@fruitbombs: I love you.

You finally returned home after Taemin had fallen into a deeper sleep. You gave his hand one final squeeze before departing, hoping that he would get some real rest. The past week had been terrible for him; with all the contradictory information and random visits from strangers, as well as nightmares of bright lights and a long-haired girl getting crushed by an oncoming car, he had barely slept at all. Not wanting to wake him, you shut the door as quietly as you could, turning the lights off as well. You bowed to the nurse in charge of him and she smiled worriedly at you. You, too, hadn't been getting much sleep. 

When you finally returned home, you collapsed on the couch. Matthew's door was shut, signalling that he was asleep already. Before you knew it, you were out cold, surprised to see sun shining on your face through your bedroom window the next morning. 

You stretched and rolled out of bed, running your fingers through your unwashed hair. After taking a shower, you headed to the kitchen, noticing an envelope on the floor next to your front door. You bent down to pick it up and saw that it was addressed to you.

"I slid it under her door. Matthew was already in the practice room when I left, so she should be alone." Kwang Sun was seated across from Sulli in the strangely empty SM cafeteria. "She'll probably think it fell off the counter or something."

"Well, now we'll just have to wait and see. What time did you tell her?"

"3 o'clock. At the subway station a few stops away. I told her that Matthew wanted to take her out for a late lunch. I'm sure they haven't seen much of each other lately, so she'll go. It's not like she has anything better to do."

"Good. I'll just give Taeminnie a visit while you're gone and we'll do what we need to do. You have a plan, right?"

Kwang Sun rolled his eyes. Even though Sulli was cute and all, she was pretty annoying. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"And your cousin?" 

"She has her showcase rehearsals today. I doubt she's leaving that stadium anytime today."

"Good."

"See you later." He began to get up and walk away.

"Wait...wanna...hang out? Everyone in f(x) is busy today..."

"Nope." He left, leaving Sulli dumbfounded. No one rejects Choi Sulli.

"3 o'clock? That's in like...an hour! Doesn't he know I sleep in? Ugh." You put your hand on your growling stomach. You didn't want to ruin your appetite, so you chose to not eat, but you began to regret that choice a few seconds after you made it. You pulled on clean clothes and started the laundry in an attempt to make it a habit. 

The subway station was packed, as usual, so you didn't notice a lightly disguised Kwang Sun step on after you. You had your headphones and resolved to listening to American music since most of your kpop playlist consisted of SHINee, and you couldn't listen to them at the moment. SM had covered Taemin's absence as a small leg injury, blamed on a dancing accident, and soon the fans were at ease and merely awaiting his return. If they had any idea...

When the subway stopped at your station, you got off and began to look for Mattie. He didn't say where he'd be, but you figured he'd be kind of disguised so fans wouldn't be able to spot him. You felt an arm link with yours and looked up to see a hooded figure with sunglasses putting his finger up to his lips. He was wearing Shin's jacket that you borrowed last time.

"Mattie?" He nodded and smiled, pulling you along to the street of restaurants. It had been a while since you had last seen him; he seemed thinner and...taller? Well, he is still growing, you reminded yourself.

You arrived at a small cafe and the scent of Italian food drifted out, making your stomach growl in response. You expected Matthew to laugh and make fun of your appetite, but he was still strangely quiet. 

"So, are we eating here?" Suddenly, two other guys sat at your table, and he pulled off his hood, as well as his sunglasses. "Kwang....what's going on?!"

"It was way too easy to get you to come. You're so naive. Anyways, please enjoy the company of my two friends here while I go back to practice. Oh, and don't try anything funny; these guys are a little...tempermental."

You gulped and looked at the two guys. They weren't rough or scary looking, but you could tell from their tightly fit shirts that they weren't light on working out. They smirked at you and didn't let you out of their gaze. Oh. My. God.

"Taeminnie~ Surprise!" Sulli skipped into the room with a small bouquet of pink flowers and set them on the table. "How are you feeling today, yeobo?"

"Yeobo...?" Taemin gave her a questioning stare, raising one eyebrow.

"You know, what boyfriends and girlfriends call each other? Like jagiya...?"

"I know what it means. Why are you calling me that?"

"You still don't believe me?" Sulli began to tear up, "How can I prove it to you? I mean...we're celebrities so we agreed we wouldn't be open about it so I don't have any pictures or anything besides performances and..."

Her voice trailed off. Taemin held his phone up to her, showing the picture that he and you took together with your matching pants. "Sulli. I know I don't remember a lot right now, but I'm pretty sure this girl is closer to being my 'yeobo' than you'll ever be. I'm sorry, but everytime she's here...I just get this feeling that she means more to me than she's letting on. And when you come...well, I get the feeling that you're just my friend."

