Junhong wakes up on his third day in Seoul with an unfamiliar feeling in his chest.
The sun breaks through the curtains as the AC blows it to the sides and the morning sun stings in his eyes when he cracks them open.
He rolls onto his belly, face nuzzling into the softness of his pillow as his mind slowly drifts out of the dreamless slumber.
There's no jittery or uneasy feeling in his stomach anymore but there's something different manifesting in the confined space of his ribcage instead.
Nothing is really different but still it feels like nothing is exactly the way it used to be.
He's still Junhong but he's more than that as well.
It's hard to say what it is that makes him feel just a little more mature, just a tad richer in a way.
Two days ago he reached Seoul as a little nobody, just another random kid setting foot onto capital city ground for the first time, now he feels like he's part of it, he deserves to be here, he's got a place in this city and he's gained a batch of new friends along with it.
There’s something else though, something that makes his insides twitch and twist in a weird way and it’s present whenever he thinks of a certain older rapper and his low voice.
It’s different to the way his blood rushed faster through his veins when he heard of a new Jepp Blackman mixtape, it’s not about Jepp Blackman at all, it’s pure and solely about Bang Yongguk.
The feeling is not quite graspable though so Junhong shakes it off and rolls out of bed instead of letting his thoughts wander.

He gets ready quickly, tossing on some of his favorite clothes, placing his favorite snap-back on top of his head and then he heads out to the studio.
Junhong feels like the bus ride stretches on and the minutes don’t seem to pass.
There’s not even a certain reason why he wants to get to the studio as fast as possible and maybe he should have called before heading out to make sure someone’s already present there but it doesn’t really matter.
He figures if no one’s there yet he’s just going to wait on the stairs until either Yongguk or Himchan show up.
 

It’s incredible that he even finds the way back to the studio on his own but he eventually does without much trouble.

When he turns the corner the garage door is already open and he suppresses the urge to pump his fist in the air.

He dashes up the stairs two at a time and has to take a second to catch his breath before he opens the door to the studio.
Yongguk is already sitting on the leather couch, sheets of papers framing the spot he’s occupying.
He raises his head when Junhong steps into the room and his lips break into a broad, gummy smile that does weird things to the rhythm of Junhong’s heart.
“Good morning hyung!” the boy chimes, his voice a little shaken as he drops his backpack onto the floor.
He strolls over to where Yongguk is, carefully avoiding stepping on the papers lining the floor and drops down next to the elder.
“Morning, Junhong.” The rapper mumbles and Junhong swallows because the way Yongguk keeps his eyes fixed on the sheet in his hand in concentration makes him feel like an intruder.

Yongguk remains quiet and Junhong wonders if he really should have waited for the elder to call before heading over.
The feeling dissolves the moment Yongguk lifts his gaze off the paper and smiles at him, eyes disappearing in the thick line of his lashes.
“Not hungry? I bought breakfast.” He says and nods into the direction of the improvised kitchen corner.
There’s a brown paper bag and two cups of what Junhong assumes to be coffee.
“I didn’t know what you’d like so I got some different pastries and there’s coffee and chocolate…just pick what you want.” Yongguk explains and faces his notes again.
Junhong nods.
A little smile steals itself onto Junhong’s lips when he opens the paper bag; there really are all kinds of different pastries, creampuffs and muffins, cupcakes, croissants and doughnuts, two of each.
Junhong chuckles.
“Who’s going to eat all this?” He laughs and takes a cupcake out the bag along with the chocolate from the counter.
“You and me…until we get sick.” Yongguk replies and finally looks up from his papers, sliding them next to him on the couch.
Junhong stares at the amount of pastries that could probably feed a football team and Yongguk laughs.
“Don’t worry we never have left overs. It’s like the guys can smell the food. I bet one of them just fell out of bed and is heading over right now.”
He jokes and as if on cue Yongguk's mobile goes off with the sound of cheering and applause that Junhong recognizes as the other's ringtone.

