There’s a ninety-percent chance that all this would turn out to be a terrible idea. But the remaining ten percent is something Joohyun would take a leap for. She takes a step onto her balcony, looking towards her neighbour’s.

It’s…a girl.

Her neighbour looks incredibly soft and small, unmistakably the combined effect of her oversized hoodie and the guitar she’s carrying. Her rather light-coloured hair is tied up into a bun, and Joohyun catches a glimpse of golden frames. The girl isn’t facing her nor has she heard her arrive. If there’s any window to change her mind, it is now.

But her initial fears melt away in the face of a brave curiosity, now that her neighbour isn’t some creepy old man or stalker fanboy. Joohyun feels compelled to stay. To finally meet. To finally talk.

“Hey, personal lullaby producer.”

The girl stops playing her guitar at the sound of her voice. Joohyun waits patiently for her neighbour to face her, praying inwardly that when her neighbour recognises her, she wouldn’t freak out.

The girl slowly turns around, looking very much like a deer in the headlights as their eyes finally meet.

Damn.

Joohyun nearly chokes.

She’s really…What’s the word? Innocent? Cute?

Her neighbour seems to open , and in a split second, Joohyun decides, in a sense, to rip the band-aid off first by offering the girl a handshake, “Hi, my name’s Joohyun. And you are…?”

“I’m—” Seungwan’s mind starts to scramble, as she tries to register why the soloist would introduce herself as “Joohyun” to “Wendy” and ask for her name when they had literally spent the majority of the past three days together, today included.

Wait. Hold up. The reason finally occurs to her. Seungwan glances down at her outfit, her hand straying up to her glasses to feel the frames sitting on the bridge of her nose. She…doesn’t recognise me. At all.

Joohyun notices the girl’s eyebrows furrow. Wait, does she know who I am? She doesn’t look too happy about it. Oh. Oh no. An anti-fan…?

With just these glasses and no make-up…her facial recognition system just straight up glitches. Seungwan ponders, her amusement growing. Huh, I guess even the amazing Bae Joohyun has a flaw.

Noticing the way Joohyun is studying her face, her suspicions are fully confirmed.

So…do I tell her the truth? She’ll hate me more than she already does. And then I’ll have to apologise for the rest of my manager life for becoming her neighbour. Seungwan’s mind starts to race towards a verdict. But this could be my chance to start on the right foot. She already seems…way more friendly than when we first met, thanks to helping her late nights and our post-it exchanges.

It’s like the universe is letting us meet for the first time all over again, so who am I to waste its efforts?

Seungwan stretches out her hand towards the soloist clumsily, knocking the neck of her guitar accidentally. She cringes at the at twang of protest from the instrument.

The blonde finally takes Joohyun’s hand and gives it a firm shake, “Hi, I’m Seungwan.”

It's so...small and soft. Seungwan thinks, as she files away the little detail she’d just noticed about the woman.

Did not expect a name like that, and definitely did not expect how smooth her hand— Joohyun’s mind starts to wander and she finds herself having to internally slap herself back into reality. It sends a wake-up jolt through her, her hand pulling away from the handshake prematurely and earning a confused look from her neighbour.

“Uh, just some static shock,” she offers lamely, “Also, that’s a nice…name.”

Seungwan chuckles, “Thanks. You have a nice— I mean, pretty name too.”

The air between them grows silent as they subconsciously try to size each other up. Joohyun’s not talking because she’s trying to decode her neighbour’s expressions for any signs that the blonde may recognise her as a celebrity (and whether she wants nothing or everything to do with her). Seungwan’s tight-lipped, tension in her shoulders as she prays hard that Joohyun doesn’t realise the truth and call her out on her bull.

The soloist is the first to break the tension.

“I actually kind of…uh, how do I put this,” Joohyun fiddles with her hair nervously, visibly struggling to string her words together.

Seungwan waits patiently, thoroughly fascinated by this whole other side she didn’t know Joohyun possessed.

