Taehyun was rather amused at the series of events happening this morning. Although he had only been friends with Mino for two years, the man prided himself on having a keen sense of people’s feelings. Song Mino was a sensitive soul who channeled his emotion through his art and lyrics, and he always had a friendly persona towards people, but the way he behaved towards Jinwoo was different from how he usually treated other people, although he could not describe it in more precise terms. Then again, Jinwoo seemed to have a unique personality too and dreamy eyes that could inspire Taehyun to write lines and lines of lyrics.

The oldest ones in the room, Seunghoon and Seunghyun, were huddled at the desk discussing contractual clauses, while consulting Seungyoon via video call. Taehyun did not get a good look at Seungyoon’s face earlier, so he curiously took a peek and he was quite surprised at the youthful face that he saw on Seunghoon’s phone screen. “Why are all the reporters in this agency so good-looking?” Taehyun wondered.

Meanwhile, Mino was asking Jinwoo for interview tips. 

“So, when the camera is recording you here and I’m asking you questions, you should try to look at the camera lens and maintain a polite smile, so the audience will find you more friendly and personable.”

“Like this?” The rapper smiled widely.

Jinwoo shook his head. “No, that’s too much! Just do something similar to this,” and he demonstrated a proper extent of smiling.

“You look good, but if I do that I’m gonna look like a freaking pabo!” Mino complained.

Taehyun chimed in and plopped himself next to his friend, “But you look stupid all the time, so anything you do won’t make much of a difference."

Mino slapped the DJ’s shoulder and ended up shouting in pain. “Ouch! Oh my God, help!”

Jinwoo rushed to Mino’s side and examined his wrist, “Why did you use your injured arm to hit Taehyunnie? It’s still so swollen!”

Laughing loudly and clutching his stomach, Taehyun exclaimed, “Hahaha that’s what you get for hitting me, Song Pabo! Hahahaha!”

Mino slapped Taehyun’s face with his healthy hand. 

Jinwoo mumbled, “How did YG staff get enough proper footage for NAMSONG TV from these two weirdos…"

***

Today was the best day of the year for CEO Kang Seungyoon.

YG actually intended to grant exclusive media access, interviews, backstage passes and behind-the-scenes coverage of Mino and DJ Nam for the next three months to WINNER News Agency! Seungyoon could not believe his eyes and ears.

YG was willing to pay a decent sum too, as long as WINNER promised to follow YG’s directions in presenting its artists’ images and give YG the final say in all the materials released. Well, most of the times that was the standard protocol anyway for working with entertainment companies, so Seungyoon had no plans of disputing the terms and conditions.

There was an option for contract extension too at YG’s discretion, so Seungyoon anticipated a long-term partnership if his reporters performed well for these few months. At least Jinwoo and Seunghoon were already on friendly terms with the two celebrities and their manager, so things would be a lot easier. 

Seungyoon was pouring lemon soda into his beloved “I Love Mommy” mug when his phone vibrated on the table. Seunghoon texted him and said “Yoonie-hyung, can I call now? Hot news! Urgent!”

Seungyoon decided to just call him first. “What hot news?”

“Mino and Jinwoo!”

“OH YEAH! I wanted to ask you since earlier about how Jinwoo managed to get so close to Song Mino, and you and Taehyun too - “

“That’s not really important, basically everything was a coincidence, but back to the HOT NEWS,” Seunghoon took a deep breath, “Mino is now taking Jinwoo to Tokyo Tower to watch sunset together! Don’t you think it’s strange, hyung? They just met less than 24 hours ago, but they are very very VERY close now. Oh, you should have seen Mino’s face when Jinwoo hugged him. Oh my gawd!”

Seungyoon scratched his temple. “How come only the two of them are going there? What’s the manager doing? And why did Jinwoo hug a client?”

“Well, at that time there was no contract yet, so technically Mino was not our client. Ah, the manager is busy liaising with YG people and Taehyun is in his own DJ world. What do you think, hyung?”

The CEO let out a heavy exhale. “Hoon, from your observation, who is liking who at the moment?”

“It looks like Mino dotes on Jinwoo, but I’m not fully sure whether it’s brotherly, friendly, or - or - “

“Or what?”

“Or romantic affection. And Jinwoo is jsut being his usual naive, nice, oblivious self. Okay, so basically Mino injured his wrist yesterday and our maknae happened to be there and doctored him, and now Jinwoo only thinks that Mino is repaying the favour. Hyung, for now it’s still more or less alright, but since we’re all gonna stay close to each other this week, I’m quite worried.”

“Why, Hoonie? Does Mino seem like a bad guy?”

“I don’t know! It’s too early to tell. For now, he seems like a decent guy, but he used to be an underground rapper and all - I mean, not being judgmental, but yeah...” 

“Oh no!” Seungyoon sighed loudly, yet again. “Our maknae is too cute and innocent for his own good.”

“So what am I supposed to do?”

