This hurts Park Jimin's ego, and he is not welcome to the idea. However, there's nothing he can do because what the CEO says goes and he can't break his contract so he reluctantly becomes a duo with the trainee.
As an idol, Jimin was always careful with his private life and keeping things under wraps. But when he begins to work closely with someone else, he soon finds that it's more and more difficult to keep certain areas of his life a secret. Especially the fact that he's currently dating another male. Will he be able to trust his new conservative duo partner to keep his secret? And will the two strangers' relationship grow to become more than what either one of them bargained for?
Jungkook's POV
Jeon Jungkook was not conceited enough to believe that there was nothing he lacked, but one thing he didn't lack was confidence. He believed in himself like no other, and that trait played a big part in leading him to follow his dreams of becoming a singer without looking back. Right after high school, he auditioned for BigHit Entertainment. BigHit Entertainment was a relatively unknown company in the entertainment industry of Korea, but he had researched it and didn't see why he shouldn't make it the first company he auditioned for. Besides...an up and coming star had signed there, and he wanted to follow in his footsteps.
He had first seen Namjoon perform at a lounge he and his high school friends went to one night. The way the older man rapped and emitted energy onstage drew Jungkook in. He wasn't even a big fan of rap, but something about the man's stage presence had caused him to become a fan. He ended up Googling the rapper, finding some underground rap he had done, and continued to follow him. Jungkook had always had a fascination with entertainment, and he loved to sing. But he had always kind of pushed the love of the arts to the back of his mind because his mom and dad were always so focused on him becoming a doctor or lawyer or some other highly respected employee in the future. It wasn't until he had heard Namjoon speaking on a radio show about how everyone should really find the dream that they really want and follow it that he realized without a doubt...he wanted to do that.
He wanted to be an entertainer. Be on radio, TV, and the internet and maybe inspire other people the way Namjoon was inspiring him.
So he traveled to Seoul, auditioned for BigHit, and got accepted on his first audition. His parents weren't thrilled about it, but they knew they couldn't stop him from doing what he wanted.
Currently in a mirrored room with nine other people, he didn't regret his decision one bit. They were in the middle of a dance lesson taught by a visiting choreographer, and Jungkook was picking up the moves quickly. He had always had a knack for memorization and execution. He noticed the dance instructor's eyes focusing on him in the reflection of the mirror on several occasions. He made sure to dance harder every time.
Sweat drenched his back, but it felt cooling against his hot skin. The blood pumping through his veins warmed him and urged him on. He followed the flow of the choreography perfectly until the song they were dancing to came to a melodic end.
"All right!" the instructor yelled. "Good job, everyone. That's it for today. Come back tomorrow afternoon, four PM." Everyone began to gather their belongings from the back of the room and Jungkook was going to follow suit but the instructor met his eyes in the mirror. "You. What's your name again?"
Jungkook paused and glanced around, making sure he was the one the muscular man was talking to. When he was sure that he was, he answered. "Jeon Jungkook."
"Jungkook," the instructor repeated. "Stick around."
Jungkook hung back as everyone filed out of the room. His muscles were tense. He didn't know whether he was being held back for a good reason or a bad one. When the last trainee had left the room, the instructor wiped the sweat from his face with a towel and approached Jungkook. "Hey, man," he said in English, extending his hand for a handshake. Reverting back to Korean, he continued. "You have some pretty good moves."
Jungkook felt relief and happiness at the praise. "Thank you," he said with a small nod and smile.
"How long have you been with the company?" the dance instructor asked.
"I've only just been recruited," Jungkook answered. "Maybe about a month ago."
"A month! Wow! That must mean you're a natural." Jungkook smiled and looked down, flattered at the compliment. "How old are you?" the dance instructor continued.
"Nineteen," Jungkook answered. His voice became lower without his conscious knowledge. Because while he was a confident person, he realized once he started training that he was surrounded by fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen year olds who had decided to go after their dream even sooner than him. There were some even younger. It just made him determined to work harder.
"Cool. That's a good age," the dance instructor commented. "I think you'll be seeing some good results. I'm only a visiting instructor, but I'll make sure to put in a good word for you."
Overwhelmed with gratitude, Jungkook sank into a bow. "Thank you."
"No problem, no problem," the dance instructor said, giving him another handshake. "Here." He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a business card. It read: Sam Kim; Choreographer. "I'll be going back to America, where I'm from, in a couple of weeks. But when you get big, look me up." Jungkook chuckled and bowed again, pocketing the business card.
"Thanks," he said again. "I will."
That encounter left Jungkook feeling ecstatic as he walked down the hallway of BigHit. There was nothing like getting recognition for your hard work. He took the business card out again and smiled down at it as he walked. He was so wrapped up in his own head that he didn't realize that someone had rounded the corner and was walking down the hallway in his direction. He passed them without acknowledgment.
"Excuse me."
The voice caught Jungkook's attention. He stopped and turned around. And his heart pounded with anxiety and nervousness.
He was standing face to face with one of the most successful stars to come out of BigHit. In fact, the only successful star to come out of BigHit so far. Park Jimin. He looked just as charismatic in person as he did in photographs and on stages. His hair was dyed a platinum blonde and a cross earring dangled in one ear. He was also wearing blue-colored contacts and a lip sheen that made his already naturally plump and red lips seem more plump and more vibrant. He was wearing a loose button up shirt and tight leather pants. 'He must have an event today,' Jungkook thought. 'There's no way he just naturally dresses like this. Is there?'
"Y-yes?" he stuttered, realizing he was just staring.
He didn't really listen to Park Jimin's music, but he was aware of him as a celebrity and as a junior now in his company, he respected him as a senior artist.
