#jb ff

The bass of the music is felt all throughout your body, but you don’t care. You keep moving your body to the beat however you see fit. You let the music take over, waving your hips from one side to the other whilst your eyes are closed. When you open them up again, your sweaty reflection is staring back at you from the mirror-covered wall in front of you. Your hair is a mess, your face is red from exertion, but you don’t even notice all that, too focused on the way the music makes you feel, expressing it with your body movements.

Dancing has been your life ever since you can remember, taking ballet classes when you were a mere toddler to taking jazz and breakdance classes throughout middle and high school. You never saw it as something which you could dedicate your life to. You always saw it as a hobby, a past time activity, afraid that turning it into a job would take the fun out of it. Also, it’s not as if you were good enough to be a professional dancer, you just enjoyed finding out new ways to move your body to the music.

When the song ends, you are brought out of your concentration. Letting out a sigh, you walk over to the back of the studio where you put down your stuff earlier this evening. Taking a sip of your blue water bottle, you walk over to the sound system. You scroll through your favourite dance playlist on your phone attached to the system with a cable, trying to decide which song to dance to next.

After catching your breath, you press play on one of your favourite songs before putting aside your water. It’s a song with an R&B vibe, which you absolutely love, being able to get lost in the percussion and melodies completely. You walk towards the middle of the room, getting ready to clear your head once again.

The beat is thumping, causing a smile to appear on your face. You’re thankful of the advantages your workplace offers. You’d never used a sound system quite like this before you came to work here. Well, work… It technically wasn’t a real job. It was more of an internship or traineeship to prepare you for a real job. You had never expected to end up working at the finance department of one of Korea’s biggest entertainment companies though. But you weren’t complaining, it was the opportunity of a life time. And that’s exactly why you didn’t want to get caught using one of the dance practice studios without permission.

You’ve been sneaking into one of the empty dance studios for about two weeks now. It proved to be quite easy, a lot of them being vacant late at night, or sometimes in the early mornings. But you weren’t going to risk getting caught, your job being on the line. That’s why you always made sure that at least the adjoining studio rooms were vacant as well.

Like many of the other nights you sneaked back into the building, there was no one to be seen in the entire hallway of this floor. But little did you know that you weren’t going to be alone for long.

A few minutes away, Jaebum had been growing restless. He didn’t know what was wrong, all he knew was that he had a schedule with the rest of the guys early in the morning and that he had to fall asleep soon, if he wanted to get some sleep. But he just couldn’t relax, too many thoughts going through his head. He needed to get out of the dorms to do something else, to clear his mind. So logically, he grabbed his bag, told the guys he’d be back later and was on his way to one of his favourite practice rooms in the company building to blow off some steam.

But his plan turns out harder to be able put into practice when he arrives at the JYP Entertainment building and he hears music coming from ‘his’ room. He rushes to the door, curious to see who just had to have a late night practice session in the space he considered to be GOT7’s practice room. Glancing through the small window in the door, he freezes, his hand resting on the door handle.

That’s when he sees you, your back towards him, still in the middle of your dance routine. Something about the way you move, lights a spark inside of him. You’re so entranced that when he’s able to steal a glance of your face through the mirror he cannot help but smile. Your dancing is infectious. The passion you show when dancing reminds him of why he started all of this, his bad mood disappearing into thin air.

He cannot take his eyes off of you, so he decides to just keep staring at you for a couple more minutes. You’re moving so gracefully, your moves are controlled, and just when he expects you to keep going at the same pace, you mix it up by throwing in some quick footwork. All of it makes him wonder why he hasn’t noticed you before. To think of it, your face doesn’t seem familiar at all. He wasn’t aware of JYP hiring any new trainees lately…

You’re almost at the end of your dance routine when you get pulled out of your concentration by the hairs in your neck standing up. The feeling catches you off guard, but right when you start thinking about why you’re feeling like being watched, you take a step to your left, but your lower leg doesn’t cooperate with where your foot was supposed to be and you almost twist your ankle. Knowing you have week ankles, you let yourself fall, not wanting to risk tearing any ligaments in your ankle, like when you injured it a couple of years back. You crash against the floor a little more harshly than expected, pain reverberating through your right hip. But your pain is soon forgotten when you’re pulled from your thoughts by a male voice.

“Oh my god! Are you okay?”

You flick your head up, your gaze meeting two concerned eyes staring back at you. The male bending over your figure is obviously as shocked as you are about his sudden interruption as he hesitatingly straightens back up. “Sorry, I was just…” he says while pointing back to the door he just came through. His gaze moves from the door back to you. “I… Are you okay?”

You let your eyes go over the man in front of you. His dark brown hair is hidden behind a snapback, leaving you with a clear view of his beautiful dark brown orbs. He nervously rubs the back of his neck. Everything about him seems a little awkward, but he still manages to let the corners of his mouth curl up in a reassuring smile.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” you nod slightly, when he offers you his hand. You grab it, getting up from the floor with some difficulty with the throbbing pain in your hip. “Thanks.”

