Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“Hyunjin, let’s go over there, that seems like a good spot,” Jisung calls out, trudging through overgrown grass into a sparse patch of forest.

“A good spot for what?” Hyunjin asks. He trails along regardless, gripping tightly onto his camera as he navigates the area.

“For… you know. Staringly longingly into the distance. It fits the vibe,” Jisung explains as he adjusts his beanie. He needs to look edgy, yet irresistible. Tough, yet tortured.

“Jisung, I’m pretty sure your fans would watch you just as happily if you just sat in your room with your guitar.”

“Excuse me, I don’t pay for your opinion, I pay for your excellent camerawork.”

“You don’t pay me,” Hyunjin sighs, putting down his bag and evaluating the lighting. He scoots Jisung over to a better spot and lines up his camera.

“I pay you in love. And I pay rent,” Jisung says, blowing a kiss to his roommate. “Are we ready? Should I start?” Hyunjin nods, and Jisung pulls out his phone and hits play on the music. An acoustic rendition of Cage the Elephant’s ‘Right Before My Eyes’ begins, Jisung’s voice filtering out from the speaker. They’d started doing this a year ago, Jisung filming acoustic covers of his favorite songs from his room and dragging Hyunjin to film for him. As much as Hyunjin complains, he knows his friend likes it too, getting an excuse to exercise his photography muscles for something other than work and brush up on his video editing. They’ve become pretty successful, too, getting a couple hundred thousand views every time they upload.

When the song ends they get a few shots of Jisung walking around and exploring the area, safety footage just in case they need a little bit of an artistic touch. He leans over Hyunjin’s shoulder to look at the final takes, overall happy with the result. This might be his favorite video yet, and he can feel his hands tremble with excitement at the thought of seeing the final cut.

Hyunjin is probably right; if Jisung were to post simple videos of him singing and playing guitar from his bedroom, some of his subscribers would still be there for him. But a week later, sitting on his and Hyunjin’s weathered couch to watch the final cut of the video on their TV, the filming, editing, location scouting, everything; it all seems worthwhile. Hyunjin has really outdone himself with this one, not even complaining when Jisung had stopped them mid-drive to add another location to the shoot when they passed an abandoned lot that looked easy to access. The shots transition into one another seamlessly, scenery perfectly encapsulating the loneliness of the lyrics, a world falling apart. Jisung leans onto Hyunjin’s shoulder, reaching up to pat him on the head affectionately.

“You’re a godsend. What do you want to eat, I’ll buy you anything. This is incredible, Jinnie,” Jisung says. He means it. Not to sound narcissistic, but he looks really good, and the video is a near identical match to his vision. An artist’s dream.

“Sushi,” Hyunjin answers without a moment to spare. “I’ve earned a sushi meal, my model was extremely difficult to work with.” Leave it to Hyunjin to make sure I don’t get too full of myself. Still, he’s earned it.

“Ok, you go get the menu and order, I’m posting this. Just get me a combo platter,” Jisung says, muting the tv and pulling his computer into his lap. His hands feel like they haven’t stopped trembling with excitement since the shoot, and he has to breathe in deeply to calm himself. This could be the one to get big. It’s not like he expects his channel to turn into a career or anything, but it’s a passtime he’s passionate about, and the thought of reaching a wider audience is exhilarating to say the least. Jisung starts pulling up his browser until he feels a jab in his side, looking over to see Hyunjin still staring him down. “What?”

“Credit card, please,” Hyunjin says with a grin. Jisung digs into his pocket and hands it over hesitantly, giving Hyunjin the side-eye as he takes the card and skips away. There goes his life savings. At least the distraction had snapped him back to reality, as his hands are no longer shaking when he brings up the Youtube homepage and clicks on his account to start uploading. Jisung tries not to look at the stats of his channel too often, but trying can only get you so far, and he gives in to see that he’s gotten ten subscribers today. Progress! He’d prefer more, but it’s still progress! He fills out the description, the tags, the title (Right Before My Eyes Acoustic Cover Film - HanJi), and selects a screencap that he’d expertly edited as the thumbnail (couldn’t let Hyunjin do all the work). And then it’s up.

Hyunjin comes back a few minutes later, handing Jisung his card and collapsing back down on the couch. He’s got his little dog, Kkami, in one arm, and Jisung reaches out to pat his head. “Shall we?”

“Let’s,” Jisung answers, turning the sound for the tv back on and navigating over to the Youtube app. Kkami barks in agreement. He searches for the video he’s just uploaded and clicks on it, noticing he’s the third view. People are watching! People have notifications on! He smacks Hyunjin on the knee a few times, speechless and unable to properly communicate his excitement. They watch the video again, despite having just done so, and Hyunjin offers a round of applause at the end.

“It really is good, Ji,” he says, smiling genuinely.

“Thank you,” Jisung responds. He never knows what to say in moments like this, how to properly express his gratitude, but Hyunjin has known him long enough to understand. He’s not ungrateful, just a little speechless. Jisung scrolls through the recommended videos on the sidebar until Hyunjin stops him excitedly.

“That one, the “Into the Unknown cover!” he says, smacking Jisung on the arm. Jisung smacks him back, a satisfying sound ringing through the air when he makes contact with his roommates arm. Hyunjin just laughs harder. “Seriously, click it!”

“Why? I’ve seen Frozen and Frozen 2 a million times, we both have,” Jisung whines. As much as he likes those movies, he doesn’t really want the song stuck in his head for the next month.

“I know, but that guy’s really good. He does Disney covers. It’s wholesome as fuck,” Hyunjin says. Jisung looks at him with a raised brow at the phrasing but clicks on the video regardless. If anything, Hyunjin is going to be the one suffering when he can’t stop belting Elsa’s lines through the apartment.

The video itself is pretty simplistic; a guy (a cute guy) in a clearly self-made recording studio, belting his soul into a condenser mic. The lighting is pretty decent and the picture is crystal clear, which Jisung has to give him points for, but the standout is his voice. Holy shit, his voice. Jisung has never heard anything like it before. It’s like honey in his ears, sweet and smooth and addicting. And so versatile. He’s belting out high notes like his life depends on it, softly singing the raw lower tones with captivating emotion. The song ends and Jisung wants to hear more. Even this guy’s speaking voice has Jisung on the edge of his seat.

“You said he has more?” Jisung asks, kicking up the volume and clicking onto the channel. Sky’s Disney Covers. There’s a plethora of content waiting for him, so he moves onto a rendition of ‘Reflection’ from Mulan.

“I told you he was good,” Hyunjin says with a giggle.

“He’s incredible. Did you hear that?” Jisung returns, shifting in his seat to get more comfortable, leaning against the arm of the chair and propping his head up on his elbow.

“Of course I did, I’m right here, and I told you I’d heard it before,” Hyunjin responds.

“I’m going to pass out,” Jisung sighs.

“What? Why?” Hyunjin sounds worried.

“His voice is so beautiful,” Jisung says, wiping a fake tear from his eye.

“Gay,” Hyunjin comments under his breath.

“Yeah,” Jisung sighs again, letting himself get swept away with the music. Four songs later their sushi arrives, and Jisung hardly tastes a thing, too wrapped up in his new obsession. Hyunjin tries to speak a few times, but Jisung just turns the volume up to drown him out, hiding the remote under his body so nothing can get in between him and his man. Sky. “I want to sing with him,” Jisung says an hour and a half later, once the food is gone and Hyunjin has all but fused with his phone, the dog settled comfortably on the top of the sofa.

“What? Disney covers seem a little off brand for you,” he responds, looking up at the TV. “How would you get his attention? He has views in the millions.”

“We could get there,” Jisung says quietly. He’s not sure if he believes it, but he has to put the idea into the world.

“Yes, but it’ll take time,” Hyunjin says, shifting to rest his feet on Jisung. He finds comfort in the touch, even if it comes in the form of gym socks.

“Well, then I’ll slide into his DMs. If that doesn’t work, I’ll use the troops,” Jisung responds.

“Huh?”

“The digital troops. Twitter. I’ll ask my followers to tweet at him to notice me,” Jisung clarifies, pulling up the app on his phone. He finds Sky’s account easily, following it and opening up a private message.

“What are you going to say? ‘Hi, I’m in love with your voice, I know we’re strangers, but please sing with me?’,” Hyunjin asks. Jisung reads the message he’s started typing out.

Hello, Sky! I know we haven’t met, but I came across your channel and your work is absolutely incredible. I run a cover channel myself and was wondering if you’d like to collab sometime. Keep it up! -HanJi Covers.

“Is that bad?” Jisung asks. Hyunjin holds his hand out, gesturing for Jisung to hand his phone over. Hyunjin had been pretty spot on. How does he know me so well? He looks over the message a few times.

“Honestly,” Hyunjin starts, sounding a bit defeated, “it’s not that bad. It’s the truth, anyway. I still think this is a long shot, but you have my blessing if you want to send that.”

“I was going to send it anyway,” Jisung says with a smile, taking his phone back and hitting send before he can chicken out. It’s up to fate now.

“I know you were. Are you going to watch cover songs on loud the rest of the night?” Hyunjin asks. Jisung looks at his roommate, clearly exhausted and ready for bed, and clicks the TV off.

“I’m going to watch his cover videos for the rest of my life, but I’ll do it with headphones from the comfort of my room. Let’s clean up and go to bed, sleepy boy,” Jisung says, leaning over to ruffle Hyunjin’s hair. He smiles faintly, standing up and grabbing the empty sushi packaging while Jisung picks up their dirty cups and utensils. He stays true to his word, falling asleep to a peaceful Cinderella cover and Sky’s voice dancing in his ears.

Three days later Jisung has no response, despite checking his Twitter inbox every three hours. Sky seems relatively inactive on social media, only there to provide updates on his next project, rarely participating in his followers conversations. Jisung finds himself wondering if he’s even seen the DM. Probably not, as successful as he is. Maybe it’s time for plan B.

While Jisung’s initial thought had been to ask his followers to help tag Seungmin on Twitter, that doesn’t seem like a viable option. Jisung had tried sending the same message on Instagram, but that was also a bust. He does seem to check Youtube comments for the first couple days and respond, though, so that might be Jisung’s best bet. The only problem is, the people who are active in Youtube comments are different from the fans he has on Twitter. Which means he needs to ask through a video. And making a separate video just to ask for help is creepy, even to him, which means he needs another cover.

That’s how he finds himself recording an acoustic version of ‘Nine in the Afternoon’ in his bedroom, spending double his normal recording time to make sure it’s absolutely perfect. He needs to be impressive if he’s going to win over Sky’s heart. His last cover had done better than anything he’d ever posted, just as he and Hyunjin had predicted, and he has a little bit of traction now. He wants to post something soon to keep that going, especially if he’s asking for a favor. Gotta strike while the iron’s hot.

Hyunjin finds a nice location to shoot at, a relatively quiet street that they can walk down as Jisung sings and plays guitar. It’s the first time he’s brought the instrument to a shoot, but he wants to show the whole process to his viewers this time. Hyunjin does a surprisingly good job keeping the setup stable as Jisung skips and bounces down the street, spinning to walk backwards and make eye contact with the camera as he sings and plays. They end at a little playground, where Jisung deposits himself dramatically onto a bench as soon as the song ends. They take a few more glamour shots and look through the footage, deciding there’s enough to work with to make a good music video. Just as Hyunjin is about to get up and start heading towards the car, Jisung grabs him by the wrist and stops him.

“Wait, do we still have light to film something else?” Jisung asks. He had originally planned to film his outro alone in his room, but this seems more aesthetic.

“Yeah? Just a little. What else do we need, though?” Hyunjin asks after looking up at the sky for a few seconds.

“I need an inspiring call to action for my viewers. For my duet,” Jisung says.

“Is it a call to action? Or are you just begging for help?” Hyunjin responds with a laugh, pulling his camera back out. Jisung doesn’t say anything, just pouts and repositions himself on the bench. “You’re really serious about this, aren’t you?”

“I’ve never been so touched by a voice. I just want to try,” Jisung says softly. He hadn’t meant to sound so mushy, but it seems to have tugged at Hyunjin’s heartstrings, because his friend smiles down and reaches to Jisung’s head, adjusting a few locks of hair and giving a thumbs up.

“Alright, well let’s do it then. I have a date tonight and we’re losing the light with every minute,” Hyunjin says. Jisung gives a thumbs up back and clears his voice, ready to shoot when Hyunjin points the camera towards him.

“Hello everyone! HanJi here. I want to thank you all for supporting my last video so much, I’ve never had so many views! I appreciate you all spreading it around, and I hope you guys like this one just as much. I love being part of the cover song community here on Youtube, and I’m hoping you can help me out. You guys know Sky, from Sky’s Disney Covers? He’s got a great voice, right? I seriously want to sing with him someday. So I’m asking you to help me get his attention! If you want to see that collab, spam his youtube comments and let him know I’ve been trying to reach out to him. I know he’s super popular and I’m still on the smaller end of things, but you guys are awesome! I think with everyone combined we can make this happen. What do you think? Will you help me out?”

Jisung finishes and holds on OK sign up to Hyunjin, signalling his speech is over.

“Well? Was it good? Or too desperate?” Jisung asks hopefully.

“It was perfect. A true one-taker,” Hyunjin responds.

“Are you just saying that so you can get to Changbin sooner?” Jisung asks, poking Hyunjin in the side and making him squeal.

