Chapter Text

Jisung runs a hand through his hair and tries to keep up with the discussion Changbin and Chan are having.

It’s their second day working at JYP and this is certainly one of the nicer studios they’ve been allowed to use. It does, however, pale in comparison to the one in Chan’s house. The studio they’ve been using for years.

Though, Jisung’s opinion might be skewed by the fact that at Chan’s, he’s free to wander into the kitchen anytime he wants. And take naps in Chan’s huge bed.

They’ve been invited to work for the next three-ish weeks on tracks for a host of artists. After submitting completed demos, some higher up will approve or disapprove of the songs, and then they’ll be allowed to direct the recording of the tracks.

The demos are already done. They’re pretending to work so that it looks believable that they’ve completed ten of them in the time they’ve been here. Chan would never, in his own words, “rush perfection”. In fact, half the demos they’ll be submitting tomorrow were recorded over a year ago. What the JYP executives don’t know won’t hurt them. 3racha are being handsomely compensated for the extensive work they’ll be completing in such a short time.

Jisung sighs, wishing they were still making music in the comfort of Chan’s home. Not that it isn’t super cool to come out to places like this, he just misses the familiarity of it.

Changbin cuts himself off and whips his head around to Jisung, “Sung, please take a lap. If I hear you sigh one more time I am going to scream.”

“Maybe get a drink from the vending machine?” Chan’s words wash over him and Jisung decides that it’s not a terrible idea.

He frowns and crosses his ankles, “Where’s it at?”

“Down the hall, can’t miss it.” Changbin reaches over to the mouse and presses play.

While the sound of his own voice starts pouring out of the speakers, Jisung steps into the hallway.

The cold air makes him grateful for the hoodie he slipped on this morning. He isn’t sure which direction the vending machine is, so Jisung just starts walking.

As he rounds a corner, he’s debating what kind of drink he should get when he crashes into something. A flash of pain goes through his shoulder and he jumps back. Jisung blinks rapidly, seeing a figure crumpled on the floor, groaning.

Jisung shakes his arm, trying to get the numbness to go away, “Oh my god, are you okay?”

The person sits up, cursing several times and cradling his nose. Jisung pauses, waiting on a response that seems to not be coming. He sinks down to the floor, “I’m so sorry!”

The man winces, speaking for the first time, “No, I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention, that was totally my fault.”

A drop of blood falls from behind the hand cupping his face. Jisung watches it and gasps, grabbing the man’s other hand. He pulls the stranger to his feet, proclaiming, “Nope. My fault. And you’re bleeding, we’re getting you cleaned up.”

They make it a few feet before the man stops abruptly. Jisung spins around, “Um-The bathroom is the other way.”

Jisung frowns, “Well I didn’t know, lead the way.”

A laugh, “Are you a new trainee or something?”

He scoffs, affronted, “No I’m not a trainee. What exactly about me gives off that energy?”

“Well, you’re handsome. Funky hair. You’re in this building. Seems like enough to make an assumption.”

Jisung feels his cheeks heating up at the compliment, stuttering through his response, “I’m a producer. A music producer.”

The stranger turns to him while opening a door, “Ah. And do you have a name, Mister music producer who gave me a bloody nose and possibly fucked up my nose piercing?”

“Hey!” Jisung follows him into the bathroom, rushing to the paper towel dispenser, “It was an accident, I already feel bad enough. And it’s Jisung.”

When he turns around, hands full of paper towels, the man is bent over a sink washing the blood off of his face and hands. Jisung watches him, seeing his face for the first time. And of course, mystery man is the hottest person on the planet.

And he does in fact have a nose piercing. Jisung feels his mouth go dry at the sight of the small silver hoop. Mystery man also has piercings lining both of his ears and Jisung acknowledges his heart rate picking up.

His footsteps are a little unsure and Jisung rolls up his sleeves as he crosses over to him. The stranger giggles, “Okay, Jisung. I’m Minho.”

When he stands up, Minho accepts the paper towels and holds them up to his nose. Minho tilts his head back and Jisung rushes forward, placing his hand on the back of Minho’s head to guide it forward.

