Workaholic

"I'm glad that you guys are finally doing okay, but did it have to take a week for you guys to patch things up?" I asked Sooyoung through the phone.

That night when Dahyun and I decided to sleep over at our couple house, we both clarified a lot of things. We also cleared up some misunderstandings. After a few hours of just talking and drinking over a bottle of wine, we both passed out. We were both exhausted from the move and the filming that day that we didn't even realize how drained we were. After that thrilling night, everything else seemed to have fast forwarded since we were all getting busier by the day because of the preparations for the upcoming tour. I didn't even have the time to check up on Sooyoung and Sungjae, but I knew that they would have worked things out regardless, and I was right about it.

"We actually patched things up WAY earlier than that. Sorry about that. We forgot to tell you and were afraid to disturb you. You seemed really busy and even asked your secretary to pick up your car for you." She sounded worried.

I rubbed my eyes as I checked the time. It was already 2AM in the morning. "Well yeah. I can't help it. There's just so much to prepare for, and our tour starts in less than a week."

She sighed. "Still, don't forget to take care of yourself."

"Yes, mom. I won't." I joked.

She giggled in response. "How's your solo album coming up?"

"Pretty good actually. I didn't expect to be halfway done by now. Seeing how our schedule is, I thought I'd finish it by the time we get back." I replied.

Sooyoung yawned from the other end. "Alright. Just don't push yourself too hard, and try to get some sleep."

I chuckled. "Look who's talking? It's five minutes past 2AM. Why are you still up?"

She sighed. "We're still practicing for our comeback. Thanks for the songs by the way."

"You're welcome. I'll work on your next album probably in December since we're really busy at the moment." I told her.

"You can take all the time you need, Jin-ah. I don't want you to burn yourself out. You can work on it the following year for all I care. As long as you get to have some rest. So get some rest. Got it?" She started ranting. I could tell that she was already exhausted.

I hummed in response. "You too. I'll shut my eyes for a couple of hours."

"Alright. And please… try to go home this time. Don't sleep at your studio again." She sighed.

Her words made me chuckle. "I'll try."

After hanging up, I lay down on the sofa and covered my eyes with my arm. I sighed heavily as I thought about how busy I was for the last couple of days and I didn't even get the chance to see Dahyun. We've just been communicating through calls and chats, but even that was cut short every time since we had different schedules. It was hard but we both got used to it. At least we were both secured with the idea that we still love each other despite the busyness. Two factors we needed more than communication was trust and security. Thankfully, we had both.

A couple of minutes after I slowly dozed off, I sense a presence entering the studio. I didn't mind it at first but after the person entered, there were no movements anymore. I immediately knew who it was. After breathing out a deep sigh, a smile crept up on my face.

"How long are you going to stare at me like that Dahyun-ah?" I asked Dahyun who was obviously doing so.

She yelped before she composed herself. "You startled me. I swear. I know I've seen you do that so many times already, but I still can't get used to it. How do you even know I was here? Better yet, how did you know that it was me?"

Before she could move to the other chair, I pulled her in to join me as we now both lie on the couch. "When you love someone, you become REALLY observant with the little things they do."

"That actually sounds weird and creepy. Were you a professional stalker before?" She joked.

I chuckled in response. "Call it whatever you like. I'm just glad you're here. Did you guys just finish practicing?"

She hummed in response. "It took a while today."

"Explains why your hair is wet. Did you just take a shower?" I asked.

"Yeah…" She nodded while yawning. "Get some sleep. I'll wake you up in two hours. You need to finish the mixing right?"

I tightened my hug. "Yeah. Let's forget about work for a while."

She twirled her finger on my hand. "You must REALLY be that tired. You didn't even fight back. You always fight back when it comes to work."

I tiredly chuckled. "This is the first time I saw you in days. I'm not going to waste the remaining energy I have in arguing with you."

Dahyun sighed. "Did you at least eat on time these past few days?"

I nodded slightly. "Yeah. My members and my sisters kept on visiting me to check up on me. They made sure that I was able to eat."

"Kei-unnie? She visited you?" She asked.

I kissed her shoulder before I answered. "No need to be jealous, Dahyun-ie. You know there's nothing going on between me and her."

"Ya! I was just asking!" She rebutted.

