AN: yes, yes...I know its not an update to any previous oneshots, and for that, i apologize. lolol I recently quit my job, for reasons I will not share because you're not here to read about why I chose to quit it haha sooo, I'll just finish up by saying that it has been really good for me though, as far as writing goes. For now, I will attempt to pump out updates. No guarantees. I've got quite a bit going on. Thank you everyone for all the love and support!
Still major writer's block on Phantoms and Angels. I keep putting it off. Anyways, inspired by the music video cross over with Shinhwa's This Love. I don't know I was watching it and BAM! inspiration. Enjoy!
Edit: LOL as per usual with my writing, I can't keep things short and then plot ideas begin swirling. SO this is yet another mini-series, like Scout Design, Phantoms and Angels, and Worlds Apart. whoops...I need to learn to write short stories better.
Part One
***************************************************
"Honestly, what is with you and this boy band lately? You've been obsessing over them for months now," you said with a heavy sigh. You were completely apathetic that you were front row and center with your roommate at a concert that apparently sold out its tickets within the first five minutes of being available for purchase. At least, that's what Mikasa said when she invited you to go with her for free. Mikasa was a bit weird, she generally did not care too much about anything, but for whatever reason that you could not seem to gather, she was literally in love with one of the members of this group.
You weren't exactly sure how she managed to snag such good seats but you weren't really going to pry about it. You sincerely considered that she could have done something illegal because that's how much she was into this group.
"I'm not obsessing. I just...like their music," your friend replied blandly. You made a skeptical look at her and she brushed you off. In the car on the way to the arena, she made you listen to all their songs, all four albums, so you could at least recognize them during the concert. The music type didn't fit her usual interest; it was far too upbeat and even fluffy for you to see her actively listening to it day in and day out. Yet...she was.
Of course, you knew Mikasa just had a big crush on the youngest band member, since his face was plastered on everything she owned. Her cellphone wallpapers, her laptop background, the walls in her room. There was even one in your shared bathroom and in her car. It was a little out of hand but you have never seen her care about anything so much so you did not have the heart to tell her to calm down.
You didn't think their music was bad, not by a long shot. Some of their lyrics were actually quite moving, but you honestly did not think their music warranted such high regards. You assumed it was just because the group itself was apparently full of good-looking men, young and older. Mikasa only had pictures of one guy, who looked around her age, since you were a bit older than her, so you honestly had no idea what the other guys looked like. However, she did mention that this group had men in it that were, what you considered, to be a bit old for boy band material.
Concert goers were starting to pile into the arena and the noise level was steadily growing. You were completely baffled as to how this group sold out sixty thousand seats in under ten minutes, without even any opening acts either. This group was so popular that they were allowed to play for nearly three hours straight...which is simply unheard of. How have you not even heard of this band until Mikasa showed you them?
"What the heck is their name again?" you asked, returning your attention to the stage that was practically within arm's length.
Mikasa let out an impatient sigh beside you. "I've told you a dozen times already and I do not understand how you don't know them," she replied. "You're in this industry, aren't you?"
You shrugged, but she had a point. You were an aspiring lyricist yourself and had a deep musical interest ever since you were a child. You could play the piano, the guitar, the cello, and the violin and you wrote your own music and songs, but you definitely could not sing a single a note without it being completely toneless and off key. However, you were only getting your foot in the door in the last year, having finally gotten a few of your lyrics bought and produced by some lesser known artists. Hopefully you'd build up a name for yourself and bigger artists will have you write songs for them and maybe you'll even get to do their arrangements as well.
"You didn't answer my question," you said, deciding to ignore hers. You already knew that answer, but you wanted to poke more fun at her, since you knew how much she hated when you made fun of this band. Mikasa knew this and hesitated to answer you.
"Attack on Titan."
Like every time Mikasa told you their group name before, you snorted. Hard. "What in the hell kind of band name is 'Attack on Titan'?" you snickered, completely amused. "What does that even mean!? Do they even have hidden meaning for that? I just don't understand, oh my god."
Mikasa was growing visibly irritated with you because you were teasing her favorite band and perhaps a bit at her expense. "I will break your jaw if you keep laughing like that."
You bit your lip to hide that fact that you weren't scared of her threat and settled into laughing internally. You didn't mean to upset her, but you truly did not understand why anyone would have agreed to let this group have the name Attack on Titan. Not that every band name you've heard had to mean something but...this was just ubsurd.
