Jihoon slowly opened the front door of their dorm, not to wake the other members up because it's still very early in the morning. He planned to stay longer at Hyunsuk's place but the older Omega kept on chasing him away. He wanted the Omega to get enough rest so he surrendered and went back to the dorm. Just to meet Kim Junkyu who's standing in front of the door right after he closed the door. He was so shocked that he almost shouted. Luckily he can control it fast. If not, he'll just disturb the other member's sleep with his loud voice. He knows that as an idol, they need to get as much rest as possible for their insane schedules daily. Especially for Junghwan who's still a high school student.
"What are you doing? You startled me," Jihoon said in a whispering tone but loud enough for Junkyu to hear him even though they were a few meters away.
"Where are you from? Do you know what time it is now?" Junkyu asked. "Are you looking for another Cinderella subject or what?"
"I've told Woohyun hyung that I'll be late. And he said okay," Jihoon said. "In fact, I didn't look for another Cinderella subject. I just met the one and only Cinderella that I ever had,"
"Oh? You met that Cinderella? Did they even know that they would suddenly make you famous like this?" Junkyu asked.
"He knows, I suppose," Jihoon said. "It has been everywhere for days already,"
"Will you be alright?" Junkyu asked.
"Why?"
"I saw that our schedule suddenly changed. And yours is extremely packed. What's happening? Will you be okay with that?" Junkyu asked.
"Junkyu-ya. Remember that you told me to have someone that I want to make them proud of who I am, right? I've found it. And they want me to get a main award as Park Jihoon instead of T5 for him to finally consider dating me," Jihoon said. "And I've told the company as well. They are fine with that as long as I didn't cause any controversies. Mr Song even suggesting some works that I should take,"
"I didn't really mean that you have to date that person. I just ask you to make sure that you have someone that you want them to be proud of. It can be our fans, or your parents or just someone that you don't necessarily need to date. Ugh," Junkyu said. "The company is okay with that? Did they know this person? What kind of person asks someone to get a main award for them to consider a date? Is this person that famous to ask you to do so?"
'Yeah," Jihoon said. "It's 7chill-nim,"
"7chill?! The person in question, Cinderella, is 7chill? The composer for our upcoming comeback title song? Are you crazy?" Junkyu asked.
"What? Why?" Jihoon asked.
"Okay. First, he is indeed very famous. He's way too far from our reach. For him to be willing to compose for us, you know how long the company asked him for it? 2 years. He said that his style probably won't fit our concept but finally agreed to do so after our last comeback. And because he likes Doyoung and Junghwan's voice in last comeback," Junkyu said. "Second, he won't date you, Park Jihoon. I've heard a lot about him. He will only get an Alpha who's older than he is and get close to them for 7 months before he asks that Alpha to go out with him. But those Alpha rejected him every time. It has been 5? Eh! No. 6th time a few days ago. And that Alpha told him that he's too independent for him and just fine if they stay as friends,"
"How did you know a lot about him? More than I am?" Jihoon asked.
"Because your cousin is close to him," Junkyu said.
"Which cousin? Jeongwoo?" Junkyu asked.
"Yeah. He's in Rainbow Cloud Entertainment's sub company, Golden Touch Music. 7chill often asked him to record a demo for him," Junkyu said. "You didn't know? You know nothing about 7chill? Even from your cousin?"
"We didn't talk about other people when we met up. I didn't know who he's close with. He didn't even ask me about T5 whenever we met. I didn't even know that you're close with him," Jihoon said.
"Huh? Seriously?" Junkyu asked. "Is he really the Cinderella that you told that show about?"
"Yeah. It's probably after he got rejected by that Alpha he's trying to date," Jihoon said. For some reason, he feels pissed off that he knows nothing about the older Omega. And the person who is well known for not making too many friends knows Hyunsuk more than he does.
"7chill has been the one who initiated it. And for you, a younger Alpha who's the one who initiated it first, I feel bad for you. You should just give up," Junkyu said.
