Keys to Happiness

7. Aliah

This officially had to be the most embarrassing situation I had ever found myself in. How had I not noticed who he was until this very moment, his eyes sparkling in the sunlight as they looked wearily into my own. Exactly how many people were like Key of Shinee in Seoul and had his insanely good fashion sense?
I should've long realized his distinct look combined with an outspoken personality and put together with a spoken English that was almost flawless wasn't the norm.

And worse than that, I was even a Shinee fan and I still hadn't realized that he was Almighty Key! I had never expected to run into anyone famous in Korea, let alone a world-known idol; that should've been a feasible enough as an excuse but I felt like hitting my head against a wall because of my stupidity.

"This is crazy, how are you even out on the streets right now? Where's your security, your protection?" I whispered, looking around hesitantly. Maybe they were here and I just hadn't noticed.

"What do you mean? I'm not a tiger kept locked up in a cage. No one tells me where to go on my days off," he huffed grumpily and I couldn't stop my slight smile.

"It's not that, it's just that this situation is so random. I mean, you're Shinee!" I emphasized with hand movements, encompassing his whole body.

"No, I'm not Shinee, I'm Kim KiBum. Key is just my stage name, it's not me," he said with a frown.

"Listen, let's not have this conversation in the middle of the street", KiBum said calmly in spite of my dramatics.

"I'm sorry, you're right, we shouldn't draw an audience. Where's the coffee shop you wanted to go to?" I asked feeling properly ashamed. If the man was mugged by fans in the middle of the street, that would add an extra level of guilt that I just didn't need.

"It's down the street this way, it won't take long too get there." KiBum pointed down the street, and we began walking towards the café.

We went along in an awkward silence, but when we had almost reached the shop, I couldn't help but say something, especially since I was embarrassed by my behavior earlier.

"I'm sorry if I made you mad; I didn't mean it that way. I've seen Korean celebrities on TV before and it just seemed like they weren't even able to walk outside without bodyguards. I guessed that that was the norm and sort of freaked out."

As we sat down, Key thought for a moment while the waitress took our orders. After she left, he spoke again.

"That's not how it always is, a lot of times our schedules are publicized; the media and paparazzi just follow. And it all depends on where we are... Look around you; the youngest people around here are in their thirties. Most foreigners don't realize this, but a lot of Koreans don't even listen to K-pop. And the ones that do listen usually don't like or even know the actual groups. These people have no idea who I am," he said bluntly and I felt my face shift in surprise. Naturally I had assumed that a band that was so popular would be known by everyone; I mean they were Shinee!

"So, there's no overwhelming fan girls and no running from obnoxious reporters?" I pressed, deeply interested now.

"No, not unless I'm in Hongdae and with all the other members doing a fan sign event. Basically, it only happens rarely," he said with a smile and shake of his head.

"I'm sorry I assumed, it just seemed like being a celebrity would be hard. Privacy in the US is a big deal for the stars. They're almost always saying how tough it is to be normal."

"There are hard things about every profession, but the fans have never really bothered me. I'm not the hot guy in Shinee anyways; I'm the guy every girl wants to go shopping with." KiBum's laugh spilled out again and the cute chuckles brought a smile to my face.