Converse High

kang joonki. 25 & stylist @ mk ent. ruling the racks with an iron fist.

[mkxminah-blog]

“Yeah, a boyfriend. Pretty serious one, if you ask me. Guess you did,” she murmured back, putting her hands over top his. “Is that so? I dunno, he’s pretty amazing. Not the kind of guy you let go if you can help it, so you’d have to be pretty damn impressive to convince me to leave him.” Glancing back at the tablet, she scrolled for a moment before giving up and putting it where she found it. “Why do you even have some of these? They’re really ugly,” she mumbled as she smiled up at him. There were a lot of times that she wondered how she’d gotten through to this side of him, how she’d gotten lucky enough to be in the position she was with him. Now was definitely one of them. “You? Delicate? I have a hard time believing that….”

[mkxjoonki]

“Oh? He’s that great of a guy? I have to know who he is-- if you think he’s that great and all.” Joonki teased. A little laugh bubbled up from him at her comments about the clothing and he found himself agreeing all too quickly. “I know, I know. I hate most of the costumes we have, but what can I do. I’m not in charge-- I should be, but I’m not. I just have to go with it and whatever bullshit concept that Seojin gives me to handle.” Even just sitting here, it wasn’t long before he found himself extremely close to nodding off. It’s been a long day and after failing to hide a yawn he tried to nuzzle closer to her. “Shut up. I am delicate. Just not in the conventional way. I cry during the titanic okay. And I am sensitive to loud noises. I bite when angry. Delicate.”

[mkxminah-blog]

A little laugh as she watched him jump, not even bothering to apologize for startling him. It was cute, very much so. She walked over and sat down on top of him before leaning over to grab the tablet. Minah was a little nosy sometimes, especially when her boyfriend was stressed out. “I don’t usually make it this far down this hallway without someone throwing hot drinks at me or my boyfriend dragging me home. I probably should’ve started with that, right?” Her head fell back onto his shoulder, her eyes finding his. “He’s really hot, you know. And super sweet when he’s not around other people, but he pretends he’s a dick in public.”

[mkxjoonki]

“A boyfriend? Well, fuck. Looks like I missed my chance.” He sighed, slumping in the chair a little and resting his arms around her waist. “But if you ask me, he probably couldn’t treat you as well as I could. Just letting you know.” He watched her grab for the tablet and even just glancing at the list of serial numbers has his headache coming back. He really just wanted to go home instead of spending all night working. Maybe he’d sacrifice an hour of being yelled at tomorrow to go home and curl up with Minah. He could suffer a bit of scolding if that was the case. “But it’s not very nice of you to lead a guy like me along, you know?” Joonki mumbled softly as he pressed a kiss to her forehead before adding, “I’m delicate.”

[mkxminah-blog]

Minah had finished up quite a bit later than she’d expected to, but that wasn’t what was wrong. What was wrong was that she hadn’t heard from Joonki. No whining, no complaining, no bribing…. Nothing. In hours, which was incredibly worrisome, and not just because he could be off somewhere with Talia doing something crazy. It was worrying that poor Min might be in his studio somewhere because Joonki dragged Talia off to get a tattoo or something else that Minah probably didn’t approve of. But, surprisingly, when she went by the dressing rooms, the lights were still on and there he was. “Hey, handsome, come here often?” she laughed, walking up behind him. @mkxjoonki

[mkxjoonki]

He was pretty sure this is exactly what being held captive felt like-- torture and all. Another vague and infuriatingly wordy concept from Seojin and he was holing himself up in the dressing rooms, going through lists and lists of clothing that they had on hand for something that would apply. The sudden intrusion startled him a little and he jumped in his seat, swiveling around and barely managing to hold on to the tablet. “Oh-- It’s just you.” He breathed in relief, shoulders slumping a little. Sliding the tablet to the next seat, Joonki wasted no time in beckoning her over with a pat of his lap. “Unfortunately, I do. And what about you, missy? I don’t see you around here too often.”

[mkxjoonki]

He tapped his fingers on the dark wood of the meeting room table.  It was too early for this bullshit, he could already tell. Any meeting with Seojin was bullshit and right now he was wishing he put up more of a fight when he threatened to take up drinking again this morning-- but Minah had always been persuasive and it was an empty threat at the time, but right now he’s wishing it wasn’t because he honestly felt he needed a good couple shots to deal with his asshole of a boss.

