"So, what's the new dance?"

"I want you to be in the song as a partner."
"Me? I don't even have any parts in the song."
"You don't have to be. Be my male lead dancer."
"I can't dance!" This was obviously not true, everyone knew Junhyung was a famous teen b-boy, forced into "retirement" due to a broken arm.
"Oh please, everyone knows who you were back then, The Joker."
"Joker's my producer name."
"Oh it's so tough talking to you. Let's just start dancing! I choreographed your part for you already, so just follow my steps."

2 hours past and Junhyung mastered the steps, practicing with Eunji repeatedly to perfect the dance. They had great chemistry and the manager decided to film a part of it, posting it on Eunji's official instagram captioning it "Are you guys ready?".

//

Within an hour, many of Eunji's followers liked and commented on the post. There were happy ones, who wanted to know what is this new dance. There were angry ones, who demanded to know who was the dear boy so lucky to partner Eunji.

Eunji then reacted quickly, asking Junhyung for a selfie. She posted the selfie, captioning "With producer Dragon or B-boy Joker?", laughing as she uploaded. The duo ended up uploading a derp face selfie together as smiling nicely into the camera was too awkward.

The latest instagram post was up on the popular page once more, hitting to almost 300,000 likes in an hour. Many commented that they looked good, some cursed at Junhyung for being so close to Eunji. Some knowledgable fans commented about knowing Junhyung as both a teen b-boy and rookie producer, thanking him for the wonderful song. Nonetheless, the instagram posts have reached their publicity expectations, many fans await the remix version of the song.

//

2 weeks past and it was time to bring the remix version onto the stage. Junhyung was in the waiting room all ready with his make up and hair done, he rehearsed his moves once through while waiting for Eunji to be done. He was just a back up dancer, but he felt more than that. He was the main male dancer and that meant a lot to him, he wondered if it meant a lot to Eunji too. Speaking (or rather thinking) of the devil (more like angel to him), Eunji appeared with her make up and hair done too. She was ravishing, not very different with make up, but she was just ravishing.

"Eunji-ssi, you are up for rehearsal."

The Producing Director (PD) called upon Eunji and her team. Junhyung stood up, took a deep breath and walked behind Eunji.

"Don't worry so much Dragon."
"Easy for you to say." A mini conversation had started, with Eunji trying to whisper to Junhyung words of encouragement while her mic was being adjusted by the co-ordinator.

They reached the stage and got ready amongst cheering fans. Some noticed Junhyung immediately and pointed.

"Ready in 3, 2, 1." The new music bursted from the speakers and the rehearsal began. It was short and quick, 300 hours in practice boiling down to 3 minutes on stage. Eunji and Junhyung, having flawless chemistry, nailed the choreography and enjoyed the stage. Even though there were fans who booed Junhyung, majority of the fans cheered even louder than usual, glad that Junhyung created a new version. The stage ended with loud cheers and the PD was pleased.

They went back to the waiting room and Junhyung flopped down on the chair he was sitting on, tired. Eunji giggled at his actions.

"What's so funny?"
"You."
Junhyung made a derp face and Eunji's manager caught it on her camera.

//

It was time for the actual stage. The manager decided to upload onto Eunji's instagram while they performed,  with the caption "Thankful for this producer. Hope everyone enjoyed the new stage!".

Yet again, the post received a flood of likes, comments and rumours were spreading around. Rumours that Junhyung and Eunji have more than just a producer and artiste relationship, that the two were more than friends, perhaps even lovers for a long period of time with the great amount of chemistry they had.

//

"Unnie, why did you use my phone to upload another photo of Junhyung?!"
"The company wanted more promotion, more news and more publicity for you. This was a good way."
"But, but, you know I like him!" Eunji whispered angrily. She knew she would not keep her career at this popular state if she announced that she liked Junhyung, her popularity within the males would drop significantly.
"Oh please, they are rumours. Besides, will Junhyung even like you? Just treat it as a joke Eunji, it's for your own good!"

//

Junhyung stared intently at the recent breaking news article. The picture was him and Eunji holding hands on stage, with the caption 'Producer and Artiste only? What about this?'. Junhyung could not fathom the article's intentions, to ruin Eunji's career or his career or both? He was perplexed, worried, for himself and for her.

Hey, you saw the article on Naver?
Yeah, blame my company. They said they want more publicity.
Well, do you want it to be true?
Huh? What?
I mean, do you want the article to be real? Us, being more than just producer and artiste...

Eunji gasped at the text, did Junhyung just ask her THE question?