Youngjae is the first to set foot into the studio about half an hour later.
Junhong has had a cupcake, a doughnut and one of the creampuffs by then, whereas Yongguk has helped himself to the coffee and a single croissant.
The blond boy doesn't wear his glasses today and Junhong takes a second longer to recognize him as he steps through the door, orange colored beanie hiding his hair.

Youngjae greets him with a wave and a wink and hugs Yongguk quickly before he digs into the bag, picking the last cupcake grinning to himself as he talks to the sugary piece, informing it not to worry because -Jung Daehyun won't get his hands on it-.

“I've finished the fine tuning on -Getting there- you wanna check it out?” Yongguk says as Youngjae comes to sit next to Junhong and the blond gives him a silent thumbs up, cheeks stuffed with pastry.

Yongguk disappears into the studio and returns a moment later right as the first notes of the track start playing from the speakers inside the room.
The elder's eyes are set on Junhong instead of his friend, whose vocals appear on the track, he watches the younger; observing his reaction to his soon to be releases composition.

The song starts playing with a rather long intro and the fine piano instrumental has goose bumps spreading over Junhong's arms. There's the sound of rain splattering mixed into the track and he hears a door creaking distantly as well as pages of a book being flipped and someone sighing.
A deep bass line sets in, the piano sounds turn almost aggressive and then he hears Youngjae's voice for the first time.

The other's voice sounds amazing, quite different from what Junhong is familiar with from the tracks Daehyun has been featured on but not better nor worse.
It has a lower, edgier touch to it, a little rougher even and fits the lyrics and mood of the song perfectly.
The lyrics describe a relationship, Youngjae sings about how the girl chases her dream to reach –higher than the stars, only settling for the moon- and how she doesn't realize how her efforts destroy what she has with her partner.
Yongguk's part is the one that tells the guys perspective, encouraging her to keep going, knowing the relationship is broken but still having her back despite the pain it causes him.

-You'll be getting there, keep going, keep going, I'm just a shadow of your past, keep going despite the ruins you leave behind-

Junhong eyes the rapper from the corner of his eyes as his part plays and there’s a feeling crawling through his chest that what Yongguk raps about is exactly what he’d do in reality.
He’s not sure whether his assumption is right because after all he barely knows the elder yet but it’s just a feeling he gets when he looks at the elder.

The track ends with another piano instrumental slowly fading until it dies to the sound of a door falling into lock.

Junhong sits on his spot on the couch unmoved, his mouth is just a tad agape and he blinks twice before his lips break into a broad smile.

He doesn't know what he's supposed to do first, congratulate Jepp Blackman on having composed another amazing track that shoots right to the core of his being or compliment Youngjae on his amazing emotional vocals.

Cohesive sentences form hard so the only thing that does make it pass his lips is a quiet -So cool- that lets a soft smile appear on Yongguk’s lips and a smirk on Youngjae’s.

There's a quiet buzzing noise and Youngjae takes out the mobile from his jeans pocket to answer the incoming call.
He's jumps to his feet and walks towards the door with a happy -Yo Daehyunnie! They got food!- on his lips.

“You like it?” Yongguk asks and Junhong wonders why the elder even bothers to ask the question.
“It's amazing.” He says with awe in his voice and Yongguk rubs his neck awkwardly, an uneasy smile crawling on his lips.
“It's just what I do.” He laughs and Junhong can't believe how the elder seems to lack confidence in his works when all Junhong can see is amazing talent.

“I love the sounds in the background...it turns the song into a movie in my head.” Junhong explains for the sake of saying something more than just -Amazing, amazing, you are amazing.-.

Yongguk's face lights up and within seconds the words drop from his lips like a waterfall, explaining how he got round to using the sounds and what exactly he'd planed for them to do for the song.
Junhong figures it's not a lack of confidence he sees when Yongguk looks at him all awkwardly, it's the anxiety about his opinion.
The thought sends warm tingles dancing through his chest and down his back.