“Stop! I’m serious, it was good. And I want to get to my boyfriend. And you work tonight, do you not?” Hyunjin says. Jisung looks down at his phone to check the time and springs up, pulling Hyunjin away from the park and back towards their car. Shit.

As much as Jisung likes making covers, it’s not all that profitable. That’s where his IT job comes into play, which he can luckily do from home. It’s normally an easy 9-5, but two nights every other week, he has to be on call for the night shift, and tonight is one of those nights. If someone in his company gets the dreaded screen of death while working at three in the morning, he is their light at the end of the tunnel. If nobody does, he gets to browse the internet and get paid for it. It’s really not so bad.

On the drive home Jisung convinces Hyunjin to stop at a gas station and picks up an energy drink, knowing full well he’s going to need it given his weird sleep schedule. By the time they get home he still has time for a two hour nap, bidding Hyunjin good luck on his date before they part ways and he lays himself down. Thoughts of the upcoming video fill him with excitement, and he wishes he and Hyunjin could start editing right away, but they can’t, so he pushes the idea away and waits for sleep to come.

Jisung is pretty proud of the way ‘Nine in the Afternoon’ turns out. It’s good, maybe not as good as ‘Right Before My Eyes,’ but still incredibly respectable. So he’s thrilled when it does just as well as the previous cover, but he’s even more thrilled that his audience has listened to his request (or taken pity on him, as Hyunjin described it). The comments section of Sky’s latest video (a jazzy rendition of O’malley the Alley Cat) is littered with Jisung’s viewers promoting him. As obnoxious as it might be, the sight warms his heart. Now all he has to do is wait.

And wait, and wait, and wait. For someone who’s only priority lies in one form of social media, this guy really is slow. It’s not until three days later that Jisung receives a notification on twitter alerting him of a new DM. He opens it up, crossing his fingers, and just like that, like magic, he sees Sky’s icon and a brand new message. This is it! He’s finally going to get his collab!

Sky: Hello. Pardon my bluntness, but can you please get your viewers under control? I don’t know why, but they’re spamming my comments like crazy.

Or maybe not.

Hanji: Hi! I’m a huge fan. Did you watch my latest video by any chance? I do covers too!

Sky: I haven’t watched it, I’m sorry.

Hanji: Oh, that’s ok. Well the explanation is there at the end, I’m a huge fan of your videos and I was wondering if you’d like to collab sometime. I’m not sure if we’re nearby, but even if not, I’m sure we could make something happen remotely. I think you have the most incredible voice I’ve ever heard. I hope that’s not too blunt.

Jisung hopes that isn’t a bit too honest, but it’s the truth. And flattery always works wonders on him, why wouldn’t it work on Sky?

Sky: Hang on, I’ll watch it now.

Hanji: Oh, ok. Takr your time

Hanji: Take^

Hanji: Take* haha

“HYUNJIN!” Jisung shouts, causing his roommate to come crashing through his bedroom door a few moments later.

“What? Are you ok?” Hyunjin asks, leaning over Jisung’s shoulder to look at the screen.

“L-look, he responded,” Jisung stutters, poking his screen. When he pulls his finger away there’s a greasy print left behind, but he can’t be bothered to clean it right now. Hyunjin takes a few seconds to read the message, snorting when he reads Jisung’s typos.

“He doesn’t seem all that enthused about your plan,” Hyunjin says, resting his chin on top of Jisung’s head.

“Ow, your chin is sharp. What are you doing?” Jisung asks, shaking his head a little bit to get Hyunjin off. It backfires, and Hyunjin’s chin digs in deeper than before.

“I want to see what he says next. I’m invested too now.”

They don’t have to wait long to find out, because three little dots soon appear at the bottom of the chat screen, and then the message is sent.

Sky: You’re pretty good!

“Oh my god, am I reading this right? He thinks I’m good? Hyunjin is that what it says?” Jisung asks, mouth moving a mile a minute.

“Yes, now answer!” Hyunjin exclaims.

Hanji: Thank you so much! So you’ll do it? A collab? I think it’ll make our viewers really happy!

Sky: I’m sorry, but I don’t think so.

Jisung stares at the screen in shock, grateful when Hyunjin puts his hands comfortingly on either shoulder.

Hanji: I don’t understand, you said you liked it right?

Sky: I think you’re talented! But I’m looking at the rest of your videos and it’s all pop punk and alt rock. I do Disney covers.

Hanji: Yeah, I guess so.

Sky: I just don’t know if we would suit each other’s style. It seems incompatible. And my viewerbase is young.

Sky: Your style suits you.

Hanji: But I’m sure we could meet in the middle?

Sky: I don’t think so.

Hanji: I’ll prove it.

Sky: What?

Hanji: Just wait.

“What a jackass. Just let him be, he doesn’t seem worth it,” Hyunjin says, slipping his arms around Jisung into a hug, or as much of one as he can manage with a computer chair in the way. Jisung remains still, focused on the conversation.

“No, I’m not taking that for an answer. He said I was good. I know I’m good. And he’s still one of the best singers I’ve heard.”

“Then what are you going to do?” Hyunjin asks.

“I’ll have to think of something. Next cover will be Disney and it will blow him away,” Jisung says, standing up suddenly and causing Hyunjin to lose his balance. He topples backwards onto Jisung’s bed with a screech, landing with a thump. “Are you with me?”

“I’m with you!”

“Gimme a high five!” Jisung says, reaching two hands up over Hyunjins head. Hyunjin lets out a whoop and completes the motion, signaling that he’s ready for battle. It’s not just a matter of impressing Sky to get a duet anymore, it’s proving his versatility as an artist. This collab will happen.

Jisung juggles a million songs through his head in the upcoming days. He spends dead time at work listening through Disney tracks on repeat to find something that he can do solo, on acoustic guitar, isn’t an impossible key for him, and doesn’t make him sound like a mushy eight year old. He works his way through the classics, but the only song he adds to his list of maybes is ‘Part of Your World.’ He briefly considers ‘I Just Can’t Wait To Be King,’ but he knows he’d be embarrassed singing Zazu’s parts. In a moment of weakness he wonders if Hannah Montana songs would count, but Hyunjin tells him it would be cheating, so he gives up on that. ‘When Will My Life Begin’ from Tangled quickly becomes the top contender when he starts looking into modern Disney, until the perfect song strikes him.

Now he and Hyunjin are enjoying a day on the beach, backtrack programmed into both of their phones for whenever they decide to get off their asses and start working. As of this moment, it’s eleven in the morning and they’re laid out on towels working on their tans and sipping on ice cold watermelon juice.

“Are you proud of yourself?” Hyunjin asks. He’s facing the sun, but they’re the only two on the beach, so Jisung figures it must be directed at him.

“For what?”

“Finding the perfect song. It’s so good for you, I’m obsessed. It’s Disney, it’s a male lead, and it’s so fucking cheeky,” Hyunjin cackles.

“It really is, isn’t it? He can’t argue. There’s no valid argument,” Jisung says with a smile. He’s getting hyped up, ready to get this video shot and post it to rub his perfection in Sky’s face. He springs up off his towel, accidentally kicking sand onto Hyunjin and making him scream and sputter to get it out of his mouth.

“What the hell, Ji?” Hyunjin asks, standing up to shake himself off.

“I’m ready now,” Jisung says. Hyunjin looks him up and down and frowns.

“I’m not sure doing it shirtless is going to comfort his age-friendly concerns. And I know you’re singing a Maui song, but I didn’t know we were going that in depth with the role,” Hyunjin giggles. Jisung looks down at his torso and grimaces. He’s in perfectly fine shape, but he’s not sure him dancing around shirtless and singing ‘You’re Welcome’ from Moana is going to have the same effect as Maui doing the same. He’s also missing the tattoos.

“You right. One moment please,” Jisung says, reaching into his bag and grabbing a beachy looking short sleeved button down. He opts to leave the first couple buttons undone, exposing his chest as much as possible to still be considered a “kid-friendly” performance and still show off a little. Hyunjin pulls out his camera, clearly terrified of all the sand surrounding them and threatening to get into his precious equipment but trying his best not to show it. Jisung tries his best in turn not to laugh at the panicked faces he’s making. He’d opted not to bring his guitar today in favor of having the freedom to move as flamboyantly as possible.

“Ok, ready, go!” Hyunjin says once he’s finally set up, starting the music up and giving Jisung his cue to move. He channels his inner Maui, flexing his biceps and smirking through the song. He throws a wink in at the lyrics praising his hair and bod, and throws an invisible lasso at the camera when he hints at capturing the sun. Luckily Hyunjin understands what he’s going for and scoots closer. Must be best friend intuition.

The first take goes pretty well, but this is the most fun Jisung has ever had filming, so he asks for a second one just in case. Hyunjin agrees readily, and when they finish they store their things and race into the water to celebrate a job well done. He lets himself get lost in the feeling of the waves, let’s the cool water rinse away his nerves for a bit and give him some relief. He doesn’t need to overthink and wonder if the performance was good, he can feel that it was, so he just let’s himself float with a clear head for a bit. He’s jolted out of it by Hyunjin splashing salty ocean at him, but even that keeps him occupied and prevents him from worrying. It’s a perfect day, following a perfect shoot.There’s no way this can go wrong.

After another two hours of messing around at the beach, Jisung and Hyunjin climb back into Hyunjin’s Jeep and make their way back to the apartment. With as much time as Jisung spends inside for work, sometimes he forgets that they live in California and it’s kind of a waste not to enjoy the sunshine. Hyunjin had bought his Wrangler used, usually driving around with the doors off and the roof down, taking advantage of the off-roading capabilities for work when he finds a good spot to shoot. Jisung refuses to ride with the doors off, swearing that he’s going to slide out of his seatbelt, onto the car floor, and tumble into the road, and while Hyunjin promises that it’s a ridiculous claim he’s always willing to accommodate (as long as Jisung puts the door back on himself).

When he gets home Jisung can’t help but send a message to Sky:

Hanji: I hope you’re ready to be blown away. I’ll win this challenge.

Sky: It wasn’t a challenge???

Hanji: Be ready!

They end up posting the video four days later, and Jisung can’t wait to send it over to Sky. The second it uploads he’s back on twitter, pulling up his DMs and sending the link. He’d included another short snippet at the end of the video again, encouraging his viewers to keep spamming Sky’s latest video with comments about the new cover, just in case he doesn’t check twitter. Now all he can do is wait patiently.

After two days pass with no response, Jisung can't help but be a little down. Hyunjin and Changbin are watching a movie on the couch when he slinks out of his room, taking the opportunity to collapse onto both of their laps, head in Changbin’s and feet in Hyunjin’s, and groans.

“Hello, Jisung,” Changbin greets, putting a hand on either side of Jisung’s face and squeezing. “What seems to be the problem?”

“Still no answer,” Jisung tries to say, but with his face being squished as it is it comes out as gibberish.

“Pardon?” Changbin asks with a laugh. Jisung still can’t speak, which Changbin clearly knows, so he blows a raspberry and sends a fine mist up towards his friend. He hadn’t known Changbin before Hyunjin started dating him, but in the two years they’ve been together Jisung has gotten quite close to his roommate’s boyfriend. Close enough for Changbin to repeat the action and blow a mist of spit right back.

“What the hell? You guys are disgusting, how did I end up with you two in my life?” Hyunjin asks in repulsion, holding up a hand in front of him to get out of the splash zone. Changbin finally releases Jisung’s face, allowing him to speak.

“I said I still have no response,” Jisung repeats, digging his heels into Hyunjin’s thigh as a non-verbal answer to his complaint.

“What are you talking about?” Changbin asks. Apparently Hyunjin hadn’t brought him up to speed on everything going on.

“Jisungie is in love with a Disney cover singer and asked to collab with them, but they said he couldn’t pull off a Disney song. That’s why we did Moana. But we posted it two days ago and he’s still ignoring Jisung,” Hyunjin explains. Jisung would like to rebut a few of those claims, namely the ‘being in love with’ and the ‘being ignored’ parts, but it’s generally correct so he just nods in defeat.

“Ohh, I was wondering why you made such a change up. It sounded good, though. He’ll reach out,” Changbin says, patting Jisung on the head comfortingly. He even takes pity and uses the end of their throw blanket to wipe Jisung’s face of any remnants from their little game.

“Thank you. I hope so. What are you two doing tonight?” Jisung asks. He’s friends with both of them, and he wants to hang out with someone, but he still doesn’t want to third wheel. Hyunjin deserves his romance time, it’s not his fault Jisung is single as can be. It’s not really anyone’s fault, actually. He hasn’t looked for romance in years, hasn’t really looked for anything outside of his friendship with Hyunjin and Changbin, his boring job, his covers, and maybe a little gaming and babysitting on the side. His life is comfortable and predictable, and that’s how he enjoys it for the time being.

“We’re probably just going to stay in and watch a few movies. Nothing crazy tonight,” Hyunjin answers. Jisung spins around into a seated position, clapping his hands once as if to gather attention.

“Alright. Then I will be in my room if you need me. If clothes start coming off I expect you to move to your room, as this couch is communal,” Jisung says, glaring in Hyunjin’s direction. Changbin sinks lower into his seat, but Hyunjin just glares back.

“We’ve never done that,” he scoffs.

“You sure about that?” Jisung asks.

“Not within the past six months,” Hyunjin returns. Changbin covers his face with a pillow in embarrassment.

