Chapter 9 - That Unique Feeling Called Love
Title: _
That Unique Feeling Called Love
Main Characters: _
Onew, Minho, Taemin, Key, Jonghyun (SHINee)
Main Fictional Characters : _
Kim Mira, Park Haneul, Kwon Sunyoung, Seo Hani, Lee Nayoung
Genre: _
Romance, Fluff, Comedy, Friendship
Summary: _
The Shinee boys had never experienced love before, until they met the girls coincidentally on a random day.
Chapter 9 - Fixing The Puzzles
The alarm rang off at four thirty a.m. Onew sat up straight, awakened from his sleep. It was not like he was really sleeping at all. In fact he had tried to sleep but he was feeling too excited that he was unable to fall asleep properly.
Onew looked around at the sleeping figures of his members. He smiled slyly as he slowly got down from his bed. He went towards the bathroom to brush his teeth and washed his face. Then he headed to the changing room to dress up. He wore a pair of track pants and a hooded sweatshirt before looking at himself in the mirror. He grinned before putting on a pair of nerdy spectacles. ‘Perfect!’ Onew thought with a chuckle.
Onew stepped out of the changing room and tiptoed towards Shinee’s bedroom. He opened the door to see his members still asleep. Then he closed the door and tiptoed slowly towards the front door and left quietly.
***
Mira smiled when she saw Hyungjun entering the minimart at four thirty a.m. Hyungjun returned the smile as well before heading towards the pantry to keep his things and changed into his uniform. Mira continued to look at the clock, counting down to the end of her working shift.
“Yah! Did that dude return you the sweater?” Hyungjun asked as he stepped out from the pantry.
“Ne oppa, he did.” Mira smiled.
“Who’s the dude anyway? Your boyfriend?”
“Ani oppa. He’s just um let’s say a passerby?” Mira answered with a grin.
“He looks familiar I tell you, but well, who cares anyway.” Hyungjun shrugged. Then he looked at the clock as well. “Yah! You can go on now. I’ll take over.”
“But I still have five more minutes!” Mira told him.
“Don’t worry about it. You go change first.”
Mira grinned wide. “Ne oppa. Gamsahamnida!” Mira headed towards the pantry to change.
Soon, Mira came out with a pair of faded skinny jeans paired with a fitted white shirt. She topped it off with a white cap. At exactly five o’clock, Mira said goodbye to Hyungjun and stepped out of the minimart. She surveyed the surroundings first before letting out a sigh of relief. Indeed she remembered about what Onew had said earlier. He had specifically said that he would meet her after work. But now he was nowhere in sight and that made Mira smiled happily.
‘He must have forgotten!’ Mira thought with a grin before rolling her eyes. “Idols…’
Mira continued walking towards a nearby coffee shop which was also opened twenty-four hours. She ordered herself a cup of coffee on the go. Once it was ready, Mira took her coffee and happily took a sip from it. She waved goodbye to the cashier and exited the shop.
“You did not wait for me.”
Mira looked up to see a hooded guy looking straight at her. Mira gasped, clearly unable to believe her eyes.
***
Onew saw her walking away from the minimart. Onew’s heart leapt and hurried towards her. He thought of calling her but stopped himself. ‘She must have forgotten that we’re supposed to meet.’ Onew chuckled to himself as he watched her entering the coffee shop.
As Onew watched her ordering her drink, he thought of why he wanted to get to know her so much. The first time he met her a month ago, he thought she was a mysterious and weird girl. She was a fan of Shinee but did not like it when the idol himself appeared in front of her. In fact she could not care less about him, that said idol, standing in front of her. She had even tried to chase him out of the store. Onew grinned at the memory.
But Onew thought she was a sweet and caring girl too. She let him sleep in the store and even lent him her sweater to avoid him being too cold. She gave him that sweet note which he had already stored safely in his drawer, not forgetting to lock it. She even shared with him about her college life, well, she did share with him some things.
Onew thought she was a simple girl who looked as if she could understand him. She listened to him talk his crap and will just cutely retort to everything that he said. She took things easily and made him see the lightness in every problem. She just makes him feel carefree.
“You did not wait for me.” Onew heard himself saying the moment she stepped out of the coffee shop.
Onew saw her froze and he let out a light chuckle. Then he walked towards her and pulled her hand softly. “Come, let’s get some breakfast!” Onew said as he dragged Mira who was struggling behind him.
