocity.

  “Mia—mianhe,” Key mumbled.

  Alice’s expression softened a little. “Listen you two, I like the both of you well enough and all, but I swear, any harm to my cute little sister and you’re goners.” She smiled, “It will really all come down to her choice, got it?”

  “Deh,” Minho sighed.

  “Deh,” Key nodded, “Alice-ssi?”

  “Don’t ask,” Alice began walking again and they followed. “I’ll tell you this though; Yes, I have a good idea of what both your chances are, and yes, I know who is most likely to be victor, so to speak, since my sister isn’t a trophy to be won, and no, I won’t tell you who it is.”

  “Wow,” whistled Minho.

  “You are good,” Key chuckled nervously.

  “What do you mean?” Alice asked. The boys looked at each other quickly.

  “Never mind,” Minho looked around for the first time. Everything was in Japanese, making his head swim, “So, should we hurry? I’m getting hungry and so must the others.”

  “Yeah,” Key nodded in agreement, “Let’s get this part going!”

  “Okay,” Alice was smiling big now, “But one more thing.” They boys stopped in their tracks. “Keep an eye on Belle and Taemin, but don’t interfere too much either. They might need some help, but still, let the work it out on their own, deal?”

  “But they’re my children!” winked a teasing Key, “But fine.”

  “And don’t hurt her either,” Alice warned. “She’s like a sister to me too.”

  “Will do Alice-ssi,” Minho assured her. “We’ll take good care of them!”

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  Yamaa took Maki to dinner and home, but couldn’t bring himself to go home. He didn’t want to face Alice or Jonghyun or everyone else for that matter. The thought of her being with someone else but him disturbed him; pained him. No, instead of going home, he went to see the rest of NEWS for a while. They hung out and talked for hours. Time came and went in a flash to him. But not long enough. He enjoyed drinking once in a while, but now, he wanted to drown his sorrows and avoid going home at all costs, so he went to a bar in disguise. Not that anyone there would pay him too much attention…

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  Alice was just finishing up the last dish for dinner as Key set up the table nicely. Alice still couldn’t keep her mind off the haunting look Yamaa had as he fled the scene that morning. She hadn’t realized, but she sighed for the tenth time since having started preparing dinner. Key on the other hand, had noticed and had been keeping count. He sat across from her on a stool and watched her after he had finished setting the table.

  “That’s sigh number 10,” Key said, startling Alice.

  “What?” she looked at him, confused.

  “You’ve been sighing a lot,” he answered.

  “Oh…” Alice began to sigh, but stopped herself.

  “Come to Korea,” Key suggested.

  “What?!” Alice frowned, “Why? And why would you even suggest that?”

  “I’m just thinking maybe you should finish school in Korea. You’d stay close to both Adriel and Belle, and you could forget about Yamapi if you date Jonghyun.”

  “Date? Study?” Alice sat next to Key. “Honestly, I haven’t told Adriel yet, but this year, I’m basically doing it as a test run. If my grades are good, I automatically get a scholarship to finish school here or any other country of my choice where I have studied the language.”

  “Well, that’s great!” Key’s eyes widened in excitement.

  Alice smiled, “I’ll think about what you said,” Key grinned, “I’ll come to Korea maybe during Christmas or something. I have a ticket to go visit, and I already told Jonghyun.”

  “About Jonghyun…” Key bit his lip, “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know yet,” Key began to speak but Alice raised her hand. “I know. I don’t want to lead him on. I do like him a lot, but, I love Yamaa. And he was a girlfriend that I’m sure he loves. But after what happened this morning, I just don’t know what to think.”

  “Okay,” Key sighed this time, “I just don’t want Jonghyun getting badly hurt.”

  “I understand,” Alice nodded.

  “Noona, Key-hyung,” Taemin came in, followed by the rest of the group. We’re hungry!”

  “Okay, good,” Alice stood up. “Because I was just about to call you all for dinner.”

  “Everyone,” Key also stood, hands on hips, “Wash your hands and come sit down to eat!”

  “Woo!” Belle and Taemin high fived.

  “Finally,” Onew teased, then turned serious. “Is there going to be any type of chicken dish?”

