---One Year Later---

“Just shut up, Chanyeol!  Shut! UP!  Your jealousy is making me sick!”  Liz screamed, throwing her phone on the floor and grabbing her hair with her hands at the temples. 

“Well how am I supposed to feel, Liz?!  You’re with them all the time!  You’re exhausted before you even get to our rehearsals, you never want to do anything on our free days, and if I hear one more damned word about their music video I’m going to scream!”  Chanyeol bellowed in reply, throwing his hands in the air.  “It’s like you’re no longer on our team, and instead work for SHINee!  That’s a low blow, Liz.”

Staring open mouthed at the tall idol, Liz felt tears spring to her eyes and she looked away from him.  Folding her arms over her chest she took a deep breath, painfully aware of the ragged sound.  “I have been asked by Mr. President to work alongside both of the groups and help them in their performances… it’s not fair that you’re blaming this on me!  And we have to be there for them more because Jonghyun is still out due to his car accident!  You know this!”

“But our come back is in less than two months!  And we’re nowhere close to being ready!!  And you’re busy gallivanting off with the hyungs at all hours.  Who knows what you’re doing after their rehearsals.”   Chanyeol growled, glaring at the floor instead of the now crying girl in front of him.  “And you wouldn’t even agree to be my date at the next awards show…”

“Because our dating is a SECRET, Chanyeol, or did you forget the order that Mr. President gave all of us?  Neither Nana, Cat OR myself could go with you guys!  Now get out!  I’m tired of hearing you whine.”

“But Liz, I…”

“OUT!  GET OUT!”  She screamed, throwing a pillow at him until he retreated into the hallway, shutting her bedroom door behind him.  When he heard her sobbing in the room, he winced involuntarily.

“…Good job, Chanyeol.” 

Looking up, he sighed as he saw Cat standing in her doorway, her tired eyes red; she must have been crying as well.  The past year had certainly taken its toll on her, in both a good and bad way.  Her already lean frame was more toned thanks to the dancing lessons she had been taking with Sehun, but working simultaneously with SHINee and EXO made her tired constantly and often prone to breakdowns; just like Liz.   “You don’t have to tell me I ed up, I know.  I just miss her.”

“Why don’t you try telling her that instead of yelling?  You boys... one track mind.”  Folding her arms over her chest, she sighed heavily.  “It’s not that we don’t want to work with you, but SHINee has had more of a demanding schedule that we’ve been working around.”

“You and Sehun-ah fought as well, didn’t you?”  He murmured quietly, finally unable to ignore her reddened eyes.  “I can see it in your face.”

Laughing bitterly, she shrugged, rubbing the back of her neck.  “Whatever.  He’s just mad that I won’t go to the awards show with him, either… You guys have a really hard time letting things go.”  She whispered, sighing heavily.  “We can’t let the public know we’re dating… now that you guys are more popular… we have to be very careful.  We see how the fans treat you in the airports, and have already had a taste of the saesangs just outside when we first met you.  Do you really want us to be hurt that badly?”

Her words made him pause, and he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.  “No…  And I’m sorry, Cat-ah.  I really am.” 

“Don’t apologize to me.  Apologize to my sister.”  She snapped, slamming her bedroom door shut. 

Chanyeol stared at the shut doors in front of him, and groaned, throwing his head back.  Grabbing his phone he furiously texted Sehun, telling him exactly what Cat and Liz had told him, then reprimanding  him for yelling at Cat, despite knowing he was being painfully hypocritical.  Huffing he walked out past Tao and Nana, who were apparently the only two people not fighting.

“Is everything okay, hyung?”  Tao asked, leaning forward from his seat on the couch.

“It’s fine, Tao-ah.  But we have rehearsal soon… We need to get downstairs.  C’mon.”  He muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets and storming out of the dorm. 

Glancing worriedly at Nana, Tao kissed her on the forehead briefly and walked after the fuming hyung.  Once they shut the door, Nana groaned and pushed herself off of the couch and walked down the hall.  “Cat…?  Liz…?  Are you guys okay?”

“No!”  The girls cried in unison, both doors swinging open to see the girls in various states of disarray.   Both had tears on their cheeks, bags under their eyes, and stress written all over their faces. 

