Chapter 12 Part I

Chris

The song Soph and Hyunjin wrote is incredible. Like genuinely, beyond my expectations. The recording is perfect, the lyrics, her voice, everything is perfect. She's got a lot of potential, a lot, and I don't want anything to get in the way of her success, I'll make sure nothing gets in the way of her success.

"Chan," I hear a voice as they walk into my studio, turning around to see who it is. Hyunjin walks in wearing a versace hoodie and sweatpants, somehow still looking as perfect as ever even though, knowing his sleep schedule, I'm sure he just woke up.

"Hyunjin," I smile, pulling the seat next to me out for him to sit on.

"What are you working on?" He asks, leaning over to look at my laptop.

"Nothing much," I falter, a smile still on my face. "I haven't been able to focus."

"Hm," he responds, taking a seat on the chair next to me. "I assume you've heard 'Cryptic Love'?"

"Yeah," I nod, beaming with pride. "It's really good."

"I reckon we should record it," he grins.

"As in, you singing it or...?"

"Sophie," he hums. "Think about it. It's an amazing song, it'd be good for her resume, she suits it so well, I don't see why not."

"Ok." I nod.

"Ok?" He quickly replies, coming off as surprised that I agreed so fast.

"Yeah, ok. We'll record it," I confirm. "How was it working with her?"

"She's really talented and easy to work with, you wouldn't think she was just an intern." He sits back in his chair. "She was a bit shy at first, but opened up pretty quickly. She's really nice, I'm glad we're friends."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he assures, tapping his fingers along the edge of the table.

"She was discharged this morning, should I ask her if she wants to come now?" I ask, looking at my watch.

"Will she be ok?" He tilts his head to the side, taking a sip of my coffee placed next to him.

"Yeah yeah, she's been desperate to get out," I chuckle as I take my phone off of the desk.

You: wyd

Soph ♡: with Lin rn

You: have you asked her about jobs yet

Soph ♡: oh yeahh

Soph ♡: nah

Soph ♡: I will tho

You: alr

You: do you wanna come to the studio this arvo?

Soph ♡: sure

Soph ♡: for what?

You: Hyun and I were wondering

You: do you wanna record Cryptic Love in studio?

Soph ♡: WHAT

Soph ♡: YES

Soph ♡: PLEASE

You: yeah?

You: alr

You: I'm in the studio for the rest of the day

Soph ♡: I'll come now then

You: good

You: ask Lin about work before you leave tho yeah?

Soph ♡: I willllll

"She's coming now," I smile at Hyunjin, placing my phone back down on the desk.

"Oh, now?" His eyes widen, brushing his fingers through his hair. "Can I at least brush my hair first?"

"Hyunjin, you look fine mate," I shake my head. "Should I just record a rough demo then?"

"Yeah, I reckon, we just need to do the instrumentals," Hyunjin shrugs and I reach for my phone, going into my chat with Sophie to find the original recording. Hyunjin waits patiently, fiddling with a piece of the desk that had chipped off as I scroll past all of our chats from the last few days, which have been plentiful. Lin, Hyunjin and I tried to visit her as much as possible while she was in the hospital, but when we couldn't, I'd text her for hours. To be honest, even after talking to her for so long, I feel like I know nothing about her. Like, she never talks about her family, or friends, I've never heard her talk about anybody from out of work... except for her roommate and to be honest, I think we were the only ones who visited her whilst she was in the hospital.

I finally find the recording, the sound of her voice beginning to play from my speakers.

"She has a really nice voice too," Hyunjin adds as we listen to her singing. He's right, but I'll never admit it so freely like Hyunjin did. Her voice is sweet, not overly sweet that it ends up being uwu or obnoxious, but sweet. If I had to compare it to something... I think it'd sound like sunflowers. Sunflowers are flowers (duh), and lovely flowers at that, but in comparison to other flowers they're hardy, you know? Like... hmmm, roses, they're pretty, arguably the most beautiful flower, but you could break its petals with a light touch... and they have thorns.

I notice myself visibly cringing as I realise I've been rambling on in my head about how Sophie's voice is comparable to a sunflower and I re-adjust my position in my chair, shaking off the embarrassment.

I start working on the instrumentals with Hyunjin whilst waiting for her and considering she usually gets here pretty fast, she's taking a long time. I finally hear the door unlock, directing my vision over to it, watching Sophie walk in. Her hair is out today and for the first time she's styled it. She's wearing a zip-up hoodie with an image of a skeleton printed on it, a small black skirt and as I notice her shoes, a smile tugs on the corners of my mouth. She's wearing the Nike Dunks that I bought for her.

"Hiii," she sang, skipping into the room. I love it when she's happy, she always acts so excited, so carefree.

"Hey," Hyunjin responds, my eyes widening as I watch Sophie throw herself onto the couch. The last time I saw her in this studio she had her legs crossed and barely said a word, now look at her. When I first met her I thought it would be funny to play with her a bit, mess with her shyness... I never expected this. I never expected her to come out of her shell and for us to be friends, never.

"Ok so, Hyunjin and I, we were working on the instrumentals whilst you were coming," I begin to explain, noticing the bruises still marking her facial features.

"Oh yeah sorry, I took forever," Sophie slumps back onto the couch. "I talked to Lin though."

