Quick Vocabulary:
>Sugohaesseubnida/Sugohaesseoyo: "You worked hard" (Said to others after they've put in efforts towards completing a task. Often used in workplace settings, I believe. The first one is very formal, the second is 'casual formal')

>Kamsahabnida/Kamsahaeyo: "Thank you" (same formality rules)

>Jalgayo: "Go well/Leave well" (Essentially "be safe" or "take care" in English)

>Mian: "Sorry" (informal)

>Arasseo: "I knew" (It's weird to translate this literally ;u; Essentially "Got it" in the context of this chapter. There's this 'I get your drift' kinda feel.)

---

 

"O.K! Sugohaesseoyo."

The person in the booth gave her thanks before removing her headphones and preparing to come out. She had just sung a guide.

With a yawn, I turned my attention to the monitor and observed PDogg's editing process. He does everything quickly, but thankfully, I've been getting used to it.

"Ah, this part- why'd you clip it here?" I asked, pointing at one of the tracks.

"I'm gonna take this out and keep the part from the first recording."

"That's a pity... I really liked the last one more."

"Ahh, I like it too- but this other tune will suit the artiste more."

When I pouted, PDogg smiled with a sympathetic look. I looked around as the door to the booth opened.

"Sugohaesseubnida~" I said to the woman, to which she nodded with a thankful smile.

"Thanks for letting me borrow your time," PDogg said, getting to his feet and straightening the hem of his shirt.

"No problem!" She responded. "Let me know if you need me again. I might not be able to come in again for this week, but I can probably try recording from home and send it to you."

"Aigo, kamsahaeyo."

"I should get going now. Make sure you call me if you need help, okay?"

"Neee, jalgayo."

After escorting her out of the studio, PDogg sauntered back to his seat at the mixing board. "We can take a break now," he said. "You're hungry right? C'mon, I can treat you to lunch."

"Aigo."

He chuckled at my reaction. "Don't be shy, I should at least do this much, y'know? You've worked hard so far, my student."

I smiled. "Thank you in advance for the food," I responded quietly, my hands clasped.

Once he was done saving and transferring his work, he shut down the computer then began turning off all the audio equipment. In the mean time, I got up from my seat and collected my bag and sweater from a nearby couch.

 

As we walked through the company building, we talked about what to get for lunch. Just as we entered the lobby area, somebody called out to me.

"Oh! Soonae-yah!"

"Ne?" I answered, stopping in my tracks and turning around to see who it was. "Kyungsoon-eonni?"

She greeted me with a smile even as she walked over with a sense of urgency. "Ah, Hyowonie, you're here too," she acknowledged PDogg before continuing, "Are you two heading home? Or maybe busy?"

"Ani, wae? Need something?" PDogg asked.

"Could you two help me out? I need to do a lunch order."

"Oh, we were gonna buy lunch too."

"Perfect then! Two others went to get different things, but I'm in charge of the chicken. It's a big order, so I really want someone's help."

"Ahh, what should I do? I was gonna treat Soonae here."

"Anieyo PD-nim," I reassured him. "It would be good if we could help out, right?"

"You sure?" He raised his eyebrows in question and I nodded with certainty.

"Mian, Soonae..." Kyungsoon said with an apologetic expression.

"Mm~mmm," I uttered, holding her hand. "As long as I get some of the chicken, it's alright."

With a chuckle, she linked her arm with mine. "Arasseo."

With that, the three of us headed off to get the food.

 

---

 

"Ketchup?"

"Huh?" The coordinator looked up at Taehyung from the bag of food boxes she'd been handling. "Oh, uhh..." She glanced around for someone. "Soonae-yah."

Soonae, who had been kindly handing out condiments to everyone around the room, turned to look at her, her eyes wide and alert. "Ne?"

"Ketchup," the coordinator said, pointing a thumb at Taehyung before returning her attention to the food.

Taehyung came to a halt as he and Soonae met each other halfway. As he accepted the packets of ketchup, he discreetly studied her face, trying to discern whether he'd ever seen her. Perhaps she was taken in as a new member of staff while he and the other Bangtan members were away in Japan.

"Possibly...?"

Still shifting through the bag of condiments for some sauce Taehyung had also requested, Soonae looked up at him in question.

"Do you...work here now?"

"Ah. Kind of?" She smiled a bit, perhaps out of habitual politeness, and returned her attention to the bag as she continued, "I'm a student, so I'm here for work experience."

"Ahhh..." He accepted the one packet she'd found so far, and continued watching her.

"Nnnh...looks like the rest are in some other bag." She looked past him for a moment, then up at him. "I can go find some more for you."

"Anieyo, I'll get them." He regarded her with a considerate look. "Kamsahabnida."

She responded with a nod before he walked off.

