“Here?”

“Yes, there!” you boyfriend cried out, a loud groan escaping his lips.

“Oh my God, can you guys get a room?”

Both of you turned to the door, where Daehyun had just entered the recording studio, covering his eyes with his hands.

“Ya, get your dirty mind out of the gutter!” you scolded, although you couldn’t help laughing. You were standing behind Yongguk, who was seated with his chest leaning forward against the back of his chair, as you gave him a shoulder rub. Having spent all his free time either practicing BAP’s demanding choreography or sitting for the hours writing in the studio, his body was in a really bad shape. It didn’t help that his schedule now consisted mainly of traveling all over the country for fan meetings, which meant that he spent a lot of time seated in moving vehicles. The two of you were writing in the studio yet again, and being a dutiful girlfriend, you’d offered him a massage when he’d complained of backaches.

Daehyun peeked out from behind his fingers, and when he’d assured himself that he wasn’t going to be permanently scarred by whatever it is you were doing, he put his hands down and crossed the room to where you and Yongguk were. “How’s the song coming along?”

“Almost done,” Yongguk told him as you continued working on his tense muscles. “We’re just trying to finish up the lyrics, but I’m having a lot of issues with what Hana has written.”

“Is World War 3 going to break out anytime soon?” Daehyun asked, a look of worry clouding his handsome features. “Should I take cover? Do you want me to come back later?”

“It’s not me he’s having problems with,” you said nonchalantly. Clearly, the two of you were at peace for the moment, having already fought it out earlier in the writing stage. “It’s you.”

Daehyun’s jaw dropped open in surprise and he raised a hand, pointing to himself. “Me? What did I do?”

“I wrote the lyrics according to what you told me about your ex-girlfriend,” you pointed out. “Now someone—” you kneaded Yongguk’s shoulder especially hard, causing him to wince, “—does not agree with the way you want your relationship to be portrayed.”

You released Yongguk, and he wheeled himself to the table so he could pick up the sheets upon which your lyrics were written. He pointed to a particular place where he’d circled a line in pencil. “What’s this thing about pasta and pickles? Can’t you remember anything about her other than what she likes to eat? Like the clothes she wears, or the way she walks? Singing about a girl eating has to be the least romantic thing in the world.”

“Hyung, it is romantic,” Daehyun insisted. “She used to love it when I helped her pick out the food she doesn’t like and ate them for her. She hates pickles and bean sprouts, and do you even know how hard it is to pick bean sprouts out of dishes? I wanted it to be bean sprouts instead of pickles, but Hana noona said nobody writes about bean sprouts.”

Yongguk raised his eyebrows at you. “And I suppose lots of people write about pickles?”

“At least ‘pickles’ is in English,” you defended. “ ‘Bean sprouts’ just sounds absolutely horrible.”

“And I wanted to express that my tastes have changed,” Daehyun argued. “Both in the literal and metaphorical sense of the word.”

“And food is a very important part of his life,” you added seriously, and Daehyun nodded in agreement.

Yongguk sighed. “Fine. What about this line then?” He pointed to another circle on the paper. “This girl has a caramel scent on her body? Are you sure she’s a real girl? Or is she actually a piece of cheesecake?”

You shot Daehyun an innocent look to tell him that you couldn’t help him here. “Of course she’s real,” Daehyun snapped huffily. “And she did smell like caramel! I don’t know if it’s some body cream she used, or the fact that she’s a barista at a café, but she always smelled like that. Some guys like girls that smell fruity or floral; I prefer girls with warmer scents.”

Yongguk leaned over to sniff your neck and you smacked him.

“She’s a barista?” you asked, raising your eyebrows. “You said you met her a lot at a coffee shop, but you didn’t tell me she was a barista there. Now you’re seriously making me doubt that you really had a relationship with this girl.”

“Were you stalking her?” Yongguk chimed in.

“I… She…” Daehyun was so frustrated that his face was turning purple as he tried to explain himself to you and Yongguk. “Ya! I’m helping you guys by sharing my story as inspiration for your lyrics! Why are you trying to dissect my love life now?”

You glanced at Yongguk and the two of you burst into laughter. Yongguk was the one who stopped laughing first, and he nudged you to get you to stop as well, noticing Daehyun’s murderous look. “Okay, can you at least give me some proper details, maybe a little bit about how she looks like? Something endearing, like messy hair or little habits like biting her lip when she’s concentrating?” His eyes flicked over to you when he said that, a small smile playing teasingly on his lips. You were actually biting your bottom lip at that very moment as you studied the lyrics in your hand, and at that comment, you un-puckered your lips, looking up at Yongguk. Your hand flew to your hair, smoothing down the stray strands that had escaped your messy bun self-consciously. You scowled at him when he grinned cheekily at you.

“Okay, now I get why Himchan hyung says you two are disgusting,” Daehyun complained, cutting your moment short. “Can you not do this while we’re discussing one of my failed relationships?”

Yongguk grinned as he turned back to Daehyun. “So? Anything?”

“She definitely does not have messy hair like Hana noona,” he said pointedly, earning a raised fist from you as you continued trying to tame your hair. “And she’s not violent like noona either. Her hair is perfectly straight and silky. And she’s always casually dressed in t-shirts, jeans and sneakers. She likes to wear the color white especially.”

