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When everyone listens to ‘Look Here’ together for the first time it goes about the way Namjoon expects, it’s two minutes and thirty two seconds of teasing and gasps and clapping. No one lets Taehyung’s spoken adlibs slide without teasing him and complimenting his honey coated voice, or Jungkook’s stylized high notes and breathy low ones without punching his arm accompanied by several “Ah, Jungkook!”’s. It goes exactly how Namjoon expects for that first two minutes and thirty two seconds, but that’s just it. The song is three minutes and thirty seven seconds long. Everything goes exactly how Namjoon expects until Namjoon’s own part in the song starts, and then it’s eerily silent. Namjoon has to stop himself from fidgeting, the other six members staring silently at the screen, the screen that shows nothing but the technology behind mixing, listening intently. He stops himself from asking them if it’s okay, because he knows that someone would have said something during the recording process if it hadn’t been okay. It’s somehow worse, knowing that it's up to standard and they still have nothing to say. The group is silent, even as Namjoon’s part ends and the song finishes out, and then, wordlessly, Yoongi reaches forward and clicks back to two minutes and thirty two seconds, and Namjoon’s voice rings out again, soft but precise and almost sultry, and when his part is over, Hoseok reaches out and goes back again. Two minutes and thirty two seconds. Namjoon’s brow furrows slightly as it plays again. It plays another time, this time it’s Jungkook’s doing, and then another time, per Jimin’s request in the form of poking Hoseok’s arm, who has a better reach to the computer. Then it plays again, when Seokjin mutters a quiet “Wait, I was spaced out that time”, and then one last time because of Taehyung, and Namjoon’s almost positive he only does it because the rest of them did, because (based off previous reactions), Namjoon’s sure the second youngest would rather replay for eight seconds in, but nonetheless, they end up having listened to that one part, his part, seven times before they’re just sitting in silence again. Namjoon clears his throat awkwardly.
“It’s not that bad, is it?”
Jungkook snaps his head to look at him, an almost offended look on his face, as though Namjoon had just backhandedly degraded the maknae’s piece rather than his own, “ Bad ? Hyung, you’re kidding, right?”
“What Jungkookie means,” Hoseok cuts in, a goofy grin on his face, “is that the problem isn’t that there’s nothing to say about it, we’re just-“
“Speechless,” Seokjin finishes, looking to Yoongi for confirmation, but the second oldest is staring at the screen like he’s tempted to listen again. Taehyung pokes his arm and he snaps back to reality.
“It’s really good,” Yoongi agrees when he’s gained back his bearings, “Like, really good.”
“ARMY will go insane,” Jimin grins, “if our reactions after being there for the making process is anything to go by, fresh ears aren’t going to know what hit them.”
Namjoon's lips involuntarily quirk up, pink spreading through his cheeks and ears, “You flatter me.”
Taehyung shakes his head, “No, ‘cause I agree with them, and I only ever flatter Jungkookie because he’s a monster and I don’t want to upset him, ‘cause he could rip my head off,” he says it so seriously that Namjoon can’t help but laugh, and Jungkook jabs Taehyung’s side, the two youngests cackling.
“Thank you,” Namjoon tells them all sincerely, and Yoongi nods, shoving his headphones back on, and they know it’s their cue to leave his studio. Namjoon pretends not to notice the time stamp revert back to two minutes and thirty two seconds as they leave.