He was even early to the meeting room in hopes to move things along quicker, but luck still wasn’t on his side and he was contemplating how hard he would have to bash his head on the table to have to go to the hospital. He’d do anything to get out of this meeting and avoid listening to an hour of rambling about ‘the southern Gothic cheerleaders and their heavy influence on this pop song and floral patterns so symbolize...’ he honestly tuned out at that point, but it was still torture.

Counting down the minutes until he could leave, he actually felt like crying when the door open behind him and he just hoped Minah knew not to bring roses to his funeral. He hated roses. @mkxseojin

[mkyejinnie-blog]

Yejin grinned. “Oh, god. I can see her stupid little face already. I hope she quits. She’s not cut out for this. Unless she ends up as a secretary or something.” She paused. “You know, now that I’ve said it out loud, it makes a lot of sense. She reminds me a lot of that stupid fucking receptionist that’s always hitting on my brothers. Maybe that’s this kid’s calling or something.” She glanced over when he cussed, looking away from her own wok just long enough for her to prick herself with her own needle, biting down on her tongue and exhaling. She was so damn fed up with this stupid chore. 

“Remember that time he almost murdered you over that one costume being a couple shades off-color? I thought he was going to slit your fucking throat or something,” Yejin reminisced with a shake of her head. Someday, she wanted the power to lose her shit over something as tiny as that and get away with it. That kind of power trip sounded like fun. After she was finished with her next item, she took a little break, stretching her fingers (which were starting to cramp up something fierce) and kneading her eyes with the heels of her hands. She needed a nap after this, but who knew if the Haven girls were going to be quiet enough for her to fall asleep. That was the downside to living in their dorm; there was eight of them, and they were so loud. If there was anything she missed about rooming with her sister, it was that Jieun was at least quiet. 

“’the one who stares at the idols’,” Yejin repeated, bringing her hands away so she could glance at him. “Wow. Way to narrow it down. Like, all of them are only here because the UNION oppas are so cute. You’re gonna have to be more specific than that. Though, making any of them cry sounds satisfying as fuck…” she trailed off, smiling to herself. “Okay, but if we were hiring interns, we’d hire people that would actually fucking do their jobs. I dunno about you, but I’d take the job somewhat seriously if it meant I didn’t have to spend my nights doing this.”

[mkxjoonki]

“Actually...” Joonki started slowly, fingers tapping his knee. “I can see that. I hate that little receptionist. Too nosy for her own good. I hope it comes to bite her in the ass one day-- the both of them actually.” If that’s the kid’s calling Joonki hopes it’s anywhere but here. Leaning over to shift through his pile, it was a good hour of work left yet and it was already nearing way too late to be here.

“Oh-- oh man, I almost killed him. For a real minute I actually sat and stared at the hairdryer and wondered how hard I would have to hit him to kill him. He pissed me off so much-- even more than you do and that’s a real feat.” It was no secret that outside of work him and Yejin shouldn’t be left unsupervised in the fear one might actually strangle the other, but they got along decently during work. Sometimes the sly dig couldn’t be avoided, but there was no tussle over it until after work hours. No one got hurt on the clock, but Joonki and Seokjin was a whole different story. They were dangerous and shouldn’t be exposed to each other for longer than ten minutes-- on a good day. “At the end of that shirt I kind of wished he would just slit my throat. Maybe then I wouldn’t have to deal with him giving me bullshit concepts and expecting me to understand his dumbass rambling.” With a huff he was standing, stretching his arms over his head-- joint cracking in the process. “Now I’m just more pissed. Let’s take a break. There’s a vending machine down the hall that gives you two bags of chips if you kick it just right.”

Jutting his finger towards the door, he needed at least some kind of break before he went completely crazy. “On the way we can talk about how the interns we would hire would be so good that they’d probably fire us so they could replace us. And how these stupid interns don’t realize their oppas are only so attractive because we got to them.”

[mkyejinnie-blog]

She tossed the repaired bodysuit on her own pile, sighing deeply and pushing her hair back, looking to the pile of things she still had to get to. It was significantly smaller than before, but she still had a lot to do, and it was almost enough to make her want to set all the stupid costumes on fire. “I can help. I’ll take the short little one with that pink streak in her hair. She’s been getting on my nerves since day one,” Yejin commented off-handedly, picking up a fitted shirt and going to work.

