A young boy sat in his room, completely oblivious to what he was going to buy her. Was it a bouquet of roses to decorate the comfortable interior of her room? Could it possibly be chocolate, a woman’s guilty pleasure? Or, maybe it was going to be a large stuffed teddy bear decorated with hearts that he drew on himself. Whatever he was going to buy for her had to be special. It was a special day.

While he contemplated the gift options for another ten agonizingly long minutes, he searched for a neat pair of jeans. They were his favorite skinny jeans, and they looked really good on him, as he thought. He wasn’t the only one; his friends agreed. He was the youngest amongst them, and he appreciated his four best friends a lot. They cared a -load for him. Nobody ever messed with him without being revenged on by his friends. Especially the mother-like one. He was always on the lookout.

The boy found a simple gray tee to match his jeans. He didn’t deem them suitable for the occasion, but he didn’t have any other fresh shirts that were good enough for the event. That was when the young boy figured out his gift. He squealed in delight and quickly threw on socks, then shoes to cover them. He grabbed his keys for the car and rushed out the door, too excited for words. He didn’t have the money to buy the gift, but he knew his friends would help him. They knew what it was like to suffer through finding a gift for their loved ones.

---

In the house of five girls, the cute one was lying on her stomach, completely bored. She thought about calling her boyfriend, but what use would that be? He was probably busy dancing his off, getting even more practice than necessary. She understood the situation perfectly. She worked in the same place as him, and it was rough, so they had to get more than enough practice so they could be sure they were ready for the performance.

On that train of thought, the girl jumped off of her bed, suddenly determined to be like her boyfriend. She had to keep her figure up as well so she could please him. He wasn’t one of those boyfriends who loved to touch her and make love to her; they were both still s with their innocence. They were both smart enough to keep it until after marriage. But the girl still had to keep in shape, and it wasn’t just for her boyfriend. It was for her job; it was tough on her. Always a perfect weight, always a perfect body—almost everything about her had to be perfect.

She ventured into the family room. It was where her friends gathered whenever they were going to hang out and do fun stuff together. She took her spot in the swiveling computer chair, and guided the mouse to the internet icon on the screen. It popped up. She typed in http://www.youtube/in the search bar. It popped up. As inspiration for her dancing, she chose one of her very own songs: “Pinocchio.”

---

The clerk behind the desk heard the bell ding. It was the signal for service. He smiled and looked up. The person he saw was totally unexpected. But he still kept his cool and asked, “Are you here for anything special today, sir?”

Taemin smiled and nodded. “Yes. I want to get my girlfriend a present for our three-year anniversary.” From there, Taemin got the present in no time. He thanked the kind clerk before walking out. A proud smile was plastered on his face.

It was certainly his three-year anniversary with his girlfriend. He started out as friends with her in their early years. They didn’t get the best of starts. As a matter of fact, they absolutely hated each other. Then seventh grade came, and that meant the start of junior high, and the start of his girlfriend’s mature side. She was really kind and fair to him, and he didn’t know why. But Taemin still took advantage of it to ask her out. For the first few years, she didn’t agree to it. Then his constant pleas got annoying and she agreed. That was the start of their love story.

Taemin texted her. I’m coming over~ :) <3

:D Yay! I’ll see you when you get here ^^ I love you, Minnie~

<3 I love you, too, Sulli <3

---

As soon as Sulli got the text, she was absolutely excited. She couldn’t contain her happiness and put everything she could into dancing. It caused her to be out-of-breath and -tired, but still very full of adrenaline. She danced until she heard the doorbell. She cursed herself for dancing so much and being as sweaty as she was. She wanted to impress Taemin at all times, and being sweaty surely wasn’t impressive. She just hoped he wouldn’t mind the stickiness on her face as he kissed her cheek.

Sulli put on her best smile and opened the door. Taemin grinned back at her. He held his arms out for a hug. Sulli willingly walked into the warm arms she had grown to love over the three long years they had been dating. The moment the door was closed, Taemin’s disguise to hide from the fans came off. He threw his glasses on the table next to the chair. He put his coat and hat on the coat rack.

Sulli took the initiative to talk to him casually. “Why did you want to come here all of a sudden, Minnie? A special occasion?”

