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"Han-ssi? PD-nim found you a model for the music video. I booked you a meeting with him and his manager at 12:00.”
The message delivered by Jisung’s new manager fell on deaf ears the first time he spoke, as Han had his own rap blasting into his ears in the recording studio, a pen and paper in front of him. His foot tapped along with the backing, and he hummed quietly, occasionally taking notes when he came upon an area of improvement.
The manager cleared his throat, stepping forward and raising his voice. “Han-ssi?”
Jisung caught the end of his name this time, fiddling with the keyboard in front of him until he found the button that paused the music. He then spun in the black office chair, pulled his headphones off of his ears in an action that lightly ruffled his dark brown hair in a way that made him want to grab the snap back he cast onto the couch earlier.
Instead, he shot an apologetic grin towards the man at the door of the studio. “Yes, sorry, manager-nim?”
The manager smiled back at Jisung, unable to resist his natural charm. “Ah, don’t worry. I booked you a meeting with the model for the Hoodie Season MV at noon.”
Jisung perked up at the news, his emotive eyes widening with his smile. “That’s great! Would you like me to finish up for now?”
The manager clutched the books he was carrying to his chest, slightly confused by Jisung’s pretty appearance. He knew Jisung could have been an idol rapper, but he hadn’t expected him to look the part so perfectly on top of his many other talents. He cleared his throat. “That would give you some time to get ready.”
That was all the encouragement Han needed. He spun back to face the monitor and folded his notebook shut, discarding the muchloved black pen into a mug before speaking. “Okay, sweet! Can I take my car or..?"
The manager shook his head lightly before realising the rapper wouldn’t be able to see him. “No, sorry, Han-ssi. JYP wanted to have you escorted there due to your popularity at the moment.”
As he unplugged his headphones and shut down the monitors, Jisung stood and offered the manager a comforting smile, sensing his hesitancy. “That works well, actually. Changbin still hasn’t found my keys.”
“Changbin-ssi lost- nevermind, I’ll meet you on the street over from your apartment then.”
Jisung hummed. “Sounds good. See you later, manager-nim!”
After shutting down the studio for the day, Jisung checked the time. 7:00 am.
It was times like these that he wished he had signed to be in Stray Kids, or one of the other JYP boy groups. If he had joined Stray Kids, it would have allowed him a dorm near the industry, and a stylist to clean him nicely and put all of his attributes on show.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. He was a rapper, producer and songwriter, and although he worked under JYP Entertainment, he would never consider himself an idol. And he was thankful for that, knowing just how stressed and exhausted his fellow label mates were nearly all the time.
Jisung was a hot topic among the citizens of Seoul and the rest of South Korea, but he found that if he wore a cap and a mask, someone would have to look pretty closely to pick him apart from the other men on the subway. He endured the busy noise of the crowded train for a few moments before plugging in his earphones and playing someone else’s music, longing for something fresh to separate his mind from his work.
He hummed quietly, knowing no one around him would be able to hear him over the noise.
It was warmer than Jisung had predicted the day would be, and as he adjusted the grey hoodie he was wearing, he made a mental note to not wear something so thick again, despite the theme of his upcoming comeback, Hoodie Season , being about this exact article of clothing.
The issue may have been enhanced by the fact that there were far too many people on the train. Jisung had his hand looped through hand railing above him, which helped him fit between the ocean of people, but it didn’t do anything to ease the nervousness growing in his chest.
Pushing the gold framed sunglasses back up his nose, Han realised he was nearing his station and was about to get off when a needy hand wrapped around his wrist.
He spun back, hoping that the unknown person didn’t catch the worry in his eyes behind the glasses.
The girl blushed, squeezing her way passed the man next to Jisung. “A-are you Han Jisung?”
Jisung grit his teeth before raising a casual hand to adjust the black mask that apparently wasn’t doing its usual job of obscuring his face. He didn’t like lying, but he really needed to get out of this train and away from... people.
“No, sorry. I think you have the wrong person.”
Without waiting for a reply, he hurriedly slipped passed the man on his other side and exited the train, taking a deep breath has he stepped out into the open air.
. . .
Jisung ran a hand through his loosely styled hair, studying his face in the mirror skeptically before deciding it would do. This dude was just a model anyway, and he was working for him. Jisung doesn’t need to care about his opinion.
But he probably will anyways.