"But he kissed me first," Jihoon said.
"You guys kissed?!" Junkyu almost couldn't control his voice because he's too surprised at that statement. "It's not just a fluffy fairytale story but a hot and steamy one? Did you sleep with him? Oh?! Is that why you went and saw him? You know where 7chill lives? OMG. Did Jeongwoo know about this? I need to ask him about it,"
"He said that he'll consider it if I won a main award. It's still a long journey, I know," Jihoon said. He know it well that he probably won't get chosen by Hyunsuk. But he still want to push his limit to meet Hyunsuk's expectation. Or even exceed it. If he ever won the main award, but Hyunsuk still won't date him, he'll accept it. But Hyunsuk will still be the person who he wanted to show his best side to. Jihoon already decided it after he realized how just by meeting that older Alpha make him believe that he is the one for him. The one that can give him the courage that he has been seeking for all this time. Junkyu noticed that the leader looked down after he said that. Well, those are the truth tho. But still, it's not like he like seeing his friend down like this.
"Jihoon-ah. Look. If he ever considers you as one of those Alpha, you'll be the 7th trial. Don't you think it's a good sign? And you have been a reliable leader for us for years. I just want you to be more confident about yourself, Park Jihoon. Because I know that your potential is way bigger than what you have been shown," Junkyu said. "Go and take a rest. Your schedule is packed tomorrow,"
°
"You are unexpectedly a fun guy, Jihoon-ssi," Yook PD said. "You're going to survive in this industry for a long time. I wonder why you didn't join any major shows. I'm pretty sure there's a lot of shows reaching out for you,"
"Oh. Thank you. It's not much. It probably looks like I am a fun guy because you lead and produce the show well. The staff members are working hard to assist me and the others," Jihoon said. Actually, he didn't get a lot of those. Not as much as during the T5 debut promotion era. When T5 just debuted they got a lot of invitations to guest on shows. During that time, Jihoon worked so hard to make himself appealing to the audiences and he did get quite a lot of attention from the show's producers. As time passed, Jihoon felt like his work didn't really do much for the group.
Jihoon noticed that even though he has been working so hard, it is not like everyone will like it. He often saw comments stating that he stole the other members' spotlight and trying too hard to make himself get the attention. It was never his intention. It was fine at first but little by little, it did hurt his self esteem. Junkyu keeps on reminding him that he's doing fine. But still, Jihoon feels like he needs to listen to the audience, the public. He stops doing all the talking when he's attending shows with his members and lets the others do it more.
"When Yurim told me that he wanted me to put you in our upcoming episode, I didn't really have a high hope for that to be honest. Your company has been asking if I can invite you to our shows sometimes. But the staff members and production crews keep having other individuals that they want to appear on our show. And after your viral clip a few days ago, Yurim was there when you guys were filming and convinced the team to invite you. Seems like we didn't make a wrong choice. It will be a good episode," Yook PD said.
"Thank you very much. I will work even harder," Jihoon said.
"Oh! We are going to film a new season of a variety show soon. Most of the cast members are already being picked and they are currently reviewing. I'm going to send a proposal about it to your company. I'm looking forward to working with you again," Yook PD said.
"Wait! Is it Housemate?" Jihoon asked. He knows about the show. Everyone in South Korea knows about the show because past seasons are extremely popular. The very first season was 4 years ago, featuring famous idol group members and actors as the cast members and well known celebrities as their panel. The second and third season also got a lot of hype as well. For him to be featuring in a popular show like that, it's still a dream.
"You know well. Yes. It is. If everything is alright, we will start filming next month," Yook PD said. "I'm looking forward to working with you, Park Jihoon. Keep it up,"
Jihoon nodded and bowed as Yook PD walked away. Jihoon slapped his cheek with his own hand. It still feels like a dream. It's an acknowledgement from a big name in the industry. Even if he couldn't do the variety show, knowing that Yook PD told him that he wanted him to join him for a variety show, even though it's probably just Yook PD only talking, he's very grateful.
