“Was that okay?”

 

Jinyoung sat back in his leather roll-y chair in the control room and smiled as Bambam’s familiar lisp came through in his nervous voice. He pushed the button on the sound board that patched him through to Bambam’s headphones.

“Relax Bam-ah, you’re doing fine. Focus on your pronunciation and let’s run the verse one more time.”

Bambam nodded, his serious and focused expression looking funny on his features that Jinyoung was used to seeing full of youthful animation. He smiled encouragingly at Bambam, crinkles forming in the creases of his cheshire eyes, and gave him a thumbs up before starting the music again.

Bambam returned the thumbs up and cleared his throat, reaching to adjust his headphones. Jinyoung watched intently as Bambam’s eyes closed right before the first chords of his verse and he took a deep breath. The beat dropped and he began to rap.

Bambam’s whole stature changed when he rapped. He gestured with his hands, his fingers splayed in an oddly unique way. He nodded his head to the beat, leaning into the mic with every phrase, strands of his hair falling down from behind the headphones to hang in dark strings on his forehead. Jinyoung smiled so wide his teeth showed when Bambam pronounced the Korean word he had been struggling with correctly.

“Woohoo!” the manager sitting next to Jinyoung let out a loud whoop and victoriously pumped both of his fists in the air. Jinyoung chuckled and shushed him, glad that Bambam couldn’t hear through the soundproof glass and get distracted. Bambam finished the verse and let out a shaky breath. He took off his headphones and hung them around his neck before finally looking up to shoot Jinyoung a questioning glance. Jinyoung mischievously gave him no response for a moment before his stony facade faltered and a proud smile broke through.

Perfect. He mouthed to Bambam.

Bambam’s shoulders sagged with relief at the release of tension and he threw his head back, smiling so big that it made Jinyoung laugh.

Really? Bambam mouthed back.

Jinyoung nodded enthusiastically and motioned for Bambam to join them in the control room. Bambam practically ran from the recording studio and through the door separating them before barrelling into the room, all of his previous apprehension forgotten.

“Did I really get it right? Are we done?”

“We’re done!” Got7’s manager interrupted before Jinyoung could even answer, slapping Bambam on the bicep and pulling him into a congratulatory hug. Bambam laughed heartily and hugged the manager back, slapping him on the back.

“Well done, Bam-ah, I think that’s all we need. Time to go home now, manager-nim?” Jinyoung asked slyly.

The manager broke away from Bambam to give Jinyoung a playful shove. “Yah, it’s 1 a.m. I don’t get paid enough to stay up all night in the studio with perfectionist young producers. You punks better have this place packed up in five minutes, you have a schedule tomorrow and need to go to sleep. More importantly, I need to go to sleep.”

“Yes sir!” Jinyoung and Bambam laughed and responded quickly, jumping into action and gathering their stuff together to follow their manager out and return to the dorms.

 

When they arrived home they bid their manager whispered goodnights and then tiptoed down the hallway to their respective bedrooms.

“Bambam?” Jinyoung whispered brusquely in the darkness.

Bambam stopped midway through turning the handle to his and Yugyeom’s room as quietly as he could. “Yeah?” he whispered back.

“You’re a good rapper.”

Bambam blushed at the unexpected praise and even though the hallway was pitch dark and there was no way Jinyoung could see him, he dropped his head to hide his expression. “Aish, hyung, don’t say such things.”

Jinyoung smiled to himself, knowing he had successfully flustered his dongsaeng. “Get some sleep.” he said, slipping into his room silently.

“Goodnight, hyung.” Bambam responded, and finally looked up, but only caught the sound of Jinyoung’s door clicking closed it behind him.

Bambam looked down and smiled to himself before sneaking into his room too.

“Is that you, you loud kid?”

“How did you hear me come in? I was quiet as a ninja.”

“Please, if you were a ninja you’d be dead by now. You even breathe loud.”

“Whatever, I’m a ninja.”

Bambam and Yugyeom’s quiet banter was silenced as he shut the door behind him and the hallway was once again empty and quiet.