Like a jackknife.  

That's how Jooheon would describe the man's voice, if he were to be asked. It pierces his very soul, mystifying him every time he hears it. Honestly, if sirens were real, he'd swear that Yoo Kihyun is one. 

 

The vocalist has only been around for a year, but Jooheon was an instant fan as soon as he debuted. As an aspiring rapper himself, he tends to keep up with whoever manages to make a proper debut. Half the time he wonders why they even bother, as the subpar performances don't seem worth the stage time. It's not that the different idols themselves are all that bad, the concepts are just so mundane that it makes Jooheon very grateful he hadn't chosen to sell his soul to the companies that had offered him a contract and gone with the underground route.  

But, when he first heard Kihyun sing, he regrets that decision wholeheartedly. He immediately wants to do whatever it takes to meet the talented man, maybe even collaborate with him one day... Alas, he knew it to be almost impossible for that to happen. Kihyun never sings hip hop, and even if he were to begin, he has no idea how to get his foot in the door to the vocalist's manager to agree to such an occurrence. 

Though, even if it's impossible, the man can still dream. 

 

So, here he sits, chatting it up with an underground friend of his in a café and working on demo tracks for the collaboration that'll never come to be. 

"So that's why I just had to change the bridge... again," Changkyun concludes, chuckling under his breath. He sips on his latte and glances at his friend, who's still staring at the laptop. He huffs out an annoyed breath, shoving Jooheon's shoulder. "Yah, hyung! Did you hear anything I just said??"  Jooheon glances up slowly from his laptop screen, seemingly unfazed by the shout.  

"Sorry... what?" he asks, a dumfounded expression skipping across his face. Changkyun rolls his eyes, muttering something about insufferable fanboys under his breath as he takes another drink. 

"Never mind," he finally says simply, waving a dismissive hand. "How're the tracks coming that you'll never bother actually releasing?"  

"It's not that I won't bother with it, Kyunnie," Jooheon defends with a creased brow. "It's that I can't. They're written with a particular vocalist in mind, and they won't work any other way. So, there's really no point in releasing them." 

"Yeah, yeah," Changkyun sighs. "I think you should just meet up with him, ya know. He'd be interested the second he heard you rap, if he has any real ear for music." Jooheon guffaws in disbelief, giving his dongsaeng a slightly bemused glance as he finally closes his laptop and takes a sip from his cold coffee.  

"Because it's that easy to meet a debuted vocalist," Jooheon says, sarcasm dripping from his tone.  

"Just get into a fan-sign," Changkyun defends, as if that were the simplest solution in all the world. "I can get you in, I have the connections. Minhyuk-hyung—" 

"And then what? 'Oh, hi, my name is Jooheon and I'm an underground rapper. I've been writing tracks ever since your debut, so will you pretty please collab with me??' I don't think so. He'd call security and I'd be tossed out, connections or not." 

"Maybe if you just throw some aegyo into that," Changkyun teases, chuckling to himself. Jooheon puffs his cheeks out in defiance, pouting at his dongsaeng's impertinence. 

"He'd write me off as a creepy stalker in the first five seconds!" Jooheon bursts out. "It's bad enough we've made eye contact at a few of his stages... I know he's gotten to where he can recognize me—" 

"Well, your face is incredibly distinctive," the younger interrupts with a caustic grin. 

"Your nose is distinctive," Jooheon fires back childishly. 

"Not as much as your eyes~" Changkyun retorts, not even missing a beat. Jooheon snickers at this, shaking his head at the younger. 

"Touche," he relents, giving Changkyun an impressed nod of his head. The younger merely shrugs, bowing his head as if he were being applauded onstage. Jooheon only laughs louder at this, rolling his eyes.  

"If he really does recognize you," Changkyun continues as if nothing has happened, "then I bet he'd be glad to see you. It might even be refreshing for him to talk someone who's over fourteen and not a girl." He shrugs again, downing the rest of his coffee and standing. "I've gotta go. I told Hoseok-hyung I'd meet up with him before going back home to work on songs. Just think about it, okay?" Jooheon gives a short nod, biting back a sarcastic retort on how much time the two have been spending together lately as he quickly gathers his things. 

He won't think about it, though, no matter what Changkyun says. After all, it's always better to live in hope than with the sharp sting of inevitable rejection. 

 

"And then after that you've got an interview with K-Rush," Minhyuk finishes, tapping something on his tablet. Kihyun sighs tiredly, staring at his worn-out reflection in the mirror. Promotions are always the best and worst parts about having debuted. It's only been two weeks, but it's been two jam-packed weeks of performances, interviews, and practices. His voice comes out strained and scratchy, much different than how it should.  

"We can't move something to next week?" Kihyun asks meekly. He sips on his tea, wincing a bit at the taste. He doesn't really like drinking tea, but he has to now, to try and save what remains left of his voice to survive the rest of promotions. Minhyuk studies him for a moment, an unreadable light to his eyes, and the vocalist is sure he's about to be told no. However, his manager then returns his gaze to his tablet, tapping a couple times before looking back up. 

"You have a bit of time after your fan-sign at the end of the week to yourself now," is all he says. "The K-Rush interview can wait till the end of next week." 

"Thank you," Kihyun sighs out, the grateful relief painting his voice bringing a smile to Minhyuk's lips. The manager nods once, and then turns to leave the room. 

"I'll bring the car around," he says simply. "Be ready to go in fifteen." Kihyun hums in response, and Minhyuk exits the room just as his phone goes off. He can't help but smile at seeing it's from a certain underground rapper he's so terribly fond of. 

Hyung, I have a favor to ask... the text from Changkyun reads. Minhyuk raises a suspicious brow, the younger having never asked him for something before. Of course, such suspicion doesn't keep him from typing out an immediate yes to it... even if he doesn't even know what it is yet.