Chapter Text
“Another ten auditions? You’re fucking kidding me.”
“Not really, no. I see it right here.”
“Whatever... Let's just get on with it. It’s already midnight; I just want to go home and sleep.”
Son Seungwan sits with displeasure written all over her face, thrown off at the lack of talent from the contestants this evening. She’s one of the toughest vocal coaches in the industry so she can be pretty intimidating to people who don’t know her personally. If she knew she’d be wasting her time like this, she wouldn’t have agreed to sit in for her friend. This being an audition for an idol makes it even worse because she’s only a vocal coach, not a dance coach or both – she already looks a little silly.
Less or more talent is secondary, in all fairness, but if the trainees are not willing to put in an effort or practice harder to get assessed then what’s the point?
“Seungwan, what did you think?”
“Honestly? I think you’re better off singing karaoke.”
The other coaches flinch unconsciously at the blunt comment; it might not be the worst comment they’ve heard from her but wow, it certainly cuts into another person. Although trainees’ first impressions of her never go well, the testimonies they give usually blow up because of her reverse charm.
“With a little bit more practice though, I think you can get that breath management done well. You’re already doing good for your age so you’ll just have to chalk a lot of it up to experience.”
Sometimes – or once in a blue moon, really – Seungwan can give really valuable advice that goes for miles; most of the time, only if she thinks that person has the capability and perseverance to pursue a career in the industry.
The collective reputation Seungwan has in the industry goes far beyond her own country; not only is she one of the strictest, sharpest vocal coaches in history, but she also has her own achievements and accolades to show for herself. What truly garners her the respect she continues to receive though, is her passion for the music and the art. Despite not being able to sing professionally as an idol anymore, Seungwan just wants to help others achieve their dreams so they can skip dwelling in their regrets.
“Finally, down to the last three. Lord, I’m exhausted.”
“Momo, come on. You know you didn’t have to come today... whereas I promised Bora I’d be here to replace her.” Seungwan smiles, nudging the older blonde.
“You know I will never pass up the chance to see good dancers, Seungwan-unnie... it’s just like how you’ll want to be present when there are phenomenal singers auditioning, right?”
Naturally.
Backstage stands a nervous trainee, albeit quieter than the others due to her own bundle of nerves. This could be her last chance to pursue something she loves doing before settling for a boring office job. Begging her parents for one more chance seemed to do the trick but prayers can only go so far after all. if she somehow blows this audition, her parents and other relatives are just going to carry that look whenever they see her.
“Number twenty-nine, you’re up!”
God, I’m going to throw up.
The fact that she knows the entire panel sitting in front of the stage makes it even worse for her nerves; famed and recognized dancers... on top of that, a vocal coach is also present, surprisingly.
“Please introduce yourself.”
Intertwining her fingers tightly, she can feel her hands become sweatier. “My name is Bae Joohyun... I will be performing an original written by a friend. Um... I also need to use a chair for this performance. Is that okay?”
Seungwan crosses her arms over her chest and rests them on the table, intrigued by the sudden request. For the entire day, not a single trainee stood out for outstanding talent or attitude. Sure, there were some willing to work hard and all but no actual trainees with star qualities have appeared thus far. This is the first time she’s seen an actual trainee bother to dress up with make-up, a sultry dress and with a tambourine in hand too... Seungwan can only cross her fingers and hope she’s not a wannabe circus act.
When the speakers begin to blast, Seungwan has to clench her jaw to stop it from opening. The bashful trainee with pinkish cheeks and a shy demeanour sitting on a chair with her legs spread and a tambourine in hand, along with a tambourine... Lord, this is not what she expected.
“Oh, it’s a pure dance routine, apparently. I just noticed the bottom line.”
“Interesting.” Seungwan mumbles monotonously, though not very impressed by the sudden revelation. If they’re here to show off one skill then why come to an idol audition at all?
There is, however, something about that particular trainee which screams at Seungwan – she can’t put her finger on it yet.
Her throat tightens just a little, when the trainee begins to sensually sway her hips and do body waves... what the hell. Seungwan immediately reaches for a bottle of water, trying to get herself together. She admits that she is more than just deprived, however you want to decipher those words, so her reaction may be misunderstood easily.
One more shake of her hips though, and Seungwan is a mess.
With water all over her pants.
Bae Joohyun seemed to be in a trance the entire time she was dancing, completely unbothered by the judges’ expressions or lack thereof. She only returned back to earth when the song ended and her eyes finally open.
