Flurries, in advance, I'm still on hiatus.  However, it IS the maknae's birthday today.  So I decided to stop working and finish writing this chapter for the sake of updating on Taemin's birthday (It's July 18th in Korea)~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LEE TAEMIN!! :)  I hope you have an absolutely amazing day filled with fun!  It's hard to believe how fast time flies.  You're so much older now :O  I remember when you debuted as this tiny little thing.  You were (and still are) really adorable and cute and no matter how much you say you don't like it, it's true xP  However, you've really shown us how you've matured over the years and well. . . even though I'm younger than you, I'm really proud of how you've grown up!  Even when you were younger, your determination to do well in whatever you did really struck me.  I hope you continue to inspire others as you've inspired me!  Happy Birthday once again!

~Yuki

"KOTA, WATCH OUT!" 

Yuki snapped out of her daze long enough to realize that she was about to collide with another co-worker.  The girl's eyes widened, quickly flickering to the tray of bottled drinks and food in her left hand.  She let instinct take over.  Yuki tossed her tray high into the air, the food and drinks still on it, and turned to her left in order to avoid the other girl, who had let out a shriek.  Without a moment's hesitation, Yuki dropped to her knees and bent backwards, extending her left arm out as far as it would go while using her right arm as a support.  The tray landed on her hand, the food and drinks following it a second later, landing in the neat order that it had originally been in.  The girl let out a sigh of relief before straightening up.  The café goers and her fellow co-workers stared at her, mouths open.  Without another word, Yuki walked over to a table full of people and set down the tray.  Then, she made her way back to the girl she had almost run into.  "Are you okay?" she asked, "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

"No, I'm fine," the girl replied, "thank you.  And. . . nice save."  Yuki nodded and made her way back to the register of the shop to get another table.  

"You okay, Kota?" Ga In asked as she looked at the girl, "you look. . . really out of it."

My past is coming back to haunt me and as much as I'm trying to forget everything and move on, I can't.  And in two days, I'm about to leave everything I once held close to me forever.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Yuki replied, "just tired.  Are there any other tables that need to be attended to?"

"Umm. . ." Ga In glanced at the note sheet, "yeah, table 14.  Group of four just entered.  Wanna take 'em?"

"Yeah, sure," Yuki said, grabbing her own notepad and making her way to the table.  The girl really wasn't in the mood for any type of human contact, so she just kept her head down, looking at her notepad as she arrived at the table.  "May I take your orders?" she asked, not even bothering with a greeting.

"Yes," a male voice said.  Yuki's eyes widened.  No matter how long it had been, there was no possible way she could ever mistake that diva tone.  "We'll take a Yuki to-go, please."

The girl's head snapped up faster than anyone could say "spy."  There, not six inches away from her, was her old team.

Key, Taemin, Jinki, and Jonghyun.  The four boys were smiling like loons. 

Yuki blinked twice.  I have to be dreaming, she thought, they're not here.  They're not here.

Right after that thought, another registered.  There were only four boys at the table.  He's not here.  Yuki dispelled the thought as quickly as it had come.  She had already decided that Minho no longer existed for her.  He was a taboo.

Taemin could restrain himself no longer.  "NOONA!!!" he shouted, jumping up from the table.  He was about to run and embrace her when Yuki took a step back apprehensively.  Taemin stopped abruptly.  "Yuki Noona. . .?"

"My name is Park Kota," Yuki said harshly, "you all must be mistaken."

"Stop playing games with us, Yuki," Jonghyun said, his eyes narrowed, "we know it's you.  We've been searching for you for six months.  MONTHS!  You're coming back with us."

"No," Yuki said, stepping back, "get out of here."

"No," came the collective chorus.  Yuki's eyes hardened.  

"Leave before I call the cops for harassment."

The boys raised an eyebrow, still not convinced.  "Don't you get it?!" Yuki demanded harshly, "I've broken my allegiance with S.M.  We're finished.  I don't exist to any of you anymore."  The way Yuki was talking, it was more like she was trying to convince herself more than anyone else.

"Impossible," Jinki said, "we can't think that way."

"Then you'll have to learn," the girl hissed, "I have no intention of going with you.  Still, if you insist on following me, then you'll leave me no choice but to fight you."

