“Yeri’s such a sunshine right?” Juhyeon asked while pouring the mix on the pan.
“Neh. She’s very friendly. Very friendly that I forgot that we had a very rough first meeting” replied Taemin as he stretched his arms which still felt tired.
“Omo, your injury must have given you memory loss” joked Juhyeon.
“Aniya, not in that way” laughed Taemin “she was just really a positive kid. I can’t stay mad at her even if she hit me so hard. She had a good reason anyway”
“Well that’s our Yeri. Her mother told us she was born smiling with her gums” said Juhyeon with light laughter.
“Jinjja? That’s crazy! But it doesn’t seem so impossible for though” said Taemin, greatly amused by what he heard.
“Not sure if it’s true or just an exaggeration, but if it was true then that explains her cheekiness and positivity” replied Juhyeon as she flipped the pancakes over.
“I’d like to believe she was naturally born that way. Can’t wait to spend time with her today. It’s been a while since I actually interacted with a kid that way. I felt like a real older brother for once” replied Taemin.
“Wae? Don’t you have younger siblings?” asked Juhyeon.
“Nope. Just older ones, one biological and the rest are just older friends whom I treat as family” said Taemin as he wondered how his SHINee hyungs are doing after nearly a week of not seeing them nor hearing from them. Taemin wondered if his absence worried them and he thought of sending them a message later on. They must’ve been trying to contact him through his lost phone these past days and if he doesn’t give them a single word about his whereabouts, it would cause a major issue.
“Wow. Being the youngest must’ve given you that desire to be the older one at some point, am right?” said Juhyeon.
“Neh, I guess so. I was always the “cute” one and they were the cool ones. I’ve always wanted to be like them and so I built myself up every day to be as cool as they were” said Taemin as he massaged his hands.
“I can imagine the pressure” replied Juhyeon as she turned off the stove to let the pancakes cool off.
“But you’ve always been the eldest in your group” replied Taemin while excessively blinking, giving Juhyeon a puzzled look.
“Yeah but I didn’t say I was the one who experienced it” said Juhyeon as she sat down on the chair parallel to Taemin’s to explain further. “Before Yeri came to us, Joy was our maknae and baby. She may have been the biggest kid in our circle but she had the most aegyo. She was so cute, and she always gave us so much happiness. But as the years gone by, Joy was starting to feel like she didn’t want to be the baby anymore. The same thing you felt. She wanted to be a lady. But one day one of our friends, Seulgi, met a very nice kid from the class that she taught. Seulgi was a relatively new dance instructor back then and Yeri was the kid in her class that she loved teaching the most. She brought her on one of our regular hangouts and because Yeri was so fun and friendly, everyone fell in love with her immediately; except Joy. Joy felt anxious that day, she felt like Yeri was replacing her because Yeri automatically became the group’s baby. She felt lost for a while. But after a few more meetings, Joy’s anxiety and jealousy was replaced by a love for Yeri after seeing how much brightness she brought to the group. She started to hang out with Yeri, A LOT. They were so alike in so many ways that they grew inseparable. As their friendship grew tighter, Yeri was starting to act and look a bit like Joy and it was very evident that they established a deep connection with each other. They even started engaging in the same activities together. They loved to gang up a lot on other people, especially on Seulgi. They make fun of her until she actually cries. They could get very sinister but it’s just all play, they haven’t done real damage so far and I hope they won’t. Joy eventually realized that Yeri was a blessing; that because of Yeri, she finally wasn’t the baby anymore but now the bigger sister to the new baby who was pretty much her other half”
“What a cute story. It would make a great children’s storybook if you remove the ‘evil’ scenes in between, don’t you think? ” said Taemin. The story between Joy and Yeri tickled his heart more and more as he realized how relevant it was to him.
“Haha, neh, Wait till you meet them together, they’re so cute” said Juhyeon as she stood up from her chair to grab some stuff from the cupboard.
 “Maybe it was destined that you met Yeri you could finally be the older sibling too” said Juhyeon as she approached Taemin, holding a roll of bandages, medical tape, a tiny ointment tube and safety scissors in her small hands.
“Well, bad things could lead to beautiful things. Maybe God allowed the drunk ajhussi to smash his bottle on my head so I could meet wonderful people like you guys afterwards” said Taemin as Juhyeon stood right in front of him. The two of them froze at that moment, staring at each other, not saying a word for a few seconds until Juhyeon started to smile and look away.
“Oppa-ya, don’t move”
“Wae?” asked Taemin curiously. Juhyeon then unrolled and cut a long strip of bandage. She hung it on her right shoulder then squeezed a relevant amount of ointment on her finger. Juhyeon unwrapped the bloody bandage from Taemin’s head and gently brushed up Taemin’s soft beautiful hair with her hand to expose the wound on Taemin’s head. She carefully applied the ointment on Taemin’s wound that hasn’t dried up yet.
