You found yourself huddled in the center of the SHINee members who were surrounded by their coordi noonas and other staff as they chatted and waited for their MPV to pull up. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see the other groups of artistes gathering around in their own small circles and waiting for their cars as well but you chose to keep your head down just in case.

Minho was still holding onto Minhyuk because he had refused to let go when you tried to take him back. It seemed that he was perfectly comfortable using Minho’s broad shoulder as his pillow and clearly didn’t want to give it up. You let out an exasperated sigh after failing to extricate your son from Minho for the third time. Minho just chuckled and said that it was alright. He, like everyone else, was a total softie when it came to Minhyuk. In the end, one of the stylists pulled out an overcoat from the stash of clothes that they brought for the members and draped it over Minho to partially block Minhyuk from view.

All of you moved towards the car when it finally arrived and you felt a hand on the small of your back push you forward. You took a quick glance to see who it was and saw that it was Kibum, so you compiled and went inside first, taking the seat at the back. Kibum immediately settled in the seat beside you. Minho was the next in and took the seat right in front of you while Taemin sat in front of Kibum and Jonghyun took the seat up front beside the manager.

That was easy. You thought as the car began to pull out of the carpark and wondered why the manager was making a fuss earlier. But you got your answer the moment the car got onto the main road though. Their fans had been waiting for them to leave and started screaming and running alongside the car the moment it appeared. They just kept waving even though they couldn’t see into the car because of the tinted windows. They continued to chase the car down the road and eventually surrounded it when the car came to a stop at the junction.

“Bummie? Can you hide, ------?” Jonghyun called out to Kibum from the front.

You looked at Kibum with a puzzled expression but he just nodded to Jonghyun, who was looking at him through the rearview him, before reaching out to take your hand and motioned for you to lie down on his lap. The moment your head touched his lap, you heard the sound of windows being wound down and the fans screams became extremely loud. You couldn’t see exactly what they were doing but you had an idea.

Kibum’s lap was more comfortable than you expected and you found yourself dozing off just a few seconds after lying down. The car was in motion by the time you woke up and you sat up slowly as you tried to rub the stiffness out of your neck. Your eyes focused to the front and you saw that Minhyuk was now awake and sitting in Minho’s lap, while the sharing earphones and listening to music on Minho’s ipod. Jonghyun and Taemin both appeared to be sleeping,

“How long did I sleep?” You asked in a sleepy voice.

“Not too long. Maybe about 30 minutes? Manager hyung already got the samgyupsal for your mom so we’re heading to the hospital now.” He informed.

You let out a soft gasp. “Why didn’t you call me up? I should have been the one to go and get the food.”

“Oh, don’t be silly. Manager hyung went to get it since it was easier that way. Just make sure your mom eats it well.” Kibum said softly.

You nodded with a small pout. There was nothing you could do since the deed was already done but you still felt that you should have been the one to go and get the food since it was meant for your mom. You didn’t want to make a fuss out of it though, so you just sank back into your seat and looked out at the passing scenery.

The rest of the evening went by all too quickly since all the SHINee members were there to provide the fun. Your mom enjoyed the meal a lot and enjoyed the company even more. She even remembered about Jinki and asked about him when she saw that he still wasn’t there with them. You were surprised at how quickly she got comfortable with all four of them and likewise, them with her.

You cringed slightly when your mom started to talk about your childhood because you knew that she would definitely share embarrassing stories about you. And you were right. Even though you did find yourself joining in the laughter at some stories, others were just downright embarrassing; like the time when you accidentally tripped over yourself while going up the stage and fell in front of all your schoolmates. After that, you had to live with the constant jokes and re-enactments of your fall and scream for the rest of your schooling life.

You wished that you had Minhyuk with you at that point so you that you could hide your flushed face by hugging him but he was sitting on the bed with his halmoni and playing contentedly on his own, so you had to hide your face in your hands.

Thankfully, the nurse came to your rescue before further damage could be done. Visiting hours were over and the nurse had come to remind all of you to leave. After saying a quick goodbye to your mom and telling her that you’d see her the next day, you found yourself standing outside your mom’s room with the SHINee members.

You had intended to say goodbye to the SHINee members and then make your own way back just like the previous times but as expected, Kibum refused to let you go back on your own and even managed to get the rest of the members to side with him. You thought about arguing about it because your place was completely out of the way but you knew that you didn’t actually have a chance of winning the argument since Minhyuk was currently with Taemin.

You let out a resigned sigh and followed them to their car. Their manager brought you back to SHINee’s dorm first though because he didn’t want to risk driving their car all the way to your house where they might get spotted by fans; which was why you were now waiting in their dorm’s basement carpark for their manager to get his personal car to drive you back.

