chemical hype boy

seouless bound

[lemanchae]

The near collision makes Eunchae flinch slightly, a soft sound of surprise slipping out before she realizes who it is. “James…” she says, a little breathless, then quickly straightens like she’s trying to recover from looking too startled. “You scared me. I thought you were another manager telling me to do another Tiktok collab”

But the tension doesn’t last long. It never really does with her. Not on the surface, anyway. At his greeting, and especially at the mention of her group’s comeback, something in her posture shifts almost immediately.

“Oh... you saw it?” The question comes out faster than she means it to. “What part did you like?” she asks next. Her mind trying its best not to show her deep rooted insecurities. “Like… choreography? Or the performance? Or-” She stops herself with a small exhale, shaking her head as if she’s overthinking.

“Sorry, that’s a weird question.” A quick smile appears, but it’s a bit tighter at the edges. Ugh, she's being weird again. There’s a brief pause before she adds, a little lighter again, as if trying to smooth it over:"

"Anyway... did you find your... it was a camera, right? Did you find it yet?"

[zhaojxmes]

when she asked what part he'd liked, his smile disappeared quickly. "oh," he hadn't exactly prepared for a follow-up question. his lips pressed together while he searched for an answer that didn't sound like he'd paid far more attention than any normal coworker should have. he dug around for words, parts of the song that he could remember not entirely focused on her.

"all of it?" the response came as a question. his fingers found the strap of his dance bag instead, absentmindedly readjusting it.

"the choreography was really clean." that part came easier. familiar territory from his line of work. "there were a couple formations that i thought were really satisfying to watch." a small shrug followed. "and i thought you did really well. all of you did really well." a quick correction that he watched all of the girls equally. heat crept into the tips of his ears almost instantly like she would see through his lie.

"the whole group." he reiterated. his attention dropped to the floor for a brief second before lifting again when she mentioned the camera.

"...still missing." he responds about the camera, letting out a small sigh through his nose. "i've checked pretty much every practice room i can think of. lost and found didn't have it either." his expression twisted into something halfway between amused and defeated. "i'm starting to think somebody adopted it. maybe some trainee."

[makiroom]

maki stared at him with a not so subtle smile. "wow. that might've been the worst lie i've ever heard. do yourself a favor, and don't switch your idol career for an acting job. you won't go very far." he crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head.

"'she's very helpful,'" he repeated, doing a surprisingly accurate imitation of james' voice. "yeah, okay." the elevator dinged as it passed another floor, but maki barely acknowledged it. "you know who else was standing there?" he continued. "me. sunoo. ni-ki." his brows lifted. "but somehow the very helpful person you wanted to go with you was eunchae?" he let that sit for a second before grinning. "interesting."

despite the teasing, there wasn't any judgment in his voice. if anything, he looked entertained by the whole thing. when james cut himself off with a never mind, maki noticed immediately. he always did. years of friendship made it pretty easy to tell when james was trying not to say something.

"right," he said, drawing the word out. his shoulder bumped lightly against james'. "for someone who wants me to forget this happened, you're doing a terrible job convincing me there's nothing to remember." the elevator finally slowed. maki pushed himself off the wall as the doors began to slide open. "don't worry, though." his grin widened. "your secret's safe with me." he sighs loudly before he steps out, "unless ni-ki asks."

[zhaojxmes]

"i do not sound like that." he folded his arms across his chest in what he hoped looked defensive and not painfully flustered. unfortunately, judging by the grin that hadn't left maki's face once during this entire conversation, it was probably the latter.

"you're making connections that aren't there. it ain't clicking," he argued, though there wasn't nearly enough confidence behind it to make the statement believable because maki wasn't wrong, and hated it. his eyes rolled toward the ceiling the second his friend started listing off everyone else who'd been standing there. sunoo. ni-ki. maki himself. he turns his neck at an angle, stretching the muscles just to relieve the tension that suddenly formed.

james pressed his lips together, trying very hard not to react in a way that would immediately confirm everything maki was accusing him of. the silence alone probably did enough damage. "you're annoying."

he followed maki out of the elevator a second later, adjusting the strap of his bag higher on his shoulder, stopping fast on his track when maki brought up ni-ki.

"you're a dick if you do." heat crept up to his eartips, then glanced around the empty hallway they were walking down on. all clear, thank god. "don't go telling people shit that isn't even true."

whether he was trying to convince maki or himself, james honestly wasn't sure anymore. he picked up his pace slightly, walking ahead a couple of steps before glancing back over his shoulder. realizing only then that he had no idea where this lost and found area was at, and he stops to glance back. "where am i going?"

[jung-won-nie]

jungwon deep in the zone, so much so that he didn’t register the door opening. the thud of the bag slightly got his attention between rounds of practicing the new comeback choreo, but what fully threw him off was the soft familiar voice that cut through the music like a freshly sharpened blade.

james

jungwon didn’t know what about his junior seemed to always get under his skin, maybe he just hadn’t gotten any action in a while, but something about the younger man held his attention.

and the worst part was james could tell.

he saw right through jungwon and it pissed him off to no end. so when james came in, slick comments rolling off the tongue like butter, he rolled his eyes coolly and didn’t look his way. “you claim to be looking for riki, but always find me. sounds like you aren’t trying that hard to find the right person.”

still, despite his attempt to be cool and collected, he felt a warmth trickle down his spine when the younger man chose to stay. “Some people might get the wrong idea… think you’re looking for an excuse to see me.”