‘Seungwan left the panel... is she disappointed because I didn’t sing?’
A part of Joohyun is mortified, knees almost buckling at the thought of not getting through because she didn’t sing a single line. She neatly gathers her long, luscious locks into a loose ponytail and stands with her hands behind her back.
“Please have some water and relax while we wait for Seungwan-unnie to come back.” Momo offers politely, her tone firm but not malicious.
When Seungwan finally reappears near the panel, Joohyun notices that the latter has completely changed her outfit. No one needs to know this private portion of her thoughts but wow, Joohyun has seen pictures prior to this audition but the camera does not do her any justice at all. She was so fixated on preparing herself mentally for her performance that she barely noticed Seungwan on a greater level. Now, however, Joohyun is free to analyse each of the judges’ expressions and some of them... well.
“My apologies for the wait. Have you begun discussing her score?”
“Not yet.”
Seungwan turns to Joohyun with a stoic expression, sparing the trainee a glance – and she really is quite gorgeous. She picks up the microphone and clears her throat, eyes staring deep into Joohyun’s. “Please give us a few minutes to decide. Thank you for your patience.”
A mere audition should not be cramping her nerves to this extent but Joohyun feels like she’s about to pass out. The way Seungwan’s eyes darkened when they landed on her is enough to ignite a flame deep down. She only broke eye contact when the judge next to her nudged her in the ribs... maybe the lack of singing didn’t get to her. Now that all of them up at the panel are standing in a circle, Joohyun can’t see a single one of their faces in full view. There is, however, a stark difference in Seungwan and the other judges’ expressions.
“Bae Joohyun, you’ve passed. Please wait for the next round of auditions.”
Now, trainees usually receive individual feedback from each judge, but not Joohyun.
“Thank you so much... is it possible for me to know what I received from each of you? I want to make sure I can improve myself so I can prove that I’m worthy of a spot.”
This time, one of the male judges – sculpted like a God and dances like a king, Kai – lifts his microphone. “Actually, you received good feedback from every one of us, except Seungwan.”
Joohyun thought she was ready for any kind of result possible but to have every single judge – except for one – give her the green light? Before she can even thank them, Joohyun’s vision blurs from the hot tears. She buries her face into her palms, chest tightening at her attempt to hold back her emotions.
“Congratulations, Bae Joohyun.”
That’s Seungwan’s voice.
Seungwan herself isn’t sure why she’s congratulating a trainee who didn’t bother to sing anything at all. Normally, she’d be biting their heads off for even daring to audition. What’s the point in becoming an idol if you don’t sing? One of the questions she asks without fail, more so if the other judges give them a pass and she doesn’t. She’s aware of the other judges’ gazes on her, probably questioning if she was under the weather today. Being nice is not in her dictionary, not when it comes to working with music.
“You’re going to have to work a lot harder for other singers to respect you, considering you got in based on just dancing alone. I still don’t really know what else you can do besides dance to a practiced routine, so I wish you luck.”
And there she is again.
Now that’s Seungwan.
*
“I hated it. You better not fall sick anymore because I won’t stand in for you again.” Seungwan rolls her eyes, wiping her hands on her apron.
Bora dances her way into the kitchen, dismissing the little fuss her friend is making. She already knew this would happen when she sent the text out, so it’s not surprising. “I said I’d buy you that home karaoke machine that you want so badly. Stop complaining.”
A pout grows on Seungwan’s face; she would have done it without Bora promising anything either way but still. Although being a vocal coach would have sufficed very much, it doesn’t help that most of the judges are known for their dancing and being idols in general. It’s been far too many years since Seungwan stepped out from the idol industry and converted to a vocal coach; people might think of her as a hypocrite. That’s the main reason why she shies away from the camera these days.
The paparazzi is just too invasive to be good for anyone.
“I heard from Momo that there was one trainee who didn’t sing at all though. That should have been interesting for you to critique.” Bora mumbles, stealing a slice of battered vegetables from the plate.
“I guess you can say that... she has her own charm to her, maybe.”
“A charm from someone who doesn’t sing? Who are you?”
Seungwan can barely hold herself back from lunging at the other woman, snickering at her friend. She should have known sweet innocent Momo would reveal everything without restraint as long as she was asked. Though her eyes are still fixated on the plate in front of her, Seungwan can feel Bora’s gaze boring into the back of her head.