Taemin looked at his girlfriend like she had snakes slithering all over her. “Don’t you know what day it is?”

Sulli, being the innocent girl she was, pouted and shook her head. “I haven’t been paying attention to the days lately. f(x) has been too busy to notice it.”

Taemin smirked. It made his plan even better. He was eighteen, and Sulli was almost there, so what perfect timing was it to get the present? “That’s okay.”

“No, tell me, Minnie! I want to know!” Sulli begged with aegyo.

Taemin smiled and took her by the waist. “I’ll tell you later, okay, Ssul?”

Sulli sighed. There was no way she could ignore her boyfriend’s puppy dog eyes; they were practically the face of SHINee. “Fine~”

“Good. Now, why don’t we got eat something? I’m hungry.”

Sulli giggled and rested her head on Taemin’s chest. “Aren’t you always hungry, Taemin?”

“Only if it’s for chicken.”

Sulli left Taemin’s grasp. She laughed once before heading off to the chicken. Taemin followed her like a puppy. “What’s wrong with that?” he whined.

“You’re being influenced by Jinki oppa!” she complained as she poked her head in the large Kenmore fridge.

Taemin finally got it. “Oh, so you don’t like his chicken addiction? Victoria noona does. She actually loves it. And if I love it, you should love it, too, right?”

Sulli moved away and out of the fridge. She gave Taemin a glum stare. “No, it should be the other way around. If I don’t like it, you don’t like it. It’s as easy as that.” She shrugged, thinking she won the argument.

Taemin wasn’t ready to give up. He was determined to prove he was right. “I have proof that the girl has to agree with the guy when in a relationship.”

Sulli raised an eyebrow, pouring a glass of banana milk for Taemin. “Oh? Show me.”

“When married, the girl has problems with taking care of her children, so she asks the dad to help. Second—”

“Whoa! No way, Taemin!” She handed him his chicken and banana milk before stabbing his chest with her index finger to get her point across. “That’s absolutely the wrong order. You’ll be taking care of the kids and will ask me for help when you can’t get the onto the bottle to feed the kids. Then you’ll want help when changing the diaper because it’s too stinky. Lastly, you’ll need to know how to put the baby to sleep the right way.” This is why Sulli ruled over Taemin. She knew everything about children and how hard they were to deal with. With children came the rules of reality, and reality was a tough thing to deal with. Sulli crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Taemin exhaled. He wasn’t really competing with Sulli to see who knew more; he just wanted to do it for the fun of talking to her. No matter what came out of her lips, she always seemed to be right and know the full truth. She could settle arguments in the matter of seconds, and she practically led the group beside Victoria. That’s why Taemin adored Sulli—she was the best anybody could find.

He pulled Sulli in for a sweet kiss. She melted in his arms. It always happened. Taemin was dependable, independent, and strong, but the sweeter, more innocent side of him was what attracted her the most. He could be a complete god while dancing, but then he went backstage and turned into the cute maknae he was. She was hoping she could live her whole life with him, and that nothing could ever break them apart.

As if they wanted to ruin their precious moment, Victoria, Amber, Krystal, and Luna burst into the room after coming back from a restaurant. Amber was the first to see the couple kissing passionately. She covered her eyes, yelling, “Get a room, you two!”

Victoria and Luna broke into laughs. It reminded them of the times they had with their lovers, Jonghyun and Onew. Still, they thought it was a cute sight to see two of the cutest people they knew showing their love for each other.

The couple blushed together and pulled apart. Taemin held onto Sulli protectively, keeping her away from the snarky comments of Amber and Victoria. They were just kidding, though. They always teased the two of them.

Taemin remembered his present. Sure it had been on his mind the whole time, but it wasn’t his main thought. He gulped. Doing it seemed harder when it was sitting smack dab in the middle of his face than when he thought about what would happen when he did it.

“What’s wrong, Minnie?” Sulli asked, noticing her boyfriend’s troubled expression.

His words caught in the middle of his throat. Was it this hard for Jonghyun and Onew when they did it? If so, Taemin couldn’t figure out how they even got to the main event. “S-Sulli, I-I have to ask y-you something.”