Dragon, are you okay?

Junhyung facepalmed himself, of course he's not okay. He's in love with an artiste and he's not allowed to do that. Tiger would kill him. His career would end as fast as he rose to fame, immediately.

I was kidding. Hahaha. Go to sleep, it's already 11pm. You need more beauty sleep.

Eunji sighed, she was relieved yet disheartened. Did Junhyung confess? Did the joke contain some truth?

Good night dragon, don't let the bed bugs kill.

//

As the rumours spread, many male idols who were promoting got interested in Eunji. To survive this harsh industry, one must stick close to the "it" guy/girl at all times, know your friends well and know your enemies better. Male idols were prancing around, Jinwoon from 2AM, Hoya from Infinite, L.Joe from Teen Top and Joon from MBLAQ were the prominent ones. They tried to get Eunji's number, chatted her up at waiting rooms when she was getting ready.

At the same time, the stages where Junhyung performed with Eunji reached millions of views in total, more than Eunji's own MV. Junhyung was getting recognition, his teen b-boy past being dug out, his past relationships, injuries, everything.

With the bright side comes the dark. Anti-fan clubs formed, asking for the truth between Junhyung and Eunji. Some demanded truth from the company, some demanded an apology from Tiger for taking in such a bad disciple. Of course, Tiger took this matter into his own hands and commented that his disciples should be able to do whatever they want to have creativity in their composing.

Eunji and Junhyung could barely meet up, their relationship distanced and the rumours soon died down. Instead, Junhyung heard about Eunji through the various news articles, where Eunji was seen with a new male idol every week. She was booked fully, from documentary narrations to variety shows that dug deep into finding out the relationship between her and Junhyung.

//

"So I heard you and a rookie composer that goes by the name of Joker are close, is that true?"
"We are quite close, I guess. But we haven't been in touch as I've been busy with my schedules."
"How did you two get close?"
"He's the producer of my latest album, we met a few times while recording, he taught me how to do some producing so I had my fair share of composing in my songs too."
"Now tell me Eunji, have you ever felt a little love towards this Joker?"
A slight pause came from Eunji as she hesitated to give an answer, then she nodded.
"But that was in the past."
"Of course of course, we all had our crushes don't we? Yes Jinwoon?"
"I like Eunji, now."

//

Junhyung switched the TV off. He refused to believe what was just said on TV. Jinwoon? Liking Eunji? That had better not be true. His heart was fluttering from the fact that he had a chance with Eunji and now, it was gone. Not only it was gone, Eunji was hunted down, by Jinwoon?

"That lanky guy is merely tall, muscular and great at singing..."
"Who are you describing? Definitely not you..."
Junhyung sighed, even Tiger acknowledged Jinwoon's innate talent to sing. Tiger recognises only the very best singers, Eunji included of course. He was known for his criticisms towards singers and idols who can't sing live.
"Where's he from hyung?"
"Jinwoon? 2AM."
"How come I've only known 2PM?"
"Oh you're being jealous aren't you? I smell the sour lemons in your mouth already."
"No, hyung."
"Don't lie."

Junhyung paused. Was he lying, was he really jealous of Jinwoon? He knew Jinwoon was from 2AM, but he wanted to mock him. What was the point of mocking? Jinwoon couldn't hear it anyway.

//

"Oh, you like Eunji?"
"Well, with such a sweet voice, straight personality and bright laughter, who doesn't like her?"
"That's very true, ah Eunji, you have gotten yourself another fan!"
"No no no, I'm thankful for him to like me because I like him too, his songs are wonderful!"
"Oh? Is this a confession on broadcast? Is our show going to be the first show that leads to a real officiated marriage?"
"No!" Both Jinwoon and Eunji replied firmly, only to smile at each other next.
"Ah, there seems to be something. I sense that there's SOMEthing going on... Well, let's move on! Eunji, so about your new song, tell us more on why you...."

The recording went on, as the host bombarded the guests with tricky questions and Eunji was exhausted mentally after the recording finally ended. She flopped down on the sofa in the waiting room, waiting for her dinner to arrive. She hears a knock and allows the person to enter. Hoping it was dinner, all Eunji saw was a lanky man, Jinwoon.

"I thought you would like some dinner with me." Jinwoon revealed top quality beef, frozen.
"You eat frozen beef?"
"I'm inviting you to a BBQ, it's my 23rd birthday next week but I'm celebrating it earlier. I thought you would want to come and know more people. Do you have any schedules?"
"She doesn't." The manager appeared from behind and answered for Eunji.

