𝚀𝚄𝙸𝙲𝙺𝚂𝙰𝙽𝙳 ❀ 𝑒𝑛ℎ𝑦𝑝𝑒𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑛𝑓𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛

chapter 1: in the shadow

Carefully, I balanced the little cup holder box, containing seven iced americanos, in my hands, desperately trying not to spill any of the precious coffee. If I did, I'd have to clean up the mess and run over to the coffee shop all over again, for which I definitely had no time for considering today's busy schedule. Not long ago, I was just a minor music producer at the company, however, they recently assigned me as Enhypen's new assisant. Since then, my life has become a lot more stressful as I had to accompany them to every event they attended - lurking in the shadows and making sure everything goes according to plan.

Even though it was hard, I enjoyed working alongside one of the most famous boy groups at the moment. Watching them practice hard every day, being followed by paparazzi everywhere they go and yet always being able to smile no matter how exhausted they were - all that made me acknowledge the work of celebrities even more. It felt unreal to be that close to people others only ever see on a phone screen - untouchable and far out of reach. On my first day of work, I nearly fainted when I saw them face-to-face for the very first time. I'd never been that nervous in my entire life, but soon my excitement cooled down. As they didn't seem to care much about me being there, I stopped worrying about them too. After all, it was just another job and it would be foolish of me to think I was special just because I worked for people who were.

Luckily, I managed to arrive safely at the company without spilling a single drop of coffee. As I entered the lobby, I noticed that all the members of Enhypen had already gathered near the entrance. Today they were to perform their newest comeback at Music Bank, so the hallway was quite a fuss, as the  preparations had reached their climax. Various staff members were swirling around carrying bags to the van outside and making sure that every member wore his stage outfit and was ready to depart soon. I immediately hustled over to hand every member one cup of iced americano, when my left foot got tangled up in something. In horror, my eyes widenend, as I lost my balance and stared at the ground that came closer and closer. I wanted to scream, but my mind was completely blank. All I could do was close my eyes and prepare myself for a hard landing.

However, that landing happened sooner than I anticipated and instead of the rock hard ground, I fell into someone's arms. My head bumped into his chest, making me let go of the little box, which landed right between the two of us. I could feel the coffee splashing in every direction, wetting the white jeans I had bought only a month ago. I hoped the person in front of me wore darker clothes, that wouldn't be ruined by a few coffee stains. Right now, I couldn't afford paying for an entire outfit. Living expenses in Seoul were horrendous and the salary of a mere assistant was barely enough to cover those. I didn't dare to move or open my eyes just yet, fearful of the chaos I've caused, so I kept my eyes closed for a little longer. I smelled herb perfume and the bittersweet scent of spilled coffee.

The sharp voice of my boss, Enhypen's manager, echoing through the lobby led me to lift my eyelids to face reality once again. My eyes met the gaze of two brown ones that belonged to no other than Jay himself. Terrified by his expressionless gaze, I stepped two steps back and gasped, as I saw the ocean of black coffee spreading throughout the lobby. Unfortunately, not only mine but also Jay's clothes were completely drained, leaving ugly stains on the white shirt he was wearing. Ashamed of myself I bowed and apologised multiple times, before picking up the now empty cups. After that, I ran to get some towels to soak up the liquid. While cleaning up the mess, I avoided everyone's gazes. I even ignored my boss's bickering, whose favourite way of killing time apparently was to constantly blame me for everything that went wrong - to be honest though, today really was all my fault. I didn't even notice the cleaning lady who came to help me after a while and when a fellow colleague handed me some fresh clothes, I just nodded thankfully, not being able to speak a word. All I could think about were those two piercing, brown eyes who glared at me in a way I could not make sense of. Was it surprise, shock or anger? Maybe even worse?

The rest of the day flew by in a haze, I did my job like always and almost forgot about the fiasco this morning. However, all the memories came flooding back, when I boarded the mini-bus after an eventful day at Music Bank and realized that the only free place left was the one directly next to Sunghoon, the ice prince of Enhypen, who was known for being even more unapproachable than Jay, on whom I managed to spill coffee in my second week of working for them. I really didn't want to make even more enemies within the group, so I just sat down silently next to him, keeping as much distance as possible from him, which basically meant only using half of the space. My right leg hang uncomfortably in the air und the edge of the seat pushed into my back, whenever the mini-bus slowed down its tempo. Nevertheless, I clenched my teeth and tried my best to endure this horrible ride, when suddenly the bus made an unexpected turn, causing me to struggle with keeping my balance. I would have probably fallen off the seat, hadn't it been for the strong arm and its firm grip that pulled me up again. In disbelief, I glanced over at Sunghoon, smiling hesitantly. "Thank you", I whispered, as he smiled back at me shyly and said: „You're a bit clumsy, aren't you?"