‘Good people’. It was enough to make a small smile appear on her face, though it was hidden by her hair. She wasn’t awful, but good was in no way the best descriptor for her. Not a chance. “I’d fucking say we are. How’d the head and the second-in-command get saddled with this bullshit?” she murmured. “Oh please. Seojin would yell at you for much, much less.” Joonki she could put up with. She was so glad she didn’t have to work with the concept designer on a daily basis, because one of them would probably end up killing the other. 

She glanced over at Joonki, a little smirk on her lips. “Which one? The jumpy one? Or the one who chews her nails?” She hated interns. Some turned into pretty decent employees and got their shit done, but most of them were just with MK to get closer to the idols because they were starstruck, and Yejin thought that was stupid. And, as someone who grew up with two idols, she really didn’t see the appeal. “They should let us hire the interns next time. Maybe we’ll actually get some competent ones. Or at least ones who are fun to fuck with.”

[mkxjoonki]

“Oh yeah, that little shit. Sure. We’ll surprise her one morning in the storage rooms. She’s got it coming anyways.” He huffs. If he pokes himself with a needle one more time, he’s going to quit. He’s going to march right up to the CEO and quit his job first thing in the morning. “Fuck.” Joonki grimaces as a little dot of blood pools on his thumb and he wipes it off on his jeans. He’d prepare his letter of resignation as soon as he got home. 

He couldn’t help but snort in laughter, a little sarcastic sounding because Joonki had to agree with her there. “You’re right. I don’t think he’d miss out on yelling at me for something like that-- he would already get at me for the littlest shit. I better not risk it.” The blouse in his hands is ugly and Joonki really debates just throwing it away and claiming that it got lost at a concert hall or stadium or something. That’s a better fate than shoving some poor idol in it. He had a little bit of conscious at least. 

Dropping his hands into his lap, he snaps the string off and effectively gives the blouse a chuck to the other side of the room, watching it with a bored expression as it flutters and falls short. Oh well. Slumping on the couch he takes a minute to survey his pile. It’s not too much, but still a decent amount and he hopes Minah won’t be too upset with him for getting home late, but it’s just what he gets for putting this off until last minute. “Better. It was that really annoying one who’s always on the phone with her boyfriend. The one who stares at the idols rather than do any work at all.” God he hated the interns. “Actually-- no one would show up if we were hiring the interns so... that’s probably a good reason why we’re not allowed to.” 

[mkxjoonki]

Teddy → ???

Teddy: perfect

Teddy: may or may not be considering asking you for permission, obviously

Teddy: hyung pleeeeeaaaaaseeeeeeee ;-; (>' . ')>

Joonki: Not perfect.

Joonki: You're not considering it.

Joonki: Your cute emojis won't convince me. I'm not.

[mkxjoonki]

Teddy → ???

Teddy: which is more bad bitch?

Teddy: pink or purple???

Teddy: this is essential i want people to know i mean business

Joonki: pink but I'm biased because I was pink for a while

Joonki: Why? What are you doing?

Joonki: Don't do anything. I'm not fixing it. Don't.

[mkyejinnie-blog]

It was stupid and tedious, but it needed to be done, and if she didn’t do it, who else would? It’s not like anyone was volunteering for the job, and she didn’t expect them to; it definitely wasn’t one of the more glamorous parts of being a stylist. At least she wasn’t alone. If anything had the power to drive her to madness, it was stitching and sewing alone in a storeroom. 

She glanced up from the costume she had in her hands, raising an eyebrow before suppressing the urge to roll her eyes–she was a she-demon. She didn’t know how to laugh. Yejin nodded, muttering, “Yeah, for sure,” before putting her own work down and taking the needle and thread from him. She eyed it for a second before licking the end of the thread (it was a little frayed), and threading the needle with steady hands before carefully handing it back to him. 

Eyeing the pile of finished garments beside him before going back to her own work, she added, “You’re getting a lot done. At this rate, it won’t take us much longer.”

[mkxjoonki]

“Yeah...” He sighed, casting a glance over his pile. He’d be happy is he never had to put his hands on another pair of hot pants in his life. Or another pair of skinny jeans or another dress or another needle. He honestly didn’t miss this part of his early days. “I should beat those interns for skipping out early.” Joonki mumbled as he got to work an another little tear that just wouldn’t do.

