SHINee's Dreamgirl: United at last.

Chapter Six

"You did what!" Taemin's eyes look as if they will pop out of his head.

"I needed to let her know that what she's doing is wrong" I put my bag and keys down, and Taemin rubs his head furiously.

"I can't believe you did that! You know she's not in her right mind! She could have hurt you!"  He begins to pace back and forth across the room.

"Don't ever do that again!" He raises his voice at me and I lose it.

"What? You think I can't take care of myself! Do you think you can boss me around like Soo Hi?!"

I'm flaming. For once in my life I stand up for myself and this is what I get? And from my boyfriend of all people!

"I'm not saying you can't take care of yourself, I'm saying that today, frankly, you made a stupid move!" He puts his hands on his hips and drops his head.

I feel tears coming "OK, then I guess you have a stupid girlfriend"

He looks up at me with a hurt look in his eyes but I leave the room before he can say anything else. When I open the door the boys fall to the floor. I'm too angry to reprimand them for eavesdropping so instead I leave the building.

I'm stomping down the sidewalk when someone grabs at my arm.

"What" I say and spin around, ready to face Taemin.

Instead I find Onew's gentle eyes bearing into mine.

"Let's go for a walk" he says smoothly. Since I usually don't get one on one time with Onew, I decide to go along with it.

He opens his mouth and I brace myself for a speech.

"Look! A puppy!" He says randomly, and runs over to an old man walking his dog. The dog is large and hairy and I can't understand why he would consider it a puppy.

"She's so cute! Can I pet her?" He asks the man. The man smiles politely and Onew gets on one knee to pet the dog. I go to his side and pet the dogs head.

"Onew, I hate to break it to you, but this isn't a puppy" I say, and admire the dogs golden fur.

"But he sees her as one" Onew says and looks up at the old man.

"It's true young man, no matter how long she's been by my side I still see her the same way I did when I first laid eyes on her. A young vulnerable little thing. But look at her now! All grown up, probably has more strength in her hind paws than what I have in my whole body" the old man chuckles and pets his beloved dogs head. I notice the veins and age spots decorating his wrinkled hands.

"You must have had her for a while now" I say.

"Ten years and counting" he replies.

"Thank you for letting us pet your dog" Onew says with a smile on his face.

"No problem young man, however I will require some sort of payment"

Me and Onew look at one another in confusion and the man takes out a piece of paper and pen from his jacket.

"My granddaughter is a huge fan of yours" he says smiling again.

"You knew who I was this whole time?" Onew says incredulously.

" Don't let these wrinkles fool you, I'm quite a hip old man"

Onew signs the paper joyfully and leaves a message. We say our goodbyes with the old man and his dog. When we continue down the path, I ask him what he wrote on the paper.

"I made sure to let his granddaughter know what a cool grandfather she has" he says with a smile.

I smile to myself as well, remembering the old mans kind face.

"Now do you understand how Taemin feels?" He says, catching me off guard.

"What do you mean?" I say seriously confused.

"To that man, his grown dog continues to be a puppy in his eyes. Because he loves her so much"

We stop walking and he turns to face me.

"In Taemin's eyes you continue to be the vulnerable Oh Ha Ni we first met. The lonely girl who got trampled on. True, you are all grown up now, but he still worries for you. We all do. And with good reason, you of all people should know how dangerous your sister can be"

After he says this my heart feels heavy.

"Although you had every right to make your own decision to see you sister on your own, you should have at least let one of us know where you were going. Just to be safe"

I drop my head in shame and immediately regret raising my voice at Taemin.

"Plus, knowing him, I'm pretty sure he's been following us this whole time"

I turn around in alarm and see someone duck behind a tree.

So he did follow us.

"You see how he worries?" Onew puts his arm around me and laughs.

"You're right, I shouldn't have fought with him" I say and hug him in return.

"Your wiser than what you seem" I say and chuck his arm.

"Who? Me? Nawwwwww" he smiles and suddenly turns his head when a familiar sounding song plays nearby.

"Ice cream!" He squeals, and runs off leaving me stranded.

So much for being mature.

I shuffle my feet in place, finally becoming aware of the fact that winter is on its way. A cold breeze passes by and I begin to wish I brought a jacket.

Something heavy is placed on my shoulders and I realize Taemin has placed a jacket on me.

He stays quiet and looks off into the distance.

"Thanks for the jacket" I say. He doesn't reply and I begin to get nervous.

"We should go before you catch a cold" he says and begins to walk back. I scurry to catch up with him and grab his wrist.

"I'm sorry for earlier "  I say and clear my throat. He turns around to look at me. His hair sways with the breeze casting a shadow over his eyes.

"I was just angry, I thought you were trying to control me too and I....lost it"

He sighs and I can see the cloud coming from his mouth. Now its really cold.

I shudder at the sudden drop in temperature and am relieved when he hugs me to his chest.

I rest on the soft padding of his jacket and close my eyes.

"I'm sorry too, I shouldn't have yelled at you, I should've supported you" he says and lays his head on mine. This is the benefit of having a boyfriend who is at least a foot taller than you. You are always at chest level.

The cold tightens around us and Taemin shudders as well.

Something lands on my nose and I take a step back.

"Its snowing!" Onew says suddenly appearing behind us.

Just like magic falling from the sky, the snowflakes begin to fall elegantly to the ground. I smile when I see the joy in Taemin's face. A snow flake lands on his hair and he shakes it off. I stare at the handsome man standing before me. His perfect smile framing his chiseled face.

As snow flakes dance around us, we find warmth in one another. He plants a soft kiss on my forehead and then places his arm around me.

We stand there together, watching Onew run around trying to catch snow flakes with his tongue.

Along with our first fight came our first understanding.

Along with understanding came deeper respect for one another.

From that respect came attraction.

And from attraction came love.

And in that love, we spent our first snow together.