“Eat your food and shut up. I’m going to bed.”
“Good morning, everyone. Your schedules have been given out earlier this morning so I assume you know where to go. Vocal studios will be at the west side of the building, on floor twenty-one. Dance studios are on the east side, depending on who is teaching for the day.”
Joohyun’s head is already buzzing with excitement, not being able to sleep the previous night purely out of disbelief that she passed the auditions. Being in the company that houses some of the biggest names in the industry is already half a dream come true. Her schedule today can knock her out any day, seeing as she’s one of the only three trainees that have both dancing and vocal lessons today. If the dance teacher is anything like Seungwan, Joohyun knows she’s not going to last here.
Harsh criticism is usually supposed to inspire people, but it has the opposite effect on Joohyun.
“Minatozaki Sana, Bae Joohyun. Your vocal lessons will begin in ten minutes so please drink lots of water and do your warm ups!”
Fuck me.
Why did she have to start with vocal lessons?
The other trainee, Sana, maintains one of the biggest smiles on her face but her tense jaw reveals her nerves unintentionally. She is probably the friendliest trainee – or person, rather – Joohyun has ever encountered, always genuine and willing to help others.
“Unnie, I’m scared.”
“Me too, Sana... Don’t forget I didn’t even sing during my audition. At least you tried... that already makes a difference.” Joohyun groans, her arms tightly linked with Sana’s (not by choice, definitely) as the two of them make their way towards the studio.
Before either of them realizes, they find themselves standing outside the studio with shaky knees. Joohyun doesn’t mean this in a malicious manner but if it’s Seungwan behind these doors, she’ll actually end it all right here. It’s her first day and if anything goes wrong, it can go terribly for the rest of her training period. Joohyun isn't afraid of hardship, but she is afraid of offending the vocal trainers and dance teachers before debut. These people have the power to stop trainees from debuting, effectively ruining their dreams before it even starts.
Bottling their fear, Sana decides to take the first step. She pats Joohyun’s arm and raps her knuckles on the door of doom.
“Come in!”
Oh, it’s definitely not Seungwan.
A rather short, elfish woman approaches them with a timid smile; the dark make-up is a huge contrast to her introverted personality. “Hi, I’m Kim Taeyeon. I will be helping you two for the time being while my partner has her lunch downstairs.”
The two trainees nervously waddle their way into the studio, looking around with wide eyes and a stomach full of bees. They’re standing in front of THE Kim Taeyeon – part of legendary girl group, Girls’ Generation – but she behaves as normal as them. If Sana and Joohyun were previously on the verge of passing out before entering the studio, they’re ready to throw themselves several floors down now. Not to mention Taeyeon is just here to stand in while their original vocal coach is on break.
“Miss Minatozaki, if you will.”
Sana crosses her fingers behind her back as she approaches the studio; the logo song shouldn’t be too difficult to record, right? If anything, she probably struggles with dancing more than singing.
“Okay, that’s a good take. Let’s try the chorus!”
Joohyun sits with her legs pressed together in the stiffest position she can manage; everything seems to be going well for Sana and that’s lovely but goodness... What if Taeyeon isn’t the coach for her turn? She’s the older of the two so that might be why Sana goes first, that’s understandable but it’s not like she can control how she feels.
“Unnie, I’m back.”
“Oh, Seungwan! Come here.”
You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, Joohyun feels faint and no she’s not exaggerating.
Her eyes meet Sana’s widened ones, the two separated by the glass but completely conscious of what each other’s thinking. Sana already escaped a good portion of her recording, having one last chorus in order to call it a day before dance lessons. She watches in silence whilst the two vocal coaches talk in hushed tones and whispers, fingers moving up and down the volume slides simultaneously. Joohyun should really stop staring at Seungwan from behind like a creep but the woman is so... intriguing.
“Thank you, Sana. Good work.” Taeyeon kindly gestures to the young trainee. She spins around on her swivel chair and nods at the older one. “Joohyun, your turn.”
The two trainees exchange places, not without squeezing each other’s hands on the way out.
Seungwan looks at the notes Taeyeon took down, agreeing to several points and effectively putting down her own thoughts. She can’t even pretend that she’s in a good mood, not after being told about how Joohyun is under her wing. Maybe a part of her judges too quickly but the audition was enough to piss her off.
“Start with the first chorus.”
