Reggie Lee & Park Joon-Woo (7)

Perhaps there was something muddy in the water that day. There was a heavy pit in Joon-woo's stomach that, for once, wasn't hunger. It also wasn't Carre's incessant yapping.

"I knew it! I knew that boy had something in him!" Carre exclaimed. 

Kite rolled his eyes, "Knew?" 

Joon-woo blocked their bickering out, he was trying to come up with something that could go wrong today. Most issues had been dealt with. Baek Du-Ho still seemed on the verge of collapsing every second, Joon-woo was still a little anxious around Reggie, though in a more natural way now, so what could it be? It was like there hadn't been a second of rest since coming into this body, Joon-woo sighed. 

"Kite? You don't recall the way he would stare at other contestants?" Carre asked. 

Joon-woo's ears slightly perked at Carre's words. Joon-woo just thought Reggie had a staring problem. Of course it worried him when it came to easy controversy, but Joon-woo figured Reggie was genius enough to grow out of it.

The van buzzed around him. It was an empty van, and it was unusually quiet. Mr. Jeong had only requested Joon-woo to come with him, even scheduling a vocal class for the rest of ASCEND that Joon-woo was usually exempt from. That's where his suspicions came from.

Joon-woo stared suspiciously at Mr. Jeong from the car mirror. Mr. Jeong was avoiding eye contact more than usual. Even the roads they were on were ones they didn't really cross for activities.

Joon-woo put on his more intimidating face. His features were still youthful and delicate, making his feminine features seem more than they were. Not many people took him seriously, not even his bandmates sometimes. 

"Manager-nim, where are we going?" Joon-woo asked. 

Mr. Jeong shuddered. He would've usually explained the schedule now if it were the rest of ASCEND. 

"I… I'm honestly not even sure this time." Mr. Jeong admitted. 

Joon-woo didn't hide the click in his tongue. 

"Kite, can you find out for me?" Joon-woo whispered, stopping Kite and Carre's continued bickering. 

Kite paused, "How would I find out?" 

Joon-woo shrugged, "Can't you fly? Mr. Jeong literally needs gps to get there. Just go to the address and find out."

Kite questioned it for a second moment, before he shrugged. "I just… can't fly far right now."

Joon-woo didn't question it, though it stuck in the back of his thoughts.

–+–

"If Joon-woo is willing, for a six month period, we would like to have him be an MC…"

Joon-woo was snapped back to reality. Was he hearing this right? ASCEND had just debuted, in fact their two month anniversary was just a few days away, but they were already getting MC offers?

Mr. Jeong put on a professional face, he looked at the representative across from him in the small office. 

"The contracts of our latest MCs are soon to expire, so this wouldn't be something immediately in play. In fact, there will be about four months of leeway before our new MC lineup is announced." The representative spoke as straightforwardly as possible. 

"EASY Entertainment has many future plans for ASCEND, and Joon-woo is a key part of them due to his individual popularity. What schedule would he have to follow if we were to approve his appearance?" Mr. Jeong asked, surprisingly calm.

Joon-woo felt as if his presence wasn't even acknowledged. And the way his name was being talked about, he felt like an object. His skin didn't feel like his and his hair and his bones. He hid his observation with a blank yet pretty expression. He knew his role. 

"That would depend on the month. Especially in the upcoming springtime, there are many comebacks. In our estimate so far, it would be preferred he would be here four days a week, Friday being our weekly Music Show. But of course, as long as we are alerted a month prior to his absence it will be cleared." The representative explained with no smile. It was eerie, really.

Mr. Jeong nodded along, the most professional Joon-woo had ever seen him. 

"Honestly, I'm not sure Joon-woo would be very busy, at least until we can bring ASCEND to a level of stable fame. Are you guys only interested in having Joon-woo as a MC?" Mr. Jeong replied as if under a script. 

Joon-woo sighed. His popularity was almost out of the group's range, his and Reggie's BGP had skyrocketed he and Reggie and only them.

"Is Reggie available?" 

Mr. Jeong shook his head, "He and Joon-woo are our most booked." 

"Then no." The representative was very straightforward, and it sent a chill down Joon-woo's spine. 

Mr. Jeong nodded his head, expressionless. He stood and offered his hand over the desk. 

"Thank you for your time today, Ms. Kim." Mr. Jeong didn't sound thankful.

The representative wore a colder glare now. Once they didn't get what they wanted, they always changed up. "No, thank you for seeing me today."

