Minhyuk was more than excited about the prospect of seeing his appas again and almost suffocated you with his hug after you asked him if he would like to visit them. The both of you were now in a taxi on the way to the address that Kibum had given you. He told you to head to the side entrance and call him when you were there.

“Hello, Kibum? Minhyuk and I are here at the side entrance of the SBS building already.” You sounded completely unsure of what to do next.

“Ok. Give me a minute. I’ll be right there to get you.” He said and ended the call.

You fidgeted slightly while waiting for him to arrive. You didn’t feel right about coming to his workplace. It just felt a little strange for you to be there.

“Minnie, remember not to call them appa when you see them ok? What are you supposed to call them?” You quizzed him for the fourth time to make sure that he wouldn’t forget.

“Samchon.” He answered immediately.

“Good boy. We’re at one of the placea where your appas work, so you must be on your best behaviour too. Alright?” He nodded a little too eagerly. He could hardly contain his excitement and it made you wonder if he was even listening to what you were telling him.

Just then, the side door opened to reveal Kibum standing in the doorway. “Hello! You’re finally here.” He greeted with a smile.

“Kibum samchon!” MInhyuk rushed towards Kibum, who scooped him up in his arms.

“Hello to you too, Minhyukkie!” He laughed. “But what did you call me?”

“Kibum samchon!” Minhyuk said it again loud and clear.

“Samchon?” Kibum raised one of his eyebrows and looked questioningly to you.

“It was my condition for allowing him to be here. I just thought it would be better that he didn’t call all of you ‘appa’ here, since misunderstandings could easily arise. I don’t want to cause trouble for you.” You explained with your eyes on the ground.

You were expecting to get chastised for being foolish or thinking too much, so when the seconds went by and Kibum didn’t say anything, you grew curious and dared to lift your head up and look at him. He looked at you with the most unreadable expression as he brought his hand towards your face. Just as you thought that he was going to cup your cheek, he suddenly remembered where he was and withdrew his hand immediately, clearing his throat and glancing around to check if anyone had witnessed what he was about to do.

When he was sure that no one was around, he looked back at you with a soft expression. “You’re still the same pumpkin I knew. Always thinking about others. Thank you, ------ah” He said with a soft smile.

Before you could even respond, he move to the side and motioned for you to enter. “Come on. The rest are waiting for us. Even Leeteuk hyung is here as well. You remember him right?”

You walked into the building and Kibum allowed the door to shut again before falling into step beside you. “The one who ordered chicken for you all?”

“Yup! That’s him. He’s giving us his support by featuring for us today. By the way, what are you carrying?” He pointed to the bag that you were carrying in your hand.

“I made some snacks for all of you. I’m not sure if there is enough for everyone though.” You answered but it was clear that your mind somewhere else, causing him to give you a curious look.

You looked around uncertainly. “Is it really alright for us to be here?”

He stopped walking and looked straight into your eyes. “Would I ask you to come if I didn’t already get approval for you to be here?” He asked and you suddenly found yourself feeling extremely foolish for doubting him. You shook you head slowly and he smiled. “Just trust me. Anyway, only the manager hyungs know about you so if anyone else asks, just says that you’re Taemin’s cousin. It’ll be more believable since he loves having skinship with you.” He chuckled, no doubt remembering all the times where Taemin practically launched himself at you.

“But… as for-“ he eyed Minhyuk while you were looking at him to make sure that you knew who he was talking about, “-I’ll leave that up to you. You can tell the truth or make up something. I don’t think anyone would really mind.”

“Truth.” You stated, not even needing a moment to think. You knew that lies had a funny way of snowballing so you didn’t like lying when you had a choice.

“I knew you’d say that.” He said with a smug look. “Ok, lets go before they think that we got kidnapped.”

He led you down the halls and took a few turns before arriving at a door with an A4-sized paper, which had the words ‘샤이니(SHINee)’ printed on it, stuck to it. You could hear several muffled voices and laughter emanating from behind the door. You held your breath and plastered a smile on your face as Kibum opened the door.

To your relief, only a few people had noticed your presence as you entered the room with Kibum and Minhyuk but they only looked on and didn’t throw you any questions. The both of you headed straight to where the rest of the SHINee members and Leeteuk were sitting.

“Leeteuk hyung, this is Taemin’s cousin, Lee ------.” Kibum said loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

Taemin quickly rushed to your side and clung onto one of your arms. “Noona, you’re here!”

You looked at him and ruffled his hair. You didn’t noticed this before, but now that he was beside you, it was very obvious. “Hello Taeminnie. You’ve grown quite a bit since the last time.”

“Of course! Soon, I’ll going to be taller than Key hyung too!” He claimed while looking really proud of himself.

You looked at Leeteuk and saw a look of recognition flashed across his face before it changed into one of confusion. He looked to Minho, who was sitting to his left, and Minho proceeded to whisper something to him. You were sure that Minho was explaining everything to him so you just stood there rather awkwardly with Taemin still hugging your arm and watched the scene unfold before you. You saw his eyes widen for just a brief moment before he cast a glance in your direction and then at Minhyuk, before finally nodding in understanding. It was only when Minho gave you a reassuring smile and nod that you actually let out the breath that you had been holding.