//

At Jinwoon’s party, Eunji’s entrance made many gasp. She was a rookie, not just a normal rookie at that, but someone Jinwoon specially invited. Jinwoon knew groups of people, these people brought their members along, but Eunji was a soloist, a rare sight where number is strength these days. Being
able to enter this party would mean that Eunji was of a certain importance to Jinwoon.

2AM, 2PM, several other artistes like Min, Soyu, Hyoyeon, Nana, Nicole and even Go Junhee appeared for his birthday beach bash. Jokwon, being the social butterfly, hung out with Eunji while Jinwoon took care of other celebrities.

“So, how did you know our youngest idiot?”
“Eh? Idiot? Jinwoon oppa? We met on Radio Star.”
“I know that silly, I meant how did you and him end up as friends, or even more?” Jokwon’s eyelashes batted seductively.

“Ah, we are just friends. He came into my waiting room and asked if I would like to join his party. My manager pushed for it, for me to know more idols since I don’t get much exposure.”
“Oh I see, you are so adorable, a great fit with our dull idiot!”
“Why is he called an idiot?”

“Because I’m clumsy and my head’s too large for my brain.” Jinwoon walked over, holding a cocktail that was still sizzling with fresh Sprite.

“I was trying to be nice, I didn’t call you what I usually do, be nice to this girl. She’s a keeper!” Jokwon sauntered off to find Hyoyeon while Jinwoon gave Eunji her drink.

“Thank you.”
“You're welcome~”
“Ignore my hyung. He’s being all weird.”

“I’m not sure if what he said about you was wrong though.”
“Hey, I invited you here, I am the king of today, don’t crossover to hyung’s side!”
“Hmm, I”ll think about it.”

The duo had a peaceful talk, hours flew by without them noticing. Eunji’s manager had arrived and sounded the car’s horn twice, when Eunji realised it was her manager.

“Thanks for accompanying me the whole night.”
“I had nothing much to do anyway. It’s my party, I can do whatever I want.”
“Of course, well, I need to go, my manager is here.”
“Wait, can you give me your number? I could… call you maybe?” Jinwoon laughed at his own cliché joke while taking his phone out. Eunji hears another honk. She snatches the phone from him and keyed in the numbers. She hears another honk, this time long and annoying. She frantically took her belongings and crashed into someone.

“Sorry!” Eunji ran past him while bowing.

Wow, you don’t recognise me huh. Junhyung was at the party thanks to Sunggyu who knew Seulong, but he was on the other side of the party and he did not realise it was Eunji, until now. He could recognise the voice anywhere.

Junhyung checked his outfit, only to notice there was a slight stain at the chest pocket because Eunji’s cocktail had spilt over. Junhyung could only sigh and go back to Sunggyu’s bunch of friends, who were already boring him over the talk about relationships.

“Gyu, I think I’ll head home first.”
“The party just started bro! The DJ is coming!”
“No thanks, I need to finish productions or Tiger’s gonna hunt me down.”
“Ha, TIGER? I’m the LION! Roar!” Obviously, Sunggyu was already drunk from his vodka shots.
“Just go Junhyung-ssi.” Seulong grabbed onto Sunggyu while Junhyung walked off.

//

Too tall: Hey, nice comment just now.
Me: Yeah, I know, I’m a little witty like that.
Too tall: But where did you fly to? Schedule?
Me: Yupp, another radio show.
Too tall: I was hoping for another cup of coffee.
Me: You have gotta wait.
Too tall: Are you playing hard to get here?
Me: Maybe…

//

Barely 3 weeks past but Jinwoon and Eunji were exchanging texts all the time, updating each other on their daily life. They followed each other on SNS and replied to each other’s tweets frequently. They have become best friends. But it was not that hard to tell, both of them have good feelings towards each other. They definitely have SOMEthing going on.

//

“Good luck, baby good luck to you~” Junhyung hums a tune as he writes lyrics down. He was composing again, after being left out from the party of two. He thought he was important to Eunji, whether lovers-to-be or not. With this as inspiration, he decided to aim for another song. He fervently started his compositions on Monday and it was already at its finishing touches by Tuesday night. He never once left the studio, the TV nor checked his phone. Call him passionate but he forgot his meals too. Eunji left a text asking if she could come over with Jinwoon but of course, he missed the most important text in his life, the chance to turn back and ask for Eunji’s love.

“Oppa~” Eunji opened the door. Tiger had not arrived in the studio and it was Wednesday morning. Junhyung was half asleep on the couch, after working for more than 60 hours straight. He was knocked out in the morning after that last espresso that pushed him to 6am this morning. He didn’t stir a bit upon hearing someone enter the studio.

