"I know that I chose ballad for us because you might even have a museum for it" Jiwon said slowly, tapping his fingers on the table while staring disbelievingly down at the notebook full of cursive writings. "But these are too many."

On a seat across from him, Hanbin just responded with a grumpy frown.

"Seven are not that many." He muttered in objection, then sighed when Jiwon raised an eyebrow at him. He murmured with a scowl as if each word hurt his tongue. "Okay, you can read and select some that you like. We can discuss to choose just one to finalize."

Jiwon nodded lightly with a pleased expression, the "there's the good boy" went unspoken. Hanbin laid back in his chair as he watched the other shifted his focus to the note, occasionally flipped the paper or squinted his already thin eyes to decipher Hanbin's hand-writings.

It was a quiet afternoon, which normally Hanbin wouldn't waste on going out of his bed and- what the hell- doing group study. But he did, and with his-- no, B.I's fanboy, Kim Jiwon nevertheless, so there should not be anything more surprising here.

He was still not really sure if this was a good idea, trying to cooperate with Jiwon and all. It was just a decision on the spur of the moment when there were eye-smiles too charming and hands too warm and then Hanbin just blurted out without thinking. He gave the song he wrote for him and Bobby to Jiwon. He might have had a fever, one that ate up people's brain and urged them to make peace with their archenemy. But then Jiwon said they should do a ballad together. Maybe Jiwon was the one to catch an illness, one that made its victims stupider than they already were.

"They are mostly unfinished." Jiwon announced as he had done reading.

"That's where you contribute." Hanbin calmly said as if he did it on purpose. Of course he didn't. He always strayed to writing diss tracks while composing love songs.

Jiwon flipped through the pages again, seemingly looking for something. When he found it he spinned the note around so Hanbin could see it too.

"This one is good." He pointed at a song named "Today", then flipped to show another- "Airplane". "But I like this a bit better."

"'Airplane" isn't completed though." Hanbin said. "Not only the rap part is missing, the bridge is not yet available, too."

"Can't you finish it before the deadline?"

"Nope. I wrote it a long time ago when my crush went study abroad. Feelings are gone." Hanbin shrugged, causing the other to creak a smile.

"Too bad, I like these lyrics." Jiwon said, words laced with fondness. "Can't believe a potty-mouth like you can write this beautifully."

"Shut the up."

They went into silence when Jiwon took time to read in a bit more. All of a sudden he perked up, face dead serious, making Hanbin jolted a little.

"Wait a minute. If we are doing ballad who's gonna sing?" Jiwon said with a tone often used in horror movies when the characters discovered one of them was the killer. Hanbin squinted at him skeptically.

"You didn't think about that when you suggest this?"

"Totally forgot." The other admitted, a bit bashfully. "Can you sing?"

"Of course. People say I've got a nice voice." Hanbin said smugly, then proceeded on singing a line from one of his own songs. He only stopped at the grimace on Jiwon's face.

"So you can't." Jiwon concluded, ignored the offended expression of Hanbin. "I never try singing. But drastic situation calls for drastic measure."

He cleared his throat, pinked a bit, then sang the same line Hanbin just did.

When he was done, Hanbin was gawking at him because . This guy sang really well. Not skillfully. Just, really really ing well. There was something about his raspy voice that was so attractive, Hanbin couldn't really put it into words.

"How was it?" Jiwon inquired, and Hanbin blushed as he realized he had been staring at the other for a solid minute. Embarrassed, he snapped.

"Super bad. And you told me I can't sing."

He only meant it to be a joke, but Jiwon seemed to actually bought it. He looked up and hummed thoughtfully.

"That's no good. If neither of us can sing we can't present a ballad song..." Before Hanbin could clarify that he was only joking, Jiwon had snapped his fingers and turned to look with bright eyes. "Oh, I know. I have this friend, his name is Kim Jinhwan, a year above us and he is really good at singing. Like, real good."

"O-Oh... But, isn't he in another group already?"

", that's true." Jiwon clicked his tongue, and his face scrunched up in an expression so struggling Hanbin had to reassure him.

"I will try contacting the professor to see if we can ask Jinhwan to help. It's a composing project, after all, so we should be able to ask for support in the presentation part."

Jiwon immediately brightened up at his words. His eyes lit up merrily and before Hanbin could register what he was doing, Jiwon had already leaned in close, a big and warm hand shot forward and ruffled Hanbin's hair a bit too roughly.

"That's great! I'm counting on you!" He smiled, eyes turned crescents and breath stucked in Hanbin's throat. He had never been touched so ... so friendly before.

As if recognizing his own doing, Jiwon stopped, staring into Hanbin's eyes, seemingly stunned himself. He slowly retreated his hand, then awkwardly sat back down. In a moment both of them averted their eyes from each other, face flushed. Hanbin's hair remained unruly under the unexpected attack. And Jiwon's hand was just as warm as last time.

When the silence weighed too much to bear, Hanbin was the first to speak up. He looked anywhere but at Jiwon as he said:

"So... I will ask professor and tell you his answer tomorrow."

