Jinyoung was a little annoyed and frazzled that his former mentee, now friend and fellow CEO (of their own respective agencies), called him up so early. The younger man said it was for coffee and catch-up, but he knew better. He knew that it was about work.

If there was anything that Jihoon inherited from their years of working together, it was his intense work ethic.

Now that Jihoon spilled all his thoughts over coffee and waffles, and presented some rough material for the showcase, he didn’t regret coming to meet him at all. His idea for the showcase was pretty simple, but it fit the collaboration concept well. As one of the producers and investors for the showcase, it made him look forward to it even more.

“So you’re saying the showcase will have a storyline mainly surrounding the concept of a fever dream?”

This question was met with a vigorous nod from Jihoon. His eyes had a sparkle which he’d never seen before; probably because they'd always worked together as mentor and mentee, not as equals. These days, Jihoon can express his ideas so openly because he's confident that he has the experience and the resources to carry them out.

“Correct. It will be like a musical - two strangers meet, develop affection, and then never see each other again..so suddenly that one would ask, was it real, or was it just a fever dream? I think closing the show with Last Fantasy in duet would be perfect.”

“I see that you even studied the lyrics of Jieun’s songs. I’ve always been impressed by how hard you work.” The older man complimented Jihoon with a pat on the shoulder, which was met with a boyish grin from Jihoon.

“I learned from the world’s best workaholic.”

They shared a laugh, but Jihoon quickly turned the conversation back to the thing at hand.

“Hyung, do you think that brat –“ his sentence was interrupted with a scolding look from Jinyoung, “I mean, Jieun, will agree to this concept?”

“Let me talk to Eana about it. I think she’s a reaosnable woman. And to be honest, this idea is too good to be put to waste.”

Jihoon sipped his coffee with a big smile spread across his face.

The two shared an affectionate hug before parting ways.

--

Eana looked at Jieun’s intent face as she skimmed through the proposal for the showcase.

“This came from Jinyoung sunbaenim?”

“Yes, he sent it two days ago, but I requested for some revisions before I sent it to you.”

Jieun gave a slow nod, eyes still glued to the proposal.

“This is…pretty impressive.”

Eana smiled inwardly. She knew deep inside that the idea really wasn’t from Jinyoung, but from someone else: Jihoon. The idea had his stamp of recklessness…and maybe, boldness?

“I definitely agree. It’s something that would show your fans a side of you that they’ve never seen. The revisions made were to accommodate the songs that you’ve handpicked.”

Jieun just made an absent-minded sound, suggesting her approval.

“I like it..did Jihoon have a say in this?”

Her face already had a small frown forming when she mentioned the name.

“Not sure, although Jinyoung said it was him who initiated the idea and Jihoon merely suggested the songs he wanted to cover.”

“Good, good…I like this. I think we should start planning for the songs and the choreography.”

“Of course.”

A day after, the Uaena and Cloud fan forums exploded when a leaked photograph of ‘kpop’s biggest collaboration’ became viral through Dispatch’s website.

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