Keys to Happiness

6. Key

I hadn't wanted to get up this morning, and although it wasn't a new thought, its fervency was especially increased today. I was completely willing and ready to lie in bed until one o'clock if I could, and nothing pressing was there to wake me up ahead of schedule. I'd had my final stage in Chess this week and had finished filming for Key's Knowhow, my mini online show ending only the day before. While I had been slightly disappointed by my overall performance in the musical, I found that I was still getting great reviews and fans had been ecstatic and really supportive over my role as Anatoly.

For the next two weeks, I was a free man until Shinee's repacked Odd album required me to attend practices daily. Even though I'd wanted to lounge all day in bed, I quickly realized it wasn't going to happen. Instead of a leisurely start to my day, at around eight a.m. my dogs came in barking loudly for their breakfast. I tried to ignore them and turned around in the bed, covering my head with my thick comforter, but the monstrous things jumped up on my bed and began licking me like crazy in an effort to wake me up.

"Arasseo, arasseo, alright! I'm up, so stop it. Hajima!" I scolded the two little things and their barking ceased immediately. I groaned as I shifted myself from beneath the the covers and rubbed my face vigorously to try to fight back the sleepy feeling.

I loved my dogs, but at the moment I was bitterly wondering about the delicacy that was dog meat and if a shop owner was willing to use my pups in a recipe as they playfully bit at my heels until I made it into the living room. I couldn't stop yawning as I walked into the kitchen and grabbed the dog food from the pantry, pouring the kibble carefully despite my irritation.

After feeding the little devils, I walked aimlessly around my spacious apartment and back to my room, taking longing glances at my bed. Unfortunately, I'm the type that's unable to go back to sleep once I'm awake. Since I couldn't sleep the day away, I decided to pamper myself. First, I ran a hot bath with bubbles; it was one of my secret indulgences and the velvety suds quickly filled up my tub. While lounging, I thought of what I wanted to do today and automatically came up with two of my favorite pastimes; shopping and eating. Feeling better not that I had a plan for the day, I hurried through my bath and slapped on some lotion and BB cream for my face.

I decided to forgo makeup because of the temperature outside, but I'd never been the type to let heat dictate my fashion choices. My outfit today was a black and white striped t-shirt and dark blue skinny jeans that I had designed on my own for casual wear. I chose the Versace shoes that I'd gotten on my last trip to England, and finished the look with a light tan jacket and wire thin frames on my face.

I had recently cut both sides of my hair for the musical and I loved it. Throughout my whole career in Shinee, I had always enjoyed shaving my hair, mainly because it added some much-needed masculinity to my image. The company had loved that I looked sort of androgynous, and had hyped up the fact that I excelled at girl group dances.

In actuality, I was so good at them because I was constantly watching the girls; I'd needed a good enough reason to stare at the girl group members' asses innocently. In the beginning, I was happy to have been noticed because of it, but the endless videos on YouTube and other media made girls in and out of the industry feel like I was gay. That false idea had put me into the friend zone with more than one potential romantic interest.

So, shaving my hair gave me the feeling that I was manly...plus, I thought it looked cool. Pushing back my remaining hair with mousse, I was sure I would be turning heads today. Even by my high standards, I looked hot. I winked into the hall mirror and grabbed a bag on the way out of my apartment. I knew just the place to go shopping without gaining a crowd of rabid fans and I eagerly jumped into my car and sped off to Hongdae.