Hectic

JAYB's POV

"You can't eat too much cake, Nayeon-ah." I warned her as we sat in one of the tables in the café. We were alone and just focused on each other's company. Since she was still shy around people, especially with Joshua.

"I can't believe he keeps ignoring me." She grumpily said as she poked her cake with a fork. She has been trying to get close with the other 95 liners but was ignored a lot.

Oh…

Didn't I mention that this was a test?

If she can survive by staying here for 2 hours while being ignored by everyone else, she passes.

Harsh, isn't it?

That's just how it is.

"Relax. You'll be fine. Just eat some spinach or something. Just don't eat too much sweets since you're singing live tomorrow." I slowly got the cake of her hands.

She rolled her eyes. "If I had a car, I would have left a while ago."

I chuckled. "I'll be back."

The rest of the 95 liners were at one corner talking with each other. I heard them congratulate Sungjae for the success of our drama. As soon as I joined them, they also did the same with me.

"So how are things with Sooyoung-ah?" I asked Sungjae.

He sighed. "Same old. She thinks that all of these virtual marriage stuff is just pretend for me. I just wish she'd see that I'm actually serious about her."

"It's because you're not doing anything outside the show. You're letting the show do its job. So that's why she's treating you like that. You have to be clear with your intentions." I told him sternly.

We talked about it more. I even told him what to do and was even willing to help him pull it off. He got scared and was about to back out when I told him that they don't really know when this virtual marriage ends so he has to make a move now. In the end, he agreed and we continued to plan it out.

Joshua then approached me. "I can't believe that we're doing this to her."

"Are you worried about her?" Jimin asked as he smirked.

"It's not that… it's just… she came here excited to meet us and all, and we're just treating her like crap." He replied.

"There's just one minute left anyway. Let's just end it now." Dominic suggested.

Once we decided to end it early, we all went to approach her. But a hand stopped me from going any further. When I turn to see who it was, it was Jeonghan.

"Hmm? What is it Jeonghan-ah?" I asked.

"Someone is here to meet you." He said with a solemn face.

I turn to face him completely. "Really? Who would be meeting me at a time like this?"

He side stepped aside and showed the woman who just entered the cafe. When the rest of the people saw her, they turned quiet. Wheein saw how everyone suddenly became awkward and decided to greet her and break the tension. The rest followed suit.

I then walked to her. "Sunbaenim? What brings you here?"

"Can we talk? Alone?" She asked as she turn to see the people behind me.

"Sure. Let's talk outside." I replied as I opened the café's door motioning for her to go out first.

As soon as we stepped out, I could feel the cold wind rushing towards us. It was already late at night and I can't believe that she went here just to talk to me. She could have just called me.

"Is someone here with you? How did you get here?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I drove here by myself."

I raised my eyebrow. "You? Driving all the way here from Seoul?"

"Ya… a lot happened after we broke up, okay? Apparently, I can drive now." She rebutted.

As soon as she said that, things became awkward. What is going on? Shouldn't we be fine? I thought we both agreed to be okay about these things.

"So what brings you here?" I asked.

She grew silent for a while before she responded with. "Let's get back together."

My jaw dropped with what she just said. Is this a joke?

"If you're joking right now, this isn't funny okay. We both agreed to break up." I replied.

"I'm not joking. This is serious." She said in a monotone.

I ruffled my hair. "Where is this coming from?"

She didn't say anything back. It was as if she wanted to say something but she couldn't. This is really confusing. We can't just turn things on and off like a switch just because she wants to.

I then started confirming it with her. "Didn't you tell me that you wanted to break up?"

She nodded. "I did."

I then went on with my questions. "Didn't you say that it was best if we move on and find our happiness?"

She lowered her head. "Is it really that easy for you?"

I sighed, "But you told me to-"

"I know what I said!" IU-noona harshly interjected as she started tearing up.

She sighed. "I can't help it JayB-ya. I really tried."

"Then what do you want me to do?" Helpless and clueless at to what I needed to do, I calmly asked.

"Nothing… I can't force you… when you don't even want to anymore." She replied in between her sobs.

I turn my face against her. I couldn't handle seeing her cry like that. A heavy sigh escaped my lips. "It's not that… it's… I don't think it's possible for now."

"I didn't expect you to say yes actually... That's why I just came here to say my piece." She said trying to stop herself from crying.

I prepared myself as to what she was about to say. "Say what?"

IU-noona slowly wiped her tears and stared at my eyes with conviction. "I like you, Kim Jinbo."

"Noona… I…" I tried to speak but my mind went blank from what she just said.

This can't be happening. Not when I'm finally starting to move on.