"Yeah?" I smile. "How'd it go?"

"Good," she tilts her head to the side. "Anyway, what were you saying?"

"Um... oh yeah," I remember, distracted by the fact she changed the subject so fast. "So we've kind of worked out a good base for the instrumentals, it's unfinished obviously but we can either continue working on them with you or record your vocals now and continue working on the instrumentals later."

Sophie widens her eyes, brushing her hair behind her ears awkwardly, obviously trying to decide which option is better, which option we might prefer her to choose .

"Ok, we'll do vocals first," I choose for her, beginning to plug numerous cords into my laptop. "Ok, just go into the recording studio and put the headphones on."

"Alright," she jumps off the couch, excitedly speed walking into the room. I watch her through the glass as she walks over to the mic, positioning herself in front of it, putting the headphones on.

"Can you hear me?" I ask, pressing the red button down, holding in a laugh as I watch her jump, suddenly hearing me through her headphones. She gives me a nod back and I continue setting up. "Do you want to warm up?"

"Um, can you hear me?" She asks, tapping the microphone.

"Right now I can, but I can switch your mic off while you warm up if you'd prefer," I offer, placing my hand over the mic volume slider as I await her answer.

"No, it's ok," she assures, fanning her face and adjusting her stance as she begins lightly singing.

Got so many questions

You seek information

As I hear what she's singing, I stare back at Hyunjin, my eyes widened. He glances back at me, a smile spread across his face as he sees my reaction to her choice of song.

No need to be desperate

We're just getting started, yeah

Diamond plated tension

Two minds, one direction

Craving the connection

Patience, babe

She continues singing, her voice becoming increasingly more confident as I try to stay focused, continuing to adjust mic settings. I can't believe she's singing 'Connected', I can't believe she knows Connected, let alone any other Stray Kids releases. As she begins singing the pre-chorus, Hyunjin lets out an impressed gasp, shaking his head in amazement and I just try to hide the fact I'm completely in awe. She's incredible. I press the red button, this time talking softer as to not send her flying through the air again but enough to immediately grasp her attention as she hears me through her headphones.

"Ok, I'm ready to go if you are," I nod and she finishes practising, red in the face, patting the back of her hand onto her neck. "Good song choice."

"Thank youuuu," she gushes into the mic, swinging back and forth on her tiptoes. "I'm ready to go."

"Alright," I murmur, looking at the instrumentals on my laptop, taking note of the best place to start. "Ok, we'll start with the verses. I've done a rough demo but it's more so just for timing, so just sing however you think is right, it's your song."

"Ok," she nods, her cheeks tinted red as she wipes sweat off her forehead.

"Is it too hot in here? I can turn the aircon on," I offer and I watch her place the back of her palm on her face.

"Nonono, don't worry," she smiles, dragging the zip of her hoodie down. I take my hand off of the red button as she throws her hoodie onto the floor next to her, fixing her hair afterwards. She's not wearing a skirt... wait that sounds bad... she's wearing something else, a dress, a black dress and it's skin tight, barely covering her ass. She looks so hot. I sit back in my chair, taking a glance back at Hyunjin, who looks completely unbothered by it in contrast to me, who is trying not to jizz on the spot.

That was a joke, I promise.

"Where are you headed?" I chuckle, obviously referring to what she's wearing.

"Ah," she looks down shyly. "After this Lin's taking me clubbing tonight."

"Clubbing?" I hesitate, trying to hide the fact I'm cringing inside. Why the fuck do I feel like I want to lock her in this damn recording studio and never let her out... just because she's going clubbing?

"Yeah," she puts her hands over her cheeks, noticeably hiding the fact she's blushing. "It's my first time clubbing really."

"Yeah? It'll be fun," I assure, leaning forward towards the glass, giving her a warm smile. "Just stay safe, stick with Lin ok?"

"Ok," she flashes an awkward smile back and I shuffle on my seat, realising I'm acting like a dad, practically praying that either she or Hyunjin will say something so I can stop giving creepy uncle vibes. "Can I hear the demo?"

"Yes, sorry," I sigh, tapping on my mouse to start the playback. I watch her as she sways her head to the rhythm, listening to my voice through her headphones, a massive smile on her face the entire time. Her smile is so contagious, so distracting... usually to the point where I'm having to stop myself from staring at it, but today it might be the only thing stopping me from whipping it out right here and rubbing one out.

Again, that was a joke.

"Ok can we just record up to that first pre-chorus?" She asks, moving the microphone closer to her face.

"Of course," I respond, beginning to play the instrumentals as I take my hand off of the red button. She adjusts her position as the vocals near and I watch in anticipation, waiting to finally hear her sing the song.

In the spotlight's dazzling glare,

I found you, my secret affair,

Whispers in the shadows, eyes that meet,

A dance of strangers, discreet.

I stop recording, leaning back into my chair as she finishes singing.

"Ok, that was good," I chirp, giving her a nod of approval.

"Should we record it again?" She asks, turning around to watch my reaction,

"Only if you want to, I'm happy with it though," I answer, running my finger along the edge of my laptop.

"Ok, let's continue," she grins, jumping up and down with excitement.

"Yeah?"

"Yep," she hums.