“Nana-ah?  Nana!  NANA!”  A voice echoed through the fog in her mind, and Nana grumbled, wearily waving her free hand in front of her. 

“Whaaaat…”  She groaned, feeling sore and heavy.

“Oh thank god you’re okay.”  Tears fell onto her face, and she looked up, seeing Tao standing there, terror written all over his face, tears streaming down his cheeks.  “You passed out when I got to you… Kris managed to catch you before you hit your head.”

“What happened?”  Nana mumbled, going to rub her eyes with her fists, and feeling one restrained.  Looking down, she groaned as she saw the black and blue limb, needles poking out every whichway.  “Oh… that’s right.”

“That’s twice saesangs have attacked the girls…”  A deep voice came from the door, and the couple turned, seeing Mr. President standing there, his face steely.  “I thought that Jae-ssi would have been enough to deter them.”

“To be honest sir… it was my idea.  I told Jae it would be faster if Kris and I ran for it.  We were doing okay until he threw his arm around me to stabilize himself… then the fans sort of… snapped.”  Nana admitted, staring sheepishly at her arm.

Mr. President stared at her for a moment, concern written over his face.  Sighing heavily, he walked over to her and gently rested his hand on her cheek.  “You protected Kris-ah, even when putting your well-being in danger.  That shows great moral character, and I am honored to have you with the EXO boys.  You truly showed you know what you’re doing.”  He smiled gently at her, looking over her arm nervously.  “Thankfully your arm wasn’t broken.”

“It wasn’t?  But I could’ve sworn…”  She mumbled in shock, looking down at her arm.

“Nope, just a really bad sprain.  You’ll be in a sling and on some pain medicine for a while, but it’ll be alright.  But I’m sorry, I do need to get back.  There will be some new security motions put into place; even more so than last time.”  Bowing in the middle, he took his leave of the two, right before Kris appeared in the door, flowers clutched in his hand. 

“Nana-ssi… I’m so sorry.”  He whimpered, sliding into the room; the rest of the group following him, including Cat and Liz.  “If it wasn’t for me not taking my own guard… You wouldn’t be hurt.”

“Kris, it’s not your fault, at all.  I knew what I was doing.  But are you alright?”  She spoke quietly as she adjusted herself, Tao immediately leaping to put a pillow behind her and help her sit up. 

“Yes, I’m fine.”  He mumbled, lowering his gaze from her as he handed the flowers to Tao, who quickly placed them in a vase on the nearby table.

“Nana!  I’m so glad you’re okay.”  Cat cried as she dove forward, her hands fluttering nervously over her friend, as if she wanted to hug her but was afraid to.

“You can hug me, you dork.  I won’t break in two.”  She chuckled, throwing her good arm around Cat’s shoulders and hugging her tightly.  “It’s just a sprain.”

“We should have gone with you.”  Liz moaned from her spot near the wall, Chanyeol’s arms wrapped around her tightly.  From the look on his face Nana could tell he was remembering the time she had been in a very similar situation, and she knew if she looked at Sehun he would be feeling the same.  Tao was now in a very tricky situation because not only was it his girl this time, but he also had the feelings of his friends being hurt too. 

“No, it’s alright.  It would have been the three of us getting hurt this time, so I’d rather take it on my own.”  She grinned tiredly, shuffling on the sheets. 

“Always the martyr.”  Cat muttered, shaking her head as she busied herself with filling Nana’s water. 

“I’m going to talk to Mr. President, see if we can release a statement to protect you three.”  Suho spoke quickly, his face the picture of determination.

“No!”  The three girls cried in unison, causing the entire group to pause and be taken aback.

“But why?!”  Xiumin cried, pushing his way to the front. 

Liz smiled and pulled away from Chanyeol’s arms, looking at the eldest member with a soft expression.  “Because if you do that, the fans will know we mean something to you.  And then they’ll figure out who means to most to whom… That would not only put us in more danger, but all of you.  The fans already think that Nana belongs to Kris, so that’s dangerous enough as it is.”  With a sigh she turned to Tao, looking at him with a pitying expression.  “You’re going to have to go along with it, Tao.  If not, you’re putting her into some serious danger.  They’ll label her as a hussy, using you all.”

Tao pursed his lips as if to argue, but Sehun walked over and rested his hand on his shoulder, staring at him kindly.  After a moment, Tao nodded and exhaled heavily.  “Fine…  Kris.  Protect her.”  He pleaded, grabbing Nana’s hand tightly. 

Nodding sternly, Kris swallowed hard, his shaking hands belaying his nerves as he shoved him into his pocket. 

“Okay guys… We should get going; let Nana rest.  The nurse said she’ll be able to go home tomorrow, so let’s let her sleep, okay?”  Cat murmured, shooing the members from the room, and patting Nana’s hand reassuringly.  “Text us if you need anything, okay?  That includes arranging a ride for you.”  She murmured, smiling gently as Sehun came over and slid his hand around her waist.