Clucking disapprovingly, Nana grabbed Cat and pulled her into Liz’s room, sitting them down on the small couch at the end of Liz’s bed.  “You guys have to snap out of this!  You have a job to do, don’t you?!”

“They’re making it so difficult though… I’ve never seen Sehun so mad.”  Cat whimpered, clenching her eyes shut tightly, tilting her face toward the floor.  Liz slid her arm around her shoulders and tugged her tight, causing Nana to frown.

“Cat, you can’t blame yourself for this.  Neither of you can.  You’re doing the jobs you’re paid to do, aren’t you?  You two are doing wonderful work here at SM, and if the guys can’t understand that… then they’re dumb.”  Nana cried, her hands on her hips.

“They’re just jealous… They don’t know how to handle that we’ve been working with SHINee so much…”  Liz muttered, and then groaned as the alarm on her phone went off.  “Speaking of which, I have to meet the guys down in their rehearsal space and go over the dances again.”  Heaving herself to her feet, she shoved her phone in her pocket and grabbed her jacket.  “I’ll be back in a few hours.”

Shuffling out of her room, she put her shoes on and made her way to the other dance studio, smiling as she saw the four guys sitting in the middle of the floor, stretching.  “Hey guys.  You almost ready to start?”

“Hello Liz-ah!”  Taemin chirped, grinning as he twisted his back, sighing happily as a loud crack was heard.  “Ahhh… much better.”

“That…. Was SO gross, Tae.”  As she shuddered, she kicked her shoes off by the door and walked toward the stereo system, rolling her neck and shoulders.  “How are you all doing?  Are you guys getting nervous about the music video shoot this weekend?”

“Nahhh.  We’ve done dozens of these before.  We’re old hat.”  Minho chuckled, straightening from touching his toes and smirking at Liz.  “Are you nervous?  Seeing your hard work on the screen?”

“Pffffft.  You forget, I have now filmed History, Mama, and Dream Girl.”  She counted, ticking the names off her fingers.  “I guess you could say I’m old hat now, too.”  Winking, she stretched her arms above her head, sighing happily at the stretch.  “Okay, now let’s start the white room scene, Minho, you’re in front, yea?  Let’s do this.”

As the boys crawled into their places, Liz pressed play, and stood to watch them carefully.  “Five, six, seven, eight!”  Right on cue, the guys leapt into action and whipped around the dance floor, Liz watching them and bobbing her head to the beat.  “Clean it up, Tae!  Onew, sharper.  Minho, you missed a count.  C’mon, guys!  We have to nail this!  Key!  What the hell was that?!”  Suddenly furious she slammed the stereo, stopping the music mid-verse.  “What the hell was that, guys?!  You have to film tomorrow and you can’t even nail your rehearsal!?”

“What are you talking about?!  We did every step!”  Key protested, throwing his hands up angrily. 

“It’s not good enough!  You guys are known for having such sharp moves, and if you can’t even do these you don’t deserve that title!”  She cried as she grabbed her hair with her hands and clenched her eyes shut tightly. 

Onew paused and grabbed Key’s arm as he leapt forward, obviously wanting to protest again.  Shaking his head, he walked over and wordlessly hugged her, cupping the back of her head with his hand and tucking her face into the crook of his neck.  Tunelessly he hummed, holding her tight to himself.

His caring was immediately her undoing, and she broke down in tears, sobbing against his chest.  Her fingers knotted into his shirt, holding onto him as if he was her lifeline as her body was wracked with sobs that tugged at his heartstrings.

Looking over his shoulder, Onew shook his head to the rest of the members, who immediately understood, sitting down on the floor once again.  Key looked sheepish at his reaction, rubbing the back of his neck as he refused to make eye contact.  Turning back to Liz, Onew rubbed her back, murmuring quietly to her that it was okay, she could cry.  After a few moments, when she regained control and stepped back, he looked down into her face.  “Chanyeol?”

“Yea… He’s not necessarily happy that I’m helping you guys so much…  I’m sorry about your shirt.”  Looking down at his white shirt, she was horrified to see her eyeliner was smeared on the fabric, and covered her face with her hands as she flushed crimson.

Onew chuckled and grabbed her hands, pulling them away from her face and smiling warmly.  “It’s alright.  I have plenty of others.  No harm, no foul.”  Leaning forward he pressed his forehead to hers, smiling playfully.  “Now smile.  Smiiiiiiile.”  He chirped, poking her cheeks together until she looked like a chipmunk.