"You...but...ugh!" Sulli's hands curled into fists and her innocent grin had turned into an angry scowl. She relaxed, pushing her fingers into her temples, rubbing them to calm herself. "Seriously, Taeminnie. One picture doesn't prove anything. Don't you know how long we've known each other?! This girl came from America and she was a fan. For all you know, she's using you!"

"Sul-"

"No, let me finish! She's only here because some kid she grew up with became an SM artist and she's his 'chaperone'. How shady is that? He's like 15! And...and..."

"Sulli!" Another voice entered the room, stopping Sulli in the middle of her rant.

"What?!" She turned and found Onew looking at her with a mix of anger and confusion.

"Ah...Onew-oppa...uhh...what're you doing here?" She tried to put on her cute facade, but it was too late.

"I could ask you the same thing. Where's _____-ah? She's not answering her phone...and it seems like you have something to do with it.."

"_____? Last I heard, she was having lunch with her adorable friend! Matthew, was it?"

"Uh. I'm right here." Matthew stepped in from behind Onew, unsure of how to react to the usually nice girl he thought he knew. 

"O-oh...uhh, well...I think I should go...."

"Sulli." Taemin got up from his bed and walked to Sulli and faced her. Everything was flooding back to him. Images of who he was came at him in flashes, making it difficult for him to keep up. But now he knew, and he wasn't letting you get hurt anymore. "Where. Is. She."

It had been a while since you had gotten to the cafe. And you still haven't eaten. The two guys, who refused to tell you who they were or at least talk to you, were beginning to get bored.

"You know, you could just let me leave. I promise I won't tell anyone! Really!" You were running out of ideas. They would notice if you tried to contact someone through your phone; they had almost taken it from you when it started ringing earlier. Sorry, Onew...

"We're not getting paid to make a new friend, so just shut up, ok?" The older looking one rolled his eyes at you. Maybe if you memorized their faces, you could report them to the police later. If there was a later.

"Well, can I at least get something to eat? I'll even buy you food! Seriously, order anything...that's under 10000 won..." Your stomach grumbled in anticipation. They had to have some heart, right?

"Hyung, free food..."

"Shut up. She might try to call someone while we're distracted. We'll get barbeque when Kwang Sun hyung pays us later."

"Aigoooo." You put your head down on the table, letting your arms drop in defeat. Your stomach grumbled loudly once more, adding to your frustration.

"Where is she? H-how would I know? Kwang Sun oppa was supposed to - oops..."

"Seriously?!" Matthew angrily dialed Kwang Sun's number into his phone. Scaring you was one thing, but kidnapping you? Even though he was Matthew's hyung, you were his only family in Korea. And Matthew was your only family in Korea, too, it was his duty to protect you. "WHERE IS _____?!"

"Let me try..." Sulli admitted to her defeat, and she figured if her plan wasn't working, there was no point in pursuing Kwang Sun's half. She liked Taemin too much to want the girl he liked gone. She took the phone from Matthew and pressed it to her ear, "Mission aborted, oppa. Where's ____?"

After figuring out where the cafe was, Onew rushed to sign Taemin out. Mattie started for the station first, purchasing everyone's tickets and staring at the schedule in annoyance. The next train would leave in 10 minutes. Taemin and Onew showed up soon after, while Sulli was banned from coming along. Taemin was too angry to even look at her. 

"Hello? ...seriously? If you say so...we're still getting paid, right? ...Hello?" One of the guys hung up his phone, looking to his friend. "That was Kwang Sun hyung. He said we don't have to babysit anymore..."

"BABYSIT? I'm EIGHTEEN." Your hunger was making you grumpy, and you were already angry at being held against your will, tortured by the scent of food coming at you from all sides. "WHEN I SEE THAT SON OF A-"

As if on cue, your stomach growled again. SHUT UP STUPID STOMACH.

"_____?! I think I heard her...stomach..." Taemin frantically searched to row of cafes, delayed by screaming girls. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for three famous artists to walk around a crowded area in broad daylight.

"Taemin oppa?!"

"His leg is better, yay!"

"Oppa~! I love you!"

"Omo, Onew and Matthew-oppa?!"

"KYAHHHHHHHH~!"

"You go ahead, Taemin-ah. We'll distract them." Onew pushed Taemin through the crowd, smiling at the fans as he and Matthew started talking to them. Taemin scanned the restaurants again, looking for your familiar presence. He made it to the end, almost giving up, but then he heard your voice yelling at someone. 

"Ugh, why are all these girls screaming?! And why are you still here?! I thought you could leave! I thought I could leave." You crossed your arms in hopes of supressing the rage of the monster that was your stomach.

"Yeah, hyung. I wanna go home!" 

"But I don't wanna go through that crowd of stupid girls. They're already loud enough from here; when we're closer, we might go deaf."

"Taemin-oppa~!" You jerked your head to the direction of the girls. Did they really say what you thought they said? Wait, who was coming towards you? Your hunger must've made you hallucinate; how could that possibly be...

"T-taemin?!"