“Definitely, Nana-ah.  We’ll help anyway we can.”  He smiled and nodded his head and her and Tao, gently leading Cat out of the room, his hand gripping her waist tightly before letting go as they left the room; they couldn’t risk someone seeing them as well… especially now.

“Nana-ah…”  Tao began, looking at her nervously.

“Tao… You need to go home.  If someone sees you leaving last… they’ll figure it out.  Please. Please go.”  She murmured nervously, gripping his hand tightly.   “I love you, Tao.  Remember that.”

“I love you too.”  He whispered, kissing her gently before running out to follow the rest of the group.

---A few days later---

Nana had long since been home, and she sat on the couch, carefully cradling her arm against her as she twisted the sling under her elbow.  With a now perfected motion she clicked it together on her shoulder and nodded, adjusting her hand in the fabric.

“Are you ready to go, Nana?”  Cat asked, standing by the front door and looking at her friend warily. 

“Yea.  Let me grab my coat.”  She replied, pushing herself up and grabbing her coat from the hook by the door, slinging it over her shoulders.  Wincing, she sighed, rolling her eyes as Cat leapt toward her.  “I’m fine, Cat.  I took my meds already; they just haven’t kicked in yet.”

“Well, I’m worried about you, okay?  We all are.”  Cat protested, running her hand through her hair.  “And now we have this meeting with Mr. President, so who knows what’s going on.”

“It’s nothing, Cat.  Don’t worry.”   Liz called as she made her way up the hallway, a faint smile on her face.  “It’s just about the showcase next month.”

“Oh yea!  I forgot about that!  Are you still going with Key, Cat?”  Nana chirped, looking toward her excitedly.

“Yea… But Sehun still doesn’t know.  We’re not supposed to bring this up to them… Especially not with the saesangs…  You’re probably going to have to go with Kris to avoid suspicion.”  Cat grumbled, sighing heavily.  “Chanyeol doesn’t know either.”

“And frankly, he doesn’t need to know.”  Liz stated sternly, sliding her coat on her shoulders too.  “But we need to see what Mr. President is going to tell us.  Probably what the plans are going to be, where we’ll be sitting, and so on.”

The girls nodded and walked out the room, heading toward the long hallway to his office.  Upon knocking they were soon admitted, and saw Kris, Key, and Onew sitting patiently inside as well.  “What’s going on?”  Liz asked, taken aback at the presence of SHINee’s leader.

“I don’t know.  We were told to be here.”  Onew shrugged, crossing his ankle over his knee and tapping his foot anxiously; Mr. President hadn’t yet arrived.

“Nana-ah, please have my seat.”  Kris jumped to his feet, gently leading her to his chair, causing her to chuckle.

“Kris, I’m fiiiiine.  You don’t have to keep babying me!”  Nana whined as he sat her down, carefully hovering over her. 

“Tao told me to keep an eye on you; so that’s what I’ll do.”  He replied seriously, nodding as if agreeing with himself, causing Nana to laugh again.  “Now stay there.”

“Do you want to sit, Cat?”  Key asked, moving as if to stand until she held her hands out and shook her head.

“No no no… I’m fine.  Thank you, Key-ah.”  She grinned at him, standing between Kris and her sister as they awaited the President to arrive.

A few moments later he appeared, apologizing profusely for being late to his own meeting, quickly sitting at his desk and pulling out some papers from his desk drawer.  “I assume you three know why you’re here?”   He murmured, gesturing to the girls as he searched through the stack of paperwork in front of him.

“Yes sir.  It’s about the showcase, right?”  Liz replied, taking the lead in the conversation.  She had to admit, she was painfully aware of the awkwardness she felt toward the SHINee leader sitting in front of her; a weird combination of guilt and attraction.

“You’re correct, Liz-ssi.  We need to talk about what is going to happen at this showcase, to protect the girls as well as the rest of you.  That’s where you three come in.”  He now gestured to the boys, who immediately snapped to attention.  “Key-ah, you already know that I’ve asked you to Cat-ssi to the showcase, and Onew-ah, I’d like you to Liz-ssi.  Kris, due to recent circumstances, you’re to Nana-ssi as well.”

Key nodded immediately, sitting back in his chair comfortably and glancing up at Cat over his shoulder.  Onew however swallowed hard and nodded, running his hand through his hair; a sign of his nervousness.  Kris seemed to be the most shocked of them all, as he stared at the President in shock. 

“B-But.. Mr. President, Tao-ah would want-…”

“I understand what Tao would want.  But right now, the fans think you and Nana-ssi are an item, and if she suddenly appears on Tao’s arm, she would be in danger.  We must tread lightly, here.  Hence why Cat-ssi and Liz-ssi are going with SHINee; to keep them safe.”  He replied firmly, looking at the girls with concern in his eyes.