Wrapping your arms around her shoulders, you grinned. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry," you said playfully. "Jeeze, I won't do that anymore. I know how important this guy is to you, whoever the heck he is. It's just the name is hilarious to me. I bet you thought the same thing when you first heard it, don't even lie."
She did not answer you and you knew that you had her pinned in a corner.
You squeezed her a little harder. "Let's just have fun, okay?"
Your friend shook you off, not fond of the close physical contact but smiled very slightly at you. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."
Only ten minutes later, and another fifteen until the start of the show, the entire arena was full and all you could hear around you were screaming fangirls. There was a group of women behind you that were in absolute hysterics about how close they were to the stage. They were even fantasizing and wishing frivolously about how they hoped that their favorite members would notice them.
What the...this is just ridiculous, you thought, glancing behind you absently. Oh, c'mon! These women are like thirty or forty years old!!!
From the sounds of things, Levi and Eren were the crowd favorites. You were trying to pick up on all the members' names but it was hard to hear everything through all the din, especially because so many girls were continuously gushing about how "sexy" this member was and how "dreamy" that member was.
"Okay, so Eren is the guy that scares the shit out of me every time I get out of the shower, right?" you asked, making idle conversation. Mikasa glowered at you for half a moment.
"Yes." She kept her reply short and you continued on.
You held in your amused snort. "Ah, okay, the one you're in love with."
Mikasa nodded, her eyes beaming though she had an impassive expression. You desperately wanted to roll your eyes at her.
"What are the other guys' names then? I keep hearing Levi and Jean or John, whatever the hell it is, and I think...is it Erwin? Irvin?"
"Yeah, Erwin is like...the 'leader' of the group and the oldest. If you're into older guys, then I guess I could understand why girls like him," Mikasa explained. You knew she was eager to tell you this but if you hadn't been her best friend for the last seven years, you wouldn't not be able to tell because she sounded so bored. "The other ones are Berthold, Reiner, Levi, and Jean."
She made a strange face at the name Jean. "I'm guessing you're not diggin' on Jean?" you teased.
Mikasa made an even more strange expression. "Absolutely not," she replied with a quick shake of her head. "I don't know, some think he is really attractive, others think he resembles a horse...? I don't understand it but I don't really care. He just seems like a bit arrogant...and maybe even creepy."
You laughed outright at this. "So, Levi seems to be pretty popular too."
Mikasa shrugged. "Yeah, a lot of older women like him, although it seems like he's got a huge fanbase with young girls too," she said. You wanted to laugh again because she was such an expert on all things "Attack on Titan" but you did not want to injure her pride again.
"I mean," she continued. "He isn't really the type I'd go for. He is kind of cold and blunt. And short."
"Sounds like you, Mikasa," you said with a smirk. She definitely did punch you really hard in the side for that.
"I am not short, I'm probably taller than Levi," she spat at you as gingerly rubbed your side. "But...you know what really irritates me?"
"What?" you asked, unsure if you were willing to hear her rant about something related to her obsession.
"People seem to ship Levi and Eren like some weird incest relationship," she said, sounding exasperated. "I don't really care if they ended up being gay...but I don't know...the fanbase is sure Levi and Eren are together. I definitely don't ship it."
You raised an eyebrow. You had no idea what "shipping" was but you sort of figured it out with the context of what she was saying. It was kind of cute with the way she was getting possessive over a guy she didn't even know.
"You don't think so?" you asked, keeping it vague since you were unsure about what she was talking about.
Mikasa shook her head again. "No. Actually, I kind of think Levi doesn't even like Eren...at least from their interviews and show appearances. I don't know, maybe it's an insider thing."
Before you had a chance to reply, the lights dimmed and the arena exploded into shrieks and wails. Music began playing overhead and you both immediately turned your attention to the stage in front of you. There were so many flashing lights, the screens above the stage playing weird images of abstract objects before starting a countdown at ten.
As the numbers ticked down, and the audience screaming them too, you breathed in deeply to prepare yourself for an interesting show. You glanced to your left and found Mikasa completely still, but staring very intently at the stage. Upon finding her happy, you smiled and just to appease her, you threw your hand up in the air and gave a loud cry when the clock came to one. A unison of male voices sounded overhead that made the arena burst into more shrieks.
"Are you ready?"