After saying goodbye to you, all the members, except Kibum, decided to go up to their dorm first. All of them keen on being the first to get to use the bathroom. You had wanted to go up to their dorm to see how Jinki was doing but Kibum said that it was better if Minhyuk didn’t get too close to Jinki for now. Just the mere thought of Minhyuk getting swine flu made you change your mind immediately.

“Are you sure you don’t want to head up first? I’m fine waiting here on my own.”

“Yeah. I don’t usually shower first anyway.” He reassured.

A comfortable silence surrounded the both of you as the conversation came to an end. The faint “dings” of the lift providing the only sound in the lift lobby area where you and Kibum stood.

“Can we see you again soon?” Kibum asked after a couple of seconds, somehow sounding a little unsure of himself.

You raised your eyebrow a little. “I don’t know. All of you are so busy with your comeback and I have to take care of my mom as well as Minhyuk….” You trailed off. And I also have to find a job. You bit your lip as that thought crossed your mind.

Kibum didn’t catch on though, too focused on what he wanted to achieve. “You can come visit us at one of our schedules then! We’re really free in between rehearsals and the actual performance. Will you come?”

You didn’t know how to answer him but the look on his face told you that he really wanted you to be there. “I’ll try and visit all of you next week then.” You gave in but immediately regretted the words that came out of your mouth. You really didn’t want to go, especially if it meant that you might run into Junhyung again. You knew that Leeteuk wasn’t going to be there to save you the next time round.

The smile that appeared on Kibum’s face almost made it worthwhile. “Yeah! Everyone is going to be so happy when I tell them later. Today was the most fun we’ve ever had on a music show and it’s all because you came.” He claimed.

Your head snapped up the moment you heard a car horn, interrupting your reply to Kibum. It was their manager who waved you to go over to him.

“Ok, I have to go already. You should go up and get some rest.” You told him.

He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on the top of Minhyuk’s head. “See you again soon, my baby boy.” He whispered to a sleeping Minhyuk before he looked up at you. “I’ll see you soon too, pumpkin.” The look in his eyes softened and you realized that his face was really close to yours.

“Promise you’ll come?”  He continued.

For a moment, you were worried that he was going to kiss you right in front of his manager but thankfully, he didn’t. You gulped, a forced smiled on your face. “Promise.”

You gathered your things and started to walk towards the manager’s car when you remembered something. “Good night, cupcake.” You turned your head back and gave him a genuine smile.

You didn’t expect him to react the way he did though. He took one look at you before he strode towards you and pulled you in a tight hug. You stiffened. It was sort of awkward since you were holding Minhyuk and he was hugging you by the side of your body. He placed his chin on your shoulder and you could feel his warm breath on your ear.

“God, pumpkin. I’ve missed you so much.” He whispered, making you relax in his hold.

“I’ve missed you too.” You gave him a soft smile. “But you need to let go, your manager can see us, cupcake.”

That seemed to shake him back into reality because he immediately let his arms drop and cleared his throat awkwardly. “Ok, go on then. I’ll go up after I see you go.” He urged. You gave him one last smile before hurrying towards the car.

The ride home was awkward to say the least. Despite having spoken to their manager earlier, you still really didn’t know what to say to him now. On top of that, you knew that he had witnessed the hug that Kibum gave you, which only served to make you feel more uncomfortable. You shifted in your seat at you racked your brain for something to break the silence.

“Umm. Thank you for helping me buy my mom’s dinner earlier on.” You said finally.

“Oh. Don’t worry about it. I had to anyway.”

You felt a little embarrassed at that. “Sorry. I really didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“No no. I didn’t mean it that way.” He said.

You furrowed your brows and gave him a puzzled expression before realizing that he was driving and couldn’t look at you. “Hmm?”

He didn’t answer you right away, choosing to only focus on the road until he pulled up at a traffic light. He took a glance at you and let out a short sigh. “How much do you know about what goes on in their lives everyday?” He asked.

“Hmm. They don’t give me too many details but I know they are really busy and their schedule these days, with their comeback and all, are packed with variety show appearances, radio programs, music shows, photoshoots, and others on top of their usual practices.”

The manager nodded. “That sounds about right. But what I meant to ask was ‘Do you actually know what really goes on in their lives?’” He way he asked the question got you a little worried.

“W-what do you mean?” Your voice laced with concern as you found yourself furrowing your brows once again.

He sighed again. This time though, the sigh didn’t seem to be directed at you, but at what he was about to tell you. “Do you remember the fans from earlier?”

You nodded. “The ones at the music show? Or the ones after that?”