You’re hesitant to say anything else, afraid of getting scolded by the man you recognise as one of the idols working at JYPE. Not wanting to get into any more trouble, you limp over to the back of the room to grab your stuff in order to leave the room as quickly as possible.

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

You turn back to him slightly. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I just fell, nothing serious,” you ensure him.

“I know, I saw…” he blurts out, making you cock up an eyebrow, curious as to how long he had been standing behind that door. “You’re a really good dancer,” he continues when he notices the knowing look you’re giving him.

You smile at the floor, unable to hide your joy as one of the better dancers of JYPE compliments your skills. “Thanks.” You move your gaze upwards. “What are you doing here anyway? Aren’t you supposed to be at the dorms?”

Jaebum cocks his head, looking confused. So, you knew who he was?

“What?” you ask when he doesn’t answer.

“Nothing.” He shakes his head, before moving closer. “I couldn’t sleep, so I came here to clear my head.”

“I guess I’ll get out of your way then,” you say before continuing to collect your things, but Jaebum stops you. “Wait.” You turn around once again, facing him. Jaebum’s curiosity gets the better of him. “Who are you? I’ve never seen you here before.”

You lower your gaze, contemplating whether or not to tell him about your nightly escapades to these practice rooms. “That’s because,” you sigh, your gaze moving upwards again, meeting his. “I’m not supposed to be here.”

Jaebum looks at you confused. “What do you mean? Did you sneak in here?”

You forcefully shake your head, not wanting him to get the wrong impression. It’s not like you’re an obsessed fan, sneaking into the buildings of random entertainment companies. “No, no, I work here!” You wave your hands in front of your face. “I’m just not supposed to be here.” You point at the floor. You continue, Jaebum’s face still showing signs of bewilderment.

“I work at the finance department,” you confess, squeezing your eyes shut, suddenly embarrassed by your day job, which you find, upon revealing, will always burst the bubble of anything that people could find remotely interesting about you.

When you open your eyes again, Jaebum looks at you, bewildered, the smile tugging around his lips hinting at his amusement. “JYP’s finance department?”

You nod. “But please don’t tell anyone I was here,” you beg, a pleading look in your eyes. “Please, I can’t lose my job.” You bend down, your gaze moving to your shoes. But before you can say anything else, you’re interrupted by a genuine laugh.

When you look up, you find Jaebum beaming at you. “It’s fine,” he chuckles. “Who am I to tell on you. I don’t mind you being here if you’re not bothering anyone.”

At those words, you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. Your frown makes way for a hesitant smile. “Thank you! Thank you so much.”

Jaebum walks past you and sits down on the black leather couch. You follow his movements with your eyes, unable to tear them away from his lean, white t-shirt-clad figure, the veins on his arms prominent when he pulls his lower leg towards him, placing it down on his other knee. You’re pulled out of your reveries when he calls out once again.

“So… How long have you been dancing?”

You swallow the lump that’s developed in your throat as you bring yourself to walk over and sit down next to him. “Since I was about five years old,” you smirk, reminiscing the times when your mom walked you to your ballet classes every single week.

Jaebum looks a little shocked. “Five? Really?”

“What?” you interject. “Did it look like I have less experience than that?” you ask him jokingly.

“No, no! It does!” he exclaims, laughing. “I was just surprised! I mean, when someone has been dancing for that long, you wouldn’t necessarily find them working at the finance department.”

You look at him, an indignant look in your eyes. “Are you really making fun of my job, pretty boy?! Let me tell you, not everyone can be an idol!”

Jaebum lets out a laugh at your fake outburst, and smiles at you before holding out his right hand. “Im Jaebum.”

“Y/N.”

You ended up talking with Jaebum for a couple of hours on end, immediately hitting it off. You talked about how you ended up at JYP, how he ended up at JYP. About music, his members and, ultimately, the reason he came to the building tonight. He told you about how the last comeback had just ended and the next one is coming up soon, and about how he struggles managing pleasing both the manager and keeping the rest of the group motivated through tiring dance and vocal practices.

“Normally I just come here to dance, to clear my head,” Jaebum says, his eyes focused on the mirror on the other end of the room.

“But?” you coax, a playful tone in your voice.

He turns his head towards you, a smile appearing on his lips. “But I guess this helps too.”

A comfortable silence appears between the two of you. “You know, I can’t remember when I had the time to talk to any of my family members in between all our schedules,” Jaebum starts. “And talking to the members isn’t always an option.”

“Sometimes you just need to do that,” you agree. “To vent about nothing. Or everything. And it doesn’t even matter to who, just as long as there’s someone listening.”

Jaebum turns his head, locking his eyes into yours, a soft smile on his face. It tells you he’s silently agreeing with you. In turn you let out a sigh running your hands over your face.