**************************************************
Three weeks have come and gone since you went to the Attack on Titan concert, and admittedly, you had had more fun than you originally thought you would. You still weren't completely obsessed with their music the way Mikasa was, but you defintely had a newfound respect for them as performers. They were incredibly talented men. Between their choreography, their live singing, and stage presence alone was enough to get you hooked on their music. They were very entertaining and kept you interested and engaged througout the entire show.
Your hunch was a bit correct on how they shot to fame so quickly though; upon being so close to them that night, you really had to admit that they all were quite attractive in their own ways. As much as Eren was a favorite, you personally thought Levi's cool demeanor and style was the most attractive of the bunch. Besides, you felt Eren was a bit young for you...and he was claimed by Mikasa, his biggest fan.
Upon first looks though, they group did not really look like they harbored the gift of singing but you were proven wrong within the first twenty seconds of their opening song.
A highlight of the night definitely was when the band made their way through the first few rows of fans and Eren approached Mikasa. As he had been singing his particular line in the song, he wrapped his maroon scarf he had been wearing around her neck and winked, before he moved on in the crowd. Mikasa had been so expressionless at his action, despite the screaming women around her, but you knew full well she her spirits soared at the singled out attention.
Needless to say, she hasn't stopped wearing the scarf since the concert. You were fairly sure she even slept with it.
You had to admit, your interest was definitely in Levi, though you didn't care enough to have his pictures plastered on your belongings. However, once you saw him on stage, you instantly were attracted to him, despite his overall stature. He had this very cool, mysterious stage persona that appealed to you the most. His duet with Eren was probably your favorite of the songs that night, as they strangely harmonized quite well together.
Presently, you were sitting on your bed, strumming your guitar with a somewhat frustrated expression. "...nope, not the right note..." you said to yourself, having been attempting to do a guitar/piano cover of Attack on Titan's most recent single. Once you adjusted the note mentally, you played several chords.
"Wow...it's like a ballad cover," said Mikasa, who had just walked in from the kitchen. "It's pretty. Also, can I borrow your iPod for a second. I'm going to give you the downloads you asked for."
You nodded, still distracted with your chords. "...ah...the song is pretty upbeat and fun...I wanted to see if I could give it a more moving sort of arrangement," you explained idly. Mikasa smiled at you approvingly and left with her item in hand.
You continued to write down your progress, breezing through half the song in less than twenty minutes when your cell phone rang.
Glancing at the time, you wondered what the call could be about. It was almost ten at night, and the only calls you ever received around this time were from your family. However, you saw it was your "boss" of sorts, since she wasn't exactly your boss.
Hanji was a producer, and a fairly well known one at that. You weren't entirely aware of all the artists she worked with, but she has definitely been able to get you the work you needed for the last year now and you couldn't be anymore grateful than you were.
Somehow, you had caught her interest when she found you practically begging for work with personnel at her studio. Whether it was out of pity or something else, you didn't care because she has been supportive of you since day one.
"Hello?" you said politely, laying your guitar over your lap.
"(F/N)!!!" Hanji shouted from the other end, causing you to cringe. She certainly had a lot of energy, but you were use to her very eccentric personality by now. "Sorry to call so late, I was too busy to squeeze in a call earlier but what are you doing at nine tomorrow morning?"
You laughed quietly to yourself. "Oh don't worry, I'd be up for several more hours anyways..." you said. "And I'm usually sleeping in the morning. Why?"
"I need you to come by my office to discuss something with youuuuu," she said, sounding absolutely chipper. "It's really good news so I want to talk to you in person! You'll be here, yes?"
You felt your spirits lift dramatically at her words. "Yes, of course. What's this about?" you pressed, not keen on letting her hang up on you so quickly.
"I'll wait to tell you but I'll leave you with this," she said, pausing for dramatic effect. Actually, she paused a little too long, making you give a strange expression at your phone in anticipaiton. "....I think you got your big break."
"Wait, what!?" you cried, nearly throwing your guitar off your legs. Mikasa, who had been walking by your room again widened her eyes at your enthusiasm.
"Gotta go! See you in the morning! Nine AM sharp!" And with that, Hanji hung up, leaving you very confused and very excited simultaneosly.
"What was that about?" your housemate asked at your door.
You shook your head in disbelief. "I am not really sure, but Hanji wants to have a meeting with me tomorrow about something. All she said was 'I think you got your big break.'"
Mikasa smiled very gently at you. "That's really amazing. Good for you (f/n)."
