As they reached HIGHGRND’s entrance, Jiho opened the door for Hayi and she politely thanked him for accompanying her back. She felt a lot safer with someone to walk along with her. “Yeah, about that. Make sure you don't go out on your own so late at night. It's dangerous. You might just run into an actual stalker next time,” he joked but his tone was serious. She told him she'd keep that in mind as they reached the door of the studio he was working in.

He took out the keys from his pocket and jiggled them in the lock. “Tablo oppa gave you the keys?” she asked, surprised that he had a copy of them. After all, he was only down at HIGHGRND for a collaboration with Tablo. “Yeah, Blo hyung knows how particular I am about things. If anyone touched my work while I was gone I’d probably flip,” he smiled and waved at her as he entered the room. “Tell Robin I said sorry for keeping you!” were the last words he spoke as he closed the door behind him. Funny, thought Hayi. She was somehow hoping his parting words would be something along the lines of “let's get coffee again sometime.”

She walked over to the studio she was recording in earlier and opened the door without knocking; after all, Robin knew she was about to come back already. She sent him a message earlier. The guy still hadn’t read it, though. But she figured he was probably just too busy working that he didn’t notice his phone buzzing with the 'new message' alert.

Well, she thought wrong.

As soon as the opened the door, she closed it back. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks immediately as she quickly retreated, squeezing her eyes shut as if that would erase what she saw. Oh my goddddd why didn’t I knock.

Just as she opened her eyes again, she bumped into someone who had just emerged from one of the studios. She bowed in apology. “Hayi-ssi, wae?” she looked up to find that it was Zico.

“Your face is all red,” he noted.

“I-I- Went in the studio but- Robin, he… called his girlfriend over,” she hid her face in her palms as she looked down and spoke in a muffled voice, “I should’ve knocked.”

Jiho laughed, realizing what had happened. “No wayyy, they’re doing it?! Now?! That son of a .” He continued to laugh even harder when Hayi smacked his arm over and over, putting a finger to her lips and telling him to keep it down or they’d hear him.

“Oh trust me, Hayi. They can’t hear a thing right now,” he said and chuckled at Hayi’s face that was now as red as a tomato.

“Okay, tell you what,” he said as he regained his composure, “I’m gonna go to the washroom cos the coffee and all this laughing is killing my bladder. So how bout you go inside, take a seat and when I come back I’ll let you listen to that song I was talking about.”

Hayi agreed seeing that there was nothing else she could do since Robin was… preoccupied at the moment. She went inside and looked around the place, careful not to go anywhere near the mixing board and computer incase she accidentally touched something that might affect Jiho’s work. Soon enough, he came back to find her staring at a stack of eaten ramen bowls at the edge of a table.

“Sorry bout that. It was my lunch, dinner and supper today. Haven’t had the time to clear it out.”

“That’s unhealthy,” she sat down on a chair and brought it closer to the mixer, “not to mention unhygienic.”

Jiho grabbed the empty containers and threw them into the bin in the corner of the room. “But ramen is so good!” he pouted as he got into the chair next to her’s. Hayi scoffed at the grown man jutting out his lower lip before her. “Still,” she justified, “eating it all the time isn’t healthy.” She pointed at the computer screen, wordlessly asking him to play the song for her.

“Okay, mom,” he jested as he opened the file and let her have a listen. The moment the music started to fill the small studio, the two stopped speaking. Hayi closed her eyes the whole time, fully concentrated. Jiho stared at her, watching for any change in her expression to gauge what she thought about it but he could not read anything from her face. It was a blank slate, giving off no hints whatsoever. He was nervous, more nervous than when he first let Tablo listen to the track. Why, he wondered. He didn’t realise that he was holding his breath until he exhaled when she nodded in approval.

“It’s really good.”

He smiled at the praise, his confidence returning. “I know, it’s almost perfect but there’s just this one part that doesn’t sit well with me.”

He was about to repeat that section of the audio when she began humming the tune to it. He looked at her, amazed that she could remember that much (even though it was a little rough around the edges) after only listening to it once. “That part, right?” she asked. He nodded, still too in awe to speak. “Yeah, it kinda stood out,” she explained. Hayi tapped her chin with her finger as the thought. “How about you slow down the tempo at the beginning, then speed it up towards the middle and add a little piano riff towards the end? Something similar to the little piano bit you had earlier in the song.”