I smiled. I could feel my energy slowly draining. It was probably at its last reserves. "Alright. Alright. Can we just stay quiet for a while?"

"Why don't you head home?" She asked in a worried tone.

I sighed. "I can't. If I do, I'd oversleep again."

"Which you should." She chuckled before she asked. "When was the last time you went home?"

"About three days ago." I replied as I slowly started dozing off.

Dahyun started giggling. "When did you last shower?"

"Yesterday." I answered plainly before finally passing out.

_______

"Oh? You're up? Did you even sleep? What time is it?" Dahyun asked as she groggily rubbed her eyes.

"I did sleep well having you by my side. It's 15 minutes past 7AM." I replied.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "When did you get up?"

I chuckled in response. "I woke up at 5AM and finished some stuff."

"Why didn't you wake me up? Jihyo-unnie must have been worried. And why didn't my alarm go off?" She asked as she hastily looked for her phone.

"Here." I said as I handed her phone to her. I then gave her a smile before giving her forehead a peck. "Don't worry. I texted them about how you fell asleep on my couch here in the studio. You were sleeping like a baby. I turned the alarm off as soon as it rang."

"I see. That's good then. Thanks." She slowly sat up and eyed me from head to foot. "Are you heading for practice now? Why are you so sweaty?"

Dahyun must have been curious as to why I was wearing my practice attire at this time in the morning while being soaked in sweat. "I went for a run and just got back. I'm about to go shower up in the men's locker room. You should freshen up too after you eat breakfast. Chaeyoung-ah brought you some fresh clothes. Practice starts at 8AM after all."

"What about you? Did you have breakfast already?" She asked.

I took the tray that I brought from the JYP's cafeteria and placed it on the table. "I had a sandwich on the way here. I need to head out now. PD-nim wants to meet me before practice starts. Will you be okay?"

She gave me a smile. "Of course. I'm just glad that you got some sleep and FINALLY, you'll be able to shower."

"Do I really stink that bad?" I asked with a wry smile.

She smirked as she raised an eyebrow at me. "You think?"

I gave her a wide sarcastic grin. "Really now? Come here and give me a hug then?"

"Ya! Kim Jinbo! Stay away! YAAA!" She tried escaping by running around the studio while giggling.

"What's this? Do you hate me that much now?" I teased as I cornered her.

"Kim Jinbo! I swear! YAAA!" She squeaked before I gave her a quick peck on the forehead.

"I'm leaving now, make sure you eat well. Please return the tray as well. I love you." I said as I got my things.

"JayB-oppa." She called out.

"Hmm? What is-" As I was turning around to answer her she gave me a big hug and a long tender kiss.

"Work hard, but not too hard. Okay? And I love you too." She gave me a smile which was enough to brighten up my day.

"Well, that'll last me the day." I chuckled.

She patted my cheek. "It should. I risked getting near you when you haven't even taken a bath in days."

Her words made me laugh. "Alright. Have a great day, princess."

After saying our goodbyes, I started making my way to PD-nim's room. It was on the top floor. Our studio was on the 3rd floor. There were a lot of people passing through the hallway today since it was a busy week for most of the artists here since they were either preparing for their comebacks or their tour. We weren't the only ones going on tour after all. Next week, there were a lot of artists coming in. Stray Kids will also debut next month. So the building is basically full of people rushing around. Especially the staff and managers of the different groups.

"JayB-oppa!" Someone called from behind. I turned around to see a couple of familiar faces.

"Yeji-ya? What are you guys doing here?" Every member of ITZY was present and accounted for. They were giving me the brightest smiles they could possibly give. I returned a smile of my own.

Yuna giggled. "We're here to do some training before our recording this afternoon."

My eyes widened in surprise as a sudden realization dawned on me. "That was today?"

Ryujin cocked her eyebrow. "You forgot, didn't you?"

Chaeryeong tried to stop herself from laughing. "I can't believe that you forgot."

I smiled wryly in response. "I'm sorry. It must have slipped my mind."

Lia giggled. "We get it. You're busy for the upcoming tour. It's only a few days from now after all. But I hope that our recording schedule isn't cancelled."

"Not at all. In fact, I was wondering why my schedule says that I was free this afternoon. I guess I must have left it blank to record with you guys." I responded.

Ryujin scoffed. "Didn't you leave it to spend time with Dahyun-unnie?"