They shook hands coldly. Joon-woo almost shivered at the intensity of the air. 

Joon-woo followed Mr. Jeong out of the room with an expressionless, almost doll-like expression. He felt the representative's eyes piercing every part of his figure, longing for something Joon-woo didn't care to dwell on.

In the hallway it was quiet when they walked through hallways of businessmen and women. Sometimes they would express vague surprise seeing Joon-woo's face. Mr. Jeong glared at each of them like a jealous boyfriend or something, all the way to the van. 

Thanks to the odd office location, there was no crowding around the van. A clocked out worker tried to snap a photo, but the camera sound was loud in the quiet parking lot. Joon-woo made sure to wave, and even break a small grin under his mask. 

In the van, Mr. Jeong was quick to become his usual unprofessional self. 

"So many b*tches…" Mr. Jeong joked, not caring to buckle himself into his seat as they began the drive back to the company. "I would've socked her if I could, you know." He peered at Joon-woo from the rearview mirror.

Joon-woo nodded slowly, feeling a bit unsafe. He still saw himself mostly as a woman. He talked and acted mostly like he did as Ha-rin. He still had the cleanest dorm and the most sensitive to smell and skincare. What if he was still Ha-rin in this situation?

Carre, who had been on the back burner due to something she explained as exhaustion, perked up with airplane ears. Kite, in a similar state, could only roll his bird eyes. Did even supernatural creatures know of Korea's misogyny problem?

"You'll see it as you get older into this industry, really. The only females I want to see in the workplace are models, or even idols…" Mr. Jeong continued on with a rant Joon-woo wanted no part of. "I'll only ever date real women, you know, the ones that know their roles."

Joon-woo gripped the fabric of the van tightly. He had always hated how misogynistic Korea was. Mr. Jeong wasn't even the only one in their company that hated women, probably. 

"But you're also still a boy, aren't you? Have you even had your first kiss yet?" Mr. Jeong joked, alot less timid than when with all of ASCEND at once. 

Joon-woo bit his lip, trying to keep his next words from exiting his mouth. This was unprofessional, Mr. Jeong was acting unprofessionally. 

"Manager-nim, aren't we just co-workers?" Joon-woo asked, putting on a confused front. "This feels a bit… intimate." 

Mr. Jeong paused, the confidence leaving his face. "Hm, I guess so." Perhaps Mr. Jeong could only feel big when putting down women.

Joon-woo avoided the look Mr. Jeong gave him from the rearview mirror. 

–+–

"Hyung?" 

It was Joon-woo, a distance away from Reggie's reach across a kitchen table. 

Reggie couldn't speak. 

Reggie couldn't move, but he was there in the moment. 

In front of him, Joon-woo appeared to be eating a plate of dream-distinguable foods. All Reggie knew is that he was the one that made it. His gaze was pre-set on Joon-woo actually eating to enjoy food. Reggie didn't know what the food was in his dreamy-haze, but he knew in Joon-woo's expression that it was enjoyable enough.

"This is great, Hyung." Joon-woo complimented with a slight nod. He didn't smile though, not even in Reggie's dreams. 

The compliment grew butterflies in Reggie's stomach. 

"You should cook for us more often." Joon-woo said.

It was then the lingering knowledge in the back of Reggie's head that this was a dream became all so real. 

This was a dream. Reggie thought, as he opened his eyes. 

Joon-woo was always very conscious of his health or his un-health. 

Mi Yong stared at him oddly from the other side of the couch. 

"Nice dream?" Mi Yong joked.

Reggie chuckled, "I guess." He replied, "You could tell?" 

Mi Yong shrugged, "You have an actual real smile on your face for once, not some fan service one." He explained, his gaze half focused on the k-drama playing on the TV. "Wanna tell me about it?"

"No." Reggie replied, because he truly didn't want to. 

How could he tell anyone about the quiet heat in his cheeks spawned from a dream of his own bandmate? The one from his BGP at that! The only one who knew Reggie was gay. He shook his head, chilled at the thought.

Mi Yong picked up his phone, probably to a message from their manager. They were in direct contact quite a bit. 

"Joon-woo's on his way back from his mysterious outing." Mi Yong commented with a humorous edge. 

Reggie nodded slowly. He tried to clear his mind of the dream, but the more he thought, the bigger the image of Joon-woo in his head got. They had dance lessons after this. Perhaps that would clear his head.