Producer's Corner

Chapter 19

A/N: I'm a little late, but R.I.P. Moonbin. I hope his family and friends are doing okay</3
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Waiting patiently but nervously on the couch, Kiki watches her two friends bicker at the dining table. It was currently ten in the morning.

She was already dressed and ready for her meeting with Chan. It wasn't their first meeting or even conversation, but she was anxious to actually start working on the collaboration.

She had no idea how he worked or how his music sounded.

Maybe I should ask him to play a few songs, or songs he's currently working on. I would most likely have to show something as well.

She slightly shakes her head to stop herself from going down a spiral. Focusing back on her friends, she quirks an eyebrow at the argument that just started.

"Animation and graphic design take way longer to do than coming up with some sort of outfit!" Lucas spiels.

Rolling their eyes in irritation, Meg easily replies, "No, definitely not! Not only do we have to come up with something new, we also have to figure out which fabrics to use. Which colors would work best. Even texture is in play! You can't just throw together a shirt and a pair of pants and call it a day!"

Lucas effortlessly pulls Kiki into the argument. Turning his head to his friend, he asks, "What about you, Kiki? What do you think? Which career takes longer to do?"

Sweatdropping at the looks her friends were giving her. Kiki quickly looked at her wrist, where a non-existing watch sat. "Sorry, guys! I would love to say my reasoning, but Chan will be here soon, and I should meet him downstairs."

She swiftly stands up from the couch and walks down the hallway. Slipping on her shoes and opening the door. Kiki turns around and calls out a quick goodbye before closing and locking the door.

While waiting for the elevator to arrive on the lobby floor, Kiki takes her phone out to actually look at the time. Letting out a breath of relief that it is indeed almost time to be picked up.

She walks out of the apartment building, looking around the street, before settling herself onto a bench near the entrance. Chan would be here to pick her up soon.

Not even fifteen minutes later, he pulled over and stopped right in front of her. Rolling down his window.

definitely not suspicious.

Standing up, Kiki slowly approached the car. Looking inside to make sure it was who she thought it was.

"You know, if I didn't know you were going to be here, I would have thought you were a kidnapper."

Chan grimaces at the statement and scratches the back of his neck. "Sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have pulled up right in front of you."

Smiling slightly at his reaction, she opens the car door and gets in. "Your car screams fancy."

Huffing out a laugh and rolling his eyes, Chan pulls away from the apartment building. "I guess. Have you eaten?"

She merely shakes her head, yes.

"Also, I think I should have driven."

Furrowing his eyebrows at the sudden statement, he asks "Why?"

Shrugging her shoulders, she says, "Because you drove last time."

"Well, too bad, I guess."

A moment of silence stretched for a little bit before Chan got angsty. "I don't have a destination in mind; any ideas?"

Glancing over at him, she notices how stiff he seems. Kind of glad she wasn't the only one who was still nervous about their meetings.

"Sorry, I don't actually know. How about we start off with how you wanted to meet up at one in the morning?"

At that, Chan laughs. "I'm very sorry about that, but I did want to work with you at the time. I work quite well at night, and I had just finished a livestream, so I was wide awake. Oh, speaking of, I was able to get you a pass for the company. Specifically for night visits. Though certain places are blocked off."

A grin made its way onto her face. Not only at the idea of being able to work at night without getting into trouble, but at his ramble.

He always seemed so passionate about anything he talked about.

"That's great. We can get this show on the road. Do you have any ideas on what you want to start off with?"

"If you don't mind, after we stop at this fast food place, I'm quite hungry; we could switch places. I could pull out my laptop and show you some of my music. Assuming you haven't heard anything."

"No, I haven't heard anything from you or Straykids in general. I like to leave that for the collaboration itself. I find it fun to see people in their element without expectations."

"Great, we have a plan!" Chan happily says."
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Closing the car door, Kiki focuses her attention on Chan. Who was currently trying to set up his laptop. "Make sure you eat your food before it gets cold."

He slightly lets his head rise, a small hum making its way out of his mouth. He was still focused on his laptop.

A little smile filled with fondness makes its way onto her face. She watches as his eyebrows furrow in concentration.

"Well, I'm going to start driving. I think I have a destination in mind, but it's a longer drive."

At that statement, his head rises all the way. Quirking an eyebrow, he asks, "Am I at all allowed to know?"

"The fact you gave me an option easily makes it a no." She replies slyly.

Huffing out a sigh of amusement, Chan sets aside his laptop and starts eating.

For a good portion of his meal, they sat in comfortable silence. The radio was turned on for background noise. As they both hum to a few songs.

By the time Chan finished his food, they were on the high way. Letting Kiki finish humming to the current song, Chan analyzes her.

She seemed content with driving and the silence. Well, besides the constant humming of themselves and traffic. She was relaxed; her hands rested on the steering wheel. Completely different from how she was in the cafe just a few weeks ago.

Satisfied with knowing she was at least a little bit comfortable around him, Chan starts a conversation.

"Can I show you some songs I produced? Maybe even a few I'm currently working on? I wouldn't mind some advice."

Glancing at Chan, Kiki easily nods her head. Eagerness is easy to find in her eyes.
"I would love to hear your passion."

Chan smiles wider at her wording. Never once has he thought of saying it like that.
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It was one of the best road trips Chan has ever taken. Inspiration hit him like a truck. Not only was he able to show off a few songs that he made, but even a few that he was producing for other artists. He was so happy that Kiki wasn't afraid to tell him her opinion. Afraid that she was going to feel obligated to say it sounded good.