“Just watch over them and make sure you guys do your job properly in Tokyo, without any scandals. Tell me if Mino does anything inappropriate to our maknae and I’ll report him to Yang-sajangnim immediately.”

“Okay, hyung. Thanks for your advice. I’m gonna eat Nissin instant noodle for dinner now!”

“Anytime, Hoonie. Enjoy your dinner!”

“By the way, Nam Taehyun said you’re really cute and he wanna meet you after he's back! Hahaha bye hyung!”

Seungyoon froze. Why do all these celebrities seem to have a thing for reporters like him and Jinwoo? Don’t they have better-looking people at YG?

***

"So you were actually born in Imja-do?"

Jinwoo chewed on his cheesecake crepes and nodded. "My family still lives there, actually."

"Why didn't they move to a city?" Mino asked, itching to know everything about his new friend's life. 

"Because my dad's a fisherman so he has to live by the sea. Living in the city is also too expensive, even I barely manage now with my salary hahaha!"

The taller guy was exasperated at how Jinwoo could still be so happy despite living such a hard life. "Why don't you try changing jobs? I swear, if you apply to any modelling agency now they will take you in. Your visual is really daebak, you know."

Jinwoo shook his head. "But making a living based on my face alone is unsustainable in the long run." He swallowed the last bite of his food and threw the wrapper away in a recycling bin. "Also, if I get promoted to senior reporter, my life will be much better. Look at Seunghoon-hyung, he's doing so well. He even has a regular column at Korea Times, do you know that?"

Mino was thoroughly puzzled by the living dualism that was Kim Jinwoo. He was beautiful and manly, funny and wise, playful and mature, lacking confidence and optimistic for the future, all at the same time. His character was so different from anyone else Mino ever met, even more complex than Taehyun sometimes. Jinwoo was like a huge onion, and Mino is peeling the layers just to find thicker layers hiding underneath. "No wonder Taehyun said Jinwoo could be his muse," the rapper thought, "That crazy Namtae really knows how to read people at first sight."

Beside him, Jinwoo was busy zooming in the Google Maps app in his phone. “It’s so weird! Didn’t we walk past this supermarket twice? Oh gosh we’re doomed. The sun is gonna set soon!" He approached a man nearby and tentatively said, "Um, sumimasen - " but the man simply walked past without even sparing the poor boy a glance.

Mino looked around and pointed to a sign in English, “JInwoo-yah, it says ’Tokyo Tower 200m’! Let’s go!"

***

After paying for the entrance fee (Jinwoo insisted on paying for both of them because Tokyo Tower was his idea) and taking an elevator ride, they finally reached the the observation deck. "Whoa, the scenery is so pretty!" Mino exclaimed. "But why is this place so empty today?"

"I don't know! When I came here with my parents last time, it was so crowded we could barely take any pictures properly." Jinwoo stared mesmerized at Tokyo skyline. 

Mino stood beside him and was immediately amazed at the afternoon sun being reflected on Jinwoo's huge eyes and the rays casting a radiant glow on his perfect skin, seemingly highlighting the pureness of his inner and outer beauty. Mino was falling, fast. At that moment, Jinwoo turned to look at him and smiled, "Mino-yah, there are only a few old Caucasian tourists over there. Wanna take off your mask and take a selca with me?"

In a daze, the rapper only nodded dumbly. Jinwoo said, "Hang on, let me help you take your mask off." Mino closed his eyes and felt Jinwoo's fingers flitting around his cheekbones and ears. His heart suddenly thumped rapidly, as if he was hoping for something. His mask was no longer obstructing his face, and he could feel the other's warm breath on his face...

“Done!” Jinwoo stood closely beside him and made a peace sign at his phone. "Okay, look at the cameraaaa, one, two, three! Ohhh, Mino-yah, the background looks soooo amazing, I should have brought my polaroid!" 

Mino sighed. Their pictures turned out great, but he could not help but feeling rather dejected.

After a few minutes passed, the sun had fully set and all they could see now was the sparkling city lights of downtown Tokyo. Jinwoo was still busy snapping pictures of the scenery, of himself, of Mino, from various angles.

Mino was still stuck in his dreamlike state, following the other around like a shadow. Jinwoo turned around, “Mino-yah, are you alright? You seem a bit off."

The rapper his lips nervously and stuttered, “Re - really? I’m a bit hungry."

Jinwoo laughed and asked, "Wanna grab some dinner? We can get takeaway and eat in my room. Seunghoon-hyung asked me to help him buy back some takoyaki too.”

“Can we just eat outside? Honestly, I don’t have many fans yet in Japan,” Mino asked, wanting to spend more alone time with Jinwoo.

The other shook his head. “Your manager and Taehyun are gonna kill me if someone recognizes you and then stalks you guys for the rest of the week."

Mino was disappointed once again and he tried to be content with only holding Jinwoo's hand all the way back to the hotel, on the pretense that "It's dark! I'm scared of getting lost in Tokyo!”