“Right, so keep that trend going,” Jisung says, getting off the couch and making strides towards the kitchen. He grabs a bag of chips and some soda, getting ready to hunker down in his room for a while. He waves when he passes by them again, bowing before disappearing into his lair.

He’d kind of wanted to spend the night doing something fun to occupy himself, but he also doesn’t really want to go out. He pulls up a game on his computer, noticing his friend Felix online, and sends him a message asking to duo. That’s how he spends his next five hours, shouting profanities into his headset (not at Felix, at their other dumbass teammates), until he’s all out of mental energy. He’s still kind of on a caffeine high, and Felix lives in a different time zone, so he’s fully awake as well. They decide to screenshare and watch some anime together, and by two in the morning Jisung has drifted to sleep in his computer chair.

He jolts awake at five, not quite comfortable enough to be in any kind of deep rest, nearly knocking his Mountain Dew over but missing by a hair. Felix must have hung up the call when he nodded off, because he’s met with silence in his headphones. He stands up and slips them off, stretching before moving to his bed. Just before his head hits the pillow, he checks his phone, noticing a new notification with a little blue bird next to it. He pulls open Twitter, clicks on his inbox, hoping it’s from who he thinks it might be, jumping up when it is. Finally!

Sky: I have to admit, it was a Disney song.

Ok, not necessarily a compliment, but not an insult. Really just stating facts. The message had only been sent twenty minutes ago, and Jisung isn’t sure why he’s responding so early in the morning, but it doesn’t really matter. Maybe he lives in another time zone? Jisung hopes not.

Hanji: I told you I could do Disney. Are you impressed?

Sky: Kind of.

Wow, he’d responded right away! Jisung is definitely taking advantage of this, half asleep though he may be.

Hanji: So will you collab with me?

Sky: I don’t know. Where do you live? I’m sure we’re in different places, it’s probably impossible anyway.

Hanji: Santa Barbara

Sky: Oh.

Hanji: ?

Sky: I live in L.A.. Maybe it’s not impossible.

Hanji: Collab with me <3

Sky: Don’t get ahead of yourself. But maybe we can meet sometime and figure it out?

Hanji: What was your favorite thing about my cover?

Sky: come on...

Hanji: :(

Sky: Ok, you have good charisma.

Hanji: My favorite thing about your covers is your beautiful voice :)

Sky: Yes, you’ve mentioned that. I appreciate it, thank you..

Hanji: ok when are you free to meet?

Sky: When are you free?

Hanji: I’m free tomorrow, after that it’ll be another week.

Sky: Tomorrow?

Hanji: too soon?

Sky: No, tomorrow is fine. I’ll drive to you.

Hanji: oh, my roommate will be home though, is that alright?

Sky: I’m not stepping foot in your apartment until I know you’re not a serial killer trying to steal my vocal chords. We’ll meet in public.

Hanji: that’s really specific, my dude

Sky: You said you like my voice

Hanji: yeah but I like my voice too... so you can keep yours

Sky: I appreciate it. Do you have a cafe in mind that we can meet at or anything?

Hanji: there’s a place called Ollie’s Diner that’s really good

Sky: Got it. Is noon good?

Hanji: see you at noon tomorrow for discussions of our duet Sky :)

Sky: Seungmin

Hanji: ?

Sky: My real name is Seungmin, call me Seungmin.

Hanji: Jisung

Sky: See you tomorrow Jisung.

Hanji: cya!

Oh my god. It’s happening. It’s actually happening. Maybe not tomorrow, but he’s getting his duet. Probably. Hopefully. Jisung lays back down in bed, trying to calm his mind and dream happy dreams of what could happen the next day. He sorts through songs in his head, ones that fit his personal style, ones that fit Sky’s, or Seungmin’s, ones that meet in the middle. He calms his heart rate with soothing breaths, saving the excitement for later. Tomorrow, he’ll see Seungmin. Right now, he needs to sleep.

When Jisung broke the news to Hyunjin that he was actually going to meet Seungmin, he’d been pulled into a bone crushing hug and spun around the room, forcing Changbin to duck, dodge and hold on to Kkami for dear life as Jisungs legs went flailing. It was a bit more enthusiastic than he’d been expecting, given how much Hyunjin had teased, but at that moment he let himself break out into a wide grin, let his heart beat out of control, because now that he’d told someone it felt real.

And now that he’s sitting on the patio of Ollie’s Diner, snapping to attention every time he hears new footsteps walking up the wooden stairs, he’s not sure if his heart has stopped beating like that since. His hands are sweaty, and his pulse is racing, and oh god, is his eye twitching? He picks up his phone and opens his camera, flinching when the front camera gives him a view straight up his nostrils. Luckily the eye twitch seems to have been a figment of his imagination, because he looks relatively normal, if not a little pale.

“Wow, you really do like looking at yourself, don’t you?” a voice calls out, making Jisung drop his phone onto the table. He knows that voice. He hears it in his dreams, he plays it in the background while he works, it’s warm and honeyed and a little nasal but in the sweetest possible way. And now it’s mocking him for being caught at the worst possible time, staring at himself after copious amounts of bragging about his work and singing the cockiest song Disney has to offer. He must come off as such a tool.

“It’s not like that! I just had to see- nevermind. Seungmin?” Jisung asks, his voice cracking on the last sentence as he stands up, chair clattering behind him, and holds out his hand. Seungmin accepts it with a warm smile.

“That’s me.”

“Yeah, I guess I knew that. I’m Jisung, but I- I guess you knew that too,” Jisung stutters out. Well, if Seungmin thought he was confident and cocky before, at least that illusion is shattered. He sounds like a wreck. Seungmin walks around to the other side of the table and takes a seat.

“You don’t have to be so nervous, I’m just a guy with a microphone. I’m not a celebrity- I’m not even a Youtube celebrity,” Seungmin says in an attempt to calm him down.

“I know, I’m still a really big fan though,” Jisung replies. It’s interesting meeting someone in person who he’s only seen through a screen. From their greeting, he now knows Seungmin is a few inches taller than him. His hands are really big, which he never would have known through the monitor. He’d thought Seungmin’s hair was a dull medium brown, but in the sun it’s apparent that it’s actually a sandy blond, most likely just made darker by the odd effects of studio lighting. It’s really pretty. Everything about him is, actually. But that’s not the point.

“I got that through your very passionate messages. Can I ask how long you’ve been listening?” Seungmin asks, looking a little bit shy about it. “Not to come off as narcissistic, I just wonder how familiar you are with me?”

“A month,” Jisung says quickly. Seungmin’s eyebrows raise in shock, making his eyes widen a bit. It’s kind of cute. Like a puppy.

“A month? From your messages it sounded like you’d been working up the courage to ask about this for years,” Seungmin says.

“No, I sent the first message the first night I heard you. If it took me a year to realize how good your voice was, I’d be a moron,” Jisung says. It comes off a little more clingy and fanatic than intended, but that’s kind of how he got here.

“Well, thank you,” Seungmin says, just as a server comes to take their orders. They haven’t actually looked at the menu yet, so they make do with waters and start browsing. “You too. Have a good voice, I mean.”

“Thanks,” Jisung says, afraid that if he tries to say anything else his voice will crack again. That would be humiliating given he was just complimented on it. They look over their menus in awkward silence until the server comes back several minutes later to take their orders. Jisung had talked a big game over messages, but now that Seungmin is here in the flesh he couldn’t be more intimidated.

“This is uncomfortable, isn’t it?” Jisung says, hoping a little honesty will clear the stiff air. Seungmin looks up from where he’s been playing with a ring of water on the table.

“Yeah, a little,” he admits.

“I’m really glad you agreed to meet up with me,” Jisung says, annoyed with how uncertain he sounds. He clears his throat and starts again. “I’m just nervous, because I really do love your voice. And I admire your commitment to your listeners and how you always give them exactly what they want, It’s not like I want you to change your content for me or anything. I just really, really want to sing with you,” Jisung says, trying his best to keep eye contact.The more he speaks, the more confidence he gains back. Seungmin really is just a guy who makes covers on the internet, just like him. He’s uncomfortable in new situations, just like him. Jisung needs to take him off the pedestal if he’s going to be normal about this.

“I’ve never done a duet on my channel,” Seungmin responds, lower lip jutting out in thought. “But it could be fun. As long as you’re really willing to do Disney.”

“I already proved I am!” Jisung says with a laugh.

“Yeah, I suppose you did. It was good. You make a good Maui,” Seungmin says, looking Jisung up and down. “Aside from the body type.”

“I have muscles,” Jisung says defensively, crossing his arms over his chest. Something about the way Seungmin is scoping him out makes him feel very… vulnerable. Like he’s trying to see beneath the performance he usually keeps up.

“You do, but not Maui muscles,” Seungmin agrees.

“Maui is a demigod. I’m not a demigod. I just have the voice of one. Leave my body out of it,” Jisung says, sending his best smirk over to Seungmin. While his expectation was a swoon and maybe some kind words, what he gets in return is a loud laugh laugh that fills up the patio. Seungmin’s laugh is dorky, a pronounced ‘ha ha ha’ that squeaks a little at the end, and Jisung can’t help but join him. It’s such a stark contrast to how he sounds when he sings it’s hard not to be thrown off.

Their meals come shortly after, and with the mood lifted and food in their bellies the conversation becomes easier. They start with talking about music, how Jisung has always loved it but didn’t think it was something he could make a career out of, how Seungmin has always been interested in it and constantly auditions for commercial voiceover work, otherwise he wouldn’t live so close to LA. Jisung thinks it would suit him, a way to get his voice out to as many people as possible.

It turns out Seungmin does all his own camerawork and lighting, and though he’s mainly standing still in the studio, Jisung can’t help but be impressed. He does get help from his roommate with mixing, an aspiring producer named Chan, but other than that he’s always been a solo act. Jisung can’t help the little flame of pride he has for being the first to get him as a partner, to get to sing with Sky.

They continue that line of chatting for the rest of their meal, mostly keeping the conversation to music and their channels, and while it’s fun and they do make jokes, for some reason it still feels distinctly professional. He can’t shake the feeling that Seungmin doesn’t really want Jisung to know him, although he sometimes lets little glimpses out without noticing.

“So, what song were you thinking?” Seungmin asks once all their food is gone and they’re waiting for the check.

“I don’t know, you’re the Disney expert. I thought you’d have a good backlog, no?” Jisung responds. He’d gotten so carried away in the idea of the duet, he was just planning on doing whatever Seungmin said. “It’s not that restrictive if we use your format, because I’m not chained to my guitar. That was my main issue finding a solo song for myself.”

“That’s true. But I like your acoustic style. I think we should do that if we can,” Seungmin says thoughtfully. He licks his lips a little nervously and takes a sip of water, clearly working up the nerve to get something out. “You know they’re all- they’re all going to be love songs, probably.”

That, Jisung had thought of. He just didn’t really care. Seungmin, however, seems a little more skeptical about it. He nods, taking his own sip of water.

“I know. Does it matter?” Jisung asks. He thinks he can see a little tinge of red at the top of Seungmin’s ears, and his first instinct is to tease, but he decides they’re probably not at that point yet so he pretends not to notice.

“No, it’s just new territory for me,” Seungmin explains.

“We could take a song for one person and split the parts if you prefer?” Jisung offers. It’s not really what he wants, he’d rather be able to harmonize and make sure they get equal lines, but the blush is spreading noticeably and he doesn’t want to push too hard.

“It’s fine! Give me a second, let me look at what the options are,” he says, pulling out his phone. Jisung catches a glimpse of Seungmin scrolling through playlists until he finds something, showing off the screen and clicking the song. Before he can even get a look, the speakers start blaring at full blast, making both of them jump as Seungmin scrambles to turn the song off. Jisung feels a million eyes on him, just now noticing how full the patio has become as they’ve been chatting, and shrinks into himself a bit before leaning towards Seungmin.

“Maybe we should do that elsewhere?” he whispers, trying to avoid drawing any more attention to their table. Seungmin nods and takes their cards from the bill holder their server had dropped off a while ago, handing Jisung’s back to him. They get up and leave in silence, and when they’re a safe distance away, Seungmin bursts out laughing again.

“What?” Jisung asks, looking around.

“Your face, oh my god, you looked petrified!” Seungmin cackles. Jisung puts his hands up and hides, but Seungmin pulls them away by the wrists. He’s still laughing, now right in Jisung’s face, so he just pulls a hand away and flicks Seungmin on the shoulder to try and get him to stop.

“I wasn’t petrified, it just took me by surprise,” Jisung says defensively. Seungmin finally starts to calm down after a minute, releasing his final giddiness in a controlled exhale. “Ok, where can we do this?”

“What?”

“We need to find music,” Seungmin explains. Oh, right.

“Um, you said you don’t want to come to my place, right?” Jisung asks. Seungmin looks thoughtful for a moment.

“No, it’s ok, I don’t think you can steal my vocal chords anymore,” he responds.

“Wait a minute, what does that mean?” Jisung asks.

“It means you’re not very threatening in person. When you aren’t being all angsty and charismatic for the camera,” Seungmin laughs.

“Well you’re not as nice as you pretend to be on camera,” Jisung says, turning to walk towards his car. Seungmin follows with a chuckle.

“Wait, where are you going? My car is right here,” he says, stopping Jisung with a hand on his shoulder. Jisung turns to face him, following his other hand where it points to a beat up white buggy. He snorts, which Seungmin seems to take offense to, but offers an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, it just suits you. My car is over there,” Jisung says, pointing to a red Taurus. It’s not in much better shape than Seungmin’s car, and it’s due for a wash, but he rarely uses it anyway. “Just follow me out, we’re only a ten minute ride from my place.”