Minho raises an eyebrow and Jisung belatedly realizes he’s caressing a stranger’s head, “Um-sorry. You’re just not supposed to tilt your head back with bloody noses. You might choke on the blood.”

“Gross.”

Jisung shifts his weight from foot to foot, trying to think of a safe topic of conversation. Minho beats him to it, “So how long have you been making music?”

Jisung grins, “Well, I’ve been doing music forever, playing guitar and piano. Singing, rapping. Whole nine yards. But, in high school, I started pursuing it seriously with two of my friends. We started releasing our own stuff back then and before I graduated, we were making songs for other people. So, if that’s what we consider my career, five years now.”

Minho smiles behind the giant wad of paper towels, “Very impressive, Jisung. We’re probably about the same age then.”

“Wait! You haven’t told me why you’re here. Are you a trainee?” He certainly has the looks for it. Though he’s not sure the company would be very happy about all the piercings.

A small laugh, “No. I’m a choreographer. I work with some of the idol groups and do classes for the trainees.”

Jisung trails his eyes over the sneakers and jogger sweatpants. White shirt that’s now stained with blood. He winces, “I am so sorry. You were probably on your way to do something important. And now your shirt is all fucked up.”

Minho looks down and shrugs, “Twice can wait. I was early anyways. And I can’t express to you how many hours I’ve wasted over the years waiting on Sana. They’ll be fine, I assure you.”

Jisung feels his eyes widen, “Twice? Like the Twice?”

Minho hums, checking to see if his nose is still bleeding. “Yep.”

He then throws the paper towels in the trash can and grabs his bag.

Jisung tries to stop the words but they leave his mouth anyways, “Again. I am so incredibly sorry.”

Minho faces Jisung, a smile on his lips. “Well, you could make it up to me by taking me out on a date.”

Jisung freezes, “Huh?”

The corner of Minho’s mouth quirks up, “Take me on a date.”

Jisung feels off kilter and his words are a bit breathless, “Just tell me a time and place.”

Minho’s grin widens, “Give me your number, I’ll text you.”

After Jisung types his number in, Minho salutes him and whirls out of the bathroom, leaving Jisung to catch his breath.

Jisung looks at his reflection, wondering what the fuck just happened. His eyes latch onto the dark circles and mussed up hair. Shaking his head, he meanders back to the studio in a daze.

The door opens gently and Chan immediately asks, “Where the hell have you been, Ji?”

Changbin’s laugh is little more than a wheeze, “He doesn’t even have anything with him.”

Jisung sinks into his chair and tells them everything that happened, ending on his confusion about why Minho felt so confident he wasn’t straight.

Chan puts a hand on his shoulder, “Jisung, you’re wearing a bracelet that says ‘Bi Pride’ on it. I’m pretty sure that did it.”

Jisung glances down to his wrist, “Huh. Guess so.”

Changbin’s typing away on his phone, “What’s this guy’s name?”

“Minho.”

“Full name?”

Jisung frowns, “What’s next, you need his blood type?”

“I’m just looking at the staff list. Do you know or not?”

Jisung grins and puts his hand on Changbin’s knee, “No idea, Bin.”

Chan isn’t paying attention to their conversation anymore and Jisung waits for Changbin to scour through the probably hundreds of employees at JYP.

“Aha! There are only ten Minho’s that work here. And only one of them is a choreographer.”

Jisung perks up as Changbin continues, “Lee Minho. Damn, this dude has quite the record.”

He watches Changbin’s eyes trace over the screen. Changbin whispers, “No fucking way.”

“What?” Jisung moves so that he can see over Changbin’s shoulder.

“This says he used to be a backup dancer for BTS.”

Jisung’s mouth falls open, “Are you sure?”

Changbin gestures to his phone screen, “That’s what it says! I doubt they’d lie on his official profile.”

Changbin scrolls down, “We are definitely stalking his instagram.”

At this, Chan spins in his chair to face them, “Why are we stalking someone?”

Jisung grabs Changbin’s phone and clicks on the Employee ID picture, enlarging it. He shoves it in Chan’s face, “This is why.”

Chan pulls back so that he can actually see the picture. He laughs, “Wow, he’s hot. This is bloody nose guy?”

Changbin snatches his phone back, “Yep. That’s him.”