[zhaojxmes]

"that's a pretty big ego you've got," he shook his head once before taking another drink from his water bottle, eyes drifting toward the mirror instead of lingering on jungwon. "if i wanted to see you, i'd just say i wanted to see you." which, to james, was the most logical thing in the world. he'd never understood people dancing around what they meant. say what you mean, mean what you say with the exception of a particular person he had in mind.

his attention wandered to the choreography still paused on the studio monitor before he pushed himself to his feet, giving his shoulders a loose roll. "besides..." he glanced over for barely a second. "if i had to choose somebody to be stuck in the room with. you really think that i would choose you?"

the eye roll came after. clear, not hiding from the said leader. then because he feels slightly guilty over what was said, he sighs out. "why are you alone, anyway? feeling sorry for yourself in this big room?"

[zhaojxmes]

a few days later, james was still camera-less. which was starting to become a problem. he adjusted the strap of his dance bag higher on his shoulder as he stepped out of the elevator, already mentally running through the day's practice schedule. if the camera wasn't in the lost & found, and it wasn't in any of the studios he'd checked three separate times, then it had either grown legs or someone had taken it.

neither option was particularly comforting. his gaze remained fixed on his phone until he rounded the corner and nearly walked straight into someone.

"oh-" james caught himself before actually colliding with them, taking a quick step backward. his eyes lifted to eunchae.

for half a second, he considered pretending he suddenly remembered somewhere else he needed to be. instead, he shoved his phone into his pocket.

"hey"

the greeting came easy enough, but he could already feel that familiar awkwardness creeping into his shoulders. it was ridiculous. he'd spoken to her plenty of times before. somehow talking to her now had managed to permanently short-circuit his brain. his hand rubbed briefly at the back of his neck.

"i, uh... saw your comeback with the other girls. i enjoyed it." information that he could have possibly withheld but now they were out there. maybe she would take it as a co-worker admiring the works of another. one could only hope.

@lemanchae

[makiroom]

@zhaojxmes

the elevator doors slid shut, sealing them into an almost painful silence. maki stared at the numbers above the doors for all of three seconds before letting out an exaggerated sigh.

"wow," his head tipped back against the wall. "this is probably the worst elevator ride i've ever been on." he shoved his hands into the pockets of his hoodie, glancing sideways toward james.

"seriously though." he nudged the other lightly with his elbow. "what was that back there?" his brows lifted. "you looked like someone told you your dog died when eunchae said to take me instead." then he pointed at himself. "which is kind of offensive, by the way. i'm great company. a few seconds pass before a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth. "or was the problem that you wanted her to come with us?"

[zhaojxmes]

james groaned immediately because maki was annoyingly right. "oh my god," he muttered, dragging a hand down his face. "you need to stop watching dr. phil clips"

his shoulder bumped lightly against the elevator wall as he stared at the floor numbers overhead. anything was better than looking directly at maki right now. the worst part was that he'd known the second the words left his mouth that asking eunchae had probably been a mistake.

it had sounded normal in his head. even harmless, then she turned him down. not even harshly, which somehow makes him feel ten times worse.

james shifted his weight, trying to ignore the lingering embarrassment still sitting heavily in his chest. he hated how obvious he must've looked. hated that maki had apparently clocked it immediately. "and for the record," he started, lifting a finger, "i did not look like someone told me my dog died. maybe a goldfish."

years of friendship made it impossible not to fall into the familiar rhythm. maki had seen him through enough embarrassing situations that joking back almost came automatically, even when james wanted to crawl into a hole somewhere.

the second question hit harder. or was the problem that you wanted her to come with us? james felt his stomach twist. because yes, obviously yes. but saying that out loud felt like voluntarily stepping in front of a moving train.

"i asked her because she was standing there," he said, far too quickly. "she's very helpful." the excuse sounded weak even to him. he exhaled quietly. "i just..." his voice trailed off before he shook his head. "never mind." because explaining it would only make things worse.

he wasn't even upset with eunchae. she hadn't done anything wrong. she'd probably thought nothing of it. meanwhile he'd somehow managed to spend the last thirty seconds replaying the interaction like it was a career-ending scandal. "let's just find the stupid camera and forget it all happened, alright?"

[zhaojxmes]

james had been expecting ni-ki. that was the only reason he'd bothered showing up to enhypen's practice room in the first place. the leader was prepared to ask his friend to help him with a dance choreo, and instead, it seemed like he just missed his friend.

his bag hit the floor with a dull thud beside the door as he stepped inside, already glancing around for the younger idol. nothing but the noticeably one very specific person. for a second, james just stared before letting out a quiet sigh through his nose.

"seriously?" he dropped onto the floor near the mirrored wall, stretching one leg out in front of himself. "i swear every time i come looking for ni-ki, i end up finding you instead." it wasn't outright rude.

the problem was the way he said it. like he'd shown up to a restaurant craving one thing and gotten handed something else. james reached for his water bottle, twisting the cap loose. "where is he?" before jungwon could answer, he added, "actually, never mind." because his mind was already picturing the worst of him being with a certain someone. he took a drink of the water. "guess you're stuck with me"

@jung-won-nie

[breatheaire]

man, wtf hahahaha im dizzy asf