The 3 members of Mamamoo and their ceo stood around Moonbyul, waiting for her to say something in return. Wheein nudged her in the side.

"I-I-I'm Moonbyul, as your ceo mentioned." She forcefully tore her eyes off of Solar's face. "I'm a HUGE fan of you guys. I can't wait to work with you all!"

The ceo smiled warmly at all of them. "Let's sit down shall we? Moonbyul and I have already gone over most of the boring business details, so you guys can spend this time acquainting yourselves. Feel free to dig into the food!"

As he sat back down, Moonbyul settled herself next to him in etiquette. Wheein quickly took over the seat on Moonbyul's free side, leaving Solar and Hwasa to sit across from the young producer.

The five of them made light conversation as they ate the feast in front of them.

As they ate, the ceo spoke up. "So, Moonbyul, I've been wondering for a while. How do you know Wheein? When we were preparing for their comeback, she literally ran into my office one day, waving a bunch of papers in front of my face, asking me about you." He quirked his brow, remembering how breathless the little girl had been, demanding him for information.

"She never told you?" Moonbyul glanced over at Wheein, who nodded. "Well, it's not that much of a story. I met her by chance backstage during your um oh ah yeh promotions. She was being bullied, and I stepped in to help her. That's all."

Wheein's cheeks were tinted red in embarassment. Solar noticed and teased, "Well well, she was just like your knight in shining armor, wasn't she Wheein?"

Nodding, Wheein smiled and said, "She was so cool when she stepped in and told him off."

The ceo clapped Moonbyul on the back. "Then I'll have to thank you for that too Moonbyul! I can't believe she didn't tell me about this either. Things like this with seniors and ranks are always troublesome to deal with. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."

Moonbyul responded, "I know exactly what you mean. Times like these, you have to respond to power with power." She gently patted Wheein's arm in comfort. "Well, I doubt Mamamoo will have problems like that from now on. With your success, who would dare?" She grinned and cheered for them. "That was actually also how I started getting into Mamamoo too you know!"

Across the table, Solar leaned forward and exclaimed, "But still. Moonbyul didn't even know you and she decided to help you! That's amazing! Most people aren't that kind hearted."

Close. Too close. The scent of her perfume drifted across the table again, leaving Moonbyul temporarily lost for words. Shaking herself, she replied, "It was nothing." She stared back at Solar's eager eyes. "I would have done the same for you."

At her words, Wheein felt a prick of disappointment. Those words made her feel less special, less dear to Moonbyul. But what could she do?

The rest of the dinner passed by comfortably, and they made plans to meet up soon to begin working on the new song.

--------

Wheein's phone vibrated.

M: I'm here! I'm outside RBW....well at least I think I am. Let me in? 

W: Yep! Just one sec, I'm on my way down.

Wheein giddily leapt off her chair. Hwasa looked over in surprise. "Where are you going in such a rush?"

"Moonbyul's here! I'm going to go bring her here now. Be right back!" Wtih that, she sped off.

Hwasa glanced at Solar, saying, "When did Wheein get Moonbyul's number? Is that who she's been obsessed with texting lately?"

Solar shrugged. "At least one of us has her contact information right? That was smart of Wheein. We can always ask her later since we'll probably need it from now on."

Despite Solar's words, Hwasa remained curious. She had known Wheein since childhood, and this behavior of hers was unusual. In her and Wheein's shared room lately, she could see the faint glow of a phone screen persist late into the night, accompanied with muffled giggles.

At first, she had thought maybe Wheein had secretly gotten herself a boyfriend and had not told her. Disappointed, she had confronted Wheein on the matter, only to have her theory denied.

Still, she wasn't convinced. Wheein still refused to show her exactly who she was talking with all the time, even though they were best friends. However, no matter how much she prodded Wheein for information, she was refused. Reluctantly, she let the matter go.

"Hello!" Moonbyul walked in next Wheein. "Kim Do Hoon said I could borrow one of the rooms here to work in, so let's go, shall we?"

"Wow, so work driven." Solar stood up compliantly, and Moonbyul stared as the folds of her dress flowed and hugged her body. 

Meanwhile, Hwasa watched Wheein and Moonbyul. Or more specifically, Wheein's subtle but constant glances towards Moonbyul. Also the slight tugging of her lips upward whenever she did that. The inklings of another theory slowly pieced it together. 

The theory could wait though. She stood up following Solar, and they all headed to one of the secluded rooms to work. 

--------

Moonbyul leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms back. " Good work today, guys! A couple more sessions, and I believe we can start recording. I hope you guys are happy with what we have so far?"

"Of course! This is amazing!" Solar exclaimed as her and Wheein sifted through a pile of strewn papers on the table with music notes and hastily scribbled lyrics. 

Hwasa nibbled on the end of a pen as she stared in concentration at the half finished lyrics in front of her. "It feels like such a shame though, to leave something so good like this half finished."

Moonbyul chuckled and spun around in her chair. "Well, it can't be helped right? You guys are too popular and busy these days. Wheein has to go record her duet with Heechul." She giggled. "Actually, you wouldn't believe how much Heechul has been talking about that these days. Ever since that Duet Festival performance, he's been gushing about Wheein and Mamamoo nonstop. I don't blame him though. Wheein was totally bomb during that performance!" She playfully punched Wheein's shoulder, who had her head down, blushing. 

"I-It wasn't that great. I could have done better. But you're right, I have to go now! See you next time then!" As she stood up, she contemplated for a moment before suddenly hugging Moonbyul. 

Moonbyul was surprised, but she quickly reciprocrated the hug. "Alright, Wheein, good luck on that recording!" With that, Wheein left to meet the manager. 

Hwasa stood up next. "I have a dinner planned with a friend. Sorry to leave so quickly too." She quickly left, checking her phone.

That left Solar and Moonbyul alone in the room. There was an awkward moment of silence. 

"U-um do you have somewhere to be as well, Solar?" Moonbyul kept her eyes down as she scrambled to clean up the mess of papers on the table. 

"Not really." She laughed. "Let me help you clean up." As she did so, silence fell upon them once more.

Not able to stand the uncomfortable quiet anymore, Moonbyul blurted out, "If you're not too busy, would you like to have dinner together?" 

"Dinner?"

"W-Well, you don't have to if you don't want to. I mean, since we don't have anything to do now and it's pretty late, I just thought...You know." Words just weren't forming coherently for Moonbyul today.

"Why not. I'm curious to learn more about you too." Solar flashed her trademark smile. "Dinner it is then! Let's go!"

*It seems we'll have some more Moonsun next chapter. Hwasa is getting to be quite perceptive. Maybe she'll get a more supportive role as I can't quite ship her as easily to any of the others. I can see this little awkward love triangle forming hehe. Thanks for reading!