Victoria held back a gasp. She didn’t just hear that from little Taeminnie’ mouth, did she? It wasn’t possible. The same words escaped Onew’s lips when he… Oh, my…

Sulli was still clueless to what Taemin was doing. “Sure,” she said cheekily.

Taemin’s heart raced with her smile. He led her to the living room. “What are we doing in here?” Sulli giggled. “Are we going to spend some time with the unnis and Krystal?” She kept laughing at his cuteness, but it immediately dispersed when she noticed the little black box coming from Taemin’s pocket. “T-Tae… what’s that?”

He smiled at her sheepishly. “I know I’m not dressed in much, but I couldn’t wait any longer.”

HE’S REALLY GOING TO DO IT!!! the rest of the f(x) members thought as they watched the scene in front of them unfold.

Sulli was taken completely by surprise the second Taemin kneeled in front of him. A diamond ring was in the box. Tears formed in her eyes with every word coming out of Taemin’s mouth. “Sulli, I don’t think I would be me without you. I wouldn’t be an outgoing, hyper, energetic maknae of SHINee if I hadn’t met and quarreled with you back in grade school. You basically formed me, and I’ll be forever grateful for that. But you have a long way to go if you want to finish what you started. There’s only one way to do that, Ssul… Will you marry me?”

----------

Happiness filled the air. The girls dressed in gorgeous black dresses stunned, and the men in sleek tuxedos shined bright. The one in the white tux was especially beaming. It was a proud day for him. He heard the music come on, and his head raised in anticipation to see the blushing bride.

The smile everyone was waiting for to arrive came upon Taemin’s face the moment the doors to the large church opened. In walked Sulli, in all her beauty of a bride. She was Taemin’s bride.

Of course, like most brides, tears were in Sulli’s eyes. Her father was by her side, the two of them hooked by the arm. It was a hard time for him. He was letting his little girl go to this boy who he actually trusted, but didn’t believe was true. Most people who got married at a young age got divorced early-on, and that was what worried him. He didn’t like seeing his little girl so heartbroken. But he had to do it. It was his only daughter’s choice, so he had to support her decision.

The two of them arrived at the large altar. Sulli’s dad gave his daughter away to Taemin, and it was almost too much for him. He was going to break down. He went to sit with his wife who was also nearly in tears.

The couple joined hands at the altar and went through all the procedures. Their favorite part was “You may now kiss the bride.” Sulli puckered. Taemin leaned in and gave her a sweet kiss. His heart soared, and he felt better than he ever had with Sulli right there by his side. They were officially married.

He linked their arms together by the elbows. They were smiling at all the applause they were getting, especially the loud cheering from their fellow band mates, the bridesmaids and groomsmen. SHINee and f(x) were all overly expressive this day, but it was a blessed reason. Nobody really cared if SHIN and f(x) went crazy over the marriage; they had a right to.

The reception started out easy. A toast went to the newlyweds from Victoria. “Congratulations to Taemin and Sulli for getting married at such a young age. I will admit that I’m worried for you Sulli; Taemin may be just a little childish if you’re not careful.” The crowd laughed. She giggled herself. “But on the other hand, he’s very trustworthy, and I believe in him to take good care of you, as well as the many children I’m sure you’ll have in the near future.” She smiled and gave Sulli a light hug before sitting down.

Key surprised the crowd by standing up. He clinked the side of his water glass with a fork. “Excuse me; I have something to say as well.” Everyone got quiet. “I’ve known Taemin since pre-debut. Back then he was the cutest thing anybody had ever seen, but his dance moves were out of this world. His fame in SHINee doesn’t come from his looks, his dance skills, or his voice. They’re all because he’s true to his fans and sends out the best love to them, even when he’s sick or busy. I also believe that’s why these two lovely children fell in love in the first place. If you didn’t know, they despised each other before they fell in love. If they had never met that day in Kindergarten over a simple little crayon, then they wouldn’t be here at this table this fine evening. So congratulations to the wonderful couple. I love them both, and I wish them a happy relationship and many moments in the upcoming future.”

Taemin mouthed a sincere “Thank you” to Key. His words were touching, and very true. Taemin wouldn’t have wanted anybody else to give that speech.

Finally, the first dance came around. The people on the floor cleared it like little ants scurrying away from a giant bug sprayer. Taemin took Sulli into a warm embrace as she put her arms around his neck. The whole dance was silent as they swayed back and forth, staring into each other’s eyes the whole time. They wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else.