You did not sleep much that night due to your excitement. However, despite the lack of a good night's sleep, you rose with a certain gusto and went about your morning routine with more energy than you have felt in months. You weren't sure just what Hanji meant by "big break" but you were eager to find out.
By nine in the morning, you were sitting in a small but relatively fancy conference room, waiting for Hanji with a near exploding impatience. It didn't help that had at least three cups of coffee already as well.
"Sorry, sorry," you heard her voice say just outside the door about five minutes after nine. "I didn't realize all of you were coming. She's in here!"
You stood up automatically as the door opened, Hanji sweeping in with a rush of unhinged energy. You smiled politely, only to find yourself go slack-jawed at who filed in after her.
All six members of Attack on Titan walked in, all looking dashing and cool in their own ways, followed closely by a younger, blonde man. Your body froze instantly, practically dazzled by their presence.
"Good morning, (f/n)!" said Hanji with a near crazed grin. "Thanks for coming on such short notice. I believe you know of Attack on Titan, yes? I've been hired to produce their upcoming album. Oh and this Armin's Arlert, their manager."
You gathered your wits together hastily, trying not to appear completely dumbfounded. You mentally admonished yourself to remember that this was business, not a time to be fan. You had no idea that Hanji had been working with a group so well known."It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm (F/n L/n)."
The group greeted you, some with more enthusiasm than others, and Armin shook your hand politely.
"Well, we don't have much time. They have a tight schedule so let's get right to the point!" said Hanji with a clap of her hands. "I recently have shown them a spread of your work and they've taken an interest in them."
Your heart seemed to stop all together for a moment at the news.
"We would like to work with you for our next record," said Armin with a bit of formality. "When Miss Zoe gave me a portfolio of your work, I showed it to the guys here. They were keen on working with you."
"W-with me?" you breathed. You were in shock; when Hanji said your "big break," you had not anticipated this big of a break. Your career would be solidified and skyrocket if you were to be praised by this band. "Wow, uh! ...of course, I'd love to work with you. This is...kind of surreal."
"Why is this such a surprise?" said Levi, completely deadpan and throwing you off guard with his bored expression. "You're a lyricist, aren't you?"
You stood there, a wave of awkwardness cresting over you, and you couldn't find words to express your uneasiness. You already knew stage personas were usually not how an artist is behind the scenes. However, you didn't expect Levi to sound as irritated as he did, especially upon first meeting.
"Ah, that's the beauty of this whole thing!" chimed in Hanji. "(F/n) here has a budding career in the industry, but she holds promise. I wouldn't have given you her portfolio if I thought it was awful." She laughed light-heartedly.
"So what you're saying," said Levi apathetically, "is that she is basically inexperienced."
Now you were growing irritated. This guy was incredibly rude and all the hidden admiration you held for him prior to the meeting dissolved instantly. You did not take kindly to those who injured your pride or who had no sense of general propriety.
"Regardless of my inexperience, Mr. Ackerman," you replied as calmly as you could manage, "you and your band mates took an interest in what I have to offer, so there's merit in what I do. Inexperience doesn't translate into a lack of talent and work ethic. I believe it would be safe to say that at one point in your career, the six of you were just as inexperienced but full of talent and ambition."
You surprised yourself with your small speech, having not thought you would readily defend yourself in front of such A-list pop stars. You wondered if you should have called him out like you did, but there was no room for passive people in the entertainment industry. If you wanted something, you had to fight for it.
"Ooh, I like her," chuckled Jean suddenly, smirk plastered on his face. "She's ballsy."
The strange compliment lifted your spirits slightly as you maintained a strained smile, feeling Levi's eyes bore into the side of your head. You didn't know if he was giving you a death glare or if it was blank stare, but either way, it was making you uncomfortable.
Armin quickly tried to smooth things over with a gentle smile. "Your inexperience is really not of any concern, so I apologize. It wasn't meant as an insult," he said to you. You nodded politely, wondering why their manager was doing the apologizing for one person's idiotic remarks.
"No offense taken," you said.
"Perfect," Armin replied, looking visbly relieved. "We start working on the album next week. We would like to meet with you this Thursday around 2pm to discuss further details on the project, but wanted to ensure you were on board with us."
Again, you nodded politely. "Of course. I am eager to work with you," you said coolly, keeping your most professional air. "You can email me the details of the meeting place and time. It should be under the contact information on the first page of my portfolio."
Armin smiled a little wider. "Thank you, I will have an email sent to you before the day ends." He turned to Hanji. "We must be off, they have an interview with a talk show in forty minutes. Is there anything else before we go?"