She placed her hand in front of her to stop me from speaking further. "Like I said, I came here to say my piece."

"Is this based on the previous Ji-Eun-ah's memories?" I finally managed to ask.

"It's based on MY memories." She replied.

It was still shocking for me. Is it really true?

Could she really like me?

"I have to go. At least think about it. I'm willing to wait for your answer." She said.

"I should drive you back." I tried to stop her.

She then stopped me. "It's okay. Don't worry about it. Enjoy your meeting."

"But you are no condition to drive." I told her.

"Don't worry. I'm just going to go to a nearby hotel to check myself in." She said.

Seeing that I couldn't persuade her, I agreed with what she wanted and watched her get inside her car and drive off. This night just turned from good to bad real fast.

It can't get any worse… can it?

My phone starts ringing. Who in the world would be calling me at this time?

When I checked my phone, I could not help but sigh and answer it. "Yes, PD-nim."

"JayB-ya?! Is Ji-Eun-ssi there with you right now?!" It was obvious that he was worried. I think that woman just drove all the way from Seoul without even asking for the company's permission.

"You just missed her. She left to check in a nearby hotel. Why? Do you need something from her?" I responded.

I could hear a sigh of relief coming from him. "Nothing. It's fine. She suddenly stormed off after watching an episode of We Got Married. It turns out, it was the one where you got invited over for a blind date."

I sighed.

Now it makes sense.

Was she jealous because of that? Or was she scared that I was already moving on?

Well… It doesn't really matter. I just hope that she understands that THAT was just virtual and not real. After that shoot, Wendy and I became really good friends. We even shared a couple of our secrets about who her crush is and who my mystery girl was. We never made it official. Everything was for the audience.

"Well, I'm glad that it worked out well. If that's all, I'm hanging up." I said.

"Wait JayB-ya! I actually also called because I wanted to tell you something." He frantically said.

Oh boy…

This can't be good…

"I'm actually scared to ask." I told him honestly.

His laughter boomed over from the other line. "You know me pretty well."

I sighed. "What is it this time?"

"Well, now that your Japanese and Chinese tour came to a close, I'm going to ask you to spend the next month to work on a new album." He said.

I was relieved. "That's it? I thought it would be something that'll make our schedules hectic, but if that's the case, I can manage that."

"Oh that's not JUST it." He continued. "I also want you to work on an album for Alpha's Christmas Special. You can make it an EP if you want but I also want it ready the same day your regular album comes out since I still need to review it."

"You're kidding, right?" I asked in a scared tone.

He laughed. "When did I ever kid when it came to music? You are going to work on it for the entire month."

I was beginning to sweat from the anxiety that I was feeling. "But PD-nim… Recording and practicing it would really take time. Espe-"

"Oh! And since Twice's previous album is slowly dying out, you should also work on a new album for them." He interjected.

I nearly slipped on my way back to the café when I heard him say that. Does he think that creating songs and producing them is just like magic? That it'll appear if he just asked it to be.

I don't think so.

"PD-nim!" I tried to plea with him.

"Well, that's all I had to tell you. Good luck!" He then hung up.

I stared at my phone wondering if it was all just a dream. Did he just dump a huge work load on me just like that?

"Son of a-"

___________

[You can lean right here

You can cover your pain with me]

"That was great Jeong Do. But can you add a little bit of vibrato to these part [right] and [here]." I corrected him over the microphone.

We were in our studio at the company recording one of our songs for the upcoming album. For this album, I mixed some of the songs from "Boys Be" and "17 Carat" from Seventeen's discography. But we decided to call our album "Boys Be". Right now, we were finalizing the parts for "Adore U". Jeong Do was inside the booth right now perfect his line from what I wanted him to hit.

He was having a hard time trying to do what I'm asking him to do. Zhang then walks over to me and pressed the microphone. "Hyung, you're too tense. Don't put too much air in it and just make it natural."

"Got it." Jeong Do gives a thumbs up over to us and tries doing it again. This time, he actually got it right.

In terms of technicalities, Zhang was more adept in giving advice. I'm more of the mixing side and the ideas. This is why I love working with this guy right here.

"Alright, let's go again." I started playing the song again and Jeong Do starts singing his lines. This time, he got it right. And it was beyond what I expected him to do. This guy is a literal genius.

I smile at him. "That was awesome! You're done for now. Zee, let's get your lines in."

Zee stands up from the couch before he salutes at me and jokes, "Aye aye, captain."

Suddenly, a knock resounded from the door. We all turn to see who it was, Jihyo's head peeked through the door. "Am I disturbing you, PD-nim?"