Youngjae takes his time on the phone and the room soon becomes quiet except from the muffled noise outside the door.
Junhong leans back on the couch, shifting to get comfortable until he figures what to say or do.
There are a thousand and one questions running through his head but if he’s honest he’d like to ask those without the possibility of Youngjae stepping back in at any moment.
His mind drifts off to the notebooks he still keeps hidden inside of his backpack.
He desperately wants to hear Jepp’s opinion and he wants to know what Yongguk thinks about them as well.
It’s not even about the quality of his works anymore it’s about hearing what Yongguk thinks of his brain vomit, all the things Junhong wrote down to pour his soul onto paper.
It feels even more personal now that he got to know the person behind Jepp Blackman, the real person called Bang Yongguk and it’s making his heart flutter and pulse rage to even think of showing just the tiniest little line to the elder.

He feels Yongguk’s knee bumping into his as the elder leans forward to grab his notebook off the table.
It remains like that even when Yongguk starts scribbling onto the paper and Junhong wonders whether he should shift to give the other more space but instead of doing so he leans his leg into the connection.
Yongguk doesn’t bulge and Junhong’s breathe evens out until its swallow and calm because he doesn’t feel like flinching away, he’d rather increase the proximity if he was honest.
The simple, minimal touch has an intangible soothing effect on him and he wants it to last.

The scratching sound of the pen against paper is the only sound present, he can’t even hear Youngjae talking anymore and it doesn’t take long until Junhong gathers the courage to speak.

“What are you writing?” He asks quietly and at first he wonders whether the elder heard him but the Yongguk leans back and holds the notes so Junhong can see.

“Whatever comes to my mind…I tend to forget ideas quickly so I write them down as soon as one strikes me.”

Junhong scans the page that is presented to him, quick lines and single words flooding the page even in the corners that one day may make it into one of Yongguk’s tracks.
It’s really a big mush of letters not quite neatly written but it screams inspiration.
He skims the texts quickly trying to absorb the words and their meaning and the urge to grab his backpack off the floor hits him with force.

He’s about to do so, eyes only scanning the last little note in the far left corner when the door swings open.

“Good morning sunshine! Where’s the food?”

Himchan’s voice rings through the studio and both Junhong and Yongguk flinch, the younger’s hand coming up to press against his chest.

The dark haired boy blinks at them and a smile molds onto his lips.

“Sorry did I disturb you two?” He asks, not expecting an answer as he strolls towards the leftover pastries.

Yongguk looks over to the startled boy next to him sending him an apologetic smile.

“Morning, Channie,” he says with a sigh and jumps to his feet.

Youngjae steps through the door while Yongguk prepares instant coffee for the others and Himchan stuffs his mouth with one of the doughnuts.
Junhong waves at him from his spot on the couch when he spots another person stepping in behind the blond.
The boy wears a black mask covering most of his face, only leaving his big doe eyes exposed and even though his hair is a different color Junhong instantly knows who he is.
 

The masked boy drops down next to him on the couch not sparing him a look.

"Would anyone mind to introduce me to strangers sitting in my studio?" The brown haired boy asks in a muffled voice, his arms crossed over his chest as he leans against the couch rest.
Junhong gazes at him from the corners of his eyes.
The boy’s eyes narrow as he looks at Junhong, who awkwardly shifts his eyes to Yongguk for mental support.
Himchan laughs.

"Hey Daehyunnie! Don't pretend to be so badass!"
The boy rolls his eyes and pulls the mask off his lips to reveal a pout playing on his puffy lips.
"For once! Just for once let me pretend I'm the cool stone faced type of guy!" the brown haired boy whines.
Junhong blinks at the boy whose lips stretch into a broad smile.
"I'm Daehyun" He says with a broad grin and Junhong nods.
"I know." He says quietly and swallows when Daehyun blinks at him in return with his mouth shaped in a perfect O.
"See you're famous." Youngjae states nudging Daehyun into the shoulder with his elbow.
"Nope wrong! Jepp Blackman is." Himchan deadpans and the pout crawls back onto Daehyun's lips.
He readjusts the mask to cover his lower face once more and mumbles into the fabric.
"I don' even know why I deal with you guys."
 

