ShIInee and Me~

Onew, Mr. Leader

After the boys showed Ali the entire penthouse, her stomach had started rumbling. All of them had burst in laughter, and she had just blushed in embarrassment.

Onew had offered to make them lunch, and told the boys to go do whatever they wanted to do, because they didn't have rehearsals until later in the evening.

Key and Taemin went to the game room, Jonghyun had gone to the living room to watch some television. And Minho, well... He wanted to always stand beside Ali, but had decided to retire to his bedroom, to come up with a plan on how to get her out of there.

Ali had gone to the guest bathroom for a moment to "powder her nose." But she'd just gotten in and locked the door, her back to the door. She placed a hand over her heart and began taking small breaths.

I can't believe I am here... Is this real? Am I hallucinating? Maybe I'll wake up in my bed any minute now.

Any. Minute. Now.

Closing her eyes harder and harder, she thought she would feel her body on her bed at her apartment, touch the fabric of her blanket, the softness of her pillow. But when she opened her eyes, she was still in the bathroom.

Shinee's bathroom.

She sighed and walked over to the mirror, staring at her reflection. Her face looked average: dark hair, dark eyes, normal features. Nothing stood out.

Her eyes grew wide when she saw her shirt.... It was a Shinee T-shirt she had since she was in high school. Perhaps from the rush at the apartment, when she wanted to avoid Minho as fast as she could, when she had swapped shirts she hadn't noticed what she had put on.

No wonder Minho had chuckled when she had rushed out of the apartment complex.

Turning on the faucet and splashing some water on her face, Ali began to take deep breaths.

"It's ok. They're just normal people, like you. Nothing to worry about!" Ali spoke to her reflection, undoing her bun and pulling her hair up into a high ponytail. "They just seem to have gotten a strange liking to you."

Turning off the water and drying her face out, she gave herself a onceover one last time. "Maybe this is all real."

Her reflection smiled at her.

Or maybe I'm just going crazy and this is all in my mind. She thought darkly.

Feeling satisfied and more relaxed, she exited the bathroom and headed back to the kitchen, where Onew had already started cooking meat on the stove in a pan.

"Hi." Ali waves shyly to him. "Would you like some help?"

He was pushing the sleeves of his shirt up to cook easier and turned to see her behind him. She stepped back a little in shock, not noticing how close she had gotten.

He smiled warmly at her. "Thank you, but you are our guest. I couldn't possibly ask of you to cook." He motions to the barstool that was on the other side of the counter. "Please, sit."

Onew was so courteous, very patient and quite kind. Ali liked that very much.

She nodded and sat on the barstool, watching the leader of the group get to work.

Ali looked over to him curiously while he was cutting up some onions, inhaling deeply the familiar smell.

"Oh my goodness, are you making Bulgogi?"