^^ LEE SHANSHAN^^

I couldn't hide my smile as I saw him get out of the van and approach me.

"Yah, you made me worry," he spoke with concern. "You haven't been texting me this morning."

I just threw a grin at him. "I just wanted to surprise you."

"Ah, this girl," he said, quickly rubbing my hair into a mess while I whined in disagreement.

"This girl?! I'm not a girl," I said as I managed to fix my hair.

"Oh! Is that you Lee Shanshan?"

JK and I turned to RM, who was approaching us, with the rest of the members.

"It's you! When did you get here, Shanshanie?" Jin asked as he smiled enthusiastically.

"Just five minutes ago- oh, Yoongi oppa nice to see you!" I waved my hand excitedly as I saw Yoongi coming out of the van.

"Yah. How can you do this to us? We are here too!" Taehyung waved while Jimin nodded with a grin.

"Let her be. Cause I'm her bias," Yoongi interrupted with a smug expression on his face while walking towards us.

"It's been a long time since we saw you. We missed you!" Jimin stepped forward and patted my head. "How are you?"

"Yeah, I... I miss working with you too guys, but things have changed, you know. We are all getting busier each day," I chuckled while explaining.

"By the way, what are you doing here, Shanshan?" Yoongi asked, yawning while talking.

"I..." I glanced at Jungkook, who was staring at me, definitely expecting something. "I came to take JK away from you-"

"No~"

"That won't do."

"It's a NO for me!"

"Seriously?!" Even the nice person RM was shaking his head with a no. "Aish... this attitude again. They won't let him go."

"You had been spending time with each other that Jungkookie always neglects work," Jin said, shaking his head.

"But oppa, that is like five months ago!" I replied.

"Whatever. We are not giving your JK to you," Jin said firmly, crossing his arms.

"Yes, and why only him? We will let him go if you take us with you!" Jimin said, wrapping his arms around JK's neck while winking at me.

"Ahhhh~" I sighed, leaning my back against the car. "Here they go again," I mumbled while looking at the orange sky, a signal that the sun was setting soon.

"Ahh, hyung! I'm already an adult. No one can tell me NO. Besides, you are not my parents!" Jungkook argued.

"Yah! We've been raising you for almost nine years now!"

"Oh, come on! Today is my birthday, just let me go!" JK whined, gaining a chuckle from his brothers.

Jungkook stood with me, looking at them with pleading eyes.

"I promise to return him to you... tomorrow night." I bargained.

They stood there, lined up, shaking their heads.

"If he comes back late, you can kick him out from the group!"

They still shook their head.

"AHHH, FINE!" I yelled, shoving my hands in the air before getting inside my car. I looked at JK through the window. "Why is he not making a move?" I had already unlocked the door near him.

^^ JUNGKOOK^^

"Look, hyungs, I haven't been seeing my best friend for many months now, and she made an effort just to meet me on my birthday... can you please be a bit considerate?" I said, my hands on my waist.

"Do you remember when you were stalked by a sasaeng fan while you were with Shanshan?" Yoongi-hyung tried to remind me.

"And that time when you got mobbed off by fans in Jeju without any bodyguards. Shanshan got involved there, receiving trash talks from fans who don't like her," RM added.

"Hyung, we'll be more careful this time. I promise," I said, unable to hide my sadness anymore. "Ah, I just wanted to spend time with Shanshan." With her, I always felt like escaping reality and healing myself from stress and work.

"Come on, JK. Don't be stubborn," Jimin-hyung said. "A no from your brothers is a no."

I sighed before taking a glance at Shanshan waiting in her car. "Okay, sure, sure. A no is a no." Quickly, I grabbed the door's handle and jumped inside with Shanshan immediately locking it.

I could hear the muffled voices of my members yelling outside the car while I waved at them playfully from the inside. "JEON JUNGKOOK !! Yah! Get out of there, you trickster!"

"Ah... they're such a headache!" Shanshan grinned before grabbing on the wheel and speeding up the car.

We were giggling while leaving in success. We really make such a good team.

"Oh, by the way, where are we going this time?"

I looked at her, a sweet smile appearing on her face. "Home... eomeoni and abeoji are waiting for us."

"Oh really?!" I asked with excitement. "Then I'll get to eat my mom's seaweed soup!"

I heard a chuckle from her. "Happy birthday, JK."

"Thank you," I answered sincerely.

"Oppa..."

"Hm?!" I turned my head to her. "W-what did you say?" I could feel an awkward feeling creeping through my spine. Her calling me 'Oppa'?

"Since you turned twenty- four today, it means that you're older than me," she explained while grinning childishly. "That makes you an oppa."

I let out a scoff. "Stop dreaming of calling me with that-"

"And just I did."

"I'm just two months ahead of you!" I exclaimed with a yelp, letting out the tingling feeling I felt.

She burst into laughter. "You're so funny, hahaha! Oppa! JK oppa oppa oppaaaa~."

Idiot. She exactly knows how to tease me. She knew that I hated being called with that. "Lee Shanshan stoooooooooop !!"

