Onew had just finished recording and was passing by one of SM’s practice room when he saw a silhouette of someone lying on the floor. Alarmed, he immediately rushed into the room without knocking and stared at the motionless person sprawled on the floor. It was Luna, she was flat on her back, her eyes closed and arms spread out, hair all over the place. Her forehead was beaded with sweats, as well as her neck, and she was breathing deeply. Thinking she had fainted since she didn’t even move a muscle when he barged in, Onew approached her immediately and placed a hand on her forehead. His action jolted Luna awake, and she instantly sat upright. Her reaction surprises Onew so much that he fell back hard on his behind. They stared at each other for awhile, both clearly in a state of confusion.

                “Oppa, what are you doing here?” Luna broke the silence first, rubbing her sleepy eyes.

                “I came in to check on you. I thought you fainted when I saw you lying on the floor from outside! Are you ok?” Onew asked, eyeing her tired face in concern.

                “Hmm, I’m fine oppa. I just dozed off for awhile after practicing.” Luna answered, smiling jadedly at him.

                “How long have you been here?” Onew handed her a towel to wipe her sweats.

                “What time is it?” Luna mumbled, looking at the clock on the wall. It was 9 o’clock in the evening. “Oh, I’ve been here since 1.00 p.m.”

                “What? You’ve been here for 8 hours?!” Onew yelled, shocked. “Have you eaten? Why are you alone? Where are the other members?”

                “They have their own schedules. There’s no practice today, but I have some free time, so I came here to practice alone. My steps are still not sharp enough.” Luna grinned at Onew, oblivious to his worry, but that grin turned to a grimace when her stomach growled loudly. She patted her grumbling stomach.  “I forgot to eat. Again.”

                “Oppa, can you buy me a pizza? I’m so hungry now.” Luna beamed at Onew, turning on her aegyo. Onew just sighed, knowing that he can’t resist her charm.

                “Fine, fine. I’ll go order the pizza now.” Onew stood up to pull out his cell phone from his jeans.

                After the pizza had been delivered and paid for, Onew and Luna sat in the middle of the practicing room, both silent as they ate the pizza. Onew was staring at Luna in amazement as she ravenously attacked the pizza, since she was usually a picky eater. Looking at her practically inhaling the pizza, he quietly ate two slices of it and wisely left the rest for Luna.

                “Wow, I’m so full right now. Thank you for the pizza, oppa.” Luna exclaimed, leaning down on her elbows and stretching out her legs. She then sat upright again and stretched her hands above her head.

                “It’s no problem, Luna. Anything for you.” Onew joked, ruffling her hair. Luna just laughed and swatted his hand away. “Aigo, so cheesy oppa. I can’t stand it.”

                “Eh, don’t act so coy. I know you like it.” He , causing her to giggle lightly and playfully punched his shoulder. Luna then stood up to clean the rubbish, prompting Onew to jump up to help her.

                After the place was cleared, Luna turned to Onew and reluctantly told him that she’s going to practice some more. When she started walking away from him, Onew caught her hand, effectively halting her.

                “Don’t push yourself too hard, Luna. You’ve been practicing for 8 hours already, it’s time to stop.” Onew murmured as he pulled her close, his eyes full of worries.

                “But my dance is still not perfect, oppa. I need to practice. What if I suddenly messed up on stage? The members will be burdened because they’ll have to cover for me, and the fans will be –” Luna stopped rambling when Onew placed a finger on her lips.

                “Shh… Listen to me, Luna. It’s okay to practice hard. It’s okay to work hard, but it’s not okay to disregard your health while you’re doing that. You must take care of yourself first. It’s okay to make mistakes, we’re humans after all. People will understand, don’t worry too much about it. But if you didn’t take care of yourself, you didn’t rest well, and then you won’t be able to focus when you’re performing. You may even end up hurting yourself. I don’t want that to happen to you. You’re too precious for me.” Onew said, his voice low as he stared into Luna’s eyes.

                Luna, noting the concern in his eyes, just nodded as she accepted his advice. She closed her eyes, leaned forward until her forehead hit Onew’s shoulder, and slipped her arms around his waist, hugging him. She sighed, felt her knees go weak as she let go of the rigid control she kept on herself. Onew’s arms wound up around Luna, embracing her tighter to support her as he felt her gave her whole weight to him. He her back repeatedly, soothing her weary body.

                “Sometimes oppa, I just want to run away from all this. To forget reality, forget my responsibilities, forget being an idol and just live life. Enjoy the moment.” Luna sighed, smiling wistfully at Onew before continuing, “But that’s not gonna happen, isn’t it?”

                “Don’t lose hope. Maybe it’ll happen someday. Who knows?” Onew grinned suddenly, expression like a naughty kid, his eyes disappearing as he smiled. Luna’s words had just given him a brilliant idea, but he’ll keep it to himself for now.

                Before Luna can ask what that was all about, Onew pulled away and said, “Come on, it’s getting late. Let me send you home.” He urged Luna to go get her things so they could get a move on. Luna just nodded, too exhausted to argue with Onew. She picked up her bag, and then switched the lights off before walking back to Onew, who was waiting by the door. She let Onew led her by her hand, as she was practically dead on her feet. She didn’t realize Onew was smirking mysteriously the whole time, his brain busy working out a plan.