He drives slowly, just in case Seungmin gets turned around, but they make it back alright, are even lucky enough to find parking pretty close to each other. When he leads Seungmin up the stairs to his unit they continue their small talk, exchanging opinions on architecture and comparisons of their cities. He only lives on the second floor, so they’re at the unit before they know it, Jisung opening the door slowly to make sure Kkami doesn’t escape. He’s greeted by the sound of the tv, just now remembering Hyunjin was going to be home.

“Honey, I’m home,” Jisung calls out, stepping through the door and ushering Seungmin in.

“Binnie?” Hyunjin asks, absorbed in some reality show. He turns to look at Jisung and scowls, tossing a pillow at him. “You’re not my honey,” he says, looking back to the tv.

“Hyunjin,” Jisung calls out again, trying to regain his attention. He looks up again, and by the look on his face he’s just noticed the second presence in the doorway. “Hyunjin, this is Seungmin. Or Sky, as you know him.”

“Nice to meet you, sorry to intrude,” Seungmin says politely. Kkami looks up at the sound of a new voice, yapping a few times before Hyunjin pats his head to quiet the puppy down.

“Oh, nice to meet you too. I’m sorry, I’d stand, but the dog wouldn’t be happy,” Hyunjin says, motioning to his lap. “So what are you two up to?”

“We were going to figure out some music, but I forgot you were home. I’m just going to grab my guitar and the speaker,” Jisung says, looking over to Seungmin. “I’ll be right back, I know a place.”

He walks the couple feet to his room and grabs his guitar case and speaker, tossing the latter into a backpack. When he comes back into the hall, he looks to the corner of the living room and sees Hyunjin’s roll-up picnic blanket and figures it might be nice to have.

“Jinnie, can I borrow this?” Jisung asks, walking to pick it up. Hyunjin nods without looking up, so he either knows where he left it or just doesn’t care, but either way works for Jisung. The last thing he does before leaving is grab two water bottles from their fridge, because they’re going outside and the sun is still high. He makes his way back to Seungmin and issues a salute, or as much of one as he can with his hands completely full. “We’re all set!”

“Are you alright there?” Seungmin asks, watching Jisung struggle to squeeze through the door with everything strapped to his back. Jisung had insisted he go outside first, but now kind of regrets it as Seungmin acts as an audience and provides a live laugh track. Jisung just sends a strained smile his way and nods a little as he tries another angle.

“Please let me carry something,” Seungmin says, grabbing the picnic blanket from Jisung’s elbow without waiting for a response. Jisung wants to argue, but it’s exactly what he needed, so he just gives Seungmin a quiet thanks as he slides through the door and shuts it behind him. “So where are we going?”

“Just to the garden. It’s for the whole building, but most people are at work or school right now, so we should be able to be loud,” Jisung says, leading them to a back stairwell and down into the private area. There’s a little bench, but it won’t be comfortable with the guitar, so Jisung has Seungmin lay out the blanket and gestures for him to sit as he pulls out their waters and the portable speaker. It’s a nice little setup, and Jisung finds himself thinking he should do this more often on his own.

“Ok, play me what you were going to before,” Jisung says once Seungmin’s phone gets all hooked up. He doesn’t respond audibly, but scrolls through his phone until he finds the song, hovering his thumb over the play button.

“Ok, I thought about it a lot,” he says before pressing down. The light strumming of a guitar begins to fill the air, but Jisung can’t quite place it for a few seconds. “I wanted you to be able to bring your skills into it, and this seemed like a perfect compromise.” A female voice starts filling the air, and Jisung knows he’s heard it before. It really is a nice tune, and something he could easily mimic on guitar.

And at last I see the light, and it’s like the world has shifted.

“Oh! From Tangled! Right?” Jisung exclaims, finally placing the scene in his mind. He pulls out his guitar and a sheet music app on his phone, finding a tab pretty easily.

“Yeah, from Tangled. What do you think?” Seungmin asks. Jisung glances up from his sheet for a moment, realizing he might look like he’s not paying attention to Seungmin, and is surprised when his partner looks a little nervous.

“I think it’s perfect,” Jisung says with a grin, sending an encouraging thumbs up. He plucks a few notes on his guitar to make sure the tuning is right and starts strumming through the tab until he hears Seungmin clear his throat and looks up again. “Oh, sorry. Used to working alone.”

“That’s ok. So who should take each part? I haven’t heard you do this style of music,” Seungmin asks.

“I can sing pretty high, but I think your falsetto is better, so maybe you should do the Rapunzel lines?” Jisung offers. “Why don’t we just sing for a bit? And decide what sounds best?”

“Sure,” Seungmin says. He finds an instrumental pretty easily on his phone, which sparks Jisungs interest.

“Hey, you said you’ve been thinking hard about it, but you told me you weren’t even sure if we should do this. What gives?” Jisung asks. Seungmin looks at him, but just smiles and starts singing. Maybe it had been a yes all along?

They spend two hours like that, singing in the garden, changing up keys when needed, Jisung working on the guitar chords, settling on parts. Any playful banter they’ve built up over the course of the day drops into the background, taken over by a serious tone and an air of productivity. This is the person Jisung had expected to work with, someone focused and studious to a point of intimidation. This is Sky, not Seungmin.

They get the details hammered out, Jisung taking the Flynn parts and Seungmin taking Rapunzel’s higher ones, and start doing full play-throughs to soften out any sharp edges. It takes a few shots, and they aren’t afraid to call each other out when needed, but when they succeed for the first time they look up with victory in their eyes and grins on their faces. They make it through two more runs before the garden gates open and they get disrupted, realizing late afternoon has come around when a set of siblings burst through and come running at Jisung head first.

“Sungie, Sungie!” the younger one shrieks, tackling Jisung just as he thrusts his guitar at Seungmin for safekeeping, landing flat on his back as he holds the little boy steady. Big eyes blink at him from above, and Jisung reaches up to squeeze chubby cheeks.

“Hello, little monster. Can I help you?” he asks. The boy just smiles and pinches Jisung back.

“We heard you playing from outside and Danny wanted to say hi,” says the girl. “Hello, I’m Violet,” she continues, directing it at Seungmin this time. Jisung scoops Danny up and sits back up.

“I babysit these monsters sometimes,” Jisung explains. “Danny is- Danny how old are you?” Jisung asks.

“Five,” he says proudly, holding up a closed hand. Jisung tugs it open so his fingers are actually displayed and pats him on the back to try again. “Five!”

“I’m eight. I know you,” Violet says.

“Do you?” Seungmin asks, still holding on to Jisungs guitar like it’s the most fragile thing in the world.

“From the internet,” she explains.

“Yes, this is Sky. He asked me to sing with him to make his channel better and I agreed,” Jisung says with a smirk. Seungmin looks like he wants to refute the claim, but holds back in the presence of children.

“Yes, Hanji is nice enough to play for me,” Seungmin agrees.

“He played for us first,” Danny says with a challenging smile.

“Yes I did, and I still will,” Jisung says. “Maybe Sky will sing for you one day.”

“How about today?” Seungmin offers. “If he‘ll play for us,” he continues, looking at Jisung.

Jisung leans in, whispering to Seungmin. “The only Disney songs I know how to play are Moana.”

“Why are you such a Moana fanboy?” Seungmin whispers back.

“It’s a good movie! Can we do Where You Are?”

“Of course,” Seungmin says, sounding personally offended that he might not know the song. Jisung takes his guitar back and starts strumming, the kids taking a seat and enjoying the show. They join in on the ad libs (they also have the song memorized, which may or may not be due to Jisung putting it on nearly every time he sits for them), Danny putting his whole chest into singing ‘Consider the coconuts!’, and Violet taking over a lovely rendition of the grandmother's part. It’s an overwhelmingly adorable scene, and Jisung can’t control his grin as he plays and the song ends in as roaring of an applause as two kids can offer.

“Very good job, monsters. And Sky. Shouldn’t you two be getting back to dad?” Jisung says, patting them on the shoulders and pointing them towards their back door. They agree and run to the porch, waving their goodbyes as their dad opens up. He sends a greeting towards Jisung, who returns it with a smile. He’s a good downstairs neighbor, a single dad who needs help sometimes, and Jisung likes the kids and is always happy to earn a little extra money.

“They love you,” Seungmin says as Jisung starts putting his guitar away. Now that people are returning home, it’s probably time to pack up.

“I’m very loveable,” Jisung responds, framing his face in a flower pose and smiling. Seungmin squints at him as if trying to see it, but a little smile pokes through.

“Sure you are,” he says after a few seconds.

“So when should we film? And do you want to do something more like how you record in your studio, or make a video like mine?” Jisung asks, getting back on topic.

“Hmm… I think we should record vocals in my studio, but a video on location would be nice. Something where we sit still though,” Seungmin says. Jisung thinks he has an idea already, but decides to stay quiet in case Seungmin has his own.

“Ok. Well I’m off in five days, does that work for you?” he asks.

“I don’t have any auditions coming up around then. Should be fine,” Seungmin responds. Jisung tosses their empty water bottles in his bag and snaps his guitar case shut, taking the speaker from Seungmin when he gets it properly turned off. Seungmin stands first, reaching a hand out to Jisung to help him up, which he gladly accepts.

“Five days. I guess I’m driving to you this time,” Jisung says, leading the way to the garden gate and holding it open for Seungmin. He steps through but waits for Jisung to catch up. “I’ll walk you to your car,” he says, propping his picnic blanket against the fencing to come back and get later.

“Thanks.”

“I should have your number. Just in case,” Jisung says, pulling his phone from his pocket.

“In case twitter gets taken down?” Seungmin teases.

“You never know,” Jisung insists, pushing the device into Seungmin’s hands. He enters his number and sends a text to it with Jisung’s name. “Han. My last name is Han,” Jisung says, although Seungmin didn’t ask.

“Ahhh, so that’s why you’re HanJi,” Seungmin says, as if a light has clicked on in his head.

“Correct. Why are you Sky, by the way?” Jisung asks.

“It’s a secret,” Seungmin says, stopping in his tracks, “and we’re already at my car. Maybe I’ll tell you next time.”

Jisung stays there as Seungmin pulls out his keys and unlocks the car, climbing in and rolling down the window.

“Next week?” Jisung repeats for the third time since they’ve decided when to meet again.

“Next week!” Seungmin confirms, turning on the ignition and waving. Jisung gets out of the way, walking back to his place with his hands in his pockets after he watched Seungmin pull away and around the corner. When he gets back to the unit and catches sight of Hyunjin, he drops his stuff and dashes back down the stairs to grab the picnic blanket, not wanting to get in trouble.

Five days until he gets to record the real duet.

He can’t wait.

Given their initial relationship, Jisung hadn’t expected to hear from Seungmin again until a day before the shoot. It had been so incredibly difficult to get in contact with him when Jisung just knew him as Sky, but apparently it’s different as Seungmin. Seungmin is a texting machine.

It starts with little notes about their upcoming performance, a suggestion to make delivery more impactful, an idea of where they can go. Then it turns into nagging to make sure Hyunjin is free to shoot for them (which Jisung has assured that he is four times after three days of messaging), questions about how to coordinate wardrobes. By the fourth day he suspects Seungmin is just bored, because he keeps sending requests to play cup pong and bragging whenever he beats Jisung (and he always beats Jisung). They’re small interruptions, ones that most people wouldn’t notice, but he’s been doing the same thing for so long that having something new, someone new to shift what he knows is a little bit unnerving.

When the day finally arrives, Jisung and Hyunjin pile some extra recording equipment, Jisung’s guitar, Hyunjin’s camera setup, and themselves into the Wrangler and hit the road. It’s about an hour and a half’s drive to Seungmin and Chan’s, and instead of spending it discussing what their plan of attack is for the day, they bicker back and forth about chores the whole time and who forgot to put the milk away yesterday morning (it was Jisung, it was totally Jisung, but he’ll die before he admits it).

They arrive at ten in the morning, giving plenty of time to record and shoot before running out of light. Seungmin is standing in the yard of his building when they pull up, tipped off on their location by Jisung’s texts. He’s wearing a sweater and jeans despite the 70 degree weather, and Jisung would bet money that it’s to keep his vocal chords in a good state. He looks down at his own attire, a tank top with a flannel thrown on top and joggers, and wonders if he should have done the same. He’d brought an outfit to change into later, should he put it on now? No, it doesn’t really matter, his throat feels fine and he’s sure Seungmin will offer him something to help get it ready. If there’s one thing he’s learned over their past days of texting, it’s that Seungmin takes this type of thing very seriously.

When they find a parking spot, Seungmin strolls up to the car to help them unload, catching Jisung’s eye and smiling before moving around to the back seat of the car.

“Good to see you again, Hyunjin. And Jisung,” Seungmin says, sounding amused with himself.

“And Jisung? As if I’m not the main event?” Jisung scoffs. If he didn’t know just how much fun Seungmin has poking fun at him, he might be offended. As it stands, he can’t be, not when he hands Jisung his guitar like it’s the most precious thing in the world (which, to Jisung, it might be), and takes a handful of bags without even being asked. Once the three of them are all loaded up, Seungmin leads them into a dated apartment building, pressing the elevator button and holding the door for both Jisung and Hyunjin as they step inside.