A man Jungkook figured must be Park Jimin's manager lingered somewhat behind Jimin looking somewhat impatient and a female stylist stood next to him. Jungkook was just now noticing them; his focus had only been on Park Jimin. 'Wow,' he thought. 'A celebrity's aura indeed.'
"Are you not going to greet me?" Park Jimin asked. His voice was soft and honeyed, but there was a note of authority in it that made Jungkook's heart beat in what he assumed was nervousness.
"Oh," Jungkook said. "No," he said, intending to convey that he hadn't meant to ignore the older artist but he realized it must have sounded like he was confirming that he indeed was not going to greet him by the way Jimin's brows raised. "I mean yes," he corrected. He bowed ninety degrees. "Annyeonghaseyo. I'm a new trainee, Jeon Jungkook. Take care of me please." He stood back up and saw a smirk come across Jimin's face.
"Arasso," the singer said, satisfied with the younger trainee's sincerity. "Make sure you greet without having to be prompted next time, got it?"
"Yes, sunbaenim," Jungkook responded. He bowed his head one more time.
Jimin nodded at him giving him permission to go and then turned to continue down the hallway.
'Wow,' Jungkook thought, watching him walk away. 'Really a celebrity,' he thought, surprised at himself at the way he was starstruck.
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Jimin's
POV
Jimin had intended to reprimand the young man more than he had. The kid had trainee written all over him and he walked by a respected senior without so much as a glance? It was disrespectful. And Jimin needed to take his stress and anger out on something after the month he was having. But the minute the young man's wide eyes met his he found his anger dissipating. The word "cute" came to his mind unbidden.
Those large nervous eyes and that small mouth, how could he take his anger out on him? It didn't help that the kid executed such a deep bow and asked him to take care of him. Did people still do greetings like that these days? He had almost laughed at it all. So he ended up just giving a gentle reprimand.
"I talked to Min Yoongi a few minutes ago," his manager began saying the minute they stepped into the elevator to go up to the top floor. And all of Jimin's stress started to come back.
Yoongi was the producer for his upcoming album, and he and his producer were having creative differences. So his new album, which was supposed to be released in three months' time, had no songs - demo or completed - to add to it. Yoongi was a well respected and talented producer, so he didn't want to stop working with him on this but he wondered how long he could be stubborn about it. This was the first time he was going to be involved in the creative process of one of his albums, and he didn't want to sacrifice his own vision in order to adhere completely to Yoongi's, which was entirely different from what he wanted this album to be.
"And?" Jimin asked.
"He said he hasn't heard from you in two days and wants you to call him," his manager said. The door of the elevator opened, and Jimin and his small entourage started down the hallway towards the CEO's office.
"Tell him I'll call him when he records a demo with the lyrics I sent over," Jimin countered.
The manager sighed, probably hating to be the go-between, while Jimin knocked on the CEO's door.
"Come in," a male voice answered.
Sitting in
front of Bang Si-Hyuk's desk was nerve-wracking, but it was something
Jimin had to do. He was visiting with the purpose in mind of telling
his boss that he possibly needed to push back his comeback due to all
of the problems with the new album. He swallowed deeply as he sat in
the plush leather armchair situated in front of the CEO's black,
metal desk and he lowered his head in a respectful bow before
greeting the older man with a smile that was meant to charm. "Boss,"
he spoke.
The CEO leaned back in his seat, reading clearly that this wasn't just a cordial visit. "What do you want?" he asked, not being fooled by Jimin's smile. "Just get to the point."
Jimin launched into an explanation about how he needed more time to prepare his album and how it would only be even better if he was granted such conditions, but the deepening frown on the CEO's face didn't give Jimin much reassurance.
"We've already pushed back the album release for a month,"
Bang PD said, his voice holding a sternness usually unreserved for
his favorite artist, Park Jimin. "And you're saying you want to
push it back again?"
"Well..." Jimin scratched
the tip of his nose nervously. "Yeah."
"It's been almost a year since your last public activity." Jimin nodded as the CEO spoke. "You think your fans are going to wait for you forever? Because bigger stars than you have thought the same thing and been wrong."
Jimin hung his head and clasped his hands in front of himself as his elbows rested on each separate armrest. This meeting wasn't going as he had planned or hoped. "I don't expect anything," he said in a low voice. "But what can I do if the album isn't ready, hyungnim?"
Being addressed as the affectionate "hyungnim" didn't soften the boss' mood towards Jimin. He did have a soft spot for the star sitting in front of him because he had helped to spread his company's name, get him known, and raise them out of the red - but he had to be a businessman here. And delaying his greatest star's comeback didn't sound great for business. "Work harder," the boss instructed in a clipped tone. "That's what you can do."
Jimin hung his head again.
A stretch of silence passed with only the tinging that was Bang PD's ring being tapped against the surface of his desk. It was the sound of him thinking. Finally he spoke. "Here's what we can do," Bang PD said.
Jimin looked up at him.
"You release a digital single of my choosing, and you do a duet with Soyou. Her management team reached out asking me about this a few days ago but at the time, I didn't know if we could schedule it. But with the way things are now, I'm sure we can find the time for it, right? We release the digital single in two months and the duet two months after that. If those two songs do decently, it'll be good enough to get you airplay and let fans not forget about you while you continue to work on the album. Does that work?" the CEO finished.
A smile bloomed on Jimin's face. "That's perfect, sir. Thank
you. I promise I won't disappoint you." Happiness spread through
his chest. Even with the CEO's stern demeanor, he still ended up
getting everything he wanted. The CEO nodded and waved him off.
"I
want to hear progress on the album in two months," the CEO
warned as Jimin got up to leave.
Jimin bowed and left the room with his manager and stylist, happy with the way things had gone. He had time to perfect his album and he was going to get to release two new songs before then. Things were looking up.
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