^^. . . ^^

It was already dark when we arrived in front of our house. As soon as Shanshan turned off the engine, I saw the door open, revealing my mom, who was happy to see us.

"Eomma!" I shouted as I got out of the car.

"Adeul! Oh, Shanshanie!"

Both of us received a hug from my mom. "Eomeoni, how are you? And where is abeoji?"

"He's inside. When he heard the car, he immediately went to prepare the table," my mom smiled.

"Oh, I am hungry already. I can't wait to see what you prepared!" I said before excitedly pacing inside.

"JK, not too fast!" I heard my best friend giggle.

I just ignored her with a chuckle, changing my shoes into slippers and crossing the living room straight to the kitchen.

"Appa!" I called in the kitchen, finding him setting plates on the table.

"Oh adeul, I thought you couldn't come. We've been waiting and reheating the food many times," he laughed softly, a wrinkle appearing under his eyes while he laughed.

"Have you been doing well?" I asked, sitting on one of the chairs to taste the fresh fruit juice from the glass.

"Yes. Your mom and I have been doing well these days." As soon as he sat, Shanshan and my mother entered the kitchen.

"Whoaaaa, you've prepared a lot of food today!" Shanshan exclaimed as she glided towards the table beside me with a blissful look at the food. "Eomeoni, abeoji! Thank you so much for this!"

My parents both smiled as my mother joined us across the table. "You should both eat a lot. You must be tired from the trip."

"I will eomeoni!" Shanshan exclaimed.

"Tsk," I scoffed at her. "I think you forgot that I am the birthday celebrant today."

"Of course I didn't," she chuckled. "I'm just happy to be spending this precious family moment with all of you. I wish your older brother is here with us too."

"Aigo, Jihyo-ah," my dad exclaimed as Shanshan's eyes blinked with the mention of her old name," I mean- Shanshan. We are happy that you are also here with us."

Her expression slowly changed into a smile. "Let's eat!"

Everyone chuckled at her sudden announcement, except me. "Yah! I should be the one pointing what we should do. Today is my birthday!" I complained with a grin.

^^. . . ^^

After long minutes of eating, the table was left with only leftover foods and empty plates. We had been chatting and laughing for a while now while resting from the home-cooked meals my mother served. I looked at Shanshan, who was having a great time telling stories about her gallery. Towards us, she is very open. To other people, she acts formal and professional, an etiquette she learned from her wealthy family. She was glancing at me from time to time while she spoke, while I nodded at her, not knowing what I was thinking. She made my wish come true. She brought me here to spend time with my family, and I am grateful for that.

"Oh, by the way, abeoji. How's the construction of my house?" She asked as she looked in the direction of the window. "I hope managing it doesn't give too much trouble for you."

"It's alright, my dear. You do not need to worry about it. It is almost done." My dad answered.

"Thank you, abeoji. I want to see the house tomorrow."

"Your house is too big for a lone person like you," I joked.

"What are you saying? If I get married, I'll bring my own family in the house, of course."

"Getting married already?" I chuckled, lifting an eyebrow.

"In the future, of course," she answered, glaring at me playfully. "I have a feeling that I'll be getting married ahead of you while you..." she pointed at my chest, "you can spend the rest of your life being single."

"Oh, that's very much fine with me! I'm already married to my career," I replied, hearing a sigh from my parents.

"I guess our two sons are going to be bachelors forever," Dad told mom while shaking his head. "Jungkookah, your brother's in the army while you are a busy celebrity. When are you both going to start thinking about dating?"

"Appa, you know I don't have enough time dealing with those kinds of stuff," I answered, wholly knowing that deep in their hearts, they understand the type of career I have.

"Don't worry, abeoji. I can let some children live in my house if they want to stay, so you and eomeoni won't get bored while we are away." Shanshan responded. "There is this orphanage that we have been working with."

"Or you can have your family stay here if they visit from New York." My mother stated while sipping her juice, unaware that she forgot to avoid mentioning Shanshan's family in front of her.

My dad immediately cleared his throat, stopping my mom from speaking further. I looked at Shanshan, whose expression immediately turned uneasy.

"They won't ever come here," Shanshan said seriously. "I filed a restriction order against them, remember?" She tried to make a smile, despite the troubled look in her eyes.

"Y-yeah, sorry, Shanshan. I forgot-"

"Ah...I'm satisfied with our dinner tonight!" She exclaimed, cutting my mother off. "Thank you for the food. I think I should go to sleep first. I am feeling sleepy. Goodnight, everyone!"

Before anyone of us could talk, she was already racing upstairs. We heard the door close before we all released our breathing with a sigh.

"Eomma..." I murmured, looking at her.

"Ah! it was my fault. I totally forgot that Shanshan is so sensitive when it comes to her family." My mom said nervously while dad rubbed her shoulders.

I sighed with frustration. Now the happy atmosphere is ruined.

^^. . ^^

^^ It's been raining in our place for almost a month now T_T 10-08- 21^^