“Hey! I object to calling him bloody nose guy,” Jisung’s words are ignored entirely.

Chan speaks again, “Maybe I need to start football tackling people and nursing them back to health.”

“Apparently that’s the way to someone’s heart,” Changbin’s nose is so close to his phone that Jisung has to resist the urge to move it away.

Jisung scoffs and crosses his arms, “I do not have his heart. I don’t even have his number, actually.”

Changbin waves a hand dismissively, “Matter of time.”

As if on cue, Jisung’s phone buzzes.

2:16 pm
this is Minho! the guy you permanently disfigured
i’m free at six today for dinner? if you’re down?

Jisung reads the messages before groaning and tossing his phone onto the abandoned couch. Chan reaches for it and Jisung puts his head in his hands.

“What’s the issue? He’s obviously interested, he wants to see you literally today.”

Jisung sighs, “Because I won’t be able to shower or change or anything.”

Changbin hands Jisung back his phone after he traces over the words. “Why do you need to? He still thinks you’re cute after the god awful first impression you had. I think you’re good.”

“But I want to impress him,” Jisung’s words come out whiny and Chan pinches his cheek.

As Jisung’s swatting him away, Changbin rolls his eyes, “Impress him on the second date, for now respond to his fucking text.”

Jisung stares blankly, “What do I say?”

“You’re actually hopeless.”

Jisung
3:20 pm
Sounds great! Want to head there together? I can meet you in the lobby

Minho
3:21 pm
see u then cutie

Changbin squeals and shakes Jisung back and forth. “He called you cutie! He’s in love.”

Jisung’s face is hot and he pushes Changbin away before sending a smiley face back to Minho.

⭑⭒✸⭒⭑

The trio actually do manage to get a bit of work done, tweaking the intro to one of the tracks they’re presenting tomorrow. At 5:50, Jisung starts pacing around the small room.

Chan sighs, “Sung, just go ahead down there. You have too much nervous energy to be this close to me.”

“Ditto.” Changbin’s words are followed by each of them singing a different part of the NewJeans song.

Jisung gestures down to his outfit, “Are we sure I look alright?”

Changbin answers by standing up and giving Jisung a hug. He mumbles into the fabric of Jisung’s shirt, “You look great, don’t be too anxious. He already likes you.”

Chan wraps his arms around Jisung when Changbin’s done, “And be safe. If anything suspicious is happening, we’re a text or phone call away.”

Changbin grins, “Do I need to pick you up after? Or leave the car here for you?”

“I’ll just get an uber, don’t worry about it.”

“Okay, Ji. Don’t have too much fun now.” Changbin wiggles his eyebrows and Jisung hits his arm before leaving the studio.

He tries to walk slowly, but he ends up in the lobby with five minutes to spare. He sits in a chair near the front desk, fiddling with the strap on his bag.

“Jisung?” He looks up to see Minho with wet hair and a soft smile dancing on his lips.

Jisung hops up, “Hey!”

Minho gives a little wave, “Punctual and enthusiastic. Check and check.”

Jisung sputters while Minho speaks again, “There’s a little ramen place I like near here. You okay to walk there?”

“Ramen sounds amazing. Lead the way,” Jisung gestures to the front door in a half bow and his reward is a giggle from the prettiest mouth he thinks he’s ever seen.

Minho loops their arms together and Jisung smiles at him. Minho’s biting back one of his own but lets it free when Jisung elbows his side.

As they step onto the sidewalk, Jisung breathes a question, “So you’re a dancer?”

“Yep.”

Jisung hums, “How’d you know this is what you wanted to do?”

Minho steers them around a corner, “Dance is as important to me as breathing. It was just a matter of what capacity I’d be doing it in, y’know?”

“I do, actually. It’s the same for me and music.”

Minho laughs, “Aren’t we a couple of artists.”

Jisung looks at him, mesmerized by the sunlight glinting off his earrings. He takes a moment to count them. Five. Jisung inhales and tries to will away the heat pooling in his stomach.

Minho, unaware of Jisung’s crisis, extends his free hand to a glass door, “And here we are. Best ramen in Seoul.”

He holds the door open for Jisung after disconnecting their arms and Jisung feels instantly at home in the cozy shop with only one customer inside.