“They should be doing this. Not us. We’re good people.” A lie. They were terrible people, each in their own right and much worse to each other-- on a good day, but he stills stands by his words. “We’re more important than them at least.” He grumbled. “You think I could get in trouble for beating the interns?”

It was a silly question, of course he knew, and he just let it hang as he quieted down to focus on his work. It wasn’t until he was finishing off the stitch job on the pants and barely managing to thread and start on a ripped blouse (honestly, what these idols managed sometimes was amazing) before Joonki spoke up again. “This new batch of kids we got are pathetic... honestly. I don’t think we’re gonna have any fun with these ones. I almost had one girl in tears yesterday. Almost.” 

[bangtan]

© Sweet You | Do not edit.

[mkxjoonki]

Hey...” Joonki frowned from the couch. There was a pair of hot pants in his lap and a needle in his hand. It’s been a good six months or so since the storage rooms have been gone through and rips and wears have been taken stock off. It’s as good as evening as any to spend stitching things up and it’s not as tedious as it could be because he’s got company-- company he hadn’t even had to raise his voice to get to help him. “Hey... will you do me a favor and not laugh at me, but...”

It’s been how long since he’s actually the one who’s done the little stitches and he’s out of practice. That’s the only answer, because Joonki spent a year and a half buried under polyester and sequins doing just this when he first was hired. He was pretty damn good at it in his opinion. Was being the key word. “I can’t thread this needle... I think my fingers got too chubby.”

Frown still in place, he looks at his hands, holding one out in front of him before heaving a sigh. “Will you help?” @mkyejinnie

[mkxminah-blog]

She sighed at him, curling up on his lap and pulling the blanket over them. “You were, babe, but if it means we can stop arguing about it then you didn’t.” Her eyes fluttered shut; him being there was easily putting her to sleep. “It’s okay. I was just worried about you….”

Everything was getting fuzzier, the sounds from whatever was playing starting to fade as she settled down against his chest. “Tell me about it. Please.” She looked up and batted her eyes sleepily, kissing his jaw softly. “Please, I don’t want you to go back to sleep and have the same dream again.”

[mkxjoonki]

There wasn’t a moment he didn’t find himself just a little bit drowning in the sudden love he found himself in, but it was never in the suffocating sense, but more of a constant disbelief of just how lucky he was. This moment was one of the few that it’s just a little harder for him to breath and Joonki takes a deep breath. She was worried about him. Worried in a different way than the few people he does have worry. 

The little resistance he held all but crumbled away when he felt her lips on his skin and he took another deep breath. “It’s... it was nothing.” Joonki insisted before giving it up.”It really was nothing. It’s just... I dreamed you had left me. You got mad or something and just left... and then when I woke up and you weren’t there... I panicked a little. I’m sorry.” 

[mkxminah-blog]

“Sure you weren’t, handsome. Sure you weren’t,” she mumbled as she settled down against him. He was so clearly about to have a panic attack before he found her; they both knew that, but she wasn’t nearly up to fighting him on it. She tapped on his chest for him to lean back further so she could get comfortable and go back to sleep.

“Yeah, a little.” Her words were muffled by his skin, her head rested on his shoulder and her lips pressed against his neck. “You were getting pretty loud. What happened? Is everything okay?” Minah wanted to know, of course she was curious, but she didn’t want to pry. He didn’t do well with prying.

[mkxjoonki]

“I really wasn’t.” Joonki mumbled weakly, not an ounce of fight in him as he gave into her prodding and flopped back on the couch, reaching up to blindly feel for the blanket he knew he had left out here just for instances like this when it was inevitable they would end up falling asleep on the couch. “Oh... sorry. I didn’t mean to,” 

It seemed a little backwards, his hands rubbing small circles into her lower back as if she was the one in distress. Eyes trained on the tv he let himself get a little distracted by the woman explaining how to make something or other before he sucked in a breath and pulled his attention back to Minah. “I’m fine. I’m fine now.” He made sure to make the clear distinction. “I just had a bad dream. It wasn’t anything. You don’t need to worry about it.” 