“I almost didn’t…come out tonight,” the soloist continues shakily, “Even though I— Even though I was the one who, you know, invited you first.”

Beat.

Joohyun dips her head apologetically, “Sorry.”

As the soloist’s manager, Seungwan starts to realise the potential ramifications had she not been the neighbour Joohyun asked to meet. A little ball of worry and frustration stirred within her.

Bae Joohyun, you could’ve—

Okay, let’s calm down and not let this blow this up in both our faces, shan’t we?

Seungwan doesn’t let her face or body language betray her concern for Joohyun. They are supposed to be strangers after all. Besides, scolding the soloist for her carelessness now would be no different than giving the universe the finger and trashing her chances to understand Joohyun as a person better.

“That’s okay,” Seungwan replies comfortingly, “If I were you, I wouldn’t be sure too.”

Joohyun looks up, startled, “W-What?”

“You’re Bae Joohyun, right?” Seungwan tilts her head, “The country’s number one sweetheart?”

Joohyun feels her body grow cold at the revelation that her neighbour does know who she is. But Seungwan isn’t freaking out yet, so that has gotta be a good sign, right…?

“Huh, y-you know me?”

Seungwan can’t believe what she’s hearing. Seriously, you think no one would know you when you’re such a big deal here?

“Duh,” Seungwan rolls her eyes playfully, “I may look like a hobo, but I assure you I don’t live under a rock.”

Joohyun is pleasantly surprised by the girl’s calm casualness, as though she isn’t fazed by the fact that she’d just moved in next to a national music icon. She doesn’t look starstruck at first sight. She doesn’t start asking for autographs. She just…engages Joohyun in friendly conversation. Treats her like a normal person. And for once, the startling lack of the need to stay on a pedestal feels like a welcomed change.

“You don’t…” Joohyun tries to make sense of her confusion through her words, “You aren’t freaking out.”

Wow, who knew Korea’s number one sweetheart has such…astounding vocabulary. The soloist facepalms internally in exasperation with herself.

Seungwan shrugs, “Am I supposed to?”

“W-What?”

Seungwan slings her guitar to her back, resting her arms on the balcony railing, “I mean, you may be a superstar, but you’re a person too. And I can imagine how much ‘freaking out’ you already have to deal with on a daily basis. I don’t plan to add to that. Not when home must be where you can truly just be…you.”

Hearing such comforting validation right off the bat from someone whom she’s just met, Joohyun feels the words to bury themselves in her soul. It’s like l forget every time I get the chance to.

You’re a person too.

I guess, there are still people like that out there, as rare as they may be. Joohyun mulls to herself.

Thank God Seungwan’s one of them.

“You…aren’t like anyone else I’ve met before.”

Except we’ve met before, Joohyun-ssi, Seungwan replies in her mind with cheeky sarcasm.

“Really?” The blonde can’t hold back from asking, “Does everyone out there deny you of your humanity?”

“Well, most don’t say it to my face,” Joohyun offers, “But it’s in the actions, or what’s said and not said.”

Seungwan hums in understanding. Silence hangs in the air for several moments again.

“But it’s what I signed up for, right?” Joohyun suddenly starts, “The curse of becoming popular is that your life doesn’t belong to you anymore. It belongs to the company. To the fans. To the people who invested in you so you can be where you are today.”

She’s not…wrong. Seungwan feels her chest tighten again, remembering what Kangta had mentioned about Joohyun’s past. People have wronged her. Must be hard to remember you’re human when that’s all you’re surrounded by.

“Seems like you’re stuck between a rock and hard place.”

“Yeah, that just about sums it up,” Joohyun chuckles, “Hey, you’re pretty good with words.”

“You ain’t so bad yourself, Miss-Pink-Post-It,” Seungwan returns, “Reading your notes really gave me strength for the day.”

Joohyun feels a slight warmth rise up her cheeks, “Uh, that’s great.”

“Which brings me to my next question, if you don’t mind me asking,” Seungwan continues, “What was troubling you that you couldn’t sleep? Of course, we’ve on