“Does it still hurt?” asked Juhyeon while covering the whole area with ointment.
“Agh. It still stings but it’s more tolerable than how it hurt yesterday”
“Well this is for the better so hold on” said Juhyeon as she finished applying Taemin’s treatment. She then took the end of the strip of bandage, placed it on the wound area and started to slowly and gently wrap the bandage around Taemin’s head. After the whole strip perfectly hugged around Taemin’s head, Juhyeon sealed it off with medical tape.
“Kamsahamnida, Bae Juhyeon-ssi” said Taemin.
“Neh, no problem” replied Juhyeon.
 

“Eonnieeee” said a monotonous voice. Juhyeon looked over to the door and standing there was a tall lady with wavy orange hair and a backpack.
“Joy! What brings you here?” said Juhyeon, surprised by the sudden appearance of her friend then walked up to her immediately.
“You changed your hair, it looks beautiful!” said Juhyeon while Joy’s freshly dyed orange hair.
“Neh, some things just have to change when you turn into a real woman” confidently replied Joy then flipped her glorious mane to the side.
“Joy? JOY??” Taemin said in his head, remembering that Yeri had mentioned Joy earlier and the fact that she was into K-idols. Taemin knew he was also an unexpected guest but these girls keep coming in out of nowhere. He froze in his seat, trying not to face the guest who just arrived. He hid his face with his long hair and continued to sit with his back facing the direction of the door.
“Baechu-eonnie, I heard there was going to be a sleepover tonight, isn’t that right, my dear Yeri?” said Joy, as she pulled Yeri who was hiding behind her.
“Ahihi, annyeonghasseyo eonnie, I’m back” Yeri said, with a slight tone of embarrassment in her voice. Juhyeon gave Yeri a pinch on the cheek as she knew exactly what was going on.
“Yeah, Yeri was going to sleepover and I’m guessing that she brought you along” said Juhyeon. Joy went behind Juhyeon and rested her chin on her shoulder.
“Can I joooin?” said Joy with a mischievous tone, while giving her a back hug.
“Since you’re already here, why not?” said Juhyeon. Upon hearing her approval, Joy pointed at Yeri with, which Yeri pointed back at her, signaling to each other that their plan had worked.
“Yeehhhhh~” the two blurted their signature bestfriend catchphrase to each other.
“Aigoo, you two can’t really live without each other can’t you” said Juhyeon as Joy continued to squish her cheeks from behind.
“But eonnie, it seems like me and Yeri aren’t the only guests today” Joy whispered to Juhyeon. “Is that your auntie?? Woah, her hair had grown completely white and grey since the last time I saw her”
“That’s not my auntie. That’s my ‘patient’---”
“and eonnie’s new boyfriend” cutted in Yeri
“What? Yeri! No!” said Juhyeon.
“He’s a guy?” said Joy
“Yeah, he is. Wanna meet him?” asked Juhyeon.
“Yeah sure. Wow. This is like the first time Baechu-eonnie let a guy who isn’t her relative in this house. Can’t believe you’re finally talking to guys now” said Joy sarcastically then dropped her bag on the living room floor.
“Meet?...Not ready for this” thought Taemin. He didn’t have time to stand up as the house was just average-sized and he could feel the girls getting closer and closer. So he wasn’t able to do anything but to just cover his face with his hands.
“Oppa..”
“Oh no” Taemin thought to himself nervously.
“OPPA??!?!” Joy screamed internally as she looked at Juhyeon with doubtful eyes that look like they’re about to pop out.
“Joy is here with---”
“Excuse me I have to go get something from my bag” said Taemin as he ran to his room while blocking his face.
“Wow….well he was kinda rude” Joy said frankly.
“He’s been really nice. Maybe he was just in an emergency” defended Juhyeon who was also surprised by Taemin’s sudden walk out.
“He was friendlier this morning, I wonder what happened to oppa” worried Yeri while fixing her pigtails.
“So, Baechu-eonnie calls this guy oppa as well?” slyly asked Joy, while massaging Juhyeon’s shoulders. Joy’s actions and words were starting to make Juhyeon anxious because more of her friends were starting to find out about Taemin. She herself was astonished of the things she’s been doing these past days so she couldn’t explain herself to her friends properly. Yeri nodded in response to Joy’s question.
“This guy must be really different then. He must be really special that eonnie’s now doing things she’s never done before” said Joy as she combed Juhyeon’s long black hair with her fingers like an evil stepmom.
