"Okay, that's a wrap," Yeeun finally gets up from her seat, flashing a thumbs up to the recording artist on the other side of the glass. It's a member of JYP's newest girl group, and the young girl bows timidly before taking off her headphones. Yeeun tries to muster up her most encouraging smile. It is not everyday you get to work with someone's debut, the critical moment to begin all subsequent critical moments - she sees a part of her younger self in this girl. She wonders whether her eyes had ever been that bright, and whether they have lost their luster now. Now, when she's seen too much that her shine has rubbed off. 

"Hey," a voice sounds next to her, and she almost drops her coffee. "You look beautiful today." Wooyoung wears a smirk; he's dressed in an over-sized sweater, denim jeans, and a white hat that doesn't quite match the rest of his ensemble, with his hair barely brushed out of his eyes. He's going for the messy look these days. 

Yeeun's eyes widen. "What are you doing here?" she whispers, her gaze shooting toward the girl group members shuffling out of the studio, talking softly amongst themselves. 

He follows her gaze amusedly. "What, don't want them to see us?" He smiles cheekily, leaning in, but Yeeun backs away and packs up her things. 

"I have work to do," Yeeun mumbles under her breath, but can't help but smile a little when he sneaks in a peck onto her cheek. She hates his cheesiness, but it's Wooyoung, who she's known for what seems like forever, so it just seems like second nature to put up with it (and maybe to like it, even). 

"I already talked with the big man," Wooyoung declares, referring to JYP himself. "We're going on a road trip," he winks.

So that's how Yeeun finds herself on one of those big tour buses driving south down the coast on a relatively deserted highway. "I know you might think this is weird, but it's going to be great, I promise... surprise!" Wooyoung had said when they arrived at the parking lot. She had thought that the road trip would just have been the two of them in his car, but apparently he had different things in mind. "It's cool, right?" he had exclaimed in excitement, taking her by the hand to lead her into the bus. She doesn't understand his perception of cool. Sometimes she just doesn't understand him, really. 

She looks hesitantly around at the other people boarding. "Are they going to recognize us?" 

"We'll just go all the way to the back," Wooyoung says. She sits down cautiously, not sure what to expect. 

But he gives her the snacks that are her guilty pleasures, lets her control the playlist they're listening to on their shared earbuds, and even gets out a small blanket in case she gets cold, and Yeeun thinks that maybe it's not too bad. She's dozing off a bit, her head subconsciously ending up on his shoulder, when he says, "I'm proud of you." 

She stiffens, eyebrows furrowing. "Why say that, all of a sudden?" she murmurs, eyes still half closed. 

"I think a woman who loves what she does is the most beautiful," he replies, adjusting the blanket over her. "Music runs through your veins. It's pretty." 

Yeeun laughs at that. There are times when she feels far from pretty, times of frustration, times of failure. Sometimes she thinks she's fine being not pretty. There are better things to strive for, she believes. But it's nice, once in a while, to hear that she is. "Hmm, really?" She can feel him nod, to which she smiles and starts drifting off again. 

A minute later, she feels a nudge against her rib cage. "What," she breathes, groggy. 

"Aren't you curious about where we're going?" Wooyoung asks excitedly, leaning over her to look out the window. 

She smiles in spite of herself. Unlike most times, she finds that she doesn't actually quite care. She shrugs. "I'm good. Let's make it a surprise." 

"That I can do," he grins and intertwines his fingers with hers. 

You know? Sometimes, it's nice to get out of the studio once in a while, run away from responsibilities for a bit, have someone to share snacks with and someone who calls you beautiful even if you feel like your own glory days are over. Sometimes, it takes someone who knows you, who has seen you in your best and worst, to cover you with a blanket and tell you it's okay to sleep when the to-do list still has unchecked boxes. Sometimes, it's okay to just hop in a bus and sit in the back and not care where you're going - because (she looks down at their clasped hands) maybe it's not where you're going that matters but who you're with. 

("Did you know that you're probably one of the lamest people I've ever met?" Yeeun says after watching him perform a gag with the crackers they're eating. 

"I learned it from the best," he comments, shoving her hand off the arm rest. 

She glares at him. 

"Together we're probably even more lame," he laughs, to which she rolls her eyes. "But I like it." 

She smiles. I like it, too.)