******
Key woke up when he felt the sun rays shining straight into his face. He groaned before pulling himself up. He looked at the clock on the night table. It read eight o’clock. Key yawned and stood up from the bed. He gave his body a stretch before heading out the room. He entered the bathroom for a shower as he remembered that he did not have one last night.
Once he was done with showering, he entered the changing room to dress himself up. It was a Sunday and Shinee had no schedule that day so he decided to go to the orphanage again. He smiled as he thought of Seo Hani. She was just a gentle person that it was giving Key a hard time not to think about her.
“Good morning Onew hyung, good morning Key hyung.” Key heard Taemin greeting. He poked his head out of the changing room to see Taemin lying down on the couch.
“Yah! Taemin-ah, can you get Onew hyung to prepare breakfast today? I am getting ready to go to the orphanage.” Key said.
“Ahrasso hyung.” Taemin mumbled sleepily as he got up to look for Onew.
A few minutes later, he entered the changing room as well and just stood there watching Key styled his hair in front of the mirror. Key noticed the maknae and looked at him questioningly.
“Yah! What are you doing there?” Key asked.
“I can’t find Onew hyung anywhere.” Taemin told him.
“Bo? Then why did you greet him good morning earlier?”
“I saw his empty bed so I thought he was awake.” Taemin said half-yawning.
“Don’t tell me he didn’t come home last night!” Key grumbled but Taemin heard him clearly enough.
“Oh he did alright. I saw him crashing in bed with a wide smile before I slept.” Taemin told him. “And his bed wasn’t even made up!”
“Aish! This guy is full of secrets!” Key stomped his foot before going out of the changing room.
At the same time, the front door opened to show Onew entering with a few plastic bags in his hand. It was breakfast set take-aways. Onew had this huge smile on his face that he greeted his awakened members happily. He placed the plastic bags on the dining table before taking out the take-aways which he had brought home.
“Yah Kibum! Have your breakfast first before you go.” Onew said gesturing to Key to come over to the dining table.
Key and Taemin continued to eye Onew suspiciously. They also noticed that Onew was wearing a different set of clothing from last night. So they realized that he did come home last night after all, before heading out again that morning.
“Yah! Why are the two of you looking at me like that?” Onew asked with a frown.
“Um hyung, you went out to get breakfast?” Key asked uncertainly as he took a seat on the chair.
“Ne.”
“What time did you go out then?” Taemin asked next as he took a seat opposite from Key.
“Um, around four forty-five just now.” Onew answered calmly.
“Bo? That early? But you just came back at almost…” Taemin was not able to finish his sentence when Key suddenly gave a light kick on his shin causing him to shut up. He did not want Onew to find out that they were stalking him earlier.
“Huh?” Onew gave him a confused look before grinning. “You’re weird Taemin-ah!”
Key and Taemin were practically forced to eat breakfast by Onew. Minho and Jonghyun were also forced to wake up by the leader himself and soon he was practically feeding them.
“Aish! Hyung! I can eat by myself!” Minho exclaimed, pushing Onew’s hands away from his face.
“Ahrasso! But make sure you eat okay!” Onew pinched Minho’s cheeks causing the twenty-one year old boy to groan loudly.
“You’re annoying this morning.” Minho muttered.
“I’m done!” Key said as he cleared his mess. “I need to go off soon.”
“Is Choi hyung sending you there?” Onew asked worriedly, his leader instinct suddenly taking over.
“Aniyo. I’ll be going there by myself.” Key told him.
“No, that won’t do. I’ll drive you there.” Onew told him and Key just shrugged. Soon the two of them headed out leaving Taemin, Jonghyun and Minho behind to eat their breakfast peacefully.
“What’s up with Onew hyung?” Jonghyun asked Taemin.
“Crazy guy.” Minho grumbled.
“You won’t believe this!” Taemin said and proceeded to tell the story.
******
Onew stopped his car in front of the orphanage. He did remember coming here once previously for an event. He looked over to Key and he noticed that his dongsaeng had a huge smile on his face. Onew thought that the smile looked almost familiar but he just could not remember where he had seen in before. But suddenly Onew almost palm-faced himself when he remembered of his smile in the mirror that morning. It was similar indeed! Onew shook his head furiously.
‘What the hell is wrong with you Onew? He’s meeting his crush that’s why he’s smiling like that! You’re not even crushing on Hani! She’s a friend!’ Onew mentally scolded himself. But what he did not know was that his statement was totally the opposite of what he was feeling. He was seriously living in denial.
‘Then why did you get excited to meet her this morning?’ That voice in Onew’s head questioned.