The atmosphere in the studio experiences a noticeable drop in the temperature, completely different from just half an hour ago. Sana can’t help but hug herself in the corner, arms wrapped around her own frame. She can’t help or calm Joohyun from where she’s sitting so she mumbles a soft prayer. On an objective basis, however, Sana is honoured to have Seungwan and Taeyeon here helping them. Vocal coaches who have the passion for the art and music are always going to be different, and their abilities are known across the globe.
“No, stop singing like you’re whispering. I want your voice to come out from deep within. You need to project your voice.” Seungwan says monotonously, nails tapping against the table.
“Sorry. I’ll try again.”
Seungwan’s eyebrows are on the verge of becoming a permanent slant with how much she’s frowning; her expectations should have remained at an all time low to prevent disappointment. Every time she leaves the house for coaching, she reminds herself they’re trainees for a reason.
“Okay, you’re done with this one; I doubt there will be any other progression today. Let’s go to the second verse.”
Joohyun raises a hand up to pause, quickly gulping down some water. She doesn’t even realize how much her hank is shaking because the droplets are soon on the front of her shirt. Now, Seungwan might be as busy as ever but she’s certainly not that deprived; everything just reminds her of audition day where this woman was swaying her hips and dancing her socks off.
“U-Um... Joohyun, do you want to change your shirt or get a jacket before you continue?”
“What?”
Confusion is written all over her face and Joohyun stares through the glass, not understanding why Seungwan has her hand shielding her eyes. She doesn’t get it until she sees Sana pointing at her body, cheeks looking a little flushed – what the hell? Joohyun looks down once, and then takes a double take before she realises her bra is showing.
“JESUS!”
As they walk towards the dance studio together, Sana looks over at Joohyun and begins to giggle at the woman’s red face. “At least you look good in her jacket, Unnie.”
“Shut up, Minatozaki.”
Joohyun holds the jacket tighter against herself, nuzzling at the warm collar. She still thinks Seungwan probably hated her since the audition, and now even more because she had to give Joohyun her jacket. If Joohyun thought she could fix things with today’s recording, she was very wrong because everything was ruined within a minute.
This smells like blueberries…
Lovely.
Now, if Joohyun and Seungwan have that strange, tense connection, Sana has the exact same thing with someone else. Remembering it at the back of her head gives her nightmares still. She made several performance mistakes during her audition but her charm and charisma on stage were simply irrefutable. Her vocal ability still has lots of room for improvement but she made a strong effort, receiving a thumbs-up from Seungwan (along with a ton of criticism but let’s not mention that).
Only one dance coach did not give her a pass, and that’s Hirai Momo.
Now, Sana is incredibly sweet and kind - maybe a tad bit gullible - but she forgets the world doesn’t move like that. The only other Japanese person on the panel and she didn’t even give her a pass, or any advice whatsoever.
“You’re too quiet. What’s wrong?”
“Just nervous… what if I make mistakes again?” Sana whispers, her palms getting sweaty.
Joohyun understands that feeling all too well; it explains why she’s only chasing her dreams at her age. “Look, Sana. We’re always going to make mistakes; we’re human. It’s more important that you know how to bounce back from it. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes.”
“Thank you, Unnie.”
With a newfound fervor, Sana clenches her fists and looks up; nothing’s going to stop her today.
Except Hirai Momo.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Um… a wave?”
“That is not a wave.”
Joohyun’s hands are covering her eyes, peeking through the slits between her fingers. She already finished her lesson and honestly, it wasn’t as bad as people made it out to be. Then again, her dance coach was too busy teasing her and joking around to get mad at anything.
Like fate would have it, Momo appeared right as Sana stepped up.
“Look at me.” Momo deadpans, pointing at her reflection in the mirror.
Coming through her luscious locks with her fingers, Momo does a quick hair flip and narrows her eyes into a glare. Playing with the beat has always been her forte, ever since Momo began dancing at the academy as a child. Another lip-bite and an exaggerated sway of her hips, Momo gets ready for the end. She runs a hand down on her abs and rests her hand on her pelvis, waving her body in a manner that can make anyone’s nose bleed.
Anyone, meaning Sana.
“MINATOZAKI SANA! WHAT THE HELL!”
The eerie silence following Momo’s screech makes Joohyun shiver; the dance coach was pretty silent throughout their audition day but to hear her scream like that? It’s absolutely frightening.
“U-Unnie… tissue.”