He had gone safe and simple; ditching the snap back for once so that the gold highlights he had put into his hair recently would actually see the light of day, he had parted his dark brown hair to the side and touched it with the tiniest amount of gel.
Jisung’s clothing was mundane, which would help him blend into the crowd on his journey to and from the meeting. He donned a fitting black shirt with short sleeves and some generic word printed in white. It was something like Changbin, another rapper in the industry and one of Han’s closest friends, would wear.
He paired it with a pair of ripped black jeans and plain white shoes to match the white mask he had chosen. Of course, he couldn’t go anywhere outside without his sunglasses, that served both the purpose of shielding him from eye contact and uv rays, but also sharpened his vision.
He plugged his air pods back into his ears as he checked the time, before snatching his phone and his wallet and rushing out of the apartment to the street where his manager was waiting.
“Hello, Han-ssi. How are you feeling?”
Jisung looked up in surprise as he buckled himself into the back seat, realising he hadn’t been asked that since he last saw Chan, which had to be a few weeks ago.
“Uh, I’m feeling pretty good, I guess.”
The new manager smiled at him in the mirror. “That’s good. If you have any concerns about the meeting, I can assure you, Mr Lee is much nicer than his first impression implies.”
Jisung picked up on the name, intrigued by this Mr Lee. He hadn’t worked with a new model in a while, normally just relying on Chan’s Austrailian friend, Felix to play parts in his music videos. The Austrailian was at home now though, and would be for the next few months until his company sorted out the messy contract.
It was a new experience to work with , and despite his nerves, he couldn’t help but feel intrigued. “Oh, is he the model?”
The manager nodded. “I’m sure you two will become good friends."
The rest of the ride was executed in silence, giving Jisung time to calm his nerves by thinking of his oldest friends. He missed Chan and Changbin.
He would visit them as soon as the industry’s hype for the comeback calmed down, knowing they were just as busy as he was right about now.
When they pulled to a stop outside a famous shopping mall, Jisung’s usually cheery smile fell. He raised an eyebrow at the manager. “Are we trying to give away as many spoilers as possible?”
The manager laughed as he twisted the keys and turned off the ignition. “Don’t worry, Han-ssi. We plan on meeting Mr Lee in the Racha .”
“Really?! That’s so cool!” Jisung’s eyes lit up at the sound of the cafe, normally reserved for the hottest new artists. His hands found the car door, suddenly far more eager to get out into the open. The manager was quick to follow him, tapping Han to remind him that his mask was in his pocket.
The mall was pretty, in an industrial sort of way. Jisung found his eyes jumping between colourful store fronts as they approached the glass elevator, in awe of the way they all broadcasted their own styles through not only the designs on the doors but the music flooding out of them and the showcases in each window.
All of them had something to say, and they were saying it.
The elevator made a loud ping! when it stopped for them to get on, and then again when it reached the story that Racha was located on. Upon seeing various well-known idols almost as soon as they entered the floor, Jisung began to feel subconscious about his clothing choice.
The manager had said it was fine, the only touch up he made was to apply a barely visible amount of make-up to Han’s face, but as Jisung glanced around at the other artists summery outfits, his black attire felt out of place.
But Han Jisung wasn’t going to let that phase him. He removed his mask and tucked it back into the pocket of his black jeans, but left his pink-tinted sunglasses on while he ran his other hand through his hair.
They entered Racha moments later, and Jisung didn’t have the time to admire the golden theme of the contemporary cafe before his manager tapped his arm. “Han-ssi? Mr Lee Minho is just over there.”
When Jisung’s eyes fell on the area that had been highlighted, he hadn’t expected to have the air knocked from his lungs. The model, Lee Minho, wasn’t looking in his direction, involved in an animated conversation with his own manager. This was probably a good thing, as Han was not sure whether he would be able to react without tripping over his feet and tying his tongue into a knot at the same time.
Minho had dressed up slightly more than Jisung had, wearing a white dress shirt that had a pair of roses detailed on its chest that tucked into a pair of light wash pants that flattered his clearly fit form. He wore a touch of makeup, Jisung’s attention drawn to Minho’s devastatingly attractive eyeliner that made his sharp eyes even harder to meet. His dark, dark blue hair fell in waves onto his bare forehead, and Han suddenly understood why this guy was the first recommendation.
He was gorgeous .
