As Ara stepped out of the shower, she felt a shiver run down her spine; it wasn't necessarily due to the cold air that wrapped around her once she drew back the shower curtain, but a cold slap of reality that left her trembling.

She was Lee Jinki.

Onew.

Ara swallowed hard, reaching up and running a hand through her slicked-back hair, tugging ruefully at the short strands. She heaved a sigh, before looking into the foggy mirror beside her. Carefully wiping the fog away, she examined the face that stared back, before letting out a gasp.

The reflection was Onew, but he was much more haggard than Ara had remembered. His dark circles seemed to appear endless, and there were eminent bags under his eyes. If she looked closely enough, she could see the beginning of the formation of frown lines. He had acne scars, mostly on his cheeks, and blackheads resided in the pores of his nose. She had forgotten to shave the mustache that was starting to grow, along with the stubble of beard that speckled his chin. He looked so tired, so beaten-down. Ara's eyes widened in shock.

"Onew-oppa..." Gingerly, she touched her face, watching Onew his features back.

. Ara looked down in disbelief, then in realization.

“I knew you all weren’t physically perfect, but I figured that underneath the makeup you were just like a normal person.” Ara’s eyes met the dark circles beneath Onew’s.

“I was wrong. You look worse than us… N-no offense,” she stammered, waving her hands in the mirror, then mentally cursing herself because she wasn’t waving at Onew, but herself, and that Onew had no clue she was saying this to him, or so she believed. “You just look so tired. Oh, I just want to put you back to bed.” Ara touched her face again, the cheeks gently.

She knew idols had a pressed schedule, sometimes an inhuman one where they were only able to sleep for maybe two hours a night, three, if they got lucky. She had heard Onew say this, himself. And Ara wondered how they managed to look so flawless on stage, in interviews and in public in general… She had just discovered that it was their makeup, applied in many (she assumed) layers, and it was taking a toll on their skin.

“No wonder even the girls have a professional makeup team,” she murmured. She studied his face, before sighing. “But as far as I know, the male idols are in charge of their facial hair.” Ara looked around the bathroom, before her eyes landed on a razor and shaving cream. She picked them up, examining them.

“This shouldn’t be too hard; I mean, I’ve been shaving my legs for how many years now?” Carefully, she applied the shaving cream above her upper lip, as well as on her chin and underneath the chin, wherever she could see stubble. She then looked into the mirror to guide herself, before beginning to laugh.

“I’ve always wanted to put shaving cream on my face to see the white beard and moustache I’d have,” she giggled, puffing out her cheeks. She then shook her head. “Okay, I’m serious now. You’ve gotta go, Santa Beard and Santa ‘Stache.”

Within a few minutes, she had successfully shaved her face without niching herself, and had rinsed off. She towel-dried her face and applied a facial cream that lay amongst the menagerie of facial products on the sink.

“There are more products on this sink than I could ever dream of buying in my entire lifetime,” she had commented before. She put the shaving cream and the razor back where she had found it, before turning to the bathroom door, about to leave. Then she gasped.

“I can’t just walk out of here; I don’t know where to go. Where’s my room?” Frantically, she faintly remembered the direction she was pulled from by Jonghyun. As she thought about it, she opened the door quietly. As she opened the door, she could hear the sounds of conversation and could smell something cooking. She gulped.

She was confronted with a wall, which meant she was in a hallway. As she peeked down the hallway, she recalled Jonghyun pushing her into the bathroom from the right side… Which meant that the room she came from was on the left side of her. Carefully, she tiptoed out of the bathroom and down the hall. There were three other rooms, but Ara could see that the door farthest down the hall on the left had beds in it.

Suddenly, before she could take another step, she heard footsteps behind her.

“Yah, Onew-hyung.”

Ara gasped and darted into the room, not bothering to look back at whomever called Onew’s name, and screeched. Once in the room, she slammed the door behind her. She heard the person laugh and say, ”Why are you wearing a towel like that?”

Ara held her breath, keeping her back to the door in case the person wanted to try and come in. From the other side of the door, she heard Jonghyun as he said, “I told you he’s acting freaky again!”.

Again? Ara frowned. Then she remembered how Onew had acted the night before, and she gasped again.