Seungmin and Chan’s apartment is definitely bigger than Jisung and Hyunjin’s, but also a little more worn down. It’s spotless, which helps to disguise the age, but Jisung can still see patch jobs in the ceiling and chipped paint on the door and window-sills. Maybe he’s projecting, because his place is always messy and Seungmin’s is alarmingly void of clutter, but the little flaws throughout the unit make it a bit more approachable than it would be otherwise.

“So this is the main room and the kitchen. Down the hall are the bedrooms, the third one is what we use as a studio,” Seungmin explains.

“We?” Hyunjin questions.

“Yeah, my roommate is a producer, so it’s mainly his workspace. I use it for videos, though. It’s a good arrangement.”

“Wow, so professional,” Hyunjin responds in amazement when Seungmin opens the door. It is a pretty impressive at-home setup, Jisung has to admit. “Sungie just sits on his bed with a mic.”

“And there’s nothing wrong with that,” Jisung cuts in, defensive of his craft. He pulls his guitar from his back and lays the case on the couch as Seungmin starts fiddling with microphones and the stools, although it’s pretty much all set up and looks like it has been for hours. Soon a faint whistling sounds from the kitchen, which Seungmin raises his head at.

“Ah, excuse me. I’ll be right back,” he says, darting from the room. Hyunjin looks at Jisung questioningly, but he doesn’t know either so he just sends back a shrug. A minute later Seungmin comes back carrying a tray with a pot of hot water, various teas, and honey. Of course he’d be this prepared.

“Seungmin, will you marry me?” Hyunjin asks, eyes widening as he looks through the selection of flavors.

“Pardon?” Seungmin asks back, sounding a little thrown off.

“I’m serious. You’ve got a great voice, you’re so clean and polite, and you’re an excellent host. I don’t see any downsides,” Hyunjin says, pouting and batting his eyelashes in Seungmin’s direction. The other man still looks shocked, but Jisung can tell he’s fighting a smile. He’s seen that expression before, but only pointed at him.

“Excuse me, please back off my duet partner,” Jisung says, stepping closer to Seungmin and wrapping a possessive arm around his shoulders. For the bit. “I don’t think Changbin would like seeing you marry someone else anyway.”

“But-” Hyunjin starts to argue.

“No buts, he’s mine for the day,” Jisung says, sending his cheekiest grin to his roommate. Seungmin’s shoulders were stiff before, probably from the perfect posture, but at that they tense exponentially. Jisung lets go and Seungmin shifts away, leaving Hyunjin to stare at them curiously.

“Anyway, weirdos. Get your recording done so we can go film,” he says, taking a seat on the plush couch pushed up against the wall.

“You can’t rush art, Hyunjin. But you’re right, we should start soon,” Jisung says, fixing himself a cup of lemon ginger tea. Seungmin chooses the same, briefly running back to the kitchen to grab some normal waters as well.

When he gets back he sits down on a stool positioned in front one of the microphones, gesturing for Jisung to come sit next to him, and they start warming up and running through the song. Jisung adds all the little adjustments Seungmin’s been messaging him about, and hearing everything come together in person again, he has to agree with them. They’ve never sounded better. Even Hyunjin, who normally just messes around on his phone while Jisung practices, is watching them with a relaxed little smile on his face.

Since they only have two microphones, Jisung positions one towards his guitar and opts to shift closer to Seungmin and share. It’s certainly a bit more intimate than he expected to be, but the mood of the studio is cozy and comfortable, and hey, maybe it’ll make the song sound more romantic. They eventually set Hyunjin to work, aka pressing the record button on Seungmin’s laptop when they give the cue, and soon the session begins.

Jisung strums them in, switching to delicate plucks across his strings, and suddenly Seungmin’s voice fills the room and Jisung has to catch his breath. He’s heard Seungmin sing live now, both today and the first day they met, but he’s obviously been holding back. Now he’s letting his full power out, and it’s absolutely glorious. Jisung can feel himself getting swept away; by his honey vocal tone, by the sheer amount of emotion he portrays through his singing, by the look of bliss that overtakes his face when he gets to do what he loves. Seungmin is a born singer.

And Jisung is nervous. He makes it through the first verse and chorus fine, although he does have to remind himself to breathe several times. He transitions effortlessly into the musical interlude, adding a little flare per Seungmin’s suggestion to make up for the lack of other instrumentals, plucking away expertly. And then he keeps going, and shouldn’t it be over by now? Jisung looks up from his guitar to see Seungmin staring at him expectantly, instantly pulling his hand away and covering his mouth in embarrassment.

“I missed my cue,” Jisung says quietly.

“You missed your cue,” Seungmin echoes.

“I’m so sorry, I got distracted. You just- it doesn’t matter. I’m sorry, you sounded great, let’s go again,” Jisung rambles. He’d frozen up the first time they met, and now during their first recording. This is so humiliating. But he’s so good.

“It’s ok,” Seungmin says, holding his hand out to Jisung. He gives his own hand over hesitantly, unsure what to expect, but Seungmin just wraps long elegant fingers around Jisung and squeezes. “You played well. Just keep count in your head, ok?”

“I can do that,” Jisung says, taking a deep breath and exhaling in a controlled fashion.

“I know you can.”

Jisung strums his guitar again experimentally, nodding when he’s back in his zone. Seungmin gives Hyunjin the go-ahead, who has been uncharacteristically quiet during Jisung’s little moment, but he ignores that fact for now. He’s sure he’ll hear about it later. For the time being, he begins his finger picking, keeping himself calm and controlled when Seungmin starts singing again. When they get back to the musical interlude, he looks up towards his partner, who is bobbing his head with the music, giving an encouraging look when it’s time to start. Jisung begins to sing, voice coming out surprisingly clear and strong for how nervous he’d been a few minutes ago.

It probably has something to do with Seungmin and the way he’s looking at him, holding eye contact and smiling softly as Jisung sings. Before he knows it the duet portion is upon them, and wow, there’s something about staring into someone’s eyes as they sing about you being the light of their life and shifting the world that really does get the heart pounding. When they share the mic like this It’s hard not to notice the way Seungmin’s eyes shut at the intense parts, eyelashes dusting his cheekbones, the way they reopen when tone becomes more uplifting and soothing and show off a captivating glint. Jisung makes a distinct effort not to look lower than that, because staring at an admittedly cute boy’s lips as they serenade him can’t lead to anything good.

When the song ends, they pull away grinning, the haze of the song lingering in the air around them until Hyunjin finally breaks his silence and it falls to the floor.

“Incredible! That was an amazing take, do you guys want to do it again?” he asks. Jisung looks to Seungmin, trying to read what he might want, but he’s more focused on picking at a loose thread on his sweater, face crumpled in concentration.

“Um, sure? Maybe one more? What do you think, Seungmin?” Jisung asks, bringing him back to the real world.

“What? Oh, yeah, it’s good to have options,” Seungmin agrees. He still looks distracted, maybe even a little flushed, but Jisung can’t really blame him. They do another take, one that goes well, but Jisung keeps his eyes fixed on his guitar this time, noticing from his peripheral that Seungmin is still fiddling with that string on his sleeve. It’s not a question which version they’ll use.

Jisung excuses himself to use the restroom after that take, taking his backpack and changing into what they’ve agreed on for the video shoot after he splashes some water on his face. It’s simple, just a nice white button up and fitted trousers with a light blue cardigan, but it does help him feel more in character. When he gets back to the recording room Hyunjin is sitting alone on the couch, and Jisung plops down to join him.

“Where’d he go?” Jisung asks, trying not to sound too anxious.

“He went to change,” Hyunjin says, eyes burning a hole into Jisung’s side profile. “Some chemistry you’ve got there. ”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Jisung mumbles. It’s not chemistry. It’s just the song. He’s getting a chance to sing with his vocal idol (recently discovered), he’s just happy. And he’d like to have some kind of shot to keep singing with him, which means not letting himself get carried away by pretty lyrics and chords that are proven to make people feel things.

“Yeah, ok Sungie. Like you didn’t-” Hyunjin thankfully gets cut off by a soft knocking at the door, shortly followed by Seungmin walking in. He’s got on an outfit just like Jisung’s, only his cardigan is a soft pink, chosen to resemble Rapunzel’s gown. They’ll look nice singing side by side like this, wherever it is Seungmin ends up taking them.

“What’s next?” Jisung asks, genuinely unsure.

“Well, we don’t have time to properly mix the audio, especially since Chan isn’t here and he usually does most of that for me. We’ll be lipsyncing to the raw audio, is that ok?” Seungmin asks,

“Yeah, that’s fine. I usually like to sing aloud as well anyway,” Jisung says. Seungmin smiles at that, gently taking his laptop away from Hyunjin and sending the file to his phone.

“Good, I’ll do the same. Should we all take the same car?” Seungmin asks, looking towards Hyunjin.

“Yeah, we can all fit in mine. How far are you taking us?” Hyunjin asks.

“About forty minutes? Is that ok?” Seungmin asks. Hyunjin doesn’t even flinch, just holds up a thumbs up, and Jisung makes a note to treat him to something good soon. He’s already driven an hour and a half, is about to drive forty minutes one way to a shoot location and back to drop Seungmin off, and then another hour and a half back home. All without a single complaint. Jisung doesn’t deserve a best friend like him.

They pile into the car, Seungmin shouting instructions from the back seat over the sound of city traffic. It eventually morphs into a howling wind as they make their way onto the highway and into more rural territory, ending up at a large nature reserve.

“Is it far?” Jisung asks, looking down at their formalwear and then to the trails.

“No. Actually Hyunjin, keep following the signs to the boat launch,” Seungmin says. It’s much quieter here, and although there’s plenty of hikers and picnicers the cars are sparse. Hyunjin drives until they get to a large pond, parking by the boat launch as he’s told. “There’s a trail around the water, I figured it would be too difficult to actually film in a boat like the movie, but we can at least have the pond as the background,” Seungmin says. Jisung lights up with excitement.

“Oh my god, it’s going to be so pretty! This was brilliant, Seungmin,” he says, thrilled with the idea. He can see it in his head already. Jisung hops down from the car, pulling his seat down so Seungmin can climb out, then leans over to grab his guitar and help Hyunjin with his camera equipment. They put the roof back on in tandem, a practiced ritual that only takes them a minute after several years of repetition.

“Lead the way, Rapunzel,” Jisung sing-songs once they’ve all got an equal amount of equipment in hand.

“I’m not calling you Flynn,” Seungmin says, leading them down a paved path.

“But I dressed up just to be like him,” Jisung fake whines.

“The nose is wrong.”

“Don’t quote the movie at me. So lame,” Jisung responds, unable to hold back his laughter. He wonders if Seungmin rewatched Tangled too, as Jisung had done twice over the past four days. Given how perfect this location is in comparison to the movie, it seems pretty likely. Jisung is shocked by how few people are out here enjoying the pond, just two families in their kayaks all the way at the far end. They only walk ten minutes before Seungmin stops in front of an old stone bench and sets his bag down.

“Ooh, this is perfect,” Hyunjin says, stepping back and framing the shot with his fingers. “You’ve got a good eye. You come here a lot?”

“I’ve been here a few times, but this spot always jumped out at me,” Seungmin responds.

“I see why,” Hyunjin says. He puts his bags down in a little clearing across from the main path, pulling out his camera. “Ok, you two go sit. Jisung, pull out your guitar. Look like you’re in love or something.”

“That’s a big ask,” Seungmin sighs. This is the cheekiness Jisung remembers. Maybe Seungmin just takes a little bit of time to warm up to new people.

“I’ll make it easier. Just look at this face,” Jisung taunts, striking a pose and sending a wink his way. Seungmin fake gags, which earns him a smack on the shoulder.

“Yeah, just like that, you’re doing great,” Hyunjin deadpans. “Alright, what’s the plan?”

“I think we just… sing and play? We’re just going to be stationary for this one, Jinnie,” Jisung says.

“Ok, easy. Just make sure to look at each other nicely.”

“You got it, director,” Jisung responds.

“Will do,” Seungmin confirms. He’s the one with the audio on his phone, so on his cue they begin. Jisung picks at his guitar, enjoying the way the birds quiet around them and the sound gets lost in the trees and the water instead of staying sterile and contained within studio confines. Seungmin’s singing sounds different too, a little less perfect, a little more free. And now that he’s being encouraged to do so, it’s not at all difficult to let himself stare. Seungmin definitely looks his best when he’s singing, even moreso when there’s sunlight sparkling down on him and a slight wind rustling through his hair. It’s easier than it should be to let himself get lost.

Jisung and Seungmin repeat the take three times; with breaks that means roughly fifteen minutes of making googly eyes at each other and smiling for the camera. Jisung wouldn’t be surprised if he was bright red by the end, but Hyunjin doesn’t say anything, and he’s certainly not going to ask about it. Seungmin, however, is smirking at him knowingly, so he’s pretty sure his appearance is betraying him in some way or another. Guess he’ll find out when the video’s posted.

They wrap up shortly after that, just in time for the sun to start setting as they pack everything up and head back on the trail. They’d done an intro to the video and a little plug for Jisung’s channel and the origin of how the collab came to be, but Seungmin had perfectionist tendencies and made them shoot for an hour. Jisung is exhausted by the time they get to the car, ready for his journey home. Hyunjin suggests keeping the roof up for the ride back, what with the temperature dropping as daylight fades, and Seungmin and Jisung agree. Jisung presses his face up to the window as they pull away, watching the sun setting over the pond and fading into the distance. The day had been picturesque; he’d gotten his duet, filmed in a perfect location, felt his heart flutter with nerves for the first time in a long time. He likes singing on his own, posting his own videos and catering to his fans, but just like the song they’d sung, today had felt like a fairytale. But that’s exactly what it is, a fairytale, and fairytales end. They’ll post their video, and he’s pretty sure it will do well, and maybe he and Seungmin will text every now and then. But he’ll go back to his normal style, and Seungmin will carry on with his, and that will be that. Life will carry on as it is.

