The flowerbed - Aespa's Giselle x M!Reader

The roots hold on (Part 1)

The early morning streets of Seoul passed by in a familiar blur as I navigated my way to SM headquarters. Three months into this job, and sometimes it still felt surreal – how quickly they'd gone from being my professional responsibility to something more like family.

Winter's breakdown during Armageddon promotions last week was still looming in my mind. Finding her in that practice room at 3 AM, pushing herself beyond limits... it had changed something in all of us. The way the others had rushed in, how we'd all ended up camping out in the dorm's living room watching movies until sunrise – it had crossed a line we couldn't uncross. Not that any of us wanted to. Even Karina, usually so careful about maintaining professional boundaries, had started treating me less like staff and more like an older brother.

And then there was Giselle. Our early morning coffee meetings had become the highlight of my days, those quiet moments before everyone else arrived when we could just... be. Sometimes I caught Winter giving me knowing looks when she thought I wasn't paying attention. She wasn't wrong – whatever was growing between Giselle and me was getting harder to ignore. But I had a job to do, and today was important.

This morning SM announced aespa's comeback. I arrived early to find Giselle already in the company building, curled up in the practice room with her lyrics notebook. She'd been doing this more lately - showing up before anyone else, claiming she worked better in the quiet hours. We both knew it usually coincided with my early arrivals.

"Coffee?" I offered, holding out her usual order. These morning coffee runs had become our unspoken routine over the past months.

"My hero," she smiled, accepting the cup. Our fingers brushed, and the moment lingered just a beat longer than necessary.

"Nervous about the comeback meeting?" I asked, settling down with my own coffee.

"Actually..." she closed her notebook, "I wanted to talk to you about something-"

At that moment, The practice room door swung open as Winter arrived precisely on time, followed by a yawning Ningning and a perfectly composed Karina. The moment broke, but Giselle's unfinished sentence hung in the air between us.

In the briefing room, the creative director unveiled the concept for "Whiplash." Dark reds and blacks dominated the mood board, sharp angles and chrome accents suggesting something harder than their previous concepts. The sample tracks playing through the speakers had an edge to them - still distinctly aespa, but with teeth.

"This is different," Karina said carefully, studying the materials.

Winter leaned forward, looking more like herself than she had in weeks. The rest had brought back her focus, and I could see her mind already working through potential choreography. She caught my eye across the table and gave a small nod - her way of saying she was okay.

"The title track is particularly challenging," the creative director continued. "We're pushing boundaries with this one. The chorus has a tempo change that-"

"We can handle it," Ningning interrupted, then quickly added, "Sorry, but we can. Right, unnies?"

Giselle, who had been unusually contemplative, finally spoke up. "It's not just different. It's... brave." Her eyes met mine across the table, and something in her gaze made my heart skip. "We're ready to be brave."

I couldn't help feeling she wasn't just talking about the comeback.

After the meeting, I found them in their practice room, already working through the demo tracks. Giselle was by the mirror, marking simple movements, but her reflection kept finding mine in the glass.

"Manager-nim!" Ningning called me over. "Listen to this part!" She played a section where her high note seemed to defy physics.

"That's going to blow people's minds," I said honestly, and her beaming smile lit up the room.

"We should plan this properly," Karina said, already in leader mode. "After last time..." She glanced at Winter, who was stretching nearby.

"I'm fine," Winter insisted, but her smile was genuine. "Better than fine. This concept... it feels right. Like we're growing up."

"Speaking of changes," I pulled out my tablet, "I've restructured your practice schedule. More breaks, proper meal times, and I've arranged for additional vocal training support." I paused, meeting each of their eyes, lingering perhaps a moment too long on Giselle's. "We're doing this comeback the healthy way."

"Our manager really loves us," Ningning sing-songed, throwing her arms around my waist.

"Professional care," I corrected weakly, but Giselle's soft laugh made my chest tight.

As the others discussed the new tracks, Giselle approached me under the pretense of checking the schedule.

"About this morning," she said quietly, "what I wanted to say..."

"Giselle-ah! Come listen to this part!" Ningning called, and the moment slipped away again.

Later, as I was leaving for a meeting, Giselle caught up to me in the hallway.

"I'll bring dinner when I come back," I said before she could speak.

"That's not..." she started, then seemed to gather her courage. "Things are changing, aren't they? Not just the concept."

My heart thundered in my chest. "Giselle..."

"I know this is complicated, but..." She looked down, then back up with determination. "I need you to know that I-"

"Giselle! The choreographer wants to try something!" Winter's voice carried from the practice room.

Giselle closed her eyes briefly, frustrated. "Just... don't bring dinner too late?" she finally said, but her eyes said something else entirely.

"I won't," I promised, understanding all the things we weren't saying.

My phone buzzed shortly after with a message from Giselle: "one day we'll finish a conversation without interruptions 🥺"

Followed immediately by one from Winter: "you two are hopeless, but maybe brave is good 😏"

Walking to my meeting, I thought about bravery and changes. About unfinished conversations and coffee-quiet mornings. About how "Whiplash" wasn't just a comeback title - it was starting to feel like a perfect description of falling for someone you shouldn't.