be free || k.hj

009

c h a p t e r  n i n e : a u r o r a

You and Hongjoong had mentally prepared yourselves for what was coming your way. The both of you knew that from here on out, there would be absolutely no breaks— you needed to finish by that deadline.

The two of you began to brainstorm different ideas of what the theme of the song should be and how it would be composed. Different demos were pulled up on Hongjoong's computer and your laptop as you worked the night away.

Finally, in the early morning, you and Hongjoong had finally finished with the final song. After a quick run through, The two of you smiled brightly as Hongjoong put the final song in a USB key to give the CEO. "This is is Jina. Theres no turning back. Whatever happens, happens. Are you sure you're okay with that?"

You smiled softly to reassure the him as you walked towards the elevator. "I'm fine with it. Even if I get fired, I'd rather have people listen to a song that  I put my heart into rather than one that sounds manufactured."

The both of you had finally arrived to the CEO's office. Upon walking in, you saw Siwon already seated in his chair with Minsung beside him. As soon as he noticed your arrival , he began to smile, clapping his hands at your presence. "There they are! My company's top writers! Ready to show me the new song?"

Taking a deep breath in, you looked at Hongjoong, who smiled back at you as reassurance before handing the USB to Minsung, who connected it to the CEO's computer. Before the song played, Hongjoong cleared his voice, catching Siwon's attention. "Look, I want you to know that this isn't like the other songs I've written. Thanks to Jina, I was able to branch out and write you something new. We hope you like it."

Siwon glances at the title of the song and smiled proudly to himself. "Aurora, huh? I'm looking forward to it." The song began to play and throughout it's duration, you could see how Siwon's face morphed from a look of happiness and excitement to one of anger and disappointment.

He paused the song before it could finish and looked at the two of you. "What is this bullshit? You can't expect me to give my top selling group this crap?

Siwon grabbed the USB out of his computer aggressively and threw it at the table in front of you and Hongjoong.

"Do you realize how much this song would ruin this entertainment if I released this song? Changing an idol groups concept so hastily could cost us a lot if it doesn't succeed."

As Siwon ran his fingers through his hair, muttering under his breath about what to do, you glanced over at Hongjoong, only to see him staring down at the USB key. All of his hard work and pride was that song and to have it thrown aside like trash had obviously hurted him.

You couldn't stand seeing the song the two of you worked so hard on be tossed aside so carelessly and for the first time since the you met Hongjoong, you let your anger out.

"Hey! We worked out asses off to write this song. I don't think you know much about music, but everyone out there is getting tired of hearing the same old crap!" Picking up the USB, you waved it in front of Siwon. "You may think this might ruin your group, but it might be the song that pushes them to the top."

Siwon's face was getting redder and redder with anger. You saw Hongjoong's eyes widen out of shock from the corner of your eye, but you couldn't stop. "You can fire me if you feel like you should. But I couldn't let you think of our song like that, especially after how hard we both worked."

After your sudden outburst, the office went silent. Minsung was calming Siwon down as the two of them quietly discussed their decision. A couple of minutes had gone by and after all the whispering they had done, Siwon faced you with his final decision.

"As much as I would love to fire you Yoo Jina, you are still a good asset for this entertainment. So, I have decided that we will use Jina's demo for the title track and Aurora will be one of the b-sides. Satisfied?"

Before you could say anything, Hongjoong agreed to the terms and led the both of you out of the office.

Once we were far enough, you turned back to Hongjoong with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry about that. If I kept my mouth shut, things could've turned out better."

Hongjoong softly smiled and gently ruffled your hair. "You did a good job Jina. Even if it's not the title track, its still a song on the album. It's a good first step."

The sudden touch began to make your face red as you shyly smiled back. The two of you began to wait for the elevator when a voice called out your name.

Whipping your head around, you saw Minsung with a bright smile on his face to which you returned. "Congratulations on the song. Even though Siwon didn't like it as much, I thought it was amazing!" The elevator had finally opened as the three of you entered.

The elevator was filled with an awkward tension until Minsung broke the silence. "It's almost lunchtime. Would you two care to join me for dinner?" You smiled enthusiastically and nodded before looking back at Hongjoong. "Are you coming?"

Hongjoong looked at you briefly before looking away, pressing the button to floor of his studio. "I'm going to work on some more music. You two go ahead." You nodded, somewhat sad at his answer.

Once the elevator had gotten to the main lobby, you and Minsung had gotten off and headed towards his car. Looking back one final time, you met Hongjoong's eyes before the elevator closed. Though he smiled, you couldn't help but notice a hint of sadness in his eyes.

Like he didn't want you to go...

[UNEDITED]
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and are staying safe and healthy because of the Coronavirus.