"Th-That sounds like a good idea." Jiwon stuttered, nodding like a confused chicken, his hand toyed with the ripped fabric on his pants restlessly.

"Yeah." Hanbin said, feeling a bit stupid, then caustiously he stood up, assuming that he had nothing more to do here. Jiwon instantly turned to look at him, only to hastily turned away when meeting his eyes.

"You leaving already?" He said, and Hanbin might have imagined it, but Jiwon sounded just a bit sad.

"I think this is it for now. I will try to write more for "Airplane" when I get home, but for now let's have "Today" as our finalized song." Hanbin said as he collected his notebook and stuffed it in his bag. "You can start writing rap for either of them and show me later, okay?"

"Okay." Jiwon nodded absentmindedly and pressed his lips into a thin line. He looked puzzled for a moment, then finally decided to say when Hanbin was about to leave. "Um... Do you know about the cypher this Thursday? I heard that Bobby is going."

"I do." Hanbin said, looked back at the other curiously. "You going?"

"I think so." Jiwon muttered, sounding unsure of himself. "It seems like B.I hasn't decided to come or not so..."

It should be funny, Hanbin should find it funny that there was someone this worked up over him without knowing that he was right here in front of them. But instead Hanbin actually softened at the worried expression displayed on Jiwon's face, so he said, rather gently:

"Newbies are not usually welcomed at these events, so I think he might be hesitating over that, but. If there is someone he wants to see there, he will definitely come." He smiled a little. "And I heard he likes Bobby."

Jiwon widened his eyes, then slowly, a huge grin stretched across his face. It looked like sunrise.

"You're right." He said, his laughter a bit too endearing. "Hey, you know what. We should go there together, buy some popcorn, watch some MCs throw some sick lines and I will shove popcorn in your mouth whenever you try to comment on B.I"

Hanbin actually broke into laughter at that. His hand pressed against his stomach as he said between laugh.

"That doesn't sound half bad." He said, a bit out of breath and Jiwon noticed how it seemed like a balloon was blown up inside his chest at the realization that he made this happen. He put a smile on Hanbin's face, and that wasn't half bad either.

The next day went by uneventfully, except for the sudden visit of Hanbin to Jiwon's locker, and Jiwon was half enthralled by the way Hanbin's cheeks flushed lightly as he told them that the professor agreed to their arrangement, half entertained to see Jinhwan's face when Hanbin himself come talk to them.

"Is that so? You've done well." Jiwon smiled brightly at the other boy, making him mutter something incoherently with his head low, ears beet red and Jiwon couldn't help bringing up his hand to touch Hanbin's hair, this time only petting it lightly.

"Then let's gather up this Thursday--" Ah, the cypher, he almost forgot. "Friday. I'll try to complete my part in the mean time."

Hanbin nodded timidly, glancing at Jinhwan with curiosity. Then probably thinking that he was being rude, he averted his gaze and bowed.

"Then I'll get going."

Jiwon watched his back as Hanbin left, and when he turned to look at Jinhwan, the older boy had a nasty grin on his face.

"No, hyung. It's not like that." Jiwon tried to make his voice serious but his cheeks also started to heat up.

"I haven't said anything." Jinhwan smirked cunningly. "You even sell me out in order to have the boy approach you at school?"

"N-No! I just forgot to ask you." Jiwon said, knowing that it sounded weak to his own ears.

"Who would have thought... To think you have called him a brat just a week ago." Jinhwan heaved a melodramatical sigh, making the younger shove him lightly on the shoulder.

"If I know you would be like this I would have asked Junhoe instead." Jiwon murmured, trying to sound more sulky.

"Don't worry, I'll tell him." Jinhwan said. "We will laugh at you guys together."

"It's nothing, really. We are grouped together, I should at least be friendly."

"Yeah right. Wait for a week and see what is "friendly"," Jinhwan snickered wickedly. "Bet you will be calling him a brat in bed then.

"Shut up!"

It was Thursday night, and Jiwon was 30-minute-early, again.

He remembered the same situation happening before, only that right now the one he was waiting for was Hanbin instead of B.I. He honestly never guessed himself and Hanbin could ever establish this kind of friendly (?) relationship, but considering the current circumstance where he was waiting for the other boy in front of the club's entrance, worrying if he appeared too sloppy and constantly checking his watch, it was clearly happening. He kind of started to take a liking in Hanbin. No big deal.

Jiwon knew what this looked like, but he refused to say the word out loud. A date, a voice snickered in his head, somehow sounded disturbingly like Jinhwan. He felt his cheeks painted scarlet as he justified himself out loud, to both spiritual Jinhwan and himself.

"We are not like that!"

"Like what?"

Came a voice intruding his personal face and for a moment Jiwon thought his heart might have jumped to his throat. He snapped his head to the source of the voice, alarmed eyes then squinted confusedly. There was a man standing next to him, back against the wall and all smiley. Not someone that he knew.

"Sorry if I'm being nosy but I saw you standing here for a while. Can't get through the security? Me too. Don't you think they are being too stingy to newbies?" The stranger said before Jiwon could even open his mouth. The other had slanted eyes with glint of mischief and a high-pitched voice. He spoke so fast he sounded like being fast-fowarded. "I'm Lee Seunghoon, by the way. You are?"