“They think this is a continuation of last night?” she asked aloud. She looked down. “Maybe I could pull this off… I mean, how the hell do you even begin to explain a situation like this?”

Ara began to look around the room. She faintly recognized it as the room she had come from, and recognized the bed she had woken on.

“This is it,” she concluded. “At least I didn’t barricade myself in the wrong room.” She sighed, before her eyes landed on a closet.

“Clothes?” She walked over to it, and opened it. “Oh, thank goodness!”

It was a walk-in closet. There were rows upon rows of clothes; pants, shirts, jackets, hoodies… One just needed to grab and go. Ara was mesmerized by how many clothes there were; there were enough outfits in here to suit up an entire city of people, it seemed like. She scanned the rows, her eyes shifting from article to article.

“Now, which ones are Onew-oppa’s?” She took a step forward, examining the rows more closely. “They’ve got to be organized somewhat, at least in clusters…” She scrutinized the clothes to the right of her, and pulled out a few shirts, before laughing.

“These are definitely not Onew’s,” she chuckled. These clothes had rhinestones and bright colors on them, meant for casual wearing…. Fit for a fashion king who defied the norm. “These are definitely Key-oppa’s.”

She investigated further, taking another step into the closet. “These are suits,” she commented. “I think this is Minho’s part, judging by those.” She looked at the other side and pulled out a pair of jeans.

“Oh, these are definitely Taemin’s,” she scoffed. “No even I could have fit into these little twig-pants.”

“The boxer shorts and tight-fitting shirts must belong to Jonghyun-oppa; he likes showing off those guns of his,” she whispered, passing another row of clothes. She was now in the back of the closet, and she was eyeing the only row she hadn’t looked at. Gingerly, she reached out and pulled a t-shirt out slightly.

“Yes,” she breathed. “I remember him wearing this at an airport once.” She pulled the shirt from the hanger, and picked out a pair of slacks below, as well as a pair of boxers.

“Where’s my bra at?” Ara felt the question leave her lips before she could stop herself. She paused, before rolling her eyes.

“I’m a guy, self. Last time I checked, boys don’t wear bras.” Ara paused again. “Boys don’t wear bras..”

Boys don’t wear bras.

Onew doesn’t wear a bra.

I am Onew.

Therefore, I do not wear a bra.

“Sweet,” Ara commented. “This is so exciting!” She slipped on the shirt, before giggling. “I feel like I’m breaking the law.”

Then came the boxers and the pants. Ara didn’t look while she was putting them on. “I’ve had enough trauma from that today.”

She then slipped on some socks, a pair of converse hidden underneath the bottom, and left the closet. Closing the door quietly, she looked around. She saw a hamper in the corner of the room, which, after running her towel through her hair a few times, she threw the towel into.

“I guess this means that I…” She gulped. “…Go see the members now.” She began to walk toward the door, before she frowned.

What do I even do? How do I act around them? How do I tell them what’s happened? Ara scoffed, shaking her head bitterly. I don’t. I don’t tell them; Jonghyun-oppa already thinks I’m a freak. The last thing this boy needs is medication for clinical insanity. Ara smiled ruefully, laughing slightly, before opening the door and leaving the room.

She followed the noises, which she assumed came from the kitchen, as well as the smell of what seemed to be kimchi stew. Walking down the hall, the noises grew louder, and the light at the end of the hall became brighter. She took a deep breath, before rounding the corner and entering the kitchen.

There they were. There SHINee was, casually eating breakfast and talking. Ara felt her eyes widen in shock at the sight of them. However, it was not at how glamourous they were.

They all looked exhausted. They had the same eyebags as Onew, if not worse. Taemin’s were the worst, the dark circles appearing to look completely hollow. Taemin also looked even thinner than he usually did, specifically his legs, which were bare due to the fact that he was wearing shorts. Ara worried that if he put any weight on his legs, they would snap and break. It made her wince, just looking at them.

Jonghyun was finishing his stew and was on his phone. His hair covered his eyes, and he looked run-down. He was wearing a hoodie, with the hood up. Judging by how quickly he was tapping at his phone, Ara assumed he was texting someone or updating his Twitter account. Ara then spotted Minho, whose eyes were glued to the television. He, too, was wearing a hoodie, although the hood was down. He was eating toast, absentmindedly watching what seemed to be a soccer game, but Ara didn’t get the chance to look, as Key, who was over the stove, spotted her first.