----------

The distant cry of a little baby awoke Taemin from his slumber. He groaned and elbowed Sulli, who was also sleeping peacefully. “Go get her, Ssul. She’s hungry…”

Sulli gave him another snore as a response. Taemin sighed. It was impossible to wake up Sulli after the baby was born, but that wasn’t a bad thing. It just meant he had more work to do.

He got the bottle ready. He had to do it the hard way since he wasn’t the parent with all the natural milk. He wished Sulli would wake up more to take care of the baby more, but he wouldn’t force her. He just couldn’t. If he did, it’d put a burden on his heart and he’d feel bad afterwards for making her cranky and even more tired than she already was.

He picked up his first and only daughter. He cradled her in his arms. “Hush, now, Min Hee. Appa’s here. Drink this.” He spoke to her like she actually understood. She took the of the bottle into her tiny mouth and started to drink the milk. Taemin smiled. He wasn’t exactly too bad for a nineteen-almost-twenty-year-old father. He was able to keep up his schedules with SHINee as well. Same went for Sulli and f(x).

The baby fell asleep almost instantly. Taemin placed her back in her crib. He smiled down at her, proud that he got her asleep on his own again. Normally, Sulli would have to help, like she said back when they were still just boyfriend and girlfriend. But he was coping fairly well as a good father. He was ecstatic about it.

Taemin walked back to his room that inhabited Sulli and their comfortable bed. He climbed back under the warm covers. He closed his eyes, ready for some sleep, when he suddenly couldn’t breathe. He smiled and kissed Sulli back. The second she pulled back, she said, “Thank you, Taemin. You’re a great father.”

----------

The young girl waited for her boyfriend to text her. She wanted to really talk to him so he could come over and meet her father. As if on cue, her dad suddenly walked in. She smiled brightly, innocently. “Appa!”

Taemin smiled back. “Hello, Min Hee. What are you doing in here alone?”

“Well… it’s my room,” she replied sarcastically with a small smirk. Taemin realized how much Min Hee looked like her mother, as well as himself. She acted more like her mother, but could be like her father when it came to performing if she had to.

Taemin gave his daughter a look. “You know what I mean.”

Min Hee sighed. She didn’t really want to tell her father about her new boyfriend, but she had to or else she’d be grounded for not telling him sooner. “Appa, I have to tell you about someone.”

Taemin knew these kinds of words and tone of voice. It was the same as the one he used when he asked Sulli to marry him those many years ago. He sat on the side of Min Hee’s bed, next to her. “Could this possibly include a boy?”

Min Hee’s eyes widened. “How’d you know?”

“Believe it or not, I was once your age as well, and when I was seventeen, I was hopelessly in love.” He sighed, remembering the sweet times he and Sulli had shared together back in the good old days.

“Of course you were; you just decided to get old and grow up.” She laughed when her father gave her one of the funniest looks she had ever seen. No wonder he was the maknae of SHINee—he had the funniest looks, but they were still adorable.

“Just kidding~” she chided as she hugged her dad. “About that boy… we’re already dating. I want to bring him over so you can meet him and give us permission to date. I don’t know if you’ll like him though. He be kind of a rebel at times.”

“It’s not like I never knew one of those.” Taemin looked at the door to his daughter’s room, hinting at who he was talking about. Min Hee poked him on the cheek playfully. “Don’t talk about Mom like that!”

“Well, it’s true! The truth hurts sometimes.” Taemin pointed at Min Hee jokingly, then planted a kiss meant for his only daughter on her cheek. “Tell him to come over and we’ll see if he’s worthy to date such a high class daughter of mine.”

__________

Sulli held onto Taemin’s hand with so much strength, he felt as if his fingers would fall off. She was using his hand as a comfort ball to keep herself from crying. He was using her as the same thing. He didn’t want to see his daughter getting married already; it broke his heart to see how much she had grown up in twenty-two years. She was just a little baby he had to get out of bed and lose sleep for at one point, and here she is, getting married to the boy she brought home to responsibly show her parents.