"You look so happy," Woohyun said. "You're doing great while filming. I feel like they'll show you a lot on the show. When will the episode air? Oh! Next Monday,"
"Can we go to Rainbow Cloud after this?" Jihoon suddenly asked.
"Huh? For what?" Woohyun asked while still scrolling on his tablet. Checking Jihoon's next schedule.
"Um.. To meet my cousin?"
"Jeongwoo is not in the Rainbow Cloud. He's in Golden Touch, Jihoon-ah," Woohyun said.
"Both are in the same building though," Jihoon said.
"You never went there if you were going to meet your cousin ever since your cousin entered the record company. And we have a schedule at the venue that is the opposite direction from Rainbow Cloud. So, no no," Woohyun said. "You met 7Chill yesterday and are going to meet him tomorrow too. If you miss him so much, just call him or something. It's not like he's someone who's always free. He even have a schedule today,"
"How did you know that he has a schedule?" Jihoon asked.
"My friend is one of the managers in Rainbow Cloud. I saw his post earlier and asked which artist he's taking care of today because the company didn't really assign him for a specific artist. And he told me that 7Chill is currently has a radio schedule,"
"Really?" Jihoon asked. Woohyun showed a picture that his friend sent earlier. Jihoon smiled as he saw the picture. Well. He's very popular in South Korea though. Even up till this day, he's still one of the most well known artists. Hyunsuk is not only a composer and lyricist. He is also a rapper who sings well, an entertainer who got invited to many variety and talk shows and he even did some acting by making cameos on dramas and films.
"You said that you're going to work hard to get on his level, right? So, do it properly. Look at how high he is right now. Your viral clip from EnterTalk was a lucky one for you to get an opportunity to become even bigger in this industry. So, make sure that you're not going to put it to waste," Woohyun said.
Jihoon knows that it will be really hard for him to reach where Hyunsuk is now. But he's going to work for it. For him to get the acknowledgement from Hyunsuk. For him to be someone that Hyunsuk can be proud of. Yes. His decision is too sudden. For him to suddenly want to date Hyunsuk and willing to do anything to date the Omega, he knew it might sound crazy. But that's what his heart tells him to do. For him and his career as well.
"I'm going to get the car. Wait at the lobby," Woohyun said. Jihoon just nodded. Jihoon took out his phone and turned on the radio where Hyunsuk was guesting on. Looking at the time, the segment was supposed to not end yet. Jihoon wanted to test his luck if he could listen to Hyunsuk's voice as soon as he tuned in or not.
"Yeah. I have a lot of collections. Shoes, figurines, legos. I have so much that I feel like I need to move into a bigger house now," Jihoon heard Hyunsuk's voice as soon as he tuned in. Bigger house? His condominium is big enough though. "But yeah. I'm trying to hold my urge to buy more,"
"That's our 7chill for you. Okay. Next question. From ID sevenlucky0088-nim. Why is it so hard to see you on the street? Did you even leave your studio?" The DJ read the question. "Oh! It's a weird one I just read. Your answer, 7chill?"
"Of course I went out. I took a stroll a lot. But I didn't do it too long because I always got inspiration and went back to my studio," Hyunsuk said. "I can't be productive just sitting inside my studio. There are sometimes I'm feel like I can't produce anything, I walked out alone to look for inspiration,"
"How fast did you get your inspiration after leaving your studio?" The DJ asked.
"One step after I leave my studio," Hyunsuk said. "That was when I make Twizzy's Take My Hand,"
"Oh! That's a big one. But you're a really talented producer. Every song that you make always gets the spotlight," the DJ said.
"I'm thankful for that. I'm glad that people enjoy my work," Hyunsuk said.
"Did anyone recognize you when you took a stroll?" The DJ asked.
"Hm.. Someone did recognize me. I was a little drunk and someone called my full name. Choi Hyunsuk. I was like, how did you know my name?" Jihoon lifted his eyebrows as he heard that. Isn't Hyunsuk talking about him?