the new producer | seventeen

003 : regret

MARCH 2022

a week or two passed after haoyu's wreck of a first day. she has kept up with her workload, removing blocks of paperwork that listed some licensing agreements. 

after completing the track made in the canteen, haoyu showcased the demo to pledis, who would then be selling the instrumentals and melodies to blockberry creative. 

originally, the demo was meant for pledis' girl group fromis_9. however, pledis fumbled the ball and accidentally leaked snippets of the instrumental online. it created a short-lived hype for the track. it was zippy, bouncy and eclectic. 

loona's choerry was seen gassing the track up, which sparked her company to make a move. the ceo then decided to buy it from pledis. 

haoyu, pledis' and blockberry's ceo discussed the monetary value of the track. blockberry made a deal for 78000000 won (around 50k) pledis accepted and sold everything to them. because of her work, haoyu received an abundant pay raise. 

the sale earned her popularity within the company.

she was told to compose on a new track immediately with similar instruments and soundscapes. "it would've definitely put them on the map." pledis' ceo once told her. she agreed and reassured him that new ideas were in the works. 

faxing the last paper to blockberry, haoyu sat down in her luscious new chair and exhaled a long sigh. she was tired, but a happy tired. work was being completed and the results of her fruition were abundant and plentiful. 

the incident with jihoon completely slipped by her. 

on the other hand, jihoon couldn't handle the guilt anymore. chatter of haoyu's name made its way into his space. even his own group members were talking about her. 

"she has the talent." SEOKMIN, his friend and fellow member said. him, jihoon, WONWOO, MINGYU, MINGHAO and DINO were all together at a korean restaurant. 

conversation about her ensued when mingyu, out of the blue, asks, "have you guys heard about that new producer that joined three weeks ago?"

"she apparently produced a track for loona, then got promoted. wah, and it hasn't even been a month." dino slurps on some kimchi soup. 

"it wouldn't be that farfetched. i heard she composed a whole bunch of girl group debut songs and comebacks." dokyeom sips his lemonade before eyeing jihoon, who hadn't touched his ribs. 

"her name is haoyu, right? i think she's chinese." minghao states, licking his chopsticks clean. 

"i heard she's really pretty." mingyu adds, earning a suspicious look from his older. "relax, you're still on that damn dating ban after you decided to ask a girl for her number." wonwoo points his chopsticks at him accusingly. 

"okay?! she was very attractive, and i happen to like attractive women!" mingyu exclaims. 

more conversation ensues, and seokmin made his move. 

"jihoon-hyung, you okay? you haven't eaten your ribs. and the ribs are the ones you demolish first. and you went all quiet after we started about that producer. did something happen? he asked with concern written on his face. 

curse seokmin and his incredible senses. 

attention fell on him, and his eyes flickered from everyone's face before looking down at his dormant chopsticks. 

"i made a mistake. i.. i hurt her feelings." 

"who, the girl?" 

"yeah. i was rude to her when we first met. fuck, it's making me so guilty." jihoon runs his fingers through his hair, bringing his hands to his face. he groans loudly and guiltily. the members look at each other, concern and confusion on their faces.

"hyung, what did you do?" dino questions. 

"i was annoyed. the company came to me and asked if an assistant producer would be good for me. i told them no and they persuaded me to go with it anyway. they brought her to my studio after i told them i was fine. i was..." he trails off before sighing, raising his head up to look them all in the eye.

"..frustrated and i took it out on her. i heard her crying after she left." this earns him looks of both sympathy and disapproval. 

"i did it on her first day of work. and it seemed like she was already having a bad day because she got chewed out for being late. i want to apologize, but she avoids me like the plague." 

"hyung.." minghao sighs. 

"it sounded like a good deal though? you're already overworked." mingyu adds, her eyebrows furrowed. jihoon feels his neck growing red, embarrassed at how stupid the next thought sounds out loud. 

"i thought they were gonna replace me at first." this earned exclaims from the table. 

he continues. "i was insecure when we debuted and that feeling hasn't gone away. i worry the company won't like the things i put out. im worried our fans wouldn't either. i've become a perfectionist. i cannot stop stressing about our album. we already suffered the loss last year. for some time, i thought it was a sign that she would be replacing me." jihoon's eyes stung. 

dino, mingyu, seokmin, wonwoo and minghao all look at each other once more. mingyu speaks first. 

"the jihoon who won multiple awards for best producer? the mastermind behind our biggest title tracks and albums? hyung, even if they were planning to let you go, we would still fight for you." he replies. jihoon's eyes met his and felt nothing but sincerity and genuinity in his gaze. 

the tears threatened to fall were now streaming down his cheeks. 

"yeah, they would have to go through us before even thinking about cutting you off. we're 13, not 12. we have 13 rings, not 12. you belong here. no person could replace you. even when you're not performing your best, or you can't think of new ideas for our music, we'll be right besides you." minghao reassures, receiving a chorus of agreements. 

jihoon hugs seokmin on his right before getting smushed by dino's chest from behind. the members across watch with sincerity and fondness. 

he wipes his eyes, still clinging onto seokmin's body for comfort. "thank you guys. i really needed that." 

"next time you start thinking like that, i won't hesitate to get joshua-hyung's guitar and beat you over the head with it." dino said seriously, earning him obnoxious laughter from mingyu and wonwoo.

"do you wanna eat now or later?" seokmin questions softly, breaking off from the conversation. "later. i'm so tired." 

"sleep all you want. we'll be here." wonwoo replies, his deep voice lulling his friend to sleep.