The boys' eyes widened at the threat.  "You wouldn't. . ."Taemin said.  Yuki's fists clenched.

"Try me," she whispered.  This was the only option she had left.  Even while her heart was ripping in two, Yuki knew that she had to force herself to completely cut herself off from anything to do with the boys she once called family.  If she didn't. . . she knew that she would never be able to leave.  The threat was empty.  Yuki knew in the bottom of her heart that she would never be able to fight against the people she considered her brothers.  But, she had to convince the boys that she was serious.  She had to get them to hate her.  It would make everything so much easier.  It would give her a reason to leave.

"Stop being selfish, Yuki," Key growled, "this isn't just about you, damn it.  Hell, it's not even just about us.  What about EXO, huh?  What about Big Bang?  2ne1?  F(x)?   The list could go on and on, Yuki.  They're your friends.  And if you don't come back with us, then they'll be forced to hunt you down.  Do you really want that?  Are you that selfish?  To just run away from everything and leave us to deal with the consequences?  That's not the Yuki that I know."

Yes, Key was angry.  However, the words that came out of his mouth were an attempt to rile Yuki up and get her to see sense.  He just wanted her to snap out of it.  He wanted his little sister back.  He wanted his family to be whole again.  And if that meant piercing Yuki with words in the process. . . then so be it.

Yuki simply stared at Key for a few seconds.  You idiot. . . she thought, I'm leaving because I have no purpose in S.M. anymore.  I'm not good enough to be a spy.  I'm leaving S.M. to make it a better place.  To benefit the spy community as a whole.  I wish I could tell you how much it kills me to put distance between us.  I DON'T want to leave S.M.  I DON'T want to leave you guys.  I DON'T want to leave my country.  But at the end of the day. . .

that's what's best for everyone.

At least, that's what Yuki was attempting to convince herself of.

"Fine," the girl spat, "then I am selfish.  I'm leaving because I want to leave.  I'm leaving because I can't deal with this whole stupid spy business anymore.  I wanted out, so I left.  What happened after that isn't my problem, nor does it bother me in the slightest.  If I'm going to be declared a rogue spy, then fine.  Do it.  If you're going to try to capture me or stop me, I will fight.  So. . . either the fight breaks out now, or I kindly ask you all to exit and you get the out of my sight.  Your choice."

The SHINee boys simply stared at Yuki, unable to believe the words that came out of .  They had gone through hell and back in an attempt to find their missing link. . . only to have her turn her back on them.  The mixture of emotions that ran through the boys was indescribable.  Grief, anger, hopelessness, frustration, resentment. . . there wasn't one word that could be used to explain their feelings.  The two groups stared at each other.  Yuki struggled to maintain her cold exterior.  She couldn't appear weak.  Not in front of the boys.

Suddenly, one of Yuki's co-workers, Ga In, appeared at the table.  "Uhh. . . is there a problem here?" she asked, sensing the tension between Yuki and the four boys.  There was silence for the next two seconds.  Finally, Jinki sighed and broke the silence.  

". . . no.  No there isn't.  We were just leaving," he said.  The boys looked at him mutinously, but he silenced them all with a look.  "Let's go, guys.  We have no more business here."  Without another glance at Yuki, Jinki slid out of the booth.  One by one, Key, Taemin, and Jonghyun followed him.  None of them said a word and none of them looked back at Yuki before they walked towards the door and left the café.  

Ga In turned to Yuki.  "Kota. . .?" she said in confusion, "are. . . are you okay?"  Yuki didn't say a word to the girl.  Instead, she turned around and walked into the Employees Only room behind the cashier counter.  The girl closed the door behind her and slid to the ground, hugging her knees and trying to breathe evenly.  Her heart felt raw, the walls around it crumbling.  She hadn't expected the encounter to hurt her so much.  Yuki put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a small photo [A/N:  Okay guys, time to use your imagination.  Yuki is right behind Taemin and Jonghyun flashing a two- salute, okay?  Great!].  

It was a most recent one she had of herself and the boys.  Jinki had given it to her while she was still in the hospital.  She and the boys had gone to the beach on one of their days off and decided to write their team name in the sand.  Taemin had complained that the sea would wash it away, so Key asked someone if they could take a picture of them with the name.  Afterwards, the sea eventually did wash the word in the sand away.  Taemin had pouted sadly, upset by the fact.  Then, Jonghyun had ruffled Taemin's hair and said:  "The ocean washed away our team name because it was jealous.  It never thought that it would come across something that would last just as long as it would."  Taemin responded with shock, saying that the ocean could never run out.  It was then that Yuki and grinned and said:  "Exactly." 

