Park Soomi

I squinted in confusion at the bright yellow sticky note attached to the papers on my keyboard.

I took a shot at making some changes to the song. -Yoongi

When did he work on this? I vaguely remembered him here last night, but there was no way he had time for this. Unless the sleep deprivation was distorting my memory.

No, that can't be it. I creased my eyebrows. Just the thought of anyone else in this personal space of mine made my skin crawl.

And yet, I couldn't help the curiosity that crept in as well. I found myself settling onto the seat, hovering my fingers over the keys in anticipation. Music soon filled the room.

And I was amazed. It wasn't too different, but somehow the little changes to the melody, the tempo, and texture gave it that little extra something it was missing.

As my fingers came to a halt, I grew guilty about how much I snapped at Yoongi yesterday. I was just stressed out and upset.

Because of Taehyung.

I went to check my phone, staring at the still unread messages.

Hey Tae, did something happen? Why did you leave so suddenly?

Please talk to me.

I'm sorry I've been so busy. Can we please see each other?

I didn't have the chance to dwell on these messages for long though as the door behind me swung open. I turned around, surprised to see Yoongi.

"You just went to sleep a few hours ago. Why are you already up?" Yoongi questioned, but it sounded more like a father scolding a misbehaving kid.

"I couldn't sleep. Also, what did I tell you about coming in here?"

"You didn't have a problem with it last night," he remarked. I pursed my lips, accepting defeat.

"Well, anyway, the changes you made were awesome! And you should be thankful they are or else I would've beaten your ass for being in here without me."

"You like it?"

"Yeah, I do."

He seemed surprised, failing miserably at hiding a beaming smile. It was nice seeing a happy Yoongi, a glimpse of the guy I thought I met back in the café. The moment was short-lived, however, when he forced out a cough and reverted to his typical blank disposition.

"Does Hoseok have anything to do with you being up right now?" His question came out of nowhere. "I saw him leave your room earlier."

"Oh, I didn't realize you were up."

"Well, I wasn't until you slammed the door."

"Shit sorry..."

"You two weren't?" he questioned with his eyebrow raised. My eyes widened at his insinuation.

"God, no. I would never," I hastily corrected him.

He narrowed his eyes at my hurried denial. I was both amused and in disbelief that he could even think I would do something with Hoseok.

You know, a little fun never hurt anyone.

"And gosh, I'm hurt. You know I have a boyfriend. What do you take me for, a cheater?" Though I was messing with him, he didn't seem to catch on.

"What? No, of course not. I mean, he was leaving your room in the middle of the night. And besides- he's not exactly, umm, a bad looking guy..."

"Well, damn dude. By all means, you date him then." He seemingly choked on air, falling into a coughing fit, while I laughed internally, the whole situation instantly lightening up my mood.

"Anyway," he cleared his throat after recomposing himself, "what was Hoseok doing then?"

"He was checking on me after I screamed."

"What scream?"

"You slept through a scream but not a door?" I asked amusingly.

"I don't think so? Are—"

His question was interrupted by the ping of my phone, causing me to lose interest in anything he had to say. I eagerly grabbed the device, but my excitement fizzled out as quickly as it appeared when I saw the message wasn't from Taehyung.

"Ugh, Taehyung is being such a jerk," I grumbled, finally allowing myself to openly complain about him.

"So, you can call him a jerk, but I can't call him a douche?"

"Well, you can right now. He's not responding to my texts."

I sighed, realizing that my obsession with waiting for his responses was quickly taking over. You know what, two could play at that game. I needed to stop thinking about Taehyung and focus on more important things.

Like the person who actually texted me.

"But you know who did text me..." I started. Yoongi stared at me with a questioning look. "...the artist that you wrote this song for! We're gonna be showing him the piece for the first time today!" I tried my best to emphasize my excitement, distracting myself from Taehyung.

"We?"

"You're gonna have to be there anyway, but yes we! We're meeting at the café you worked at, which is great because it's kinda like you'll be working your dream job while doing your current job at the job you used to work at," I rambled on.

"What?"

Maybe I'm a bit too excited.

"Um, never mind, not important. Just help me get ready."

* * *

Min Yoongi

"Hi, I'm Kim Seokjin," the man before me greeted.

He's blonde.

I couldn't stop staring at his hair. Blonde, just like the guy in the pictures. I could only infer that they were the same person.

"I've never seen someone with such... blonde hair in person," I remarked. Feeling a light jab on my side, I looked over to see Soomi's hold-your-tongue look, a face I had grown quite accustomed to. Seokjin simply laughed at my astonishment.

"I dyed it. Just trying to get that look all the kpop idols have these days, you know?"

"Right." What was he on about?

"Anywaays," Soomi butted in, "Yoongi actually helped with the piano melody for one of your songs!" she exclaimed while pulling out the sheet music and audio recording.

"Really?" he asked curiously, taking a look at the papers and putting in an earbud. For some reason, I started to feel nervous. What if he hates it? I closely watched his expressions, but he gave no indication of how he felt.

"This is really good," he finally said. I internally let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm glad you like it," I responded, trying not to expose the happiness radiating within me from his approval.

"So, let's talk lyrics."

I found myself immersed in the conversation, surprising even myself at how much I enjoyed giving my own input. It truly reminded me of why I dreamed of being a music producer in the first place.

No Yoongi, stay concentrated. You're here for Soomi, not to relive old dreams.

"So Seokjin, you're a new, independent artist, right?" I began questioning him. He looked up from the page of notes he was taking.

"That's right."

"You never had any interest in pursuing music before this?"

"Well, I wouldn't say I had no interest—"

"And when did you start working with Soomi?"

"I think it was a little over a month ago?" Interesting. He hadn't pursued music before then, and it was just around when the death threats started coming in.

I felt a kick from under the table. Soomi gave me a look as if she knew I was trying to start up an interrogation.

"I think we should go over the tracklist," Soomi changed the subject. I wanted to ask more but made a mental note instead, to ask Hoseok for a background check.

"Oh right, I've been meaning to make the suggestion, but I think the album is missing a love song," Seokjin commented.

"A love song? Hmm, yeah I could get working on the instrumental right away—"

"But, I was wondering if you could also write the lyrics?"

"You want me to write the lyrics too?" Soomi seemed a bit surprised by his request.

"Are you not able to?"

"Well, it's not that. I just thought that'd be something you'd want to write yourself?"

"Yeah, well, I really want it to be authentic, and if I'm honest, I don't have the right experience," he explained sheepishly, "and I remember you mentioning you have a pretty serious boyfriend..."

Soomi's face immediately fell at the mention of Taehyung, and Seokjin seemed to notice.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know there was a problem—"

"No, no, of course there isn't a problem!" she quickly denied. "I'll get right on it." She flashed a smile over at Seokjin.

But I could see right through her facade.

——
{a/n}
Not one of my favorite chapter but I love how the next couple came out, so I hope you'll look forward to them! 😊