Eunji walked into the studio, only shocked to see Junhyung sprawled across the sofa. She then realised the reason why he did not reply his text. He was busy working on a new song. Then he wouldn’t know that I got together with… I shall save it for later when oppa is here.

Eunji agreed to Jinwoon’s confession on Monday, a month after the party. Eunij was surprised by Jinwoon’s bravery, for both entertainment companies disallowed dating. Eunji refused, but Jinwoon’s unwavering faith made her falter and eventually they got together. Eunji’s manager blurted the secret to Eunji’s CEO and the CEO was somewhat glad. Jinwoon was popular and being with Jinwoon would boost Eunji’s popularity, so he was fine with the dating. Besides, the scandals were alredy everywhere and it would only make sense if they got together to ‘stop’ the scandals because it wouldn’t even constitute as a scandal anymore.

Tiger entered the studio and brought Jinwoon along with him. Eunji walked over to Jinwoon and held his hand while Tiger tried to wake Junhyung up to clear space for the couple.

“Dude, wake up. Your idol’s here.”
Junhyung barely stirred.

“YONG JUN HYUNG.”
No reaction.

“YA DRAGON WAKE UP!” Eunji was annoyed, how could someone so nice in reality be such a pig when sleeping?!

Junhyung rubbed his eyes, only startled by 3 pairs of glaring eyes. He sat up immediately, only to realise it was Eunji, Tiger and that tall lanky guy, holding Eunji’s hands. HOLDING?!

“Dude, the couple is here because they need some alone time, away from the press and paparazzi. Don’t bother them and go finish up your songs.” Tiger walked towards the recording room and left the 3 young ones at the lounge.

“So, you guys are dating?”
“You didn’t know? It was all over the news, Eunji and I, the national couple.”
“Oh. I was out of contact since Monday.”
“Yeah, I tried texting you but you didn’t reply.” Junhyung rushed to his phone, only to see 5 missed calls and a text from Eunji.

“So sorry. I was writing the song I wanted to give you.”
“Oh, it’s okay. Eunji’s nice so she understands, right Eunji?” Jinwoon was talking for Eunji so much that Eunji could only smile weakly at Junhyung. Jinwoon was the domineering type although Eunji didn’t really mind, but sometimes she wished she could speak for herself. She had a mouth to speak too.

“Well, uh, I wrote you a song. But I’m not done with the demo yet so I only have the chorus for you to hear. Do, you want to hear it?”

Eunji nodded.

Junhyung walked over to his equipment, holding the volume while he searched his song. He clicked on the song and raised the volume. Strong beats surrounded the background while Junhyung’s voice came out.

“Good luck, baby good luck to you, 더행복해야해. 너만보는 날, 너 하나밖에 없던, 날 두고 떠나갔다면~ Good luck, baby good luck to you,누구를 만나도. 네가내게 남긴상쳐만큼 넌 더핸복해야…”
(Good luck, baby good luck to you, you have got to be happier. I only had you, I only looked at you yet you’re leaving me. Good luck, baby good luck to you, whoever you’re going to meet. Please be as happy as how much you have hurt me. )

The lyrics seem to create a cloud of melancholy over the studio as Eunji realised that these lyrics came from Junhyung. Did he feel this way towards Eunji? But he didn’t know about Eunji and Jinwoon. Did Eunji already said ‘no’ through her actions before?

“How is it? I was thinking of refining some parts of the verse later.”
“Dragon… I think you can save the song for someone else. I’m not coming back for a while. My company wants me to lay low, go out with Jinwoon and get some fresh air. Wait for anti-fans to leave before I start another round of promotions. I love the song, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not in need for a new song.”

“Oh, okay then. Nevermind then. Why are you guys here anyway? Borrowing the studio to compose?”
“No, Tiger hyung lent me his studio so I could date Eunji without the cameras. It’s stressful, oh wait, you wouldn’t know. But we didn’t expect you to be here. That’s okay, we’ll just stay here anyway. The cameras are already downstairs and I don’t want to leave this place, it’s a pretty cool space.”

 

“Suit yourselves. I’m leaving.”
“Dragon, can I speak to you for a while?” 

Author's note: WHOOP our joker is sadly falling out of love, while Eunji has found a new love! What now?! Sorry I had to keep you guys waiting for so long, sorry for the terrible cliffhanger too! Hoping to see some comments soon!!! Till next chapter!