Kihyun throws himself onto the couch in his dressing room, closing his eyes as he relaxes for the first time all day. He blindly grabs for a bottle of water, and drains it in one gulp. God, comebacks are the worst but the best of times. They’re so tiring, but also incredibly exhilarating. He’s just thankful that he’s finished the last scheduled stage of this particular release. Tonight he can finally rest both his body and his voice.

“Great job out there tonight,” his manager compliments. Kihyun hums in reply, unable to bring himself to do much else. The couch dips ever so slightly as Hyunwoo takes a seat next to him. He hears the rifling of papers, and his heart sinks. Do they really have to discuss his next comeback now?

“I don’t wanna tonight, hyung,” Kihyun almost whines, his voice coming out as a raspy, cracking mess. “I’m exhausted… I just want to sleep for now. We can talk business in the morning.”

“We can’t, not this kind,” Hyunwoo tells him simply. Kihyun glances over at him curiously, frowning at his words. Hyunwoo shifts in his seat a little, and his lips anxiously. “I’m sure you’ve heard by now the rumors of our company merging with another under the Loen branch…” Kihyun straightens up at this, his manager now having his fullest attention. “Well, they’re true.”

“Excuse me?” Kihyun demands, the disbelief in his voice causing it to crack about fifty times more than before. “Why wasn’t I informed of this? What does this mean about my contract, my career? What—?”

“The new company will keep all remaining contracts,” Hyunwoo assures him, holding up a silencing hand. Kihyun breathes a sigh of relief, and relaxes once more. That’s all that really concerns him. “But,” the older man goes on, “this other company has an up-and-coming rapper, and they want you to collaborate with him for your next comeback.”

“Oh…” Kihyun mumbles, not seeing the big deal. “Okay, who is it?” Hyunwoo takes a deep breath, knowing exactly how his client will react when he hears this next bit.

“He, uh, goes by the stage name I.M.”

Kihyun’s eyes shoot open, ablaze with indignation and outrage. He jumps up from the couch, and demands to know just who he has to screw to keep that from ever happening.

“I’m collaborating with him?” Changkyun asks, his eyebrows shooting up in confusion. He looks over to his manager, Hoseok, silently demanding an explanation.

“He’s their best vocalist,” Minhyuk merely says with a shrug, earning a puff of dismay from his young client. “Look, usually they wouldn’t put such a rookie in with a seasoned performer like him, but the company thinks this is the best way to go.”

“Just get Jooheon-hyung to do it,” Changkyun tells him with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Kihyun-sunbaenim’s style and mine won’t even match, anyway. Besides, aren’t they... involved? That’d make it all the easier for them to work together.”

“That’s the kind of rumors we want to discourage,” Minhyuk states with a warning gaze. “Jooheon and Kihyun have assured everyone multiple times they aren’t in a relationship, and that they’re just friends. We need to get the fans to stop spreading these rumors.”

“So you’re going to make them think he and I are in a relationship now?” the rapper asks disbelievingly. Minhyuk shrugs then, unable to correct his client on his wording. Changkyun shakes his head and rolls his eyes, pressing his lips together in dismay. “That’s a crazy plot, hyung. I don’t see it working… at all.”

“It’s crazy, but it’ll work,” the older insists, standing from his seat and walking towards the front door of the rapper’s apartment. “You know, for a while, at least.” He takes out a packet from his files and places it on the kitchen counter as he passes it. “Here’s the concept. Try writing some lyrics when you can. You always do better with your own lyrics than someone else’s. You have two months to write, and then we’ll start editing and recording.” Changkyun hums in acknowledgment, wanting to argue more but knowing from the tone in his manager’s voice that there’s no way of getting out of this.

Minhyuk ‘hmmphs’ in satisfaction at his client’s compliancy. He then leaves without another word, allowing the young man to start working.

Changkyun stares up at the ceiling, his lips nervously at the mere notion of working with such a seasoned vocalist. He’s only been in the business for about a year now, whereas Yoo Kihyun has been a successful singer for about five years now. He’s won many awards throughout his time, and has gathered quite the loyal fanbase.

He opens up his laptop as he reaches over towards the counter, just barely managing to grab hold of it before he falls out of his chair. He goes to Melon, deciding it better to listen to what Kihyun usually does so as to not put the vocalist too far out of his comfort zone. He’s never met the vocalist before, but he wants to make a good impression outright, and not get off on the wrong foot.

As time flies by and he listens to more and more of the vocalist’s work, he finds himself short of breath. His heart is beating a bit too fast, and the tips of his ears grow red at the sweet vocals blaring through his apartment. He kneads his bottom lip in between his teeth, tapping a blank piece of paper with the top of his pen.

He opens the packet to begin pouring over the concept, and inspiration immediately hits him. He bends forward and scribbles down verse after verse, the only sounds of the apartment being that of the scratching of his pen and his new partner’s voice, both proving to be more inspiring than anything he’s ever heard before.