“Hyung!” Ara’s head snapped toward the sudden noise, and saw Key smiling at her. Ara then felt more pairs of eyes on her, and she broke eye contact to look at them all. Minho and Taemin’s gaze was guarded. Jonghyun looked exasperated, and he frowned up at her. Ara flinched.

“G-good morning,” she stammered. Key smiled.

“How are you feeling?” he asked. Though his tone was friendly, his voice was laced with a hint of caution as well. There was not a sound in the room; Minho had even turned off the T.V.

 Ara’s eyes narrowed. Why were they so cautious around their leader? “Fine, thanks, and you?” she answered casually, trying her best to sound like the kind Onew she had come to know.

Taemin and Minho exchanged a confused glance. Key approached Taemin and kicked his chair subtly, but Ara caught it. Taemin then coughed and stammered.

“Fine, hyung, th-thanks for asking,” he stated, throwing Key a glare. Key returned the gesture, before turning away from him to tend to the stew, which was cooking on the stove.

“We’re fine,” Minho responded, albeit impatiently; he was the “mute” button on the remote, wanting to get back to his game.

“Are you hungry?” Key asked over his shoulder. Jonghyun put his phone on the table and stood up abruptly.

“You’re going to act like everything’s fine again, huh? You’re going to ask him if he’s hungry, and not why he went ballistic on me earlier?!”

Ara paled. She looked at Jonghyun, who was glaring at Key. His face was red, and his eyes threatened to spew fire. She had never seen him this angry, and it frightened her. Not that she had seen Jonghyun legitimately angry. Ara stammered.

“Hey, I’m sorry for this morning,” she started shakily. “I wasn’t really thinking—”

“Really.” Jonghyun turned to Ara, and Ara flinched. She thought his anger couldn’t get any worse, but once his eyes were upon her, she felt her legs threaten to give out; his gaze was petrifying.

“You’re apologizing for this morning, and everything’s going to be okay?” Jonghyun asked, fuming. “You’ve been a real jerk this past month! Longer than that! I’m tired of it, Jinki! Something’s gotta change; you’re just like you are one second, then you’re predicting the apocalypse the next! It’s gotta stop!” Jonghyun stared Ara down a moment longer, before grabbing his bag which was placed in the seat next to his and storming out of the dorm. They heard the door slam, and Ara swore the building shook.

It was dead silent. Minho suddenly developed an interest in the remote, and he stared at it, his head down. Taemin’s eyes were unseen. Key just shook his head.

Ara felt as if she had been hit by a bus. All of the breath had left her, the blood had pooled in her toes and completely left her face. She wanted to throw up; she had never been yelled at like that, and by Kim Jonghyun. She felt herself begin to shake, or so she thought, but she didn’t move a muscle, an expression of shock plastered on her face.

Why was Jonghyun so angry? What did he mean?

What was going on within this group? Ara needed to know. Something wasn’t right; she had sensed it when she went to their concert, but she assumed it was just a small squabble.

No. It was much worse than that.

“We have a schedule today.” Again, Key’s voice brought Ara back to reality. She shakily looked at him, whose face had also lost color. Taemin and Minho didn’t budge.

“We have a schedule today,” Key repeated, approaching Taemin once again. He put a hand on his shoulder. Taemin was motionless.

“What’s our schedule?” Minho asked, his voice comepletely void of emotion. Key looked at him, but his eyes were vacant. He blinked, and his eyes were then dark.

“We have practice for three hours, then we have vocal training for two hours, then practice again, and then Super Junior wants us to treat them to dinner,” Key replied softly.

Ara looked at him, nodding, but feeling fear crawl into her eyes. She would have to be with an angry Jonghyun all day. She would have to be with a distorted and upset group all day. But she’d be able to find out what was going on, because what in the world was going on?

It was going to be a very, very long day.

~*~Author's Note~*~

Hello everyone!

Sorry for being away for so long, but I hope this update made up for it!

Drama, drama, and more drama! Ara's going to be learning a lot soon. :O

Also, this story now has a co-author! Woohoo! She's wonderful; her name is BigBangontheBlockB ^^ Please welcome her with open arms, and together we'll hopefully get this fic updated more frequently!

See you guys soon~