“------- made some snacks for us. Leeteuk hyung, wait till you try her cooking.” Kibum announced as he took the bag that you were holding and pushed you into the seat beside Minho. Taemin pouted slightly at this before dragging the chair he was sitting on previously over to you and sat on your other side.

“Noona, did you bring any drinks?” He whispered to you just as Kibum took out a bottle of banana milk and placed it on the table beside the containers of food.

You just smiled and pointed to it. “You’re the best! Thank you, noona!” He gave you a hug from the side. “You should eat something first, Taeminnie.” You said when you saw that he was already reaching towards the banana milk. He nodded but still took the bottle of drink and placed it on the seat behind him, as if he was afraid someone would steal it.

Leeteuk reached out and started opening the food containers to reveal kimbap as well as egg rolls. They looked a little out of shape and messy because you had rushed to make it this morning, so you felt a little ashamed to see all of them staring at the food. Thankfully, you had decided to make two containers each of kimbap and egg rolls, so the SHINee members and Leeteuk shared one set while the stylists and managers shared the other.

Taemin stood up and handed out the chopsticks to everyone and one by one, they started tucking into the food. Leeteuk was the first to try the food among the idol group and he chose to eat the egg roll first. You watched him as he chewed and swallowed the egg roll before trying the kimbap, all the while not saying anything. After he swallowed the kimbap, he stood up and came to stand in front of you, extending his hand out. You took his hand and he shook it, a smile breaking out on his face. “Congrats, you’re officially moving into Super Junior’s dorm!” He let out a really high-pitched evil laugh.

“Hyung, control yourself.” Minho said as he came to stand beside Leeteuk, a playful smile on his face.

Leeteuk continued laughing for a bit before he finally got a hold of himself. “-------ah! It’s delicious! You should really move in with my members. We’ll take care of everything you need if you’d just cook for us!”

You laughed. “Thank you, Leeteuk-ssi.” You weren’t supposed to know him after all.

“No no. Oppa.” He pointed to himself and said.

“Thank you, Leeteuk oppa.” You repeated.

He nodded with a smile and went back to sharing the food with the SHINee members.

As the day wore on, and the time for SHINee’s performance came closer, they started to go through their choreography again and again to make sure that everyone knew what they were supposed to do. After a few rounds, they split up into groups to practise. Taemin and Key continued to help Leeteuk with his choreography while Minho practised his rap and Jonghyun, his singing. You felt a little sorry for him because you could tell that he still hadn’t fully recovered from his flu as he was very out of breath as he sang.

You looked around the room. It was average-sized but because it was filled with the members, their managers, hair and makeup stylists, as well as Leeteuk and his manager, the room felt really small and crammed. You started to feel a little stuffed up so you wanted to go out for some fresh air but you weren’t sure if you were allowed to wander around.

Just then, one of SHINee’s managers appeared and sat down beside you, startling you a little. “Umm.. About what I made Jinki tell you in LA, I’m really sorry about that.” He started.

“Aniyo! It’s alright. I understand why you said those things and I’m glad you did too. If not, Kibum might not be here with them.” You said, looking at them practise once more.

He let out a short laugh. “I can see why all of them speak so fondly of you.”

You looked at him with a puzzled expression, not understanding what he meant but he didn’t bother to explain. “Anyway, just accept my apology, ok? I’ve been feeling bad for more than two years already.”

You nodded and smiled. “Apology accepted then. Will it be alright if I wander around outside for a bit? I’m feeling a little stuffed up in here.”

He nodded. “Of course you can but don’t go too far. You might get lost since all the rooms look the same.”

You nodded in understanding before lowering your head and asking Minhyuk, who was sitting on your lap while watching his appas, if he wanted to come with you or stay and continue watching his appas.

He didn’t answer you but he didn’t have to because you saw the longing in his eyes as he watched them practise. You were sure that nothing bad would happen to him in the room so you sat him down on the chair and told him not to leave before you came back.

You wandered down the hallways and read off the various labels on the doors– MBLAQ, K.Will, f(x), Secret, U-Kiss, BEAST, and Brown Eyed Girls. Strange names, you thought as you walked further down the hall to an open area. Where there were large glass-paned windows and benches lining the walls.

You took a seat on one of the benches nearest to you and took out your phone to call your mom. “Hello, omma. How are you feeling?”

“I’m doing better, sweetheart. But I already told you this just now, didn’t I? Did something happen?” She asked, concern in her voice.

“No no. Everything is alright. I just wanted to tell you that we might only be there after 6 and ask you if you wanted me to buy anything for you to eat.” You clarified.

“Mmm… I don’t really have any particular dish in mind.”

“Samgyetang?” You suggested since it has plenty of nutrients.

“Sounds good. I’ll tell the nurse not to bring me dinner then. I’ll see you later?”

“Yup, see you later, omma. I’ll call you before we leave.” You ended the call after saying goodbye and rested your head back on the wall behind, you started to close your eyes to relax for a bit when someone called out your name.

“-------?”

Your head snapped in the direction of that voice. The voice that you never thought you would ever hear again.

“Junhyung…-ssi.”