A SHINee Night To Remember (SHINee Fanfiction)

Chapter 7

Minho met up with Karen again in the lobby. "Stay by me," he whispered to her, and Karen nodded back. From out of nowhere, Onew appeared by Kori's side.

The greeter in front gave a basic bow. "Welcome to the Oriental House!" she said in English. "We serve all Asian cuisines and pride ourselves in being the best of our kind in the area. We were voted the best Asian food outside of Chinatown."

"We are both glad to be here," Kori answered back in English.

A host appeared in front of them with two menus. "This way," he said in Korean, and he led Karen and Minho through the restaurant. Minho took Karen by the arm.

"Are Onew and Kori going to sit by us?" Karen asked.

Minho shook his head. "I don't think so. I think right now it's just going to be you and me. Is that okay?"

Karen felt a small part of herself lock up: without her confident friend, it would have to be all her. But then she remembered it was Minho she was with, and this was a once in a lifetime chance. As long as she kept breathing, she told herself she would be fine.

"Just let me sit down soon," she said with a laugh.

Minho smiled and laughed as well. "I think we're almost there."

The host took Minho and Karen over to a small alcove, where a table for two waited. There were windows nearby, as well as an artificial waterfall that took up the entire wall next to them. Hanging plants of all shapes and sizes hung above them, high enough that they wouldn't hit them.

Minho pulled out one chair for Karen, and she sat down, careful that she wouldn't squish her corsage. She looked back down at the purple flowers and smiled. Kori was truly getting her dream night...and so was she, by default. She looked up as Minho sat down.

"Your waitress will be here in one moment to get your drinks," the host said and he disappeared.

Minho smiled at Karen from across the table, the waterfall to her right and the windows to her left, plants above their heads. She wished she could take a picture, but her cell phone was back in her purse, in the limo. Maybe she would be able to get a picture in a little bit, but for now, all of her attention was on Minho.

"So," Minho said, "are you nervous?"

"A little," she said. "But then I think about Kori and what a good time she must be having, and I'm glad I was able to get her and Onew together."

"Me as well." The waitress arrived, and both Karen and Minho ordered bubble tea. "I know we've been busy with the concert and planning," Minho said, "but to be honest, I haven't had a chance to learn that much about you. Can I?"

And so Karen obliged. She talked about her sister and how they had both been fans of SHINee for a long time. She spoke of growing up in a Hispanic household and knowing two languages. She talked about being an outsider at school, but how one day, when she had been bullied, the new girl in town had stood up for her. "And that's how Kori and I became friends," she explained. "We're total opposites. She's the loud one, and I'm the shy one. Sometimes I wonder if she's a better person because she's loud and she knows what she wants."

"There is a certain strength in being quiet," Minho said, head on his hands, looking intently at Karen. "I don't think a lot of people realize that. A girl who is quiet knows what is going on in the world, doesn't call unnecessary attention to herself, and gains the respect of all around her. In turn, those who know and love her would do anything for her. It is in this way that a quiet girl can be even more powerful than one who is loud." He smiled. "I have nothing against your friend, but you seem more beautiful to me."

Karen felt her face flush up as the waitress finally brought their bubble tea. "Really?"

"It would be dishonest of me to hide it." Minho reminded himself of what was said in the limo between himself and Onew. "You are a very beautiful girl, Karen Soul, and I am honored to be spending tonight with you." The waitress brought out several kinds of banchan and two bowls of rice with spoons.

"You know how to eat this, right?" Minho asked.

Karen nodded. "Use the spoon for the rice, eat as much banchan as you like -- try different ones -- and under no circumstances do you pick up the rice bowl. We talked about this in Korean class."

"Your school teaches Korean?"

"Well, technically it's a special class. Every student has to learn a language, but I already know Spanish and Kori already knows some Italian -- her grandparents are from Italy. We decided that to fulfill the language requirement, we would do an extra project and learn Korean on the side. We got one of the teachers to sponsor it, and so every day we meet with her and follow up with our projects and do research. We don't just talk about SHINee or music. We try to talk about everything. Though, to be honest, Kori has an easier time picking up on everything. I think I learn more from her than I do myself, doing my own research." She put some of the rice into her spoon and ate it. "I don't even know what I'm going to do when I graduate. Kori's going to go to the local university, and even though she doesn't know exactly what she's going to do, she's already applied and been accepted. It's the same university her mom went to, so she's going practically for free." She paused. "I don't know if you've noticed or not, but Kori's family doesn't make a lot of money. My family is fine, but Kori's dad is always working long hours to make sure they can pay rent and everything. It's another reason I think Kori deserves this night. She never gets to do anything special or do a lot of cool things. Our idea of a fun time is running to In-N-Out Burger before going back to her place or my place and listening to music all night long. And, you know, dreaming about meeting our idols."

Minho was a careful listener, staying quiet the entire time Karen spoke. "You really love your friend," he said. "That is also a strength."

"Yeah, but I don't know what I'm doing with my life."

"So what? Just because I joined SM from a young age and have been modeling and rapping for a long time doesn't mean I have everything figured out." Minho knew the truth of his words as soon as he had spoken them -- from this night on, he wouldn't be able to see the world the same anymore, because Karen was in it, no matter "what" she was to him. "The important thing is that you have Kori, and she has you. Your friendship is what is most important. If you have that, you can accomplish anything."

Karen smiled back at Minho. "I think you understand me better than I understand myself."

Minho blushed as he looked down at his rice. That's what's worrying me, he thought. Maybe Onew's right. Perhaps this is something bigger than ourselves.