That might actually work. He quickly turned back to the computer, clicking away at the programme as he made the necessary edits. He was completely silent, absorbed into his work. Hayi watched his serious expression as he added little tweaks here and there before playing it again. Perfect. Hayi nodded in appreciation at the bits he added to improve on her idea. As the song came to an end, she beamed at him and held up her hand to high-five him. He gladly accepted the gesture.

“Lee Hayi-ssi, I think we make a great team,” he proclaimed in a formal tone, making her laugh. “Why, Woo Jiho-ssi. My sentiments exactly.”

~

Hayi left Jiho's studio soon after, with him thanking her again and sending her to the door of her recording studio even though she insisted it wasn't necessary - the studio was only two doors ahead, after all. But despite her insistance, Jiho still walked her down the little hallway anyway. He seemed to have something to say, but by the time they reached her door, he still hadn't breathed a word. He hesitated before bidding her goodbye again and waving as he walked back to where he came from.

Hayi was a little curious about what he seemed so reluctant to ask, but she brushed it aside. She was probably just imagining the whole thing, she thought. Hayi entered her studio (after knocking, this time). Robin's girlfriend said goodbye and left the two alone so they could start working again. Hayi couldn't really look her straight in the eye when the older smiled at her - she could only hope she didn't start blushing again - but politely wished her a good night as she saw her to the exit.

Hayi walked back into the studio and closed the door behind her. Picking up her headphones and taking her position in front of the mic, she thought about what Jiho had said at the cafe. She tried to picture it; those feelings. After she had practiced on her own a couple times, she told Robin she was ready, and they tried recording it. Robin’s eyebrows perked up in pleasant surprise as she sang. “Wow, Hayi. I really didn’t think the song needed anymore improvement but that was perfect! Let’s try that one more time in a slightly higher key, okay?” She nodded in affirmative and took in a deep breath.

I said 1, 2, 3 you

Today, I ask that you

take one step back toward me

1, 2, 3 you

Today, I ask for one step

4, 5, 6

~

Hayi yawned as she walked out of the cramped room into HIGHGRND basement’s living area. She cast a fleeting glance at the clock. It was almost 5 a.m. It had been a long night of work indeed, but she felt satisfied having completed one more song. Her comeback was coming soon and she wanted to make sure it was perfect, but of course they still had deadlines to chase. She was about to leave through the main entrance when she noticed a body slumped on the long table. She recognised that hoodie.

“Sunbae?” she asked as she cautiously tapped his shoulder. He didn’t respond. “Jiho-ssi?” She tried again, nudging his arm. This time he stirred and looked around, a little lost before groaning and wiping his face with his hand. “Hayi-ssi…” he squinted a little, still confused by the cloud of sleep cloaking his mind. He turned to face her. “Did you just call me by name?”

The younger bit her tongue. . “Sorry, sunbae, I forgot.” Jiho smiled and rested his elbows on the table, cupping his face as he stared at her with sleepy eyes. “It’s okay… I like it,” he proclaimed, tilting his head to the side like a puppy. Hayi shook her head. No, he’s your senior. Stop thinking that he’s cute. “

Sunbae, why are you still here? Didn’t you get off work long ago?”

The rapper pouted. “Just call me Jiho, Hayi-ssi,” he rubbed his eyes and got up from the chair to stand in front of her. “Actually, I was waiting for you.”

“Me?” Hayi raised an eyebrow. “But why?”

“Well, I was kind of wondering if maybe…” he scratched the base of his nape, looking away for a brief moment before facing her once again, looking directly in her eyes this time, “if maybe we could have coffee again sometime?”

A/N: YAY THIRD CHAPTER. I'M HONESTLY SO HAPPY THAT SO MANY OF YOU SHIP HAYI AND ZICO TOO BAHAHAHA. hope yall enjoyed the update. i'm actually having my exams soon so i can't update for a while but please anticipate the next chapter~!