Illusions [Ateez x Reader]

Chapter 4

The day came for me to go to work at KQ. And I couldn't drag myself out of bed. I'm supposed to be there at 12 again, and it is already 10:45 and I'm not out of bed. That's how much I am dreading this.

    Eventually, I force my body out of bed and walk to my kitchen. My stomach is too jumpy for me to eat, so I just get like triple my normal amount of coffee. Sighing, I sip my coffee and walk into the living room to turn on my tv. I decided to just put YouTube on, then turned it up so I could hear it in my room.

     I headed back to my room and placed my coffee on my nightstand by my bed. Walking over to the closet, I quickly grabbed an outfit out and went to my bathroom to change, which consisted of an oversized black T-shirt tucked into white jeans and topped off with my black combat boots. I decided on some simple jewelry and then fixed my h/l h/c how I wanted it.

    I looked over at my clock to see that it was 11:32 so I quickly grabbed my mini backpack, shoving my headphones, phone, wallet, and notebook. I kinda have to pay attention while I work today. I practically ran out of the apartment, barely remembering to lock the door.

I speed walked, not ran, to the KQ building. (Gotta keep what little dignity I have) I barely made it on time, but like, I made it. So yay! I walked into the building and headed for the stairs, not the elevator. Elevators are not trustworthy.

I walked down the hall on the level I needed to be on slowly, trying to remember which studio it was. Finally, I found it and walked inside. Ateez and Eden were already inside.

"Good morning," Eden greeted me with a smile.

I looked up at him and gave him a half smile. "Good morning."

He laughed at my expression. "Tired?"

I nodded my head slowly.

"Solid answer," he mocked. "You guys ready to get to work?"

The Ateez boys nodded, looking quite excited.

"Definitely," Hongjoong confirmed.

Eden and I sat down at the desk with the soundboard set carefully on top of it.

"Okay then, Jongho, you're up to record," Eden stated.

The rest of the boys sat down on the couch behind us, while Jongho got up and went into the sound booth. I had his lyrics in front of me, so I could see what he needed to record. Eden handed me a pair of headphones, which I put on, the signaled for Jongho to start.

I must admit, Jongho's voice is amazing. But he kinda looks aggressive when he sings. Oh well. He continued to sing his lyrics, letting us critique him as he went along. He did his last line, but I stopped him.

"Do you think you could try hitting the last not an octave higher?" I questioned softly.

He nods his head and repeats the last line, hitting the last note an octave higher.

Eden turns to me with an amazed expression. "I never would have thought to do that, but it sounds so much better!"

I smiled shyly. "It's what I do with the songs I record or write. I try different octaves of notes, so I slowly figured out what could be tried."

"That's amazing."

I turn my head to the boys, knowing that it was San who had said that to me. "Thank you."

I gave him a small, slightly forced, smile and turned back around.

We continued going through all of the boys, Eden and I making changes or adding on things here or there. I edited a few parts for the boys to make it fit the song more fluently. Finally, we reached the last one needing to record, which was Mingi.

Mingi's parts were pretty straightforward so I was able to relax in my seat a bit. Most of the rapping sounded correct to me. Eventually, however, we reached a part that didn't sound all that flowing to me.

I made a sign for him to stop and turned to Eden. "Do you think that line would sound better speeded up?"

Eden nods his head slightly. "He could try it."

I turn back towards Mingi and turn the com thingy on. "Mingi, can you try that a little faster?"

He nods and tries it faster. Although I can see that it was harder for him to speed up, I appreciate that he endured it and did it anyway. Soon, Mingi's part was done, so Eden and I began to edit it. We only worked on editing it for about 30 minutes, before we decided to call it a day. It was 8:00 pm after all.

I picked up my stuff and slung my mini backpack over my shoulder. "Alright, I'm gonna head home now."

Eden nods and tells me goodbye, also packing up his stuff. But the boys had other plans I guess.

Seonghwa speaks up, "We will walk you down then."

I look up at him with a I think the fuck not face. "Actually I'm good, but thank you though."

"No really, it's not a problem," Yunho adds. The other boys nodding hastily.

"It's fine, let them walk you down," Eden agrees, waving his hand dismissively.

I sigh but nod my head anyways.

The boys and I begin to head out, me walking ahead of the others. When we reach the lobby, I begin to speed walk towards the doors, but my wrist gets grabbed. I am pulled back and my back is pressed against the wall harshly with Wooyoung pinning me against it.

"We need to talk first."