“Both. Most of the fans are harmless and are just happy to get a chance to see the members but there is a small percentage of them that are very scary. They stalk the members all the time. They are always there wherever the members go. Some even follow Taemin when he goes to and from school. These fans crave attention from the members and will go to extreme measures just to get close to them. They memorise the carplate numbers of the cars used by the members so that they can easily identify and follow the car in taxis. Some of them even manage to get a hold of the handphone numbers of the members and call or text them all the time. This is why I need to be extremely careful and never let them out of my sight.” He paused for a bit to let you take in all the information. “Do you know why I’m telling you this?”

You nodded stiffly, you wanted to say something, anything but you just couldn’t formulate anything even remotely coherent. How could all of them live their lives like this?! The most worrisome thing on your mind was the fact that they even stalked Taemin to and from school. This was beyond madness!

“You want me to stay away from them.” You mumbled. You didn’t like those words that all.

“No no! I didn’t mean that at all. I’m glad that you’re friends with them. It’s good for them to have other friends. They are around each other too much if you ask me. All I wanted was for you to be more careful when you’re with them. Just know that everytime you’re with any one of them, there is a good chance that a fan is watching. So, simple actions can be easily misunderstood especially if captured on picture or video.”

You nodded gravely. “I understand. I’ll be more careful from now on and I’ll keep an appropriate distance from them as well.”

“I’m sorry again for having to say these things to you. But I’m responsible for them and even though these fans are scary and really out of line at times, idols are nothing without their fans. I really hope you don’t hold anything against me.”

“Don’t worry, manager oppa. I really do understand where you’re coming from. I’m glad you told me all of these. It would have been a disaster if something I did got them into trouble with their fans.” You got the creeps just thinking about what their fans would do to you if they ever found out about you. The car once again became quiet as you became preoccupied with your own thoughts.

“Manager oppa? Is it very risky for me to go to their music show recordings?” You asked after a while, remembering the promise that you had made to Kibum.

“Well, if you asked me, it’s always a risk to be around the members if you’re not already an idol and even if you were one, the risk of a scandal is always there. But compared to you being seen with them on their free time, it’s better for you to be there at their planned schedules. That way, we could always say that your visit was in support of the boys. Oh, one more thing, your cover story of being Taemin’s cousin, it’d only work with the other idols and any of the staff but the fans and netizens will tear apart that story and expose it as a lie faster than you could ever imagine. So the fewer people know about it, the better. Also, try your best not to mix with the idols of other groups, alright? Stalker fans aren’t exclusive to SHINee.”

A few minutes after that, the car pulled into the street where you were staying. “Will you be alright going in on your own?” He leaned forward pressing closer to the steering wheel and tilted his head upwards to get a better look at the place where you were staying. It was nothing compared to the apartment complex that the SHINee members were staying at and you felt rather awkward and embarrassed.

“I’ll be fine. Thank you for sending me home, manager oppa.”

He chuckled. “You keep calling me that. Now, I really feel like I’m your manager.” He had tried to get you to call him by his name but ‘manager oppa’ just sounded so much better to you. You were used to calling him that anyway.

You smiled. “Good night then, manager oppa. Drive safely.” You said as you stepped out of the car and closed the door. You stood there and wanted to watch him drive off but he made a gesture with his hand to get you to go on up first.

You gave him a soft smile again and bowed slightly before turning to go up to your place. Strangely, you felt a little relieved after having talked to their manager. Somehow, you felt like you were finally being accepted as part of the members’ lives. Even though you knew that you were going to have to be really careful when meeting them, you still felt good that you weren’t being warned to stay away or to leave them alone.

A small smile formed on your face as you turned around the corner to get to your door. The sight that greeted you when you turned around the corner though, was nothing short of shocking. You were sure that your jaw was hanging wide open as you stared at the person who was standing outside your door.

“I knew it.” He smirked.

==============

Ok, so I had a chapter update sitting in my word doc for the longest time and I had so many problems trying to update last week. For 2 days in a row, I just couldn't access my account then the server migration happened and at that point, I was already too pissed to do anything. It really did affect my mood and ability to write but then I looked at it again yesterday and decided to add more content to the original update.

So now, you have this GIANT 3100-word chapter for you. I guess it's sort of to make up for my absence but like I said.. HUGE exam coming up!! I really have no choice but to make that my no. 1 priority for now. Hope all of you don't mind waiting a little longer! I will be back with regular updates!!

In the meantime, enjoy this while I go attempt to swallow my textbook!

Oh! Belated April Fools Day everyone! I hope you had a great day trolling people :) I know I had fun being trolled!