  “Oppa~!” all three girls said in disbelief.

  The boys burst out in fits of laughter and Onew turned pink and tried hurrying off to the bathroom, only to trip and fall. The girls had joined in laughter but went to help the dubu up.

  “Love you oppa,” they giggled.

  Eventually they made it to the table and began to eat and talk about where they had gone and what they had done. The whole atmosphere was giddy and happy. No one mentioned anything about that morning and both Jonghyun and Alice said nothing about their little run-in with Yamaa. In fact, no one mentioned him at all or the lack of his presence. But once in a while, it popped into Alice’s mind.

  Out of the blue, Onew’s cell phone rang out. Without thinking twice and without checking the caller ID, he answered, “Hello?”

  “Everyone else gave him a quick glance before continuing with their conversations. Adriel, who sat next to Onew, barely managed to catch the leader by the sleeve to keep him from falling off his chair when the shock of the caller hit him. Now everyone listened as Onew stuttered a response to the other person on the line. “O-oh, h-hi manager… What’s up Hyung?”

  The rest of the boys began to worry about their hyung’s shaky voice and the volume of the voice coming from the caller.

  Key—who sat across from the leader—snapped his fingers twice to get Onew’s attention and made eye contact with him, “Is everything okay?” he mouthed.

  “J-Japan…” there was a long pause and then more yelling could be heard from the other line. Alice’s eyes narrowed, suspicious. “Yes sir,” ignoring Key’s question, but by the look on his face, Alice could tell—like everyone else—everything was not alright. “I understand sir… Yes, you’re right… No, we shouldn’t have…”

  “What’s going on?” Taemin asked no one in particular.

  “I don’t know, but it doesn’t sound good…” Belle replied. Alice was lost with the Korean.

  Jonghyun shushed them, and once again, the attention returned to Onew.

  “Yes… yes, of course Hyung… We will. As soon as possible, yes… Goodbye then,” Onew sighed heavily as he hung up the phone, burying his head in his hands.

  Everyone waited for an explanation that never came, so Minho spoke up first, asking an obvious question, “Hyung, who was that?”

  “Manager-hyung,” came the muffled reply.

  “So, why did he call?” asked Key after a moment, glancing at Alice, speaking in English.

  “He was looking for us,” came the terse reply.

  “Well, what did he say Hyung?” Taemin asked impatiently, after some time of discomfort.

  Finally dropping his hands, Onew looked at them and sighed. “He is very… upset. Apparently, we aren’t supposed to leave the country without telling him… actually, we weren’t supposed to leave the country without him at all.”

  “You didn’t tell your manager!?”  Alice exclaimed in disbelief, her earlier intuitions confirmed.

  “I forgot!” Dubu defended himself, throwing his hands up in surrender.

  The four boys sighed in sync.

  “Man, now I feel bad because it was my idea to come,” Adriel groaned as she rubbed her temples with two fingers.

  “This isn’t your fault,” Minho reached over patted her hand. “Don’t blame yourself.”

  “It kinda is,” Belle smirked evilly. “She was the one who wanted to come so badly."

  Adriel scowled. “Shut up. You wanted to see Alice too.” She shot the other girl a glare. “And you were totally on board with the entire plan.”

  “I… well… whatever,” Belle rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she slumped back in her chair.

  “So, what’s our punishment?” Jonghyun asked, defeat in his voice as h glanced quickly at Alice.

  “Well, we have to return right away-”

  “Duh,” Adriel and Belle said in unison, getting a warning glance from Alice.

  Onew glared at them and continued. “As I was saying, we have to return right away and make up for lost time with extra schedules.”

  “Extra schedules!?” the SHINee members exclaimed.

  “But we practice so much,” Taemin whined.

  “Yeah, and we already barely have any leisure time,” Key pointed out.

  “The practices aren’t that bad,” Adriel shrugged, thinking about the few practices they’d attended.

  “No, they ,” Belle complained. “They never end, and my playing always sounds worse than before we practiced.”

  Adriel kicked Belle under the table. “Like I always tell you: it up!”