She was a rather pretty girl, and seemed to be in her early twenties. This was a bit surprising, seeing as Big Hit was so strict with regards to who they employ at the company. Judging solely by the way this person comfortably spoke to him though, Taehyung gathered that she didn't even know who he was.

"No sauce?" Jimin asked as his friend rejoined the small group of them that were sitting on the floor with their food. Namjun reached across for a few of the ketchup packets.

"I'm gonna get them now. Ah-" As he’d turned around, someone was there. He moved back slightly, discreetly making an apologetic bow for almost bumping into them.

“Ah.” It was Soonae again. “I found this, so you can have it.”

Taehyung looked down at the paper bag she offered and accepted it; a peek inside showed that it was a bunch of condiments, mostly the sauce for the chicken. He looked at her again. “Kamsahabnida.”

With a nod and another of her brief, polite smiles, she left to go offer her assistance elsewhere.

“New staff member?” Jimin inquired, glancing at her while Taehyung sat.

“She says she’s a student.”

“A student? Part-time job maybe?”

“Work experience.”

“Here?”

“It’s probably for idol management or something,” Namjun muttered around a mouthful of chicken, reaching for one of the drinks nearby.

Jimin nodded slowly as he made sense of the possibility.

Taehyung took a bite of the burger he had just unwrapped, and drew his cup of soda a bit closer. He flashed his head to the side a bit in an attempt to clear his bangs away from his eyes; at that moment, he noticed one of the managers talking to Soonae, seemingly welcoming her to eat with the rest of the staff. Though a bit reserved at first, Soonae eventually accepted the invitation and shyly followed the manager to a small table on one side of the room.

After a good minute or two of staring after her, Taehyung blinked back into focus and found himself in the midst of an ongoing conversation amongst his bandmates; apparently, they were now talking about their most recent concert in Japan. Taehyung quietly ate and listened to them, too lost at the moment to contribute anything.

There was an outburst of laughter, with Hoseok's being the loudest. This caused Soonae to look around in surprise, and Taehyung noted how hamster-like she looked with her eyes wide and her cheeks stuffed with food.

He couldn't suppress a snicker, which caused him to choke for a second. "Cute," he thought as he took a sip of his drink.

 

---

 

I tossed a balled-up napkin into the bin as I passed by and continued sipping on whatever remained of my drink, amongst the cubes of ice that had clustered together by now.

It was time for me to head back to PDogg-nim. He had told me that he would be in his personal studio this time, rather than the general recording studio from earlier today.

Once I had the place in sight, the door opened and someone stepped out, still looking back and saying something to PDogg. I slowed down a bit, not wanting to be in the person's way. Once he closed the door and started walking in my direction, his smile faded; but he briefly regarded me with a spark of curiosity in his eyes. "Ah, the bunny..." I thought to myself, quietly returning his bow as we walked past each other.

"Oh, you came?" PDogg greeted as I entered the studio.

"Did you eat well, PD-nim?" I asked, making my way over to an empty chair.

He gave two thumbs up. "Hey, I came up with something just now, come take a listen."

I sat down and wheeled the chair closer to him. The audio began to play, and I watched the monitor while listening.

"So catchy," I said nodding to the tune.

"Right?"

"It's good~ I like it."

He shuffled through a few papers on his desk then handed one of them to me. "This is what I wrote so far. Next, I'll get the guide done."

I skimmed through the lyrics and the little notes around them. "How would you sing this part here?" Turning the paper towards him slightly, I pointed out the first two lines.

"Da-dadada Da-dadada da-da, like that and then da~da da da da~da da da dahhh~"

"Ahh, so like I knew you from the moment that I saw you. Almost like we called to each other~" I hummed the rest in the same tune. "Does it continue like that?"

"Wuah, exactly like that," PDogg replied. "Then there's a change-up."

I nodded then looked up at him, only to see a surprised expression on his face. "Waeyo?"

"You never mentioned that you're a good singer!"

I smiled bashfully. "Anieyo... Ah, but this is really good so far, PD-nim. I really like the lyrics and everything."

He accepted the paper thankfully. "You really surprised me though..."

"Ai...I'm not anything special..." I leaned back in my chair. "I love to sing though."

"How long have you been singing?"

"Mmmm..... Pretty much... since birth?"

He laughed a bit. "You really have always loved music, huh."

"My grandfather plays it, my mother teaches it, and now I'm learning to produce it."

"I'm imagining how close you all must be."

"Ne." I smiled a bit, feeling sentimental. "We're really close."

Courtesy of PDogg-nim's curiosity, we found ourselves in deep conversation about my family's involvement in music, and my feelings towards music. We had spoken about my background a bit when we first met, but I suppose that he didn't want to seem intrusive back then, so he didn't ask as many questions. Amidst our chatter, there was suddenly a knock on the door.

"Ne, come in," PDogg said, both of us turning in our seats to see who it was.

