Hyukjae rode the elevator to the floor of the recording studio with a smile on his face. He and Donghae were on the phone until past two in the morning so he didn’t get that much sleep before he needed to get up for his morning schedule, but he still feels very energetic today.

Although, there’s one thing that makes him feel unsatisfied. He doesn’t want to admit it, but he’s a bit disappointed that he didn’t get any message from Donghae today. Well, he didn’t send him a message either. But it’s okay. He’s going to see him in a few minutes anyway.

He entered the studio and saw Yesung already there, waiting for his turn to record, browsing on his phone.

“Hi Hyung,” Hyukjae said in greeting.

“Hyuk? What are you doing here?”

“What do you mean? We’re recording one song today.”

“No, I mean why are you here so early? You’re going to record last, right? I’m first and I haven’t even gone in.”

Hyukjae shrugged. “My shoot was near here. It would be a waste of time and effort if I go back to the dorm and then come here in a few hours.”

“Ah, I see.”

He looked at the time on his phone and frowned. It’s already fifteen minutes past one.“Why haven’t you started yet by the way? You’re supposed to start at 1pm, right?”

“The staff are running late. I think there’s some problem.”

A bit worried about Donghae, Hyukjae just nodded and sat down. He checked his phone again, feeling bothered. He still didn’t want to send Donghae a message, but he needed to express his frustration in some way. He decided to just send a message in Bubble.

Ah

Come to think of it

It’s Monday today

You’re not too stressed right?

He stood up and went to the restroom on the other end of the studio while browsing his fans’ replies. As he was walking back to the main room, the door suddenly opened and a haggard Donghae entered with several other staff. They were all facing away from him and looking at Yesung.

“Hyung! Sorry, have you been waiting long? We can start in a few minutes, just let me get things ready. Really, sorry.” Donghae sounded so stressed and apologetic.

“It’s okay Donghae, I was playing anyway, and it was just a few minutes. Relax,” Yesung said.

Donghae was hanging his head down and continued apologizing. “Just, everything was a mess today and... I’m really really sorry. We’ll prepare and call you in as soon as possible.” He bowed once more and rushed to the recording room.

Hyukjae felt bothered seeing Donghae like that. He slowly walked back to the couch beside Yesung.

“Hyung, you record fast anyway. The schedule won’t be too disrupted. And even if it is, I’m sure everyone would understand. Don’t be too hard on the staff, okay?”

Yesung looked at him with raised eyebrows. “When was I ever hard on the staff? Besides, I really don’t mind. And it’s Donghae. How can you get mad when he looks like a kicked puppy?”

Hyukjae chuckled despite the glum mood he’s suddenly feeling. “I know, right?”

As he was contemplating, Sungmin called Yesung in and was about to go out.

“Where are you going?” Hyukjae asked.

“I’m going to buy coffee for everyone. We need some boost.”

“What happened today? You all look stressed.”

Hyukjae tagged along with Sungmin on his errand to the coffee shop in the same building. He found out that one of the sound engineers messed something up, Donghae was late so it was not addressed immediately and turned into an even bigger mess, and a graphic designer went MIA and today was the dead