The Man//JeanxReader//Modern AU

four

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

I'm afraid of waking up
to a world where you see
and I am not what you saw
-Ali Nuri-

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

You had gotten the job. It was only a probational period for now, but you were way too happy about the fact that Paradis Music Publishing had even considered giving you a chance, than to be worried about failing their expectations.

»So what exactly is it that you're doing there?«, Armin asked curiously as the two of you washed dishes. »You're writing lyrics and they put it into a song?«

You shook your head. »No... I mean, kind of. But there's more to the job. Usually, a singer or a band will send me their drafts and I give them a nice final touch. Other times, I might help them get ideas or inspiration. I also take part in writing the actual song, so not just the lyrics but also the music.«

»I thought you majored in creative writing and not... uh... melody writing?«, he said, handing you a clean wine glass to dry.

»True. But in the industry it's hard to land any kind of job if you only know how to make words sound nice. I'm also taking music classes three times a week and every Sunday I'm working in a music school to further open my horizon.«

Armin lifted an eyebrow. »How many jobs exactly do you have?«

You laughed. »That's not a job, it's voluntarily. And it's actually really fun.«

»Do you ever just... you know... do nothing?«

»When I'm sleeping, I guess.«

You didn't understand why so many of your friends were surprised or even horrified when they found out that you didn't have a free day in the week. There were many people out there who worked at least three jobs in order to support their family, and if they could all manage it, then why couldn't you? Besides, whenever you had just an hour of free time for yourself, you couldn't help but pick up your laptop and work anyways. You hated feeling unproductive.

»I visited Eren today, by the way.«, Armin said. »You should've seen his face when he opened the door. Looked like he'd seen a ghost.«

You felt a small sting in your chest. Why hadn't Eren told you about that? He usually told you everything. You tried to shake the feeling off- he probably would tell you about it tonight.

»Really? What did he say when he told you that you moved here?«, you asked.

»He didn't believe me.«, Armin laughed. »I had to show him my new student ID.«

That sounded like him.

»Y/l/n.«, Levi popped his head into the kitchen. »I need to talk to you.«

»That's either gonna be a raise or a lecture on how to use bleach more efficiently.«, Bertolt said from the other side of the room as Levi had vanished again.

»Good luck.«, Armin said when he saw your nervous expression. »I bet he just wants to tell you how great you've been doing.«

»No. That's never gonna happen.«, you mumbled, making your way out of the kitchen.

Scared that someone, namely Jean, had left a bad review because of your behaviour yesterday, you went into the employee room where Levi was seated at the table. He wasn't looking at you as you came in, his hand was busy writing something down into a binder.

»Close the door.«

Tense, you closed it behind you, then stood awkwardly in front of the table.

»Sit, please.«