The door opened slightly and a head of brown hair poked into the room. "Annyeong," the person said, a bit cutely.

"Ah, Taehyung-ah." Taehyung entered the room fully and was closing the door, when he caught sight of me.

"Oh? Hyung, are you busy? I can come back." He took a step back, still holding the door ajar.

"Aniyaa, come in, come in."

With that, he closed the door behind him and made his way to PDogg's side. He looked at me. "Annyeonghaseyo," he greeted, a bit quietly.

"Oh, you two haven't met, have you?" PDogg asked, looking from Taehyung to me. "Taehyung-ah, this is Soonae, my student."

Taehyung raised his eyebrows, mildly surprised. "Student?"

I nodded. "I didn't properly introduce myself back then," I said, a bit timidly. "Kang Soonae ibnida- I'm a music student, so I'm here to learn from PD-nim."

"Ahhhhhh," he responded, in the 'it all makes sense now' sort of way. "Kang Soo Nae?"

"Kang Soon Ae," I enunciated.

"Ah, Soon Ae. OK."

I smiled a bit as he made the OK sign with his hands.

"Kim Tae Hyung ibnida."

"Ah, ne, nice to meet you."

"So, what brings you here, Taehyung-ah?" PDogg asked once our introductions were finished. "Jeongguk-ah came by earlier."

"Ah, geuraeyo? There's actually this idea I have for one of the tracks, but I'm not sure if the concept works."

"Let's hear it."

"So the album concept is young love, right? I was thinking. . ."

Not wanting to intrude on their conversation, I turned away and rolled my chair over to a keyboard set on one side of the room. I lightly the keys. The song from earlier played in my mind, and I began tapping the keys along to it, without actually making a sound.

A song about young, fated love; I found myself anticipating its release.

The next half hour passed by with mostly conversation between PD-nim and Taehyung, and me quietly finding different ways to idle in the background. Picking up on what seemed to be their discussion coming to an end, I turned to look at the two.

"You can still work on it though," PDogg was saying. "It might make it onto the next one, you never know."

"Eoh," Taehyung responded in no particular tone, his gaze thoughtful as he moved towards the door. As he took ahold of the handle, he suddenly looked at me, seemingly just remembering that I was there. "Ah," he uttered before quickly offering a parting wave.

"Ah, Taehyung-ah," Pdogg said as I waved back. "Get Jeongguk for me. He's still here, right? I told him I would need him to sing this guide."

"Maybe he's still here. I'll check."

"Mm."

Once Taehyung closed the door behind him, I turned to PDogg. "Should I leave?" I asked, a bit hesitantly. "Since you'll be recording the guide, I mean."

"No, not at all," he replied with a mildly surprised tone. "It's okay, you don't have to leave."

"Ah, ne..."

Just moments later, the sound of indistinct voices could be heard, and then the door was opened once more.

"I found him~" came Taehyung's voice as he held the door.

A figure clad in black stepped in past him. "You finished the lyrics?" The person asked. He looked in my direction with a surprised expression, as though he'd only just spotted me from the side of his eyes. "Annyeonghaseyo."

The bunny yet again.

"Annyeonghaseyo," I replied, thinking to myself how tired I was of greeting people at this point.

"Jeongguk, Soonae. Soonae, Jeongguk," PDogg said a bit lazily. He looked at Jeongguk now. "She's my student."

"Ahh," Jeongguk responded, his eyes still round in question. He didn't ask anything though.

"I have the verses ready," Pdogg started explaining, showing him the paper, "but I left a bunch of gaps for the members to take care of. These are definitely the final verses though, so we just need everyone else's input for the other parts."

Jeongguk nodded in understanding. "Do you have the instrumental guide?" He asked, sitting on a small couch while focusing on the lyrics.

"I'm working on it now, so you can just look through those meanwhile. This won't take long."

As PDogg began adjusting his piano roll, the two guys started talking amongst themselves.

"Close the door," I heard Jeongguk say to Taehyung, who had been leaning against the open door this whole time.

When Taehyung didn't move, he stared him down, before suddenly dragging him into the room by his pants. They both giggled at the ease with which Jeongguk did it.

I smiled as Taehyung closed the door this time. I didn't know much about the two, but they seemed really close, and it was heartwarming to see. I switched my attention to PDogg once more and listened to the tune he was playing over the song.

He was finished in a matter of minutes, then handed Jeongguk a pair of headphones before moving to adjust the microphone stand.

"Wuah," I uttered quietly in response to Jeongguk's sudden warm-up vocalisation. I'd heard this voice before in the Bangtan songs I'd listened to thus far, and I remember musing at how smooth and honey-like it was. After hearing Jeongguk speaking earlier, I didn't quite expect to find that he was the owner of that voice.

He studied the lyrics carefully while listening to the song, and I watched him, intrigued.