Seungmin drifts off at some point during the drive, and when Hyunjin pulls into his driveway, Jisung leans over his seat to awaken him.

“Hey. Ms. Rapunzel, we’re back at your tower,” Jisung says, shaking his shoulder lightly. Seungmin stirs back to consciousness with a little groan (a somewhat adorable groan), swatting Jisung’s hand away when he’s fully up.

“Ah, yeah, I guess we are. Damn,” Seungmin says. Jisung looks at him questioningly. “We didn’t get to talk about your channel.”

“My channel?”

“This was a collab, so it’s not fair if I only get something for my channel. We need to do a video for you too, right?” Seungmin says. Seungmin wants to sing with him again?

“Oh. Of course, for my channel,” Jisung repeats.

“Right. So I’ll edit the footage and post this one, and you brainstorm a song for us to sing next time. It doesn’t even have to be Disney,” Seungmin says. Jisung tries to contain his smile, although again, one look at Seungmin’s face tells him he’s failing.

“Ok, I’m on it,” Jisung says, climbing out of his seat so Seungmin can get out of the car. “So I’ll see you soon, then.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

Jisung spends the drive home drowning out Hyunjin’s incessant teasing by connecting his phone to the stereo and clicking through potential duets for their next collab.

Seungmin: I’m dropping it tomorrow.

Jisung: Tomorrow?

Jisung: It’s only been like 2 days?

Seungmin: Yeah but Chan mixed the audio yesterday and the video was super easy to edit after Hyunjin color balanced for me.

Jisung: How is it?

Seungmin: You’ll have to wait to find out :^)

Jisung: ugh

Seungmin: Just one day :^)

Jisung: Stop using that face :(

Seungmin: Don’t be nervous. I wouldn’t put it up if it wasn’t good.

Jisung: Just text me when it comes out?

Seungmin: You don’t have my notifications on? Why did I collab with you?

Jisung: Because I’m cute and talented?

Seungmin: :^)

Seungmin: I’ll let you know when it’s up.

Jisung: Thank you!

“Who are you texting so much?” Hyunjin asks, leaning over Jisung’s shoulder. He’s seated on the floor, munching on a slice of pizza and watching TV as Hyunjin and Changbin do the same, tangled up on the couch above him.

“Hyunjin, your elbow is in my stomach,” Changbin grunts.

“Sorry, darling, but this is important,” Hyunjin replies, shifting a bit to give his boyfriend relief. Jisung tries to cover his phone but it’s too late, Hyunjin has already seen. “Ooh, your new man.”

“He’s not my new man. I don’t have a man. When do I ever have a man?,” Jisung says.

“But you want him to be,” Hyunjin teases.

“We just sang together.”

“And you’re going to do it again.”

“You’re singing together again?” Changbin asks from behind Hyunjin’s back.

“Yeah, for my channel. We’re going to do a non-Disney song.”

“Oh yeah, have you figured one out?” Hyunjin asks.

“No,” Jisung groans. “It’s hard to figure out a balance between our viewers still. If it’s too obscure or old his audience won’t recognize it, and if it’s too childish my viewers might not like it.”

“Would you ever diverge into the world of top 40?” Changbin asks. Jisung has thought about that. It’s not like he hates pop music, it’s just not something he’s done. His viewers are used to pop punk and alt indie from his channel. What if they hate something new?

“I don’t know,” Jisung says, covering his face with his hands.

“You can still make it acoustic,” Hyunjin suggests.

“Yeah, I know,” Jisung says into his palms.

“So what are you so worried about?”

“I don’t know.”

Hyunjin leans further over the couch, and Jisung hears another grunt from Changbin before his hands are being pried from his face and Hyunjin is hovering upside down in front of him.

“You know what I think?” his roommate asks.

“What?”

“You should eat the last slice of pizza,” Hyunjin says. Jisung flicks his best friend in the forehead to get him away, laughing as he recoils and reaching for the last slice.

“I think you’re right,” he says, stuffing his cheeks full of food. Changbin spends the rest of the night listing off all the mushy love ballads he can think of, Hyunjin laughing hysterically after him, Jisung firmly rejecting each one. When they retire to separate rooms, he runs through them in his head again, just in case he might have passed one up prematurely. It doesn’t seem likely.

Jisung is technically on call the next day, but he’d also agreed to babysit, so he’s sitting in his downstairs neighbor’s apartment with his laptop set up on the coffee table as the kids do a puzzle on the floor. According to their dad, they’d spent the entire morning running around in the backyard, so at least they’re being quiet for him. It’s four in the afternoon, and he technically only has one hour left until he can ditch the computer to give them his full attention. His phone rings from it’s spot on the table, and Jisung picks it up instantly in case it’s a work call, only to be surprised when a familiar voice greets him.

”Hello? Jisung”

”Seungmin?”

”Jisung, it’s up. I just hit the upload button.”

”So it’ll be up in five minutes?”

”You know what I mean. Go watch it!”

“Who are you talking to Sungie?” Violet asks, tugging on Jisung’s sleeve.

“Our friend Sky,” Jisung whispers.

”Are you with the kids?”

”Yeah, I’m sitting for the next little bit.”

”Well, play it on the TV. They’ll love it.”

”You sound incredibly excited.”

”Are you not excited to see it?”

”No, I am, I’m just-”

”Stop being scared, it’s already up, and it’s good. Text me when you watch it. And tell the kids I say hi!”

Click

“Alright, monsters, do you want to watch a video?” Jisung asks, grabbing the remote from underneath the TV.

“What is it?” Danny asks from his spot on the ground.

“I made something with Sky.”

“Yes! Definitely yes!” Danny shrieks, hopping up and onto the couch. Violet sits next to him quietly, but Jisung can see the giant smile on her face. He clicks through various tv screens until he gets ‘Sky’s Disney Cover’s’ pulled up. There he is, right there on the first thumbnail, smiling into the camera from their bench by the pond. Jisung starts the video.

“Hello, my fellow Disney lovers! I hope you’re having a good day. You might notice I have a new face with me today, a fellow cover artist,” video Seungmin begins.

“Hello, everyone!” Jisung waves.

“This is Hanji from HanJi Covers. My first ever duet partner on the channel. He asked me to collab a couple of weeks ago.”

“Once he saw me, he couldn’t refuse,” Jisung says.

“That’s one way of putting it,” Seungmin says with a laugh. God, he looks so cute on video.

“This isn’t my normal style of music, but Sky was a good mentor,” Jisung says. He hadn’t noticed it when they were filming, but Seungmin had frozen up a little at that, and Jisung can’t help but feel a little good about it. So he can make Seungmin nervous, too.

“Right, so without further ado- ‘At Last I See the Light,’” Seungmin says.

The video transitions into their song, what looks like the second take of the video. They’d taken the first full vocal recording, and now that it’s properly mixed it sounds beautiful and raw and full of emotion. Jisung knows what they sound like together, Seungmin had at least sent the audio to him the night before, but the video is all new. It’s weird, watching Seungmin staring into his eyes and serenading him like a fool in love. It’s even weirder to watch himself do it back. He knows it’s all an act, but damn if it doesn’t look nice.

“Sungie, you guys sound really nice together,” Violet says.

“Better than the real movie,” Danny agrees.

“That’s not true, but thank you for saying that,” Jisung laughs. He sends Seungmin a text as soon as it’s over.

Jisung: The kids loved it.

Seungmin: What about you?

Jisung: :^)

Jisung: I loved it too

Seungmin: Was I the duet partner you dreamed of?

Jisung: shut up

Jisung: Yes you were.

Seungmin: Better find us a new song for next time.

Jisung: Working on it!

The kids make Jisung replay the video three times, and with each replay Jisung feels more and more uncomfortable watching himself and Seungmin on the big screen. At least, with other people in the room. He’ll probably have it on replay when he’s laying in bed later.

“You guys really like it, huh?” Jisung asks.

“I love it,” Violet says, leaning back into the couch.

“If we sang together again, what would you want to hear? If it wasn’t Disney?”

“Something I can sing along with too,” she says.

“Like what?” Jisung asks. That’s somewhat helpful, but he needs more.

“Ariana Grande,” Violet responds after a few moments think.

“I’m not sure I’m equipped for that,” Jisung laughs.

“Taylor Swift!” Danny shouts. Now that’s interesting. Who doesn’t like Taylor Swift

“Taytay, huh?” Jisung asks.

“Definitely!” Violet agrees.

“I think I could make that happen,” Jisung says thoughtfully. “No promises though.” At that moment, Jisung’s phone rings, this time an unknown number. “Ok, monsters, I gotta take this. Back to puzzles for a bit, alright?” Violet nods, putting a finger to her lips with a shushing noise. Jisung gives her a thumbs up and answers the call.

Later that night, Jisung falls asleep to Taylor Swift waxing poetic into his ears, songs of terrible exes and amazing loves. He’d rather perform the latter.

“Hello? Seungmin?”

“Jisung?”

“Have you checked the comments? Your people love me.”

“Us.”

“No, they keep talking about the cute one. That’s me!

“Is this all you called to say?”

“No, seriously. It’s doing really well, people love it!”

“I know, my numbers have never been this good after one day. We did good work.”

“Which is why I’ve decided on our new song.”

“Shoot. Which pop punk masterpiece are we turning into a duet?”

“Lover.”

“By?”

“Taylor Swift. The Shawn Mendes remix version.”

“The queen of pop punk herself.”

“That’s the one.”

“Are your viewers going to be ok with that?”

“My most loyal viewers requested it.”

“The monsters?”

“Those are them.”

“Have you thought about which part you want?”

“Yeah, I want to be Taylor. I want to do the one part.”

“Do you have any more details?”

“You know, the best part.”

“I’m sorry, Sung, I don’t know.”

“Loveeeeeeeeer”

“Of course.”

“When are you free?”

“I have auditions the next two days and then nothing planned.”

“I’m off in four.”

“Should we do it at your place this time?”

“My setup isn’t as nice.”

“But I feel bad making you and Hyunjin drive out here again.”

“You’re welcome to come here, I just can’t guarantee I’m as good a host.”

“It’s ok. Do you have a location in mind?”

“I do.”

“Well, send me the details.”

“Will do.”

“And Jisung?”

“Yeah?”

“You really did a great job.”

“So did you.”

“I’ll see you in a few days.”

“See you then!”

Jisung works hard over the next few days, especially over his night shifts, getting the arrangement down. Taylor Swift isn’t too difficult to translate over to acoustic guitar, but Jisung wants to make sure it’s still interesting without all the extra instrumentals. He and Seungmin do what they can to practice over the phone, but the connection is never as good as it would be in person. In the end they decide to have Seungmin come over early in the morning to make sure they can get a few practice runs in.

They’ve been monitoring comments throughout the week, sending each other their favorites. There’s a certain genre of comment, however, that Jisung refuses to send, refuses to even acknowledge (no matter how many times Hyunjin brings them up).

They look so cute together!!

omg the way they look at each other

damn I never thought I’d be shipping cover artists together but here I am

I feel like I’m interrupting something.

Are they… you know

Yeah, he knows. And yeah, he is. But he’s not about to make assumptions about Seungmin, and he’s not about to acknowledge those comments, so he keeps them locked in a deep, dark part of his brain, never to be acknowledged. Especially to Seungmin. They’re kind of amusing, and he knows the affectionate looks are make believe, but honestly, why rock the boat?

And yet, when Seungmin arrives at their building on a Friday morning at nine thirty, he kind of wants to rock the boat. Unlike Jisung, Seungmin had arrived in his video apparel, and while it’s pretty casual he looks good. Seungmin wears the morning well, and he’s got two large teas and a coffee (probably for Hyunjin) resting on a tray, and in his half asleep state Jisung might not be acting when he feels himself melt. He could get used to this.

“Oh, come in,” Jisung says, realizing he’s been staring a bit too long.

“Are you awake?” Seungmin laughs, stepping into the unit and making himself at home.

“I’m awake, but Hyunjin’s not. Let’s go to my room,” Jisung says quietly.

“Won’t he still hear us from there?” Seungmin whispers back.

“It’s soundproofed.”

“If I were a more raunchy person I’d make a joke about you taking me into a soundproof room,” Seungmin says. Jisung turns around and sends him a mystified look. Seungmin’s been snarky before, but never perverted. Waking up early is doing something to him.

“Oh my god, I don’t know you at all,” Jisung says once he shoves Seungmin into his bedroom.

“I said if. But I’m a gentleman, so I didn’t,” Seungmin says innocently, handing Jisung a cup of tea in a show of good manners.

“I thought that too until thirty seconds ago. Ah, sorry it’s a little messy in here,” Jisung says, pulling out his desk chair for Seungmin to take a seat. He’d woken up early, both to make sure he wasn’t still passed out when Seungmin arrived and to pick up his room a bit. All his laundry is hidden, and he’d cleared off his desk a bit, but the bed is still a little dishevelled and he’s still got knick-knacks strewn across the room.