A single tear drop dripped onto the picture.  "I'm sorry," she whispered to the frozen smiling faces, "I'm so so sorry."

The SHINee boys (minus Minho) were walking down the street from the café, still shell-shocked from the earlier confrontation.  Minho hadn't come with the boys that day, insisting that they should try to cover more ground.  The boys had gone to the café with the sole intention of grabbing breakfast.  They had not expected to actually find Yuki.  And when they did. . . well, they most certainly never expected what would happen next.

"Is this it then?" Taemin asked numbly, finally breaking the silence, "do we. . . do we just give up then?"

"What do we tell Minho?" Jonghyun asked.

"Nothing," Jinki and Key said together.

"Yuki's made her decision.  There's nothing we could do.  We tried everything we could. . . and we failed," Key said.

"Telling Minho would only add to the problem," Jinki said, "we know him.  He wouldn't let it go.  It could lead to a fight.  A bad one.  And I don't want that to happen.  So. . . let's just drop it.  Soo Man-ssi will be sending out search parties after this.  It's not like he's going to find her.  Yuki knows how to hide.  I guess. . . I guess this is the end of it."

The boys looked at the sidewalk bleakly.  Their best friend, their sister. . . they had come so close to losing her in the past, but she made it through.  They stuck together.

And now. . . it was over.

The sound of running footsteps made Jinki raise his head.  "WAIT!"

The sound of the yelled made all four boys turn around.  They recognized the running female as the girl from the café, Ga In.  "Please," she panted as she caught up to them.

"What happened?" Key asked immediately, "are you all right?"

"You. . ." Ga In, looking at all of them, "you're the boys from Kota's picture, aren't you?  Well. . . there was one more, but that's besides the point!"

The boys looked at Ga In quizzically.  "What picture?" they asked in unison.  Quickly, Ga In explained how she had once seen Yuki staring at a picture of herself and SHINee together at the beach.  The boys' eyes widened considerably.  

"I don't know who you are, or what relationship you have to Kota," she said, "but I do know this.  You all mean a lot to her.  And I don't know what her deal with that last boy is, but she seems to hate him but love him at the same time based on her actions.  Trust me, I'm a girl.  I would know.  Anyways, if you guys are having a fight or something, you should patch it up.  It's obvious that you guys mean more than the world to her.  Petty arguments ruin even the most wonderful relationships.  If it's just a simple matter, sort it out.  But don't let it kill your relationship with her.  Kota keeps to herself.  She rarely talks to anyone.  But when I see her look at that photo, I know that there are people in the world whom she's truly open with.  That's all I really had to say.  Sorry for freaking you out.  If you'll excuse me, I have to return to my shift."

Ga In would never have any idea what impact her words would have on the boys.  They turned to look at each other.

"This fight isn't over yet," Taemin said.

The other three boys shook their heads.

"We all gave it a shot," Jinki said, "but there's one person who hasn't. . .

and he's going to be the one to talk tomorrow.  It's time to sort things out."

Welp~  I really have nothing much to say about this chapter.  It pretty much speaks for itself~  I hope you all liked it :)

Sooo, I lost two flurries, BUT I gained one Flurry, and miraculously, one up-vote!!!  Soo, Even though we're back at 96 flurries (4 more from 100!! :D) I'm really really happy!  Thank you SOOOOOOO much to the new flurry and up-voter!  You're seriously awesome!!

Lua0001 

AND OF COURSE, I'M GOING TO SPAM TAEMINNIE BECAUSE BIRTHDAY.  SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO:

We all love you, Taemin!!!  I hope you continue grow and do amazing things!!  Have a great day! ^_^

You guys were pretty quiet with the last update~ :O  Hopefully, I can hear from you guys this time around!! ^_^  

Please remember to COMMENT, SUBSCRIBE, AND UP-VOTE! :D  

Remember, I'm on hiatus, so I'm not sure when I'll see you next, but I'll still reply to comments and stuff!!  All right, well, this is Yuki, signing off~! 

~Yuki ❄