Winter Tangerines (IU x SUGA)

Eleven

<3 unread messages>

Jieun woke up with a throbbing headache. She was lost for a while then suddenly came back to her senses when she figured out where she was. She was in her own room, hungover.

It has been two weeks since she walked out of Yijeong's studio. She refused to talk to him except if it has something to do with work. She was still in denial of the fact that the person she hated the most was her boss, hence, the reason why she wanted to be drunk for most of the nights.

Getting rid of the bottles of beer by her bedside table, she noticed a notification from her phone. Checking her inbox and wishing that it was not from Yijeong, Jieun got confused with the unknown sender's message.

Unknown number: Hey, care to check your email?

Unknown number: I got something for you.

Unknown number: Tell me what do you think about it. I'll be waiting :)

Without sending any reply to the messages, Jieun searched for her laptop and tried opening her email. She found an audio file entitled WDTT sent by Genius Lab. After downloading the said file, she put on her headphones and played the audio.

It was a new beat she never heard before.

And it was beautiful.

After listening to the music, she grabbed her phone and called the number that messaged her. Not long after, there was an answer on the other line.

"Hey."

"Yijoung, what's with the new number? I listened to the audio already."

"How was it?"

"It's cool, kinda. But I bet it will be a masterpiece if you put the right lyrics to it."

"Not gonna do it."

"Huh?"

"I think you should do it. Write the lyrics, Jieun."

"Oh no, no, no. I am not in my right mind right now."

"Then take all the time you want."

Jieun smiled upon hearing the answer. But something was off, she thought.

"Yijeong, are you sick? You sound odd."

"Let's meet later."

"Aish! Have you forgotten? I'm still mad at you and your spoiled dumpling friend."

"6:00 p.m. sharp. I'll text you the address. See you."

"But—"

The call ended unexpectedly, leaving Jieun annoyed. Staring at the file she opened earlier, Jieun suddenly thought of the time when she came back to music.

—

December 2015

After months of planning and preparation, Genius Lab started operating. It was never easy considering the lack of experience and connection Yijeong's team has. On its sixth month, the staff were starting to doubt whether they will survive.

"Yijeong hyung, have you found a singer yet?"

"No. The last one I contacted declined my offer."

"What are we gonna do? We promised Bang PD-nim a song. It's our only chance to finally make it."

"Relax, Hoseok. We'll get to it." Yijeong tried to stay calm despite the chaos his head is starting to experience. Two weeks left until the deadline of the song that they were proposing to a huge record label, yet they still can't find someone to sing it. "I'll convince Jieun to do it for us." He was like having a deja vu.