“A-aniya, he was attacked by drunkards the other night and I found him unconscious on the sidewalk with a head critical wound so I had to help him” explained Juhyeon.
“So because you had to help him, you started to call him oppa and let him stay alone in the house with you?” asked Joy.
“Joy-eonnie, Juhyeon-eonnie has to keep treating him until he fully recovers. He’s older than eonnie that’s why she calls him oppa. He’s really nice and decent that’s why eonnie’s comfortable with him. Plus, he’s really pretty!” butted in Yeri, to tone down the tension Joy was causing. Yeri wanted to protect her beloved eonnie because she could see how uncomfortable she was getting while Joy softly interrogated her. Joy didn’t mean any harm to Juhyeon. She was just so intrigued over the fact that Juhyeon was finally interacting with the guy.
“Older. Nice and decent. Pretty? Sounds like a swell guy. Yeri, it seems like we have to keep an eye on this guy further to find out if he’s fitting to stay with our precious eonnie” said Joy as she her chin.
“F-fitting what do you guys m-mean?” stuttered Juhyeon.
“I think you’ll like him, Joy-eonnie” said Yeri as she patted on Joy’s arms.
“Let’s see. What’s his name?” asked Joy with her chin and eyebrows raised.
“Taemin. Taemin-oppa” replied Yeri, as she started to be Juhyeon’s mouth because Juhyeon couldn’t speak in nervousness. Juhyeon just went to the kitchen stove to resume preparing the pancakes she left a while ago.
“…..T-t-tae-m-min? L-like, SHINee T-taemin??” stuttered Joy in disbelief. Not many guys are named Taemin and the most known Taemin was Lee Taemin of SHINee, Joy’s first love in high school.
“I don’t know, if he’s the same Taemin. But I think he’s not that Taemin. Idols don’t have as much time to rest as Taemin-oppa does. Plus he went to Daegu all by himself via bus. Idols have drivers” said Yeri.
“Good, because if he was SHINee’s Taemin, I’d freak out; but not as much as I did before, I’ve moved on to Minho-oppa” replied Joy.
“He said he wasn’t an idol. Anyway, I’ve cooked blueberry pancakes. Who’s hungy?” asked Juhyeon to break the topic. She then placed a plate of pancakes bathed in blueberry syrup and a few plates with forks on the table
“Doongdoong is hungry, gimme” said Joy as she quickly forked out a pancake and placed it on her plate.
“Girls, what do you want me to cook for lunch?” asked Juhyeon as the two young girls started to munch on their blueberry pancakes.
“Oh, eonnie, you don’t have to worry about that. I already ordered a box of chicken while me and Yeri were on the way here” said Joy while chewing her food.
“Waaaah~ Kamsahamnida, baby Joy!” thanked Juhyeon then squeezed Joy’s soft and full cheeks from behind.
“Aigoo, eonnie, do that to Yeri, I’m not a baby anymore” said Joy grumpily as continued to chomp on her pancakes.
“But what about dinner? I’m pretty sure that the chicken won’t last until tonight since Joy-eonnie and I are here” asked Yeri who just finised half of her pancake.
“Oh that. I texted Wendy and Seulgi, they’re coming over later to sleepover too. Wendy said that they’ll order a pizza for dinner. Their treat” replied Joy then flashed a proud smile towards Juhyeon.
“Wendy and Seulgi are coming over? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I could’ve prepared more” asked Juhyeon.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you? Mianhae eonnie hehe don’t push yourself, we’re not strangers anymore” as she held her head back to rub it on Juhyeon’s tummy as she was standing behind her.
“Alright. So we’re complete today. How……unexpected. Very impromptu but it doesn’t matter, I missed you girls” said Juhyeon as she cuddled Joy from her back.
“And you don’t have to worry about cooking” added Yeri.
“We got ya” said Joy confidently.

Meanwhile in Taemin’s room, Taemin lay on his bed in frustration. He was so paranoid because he didn’t know how to face Joy without her finding out that he’s SHINee’s Lee Taemin. Taemin rolled several times on the bed to come up with a game plan. He was so pressured that he just kept rolling and rolling in hopes of getting a new perspective. He rolled and rolled until the way he rolled on the bed reminded him of how Iron Man spun in the air during the final battle of The Avengers movie.