None of the other important faces in the building mattered anymore; he just needed to focus on having a normal conversation and leaving before he really did fall over his own feet.
“Hello, you must be Park Hae-Won?”
Jisung tried not to flinch as his manager’s voice startled him from his crisis, causing both Minho and his manager to look their way as they neared the booth. When Jisung says Minho looked their way, he really meant Minho stared directly at him, his analytical eyes seeming to leave no area of Han’s face unnoticed.
He felt the tips of his ears flush before he scolded his hormones.
He had to keep this meeting quick and professional, just because Minho was a really, really pretty boy doesn’t mean he… wait, what? Even Han’s own thoughts where leaving him stranded.
Minho’s manager smiled in greeting, her eyes squishing into crescents. “Yes, thats me. Kim Jinyoung?”
Manager Kim nodded, bowing his head to return her greeting before turning his attention to Minho. “Mr Lee! It’s so good to meet you. PD-nim did not hesitate to speak of your outstanding acting ability”
Jisung watched curiously as the model nodded, murmuring a quiet thank you with the ghost of a smile on his lips. Apparently the model wasn’t much of a talker.
As his manager eventually ran out of compliments to give, Jisung took the wheel, pretending not to notice the burn of Minho’s eyes on his face as he slipped his phone from his pocket.
“So, Minho-ssi. I presume you’ve heard the song?”
The model’s eyebrow arched, surprised by Jisung’s straight forward attitude. Many people he had worked with in the past had a way of adding minutes worth of unnecessary fluff to a sentence that could have been stated within a few seconds. He liked Han's bluntness. “I have.”
Jisung paused for a moment, meeting Minho’s intense gaze across the table. He grinned, trying to help the model feel more comfortable. “So? What did you think?”
Minho leaned backwards, resting against the back of the gold framed chair. “I thought it was good. You have skill. I’m actually excited to work on this project.”
Han smiled wider, his lips stretching into a grin that Minho didn’t think could be any cuter. He struggled to maintain his skeptical expression. When he had listened to Jisung’s entire discography the night before, he had expected a scary, intimidating rapper, not someone even prettier than the people he had star in his videos.
Sure, he had also binged a couple live performances as well, but Jisung had an aggressive stage presence that had led Minho to expect something far from the cute guy in front of him.
Jisung slipped his glasses from the bridge of his nose, placing them on the table in front of them as he scrolled through to his notes as a way of distracting his mind from the fluidity of Minho’s voice. “Most of the stuff I have down in my notes is for when shooting starts, but I’m sure you know what you’re in for. Right?”
Minho nodded, his eyes never straying from the rappers face. He couldn’t seem to look away. “Yeah, I’m playing the main character; a man who is so obsessed with his clothing he fails to notice the world exploding around him.”
Jisung gasped. “You can’t possibly think that’s all there is to it?!”
Minho laughed at the younger’s disdain, deciding it would be a good idea to tease him further. He already liked Han Jisung, and that was saying something. “Isn’t it?”
The managers made their way to a different table after the two hit it off, leaving an adorably frustrated Han Jisung to explain to the model the many meanings behind his music.
Minho listened, and despite his expressionless face, he was genuinely intrigued by this rapper who put so much thought into his work. He really ought to go back and listen to the songs again this evening but pay closer attention to the lyrics instead of Jisung’s voice.
Jisung knew he had a habit of rambling if he started talking about his music, or anything really, so he was surprised to see the model was still listening by the end of his rant.
It was after the good ten minute discussion on the lessons to be learnt about his song and the music video that Jisung had planned out with the crew back at JYP, Jisung remembered what his manager had told him in the car.
He raised a hand to his chin and leaned onto the table, studying the models smile. “Manager Kim told me that you have a scary first impression, but I don’t understand where he got that from.”
Minho faltered for a second, before wincing. “Yeah, that’s probably my bad. I don’t normally enjoy working with idols that much. They can be… difficult. It sorta puts me in a bad mood.”
Jisung absorbed this knowledge before grinning. “I’m glad I didn’t put you in a bad mood.”
Minho nudged a strand of wavy hair out of his eyes, smirking in a way that Han knew he was going to have to get used to as it was becoming a recurring theme. “I’m glad as well, Han-ssi.”
Han’s weak heart fluttered dangerously as he changed the subject. Something told him the next couple of weeks were going to be very interesting.