"She's just as busy as I am so we don't really have time to meet up these days." I answered.

Yuna sighed in agreement. "You got that right. I haven't seen Zee-oppa for days now. We haven't even spoken properly on the phone too."

I chuckled. "You're not the only one complaining about it. Zee-ya's also missing you too. Last night, he kept on whining about how much he wanted to see you."

Yeji then changed the topic. "By the way, we haven't really thanked you properly for making this happen for us."

I waved it off. "It's nothing. You guys deserve to debut anyway."

Lia held my hand. "This isn't nothing to us. The rest of the girls also wanted to send their gratitude as well. Since they couldn't make it because of training."

"Look at you guys. Busy preparing for your debut. Makes me feel so proud." I told them sincerely which they responded with wide smiles.

"JayB-ya!" Another person called me from behind.

"Good morning, PD-nim. I was just about to see you before heading to the showers." I told him.

He chuckled. "You can freshen up first. I need to talk to these girls for their contracts."

I turned my attention to the girls. "Did you hear that? You're one step closer to becoming superstars."

The girls were really happy about it. I could tell just by how hard they were trying to control themselves from screaming. I chuckled in response as I watched them. PD-nim then turned to me. "I'll be waiting in my office. I'll see you later."

_________

"So that's the gist of it." PD-nim said after he explained what was going to happen during the JYP Nation Concert.

It's been three hours since we started the meeting. At this point, I've already missed half of the morning practice because of this meeting. We discussed a lot of things like the concept of each girl group that we were debuting next year and argued about the line up that they had. We also discussed their positions as well. I thought that we'd be done after that one, but PD-nim wanted to discuss other things regarding our upcoming tour. This took some time.

Lastly, we talked about the JYP Nation concert which took most of our time since there was a lot to talk about. We could have moved it to another day but PD-nim wanted me to put all my focus on the tour for the next few days. But sadly, it's impossible to focus, especially since I had to get a lot of recording done and a lot of mixing to do before the concert. And to top that off, he just added another huge task for me.

"You do realize that I'm about to go on tour, right? And there's still a lot of work to be done outside of that?" I asked him as I massaged my temples.

"Are you forgetting that even though you're a major shareholder of the company, you're still an artist AND a producer here?" He smirked.

I groaned. "When will I ever get some good rest?"

PD-nim chuckled as he patted my shoulder. "Once you're done with everything."

His words made me sigh deeply. "Can I go now?"

"Oh right! Before you do, KCON LA is coming up." He informed me.

I raised my eyebrow. "So is KCON Malaysia… Are we still heading there despite the tour schedule?"

He pondered for a while before going through our calendar. "I think we can still squeeze it in."

"Are you kidding me? Do you want us to die?" I asked him.

PD-nim shook his head as he sniffled a laugh. "You forgot why you became an idol in the first place, didn't you?"

PD-nim's question caught me by surprise.. Before I knew it, a sigh escaped my lips. "Fine. Let's go with whatever you decide."

"Don't be mad, JayB-ya. I know you're happy with your dating life and all. But please remember that you're also working for this company. You might think that you can quit here anytime, especially with the background that you have, but I'm sure Dahyun-ie wouldn't want that." He said which made me sigh again.

"Alright. I get it. I get it. Is there anything else?" I asked which seemed like I was irritated.

He smiled at me. "There's nothing else. You can go and start recording with Everglow now."

"I'm sorry, what?" I was surprised with what PD-nim said.

PD-nim turned to me as he stared at me weirdly. "Don't tell me you forgot? You told Alpha that you won't be able to join the practices during the day because of the recording and will instead be joining them at night."

"Was that today?" I asked as I did a facepalm.

"Yes, that was today." He answered nonchalantly.

I groaned in response. "I really can't catch a break. Well, I'm off. So many things to do, so little time."

PD-nim sighed. "JayB-ya, I know I'm putting a lot of pressure on you right now, but you're the only one I can trust at times like these. I hope you understand. So please take time to rest. I don't care if the songs aren't finished when you start the tour. You have to take care of yourself too."

His words made me smile. Even though he was my boss, he was also an uncle of mine. "Thanks, samcheon."

