Kibum gets jittery as we near his agency. His leg bounces up and down, non-stop. His fist clenches and unclenches on his thigh. “Kibum-ah,” I say.

He jumps slightly and turns to me. “Y-yeah?”

“What’s wrong?” I ask him, not taking my eyes off the road. Me looking at him while driving would only make him more scared.

“N-noth-”

“Don’t say it’s nothing, Kibummie. What’s wrong?”

“I’m scared,” he admits in a hushed whisper. “I got this job because the colours let me see which songs were the best, which songs would appeal to which audience the best. What if I can’t do that without the colours? What if-”

“Kibum,” I interrupt. “It’s going to be okay. I promise. You’re not going to get fired, you’re not going to lose your talents just because you’re seeing the world differently. Okay?”

He takes a deep breath and looks at me. “Okay.”

~

His boss is a scary woman. She looks me up and down and smirks. “Who’s this?” she asks Kibum, and looks at me like I’m some delicious cut of meat.

“This is Jonghyun.” Kibum says, and pauses. He doesn’t know what to call me.

“Hi,” I say, flashing her a smile. “I’m Jonghyun; Kibum’s friend. If you don’t mind, I’ll be with Kibum for today.”

“No problem.” She says. “I’m Sooyoung. Key, do you have the designs?”

“Yeah,” Kibum says, and pulls a sheaf of papers out of his bag. “Here. I’ve changed Min’s concept from pink to purple. The pink doesn’t look good enough on her. Oh, and Willow won’t wear a miniskirt. She’s wearing shorts instead.” Kibum says. Sooyoung looks through the papers and nods. “It’s good to have you back, Key.” She says. “Are you sure you’re up to this?”

Kibum nods firmly. “Yes.”

“I don’t want a repeat of that day.” She warns him.

“It won’t happen, Sooyoung. Do I go to the recording studio now?” he asks. My heart thuds in my chest. Recording studio? Sooyoung nods. “Yeah, you go in. Tiffany’s waiting for you in there. She just broke up with her boyfriend, be good to her.” Sooyoung adds in a whisper.

 And so Kibum leads me to the recording studio.

With every step I take to the studio, my heart drops lower and lower. It doesn’t look the same as it does back home, but I can see the similarities- the glossy photos of artists on the walls, the spare mics and guitars hanging everywhere, the music pounding under my feet. It takes my breath away.

If grandma got to know that I’m here, she’d kick me so hard that I’d fly back home, probably.

“Jonghyun!” K