If smoke can actually come out of a person’s ears, Momo would be the first one. She’s both appalled and slightly offended that a trainee is more focused on other things than her job.
“Just go to the bathroom, Sana. Joohyun, follow her.”
Joohyun rushes to Sana and throws her arm around her, quickly ushering the latter out of the dance studio before their dance coach loses her mind. She grabs the whole roll of toilet paper and pinches Sana’s nose, not really sure how to deal with nosebleeds.
“Are you okay, Sana? Are you sick?”
“No….” Sana smiles dopily as she leans against the sink, “just gay.”
*
“She what now?”
“I’m not kidding, Unnie. Her nose started bleeding while I was dancing.” Momo rolls her eyes, still staring at the meat spread in front of her.
Seungwan smacks the table as she lets herself go, boisterous laughter escaping that tiny body of hers. This isn’t the first time a trainee has fallen head over heels for Momo but for a nosebleed in the middle of a dance lesson? Oh, it’s a first, alright.
Momo looks around in pure embarrassment, shielding her face from anyone who can be looking. “Unnie…”
“Sorry, Momo but that was funny. You have to admit it!”
However, now that they’re out of the company setting and out in the open, Momo doesn’t need to pretend she didn’t giggle after the two trainees scurried out of the studio. It was pretty hilarious, actually. She was offended to a certain extent but the unmistakable flush and gaze from Sana… is flattering, to say the least. Ever since Momo joined the company and became one of the dance coaches, she hasn’t had time to actually venture out and go on dates again. Plus…Sana isn’t ugly.
In fact, far from it.
Minatozaki Sana is easily one of the most beautiful women she has seen in her twenty-seven years of living. She might be clumsy and cannot grasp the dances as quickly as Momo expects but God, the woman is stunningly gorgeous.
“What about you, Unnie? Don’t think I didn’t notice the jacket Bae Joohyun was wearing.” Momo’s eyebrow goes up, crossing her arms over her chest. She continues to stare at Seungwan with a mischievous smirk.
“I just gave it to her because her bra was showing. Why is that so hard to believe?” Seungwan groans. Her younger friend here isn’t the only one to give her strange looks; Taeyeon did the same thing this afternoon. “You don’t expect her to walk around the building like that with her red bra visible, do you?”
The moment those words left Seungwan’s lips, she knew she fucked up.
“Red? So, you saw enough to know the colour?”
“Shut up.”
Momo bites her lower lip to stop herself from laughing at the shorter woman in front of her; being one of the only people to see this carefree side of Seungwan has its own perks. The both of them didn’t enter the company at the same time but Momo knew of her when she was still an idol. The cold outlook and extremely piercing words are a reflection of how important music and singing is to Seungwan; Momo has utmost respect for her. In their few years of friendship, they know very well... they’re too single.
“Anyway, I have lessons with Sana tomorrow. She didn’t get to finish her lesson today because they made her go home, and Joohyun wants to accompany her for the lesson.” Momo says absentmindedly, thoughts already wandering off.
Doesn’t that mean...
Joohyun will be in the company again?
Seungwan squeezes her eyes shut with a groan; that damn trainee simply doesn’t want to leave her mind and – no, it’s not the bloody bra at all – it’s starting to affect her. Their lesson was not exactly eventful or productive enough for Seungwan to relax but if her mind is in a whirl.
“I can’t stop thinking about her.”
“Bae Joohyun?”
Although Momo doesn’t get an audible response from Seungwan, she knows very well that her answer is accurate. Ever since that incident during the audition, where Seungwan spilt water all over her pants and had to get changed, Momo knew things were going to change. No one invoked such a reaction from Seungwan before, not even trainees who scream into the mic that it hurts their eardrums. She didn’t say anything that day but Momo saw the way Seungwan had to lick her lips multiple times because they were too dry, constantly adjusting her sitting position...
It was too easy.
“If you’re being so straightforward about it, then you’ve definitely been sitting on this topic for a long time. It’s okay to talk to me, Unnie. I tease you because it’s fun but I would never judge you.” Momo’s expression doesn’t morph into a sentimental one but her words carry such weight and maturity.
Seungwan carefully cuts the huge slices of meat into smaller pieces and portions them out so Momo can just take her share. It seems like a gesture out of goodwill but the younger woman knows better – there’s a thank you in her actions.
Maybe someone can melt that ice-cold heart of yours, Unnie.
