I intake a steady breath and walk into the recording room, seeing PD-nim and Namjoon waiting in front of the trackpad controls and glass recording booth. Namjoon eyed my form while I tried my best not to lose my cool in the room in front of my boss.
"Roxi-sshi! I don't know if you've met him, but this is your sunbaenim Kim Namjoon from Bangtan. Namjoon-sshi, this is AJ Torrez but we call her Roxi around here."PD-nim beams,"You two will be working on a collaboration for Roxi's comeback. I believe it will be beneficial for both Bangtan and for yourself Roxi."
Namjoon and I meet eyes and he smiled before holding out his hand."I'm glad to be working with you Roxi-ah."
"You too sunbaenim."I respond, rolling my eyes with a small laugh as he winks at me.
PD-nim shook his head and walked between our handshake while wagging his finger at the two of us."No touching you two. Anyway, I'll be in my office if either of you need me. For the next few days you'll both be writing some lyrics and maybe accomplish some vocals."
PD-nim said some final words before leaving the room, leaving me to my doom as I sweatdropped and sat in the chair nearest to the door. Namjoon sat in the only other chair next to me and stared at his laptop while I stare at the monitor in front of me boredly. The soft buzzing of the ceiling fan and the footsteps of passerbys rang through my ears while I silently gathered my thoughts.
"So."Namjoon started, creating a document and shared it with me."What song should we do?"
"I mean, I want to keep my plot twist concept going. So maybe something like that."I suggest, focusing on my work instead of the social tension between the two of us."PD-nim suggested a love song again. But I have a feeling that's too generic."
"Ah, I see. He said I should rap the second verse of the song and be a 'backup singer.' I don't agree with many of his ideas."he chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly."I'm a rapper not a singer."
"I bet with the right tone and pitch everyone can be a good singer. They just need practice. At least, that's what I did."I say, proceeding to type in the layout."But the verse part, I mean that can work. We just need a solid idea."
"You want it to be a song that tells a story?"he asks,"You know for plot twists."
"That sounds great. I just...don't know what to write about."I admit, digging through my mind with frustration.
"How do you feel right now?"asked Namjoon,"Like and why you feel this way."
I looked at him with sincere eyes and tugged my lips into a fine thin line."Overwhelmed."
"..."
Namjoon looked back at him laptop, the blinking cursor on the slightly organized document document appearing and disappearing every second.
"I mean...I'm overwhelmed, stressed, tired, and confused because of-"
"I know."he snapped."Look, I don't think we should talk about this stuff in a working environment."
"Well, you did ask me how I felt."I scoff, slightly swiveling in my chair."It wouldn't make a bad angst story don't you think?"
Namjoon stopped and put his right hand up to rub his chin, thinking as he looked at the blank screen."Ah...Okay. I mean we don't have any other ideas. I just need to know that you're comfortable about talking about this. With me."
"I did say you'd be my therapist remember?"I laugh, making his dimple show on his own cheek.
"Yeah I remember."he smiles,"How could I forget?"
"Anyway, what would you like to know then?"I ask, writing down this theme on the document.
"I want to know why you're so overwhelmed. Since we're at work, I promise not to tell any of this to anyone."Namjoon says, crossing his heart."Promise."
"Okay...damn where to start."I sigh, looking at the control panel with calm eyes."I mean, you know what's going on between us? With...that kiss and back at your dorm?"
He nodded, facing me, yet keeping his attention focused on his laptop.
"That isn't the only problem. Yoongi-oppa seems to not approve of seeing us in the elevator that day. And he seems to be disappointed in me. Then there's Jimin-oppa, he confessed to be back at Japan. And Kookie confessed to me today before I came here."I confess, Namjoon's expression switching to one of surprise.
"What about Hobi-ah?"he asks.
"I mean, we hang out every now and then but we had this moment in the dorm elevator after he thought I was lying to him or something."I say, trying to summarize the past few months."That and you know. Work. I've been so busy because of my tight schedule that I barely sleep. And my uncle...died...while I was at the award's ceremony. I didn't find out until I came back to Korea. So, yeah. I'm overwhelmed because of that. All of that."
Namjoon was speechless. Only noticing now how much impact the boys had created on me. I met his eyes for a moment before quickly glancing back to my keyboard.
"...I'm sorry."he whispered."I didn't know how...busy you were."
"It's no problem. Now, you're turn."I say, turning to face him this time.
"I guess it's only fair."he groans."Okay, I have feelings for you, very strong feelings. Every time I would see you with any of my friends, I would get jealous. I fell in love with how cute you were. How...mysterious you were. Seeing a girl fight the way you do amazed me and...what else? You are amazing. Beautiful. And worth getting rejected in return for a chance to be with you."
I blushed as he started throwing flattering remarks, saying everything I would never believe I was. Soon he looked at me and fummbled with his fingers.
"I-I mean. I knew I loved you from that night on the rooftop. You're mind is so complex and you have so many secrets. I just want you to know that I didn't mean to cause any harm, I guess my pre-judgement in situations is very poor."he chuckled, becoming flustered."And I'm supposed to be a genius, now look at me."
"Ah, it's alright I don't judge."I giggle, finding him being flustered very amusing."I just don't expect you to get flustered so easily."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm saying that when I first saw you, I thought you were really cold-hearted and intimidating...but seeing you smile was so cute. Like you seemed like such a happy person."I say with a close-eyed smile."You should smile more often."
Namjoon only got even more red at my statement and cleared his throat."Anyway, we'll just write lyrics about a girl who feels overwhelmed and tries running away from young love while the boy wants his feelings to be noticed by the girl because he believes that deep down the girl has the ability to love."
"Mhm, that sounds good. All we need is some sort of plot twist."
"Plot twist huh...what about, if it's revealed how the girl learned to avoid love."
"Perfect!"