  “YAH!” Belle yelped and pouted.

  Alice listened as they kept discussing what they had to do. She heard Minho as something about cutting their trip short and no other option but to do so. “That’s too bad, I was having fun with you guys,” she said sadly. She glanced swiftly at Jonghyun, but he had his eyes trained on his phone.

  “If we have to go as soon as possible, there’s a flight later tonight, although, it looks pretty full. I’m not sure all seven of us could get tickets,” Jonghyun scrolled on his blackberry.

  “Is there a flight we could all make it on?” Key asked.

  Jonghyun clicked a few buttons. “There’s another one later in the morning tomorrow, but it looks full as well. We could go half in one flight and half on the other.”

  “That seems to be asking for more trouble,” Adriel warned. “We need a fairly empty one that will get us all back together.”

  Jonghyun sighed. “There is a fairly empty one… It’s the three A.M. red eye though…”

  “That’s the one we’ll have to take then,” Onew concluded.

  The atmosphere changed completely, darkening to a gloomy one from the cheery one before. All eight had lost their appetites and just pushed their food around their plates.

  “Well, I guess I have to start packing now then,” Key stood and took his dishes to the sink, eventually disappearing down to his room.

  “I’ll do the dishes,” Alice stood too. “You guys go pack.”

  “I’ll help you,” Belle smiled. “I never really unpacked in the first place.” She chuckled. “I procrastinate everything.”

  “I can help too,” Adriel rose to her feet to help her sister and friend. “I pack fast.”

  The rest of the boys took their own plates to the sink and went to their respective rooms to get their luggage ready. As Jonghyun passed Alice, he gave her a small sad smile. He thought he’d have more time to spend with her and to bring them closer together. Alice returned the sad smile, troubled by her feelings. Could she really forget her feelings for Yamaa if she was with Jonghyun…?

  “Well, Alice,” Adriel sighed as she started on the dishes. “At least you’ll come for a visit, right?”

  “Huh?” Alice pulled herself from her thoughts. “Yes, I will. I have check up on my sister and her friend when I can, right?”

  “SHINee will take good care of us,” Belle giggled and smirked at Adriel. “We’ll be okay.”

  “Uhuh,” Alice rolled her eyes, “Adriel.”

  “Mm?” the girl didn’t look up.

  “Try to avoid causing any trouble for the boys, okay?”

  “Of course!” Adriel looked at Alice curiously, “I would never want to trouble them…”

  “True…” Alice sighed.

  “Eleventh Alice!” Key came into the kitchen.

  “Key-oppa,” Alice pouted.

~

  “Everyone, WAKE  UP!” Alice yelled, running through the apartment. “BREAKFAST!”

  Slowly, heads popped out of doors, squinting their eyes sleepily. They smelled the food and hurried to find Alice had prepared eggs with ham, toast, pancakes, hot chocolate and orange juice. They looked at the time, seeing it was about 1:30 AM. Belle and Taemin stifled yawns.

  “Alice, it’s too early,” Adriel pouted, head fuzzy.

"Yeah," Belle nodded, "I only need, like, ten minutes to get ready."

  “You guys have to eat, freshen up and get ready for when the taxis arrive,” Alice chided. Finally, all of the sleepy heads remembered they had a flight to catch. “Sit, sit!”

  “Thank you,” mumbled Jonghyun, coming from behind and hugging her around the waist.

  “You’re welcome, now sit,” Jonghyun suddenly seemed to get heavier, his chin on her shoulder. “Yah! Don’t fall asleep on me!”

  Snickers were heard as everyone sat down for breakfast, their hair all screwed up, except for Alice and Key, who had brushed his hair soon after waking. But no one seemed to care… at first. As they ate in silence, they became more alert and both Adriel and Belle kept giving furtive glances at Key and his decent looking hair.

  “Get over it,” Alice finally said, rolling her eyes dramatically.

  “Aish,” both of the girls glowered at Alice and Belle silently threw her messy locks into a lazy bun.

  “Finish up quickly,” Alice said in a firm tone, “Taxis will be here in… 15 minutes or so.”

  “Yes ma’am,” they all sing-sang in unison.