After walking out of the office, I slowly walked towards the recording studio. There were a lot of things that were going through my mind. Like which songs to use for the JYP Nation concert, how we're going to juggle our schedule with award shows, KCON and our tour, and many other things. Although Alpha's going on tour, the filming for we got married would still continue. I'd be flying back and forth a lot. And don't get me started on the songs for the upcoming rookies who'll be debuting. There were also songs which my friends were asking for.

"Oh? JayB-ya! Why do you look so gloomy?" Someone asked which snapped me out of thoughts.

I turned around to see Ji Eun-noona with Dahyun. "Oh? Noona, what are you with Dahyun-ie?"

She scoffed. "You haven't even answered my question and you're already asking me a question."

"I'm sorry. There's just a lot on my mind." I smiled wryly at her before turning to Dahyun and giving her a kiss on the forehead.

Ji Eun-noona rolled her eyes. "Wow… If you're trying to make me feel jealous, it's definitely working. Should I just leave or…"

Dahyun immediately clung on to Ji Eun-noona's arm. "Eyyy… Unnie!~ It's just a habit of his. Don't mind him. I know you miss Jungkook-oppa too."

"I know, right? But he's busy with their Asian tour right now, so we couldn't really talk much over the phone." Ji Eun-noona giggled before sighing.

"Since when did you guys get close?" I asked as I raised my eyebrow at them.

Dahyun giggled. "Since your birthday, I think. We hung out a couple of times after that. Especially when you were busy."

Ji Eun-noona chuckled. "You shouldn't leave your girlfriend unattended, JayB-ya."

I roll my eyes. "Dahyun-ie's not a thing to be left unattended. Plus, she has all my attention."

"Not when you're working, you don't." Ji Eun-noona rebutted.

"Ya! Of course I'd be busy when I'm working! If she wants me to quit being an artist just to stay with her, I'd gladly do it." I answered back.

Ji Eun-noona glared. "Did you just talk down on me? Did you forget that I'm older than you?"

"That's right! You're old!" I teased.

Dahyun went in between us. "Alright, you two. No more fighting."

"Let's go to the cafeteria, Dahyun-ie. JayB-ya's probably busy." Ji Eun-noona was still glaring at me.

"Don't you have practice?" I asked Dahyun.

"We're on break." She replied with a smile.

"Let's go, Dahyun-ie." Ji Eun-noona gave a small tug on Dahyun's arm before sticking her tongue out at me which I returned with my own.

Dahyun smiled wryly seeing how childish we were being. "I'll see you later?"

"Definitely." I replied before I saw them head to the cafeteria. I also made my way to the recording studio. The song isn't going to record itself after all.

________

"That sounded great Aisha-ya. Thank you. You're good to go." I told her through the microphone.

After hours of recording, I finally finished recording Everglow's debut song. They all had training this morning so I decided to call them one by one in the studio. When one person finished, they would then call the next person. Aisha was the last one to record. She was currently inside the recording booth and was flashing me a large smile. It took us a while since she was mostly nervous the entire time. Though she had a few parts in the song, it still took us a lot of time.

"Thank you, JayB PD-nim. Am I the last one?" Aisha clarified as she shyly asked.

I nodded in response while giving her a thumbs up. "Yup. Thanks again!"

She made her way out of the booth. As soon as she got out she gave a quick bow. "Thank you, PD-nim. Sorry for taking so long. I was just so nervous."

Her words made me chuckle. I then waved it off. "It's fine. I was quite nervous when I recorded our debut song too."

She giggled before rolling her eyes. "I followed Alpha's journey WAY before you guys went on Project Alpha. I know that you weren't nervous at all."

"I was! I was VERY nervous! If you DID follow us, then you would know that we were on Show Me Your Case. It was really scary! You're honestly blessed that you're going to debut without having to go through that show!" I started defending myself from what she just said.

Aisha gave a smile before chuckling. "No need to be so defensive, PD-nim. I was just teasing you."

"Please talk casually to me. We're going to be seeing each other in shows more often. It would be weird hearing you talk to me that way." I smiled wryly at her.

She raised an eyebrow. "Really? Are you that close with other idols?"

"Not all. Mostly our labelmates and people who were born in the same year as I am. Oh! And some other groups whom I've hung out with before." I answered.

"So what we see on TV is fake?" She asked as she tilted her head slightly.

"Which one?" I asked, not sure of what she was referring to.