‘Well, it was a beautiful morning and I was happy.’ Onew’s mind answered.
‘Then why did you hold her hand and never let her go even when she pleaded you to?’
‘It’s just that her hand is soft that I just can’t let it go?’ His mind continued saying.
‘That’s it you like her.’ His heart cleared it out for him.
‘No!’
‘You like her!’
‘No!’
‘You’re crushing on her!’
‘No!’
******
“Uh hyung? You can actually leave now you know.” Key suddenly said as he peeked through the driver seat’s window.
Onew jumped a little and turned to look at Key who was standing outside his car, looking at him with a confused expression.
“Huh? Heh! I-I know.” Onew answered quickly, feeling a bit embarrassed. Then he quickly sped off leaving Key standing there with raised eyebrows.
“Key-ssi?” Key turned to see Hani walking towards him.
“Hani! You just arrived here?” Key asked, his face lighting up.
“You’re here again today?” Hani asked. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Ne. I didn’t have any schedule today.” Key said shyly.
Key and Hani entered the orphanage and greeted Ms Eunhye. She was mentioning about a trip which they were going on today and Key looked at Hani for explanation.
“Oh, we’re going to take a boat ride around Han River today.” Hani told him and Key nodded.
“The babies are going on a boat ride?” Key asked again.
“Ani. The older children are the ones taking the ride.” Hani smiled. “The babies are staying in.”
“I see. So what time are we leaving?”
“In half an hours time. We need to get the kids ready.” Hani told him.
Soon the children were gathered up the bus. There were thirty five children going on that day and Key was immediately crowded with his young fan girls. He smiled and interacted with them while giving Hani a sideway glance. He saw her smirking and he just rolled his eyes.
“So where’s the autographs?” Hani asked the moment Key was free from the children.
“Aigoo! I’ve forgotten about it!” Key groaned. “We were busy last night and it totally slipped out of my mind.’
Hani chuckled. “No worries Key-ssi. There’s no rush okay?”
“Kibum.” Key reminded her and Hani blushed.
***
The boat ride was a fun experience for Key, especially after seeing the wide smiles and laughter coming from the kids. Their excitement made Key felt happy too. The kids had fun singing Shinee’s songs and he had fun listening. Key had never felt that carefree and relaxed before. It had been a long time since he felt that kind of light feeling, as if he was flying in the clouds freely without any strings pulling him back to reality. But of course once in a while he needed to hide his face from public eyes especially during lunch, but that did not stop him from enjoying himself.
After the boat ride, they headed back to the orphanage. The moment they reached the orphanage, it was almost tea break time. The volunteers gathered the children of different ages down at the dining area before serving the food. As a volunteer himself, Key did his job well, but all the while staying by Hani's side. Hani on the other hand did not find it weird though as she thought that he was already comfortable with her.
Hani chuckled as she watched Key seated himself down together with a few young girls. They were definitely happy to meet the idol and a handsome one too.
"Oppa, why don't you sing us a song? We promise to clap very loudly for you." One of the girls by the name of Jiyoung suggested.
"Ne oppa. I think Hani unnie would like it as well!" Another girl by the name of Jihye told him before looking up towards Hani who was getting herself busy with pouring the drinks. "Right unnie?"
Hani who heard every single word looked up feigning surprise. "Ne?"
Key had also turned to see Hani's blushing face and that made him smile. "Ahrasso. I'll sing something which will make us relaxed okay?" The girls nodded eagerly whereas Key kept his gaze lingered on Hani's face a while longer before tearing his gaze away from her. “So, shall I sing ‘Romantic’ then?”
The girls started cheering and clapped loudly. Hani grinned as she too clapped her hands. She looked directly at Key and raised an eyebrow. Key cleared his throat and started singing.
The kids were looking up at Key in awe. He was able to sing the song in a perfect tone and that made Hani smiled wide. The kids were also following to the song, and Hani found herself singing to it herself. Once it was over, Key gave a low bow and everyone in the dining area applauded. Key smiled shyly and was pleased to see Hani giving him a sweet smile. Key thought it was the most perfect moment.
***
It was almost evening when Key and Hani decided to head home. Key had called his manager to see if he was able to fetch him home and thankfully his manager was free. So by the time Key and Hani stepped out of the orphanage, Shinee’s van was already waiting at the carpark.
“So I guess I’ll get going first.” Hani said with a smile. “I’ll see you next time then um Kibum.”
“How are you going to get home?” Key asked quickly.