“That’s alright, it’s multifunctional, it’s bound to be,” Seungmin says, looking around. It’s kind of exposing, showing off his room like this, especially when Seungmin had brought him into such a professional environment. Nothing about Seungmin and Chan’s studio really showed off personality, but here he has his favorite band posters on display, anime figures that date back to high school days, the bed where he’s at his most vulnerable, the desk where he gets his work done. Nobody really sees this room of his, but it’s kind of his entire world.

“Yeah, I guess so. So I do have two mics, so I think we should be able to record the same way we did last time if I sit on my bed and you sit there,” Jisung explains. “Unless you’d rather move the equipment out to the living room.

“Where do you normally record?” Seungmin asks.

“In here, the acoustics are better,” Jisung replies.

“Then we should obviously do it here.”

“Obviously,” Jisung repeats. Seungmin takes a big sip of tea and looks at Jisung expectantly.

“What?”

“You really are still half asleep, aren’t you?” Seungmin laughs. “Your guitar? We need to practice?”

“Oh my god, right. Sorry, I’m not used to getting things done this early,” Jisung says, pulling his guitar off it’s stand. He nearly knocks his mini humidifier over in the process, watching it tip to the side before landing back in its place, a result of the awkward angle.

“I’m excited for this song,” Seungmin says, taking another sip of his drink.

“Really?” Jisung asks. He’s not entirely sure what Seungmin listens to outside of Disney music, so this could either be right up his alley or completely off the mark.

“Yeah, it’s one of my favorites by her. And I think both of our audiences will like it,” he replies.

“Your audience has never heard you do anything but Disney, huh?” Jisung asks. It’s the first time he’s realized that as out of place a pop song might be for him, it’s ten times that for Seungmin. He’d picked a niche and stuck with it, and now he’s breaking that. “They’ll love anything you do, though.”

“They mostly seemed to like you, so I think they’ll trust me if you’re the partner,” Seungmin says.

“Seems that way from the comments,” Jisung agrees.

“There sure were some interesting ones, weren’t there?” Seungmin laughs.

“Yeah, well, we’re good actors,” Jisung says, avoiding looking at Seungmin as he speaks.

“Very talented,” Seungmin agrees.

“Shall we sing?” Jisung asks, trying to get away from the subject. Seungmin nods, and Jisung begins to play.

It takes about two hours to get to a comfortable level, working out the kinks between the guitar and their voices, the best way to harmonize, anything extra they should add or unnecessary that they should take away. Jisung downs his tea, as does Seungmin, and when Jisung steps out to bring them refills he runs into Hyunjin.

“Is your lover in there?” Hyunjin asks, gesturing towards Jisung’s room.

“M-my what?” Jisung sputters.

“Isn’t that what you’re singing? Loveeeer?”

“Yes, we are, and he is. Can you help me bring in some water?” Jisung asks, ignoring any other implication the question may have had.

“Yes, sir.”

When they step back into Jisung’s room, Seungmin has stood from the desk chair to inspect Jisung’s posters more closely. He’s looking at a Modest Mouse one now, fingers grazing tattered corners that have been taped to countless walls throughout Jisung’s life.

“Good morning!” Hyunjin says, breaking Seungmin out of his daze.

“Good morning, Hyunjin. I brought you a coffee but I think you slept past its expiration date,” he says with a polite smile.

“Yeah, bad habit of mine. I appreciate the gesture though. I’ll get you one next time, settle my debt, sound good?” Hyunjin asks guiltily.

“Not necessary, but I appreciate it,” Seungmin responds. Hyunjin hands out a water instead, which he accepts gladly. Jisung sets the teas on his dresser, Hyunjin placing the second water next to them.

“So are you two recording soon?” he asks.

“I think we’re pretty much ready. Thoughts, Seungmin?”

“I’m ready. I think we’re in a really good spot,” Seungmin confirms.

“Let’s do it then,” Jisung says. Hyunjin excuses himself and makes his exit, leaving them alone again. Jisung takes the spot in the computer chair, powering up his computer and starting the recording software. “Um, I guess you’ll have to sit on my bed. Sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” Seungmin asks, taking a seat and bouncing a little. “It’s comfy.”

“I don’t know, only Hyunjin has been in here since we moved to this place,” Jisung says honestly. That might be a little too much information, but oh well.

“Really? No boyfriend?”

“What?” Jisung asks, shocked. It’s a valid question, it’s not off base, and it barely even warrants a response because the answer is so obvious. And he’s sure Seungmin is only asking for those reasons. But still, he can feel his mouth hanging open as he struggles to find an answer.

“Sorry, girlfriend?” Seungmin says, backtracking. He looks alarmed, like he crossed the line without noticing, and Jisung gets himself together enough to take pity and give him an answer.

“No, boyfriend was right. And no,” Jisung clarifies. Seungmin exhales at that, clearly relieved. But relieved why?

“I thought Hyunjin was your boyfriend at first,” Seungmin admits.

“Hyunjin?”

“For thirty seconds. Until he threw the pillow at you.”

“Ugh, I could never,” Jisung says with a shudder. “I’ve known him since we were tiny.”

“Really? He’s a nice guy though. Not many people look like that,” Seungmin says, jutting his lip out in thought. Oh. This again.

“Um, sorry, he’s got a boyfriend. If that’s what you were getting at,” Jisung mumbles. Seungmin isn’t his, he barely knows him, just that he sings like an angel and that he finds him cute, but god does he not want to hear another cute boy pining for his roommate. Especially this one.

“Oh my god, no!” Seungmin says, holding his hands up in innocence. “No, I’m not interested in Hyunjin,” he repeats.

“Oh. Ok. Good,” Jisung says, relieved.

“Good?” Seungmin confirms.

“Yeah, because he has a boyfriend,” Jisung clarifies. He’s so painfully awkward this morning, and he doesn’t know why. He can’t wait for this conversation to be over.

“As you’ve stated,” Seungmin says with a laugh. It’s still stupid and dorky, and it still makes Jisung laugh along with him, even though nothing’s all that funny. At least it lightens the mood. “Alright, well now that that’s out of the way, shall we record?”

“Yes, lets. Hang on, let me just do one final round of practice,” Jisung says, holding up a finger. Seungmin looks at him questioningly, but nods to go ahead. “LOVEEEEEEEEEER!” Jisung shouts out passionately, drawling out the last syllable. Seungmin bursts out laughing again, then tries it for himself. And thus, with nerves shaken and vocals warmed up, they begin recording.

It doesn’t really get easier, leaning into the same mic as Seungmin and singing love songs to him. It’s arguably even harder than before, because this time they’re alone, and they’re sitting across from each other knee to knee instead of side by side. The lyrics in this song are a lot more… straightforward. You’re my lover. I love you. My heart is yours. Forever and ever. And Seungmin isn’t shy this time, he’s looking at Jisung seriously, straight on, and Jisung can’t back down.

They record three times, until Jisung feels like he’s about to explode and Seungmin looks much the same. When they get the audio onto their phones, Jisung pokes his head out of the bedroom door, calling out to Hyunjin.

“Hyunjinnie, we’re all recorded,” he sing-songs, still a little loopy.

“Ooh! Can I come listen?” Hyunjin asks, springing up from the couch.

“Of course,” Jisung says, letting him into the room and offering up his chair. Hyunjin takes it happily, settling in before pressing play. Jisung stands awkwardly for a second before giving up, taking a seat next to Seungmin on his bed. He lands a little closer than expected, knees grazing, but Seungmin doesn’t pull away so neither does he. It would be weirder if he did, right?

“It sounds phenomenal,” Hyunjin concludes after two listens. Jisung and Seungmin had settled on the third take, liking the sound quality on that one the best. Maybe because they’d been inching closer and closer to the microphone as the takes kept rolling, making everything that much more intense. Jisung can still feel Seungmin’s breath fanning across his face from that one, the heat of it encompassing him and travelling to his cheeks, where it still sits comfortably now.

“Really? I’m glad you think so too,” Seungmin chimes in.

“I think your fans will be proud,” Jisung confirms. Seungmin looks at him with a gentle smile.

“This is your channel, your fans will be proud too,” he says.

“I think the whole world’s gonna love it. Jisung, get changed so we can go film,” Hyunjin says, deciding the next move for them.

“Got it.”

Seungmin follows Hyunjin out of the room, leaving Jisung to himself. They weren’t going as perfectly matched as last time, just wearing well put together outfits within the same color scheme. Seungmin’s got on a baby blue sweater with a patterned collared shirt and white pants on, so Jisung follows suit. He slips on a light blue button up and navy pants, pulling on a white denim jacket to complete the look. It’s a litter preppier than he’d normally go for, but it matches the tone of the song well, and it’ll look perfect next to Seungmin given where they’re shooting.

They take Jisung’s car this time, for the sheer convenience of it being easier to pull out. Hyunjin graciously offers the passenger seat to Seungmin, who denies it under the premise of Hyunjin’s legs being too damn long. He still takes over the aux cord, and Jisung is pleasantly surprised to hear Seungmin’s true taste in music, lots of upbeat bands and duos. He knew he couldn’t listen solely to Disney music, but what he does choose overlaps with Jisung’s taste pretty well.

Twenty minutes later they arrive at their destination. “We’re here!” Jisung announces, pulling into the lot of a massive blue building.

“Jisung?” Seungmin asks, clearly confused.

“Yes, lover?” Jisung asks. He’s pretty damn excited about this shoot, and his nervousness has faded throughout the course of the day, so he tries out the line Hyunjin had pulled on him earlier. He can see Seungmin flush a little from the surprise and decides it was worth it.

“Is this not Ikea?” he continues.

“This is Ikea,” Jisung confirms.

“An excellent location,” Hyunjin declares, getting out of the car and pulling his bag with him. He has a much smaller camera with him today, one that can’t be spotted from a mile away like his typical gear.

“Are we allowed to film in there?” Seungmin asks, following behind Jisung when he exits the car and starts walking towards the store.

“Nobody can tell us to stop filming if nobody sees us doing so,” Jisung says quietly.

“But what if we get kicked out?”

“Then we’ll have to find another place to shoot. Hey, it’s not that big of a deal, Hyunjin has a smaller camera, it’s going to be fine. We just can’t sing out loud this time. We’ll lip sync, or use glamor shots or something,” Jisung assures. Seungmin still looks skeptical, but nods.

“I’m not used such involved shoots,” Seungmin says under his breath.

“It’ll be fun, you don’t even notice what’s happening, I promise. We get to go room to room and act all lovey.” Jisung sends a wink Seungmin’s way, hoping it will either help convince him or at least ease his nerves. It seems to work, and he gets a smile and an eye roll in return.

When Jisung gets through the rotating door, the first thing he’s hit with is a wall of air conditioning, shocking his system and sending a shiver down his spine. It fades as he walks further in, heading towards the directory.

“Alright, where do we start?” Seungmin asks. Jisung stares at the map, then clutches a hand over his stomach.

“We start at the food court. I want meatballs,” Jisung decides.

“Ooh, I second that,” Hyunjin chimes in, walking to the escalator. Seungmin agrees, and they all ride up to the top floor to get in line for food. Jisung stuffs his face with Swedish meatballs, occasionally chiming in to Seungmin and Hyunjin’s conversation, but mostly just observes. He’s still a little skeptical after his and Seungmin’s misunderstanding earlier, but watching the two converse, he realizes his thought process was kind of off. Seungmin treats Hyunjin well, he’s kind and cordial and says all the right things. But it’s different than the way he speaks to Jisung. It’s stiff and a little lifeless, maybe even uncomfortable. With Jisung he can be snarky and funny and clever, and he laughs like a massive dork. With Hyunjin he covers his mouth to stifle quiet chuckles. Jisung isn’t entirely sure what that means, but it stands out enough to make him notice. Enough to make him kind of happy.

When they finish lunch, it’s on to shooting. They start by wandering through the store, starting at the fake living rooms and making their way through. Hyunjin follows discreetly with his little camera, capturing the moment as they play domestic. It’s fun. Sitting on the couch side by side pretending to sing to each other, pretending to serve Seungmin dinner as he sits in a model kitchen, fake brushing their teeth in a bathroom filled with faux marble. Jisung might be biased, but his favorite part is when they find a fake bedroom and Seungmin pulls him close, wrapping an arm around his waist and swaying their bodies to the beat of the song.

“You’re good at this,” Jisung says, tightening his grip on Seungmin’s neck a little as they shift to avoid the bed.

“At what?” Seungmin asks, looking down a little to see Jisung better.

“This. Fake boyfriend thing. Or fake lover thing, whatever you want to call it,” Jisung says with a little laugh. Hyunjin is walking in circles around them, so Jisung can’t really say more, but he’s definitely enjoying this.

“I could be better,” Seungmin says with a determined look in his eye. Jisung isn’t really sure what that means, so he just nods as a go ahead.

And then the ground disappears beneath him, and he’s being swooped into a princess hold in the middle of Ikea. He tries his hardest not to shriek, not wanting to draw attention to what they’re doing, so he just buries his face into Seungmin’s chest. He feels them take one step, two steps, until he’s deposited gently onto the display bed, facing up at the ceiling with a giant smile on his face. Jisung feels a weight crawl up next to him, Seungmin, and rolls to the side to face him.

Maybe that was a bad idea, because their song is still playing softly from his pocket and now he’s laying in a bed looking straight into Seungmin’s eyes, and damn he’s a really good actor because he’s looking right back and making Jisung’s heart race like crazy. Before he can do anything stupid, Jisung feels a weight at the end of the bed and looks up to see Hyunjin standing over them with the camera pointed down.