"Ah, I believe we covered the bases, Armin. Thank you!" Hanji replied with a broad grin. They shook hands firmly before Armin turned to you, offering his hand.
"We will see you Thursday," he said, shaking your hand.
You returned his smile. "Thank you."
"See ya later, ballsy," said Jean as he left the room. Eren gave you a strange salute over his heart that you didn't understand and the others left without a word.
Levi was the last to file out the door and he was the only one to give you a backwards glance. You raised an eyebrow at him, as his expression appeared more confused than previously bored. The door shut behind him and you shook your head in disbelief at the event that had just unfolded.
Hanji promptly clapped you on the shoulder painfully. "Good work, my little lyricist. You've worked hard to get here," she said with a wink. "You even held your ground against that bite-sized midget with a temper! Not many people can do that, you know!"
You laughed uncomfortably. "I pissed him off. Did you see his face? He looked like he was going to kill me."
"Probably plotting some twisted way to torture youuuu," sang Hanji merrily.
"H-Hanji, don't joke about that," you said hastily. There was no way you wanted to ever end up alone with Levi Ackerman. "I think he actually was."
The energetic producer just laughed again. "Welp. I must go too. Good luck, I'll see you in the studio soon enough!"
************************************
Karma was not on your side, it seemed.
At least, that's what you realized after your meeting with Attack on Titan and its manager that Thursday.
The meeting had started off quite well, most of the band integrating you into their group fairly easily. The meeting was to discuss the overall theme of the new album. Prior to this meeting, you had immersed yourself in their music, gleaning their overall genre and word preferences from each album before.
"We want to take our music into another direction," said Erwin firmly. "I assume you have heard each of our albums, right?"
"I have."
You noticed a cynical look from Levi but you ignored the desire to hit him; as you predicted, he was treating you with heavy disdain.
"For the most part, we have the same sound throughout them," explained their leader. "This album will be a gamble, which is why we decided to rely on another lyricist. We don't want the same type of pop songs we have produced before. We would like to explore a more ballad-filled direction."
You frowned at this and Armin noticed. "What is it, (F/n)?"
With a shrug of your shoulders, you leaned forward in thought. "The route you want for your next album is a great idea, on the surface," you said slowly. You didn't want to push your opinions too forcefully, as you had no foundation yet to stand on to make heavy claims. "But...ballads have to have a lot of...personal feeling from the artist. With your fame, your songs will undoubtedly sell, but do you think your fans will appreciate the direction you want to take?"
You lifted your eyes, only to find some strange stares surrounding you at the table. You probably spoke too soon but you hurried to explain yourself.
"I think every one of you have the talent to belt out love songs, don't get me wrong, and I'm sure your fans will enjoy it," you said hastily. "I just fear that perhaps the songs I write could feel awkward to an audience because they're written from feelings of a woman. Not that I can't write from a man's perspective, but there are some things that simply can't happen, like what it truly is to love a woman.... I'm not sure if I am explaining this very clearly."
"No, I understand your point," said Erwin, looking strangely impressed. "For starters, the track list will be about twelve to fourteen songs and the singles released will be the ballads, but the other tracks will be more light-hearted. That's the plan thus far. However, we want to integrate more instruments into our compositions and not defer to digital sounds like previously. We chose you for your talent in lyrics, but also because your abilities with the piano, guitar, cello, and violin."
This particular statement shocked you. Attack on Titan has always had a very pop-esq feel, mostly digitally produced sounds with an occasional guitar refrain or an intro with the piano.
"I see," you replied, in thought.
Armin chimed in. "As for your previous statement about the awkwardness of writing from a man's perspective," he said, glancing at the rest of the band, "we already have decided prior to the meeting to pair you with our own lyricist. He has been writing the majority of the songs until now. We think if you two were to work together, the songs will have more depth."
Your interest perked up at this. "Who?"
Armin looked very uncomfortable before speaking again. "Levi..."
Your stomach dropped. Of course you were paired with him.
"I'm sorry, what?" he snapped when his name was said, having been zoning out for the last five minutes. You saw the younger members snicker quietly to themselves, as if they were a part of a prank. "You want me to work with this brat?"
Erwin turned a nearly fierce look at Levi before you could even snap your own retort at the name calling. "It's been decided already. You weren't told because I knew you would refuse."