Finally she caved and burst out in laughter, screwing her face up into a pout.  “Gerrofmeeee!!”

“Glad someone could make her smile.”  Cat’s voice floated over from the door, and the guys looked over, smiling happily at the girl in their doorway.

“Cat-ah!”  Key crowed happily, hopping to his feet and racing over to her, enveloping her in a tight hug, the other two guys following suit. 

“Guys!  I can’t breathe!  Stoppit!”  Cat begged between laughs, struggling against the arms of the three members.  “Down, boys!  Down!”

Once they peeled away, Cat chuckled and walked over to the chair in the corner, the one set aside for when she came to rehearsals.  Immediately she pulled out her sketchbook and tucked up under herself, sketching furiously on one of her many makeup templates.

“Whatcha doing, Cat?”  Taemin chirped, looking over her shoulder and draping his arms around her shoulders.  “What design is that for?”

“Eh, I dunnooooo… A surprise.”  She smirked, looking up at the guys with a sneaky grin.  “Maybe another MV of yours down the road.”

“I like it!  It’s very… military.  Yet not.”  Key mused, tapping his mouth with his finger tips as he stared at the sketches in her hand.  “I like the random pieces, too.  Are you using spirit gum to attach the metal pieces?”

“Yes, actually.  Now get away, oppa.  You have to rehearse, and I can’t have you hovering over me.”  Waving her hands and holding her sketches to her chest, Cat smiled at Liz who had quietly composed herself.

“She’s right, guys… We have to keep going.  We need to make this perfect before tomorrow.”  Liz spoke quietly, smiling as Onew squeezed her shoulder reassuringly before walking back to the group and standing at the ready. 

Before he walked over, Key nervously shoved his hands into his pocket, and then looked at Cat sidewise.  “Cat-ah… I have a question to ask.”

“What’s that, oppa?”  She murmured, engrossed in the sketching again.

“I know it’s odd, but would you consider attending the EXO comeback showcase with us?  Mr. President recommended you attend with us, to keep you safe from the saesangs that EXO has acquired.”

Cat paused, looking at him and flushing pink as she saw the nerves in his face.  Chewing on her lip she thought it over, running over the pros and cons.  “I’d have to ask Liz… but I think it’d be alright.”

“Great!  But I also have another question… Would you be okay with being on the ticket as my +1?”  His voice dropped low and shy, and he looked at her nervously, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. 

Taken aback, Cat stared at him curiously, blinking rapidly.  “I… sure.  Sure.  I’ll go with you, Key-ah.”  She grinned, dipping her head politely.

With a dazzling grin Key nodded, then ran back to the group, who snapped to attention to Liz as she immediately counted down.  For a moment, Cat sat there in a daze, her mind racing over specifics.  The awards show wasn’t for a few more weeks thankfully, but she immediately felt the pressure. 

When rehearsal was over, Cat sat there in a daze as the guys shuffled out, waving tiredly to Liz, who had certainly put them through their paces this time.  With a huff Liz sat down next to Cat on the floor, looking up at her on the chair.  “Did you get a lot done?”

“Mr. President wants us to go to the awards with SHINee, and Key essentially asked me to be his date!”  Cat blurted, her face reddening at the memory.  Liz stared at her open-mouthed, and then threw her head back as she laughed.

“I told you he liked you!”

“But… Sehun already thinks I’m not going!  And Mr. President said that we’re to attend, but go with SHINee…  They’re going to be furious.”  She groaned, covering her face with her hands at the thought of the drama that will ensue. "How are we going to tell them?"

"Simple; we don't." Liz chirped, hopping up to her feet and shrugging. "Their attitudes toward us lately doesn't warrant us telling them what we plan on doing. They'll learn sooner or later. C'mon. We have to go talk to Mr. President; it's time to start planning."

With a sigh, Cat nodded and grabbed her bag, standing as well. As they left the room, she couldn't help but imagine what the boys would think, and worse; what Sehun would think. On the arm of his hyung, but also his competitor, while he's performing during his showcase. Guilt covered her as she followed her sister, but she knew that it was for the best; saesangs could be vicious people... and she couldn't risk him getting hurt.