“But what about Sehun and Chanyeol?  Don’t they have a say in this?”  Kris demanded, anger filling his eyes.  “They are their girlfriends, and should have a say in who they go with!”

“Don’t you think I know that, Kris!?  But right now they need to be there, and with the rate the fans are progressing, they need to be protected.  And the best way they can do this is to be with a more senior group with a less frantic fan base!”  The President snapped, standing up at his desk and staring at the young idol.  “And with Nana-ssi’s current predicament, we have to let them know so they don’t cause a scene at the showcase.  They will not be happy about it, but they’ll have to understand you all need to be safe.”

Kris fell silent, staring at his shoes intently.  After a moment Key leaned forward, clearing his throat.  “Mr. President… Wouldn’t it be wise to also have Sehun-ah and Chanyeol-ah here to discuss this?  It might be easier for them to take if you tell them.”  He murmured, looking at the girls nervously.

He paused for a moment, and then nodded, sighing.  “You’re right.  One moment.”  Sitting back down at his desk, he picked up his phone, and quickly called the two boys, summoning them to his office.  

“They’re going to think they’re in trouble…”  Cat chuckled, shaking her head.

Liz grinned and nodded, chuckling.  “Like being summoned to the principal’s office.”

After a few moments of terse silence the guys knocked and walked in, both with confusion written on their faces which was only exacerbated when they saw the girls.  “What’s going on?  Is everything okay?”  Chanyeol blurted, walking over to Liz and bowing politely to the SHINee hyungs and the President.  Sehun slid to Cat’s side and did the same, remaining quiet as he swallowed hard. 

“Boys, we have something we need to tell you about…”  Mr. President muttered behind tented fingertips.  “As you know, with all the recent activity, we’ve had to increase the girl’s security.  This throws a wrench in the showcase plans, as they were supposed to attend.  And security has never been more important when it came to who the girl’s would go with.  At first they were to go alone, but I have decided that it would be safer if Cat-ssi and Liz-ssi would go with Key-ah and Onew-ah respectively, to protect them.  I feel they’d be safer with their fan base than yours, and you two would be safer as well.  Nana-ssi will be attending with Kris-ah, to keep her reputation intact until we could figure out a way to have them ‘break up’ without causing a riot.”

Chanyeol’s face went red, his eyebrows shooting into his hair.  “You’re telling me that Nana can go with us, but I can’t go to our comeback with my girlfriend?!”  He growled menacingly, and Liz turned, gently resting her hand on his chest, murmuring quietly to him.

“Yes, Chanyeol.  Or would you rather risk your fans attacking her again?  It’s well known that Liz and Cat work for all of SM, not just you.  So it wouldn’t be a shock if they go to the showcase with these two instead of you.”  He replied quietly, staring at the tall boy before turning to EXO’s maknae.  “You’re being very quiet, Sehun.  What are your opinions on this?”

Sehun paused for a moment, swallowing hard as he struggled to speak.  “I wish Cat would be able to be on my arm but… but if this will keep her safe… I’m okay with her going with Key-hyung.”  He spoke quietly, looking at Cat with saddened eyes, causing her heart to wrench.

“I promise I won’t let them hurt her, Sehun-ah.”  Key promised, standing up and bowing to Sehun, then stared at him intently.  “The rest of us will make sure they’re safe.”

Onew nodded and stood up, nervously looking at Chanyeol.  “Nothing will hurt her.”  He murmured, bowing as well.

The two EXO boys were quiet, looking at the SHINee men in front of them before they both sighed simultaneously.  “Fine… But please.  PLEASE make sure nothing happens to her.  Or either of them.  We can watch Nana.”  Chanyeol demanded, staring at Onew with steely eyes.  “If anything happens… “

“I didn’t want to split you four up, Chanyeol.  I had hoped the showcase would have been a good time to present them to your fanbase, but the recent activities,” he paused, looking pointedly at Nana, who blushed and nervously adjusted her sling.  “has caused us to change plans.  I do apologize, to all of you, for the inconvenience.”

Cat turned and looked at Sehun, chewing her bottom lip nervously.  “Sehun… everything will be fine.  I promise.  I’ll make sure to be there, front and center to watch you, okay?”  She chirped, smiling sadly up at him as she reached up and touched his cheek.

Liz looked over and watched Key look away quickly, his face burning as he saw the moment of affection between the two, and she frowned nervously.  It was obvious he had feelings for her sister, so it made this all the trickier.  And she knew that Onew also had feelings for her as well, so she sighed deeply before turning to Chanyeol, grabbing his face and turning it down to look at her.  “Chanyeol… Calm down.  Please.  I’ll still be there.  Everything will be fine.” 

This was going to be tricky.