Chapter 1

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This is a work of fiction. The events that take place here have no connection to the real-life people mentioned in this work. Thisstory may contain language that some will find offensive. Many of my stories also reference traumas,including sexual assault and abuse. If you are uncomfortable withsuch themes, please be warned that you may not want to continue reading. I really hope you enjoy this journey. Feel free to let me know the healing paths you may find as a result of my work :)

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The SHINee members piled into their large van. Immediately upon entering, Taemin smelled something different. It was the heady scent of jasmine and amber. He looked toward the driver's seat and saw a woman with long, straight black hair. She wore a pink tank, showing the entirety of her tan arms.

Taemin leaned over and whispered to Onew, "Did anyone tell you we were getting a new driver?"

Onew shook his head silently. Key decided to speak up since he was very secure in his English skills.

"Um, hello," he ventured. The woman turned as far as she could in her seat to see the band members.

"Hello," she answered simply. "I've been given directions to your studio. If you're all buckled up, we'll get going," the woman said in perfect Korean. The boys looked at each other approvingly.

"Wait, what's your name?" Minho asked.

"Magdalena Rivera-imnida," she replied with as much of a bow as she could give with her seatbelt on.

"You don't have to speak formally with us, noona," Minho offered. "We should be respectful to you because you're probably older than we are," he added, but immediately regretted it when he saw Magdalena frown slightly.

"Well, where I come from, a woman never reveals her age," she replied with a wry smile.

"Where do you come from?" Taemin asked, knowing that despite her admirable Korean skills, she had to be a foreigner.

Magdalena smiled. "I'm from the glorious island of Puerto Rico, the place where Heaven meets Earth," she said, in praise of her native land.

"Well, if you love it so much there, why did you come here?" Onew asked with genuine curiosity.

"Are we going to the studio sometime today?" was her reply, indicating that she desperately wanted to change the subject. Magdalena turned around as the boys finally sat back in their seats. She put the van in gear and pulled into the heavy Seoul traffic.

Taemin took advantage of Magdalena's preoccupation with the traffic as he stared unabashedly at her. He guessed she might be in her late twenties; however, her smooth skin didn't show many signs of aging. She wore heavy black eyeliner above and beneath her large brown eyes. Her tank top had a deep scooped neck, revealing a tremendous amount of cleavage. He didn't mean to stare, but it was very uncommon in Korea to see a woman dressed in a way that overtly highlighted her sensuality. Her giant silver, hoop earrings hit her shoulders as her hands rested on the steering wheel.

"¡Madre mía!" she lamented, tapping her long fingernails on the steering wheel. "Is the traffic always this bad?"

"I know a way around it," Taemin offered.

"Well, come on up here," Magdalena offered, pointing at the front passenger's seat. Taemin eagerly crawled past Minho and deposited himself with a flop into the front seat.

"Seatbelt," Magdalena said sternly. Taemin quickly put on his seatbelt. Already, she struck him as a woman who was not to be messed with. She had none of the mannerisms of many Korean girls who would sometimes avoid direct eye contact and blush shyly when they spoke. In fact, he couldn't picture Magdalena ever blushing over anything. She confidently exposed the tops of her breasts, and her jeans were so skin-tight that Taemin wondered how she had even gotten them on.

"You need to make a right and go off this exit," Taemin directed, pointing to an exit not far ahead. Magdalena began to try to edge the front of the large van into the lane to their right. The driver of the car beside them beeped his horn loudly at them. Magdalena just beeped right back, leaning all her body weight onto the horn as it blared loudly. The other driver touched his brakes and made a space for her to merge into his lane. Taemin looked back at the driver who seemed to be somewhat frightened. Somehow Magdalena had managed to scare the guy by just leaning on her horn. But Taemin kind of got it. Her demeanor was not unfriendly, but definitely held a certain gravitas that made him feel like it was unlikely he would ever cross her.

Once they had exited the freeway, the traffic was much lighter. "You'll need to take a left here," Taemin said as they approached a traffic light. Just then, Magdalena hit the brakes as a car cut them off.

Magdalena lowered her window and screamed at the driver of the errant vehicle. "Learn to drive, asshole!" She accompanied the cry with a flick of her middle finger at the middle-aged man driving the other car.

Taemin looked back at his bandmates who all sat in stunned silence, eyes wide with a mix of terror and admiration. Once they were safely on the new road, Taemin finally sat back in his seat.

"So, how did you get into driving for a living?" Taemin asked, trying to make conversation.

"Well, I spend half my life driving my son around, I figured I might as well get paid for it," she answered, flicking her long, smooth hair behind her shoulder which released a burst of fragrance from her neck. Taemin had never smelled anything like her perfume. To some, it might seem overwhelming, but he thought a better word might be enveloping. Her scent surrounded you like a comforting embrace. But it wasn't a mother's embrace. There was too much musk in the finish of her perfume to be considered matronly. It had a definitely sexy edge which meshed so perfectly with her overall demeanor. He tried to picture her as somebody's mother, but it was hard to envision it.

"So, how did you get your name 'Magdalena'? Are you Catholic?" Taemin asked, hoping to find some common ground, as he was Catholic as well.

"Of course," Magdalena laughed. "I'm Puerto Rican," she said, as if that explained everything. "My mom named me for the saint, Mary Magdalene. Of course, she had to choose to name me after the slutty saint," she joked, but Taemin didn't laugh.

"Was Mary Magdalene really that slutty?" he asked with a nervous chuckle. "I always just kind of thought of her as the money behind the movement. She financially supported Jesus and the disciples."

"Yeah, and where do you think she got all that money from?" Magdalena laughed coyly. "She was probably the one who poured all that expensive perfume on Jesus' feet. The girl had some serious cash, and there weren't many good ways for a woman to earn money at that time," she expounded. "Anyway, I don't mind being the slutty saint. I think it's cool that she didn't let her past keep her from her future," Magdalena concluded.

"So, you mentioned you have a son. How old is he?" Taemin asked to continue to engage her in conversation.

"He's 15," she replied, as she turned into the parking lot of the studio. She stopped the van and looked up at Taemin's wide eyes.

"How is that possible for you to have a 15-year-old child?" he asked in disbelief.

"Well, I was 15 when I had him. So, there's that," she said.

"So, you're 30?!" Taemin asked.

"Didn't I just say you never ask a lady her age?" Magdalena scolded.

"No, you're right. I'm sorry," he apologized, suddenly feeling a bit dejected at the thought that Magdalena-noona most likely wouldn't give him the time of day.  

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