“Iron Man….Tony Stark…AHA!” he thought of how Tony Stark had a moustache and a goatie and thought it would make a good disguise. He immediately headed over to grab the black pen from the front pocket of his luggage. He popped the cap of the pen, drew a moustache, thick eyebrows and a goatie on his chin and smudged them. He smudged the remaining ink on his lips to darken his plump, pink lips. He slicked back his long wavy shining hair with a small amount of hairgel from his luggage. He then removed the pajama top to expose the tight fit grey shirt he was wearing inside to look more masculine. After all that, he looked at his reflection on the room’s window and saw that he looked different. He looked older with his hair slicked back, a fresh bandage around his head, a manly grey shirt and his face dirtied with drawn facial hair. He reeked of the scent of hair gel. He looked older and less pretty; he thought this was enough to undermine his idol appearance. This was nothing but a disguise tactic that only a cartoon character would do, but Taemin thought it would work somehow.  Even if Joy may not find the disguise convincing, it will somewhat disgust and distract her from thinking that he was an idol. He thought he was ready to face Joy. He walked out of the room shaking off his anxiety and headed to the kitchen to eat and meet the girls. When he got to the kitchen he found the three girls eating on the dining table.
“Annyeonghasseyo” Taemin said in his deep morning voice. The three of them looked back at him and greeted. Yeri and Juhyeon looked at Taemin with confusion, wondering why he looked so dirty but they tried not to mind it out of politeness in order not to embarrass him in front of the newcomer Joy.
“Taemin-oppa, this is Joy, she’ll be sleeping over too” said Juhyeon.
“Annyeonghasseyo" greeted Taemin confidently (who knew ballpen markings could take away one’s fear of getting caught).
“A-annyeonghasseyo, Joy imnida” introduced Joy with a snide smile on her face. Taemin smiled and nodded at Joy, then grabbed the seat in the middle of Yeri and Juhyeon. He felt that his disguise was successful after seeing the disappointment in Joy’s face as he introduced himself. He knew that Joy wouldn’t expect a Lee Taemin to look like that. Joy then poked Yeri on the face and gestured her to come closer.
“Yeri-ah, you said he was pretty” whispered Joy carefully.
“I don’t know what’s up with him right now, he was a flower boy earlier” Yeri whispered back.
“Are you kidding??? He looks like a greasy grey monkey look at him” Joy whispered back while grabbing Yeri closer.
“Look, I don’t know how he got so dirty okay. This morning he was gleaming like a dream and his cheeks and lips were rosy but now he looks like he went coal mining. But I’ll see what I can do to have him cleaned up. That way you can see his true beauty” Yeri replied.
“Let’s see about that” whispered Joy and went back to finishing up her last piece of pancake. Though Taemin didn’t hear their conversation, he was sure that he had left a bad first impression on Joy. This delighted him; at least his cover wasn’t blown (but for how long?). Taemin started to feel a little hungry so he took the last remaining pancake on the serving plate. Before eating it, he saw that Juhyeon had her hand on her stomach and looked liked she was holding in her hunger.
“Bae Juhyeon-ssi, have you eaten?” asked Taemin worriedly.
“Ah? N-neh oppa” said Juhyeon. The truth is, Juhyeon really haven’t eaten much so that Taemin and the two girls could eat more.
“She ate half a pancake” blurted Yeri in order to see how Taemin would respond. Taemin then pushed his plate towards Juhyeon.
“Bae Juhyeon-ssi, please eat this. Half a pancake isn’t enough. You look so hungry” offered Taemin.
“A-aniya, eat it. I left it out for you” softly rejected Juhyeon out of selflessness. Taemin then stood up from his seat then sliced the pancake into pieces for Juhyeon. Joy and Yeri was impressed by what they saw.
“Juhyeon-ah, no more formalities and take care of yourself. I can wait for lunchtime. Please eat” said Taemin, patted Juhyeon’s head then left the kitchen to use the bathroom, leave Juhyeon with no choice but to eat it. Juhyeon shrank in her seat, blushed and started to eat the pancake Taemin sacrificed for her. After the two girls saw this scene, Yeri winked at Joy and Joy responded with nods and a facial expression that says “Not bad”.
“Well that was sweet” said Joy dryly.
“I told you so. I told you he’s nice!” said Yeri then lightly punched Joy’s arm.
“He’s still not the Lee Taemin I expected though” added Joy.
“You’ll see later, you’ll never know, he just might be the same Lee Taemin that you loved before. I’m not sure what this idol Taemin looks like but I’m already telling you this Taemin is handsome” said Yeri.

As the two young girls continued talking, Juhyeon was caught in a trance eating the pancake that Taemin gave, enjoying every piece. She felt a weird sensation that made her heart pound in an unusual manner. No guy had done such things for her. Not even her dad had made her feel some of the things that Taemin made her feel. It was a foreign feeling. It’s only been two days when she first met him and he’s been such a gentleman and a good friend to her ever since. He was very nice as her first real guy friend. This made Juhyeon look forward to a better friendship with him. She wanted to know him more and she wanted to enjoy his company for as long as he stays in this house.