Daehyun, despite Junhong's impression of the boy from the V-logs, is a very talkative and funny person and partly it’s Youngjae’s fault whose presence seems to kind of dissolve the "fashionably" moody aura of the brunette vocal.
Junhong feels like he could spend hours just watching the two of them arguing about whatever comes to their minds.
He’s only met the elder of the two about an hour ago but he can instantly tell the two vocals are close.
They disagree on so many levels, keep nagging and teasing each other but when it comes to music their tastes and preferences seem to melt into one.
It only takes around 30 minutes until Junhong is more or less ordered to sit with them discussing various artists and listening to Daehyun's complains about not being featured on the new mixtape while his friend gets to do a great variety of tracks.
Junhong doesn't know how but he can tell Daehyun's not really disappointed, maybe a little, but more than that he seems to be proud of the blond boy.
Junhong can tell by the way his eyes flicker to Youngjae when the other's not looking and in the way Daehyun keeps repeating how the other's voice “is something”, Youngjae seems to take it as an insult, Junhong thinks it's meant as a compliment, even though a hidden one.

Yongguk clears his throat around the time the two vocals conversation changes from the topic of music to the topic of food and four pairs of eyes set on him.
Junhong's skin is burning when Yongguk turns to look at him for a moment with an intense gaze that is hart to place for the younger.
Their eyes remain locked for not more that the fraction of a second but Junhong feels the heat in his cheek that seems to have appeared for no obvious reason.
Yongguk averts his gaze a second later obviously having noted Junhong's flaring cheeks when he clears his throat anew.
His eyes set onto the sheets in his hands and everything's quiet as they wait for the elder to speak except the rustling coming from Youngjae roaming his messenger bag.

"I actually have something to ask..."
He mumbles, not lifting his gaze of the sheets in front of him as he flips the papers.
"Here it comes!" Himchan exclaims with a broad grin on his lips and rests his elbows on his knees, bending forward to rest his chin on top of his hands.
Yongguk glares at him a little before turning back to Junhong who's looking at him expectantly and a little anxious.
 

The elder takes a deep breath and rubs the back of his neck.
"I know I said I want to feature you on one of the tracks." He starts and there's an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of Junhong's stomach as he receives the words.
Yongguk's features are uneasy, eyes flickering and brows furrowed.
Junhong's breathe halts and his forehead wrinkles a little as he frowns.
It feels like his heart is beating inside of his throat as he waits for the elder to explain further, the thought of Yongguk revoking his promise crawls though his mind and it's nerve wrecking to say the least.
The seconds tick by too slowly and Junhong shifts on the couch nervously.

"What do you think about doing two tracks instead?"

Junhong blinks at the elder, his mouth falls open and he probably looks more than just a little stupid right now.
His eyes are set on the elder as his face draws an expression somewhere between dumbfounded and outright amazed.
Himchan laughs and shakes his head, Daehyun's eyes form crescents, smile hidden behind his mask, while Youngjae merely raises his eyes of the I-Pad in his hands for a second, raising an eyebrow.

"I thought it'd be cool to include your satoori in one of the songs so I kind of rewrote some of the lyrics to one of the tracks earlier."

Yongguk's lips form a little smile that Junhong is unable to return at the current moment.
The boy merely blinks a couple more times and desperately tries to find words in his system suited to form a decent reply.

"Oh I knew you'd do that!" Himchan exclaims when no one else speaks and holds his hand over to Youngjae.
The blond raises an eyebrow once more and crinkles his nose.
"I never said I'd bet on it." He mumbles dryly, so Himchan's hand wanders over to hover in front of Daehyun who grunts a little before handing a couple of bills to the boy.
 

"You seriously bet on it?" Yongguk sighs and Himchan shrugs counting the bills in his hand.
"No offence but you're predictable, my friend." He states and leans back in his chair.
Youngjae only nods quietly in agreement, Daehyun groans.

Junhong just sits there as the boys interact.
It's like a movie, something that is clearly not happening in his life where he's a nobody sitting in front of his computer, awkwardly rapping into a webcam.