Aisha smiled wryly. "In award shows, idol groups often pretend not to know other idols."

I mustered up a laugh. "Oh that? It's because a lot of fake reporters or antis tend to make up stories to stir up sasaeng fans. So we avoid that kind of thing as much as possible. But we're still close after the show."

She nodded slightly. "Make sense."

"Shouldn't you be heading to practice or something?" I asked.

Aisha jerked as she snapped out of her thoughts when she realized that she needed to head back to the training room. After saying our goodbyes, she immediately rushed out of the room and went back to practice. Now it was just me. I decided to not waste time and just go and start mixing and producing the first song for the JYP Nation concert. Without realizing it, I got too absorbed with what I was doing. I didn't even notice the time.

"Wow! That sounds good! What's the title of the song?" A voice sounded through the headphones.

I was surprised when I heard a voice from the headphones I was wearing. Someone spoke through the recording booth's microphone. When I checked to see who it was, I smiled when I saw a familiar face.

"Ryujin-ah, you startled me." I chuckled before speaking through the microphone.

"We were waiting for you to pull your face away from the monitor, but you were too focused that we didn't want to disturb you." She smiled wryly.

I raise my eyebrow with what she said. "Wait… 'we'?"

She signaled me to look behind by pointing using her lips. I turn around to see the rest of ITZY standing behind me. When I checked the time, I realized that they were here for about 15 minutes now. I gave them a wry smile. "You guys probably waited long. I'm sorry."

Yuna hummed. "We did wait long. Lia-unnie even tried calling you several times. Which you didn't respond to by the way."

"I'm sorry. I was so into what I was doing that I forgot that I was going to have a recording session with you guys." I explained as a soft chuckle escaped my lips.

Yeji sighed. "Well, we're used to it by now. Even when we come to visit you sometimes, your eyes were always glued to the screen."

"I'm really sorry. So are you guys ready to record? I'm sure you mastered your lines by now." I tried changing the topic.

Chaeryeong nodded her head rapidly. I could tell that she was excited. "Can we start now please? I always wanted to know how it felt like to record an original song."

"But you DID do an original song in SIXTEEN." I reminded her.

She smiled wryly. "Well, I wasn't able to debut, did I?"

I shook my head in disbelief. "Alright. Let's start then." Ryujin was about to exit the booth when I told her to stay. "Since you're already there. Let's start with you."

Ryujin gave me a thumbs up in response before I played the demo for them to hear it. Recording sessions always start with running the demo song. No matter how much you practice or have memorized your parts, it was our tradition to start with playing the demo song. It was also so that artists could suggest what else they wanted to add, or if they wanted to clarify some things regarding the song with the producer. It would help a smoother transition once the recording starts.

The members of ITZY in this world were far better than the previous one. They could rap, dance and sing better as far as I can remember. Their skills were almost on par with Alpha, even reporters who got wind of the news that they were debuting, pegged them as "Upcoming Monster Rookies". This was also because the audience had already seen them showcase their talents on MIXNINE. This allowed them to garner some fans while being on the show.

Sadly, they were not showing it today. They were probably nervous with the recording. It wasn't supposed to take this long but it almost took us three hours just to finish recording four of the members. I could tell that they were beating themselves up because of it. Still, I had to make sure that they would do great with the recording, otherwise, what I did for them would all go to waste.

"Lia-ya… I know you can do better than that. You just have to relax. Okay?" I told her. She had a sad expression on her face but just nodded in agreement.

Just before I could press the play button again, a hand reached out to my microphone's button and spoke through it. "It's okay, Lia-ya. Come out and take 10." She then turned to the rest of the girls behind me. "You guys too."

"Ya! Kim Dahyun! What are you doing? We weren't finished yet!" I scolded her.

"It's okay. You guys go ahead." We both watched them leave the room. She sighed before turning my seat to face her. Dahyun then pulled up a stool before sitting in front of me. She then held my hand. "Hubby… you're being too hard on them."

I scoffed. "I am NOT being TOO hard on them. I'm being my usual self."

Dahyun shook her head in response. "You're NOT being your usual self. You're WAY more intense now than you usually are. And it's towards them. An upcoming group. Take a chill pill, will you?"

"Are you saying that I'm normally aggressive?" I raise my eyebrow at her.