“This is really good, just like that, keep lipsyncing in that position,” he says, getting an overhead shot. Jisung tries, but it’s hard to be serious with everything going on around them, and he ends up in a fit of giggles that sets Seungmin off too. “Good, get closer,” Hyunjin instructs.

“How much closer can we be?” Jisung giggles, looking at the three inch space between him and Seungmin.

“I have a vision,” Hyunjin says, scowling down at them. “Forehead to forehead.”

“Seriously?” Jisung whines. Hyunjin just nods, sending a look that he can’t argue with back. He tilts his head back towards Seungmin and looks at him. “Sorry about this,” Jisung whispers.

“It’s fine,” Seungmin whispers back, scooting a little closer. Jisung follows suit until their foreheads bump, still leaving as much space as he can between their noses and lips.

“Good, now Seungmin, just reach over and put your hand on Jisung’s shoulder, and Jisung do the same.”

Jisung follows instructions, too nervous to speak.

“Both of you close your eyes,” Hyunjin instructs. They follow, letting their eyes drop shut as they hold each other in a loose grip. Hyunjin doesn’t say anything else, so they must be doing what he wants, and eventually Jisung lets his nerves calm down and lets himself enjoy the feeling. He’s going to kill his roommate later, but right now he’s going to lay in bed with this very attractive boy and maybe let himself daydream for a bit.

That’s how they get found a minute later, an employee walking through the area and scolding Hyunjin for standing on the bed and filming.

“If you’re not going to buy anything, I need you to pack it up and leave,” she says, arms crossed and face stern.

“I’m very sorry, it won’t happen again,” Seungmin apologizes, straightening out his clothes from where they’d crumpled on the bed. She looks at them suspiciously, but seems to believe him. They wait until she leaves the area until Hyunjin steps closer to Jisung and Seungmin.

“I just need one more shot,” he whispers, giggling a little at the bug eyes Seungmin gives him.

“We nearly got kicked out!” Seungmin whisper-yells, and now it’s Jisung’s turn to laugh.

“But we didn’t! And it’s just one more. It’s going to be really good, ok?” Hyunjin pleads. “For the sake of the art.”

“C’mon, Minnie, it’s for the sake of the art,” Jisung joins in, pushing his lips into a pout and giving his best puppy dog eyes. He can see Seungmin’s eyes trembling as he tries to resist, but Jisung knows this look is irresistible. It’s the one foolproof method he has at his disposal, and he’s not really sure what Hyunjin’s got planned, but this seems like the right time to pull it out.

“Fine, oh my god, put that away,” Seungmin says, poking Jisung’s forehead to push him farther back. “So what are we doing?”

“Ok, I really liked the shot of you two dancing earlier. I just want you to do that for like, ten seconds, in each of the other rooms,” Hyunjin says. Dancing. Jisung can do that. That shouldn’t be too hard.

It is. Oh my god it is, because ever since laying in bed next to Seungmin he’s been nervous like crazy, and now they have to be even closer. Hyunjin has them go forehead to forehead again, pressed up against each other as they sway back and forth. It’s easy to pull off filming in the model bathroom, it’s small and nestled away from the main walkway of the store, and the kitchen goes off without a hitch as well. The living room is where things get difficult, because it’s right by the escalator and the main hall, clear as day for anyone to see. When they look around and see the coast is clear, Jisung and Seungmin get into position at the far end of the room. Seungmin’s forehead rests gently against his own, and Jisung can feel the warmth of his partners arms around his waist and their chests pressed against each other. He hopes Seungmin can’t feel his heart race, tries to calm it down and tell himself that his nerves are ridiculous, this isn’t real. It proves somewhat useless.

They’re dancing for a short while, maybe only three spins, before a voice calls out to them again.

“Seriously?!” Jisung hears, recognizing the nasal tone of the employee they’d spoken to before. He looks up to see her approaching Hyunjin, the closest to the main path in the store, but before he can do anything he’s being tugged out of the back of the display room and through the maze of model spaces. Seungmin pulls him around quickly until he sees a small room, a walk in closet, and Jisung is yanked inside.

“Seungmin, what the hell, we can’t just abandon him!” Jisung whispers, worried about Hyunjin. He’s not good with being disciplined, even less so when he’s alone. Seungmin looks down at him, maintaining his grip on Jisung’s wrist and the slight distance between them, and suddenly Jisung is a little worried about Seungmin too. He looks nervous, far more than he had realized when they were in the process of running away.

“I didn’t want to get scolded again, I just gave her my word and then broke it instantly,” Seungmin whispers back.

“It’s not like you killed someone, we were just dancing! Now Hyunjin’s all alone! And we’re hiding in a fucking closet! Do you know the last time I’ve been in the closet? It’s been years, Seungmin.” Jisung says quietly. He’s still looking up into Seungmin’s eyes, head just slightly slanted in order to do so, and he’s expecting some kind of argument or joke back but his partner seems kind of… distracted. “But I guess it’s not that big of a deal.”

“Hey, Jisung,” Seungmin says quietly, pulling Jisung a little closer to him. Jisung doesn’t fight it, can’t and doesn’t want to, just lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when Seungmin’s arm wraps it’s way back around his waist.

“Yeah?”

“Tell me if I’m reading this wrong, I know this is the wrong place and maybe it’s just the song or the acting or whatever, but there’s something I’ve kind of been wanting to do all day. Or maybe longer,” he says quietly. Oh god, is this what Jisung thinks it is? It has to be, there’s no other way to read this situation. He hears chatter from the other side of the wall, some couple admiring an armoire in the connecting bedroom, and Seungmin is right; this definitely isn’t the right place for this conversation. And yet here he is, defenseless to stop it, and entirely lacking the will to do so.

“What would that be?” Jisung hears himself ask, feels his arms wrap around Seungmin’s neck to pull him closer. It’s like every logical part of his brain is telling him to stop, talk things out, get to know each other, don’t get swept up, but the part of him that loves to perform, to act and play a role, that’s the one in charge of his body right now. That’s the one that tells his head to tilt right as Seungmin tilts left, to lean in and accept it when Seungmin presses his lips to Jisung’s and pulls him into a kiss. A really, really excellent kiss, good enough to make the rational part of his brain shut off so he can just enjoy it and press in a little more, lock their lips together and go with it. Seungmin has really soft lips, especially the lower one, plush and full. He always suspected they would be. Jisung doesn’t know when he started wondering about that, probably the first night he saw him and still thought his name was Sky and he was just a face behind a screen. He was a total mystery then, and Seungmin is still a mystery now. This whole thing is a mystery, because how the hell did he end up with his lips pressed up against those of some Youtuber he only found out about a month ago, with a tongue sliding over his lips and asking for entry, with a wavering will and the temptation to let him, in the middle of a damn Ikea?

This is wrong. He’s not sure how things are supposed to go, because it doesn’t feel wrong, it feels incredible, but that last thought is enough to jump start the rational part of his brain back into commission and realize it shouldn’t be like this. Jisung pulls away panting, holding Seungmin firm when he chases after Jisung’s lips.

“Wait, wait, wait. What is this?” Jisung asks, no longer finding it in himself to whisper.

“What’s wrong?” Seungmin asks, looking concerned. He pulls his arm from Jisung’s waist, and he misses the heat for a second, but it’s replaced with a warm hand on his cheek, holding Jisung in place to make sure he’s alright. Seungmin squats down a little so they’re eye level, no longer looming over Jisung, and inspects him with a worried look. “I’m sorry, did I read things wrong? Was that bad? I just got caught in the mood-“

“It’s that. It’s not wrong, but it's just that. Getting caught in the mood. We barely know each other, and all we’ve done since we met is sing love songs to each other, of course we would get caught up in that,” Jisung says. He appreciates Seungmin’s concern, and he feels bad for making him apologize when he’d very clearly wanted it too, but he also doesn’t want to start something under false pretenses.

“I guess so, but I just kind of- it seemed like the right thing to do. It felt natural. It’s like, when I’m around you recently, that just seems right,” Seungmin says, and that does not make things easier. Especially when he feels the exact same way.

“But it’s fake. You’re so talented, and cute, and you make me laugh, but that’s all I really know about you,” Jisung says, holding his head down so he can’t see the effects of that sentiment on Seungmin. He really doesn’t want to hurt him. That’s part of why he’s cutting this off, because this feels too good to be true, and Jisung doesn’t fully believe that it can be. Seungmin doesn’t respond for a while, but when he does he pulls away from Jisung, leaning against the other side of the confined closet to face him.

“I don’t really want to admit it, but I do see your point,” Seungmin finally says. He looks a little disappointed, but not mad or hurt, and that’s what Jisung had been most afraid of. “I barely know you either. But I think I’d like to.”

“I’d like to too. But right now I don’t, so maybe we shoud just be friends? I think we should just be friends. We should probably go find Hyunjin,” Jisung says, stepping towards the exit of the closet. Seungmin grabs his hand just before he can leave, pulling him close again. “What? We just talked about this?” Jisung says with a laugh.

“Yeah, I’ll back off, we’ll be friends, but can we just pretend for like ten more seconds?” Seungmin asks, a hopeful grin on his face. “To pay tribute to the song.”

“God, I knew I was irresistible, but you’re weak,” Jisung says, grinning right back. This is a rather strange start to a friendship, but he’s not entirely opposed. Seungmin ignores the comment, ducking down for another quick kiss. It’s sweeter this time, reminding Jisung that Seungmin really is a hell of an actor, because this has to be exactly the feeling the song was describing. He really can’t just make this easy.

“Ok, that’s all I needed. Thank you for your service,” Seungmin says, pushing Jisung out the door. He almost collides into a family making their way through the corridor, narrowly missing when Seungmin holds him steady by the shoulders. They start power walking towards the escalator, trying to avoid any employees catching them.

“Excuse me, what is that supposed to mean? That’s all I need?” Jisung huffs under his breath.

“That’s enough to tide me over,” Seungmin replies.

“Tide you over until when?”

“Until you get to know me and realize you like me and let me kiss you again,” Seungmin says with a smile. Jisung smacks him on the shoulder, quickening his pace down the escalator and dashing out the door. Why is he like this? This is not the person he’d seen online.

This person is so much better.

“I can’t believe you two fucking left me to get kicked out,” Hyunjin whines from his place in the back of the car. He’d offered Seungmin the front seat again, but this time Seungmin actually took him up on it, so now he’s pouting in the back like a baby.

“I’m sorry, Jinnie, but if I’m being honest it’s completely Seungmin’s fault and not mine at all,” Jisung replies. He can feel Seungmin glaring holes into the side of his face, but ignores it in favor of focusing on the road.

“And you took so long to find me, what the hell were you doing in there?” Hyunjin asks.

“That’s Seungmin’s fault too,” Jisung responds. “He got us lost.”

“It’s true, I got us lost,” Seungmin echoes. Jisung almost snorts at that, but he doesn’t want to give himself away. He’s long since made the decision to keep what happened private, because he already knows what Hyunjin’s going to say. You should at least try. See what happens. Don’t be a coward. He’s heard it before, he knows it’s true. But this is different. He does want to try. Probably. He just needs time before he can do so.

It’s a short ride back to their place from there, and before he knows it it’s time to say goodbye. Jisung drops Hyunjin off at the apartment with the car, insisting on walking Seungmin to his own vehicle.

“Hyunjin seems really excited to edit, so I’m pretty sure we’ll have the final product in the next couple days,” Jisung says, leaning on Seungmin’s hood.

“I’m really excited. He sure seemed to have a vision,” Seungmin says from his side. The sun is just on the edge of the horizon, dying the sky a mix of oranges and pinks that Jisung can’t tear his eyes from.

“Thank you. For collabing with me. I know you didn’t want to at first,” Jisung says quietly. He still can’t quite wrap his head around how this all panned out.

“Only until I saw what you were capable of. I’d have been a fool not to,” Seungmin responds. His hand is no more than a centimeter from Jisung’s, holding him up on the curved hood, and for a moment Jisung thinks he’s going to move it over, shift it just enough to cover Jisung’s or maybe link their pinkies. He’s not even sure if he’d let him if he did, but it doesn’t matter. Jisung asked Seungmin to back down and he did, so their hands stay where they are, and Jisung stays conflicted.

“I know you need to make your solo content and everything, but can we do it again?” Jisung asks.

“Obviously,” Seungmin says, climbing off the car and standing in front of Jisung. “Of course we will. My audience wants more of you already.”

“Well, if it’s for your audience, we have to,” Jisung says with a smile. “If you’re lucky maybe I’ll even provide instrumentals for them again.”

“I’m sure they’d be honored. I could go either way.”

“You’re incredibly rude.”

“Is that why you won’t let me kiss you?”

Jisung laughs, sliding off the hood of the car so he’s face to face with Seungmin. So he doesn’t want to push the relationship forward until they know each other a little more. Doesn’t mean he can’t tease.

“No, that’s because I think you’re a phony. So next time we see each other, prove me wrong,” Jisung says, ducking away just as Seungmin’s eyes fall to his lips. “Until then, drive safely!” he calls out, waving and skipping off towards his building. He doesn’t let himself turn around for a whole minute, until he hears the engine hum to life and the sound of tires pulling away. It’s incredible, the situation he’s managed to land himself in, and he doesn’t know where it will go from here, but it’s bound to be fun to find out.