Yongguk turns back to look at him with a lopsided smile that appears almost insecure.
"You wanna give it a shot?" he asks and Junhong feels how the corners of his lips twitch into a big fully grown grin.

He's almost bouncing on the couch when he finally bursts out his answer.
"Hell yeah!"

Himchan laughs.

Everyone sets to leave as soon as all the pastries are devoured.
The vocals just wave quickly, once again involved in another argument, this time about the songs that fit their voices the best and too busy with one another for a decent farewell.
Himchan on the other hand comes up to Junhong to squish him in a tight hug that presses most of the air from the boy’s lungs.
“Don’t let him go too hard on you prodigy. He’s a perfectionist when it comes to music.” Himchan states with a wink and Junhong only nods as he draws oxygen into his body.

“Do you wanna see the track?” Yongguk’s voice booms from the side and Junhong spins around nodding as the door closes.
The rapper smiles and beckons him over again.
He sinks down onto the couch once more and watches as the elder flips through his notebook sliding it over for Junhong to read.

The boy skims the lyrics and the notes scribbled to the sides.
A bunch of lines are crossed out, arrows pointing from various parts to other positions in the track.
The song is once again very different to the ones he’s heard till now, the content something new showing the wide range of topics present on the new mixtape.
It revolves around insecurities and chasing big dreams and it’s almost as if the track was written for him even before Yongguk decided to let him take part in it.
He feels like he can relate to every word that is left on the paper.

When he’s done reading Yongguk starts explaining the song in detail and how he’s planned to change it to include Junhong’s rap.
He listens and nods as Yongguk speaks and his eyes follow the way the elder lets the pen fly over the page to point at the lines he’s talking about.
As soon as the content is clear, Yongguk gets up to play the instrumental a couple of times so Junhong gets a better feeling of the song before they set to work on the actual lyrics.

Instead of telling Junhong what he’s supposed to rap Yongguk asks him what he wants to say and when Junhong starts uttering his ideas it’s incredible how fast they agree on them.

The first words start to fill out the blanks on the paper and soon they have a good amount of brainstorming down in written letters.
The words come so easy to Junhong as he’s working with Yongguk and there’s not a bit of awkwardness or the feeling of second-rateness when he voices his thoughts because Yongguk takes every word he says serious and considers his ideas like there’s not a tad difference between Zelo and Jepp Blackman.
 

Yongguk is noting down a certain line when Junhong lets it run though his mind and suddenly finds a better expression in his head to display what they’re looking for.
 

“No wait! How about…,” he says without finishing his sentence.
He’s too eager to show Yongguk exactly what he means so his hand darts out on its own accord, grabbing the pen from the elder’s hands.
The moment his fingers brush against Yongguk’s sets a jolt of electricity through his body and he startles for a second before setting the pen down onto paper and harshly scribbling down his idea.

He feels the heat in his cheek as he hands the pen back without meeting the elder’s eyes.

Yongguk doesn’t seem to notice the way Junhong’s blood rushes to his cheeks to tint it a shade of rosy pink.
He scans the boy’s notes with concentration and hums while Junhong fights the swarm of butterflies that seems to have invaded his stomach.

“Very good.” the elder mumbles, eyes still set on the paper as he adds a couple more notes at the side.
Junhong looks at him from underneath his bangs, eyes attentively roaming the other’s features, his mind not quiet set on the lyrics anymore but the lines of the elder’s face instead.

Yongguk smiles at him, his eyes molding into little creases and soft crinkles form around them as he nods in approval and pats Junhong’s back, making the boy’s insides twist under the casual touch.

The weird, unfamiliar sensation from this morning coils in Junhong’s stomach again and he averts his eyes from where they attentively scanned Yongguk’s features.
The euphoria from doing the song still swims through his veins but it’s met by another rush of something, something that comes from the sight of the elder’s plump lips stretched into his signature gummy smile and the way he sits closer now than he ever has since they’ve met.
His heart beats rapidly inside his chest and the rush of blood resonates in his ears, making him dizzy.
Junhong peeks at the elder once more, his eyes darting to the other’s pair of sinfully plush lips and his throat feels dry when the tingles return to his fingertips just like they have so many times already.