"Um... Kim Jiwon." He muttered, much with puzzlement. "You said 'newbies'?"

"Uh, yeah. Bet you never heard of my name, right?" Seunghoon said with a carefree laugh, seemingly not offended by Jiwon's timid nod. "It's okay. I'm here to make people remember my name."

"They don't welcome newbies?" Jiwon asked. Hanbin was saying something like this too.

"Yup. Bunch of old shoes with inferiority complex." Seunghoon chuckled. "They not welcoming ain't gonna stop me from breaking in though. I'm also here to see someone."

"Huh?" Jiwon made an abrupt noise as he widened his eyes at the other. Hanbin's words came rolling in his mind.

" If there is someone he wants to see there, he will definitely come."

"It'll be hard to seek him, since he is quite a big name in the underground." Seunghoon continued, his face stern and tone sharpened. "Nevertheless, I need to meet him no matter what."

"Wait..." Jiwon straightened his back and focused wholely on the other. It couldn't be- "Are you...."

"Here you are, hotshot! Been looking for you everywhere!" A hand suddenly slung around Jiwon's shoulder and Mino came into his view, grinning cheerfully. "Come here! I've saved the opening performance for you and the mic is not gonna rap itself."

With that the older rapper grabbed his arm and dragged him inside the club. In a rush the only thing Jiwon could do was to grasp a seemingly stunned and amazed Seunghoon and pulled him along.

"Holy cow, you are a pro?!" Seunghoon appeared to finally find back his voice as he stopped gaping and started yelling excitedly. "And you acquaint Mino? Like, real Mino?! Sick!"

Jiwon gave him a faint smile and all of his nerves were running wild. He wasn't totally convinced, but maybe, just maybe, if he dared to try, he could put together pieces of the belief that he had been giving up on. So he tried.

"Seunghoon, I'm gonna do the opening performance for tonight and if you don't mind," It didn't feel right. Let's just hope it would turn out right. "Would you collab with me?"

In a second those slanted eyes widened in astonishment and the next, Seunghoon had a challenging smirk on his face as he replied.

"Sure."

Hanbin was being late. He was ing late and had to run all his might to the night club. Traffic was worse than he expected, and as he yelled at Minho on his phone, he had already been out of breath.

"Stop nagging, I'm almost there!"

"I'm telling the guards to let you in. Hurry up, Bobby is taking the opening performance!"

If that weren't the most motivational thing Hanbin had ever heard in his life.

So he arrived two minutes earlier than his actual capacity, stopped to catch breath and scanned around to find Jiwon. Nowhere to be seen. Understandable, Hanbin was so late.

At Minho's request, Hanbin was let in without hindrance as a special guest. He cautiously stepped inside and was immediately overwhelmed by the amount of human- dancing wildly and noisily shouting human, in the club. It would be almost impossible to find Jiwon now, but Hanbin only stopped looking for him when a familiar deep voice, surely belonged to Song Minho, announced:

"Welcome, party people, rappers, rightful as well as uninvited guests." He said with a playful tone, to which the crowd laughed along. "I'm Mino, your humble host tonight, who will make sure that everyone here is having a good time."

"Now, the important opening perf. I have just literally pushed this guy on the stage and this is gonna be totally freestyle, no . Well who else could be more trustworthy with the holy mission as the mood setter than my boy BOBBY ?!"

The name of the rapper came with a loud cheer from the crowd and in a milisecond Hanbin's attention was snapped to the stage where all the lights had gathered. Two human figures stumbled on the stage and Hanbin squinted his eyes, could not really make out the lines. No sooner had he pushed himself through the crowd to get close than a voice suddenly pierced through his ears, vigorous and full of impact and familiar.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." A raspy chuckle. Hanbin heard his heart banging against his ribcage as if trying to tear it apart as he widened his eyes in the light. And finally he could see.

Crescents eyes. Toothy smile. Fingers that were so warm on Hanbin's hair, now wrapped firmly around the microphone.

"This is Bobby and his new friend Seunghoon, presenting to you the ing best collab ever!"
And there Hanbin found him. On Bobby's stage, there he found Kim Jiwon.


 

It's different.

A voice seethed inside his mind. Not Jinhwan's voice but his own. It's different.

B.I had a high-pitched tone and so did Seunghoon. Their flow was fast and their rhythm was of instinctive aggressiveness. But it was different. He could never mistake B.I's voice. Not him, the one who had listened to that voice hundreds of time.

But as he stood there, growling into the mic, conquering the stage with Seunghoon, he wished that he hadn't noticed. He wished he could just let the moment swallow his rational mind, let himself be fooled. Because if he could just please do so, B.I could really be existing. Stupid or whatever he might be, right now B.I felt farther from reach than ever, he started to have such thought as maybe, B.I was never real, at least to him.

If being fooled would increase the chances that B.I did come to see him as promise, so let he be.


 

When Hanbin found out that Bobby was Kim Jiwon all along, Jiwon was hoping that B.I was Lee Seunghoon.