Studio Love (Changbin X Some random chick I made up)

Chapter Nine

Changbin POV

I'm not going to lie, I was very nervous for Eun Ae. Judging from her body language while meeting her parents this morning, and how she acted with me afterwards, I knew the family dinner was the last thing she wanted to do. She had this look on her face when we were sitting in my studio, and I couldn't get it out of my head. It was pretty much a blank stare, with the occasional furrowed brow. I didn't want to make her talk about it, but I could tell that there's something going on. 

All this was running through my head while I was standing in the lobby of the company building. We had just returned from a photo shoot and I had been held back from the other members when I ran into a previous acquaintance. He was telling me some story about a job he was working on currently--or maybe it was from a few months ago. I missed that part of the story. Frankly, I missed a lot more than that, because I was still thinking about Eun Ae's facial expressions. 

My mind only resurfaced when my friend tapped my shoulder and said, "Hey, there's that prodigy session musician. I hear she's YoungK's sister."

My eyes snapped to attention and I looked toward where he gestured. Surely enough, there she was, marching through the lobby and out the door. I was amazed at how Eun Ae radiated confidence, when only this morning she seemed like she would break down at the drop of a hat. She was wearing the same clothes as before: a plain black beanie, white graphic tee with a grey sweat jacket, and black jeans with holes in the knees. The lower half of her face was concealed by a black mask, and her hair was in two long braids. Although most of her face was hidden from sight, her eyes were determined. Determined to do what? I have no idea. But I hoped to hear about it. 

The man beside me was still talking about Eun Ae. "Supposedly she's wicked talented, but a pain to work with. I hear she refuses to meet in person, and only communicates through email. She's always here during the late hours, too." He laughed. "There's a rumor going around that she lives in the basement and only comes out at night to mess with the janitors and stuff. Ghost typ'a shit. I don't know about all that, but she definitely doesn't have many friends here, if any. Seems kind of full of herself to me. And wicked cold."

I glared at him now. "Where did you hear all of that?"

He shrugged. "I'm a journalist, man. It's my job to know this stuff. Some of it is just gossip, some of it is true. I do know that she makes great music, or else the company wouldn't keep her here. Some say it's because of her brother but I doubt it. Definitely more of the lone wolf type if you ask me. Not much to write about, mostly just office gossip."

I had to stop myself from reaching out and putting this idiot in a headlock. Instead, I hoped my eyes portrayed how aggravated I felt while I spoke, "Well, it's true that she makes amazing music, but that's about it. She's not a lone wolf, and she's not cold. She's a friend of mine, and I've seen her apartment, so no--she does not live in the basement. And she is most definitely not full of herself. You can trust me on that one."

He lifted his hands in surrender. "Wow I got it. I'm just saying what everyone else is saying."

"Well I'm correcting it. And you should too in the future."

"Okay. You sure you guys are just friends? Is there something more in there that I should know about?" He raised an eyebrow suggestively.

I glared at him and spoke one last time before walking away. "She is my friend and colleague, that's all. Now unfortunately, I need to get to practice. I'll have to catch you later Hyung."

I blocked out his farewell as I made my way into the elevator. Eun Ae? Cold and full of herself? An image of Eun Ae smiling down at her phone flashed through my mind, from when I saw her earlier today. I thought of my other interactions with her. She may have seemed closed off when we first met, but that doesn't make her full of herself. People seemed to have a bad impression of Eun Ae simply because she kept to herself, and suddenly I started to understand a little bit more as to why she did so.