I slowly turn my rotating chair towards her. "Not at all. Come in."

She slowly walked in and greeted the members of Alpha before she turns to me. "Wow… you look like crap."

I chuckled as I massaged my temples. The rest of the Alpha members laughed at his comment. I can't help but shake my head.

Dominic then spoke as he read what seemed to be patient records. "He's been here for 3 days now. He only takes a break to eat and freshen up a little."

"Freshen up a little?" She asked as if she was judging me.

"Hey, I only have a few days left to finish this album. Don't judge." I retorted at her.

She giggled. "At least you freshened up this time."

"Whatever. So what brings you here?" I decided to change the topic.

She looked at me in surprise. "Uh… because you didn't come? You said you'd meet us at 11AM to record our first song for the new album."

I immediately turned around and checked the computer's clock which says 1:20PM. I then turned towards her and said, "I'm so sorry. I really lost track of time."

She waved her hand in front of me. "You weren't answering your phone so we thought that you were really busy. It's okay though. Some of us got the chance to catch up with some sleep."

I then searched for my phone and checked my notifications.

28 missed calls…

42 messages…

12 voicemails…

She then giggled. "So I'm going to head back now so you guys can finish recording."

Zhang sighed. "Hyung, we're going to record at the clubhouse so you guys can use this space for recording. Just email this file over to the clubhouse computer. I'll handle the recording for Alpha. If you want to change something, we'll do it later. Okay?

I stare at him for a while before I tried to speak, "But-"

"No buts JayB-ya. Let's go everyone." Yo Chul-hyung stood up and grabbed his stuff.

Zhang then approached the mic to the booth and pressed its button. "Zee, we're heading to the clubhouse to record. Twice will use this place to record with JayB-hyung."

"YESSSSSSIR!" He said before tripping over one of the wires inside the booth. He's done it again.

When everybody left, Jihyo then spoke, "Did I come in a bad time?"

"No. They're just a fan of your music that's why they are very supportive. Call everyone. We're starting." I told her.

My friends are really supportive towards Twice because they know how crappy the company was in treating us back when we were rookies. They didn't want that for them that is why they gave way for the newbies.

As soon as the members arrived, they looked really tired. And we all know that if they are tired, I'll have trouble recording since they can't give out the best quality of their voices.

Well… I guess this'll be another long day.

_________

[I was meeting my friends, shy shy shy]

"That sounded unnatural Sana-chan. Please do it again. I know you're tired but don't let it show in your voice." I instructed.

It was already 7PM and we were still on our second song. It takes time for them to warm up since they sleep while they wait for their turn. I could honestly say that they were losing their fire. They were so complacent because they were receiving the best songs with the best choreography. I should probably be stricter towards them.

As soon as Sana finally finishes recording all her parts, my phone starts ringing. The ringtone says for itself as to who it was.

"[PD-nim… PD-nim… He is calling you… PD-nim…]" The girls started singing to the ring tone while minding their business. They already got used to it since we've been working together for a while now.

I chuckled at how funny they were reacting to this. I stepped out of the studio before answering it. "Hello, PD-nim. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"You're still at the studio?" He asked in an excited tone.

"Yes, did the CEO's meeting finish already?" I asked in return.

He chuckled. "Yes. I'm almost there. Wait for a while. I need to tell you something."

A few minutes later…

"You want me to do what?!" I yelled at him.

He placed a hand on my shoulder. "I can only count on you for this one."

I rolled my eyes and swatted his hand off my shoulder. "Oh please. We both know that you have many employees in this building who can handle this task."

"But you can do it better." He retorted. "No… Strike that. You're the best when it comes to it."

I tried to fight back. "But PD-nim-"

"I know that you're busy with two albums and a Christmas EP right now, but making one more would really help the company. What do you say?" He said trying to convince me.

I sighed. "Fine. But I have a couple of conditions of my own. First, we'll call it "Winter Sonata". Second, we'll mash it up with our Christmas album since it'll be redundant, and lastly, I pick who's singing which song. Got it?"

He happily clapped his hands together. "Fine. I'm happy that we can come to an agreement."

"If we're done talking, I need to go back inside and finish recording." I said angrily.

"Wait, JayB-ya." He stopped me.

"What is it THIS time?!" I snapped.

He paused for a moment. "Now that we're done with the bad news, let's go for some amazing news."

"Really? What could it possibly be? Jeez. I'm so excited." I sarcastically said.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure you'll love it."

"Fire away." I replied in a monotone.

He chuckled. "Guess who's the first group to debut in America?"

My eyes widened in surprise and excitement. "Are you serious?!"

__________