//* ʜɪꜱ ᴄʜᴇᴇᴋꜱ ꜰʟᴜꜱʜᴇᴅ against his will, betraying his cool exterior ( although, really, did he ever have a cool exterior to begin with? ). having him there made jaein happy. hanjae had a hard time believing that his presence alone could make anyone happy, but if jaein felt that way then who was he to deny it? what made jaein happy made hanjae happy, and he found it sort of pathetic that he wasn’t exaggerating in the slightest when he said that. “ ah, so the rest of the staff gets annoyed with me distracting you, but you’re cool with it. noted, ” he concluded jokingly, punctuating the statement with an airy giggle. even as jaein spoke, hanjae was shaking his head stubbornly, having made up his mind already. “ i’ll be there, ” he answered, finality sinking in through his tone. he made a mental note to dig through his email later for the schedule his manager had sent him earlier in the week and come up with a good excuse to move things around.
warm. “ am i? that’s not exactly a word i’d use to describe myself, but i’ll take it. ” maybe he was warm. but if so, he was sure it was merely a reflection of jaein off of himself— hanjae wasn’t warm, but he became warm when the stylist entered his space, radiating that positive energy of his and setting every inch of hanjae’s being on fire. “ …okay. promise you’ll show me when you’re ready, though? ” he asked, quirking his head slightly to the right as he laid on the pout thick, hopeful. he just wanted to be to jaein as jaein was to him— wanted to return the unconditional support and tell him how amazing he was and make him feel just as accomplished and confident as jaein did for him. the thing about monitoring his music by himself or with his producer or other music experts was that they were constantly looking for flaws, aiming to pick out things that didn’t sound quite right and fix them to be more marketable. but jaein took an entirely different approach, went in with an open mind and zero expectations and just listened to understand what hanjae had created.
hanjae took advantage of the other’s closed eyes to simply indulge himself for a moment, his own lyrics fading into vague melodies as nothing more than a backtrack for jaein’s visuals. because jaein was breathtaking— and he didn’t mean it in the flashy way that an instagram model was, although that could easily be said about the stylist as well— but like a detailed painting that you could stare at for hours straight and still find something new, something you’d never even noticed before. but the track quickly approached its final chords, and hanjae averted his eyes, as if he hadn’t been daydreaming about holding jaein’s hands and skipping off into the fucking sunset for the past three and a half minutes. he couldn’t stop the way heat spread upward from his neck with every word of praise that jaein spoke, letting a soft, awkward laugh escape his lips, as if that might do anything to hide it. “ you sure you’re not a lyricist? you really sound like one sometimes, y’know. ” because to hanjae, it still very much sounded like jaein was exaggerating, but at least he did it with delicately chosen kind words that made the soloist feel like he’d really created something special. “ thank you, ” he said then, finally. “ i’d love it if that was the kind of feeling i gave people with my music. ” he’d love it if he were to be able to give jaein that feeling in person as well, though he didn’t dare say that out loud. “ i’m thinking of adding in feminine vocals to that track as well, to make it flow a bit smoother— what do you think? i do have to be a bit careful with that, though, since my own tone is pretty high. ”
jaein chuckles , soft & loud at the same time recalling memories of shoots that hanjae had attended . he was always a big distraction for the stylist , ever since the first time & really , jaein wouldn’t have it any other way . sure , the other staff on set would always give them a glare when their laughs were a bit too loud or the whispers they thought were hushed weren’t hushed , they would always pull him aside afterwards , tell him to focus a little bit more than pay attention to some boy . they gave him looks like they knew what was going through his head every time he so much as looked at hanjae laughing or smiling or even just standing there ( in reality they just had to take one glance at the way his eyes sparked upon seeing hanjae to know what jaein was feeling ) . “ yeah , they do , but don’t pay any mind to them , i get my job done & have fun with you at the same time , they’re just sad because i’m laughing & smiling while they scowl . ” giggling , a warm feeling spreads across his skin at the prospect of hanjae showing up , “ good , even though i’m right across from you now , i can’t wait to see you again . ”
it was gross how true the statement was . jaein wasn’t clingy to the point where he couldn’t be away from hanjae , no that’s not it , it’s just that he’s always looking forward to next time . plus , that would just be weird at the point they’re at now ... that’s really not even a point . hanjae is just being nice to him , friendly , still doesn’t help jaein’s heartbeat slow down . he’s known for getting himself too deep into situations & this one is no different . “ why not ? ” jaein cocks his head to the side , curious . hanjae is the definition of warm in jaein’s books , then again , despite the image hanjae puts out to the public that does make jaein wince a little , he makes him feel so safe , so warm , so loved . “ of course , i just--- i want it to be perfect for you . ” so many words left unsaid after that . i want to be perfect for you , i want you to be in awe to the point you can’t hold yourself back . the thought makes his smile falter , but he’s quick to recover it .
there’s nothing like listening to hanjae’s soft voice to make any negative feelings or thoughts dissipate into thin air . it’s why he finds himself so engrossed in the song , making sure he hears every single bit of it despite his small knowledge of the way music works & how it’s put together . jaein chuckles softly , eyes crinkling up into beautiful crescents , “ no , i wish i was as good with my words as you are . i’m really just a bumbling fool , but there must be something about you that makes me wax poetic . ” another chuckle before he’s speaking again , hoping not too much emotion , not too much feeling was displayed in those words , yet he was sure there were , he just didn’t want to dwell on it too much . “ you should teach me sometime though , i’d really love to learn as much as i can , especially since this is your life & your passion . ” maybe he just wanted to be closer to hanjae , be able to fully understand everything that went down in this studio , sue him ! “ you’re welcome & i assure you so many people feel that way . ” not like he occasionally checks hanjae’s tags on twitter , nope . “ i think it’d be lovely actually ! just find a balance between both of you , especially with the melody , high vocals all around would be beautiful , lets it flow more & gives it that airy vibe you always have . ”