"I'm saying that you should take it down a notch. Not every group is like Alpha OR Twice who are probably used to your personality when it comes to recording." She chuckled as she caressed my face.

I sighed as I took the hand that was touching my face and caressed it. "I'm sorry… I'm just… It's just-"

"You're stressed out and anxious about the tour since you haven't practiced that much because of the injury. The songs are not ready as well because the mixing isn't finalized. There are still a couple more songs to record for the new groups, and PD-nim just dropped a load of new requests for you." She interjected with a smirk on her face.

My jaw dropped at how accurate she was. "How did you…"

"Oh please, I'm your wife. I KNOW you… plus, PD-nim told me all about it when I asked him about the KCON thing." She said it with a smile.

"So what now?" I sighed before asking her.

She took both of my hands and made me cup her face. "What you need to do now is to apologize to ITZY. Make sure you sound sincere."

I almost laughed at what she said. "I'm always sin-"

"Not always. And then take a break and have your late lunch with me. At this point you might as well call it an early dinner." Dahyun suggested before she giggled.

I shook my head. "I still have a lo-"

"Eat with me, or I'll force you to eat with me. Choose." She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Yes, ma'am." I gulped.

"Good." Dahyun gave a triumphant smile before she started dragging me towards the company's cafeteria.

_________

"Heejin-ssi, that was good, but can you sing it a little bit breathy this time?" I instructed her in which she nodded while giving me a thumbs up as a sign that she understood.

Two days more to go, and we would be flying to Singapore to kick off our tour. The week flew by as if it didn't exist in the first place. I had a lot of things to do that made me nearly forget that I had a girlfriend. We both haven't called or texted each other since the day I recorded with ITZY. Don't get me wrong. We didn't have a fight or anything. It's just that our schedule got really tight that we had to start training at 8AM up to 2AM in the morning again.

It wasn't just dance and performance practice. We also had vocal exercises to strengthen our voices before the concert since we'd be under a lot of stress. There were also group meetings and group discussions with JYP PD-nim, the staff and crew that were coming with us, about the transitions of the concert and other things related to the tour. We also had to go to the gym twice a day for two reasons. One was for stamina building and the other was strength training. This was to make sure that we would not get sick or become weak during the tour.

Speaking of not getting sick, we also got weekly check-ups just in case. Dominic also helped out in prescribing us the right medicine that would help strengthen our bodies. He also worked with his dietitian friend to give us a proper diet plan for the last two weeks before our tour. I could honestly say, that even if I got injured recently and was almost at death's door, right now, I feel like I'm in the most perfect condition I could ever be. The company really made sure of that. It was also the same for Twice, so that's why we couldn't hang out like a lot

Other than the things that I recently mentioned, I also got the chance to work on some of the songs for the JYP Nation concert after finalizing the stage mixes for our songs for the tour. It was a strenuous task but I actually had fun. I submitted the finished songs to PD-nim, who is also currently very busy. Lastly, I finished recording with most of the upcoming debuting artists under JYP Entertainment. After Dahyun's advice, the recording sessions became a lot smoother. Now, I'm just finishing up on the last person under LOONA.

"Great! That sounded amazing! Good job!" I spoke through the mic.

Heejin excitedly clapped her hands. "Thank you, PD-nim!"

I gave her a smile. "You're all good. You can head back to your practice now."

She took off her headphones before heading out of the recording booth. After giving a slight bow and saying her goodbyes, she went out to head back to their training. Now, I'm all alone again. I leaned back on my chair and stretched. There was just silence inside the room. Only the air condition was sounding up. At times like this, you'd appreciate the silence. I checked the time on my computer and saw that it was 15 minutes past seven. My stomach started rumbling. I realized that I had skipped lunch today. No wonder I was hungry. I think I should head to the cafeteria. Just before I could stand up, my phone started ringing.

"Yes, sajang-nim (Chairman)?" I answered the phone. It was the CEO of SM.

He chuckled in response. "Hello, JayB-ya. I know you're busy with the preparations for your tour, but can I trouble you for a few minutes?"

I chuckled in response. "Don't worry about it. I was on break anyway. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"That's good. You see, you are part of the board for SM since you hold the most number of stocks, and I just wanted to ask your opinion on something before I present this topic to the rest of the board." The CEO said.

"Sure. What is it?" I asked.