“Oh, no worries, there’s a straight bus for me.” Hani replied.
“Please, let me send you home.” Key said. “It’s the least I can do for you.”
“Aniyo. It’s perfectly fine. I’m used to the public transport.” Hani told him.
Just then, Key surprised himself when he suddenly held Hani’s hand. “Please, just this once, let me send you home.”
Hani stared at their intertwined hands. She looked up to see Key with a very firm gaze in his eyes. Hani felt lost and unconsciously nodded her head. She allowed Key to lead her towards the van. Once they were seated comfortably in the van, Key introduced Hani to his manager and explained to him that they were going to send Hani home first. Manager Choi gave a smirk towards Key via the rear view mirror and Key blushed, clearly aware of the silent message his manager was sending him.
Hani told Manager Choi of her residential address and he nodded in understanding. Key smiled and felt thankful that Hani trusted him and his manager to send her home.
“So Hani, how do you find my volunteering skills? Do I need to improve on it?” Key asked, as he tried to start a conversation topic but flinched immediately when he thought that the question sounded lame. Even his manager threw him a dirty look.
“Um, well, I thought you worked just fine. I must say that you’re a natural.” Hani said with a chuckle.
“Ne. Thank you.” Key replied awkwardly.
“Anyway, are your members thinking of volunteering as well?” Hani asked.
“Ani. I don’t think they have the time.” Key answered shortly, not wanting to include his members in this conversation between him and Hani.
“But I think they do!” Manager Choi suddenly chimed in. “I should encourage them to consider doing volunteer work.”
Key shot his manager a deathly glare causing the older man to gulp but before sending the idol and innocent smile in return.
“Why do you ask anyway?” Key questioned Hani.
“Just wondering.” Hani shrugged.
“Can I just ask you something?” Key asked again as he tilted his head towards Hani who just nodded. “Is there any member in Shinee that you like best?”
Hani chuckled. “Why that sudden question? You’re making me blush Kibum!”
Key watched as her cheeks turned pink and he smiled. “Wae? I’m just curious, that’s all.”
“Hm, I like your maknae, Taemin the best. He’s adorable!” Hani answered Key with a grin.
“Aish! He’s every noona’s favorite.” Key pouted and Hani laughed harder.
“But I’m his noona, not yours.” Hani said.
“Doesn’t matter. I’m still upset that he’s the top of your list.”
“Aigoo!” Hani sighed before grinning again. “But I do like the omma in Shinee after baby Taemin.”
Key turned to look at the still grinning Hani. He laughed. “Sinchia?”
Hani shrugged. “You’re the most reliable one in the group.”
“Well, that makes me happy at least.” Key said as he gave a wink towards Hani.
Once they reached their destination, Hani thanked Key and his manager. Key noticed that Hani was living in a private bungalow and he was initially amazed. Even Manager Choi could not believe his eyes when he first saw it that he kept asking Hani to confirm it.
“Ne, manager-ssi, this is my home. Well, technically, my parents’ home. I’m just living with them.” Hani said with a smile.
“You’re a rich kid then!” Manager Choi exclaimed.
“Aniyo. I’m a kid with rich parents more likely.” Hani grinned. “I need to work as hard as them to gain the wealth.”
“I really adore your mindset Hani.” Key said. “That’s what makes you likable.”
“Aish! You’re making me blush Kibum-ah!” Hani smiled and indeed she was blushing!
“Aigoo! You’re cute!” Key pinched Hani’s cheek and that action suddenly made both of them felt awkward. Even Manager Choi was smirking behind the wheel.
“Um, thank you again for sending me home. It’s quite an enjoyable day for me.” Hani said as she gave a bow to both Key and his manager.
“Ne. I had fun too.” Key smiled shyly.
“I’d better be going first. See you next time then!”
“Ne. Take care Hani.” Key waved at Hani as she got off the van.
“Ne, you too!” Hani waved back. “And please don’t forget about the autographs okay?”
“Ne, ne. I’ll get it signed as soon as possible.”
Hani grinned and nodded before disappearing into her house gate. Key sighed. He was suddenly missing her. There, he admitted. He missed her.
“She’s the reason for your volunteer work right?” Manager Choi asked as he drove off.
“What are you talking about hyung.” Key mumbled as he kept looking out of the window.
“Judging from your expression when you’re with her earlier, I think my guess is almost one hundred percent correct.” Manager Choi said.
“You know me too well.” Key muttered and Manager Choi just grinned in response.