“You’re early.”
Sana nearly jumps out of her skin at the sudden sentence, turning around with a pale face. She intentionally came to the studio an hour earlier to warm up and try her best to improve certain points before Momo came for their lesson.
“Y-Yes... I wanted to put your comments into actions...”
Momo’s expression shifts for a split second and if Sana wasn’t already looking at her, she would have missed it. Despite her honest answer, Momo remains silent after that and proceeds to the bench to unload her items. Tempted to say something just to invoke any reaction possible, Sana turns to look at the coach... which she shouldn’t have done. A ton of regrets begin flooding in because now Sana’s eyes can’t focus on anything that aren’t the latter’s toned abs. Normally, she believes in the saying that if you have the goods, you should flaunt it but God, anyone but Hirai Momo.
Knock, knock.
“Come in!”
“Um... am I disturbing?” Joohyun’s head pokes in, cautiously making eye contact with the dance coach.
“Come in, Joohyun. I don’t think you have dance lessons with me today but you’re always welcome to join in.” Momo says with a smile, oblivious to the narrowed eyes from the other trainee.
So she’s capable of showing emotions to Joohyun but not me?
Joohyun knows she stepped into the middle of something because she can tell Sana isn’t happy. “Thank you... I promise, I won’t impose for too long. I just wanted to let Sana know that I’ll be in the recording studio.”
“I thought you didn’t have any recording today, Unnie.”
Well, no wonder Seungwan was out of the apartment so early, Momo snickers inwardly. The three of them aka Seungwan, Bora and Momo share a place since they’re not always at home, which saves unnecessary expenses.
“I called early this morning to ask if I could have a vocal lesson today, doesn’t matter with which coach but I want to get some more practice in.” Joohyun mumbles, still thinking of the sharp feedback she received from the strict (and surprisingly, younger) woman. “I’m aiming to get the slightest praise before the end of the first month.”
It’s not a complete lie, but Joohyun also knows that earning praise from Seungwan also means that her skills are improving. She received better results from the judging panel as a collective whole but the sharp criticism from Seungwan was completely unexpected. Joohyun practically threw herself to bed that night, absolutely shattered by the one negative comment instead of happiness overtaking her... and Joohyun wants to prove herself.
“Hard work is what she’s looking for,” Momo interrupts, her hands tying up her hair into a ponytail. She, bless her sweet soul, is none the wiser about the lustful gaze coming from a certain blonde. “I know many trainees think Unnie’s a cold-hearted bitch but she’s not like that at all. She just has high expectations when it comes to music.”
Nevertheless, Joohyun is thankful for the insight.
Son Seungwan paces around the recording studio, running her fingers through her hair. She went to her usual salon and asked for something new, but she didn’t expect them to cut it so short. I need some sort of compensation for this before I lose my mind and kick Eunbi’s butt. Then again... the hairstylist being her friend changes things quickly, because her friend knows her too well. Most of the time, Seungwan gives the latter opportunities to explore different hairstyles with her being the guinea pig.
The door creaks open, revealing a timid trainee behind it.
“Am I disturbing you?”
“Not at all.” Seungwan’s voice is calm and monotonous but the dark red on her cheeks say otherwise. “Come in, Joohyun. You can drink some water and go into the booth first.”
Joohyun’s throat closes up when she tries to say anything other than a ‘yes’, unable to stop staring at Seungwan’s new hairstyle. She thought she had seen the vocal coach at her hottest but this is definitely something new. “You look nice, by the way.”
Before Seungwan even registers or responds to the passing comment, Joohyun scurries into the booth and shuts the door, her heart pounding for some reason. She knows fear when it comes but this isn’t it; it’s a different kind of anxiety, in fact. Joohyun doesn’t remember the last time she felt this stomping sensation, not this intense too. She’s not a fool, neither is she oblivious... She's attracted to the vocal coach.
“T-Thank you for the compliment.”
“Of course. I didn’t say that to get praise from you though, I just need to put it out there.”
Seungwan crosses her arms over her chest with an amused curl of her lips, so slight that it’s not exactly visible under bad lighting. With the years of experience under her belt, Seungwan knows better than to cower to compliments - trainees can be very good at that. It’s quite cute to see Joohyun try to make things clear despite not being asked though.
The blush on Joohyun’s face mirrors her own, which tells Seungwan all she needs to know.
“Shall we get started then, Miss Bae?”