After the first dance ended for the couple, it was the father-daughter dance. Sulli patted Taemin on the back, giving him hope and courage like she had been for years before. He smiled and planted a sweet kiss on her cheek before going up to his daughter. He got to take his daughter into a comfortable position as they danced to the music and talked quietly. While dancing, Taemin let his tears run. He trusted Min Hee to not make fun of him.

“Appa, don’t cry,” she giggled, tearing up herself. It wasn’t fun to see her father cry. She wiped the tears away from his now-stained cheeks.

He sniffled, chuckling silently. “I’m sorry, Min Hee. I’m just so proud of you right now.”

“How? I’ve done nothing to impress anybody.”

Taemin looked back at her waiting husband. Then his gaze shifted back to his beautiful daughter. She looked just like her mother on her wedding day. “You’ve done everything and anything to impress all the people in this room here. I’m most proud of your progress in school. Most girls don’t keep that up, and you decided to do it on your own. Your mother and I didn’t even have to tell you about it. Your mother is most proud of you because you’ve grown up to be a responsible young woman with a very wonderful man that we’re both sure will take care of you and love you for the rest of your life. And do you know what he’s most proud of?”

Min Hee shook her head as she sniffled. Her father’s words were a little much, and they touched her heart dearly.

“I’m positive that he’s in love with you because you’re a kind, independent woman who has grown up to be the best girl he could find in this world full of all kinds of women. Just think: He could’ve found any other woman, but he deemed you worthy. Now you’re getting married.”

Min Hee buried her face in her father’s tuxedo, now bawling her eyes out. “Appa, stop saying such sweet things. My mascara’s going to run.”

“Then don’t cry; Yesong wants to see your beautiful face.” He made his daughter look at him straight in the face. It was his turn to clean her face. Min Hee grinned at her father gratefully before thanking him for everything, and escaping to her new husband’s, Yesong, arms.

Taemin did the same with Sulli. They shared a sweet kiss at the wedding of their only child, Lee Min Hee.

__________

The doctor was baffled. He didn’t know why or how it happened, but he was completely bewildered and clueless as to how the couple went together.

The nurse walked in. He started questioning her. “Eunbi, do you think it’s possible for two people to die at the same time because their love was so strong?”

Eunbi, the nurse, looked up in wonder. “I guess that depends on the couple. Who was it?”

“Lee Taemin from SHINee and f(x)’s Sulli.”

Eunbi furrowed her eyebrows, but still shrugged. “I didn’t even know they were married. Eh, they’re gone now. That’s the past.” She waved it off and left. The doctor took one more look at the two of them on the hospital bed together before following in the nurse’s footsteps.

Yes, it was the truth. The most popular couple in history had finally passed over to the other side. The weird mind-boggling truth was how they died: Together.

Five minutes before her death, Sulli knew it was about to come upon her. She got out of her hospital bed, and left her room to go over to Taemin’s. The wrinkly old lady was ignored. The nurse’s thought she was going to the bathroom. Sulli was able to enter Taemin’s room. She found his old, wrinkly-self barely alive in his own bed. It hurt her heart to see him that way, but she still climbed in bed with him. Taemin was curious as to who was going to lie with him. A withered but still working smile covered his face. “Sulli,” he rasped in his dry voice.

“Hello, Taemin,” Sulli said. She smiled up at him. She wrapped her weak arms around his waist like she always did when they were younger. Taemin smoothed out her dark tangled hair. He was finally at peace and didn’t need to hold onto anything anymore, except her. He still had a few words to say, though. “Sulli, was your life the best?”

“What do you mean, Minnie?” Sulli took a shaky breath. She felt her heart beat speeding up. It was still because of Taemin’s voice and touch.

“Did I do my job right? Did I make your life worth living?”

Sulli made a little noise to let him know he did everything right. “Of course you did, Tae. You dated me, you married me, you gave me a child, and now you’re here with me. What else could somebody want?”

“To live in paradise with the one you love forever. Is that what you want, Sulli? To be with me forever?”

Sulli leaned up as far as she could to place one last kiss on Taemin’s lips before snuggling back into his chest. “I want to live with you in every lifetime.” And as if their hearts beat as one, they said together in harmony, “I love you.”

The heart monitor beeped for Taemin, but to check Sulli’s was useless. She left to head for Heaven with him.