“I guess I should be going,” you announce while standing up. “I don’t have as bad as a schedule as you, but I need to work tomorrow morning too,” you joke.

“Sure,” Jaebum laughs. “Good night!” he calls out behind you when you walk towards the door, slinging your bag over your shoulder, causing you to smirk.

“Good night, Jaebum.”

You end up walking home tonight in order to clear your head of the newly found thoughts roaming around your brain after talking with Jaebum. The night air is cool to the touch, a pleasant chill causing bumps to arise along your skin.

Jaebum was nice, nicer than you would’ve expected him to be. As soon as you saw him bending over you, asking you were all right, you were both intrigued and scared. Scared you were found out and that he would tell you to get lost. But he was different. He had this certain thing about him, even though he wasn’t dressed up like he would normally be within his line of work. You get why he does what he does, his aura told you enough.

After arriving at home, you take a nice and hot shower before crawling into your bed. You’re trying to get comfortable in the dark when, all of a sudden, something crosses your mind: to set an alarm for tomorrow morning. You feel around the little nightstand next to your bed blindly, but your phone is nowhere to be found. And that’s when it hits you. Your phone is still plugged into the sound system in the practice room! 

You mentally curse yourself for being so irresponsible with your things before pressing some buttons on your old digital alarm clock, changing the red numbers to a six and two zeroes. At least you’ll have some time to sneak into the practice studio to grab your phone before arriving at your own desk.

The following morning you tried to go back to the practice room from last night, but unfortunately for you, a group of trainees had walked in there minutes before you, already having started their dance practice. You reluctantly went up to your desk on the ninth floor. You would just have to survive the rest of the day without your phone, hoping it’ll still be there once you return to retrieve it later today.

Work has been tedious since this morning, especially without your phone, causing you to stare at the spreadsheet on your computer screen for over twenty minutes at a time without moving the cursor. Until an unexpected knock on the partition of your office cubicle pulls you from your depressing thoughts.

“Hey…”

You quickly look up to find one of your co-workers standing next to you, acknowledging her presence. “Hey, Chaeyeon. What’s up?”

“Um…” Chaeyeon seems hesitant. “So… there’s someone looking for you.”

At her words, your heart skips a beat. Who? What for? All possible scenarios go through your head. Are you about to be reprimanded for your secret escapades to the practice rooms downstairs? Did someone find your phone down there? Was Jaebum the one that told on you? Will you be able to keep your job?

You cough, clearing your throat. “O-oh… Uh, and w-who would that be?”

The brunette next to you shakes her head, a smile appearing around her lips. Her eyes contain a curious spark, and something about the way she evades your question makes you even more nervous. “I told him to wait in the hallway,” she says with a wink before walking back to her own post.

You reluctantly get up and make your way through the open plan office, to the adjoining hallway where Chaeyeon told you your visitor was waiting for you. You’re wondering who it is. It surely isn’t one of your supervisors. They would’ve just walked right up to your desk if they wanted to speak to you about something. But your questions are answered soon enough as you turn the corner, and you see a familiar silhouette standing in the hallway.

“Jaebum?” you call out to the tall figure as you walk up to him. He turns his head towards you when he hears your voice. “What are you doing here?” you whisper, trying to keep your voice down. You look around, afraid of attracting the unwanted attention of others.

A mischievous smile tugs around Jaebum’s lips. “What? I can’t pay my favourite intruder a little visit?” he jokes, using his hand to ruffle your hair.

“Don’t say that! I could get into trouble,” you whisper. “O-or am I already in trouble? Is that why you’re here?” A wave of slight panic takes over, but is quickly eliminated by the handsome male’s reassuring smile.

“No, you’re not. I came here to give you something, actually,” he explains before fishing a familiar device out of his pocket.

“My phone?”

At your surprise, Jaebum’s smile seems to grow even bigger. “I wanted to give it back sooner, but I didn’t really know how to contact you,” he jokes, earning a chuckle from you. “You really didn’t give me much to work with, you know!”

“I know,” you smirk. “I was hoping to keep a little bit of a low profile. You know, in case you did decide to rat me out.”

Jaebum feigns offence, unable to keep a slight smirk from appearing on his face. “Did you really have that little faith in me?!”

You shake your head at his antics, before apologising. “Okay, okay. Let me buy you a coffee some time, to make it up to you.”

The brunette’s face lights up at your unexpected proposal. “I’ll keep you to that!” he says with a wink, before turning around and making his way back to the elevator. “I’ll call you!” he calls out before the steel doors move in front of him, until he’s no longer in your field of vision.

You too turn around to go back to your own job. Walking back to your desk, you look at your phone, mulling over Jaebum’s last remark. Could he…?

Opening the contacts menu once you get back in your office cubicle, you cannot help but let out a snort, turning heads of some co-workers, when seeing the new addition to your contact list.