It was even better when she recommended things. It could be changing a small chord or something bigger, like part of the instrumental. Not only were her ideas new, they were bold and could easily fit into Straykids style. And the best part was that she had only heard very few of their songs.

And during a gas station break, they switched seats, and it was Kiki's turn. And boy, was he hit with even more excitement about this collaboration. Yes, he's heard quite a few of her songs, but never truly just her. The songs on her YouTube channel were produced with the thoughts of other artists, even for remixes she did in the beginning.

So, of course, he was surprised when every completed, incomplete, and instrumental sounded different but just as good as the last. She was a prodigy. An ace. Something that inspired him.
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As Chan pulled up to the small parking lot at the bottom of a hill, the GPS finally stated they were at their destination.

He parks in a spot and questioningly looks around.

Noticing his confusion, Kiki hurriedly answered his unasked questions.

"Sorry, it's quite far from Seoul, but I figured we both needed a break from the studio. We can still work, though. Oh, and you don't have to worry about paparazzi or fans. This place is...not necessarily abandoned, but nearly always empty."

"As long as we're both comfortable, I don't mind."

Kiki smiles at the small but comforting comment. She opens the car door and gathers their bags. "Come on. I'm quite hungry now, and there's this sweet old lady that owns a small dumpling shop near here."

Chan chuckles at her description of the place. Before being stopped by Kiki.

"Wait. Can you grab the blanket from the back seat?"

Easily nodding at the request, he makes his way back to the car.

Catching up to Kiki, Chan sees the entrance to the small restaurant. Wondering how this small place was being funded. Especially since Kiki had said that this place was always empty.

Entering the place was like walking into a grandma's home. It felt cozy and comforting. He could tell why Kiki liked the place.

As Kiki walked to a table tucked away from the world, she watched the curiosity on Chan's face as he fell behind. A tiny grin appears on his face.

Happy at her choice of restaurant, Kiki quietly calls for Chan.

"This place is adorable. I'm going to have to bring the kids back here."

She smiles wide at the term of endearment.

It's adorable that he calls them kids.

Once they settle into their seats, a short old lady walks towards them. Her face lit up at the sight of Kiki.

"You finally came back! Look, you even brought a handsome young man!"

They both flushed at the comments.

"Would you like the usual?" The grandma easily continues.

"Yes, that's fine."

The grandma then expectantly turns towards Chan. Glancing at Kiki, he nervously asks for the same thing. Not entirely sure what she was getting.

The grandma took it in stride and left the two alone. Watching her walk away, Chan turns his attention to Kiki.

"As cozy as this place is and as hungry as I am, I do have a few questions."

Simply smiling at his statement, Kiki gestures for him to start asking.

"First, if we're eating in here, why did you ask me to grab the blanket?"

"Simple, we're just here for food; I have a different spot that I go to." It was obvious that she wanted to be as vague as possible.

His eyes narrowed a bit before he hesitantly started his next question. "What did I order?"

At that, she starts quietly laughing. "Just a small serving of dumplings, tteokbokki, and rice. Now that I think about it, it's kind of a weird trio of foods."

"And you order this every time?"

"Most of the time. When I first started coming here, I tried everything on the menu. Although it is a small menu."

Before he could continue to ask questions, the grandma placed a tray of food on the table. She gently pushes it towards Kiki, then takes a step away from the table. Another tray of food was placed on the table by an old man.

"Enjoy the food." The man says before both of them walk away.

Chan glances at Kiki, who is already watching him. She gives him a small smile before they both dig in.
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Holding the door open for a pouting Kiki, Chan rolls his eyes. "Are you that irritated that I paid for the food?"

"No."

Sighing in amusement, he follows behind Kiki.

"That's besides the point. Now I get to show you one of my favorite spots."

"How did you find this spot?" He asks, easily catching up to walk next to her.

Briefly looking at Chan, Kiki starts, "To be honest, I'm not one hundred percent sure. After I first started producing, I hit a mental roadblock. Not necessarily burning out, but making it hard for me to focus and think of an idea. So my friend recommended going out for a drive. That short drive ended up being a few hours, and I ended up finding that small restaurant. That grandma sat down with me and just talked about anything."

She pauses, looking around to see where they ended up. Chan looks around as well. Noticing that they were quite a bit away from the restaurant.

"We're not there yet. We have to go up this hill."

Raising an eyebrow, he comments, "I didn't sign up for a hike."

Chuckling at the comment, Kiki just starts walking. The rest of the walk was silent. He noticed that she didn't finish the story but doesn't bother to push.

And when they get to the top, he takes it in. The slight breeze felt refreshing after a warm meal. The view was just breath-taking. It was quiet, the only sound being nature.

Kiki observes Chan as he slowly walks around the area. She loved the view when she first found it, and she still does. And it was so peaceful; it really helped her mind and mental state calm down and just take in everything slowly.

"This place is so pretty."

"You should see it at sunset."

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Thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you have a great morning, day, or night! Just realized that I've been using 'huff' incorrectly, oops. I keep losing track of the timeline in the story, like the actual time usage. Anyways, longest chapter I've ever written! Hence why it took me so long to post this one. There was supposed to be more to this chapter, but it got to long for my liking. Sorry for any mistakes!

Word Count(not including a/n): 2,238

Character Count: 12,280