  “Thank you for breakfast!” Jonghyun got up, having finished, “It was delicious.”

  “No prob,” Alice bowed her head. “Now shoo! Running out of time!”

  Alice sat on the couch wearing sweats and a hoodie over her tank-top, waiting for everyone to emerge. First one was Jonghyun, who came and sat beside her. He put his head on her shoulder and sighed. Alice barely noticed. She was thinking about something that troubled her: Yamaa. He hadn’t come home and hadn’t called her like he said he would if he wasn’t going to return at night.

  “Stop thinking about him,” murmured Jonghyun, “He’s probably with his girlfriend, don don’t worry.”

  Girlfriend. They were probably…

  “I’m not thinking about him,” she lied.

  “Okay!” Onew came down the hall, luggage in tow and everyone else followed, “Let’s go.”

  They trooped out and into the street, where two taxis awaited them. They split and soon went on their way. Jonghyun, Alice, Adriel and Belle in one and Key, Minho, Onew and Taemin in the other. When they arrived, Alice asked one cab to wait for her to take her home. She walked with them to security; as far as she could go.

  “Well,” Alice lifted her hands in a half shrug, “This is it.”

  “Visit soon!” both girls jumped her and hugged her.

  “I’ll try,” Alice hugged them back tightly.

  She hugged the other boys, much to their surprise. Key was second to last and as they hugged, he whispered in her ear, “Think about it, don’t forget.”

  “I will,” she smiled.

  Jonghyun’s turn. “I’m going to miss you,” he hugged her tightly. "I hope you choose me…”

  “I’m going to miss you too,” she murmured. “As for that, we’ll see…”

  “Okay,” he sighed into her neck.

  “Alright,” she pulled away slowly and looked at the rest of the group. “It was really nice meeting you all. An honor really. It was fun while it lasted,” She paused, and smirked. “I have a spy for me in Korea, so you boys be good to my girls.”

  “A spy?” they all had confused looks on their faces.

  “Kim Jaejoong,” Alice laughed. “Now go! Or you’ll be late!”

  “It was nice meeting you too Alice!” SHINee said as they walked away, amused by Alice’s words.

  “Love you, Alice!” the two girls ran after the boys.

 ~

  The trip home was a quiet one, and when she paid the cab driver and began walking into the building, she noticed a slumped man by the door. She approached the door cautiously and wearily, but upon closer look, she gasped. It was Yamaa, and he was puking his guts out, much to her dismay.

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OMG, I'm so sorry for the delay. You have all waited super paitiently.

Well most... (You know who you are)

Okay, what is up with Yamaa? You can prob all guess right? And aw, SHINee had to leave early...

And okay, so I had 21 subs, then got another the other day making it 22 and then they unsubscribed? WTH?

Whatever. So anyways, I handwrite first then type, so handwritten it was basically 19 pages so when I typed it, it is 12 pages. =_=

And I write SUPER SMALL, ask onlythebest24 and TaeminLuver, they've seen it.

O.O

Okay, so I'll try updating soon, since I have a whole week off for Thanksgiving break. I just have to make sure I get some college apps, scholarships apps and ALL HW done. (We all know I'll prob write first anways XP)

So anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Remember, comment and subscribe and share if you think it's worth your friends time, >.<

That's where they went. Isn't it pretty?

Nice view huh?

We'll miss SHINee huh?

 

 

Oh guys, TaeminLuver here.

I know you all love Unmei and I hope you all will be kind to me, as I am her new coauthor ^.^

She is my buddy in real life ^~^

So, I am not really writing anything new for this (I'm more involved in Confessions of an American Fangirl) but I am here to fix all Unmei's typos haha. I love her to death but the typo monster hits us all. I'm just a bit on the OCD side so I whined at her until she let me be coauthor so I could fix them haha.

Anyway, I'm sure you don't wanna hear me ramble, I was just saying "hi" to you all and hoping you love my eomonnie. (Unmei is like onlythebest24's sister and I call onlythebest24 "mom" so Unmei is my aunt ^.^) Ok. I'm done noe. LOVE YOU UNMEI~~!