The Producer- an Enhypen fanfic

Chapter 2: Iced Coffee and Conversations

After running into three teen idols, whose names I had discovered were Jake, Jungwon, and Sunoo- I finally made it to the staff lounge without further interruption.

There were actually windows in this room, so after I pulled an iced coffee out of one of the small minifridges, I situated myself at the seat nearest the window.

I looked out at Seoul, the vast city. Bustling pedestrians, and cars packed into the small streets like a puzzle, the Han river was barely visible past the skyline. The darkness of night still clung to the rain clouds above the city, tinting it with the coolness of Winter. Raindrops clung to the window, racing down to nowhere in particular. The light of the city passed through them, creating intricate patterns on the window.

Everyone was shocked when I told them I was moving here, and I suppose rightfully so. Fresh out of college, 19 years old, alone in a foreign country. But I had made my decision. I was ready to leave behind the life I knew in Washington, to leave the comfort of the tree-covered valleys that once sheltered me from the real world.

Every now and then I miss it, Seoul is mostly flat and covered in concrete. There are a few gardens here and there that I find myself wandering through on occasion, it is nothing like the pacific rainforests that I had once wandered through in my free time.

I sighed. I am constantly encased within concrete walls. In a world so strange to me, with signs in a language I can barely begin to comprehend. Maybe they were right, maybe this was a bit ambitious. But I had a dream, and I was so tired of not chasing it.

I left the country to have better opportunities in music, I knew I couldn't spend my life doing something I hated. I've always been involved in music, there was never a moment growing up where the choices I made didn't revolve around music. My life was a busted schedule of concerts- classical, jazz, choir, piano. An instrument is always in my hand in the school hallways, in my room, and outside.

Music was my coping mechanism, especially after I got diagnosed with agoraphobia and other things. It was so hard to leave the safety of my room, but between my parents, music, and my cat, Lex- I made it through.

My parents were some of the only people who were not surprised by my plans, I think they always knew this would come. They were a bit confused about Korea as my chosen country but understood a bit more after I explained the flourishing music industry here. They even paid for the Korean lessons, though I told them they didn't need to.

I had made a few friends in Korea, lucky. Weirdly, I found a lot in common with the artists I had worked with. I would not say any of us were very close, but we would try to facetime here and there, or share tracks to work on together. Idols can't really go out much, and neither can I, so we make do with the technology we have.

My life feels so bizarre, like a Harry Styles fanfiction I would have read as a thirteen-year-old.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard something move behind me, I looked back expecting to see another staff member, but that was not what I saw.

There was a mass of black fabric on a table over to my left, centered in between a cluster of black chairs. A head poked out of the fabric, arms raising a phone above their face.

A dark green sweatshirt covered their arms. I know what that meant at this point. They are everywhere.

"God, they just keep coming," I mumbled, but I was not particularly upset at having company, even if we weren't interacting.

Seemingly hearing my whining, the boy looked over from his spot on the table groggily.

"Uh," He looked over at me, confusion dancing across his face. "Hello?" He said in English.