"Well, that's fuckin' dandy but I'm still refusing," said Levi, still completely expressionless.
You found yourself glaring; you've had it up to your neck with his haughty and blatant hatred for you, especially since you had done nothing to him. Before you could stop yourself, you opened your mouth to fire back at him, but then a realization dawned on you.
If you were to rip into him, a member of the most popular boy band at the moment, you could lose your entire career before it even took off. No one would work with you if you were pegged as someone short tempered and without manners.
"Why?" you settled to ask.
Levi turned his hard stare to you. "I don't have the time to babysit your writing. If we hired you as our lyricist, you can do it on your own. That's your job," he said blandly.
You swallowed to keep from letting your anger erupting. "Look, I'm not really sure what I did for you to hate me, but if my conditions to help create this album are to work with you, I will do it," you said. "I agree with Erwin. Having two perspectives will create better lyrics. This doesn't have to be so difficult."
A moment of silence passed over the room an but you continued to hold your stare with Levi.
"Ballsy strikes again!" laughed Jean, smirk crossing his features.
"Shut the fuck up," Levi snapped, rendering Jean completely silent.
"Levi," said Erwin, "your childish pride is unbecoming. As I said before, you will work alongside (F/n) whether you like it or not. No arguments."
Levi made made a noise of annoyance and crossed his arms. "Fine then."
He was silent for the remainder of the meeting, which was to solidify the schedule and deadlines of progress for the next six months. They were planning to release the new album at the start of the new year and begin their world tour shortly after. Up until now, you hadn't realized the concert you attended had been their final one of their most recent tour.
Probably why it sold out so quick, you mused.
Everyone began to pack up at the finish of the meeting, Erwin and Armin filing out almost immediately. You organized your notes, glancing at the phone numbers of the band members and their manager you had scribbled down earlier in case you needed go get a hold of the them, before placing them in a folder. You were feeling both anxious and ecstatic to be working with Attack on Titan and couldn't wait to break the news to Mikasa after the meeting.
Once you rose to a stand, and bade farewell to the others, you turned your gaze to Levi. Truthfully, you wished you could work with someone else, anyone other than Levi, but you knew it was impossible so you steeled yourself to do your best to tolerate this man that hated you.
He was staring at you with the most unimpressed look you've ever come across, having made no effort to move from his seat. Internally, you quelled your desire to roll your eyes at his clear disdain.
"I look forward to working with you," you said politely.
At this, he stood up smoothly and extended a hand. You hesitated to take it but once you shook it, he roughly yanked you towards him.
"Ah!" you yelped, his face close enough to yours that it made you squirm uncomfortably. In any other situation, you would assume he would be attempting to kiss you.
But this was Levi Ackerman, a cruel and calculating man, not some prince in white trying to sweep you off your feet.
"You better not make my life a living hell, you little shit," he said in a low voice, his dark eyes piercing into yours. You couldn't hold your ground and shrank back slightly. "I've worked too hard to get this group to where it's at for an inexperienced lyricist to fuck it up for us. If you and I are working together, you listen to me and follow orders because I don't have the time or patience for your back-sass."
You stared with doe-eyed fear, his grip on your hand vice-like and near painful.
"They may trust your talent blindly but I am not so easily swayed," he continued. "Thus far, you know nothing of this industry, and I expect you to put in a hundred and ten percent in your work. Prove yourself to me first, and I may just cut you some leniency. Your entire career hinges on my opinion of you so I would watch your mouth from now on with me."
You tried to pull away for personal space but he pulled you back, his face even closer to yours than before.
"Have I made myself clear?" he spat.
You swallowed and nodded. "I understand. You won't be disappointed."
"Tch." He released your hand and pulled back with a strange smirk forming at his lips. "For your sake, I hope so. Otherwise, I will be forced to punish you..."
You had no idea if he was suddenly teasing you or if he was genuinely threatening you. His tone was hardly suggestive but that smirk was what threw you off. This man was a complete mystery. Levi left you standing there in the office, frozen in shock at what had transpired.
You collapsed into your seat, trying to calm your heart back down while processing his words. Normally, you would not be intimidated with such behavior...but Levi was admittedly terrifying. He could ruin your career as a lyricist merely because he did not like you.
But your pride and ambition wouldn't allow you to wallow in your sorrow and anger bubbled up from within.
You would prove Levi Ackerman that you were ready for this job, that were talented and strong. There was no way one man would destroy your dream for his own amusement.
You were ready.