You pursed your lips, forcing yourself to hold back your laughter before you spoke. “Was she wearing those white t-shirts because… they were the uniforms she had to wear at the coffee shop?” The laughter bubbled out of your mouth and Yongguk’s eyes widened, his mouth forming an ‘O’ shape as he snapped his fingers like he’d just reached an epiphany. “Oh! I think I know which coffee shop she works at!” The two of you high-fived each other, laughing like crazy hyenas.

“Very funny,” Daehyun said dryly, rolling his eyes and folding his arms at how childish you two were being, which was even funnier since he was the maknae in the room. “I’m going to dig through my old photos tonight and prove to you guys that she really was my girlfriend! Aish… I’m never offering my help to either of you ever again!”

“Don’t worry, I don’t think I wanna write anymore songs about food,” Yongguk sniped, turning back to the table so he could scribble something down.

You tapped your pencil against your chin thoughtfully. “I don’t know… I thought it was kind of sweet and personal. This song will mean so much to two people specifically, and it won’t be the same for anyone else.” You patted Daehyun on the shoulder. “Next time you have a food-related romance, let me know. If he won’t write songs for you, I’ll write them.”

“Ya, you don’t think the songs I write about you are personal enough?” Yongguk asked.

“Don’t even get me started on those songs,” you said, kicking his chair so he rolled a few inches away from you. “All you’ve done since your debut was write horrible things about me.”

“You can take revenge,” Daehyun suggested. “Write bad things about him. Like his dark eye circles.”

Yongguk stuck his tongue out childishly at you. “Luckily, I’m too perfect of a boyfriend for you to write about.”

You reached for your notebook and pencil. “I know! My next song is going to be about a childish old man with dark circles who won’t stop writing bad things about his awesome girlfriend.”

Yongguk leaned forward to tickle you, causing you to burst out into a peal of laughter, and Daehyun rolled his eyes at the two of you. “Seriously, I’m right here, guys. Can I at least hear the song before the two of you start… doing whatever it is you’re doing?”

You gripped your sides as Yongguk withdrew abruptly, pushing your chair aside so he could access the computer. You protested by kicking his chair again, but a well-directed glare from Daehyun prevented another meaningless war. Yongguk clicked the mouse a few times, and a soothing piano melody played. Daehyun listened in silence for a while before a curious look took over his face. He turned to you. “Noona, I know you said you’d write me a ballad, but isn’t this a little too…”

“It sounds like elevator music, doesn’t it?” you chimed in, seeing that he was struggling to find the right words to describe the music. You shot Yongguk a “told you so” look.

“It’s modeled after old school jazz and RnB from the 1940’s,” Yongguk defended. “And it’s by a famous pianist who’s… forget it, you guys wouldn’t know her. Where’s Kim Himchan in the few moments when he’s actually useful?”

Daehyun opened and closed his mouth a few times, and you could tell he was trying to tactfully make suggestions without sounding offensive. Music producing Yongguk was also grumpy Yongguk, and getting on his bad side during these moments was never a good idea. You were perhaps the only person brave (or dumb, depending on how you look at it) enough to keep butting heads with him when he was in one of these moods. “I mean, it sounds fine for the vocalists, but how are you going to put a rap into this, hyung? This isn’t exactly BAP’s style.”

“BAP’s style is versatility,” Yongguk all but snarled, and you had to put a hand on his forearm to remind him not to morph into the Incredible Hulk. “Jiwon oppa and Kibum oppa already listened to it, and we’re working on adding in a drum beat,” you explained quickly. “This isn’t the finished product. Oh, and because it’s so slow, you won’t have to do any of your usual screaming in this song. We’re going for a light, airy feel.”

“I’m shortening the rap parts anyway,” Yongguk added. “It doesn’t sound right to have too much rap in this song. Since it’s your song, I think it’s time we tried shifting the focus away from the rap. Maybe I’ll make Junhong sing. I haven’t decided.”

“We haven’t decided,” you corrected him, shooting him a glare. “We have to finish up this song before you guys go on tour.” You pouted, thinking of the boys going to the US. You were going to miss Yongguk a lot more than you were willing to admit.

Daehyun chuckled and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Well, you can continue working with Hitler over here. I’m going to help Hyosung noona with preparations for Himchan hyung’s birthday. She’s freaking out all over the place because it’s the first birthday she’s spending with him as his girlfriend.” He let out a dramatic sigh. “Some annoying couples and their insistence on rubbing their bliss in others’ faces.”

“I’d rather be helping them,” you complained to Daehyun. “Your leader is so hard to work with. I think this is the first and last song I’m ever going to write with him.”

Yongguk stuck his tongue out at you again. “Don’t write with me then. I’m already working on the next song and it’s gonna be a dance track with a club feel. I’m not going to let you ruin it with your pickles and caramel.”

“Fine, write without me then!” you huffed. “While you’re at it, you can also massage yourself when you’re aching and make your own coffee when you’re tired!”

Daehyun held up both his hands in surrender as he whirled around and backed away from the two of you before another battle broke out. “I’m out of here.”