Before he spoke, I could hear him take in a deep breath. It must be something big. "You know our artist in SM named Kim Jongdae? Right? You're friends with him during your trainee days here."

I couldn't help but nod even if he wasn't in front of me. "Chen-hyung? That's right. It's been a while since we caught up. Why? Is something wrong with him?"

"He's not really doing well as a solo artist at the moment, so I've thought up of a solution." He said in a frustrated tone.

I sighed. "Is it an Idol Merge?"

"That's right." He sounded hesitant at first.

Idol Merge was common in this world. Basically, when a solo artist wasn't doing well, the company that the artist belonged to would decide either of these two options -- Let the artist retire or let them be part of a popular group that's already existing inside their company. Hence, Idol Merge. If this was in the previous world, it would make fans enraged. But in this world, fans would get really REALLY excited about the idea. They were more accepting when it comes to these changes.

I pinched the bridge of my nose as I pondered about it. "I see. Chen-hyung is really talented. It would be a waste to have him retire now. You did a good job in suggesting an idol merge. So which group do you have in mind?"

"EXO. He would fit right in with EXO." He responded.

What I hated about idol merging was the compatibility of the idol group and the solo artists. There were a lot of people who were supposed to debut in a group but debuted as solo artists. Chen was just one of the many examples. There were many other solo artists who were merged in the wrong group. Like how the previous world's ZE:A's Kim Dongjun ended up in this world's Block B instead. It was heartbreaking. But he somehow managed to find his place in the group still. Ever since then, when it came to idol merging, I became more hands on with the decisions. In this case though, the CEO for SM made the right choice.

"That sounds like a good plan. Go ahead with it. If anyone in the board disagrees, tell them that you already discussed it with me. And oh! You don't have to invite me to the board meeting. I hope you understand." I said in one breath.

He chuckled. "Of course! Thank you! Well, I've troubled you long enough. Enjoy the rest of the night, JayB-ya."

"You too, sajang-nim." I replied with a smile.

After the call, I set up an alarm and rested my head on my desk. Food can wait. Maybe I can get a few minutes of sleep. I've been working non stop after all. At least the company can allow a few minutes of sleep before I take a quick meal and head to practice. Well… that didn't last long.

"How long are you planning to stare at me like that?" I asked the person who was also leaning on the desk while looking at me.

"You still amaze me when you do that, you know?" Dahyun replied.

I chuckled lightly as I slowly opened my eyes. "I recognized your smell. That's why I knew that it would be you."

"Still weird. But okay. Well, I had fun looking at you for a few minutes." She giggled.

A smile crept up on my face as she said that. "Well, I feel much better after seeing you the moment I opened my eyes. But I have to ask… what are you doing here? I'm sure that you have your scheduled dance practice tonight."

Dahyun took my hand as she caressed it. "I came here to pick you up and have our date."

I raise my eyebrow at her. "You? Pick me up? Like I said… what about practice?"

She gave me a smile as she slowly sat up straight. "PD-nim cancelled Alpha's and Twice's practice tonight. He's worried about you. He says that you haven't slept or eaten well in the past few days. I'm worried about you too so he asked us to take the night off."

"That's nice. What do you have in mind?" I gave her a wide smile of my own as I slowly sat up while fixing my hair.

"God… you really look handsome when you do that." She said out loud.

I nearly burst out laughing. "Earth to Kim Dahyun? You said you wanted to have a date?"

Dahyun snapped out of her thoughts as she gave me a wry smile. "Oh right. Sorry. I got distracted. Anyway, since tomorrow's our last day, and our practice is still in the afternoon…"

"It's in the afternoon?" I was surprised.

She held her hand up to stop me from talking. "Yes… break, remember? Anyway, we plan to have movie night back at the condo at 10PM."

"Why that late? Shouldn't we be resting then?" I asked.

She excitedly pulled me up to stand before pulling me into a hug. "So we can have our boyfriends all to ourselves for the next two hours."

I was surprised for a second before I hugged her back. "Sounds like a plan. So… where do you want to go?"

"You know where." She playfully winked at me.

"Really? For two hours?" I asked while I raised an eyebrow at her.

She giggled. "What's wrong? Aren't you up for it?"

"Might as well. We won't be seeing each other for a while after all." I replied.

Dahyun flashed a smile at me. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

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