A woman emerges from the kitchen and beams at them, “Minho, it’s always such a treat to see you. Your usual?” Minho nods and she turns to Jisung, “And what for your friend here?”

Jisung smiles, “Make that two.”

She gestures to the booths, “Have a seat, we’ll have it ready shortly.”

Minho chuckles, “What if my usual was disgusting?”

Jisung lifts a brow, “Is it?”

“Well, no. But-”

Jisung cuts him off, “Minho, you don’t seem like the kind of person who eats nasty ramen. If there’s even such a thing.”

Minho looks thoughtful, “You may be onto something. If there is bad ramen, I’ve never been so unfortunate to taste it.”

Jisung points at him as they sit down, “Precisely.”

As he’s looking around at the art on the walls, Minho asks quietly, “So do you live with your music buddies?”

“Well, I live with one of them. We all lived together for like six months, but Chan decided he couldn’t keep staying with us.” Jisung laughs, “So now Chan has his own place. But, Changbin and me are still going strong.”

Minho smiles at him, propping his head up on his hand, “So this Chan just got tired of y’all or what?”

“More like he’s not cut out to live with other people.”

Minho gestures for him to continue and Jisung searches for the right words, “He has a super bizarre sleep schedule, for one. And he claims that he needed his own space to,” Jisung uses his fingers to make quotation marks, “maintain inspiration.”

A giggle leaves Minho’s mouth and Jisung stares at it for a beat too long because when he looks back to his eyes, Minho winks at him.

Jisung tries to change the subject, “Do you have roommates or anything?”

“If we count my cats, yes. If we don’t count them, no.”

Jisung leans forward, “You have cats?”

Minho looks surprised at his level of interest, “Yeah. Three of them.”

“What are their names and do you have any pictures?”

Minho smiles and starts scrolling through his camera roll, “Their names are Soonie, Doongie, and Dori. Dori’s still getting used to everything, I’ve only had her for like two months. I found her in an alleyway one night and took her in. She still struggles with trusting me sometimes, but we’re getting there.”

Jisung’s heart is a puddle on the floor, but he’s saved from embarrassingly cooing out loud by the arrival of their food.

The lady from earlier sets down two huge bowls and glasses of water. She pats Minho on the head, “Are you going to introduce me to your attractive friend, or do I have to do it myself?”

Minho grins up at her, “Mrs. Song, this is Jisung. Jisung, this is Mrs. Song.”

Mrs. Song clasps her hands together, “Now was that so hard? It’s nice to meet you, Jisung. And may I just say, your hair is beautiful.”

Jisung extends a sheepish hand to his midnight blue strands. He dyed it last week and the color came out a lot stronger than expected. “Thank you. And it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Mrs. Song hums and turns to Minho, “I like him. Good job.”

When she steps away, Minho speaks calmly before sipping his water, “Your hair is extremely hot.”

Jisung chokes on air and manages to get out, “Is that the reason you asked me out?”

“Contributing factor.” Minho smiles at him and Jisung’s sure he’s blushed more today than he has in his entire life.

“What were the other factors?”

Minho points his chopsticks at Jisung, “Enough compliments for you, eat your ramen and let me tell you more about my cats.”

When Minho eventually takes a breath, Jisung sighs wistfully, “I want a cat so bad.”

“Why don’t you get one, then?”

Jisung scowls into his bowl, “Changbin’s allergic.”

Minho reaches over and grabs half an egg from Jisung’s broth. “You’ll just have to honorarily adopt mine, then.”

“You’d let me?” The words come out a bit too earnest and Jisung cringes at himself.

Minho, however, gives him a small smile, “I don’t plan on kicking you to the curb just yet, Jisung.”

They sit chatting over empty bowls for quite a while. When Jisung checks the time on his phone, it’s after nine. He jumps up, “Minho, it’s 9:14.”

Minho’s eyes widen and he glances to the clock on the wall, “Oh my god.”

They make eye contact and burst out laughing. Minho is the first to collect himself, “I fear that I’ve kept you out too long.”

Jisung’s cheeks are sore from all the smiling he’s been doing, “I don’t usually lose track of time like that. It’s really easy to talk to you.”