[mkxjoonki]

“You know...” Joonki started from the couch, not even looking up from his phone. He hated Music bank so much and he hated when an idol has a schedule forcing him to be there. “There’s this cool new thing you should try. It’s all the rage.” His tone was flat and expression blank as his fingers tapped away at his phone. “It’s called shutting the fuck up.” 

[mkxminah-blog]

“….Oh-kay…..” she mumbled, hesitantly stroking his hair. There was no way she was buying that he was just fine. He was too grabby to be perfectly fine. She climbed into his lap, readjusting herself so they were both a little more comfortable. Honestly, they’d probably end up falling asleep like that again; her laying on top of his chest, their legs tangling up together.

“You’re not just sitting. You were freaking out. I thought maybe you’d hurt yourself. Fallen out of bed or something, but then I would’ve heard a loud crash and a lot of cursing.” She laughed, leaning her head against his. “I was watching some show. I think they were cooking something. I woke up and couldn’t fall asleep again, so I tried to find food but there wasn’t much. So I sat down to watch something so maybe I’d get sleepy again. Why were you yelling for me, hmm?”

[mkxjoonki]

He didn’t want to be utterly disgusting and say that just her presence was calming him down, but that’s how it really was. Even just the few minutes he’s been out here, he was starting to feel better, not as worried and panicky. A soft breath of content and he was leaning his forehead on her shoulder, already feeling the drowsiness set in again. If her finger kept at his hair it wouldn’t be long before he was falling right back asleep out here. “’M not freaking out. I wasn’t.” Joonki tried to refute, even if it was clearly obvious that he had for a moment. 

Humming in understanding he didn’t comment more on it, having glanced at the television just moments ago to some chef showing off a bowl. Something he didn’t really care about. But as his expression remind blank, he asked in a tentative mumble, “Was... I yelling?” Before denying it. “I wasn’t yelling. I was just... calling for you. I was wondering where you were. Not yelling.” 

[mkxminah-blog]

She hadn’t been gone for long. At least, she hoped she hadn’t been. Minah’d woken up and not been able to fall asleep again, tossing and turning for the better part of an hour before finally getting up and heading for the kitchen. No luck finding any real food and she took to the couch to watch something, anything that would relax her.

But she heard Joonki calling for her; she hoped he wasn’t hurt or anything. No such luck. The second she was within reach, she was in his arms, being squeezed- hard. “Hey, Joonki. What? What’s going on? Are you okay?” Of course she threw her arms around him immediately. “What are you doing?”

[mkxjoonki]

“I’m fine.” Came his instant reply as he didn’t budge from his spot, only pulling her even closer. It was silly, it was so silly of him to be so worked up over a stupid nightmare, but he was so sure that it was true when his woke up to her not there. “I’m fine.” Joonki repeats, as if to convince her, but really trying to tell himself. 

“I’m just... sitting?” And he finally raised his head a little, glancing in the direction of the television and growing quiet with his lip caught between his teeth. He gave a little shrug of his shoulders and he was sure his cheeks were more than a little pink with embarrassment. “Just sitting. What are you doing? Why weren’t you in bed?” 

[mkxjoonki]

@mkxminah​

Joonki shivered at the cold sweat sliding down his back and he patted at the covers beside him. Empty. The bed was empty and his breath caught in his throat, eyes flying open only to confirm that the bed was, indeed, empty. “Minah?” It came out as more of a mumble of confusion, fingers curling in the soft sheets as he slowly forced himself to sit up. Empty. The bed was empty when he specifically remembers nearly being pushed to the floor by his girlfriend earlier. 

Maybe he didn’t dream it up. Maybe he wasn’t pulled awake by a nightmare that she went back on her word and left him with nothing but a now repairable broken heart. Maybe it was a memory instead he was just trying to repress for his own good. 

Bare feet on the floor, Joonki sucked in a breath, pushing the covers away and turning his back on the empty side of the bed. No. She wasn’t gone. She didn’t leave. He’s hoping to whoever will listen that she didn’t leave just like she had stormed out in his terrible nightmare. “Minah?” Joonki is a bit louder in calling her this time, padding out into the hallway and eyes frantically searching for her, breath coming just a little shorter for each second he couldn’t find her. 

“Min-- oh.” A rush of warm relief flooding through him the tense line of his shoulders relaxed and he was crossing the floor to slide his arms around her waist in a matter of seconds, nose burying in her shoulder, taking a deep breath. “There you are.” Came his shaky mumble.