He's not sure what he's doing when his head shots up and his hands clench into Yongguk's shirt collar to jerk him forward.
There’s not a second left for any thought to cross his mind except the need to act, to do something to calm the need for proximity that’s overtaken his body.
Their lips collide forcefully, smash together in the bruising attempt of a kiss but Junhong doesn't care that it's desperate and clumsy because the other's lips are soft against his.
He keeps pushing into their connection, his hands holding on to the fabrics between his fingers almost clingingly, afraid Yongguk might break away if he doesn’t hold on strong enough.
He's hormone driven, common sense knocked out of his body because Yongguk's scent is too alluring to resist and he wants to feel and taste the other, wants to know what it feels like to brush his fingers over soft skin and through silky hair.
The movement of his lips is eager and demanding but there's no respond to his lips moving against Yongguk's.

“Junhong” The elder murmurs his name against his lips, the tone is soft but firm.

It's a second later that the expansion of his actions hits him.
Junhongs stomach drops and he can’t deny he’s scared.
He let’s go of Yongguks shirt and is about to jump to his feet when Yongguks arms come to wrap around his waist.
The apology he is about to burst gets caught in his throat when he feels fingers slide underneath the cotton of his shirt.
He’s pulled onto the other’s lap, straddling him and blinks in confusion.
There's a small smile on the elder’s lips and Junhong feels like a bunch of small explosions set off in his body.

“Like this.” Yongguk purrs and lashes their lips together anew.

Their lips start moving slowly in a real kiss, one that’s not just the press of lips against lips.
The rapper’s version is much more sensual, making the thin hairs on Junhong's neck rise and shivers run through his limbs.
He clings on to the older, wraps his arms around his shoulders and sinks his hands into the dark strands of Yongguk's hair.
It's not as soft as he'd thought it would be but it still feels amazing when he slides his fingers through it.

This time when his lips join the other's movement Yongguk doesn't ask him to stop but pulls him closer instead.
It's Junhong who parts his lips a little to invite the other in and Yongguk follows.
The kiss remains slow even when their tongues meet but Junhong's head is spinning nevertheless.

Their foreheads are pressed together, both of them panting lightly when they break apart.
Yongguks hands on the small of his back feel hot, almost burning as they linger on his skin.
Junhong feels fuzzy and light headed.
He slides a little further onto the other’s lap and halts abruptly when a low, choked moan reaches his ears.
Yongguk is hard.
Junhong can feel the other’s through the fabrics of their pants.
He himself is not much different but instead of lust a cold wave of panic crawls down his spine.
He’s not ready to offer more than kisses yet and he wishes for a second he hadn’t started any of this when Yongguks voice cuts into his thought.

“I should take you back to your hotel….” The elder murmurs and Junhong can feel the heavy weight lifting off his chest.
He doesn’t want to go back, it’s way too early only a little pass 2pm but right now he doesn't feel like he can stay either.
He nods.

The ride back to the hotel is spent in silence and it would be an understatement to say that Junhong feels uneasy sitting next to Yongguk after what happened.
He’s not sure how to sit, where to place his arms and legs so he won’t appear awkward and that alone makes him feel even more awkward.
He opts to stare out of the window but his eyes keep flickering to the older rapper trying to read his expression.
Yongguk’s eyes are fixed on the road, his hands gripping on to the steering wheel tightly and Junhong kind of wishes the other would pull over for a moment and tell him what’s going to happen with the two of them now because he can’t seem to find the answer all by himself.
Yongguk doesn’t pull over and he doesn’t attempt to explain what is going on in his head either, he just keeps quiet until they reach Junhong’s hotel.
Junhong unbuckles his seat belt and is about to step out of the car when Yongguk’s voice halts him with the call of his name.
The younger turns around slowly, rolling his lip in between his teeth.
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning at 10 ok?” The elder says with a quick smile playing over his lips that looks as awkward and uneasy as Junhong feels.
“Ok.” He says and then he’s out of the car, backpack clutched against his chest tightly.