“I’d say this first date was quite the success.”

Jisung bites the inside of his cheek, “Me too.” He glances to the counter and reaches for his wallet, “Where’s Mrs. Song? I’ll pay so we can head out.”

Minho shakes his head, “She hasn’t let me pay in a very long time. Everytime I leave money, she somehow sneaks it back into my pocket. Don’t know how she does it.”

A laugh escapes Jisung and soon, Minho is giggling along with him. Minho stands up and offers a hand to Jisung. Jisung takes it and Minho laces their fingers together.

When they step outside, Jisung pulls out his phone to order an Uber. Minho turns to him, “How are you getting home? I’m not sure how far you live, but I’ll walk you if you’re walking.”

Jisung tightens his grip on Minho’s fingers, “I’m actually ordering an Uber. Me and Changbin’s place is like a fifteen minute drive.”

“Ah. So we’d be walking all night.” Minho brings them to a bench.

As they sit down, Minho plays with Jisung’s fingers. Jisung closes his eyes and lets the light breeze brush against his cheeks, “Essentially.”

He sits up straighter, “You don’t have to wait with me if you’re ready to go.”

Minho just smiles and softly says, “I want to make sure you get home safe. I also have a question to ask you.”

Jisung hums.

“Would you want to do something with me again tomorrow? I have a class that ends at five, so anytime after that.”

Jisung grins, “That sounds lovely, Minho. I should be free but I’ll text you if it needs to be later.”

Just then, a car stops in front of them. Jisung checks the description on his phone, “This is me.”

They stand and Jisung hesitantly takes his hand out of Minho’s. He’s unsure if a hug is appropriate and a handshake feels much too casual. Minho leans forward and wraps his arms around Jisung lightly. His touch is gone almost as soon as it begins and Jisung is struck with the feeling of wanting more.

He ignores it to open the door to the waiting Subaru. Minho waves at him as the car drives away and Jisung bites his lip in an attempt to stop smiling.

⭑⭒✸⭒⭑

Twenty minutes later finds him in Changbin’s bed with his phone on speaker in between them. When he arrived home, Changbin made him change into pajamas and handed him a popsicle. Then ordered him to call Chan and tell them everything that happened on his date.

“Our Hannie’s in love,” Changbin coos loudly.

Jisung hold his hands to his cheeks, “I’m not in love. I just,” he pauses, “we really clicked. I like him.”

“And he’s hot.” Chan’s voice rises from the phone.

Changbin and Jisung speak in unison, “And he’s hot.”

The trio giggle before Chan hangs up, claiming he’s going to bed and will see them in the morning.

As soon as the call disconnects, Changbin scoffs, “Why doesn’t he just say he’s hanging up? We both know he’s not going to sleep.”

Jisung rolls onto his back, “Chan is a complex individual.”

“That he is,” Changbin reaches out to poke Jisung’s shoulder.

Jisung turns to face him and Changbin smiles, “I’m excited for you Sung, this whole thing has a soulmate-strings-of-fate-energy to it.”

Instead of making a joke, Jisung frowns, “Is it weird that it kind of does?”

“Like, I can never talk to new people. But I’m so comfortable around him already. It scares me a little.”

Changbin turns to face him directly, “Don’t worry about that. If it’s easy with him, don’t make it complicated. Just do what feels natural, what you want to do.”

Jisung nods and Changbin continues, “And if he breaks your heart, I’ll have to have a talk with him.”

While he rises to his feet and stretches, Jisung responds, “Put the claws away, Bin. I barely know him.”

Changbin calls after him, “Don’t stay up all night loverboy!”

Jisung shakes his head, but feels a spark of warmth in his chest at the nickname.

After getting ready for bed, Jisung goes to set his alarm for a terribly early hour. A text pops up as he’s debating pushing the alarm back an extra five minutes.

Minho
10:20 pm
just wanted to let you know i had an amazing time tonight and am looking forward to part 2 tmrw
anywho, goodnight. rest well :)

Jisung lets out a very composed squeal into his pillow. His fingers type a response quickly.

It was wonderful! Looking forward to seeing you again. Sweet dreams!

He drifts off with a smile on his lips, feeling a little giddy.