Claiming Them

Adjustments

December 1, 2019

Han was at his computer, as usual, with Holly in his lap and noise canceling headphones on his head. The track he was working on hand been frustrating him for the last several days. It didn't sound right. It shouldn't be so upbeat and happy sounding. It was a love song, sure, but not that kind of love song. It needed more oomph. He'd been so concentrated on this that he hadn't even noticed the presence behind him, until a dainty hand touched his shoulder, and he looked up to see Stella looking down at him in mild annoyance. Those brilliantly blue eyes pinned him to his seat and all he could do was reach up and lower the headphones. "What's up, Sugar?"

"What's up?" she asked, a note of danger in her voice that made Han cringe. "YoHan Cho, you said you'd be up in twenty minutes."

"Yeah, like ten minutes ago."

"Ten minutes?" Stella's eyes flashed. "YoHan it's been an hour and a half!" Han felt himself deflate, and his chin dropped to his chest.

"Fuck," he rumbled. Stella softened a little, and when Han looked up, her eyes had lost some of their ice, but it was still obvious that she was not happy with him. "Sugar, I'm sorry. I didn't realize I'd gotten so in the zone."

"Han, you can't keep doing this. This was supposed to be our night to spend together while Joe's out. How are we supposed to form a relationship if you can prioritize work and time with me?" Han could hear the hurt in her voice, and he hated it. This was how it always went with girlfriends. He just couldn't seem to find a work life balance and it always wound up with them resenting him for it, or simply not being able to take it anymore and leaving.

"I'm sorry, Stell," he said through a sigh. "I don't know what else I can say. I'm bad at this stuff, and I always have been. I get sucked into what I'm creating, and I just don't come out. Joe's used to it, and I haven't had a real girlfriend in so long that I've forgotten how to come up for air."

Stella sighed and pushed her tongue into her cheek, her arms crossed, and one hip cocked. Those brilliant eyes were focused on a spot on the ceiling and for a moment, Han thought she might just start yelling, but instead, she did something that took him completely by surprise. She blew a quick breath out of her nose and came forward to plop onto his lap. "What are you working on?"

He froze for a second, eyes wide and arms to the side, before a smile crossed his face, and he pulled her closer to him and unplugged his headphones. "It's a love song. Kind of a ballad, but I just can't seem to get the track right. It's just not flowing. I feel like it needs more oomph, but I'm not sure what." He hit play and the two of them listened for a few minutes, Stella's brow raising with every beat. When it ended, she looked up at him and asked, "Have you ever heard Send Me an Angel by The Scorpions?"

"No. Why?"

Stella pointed at the computer and asked, "May I?" She smiled when Han nodded and pulled up YouTube to show him the song. Once she'd found it, she sat back against him while it played on the big speakers, and watched as Han's eyes widened with every note. When the song finished, he looked down at her with a sparkle in his eyes that she had never seen before.

"Sella," he said with a massive grin, "You're a fucking genius." His hands found both sides of her face and he kissed her full on the mouth. When he pulled away, she blinked a few times and smiled.

"Glad you think so, but why am I a genius?"

"Because this is exactly what I was missing. This is exactly what it needs. What all of our songs have needed."

"But you're a pop group," she said. "I don't think seven vocalists really work with songs like this."

"It doesn't need to," Han picked her up and carried her over to the bed, where he plopped both of them down on the comforter. "Me, Jay, Jude aren't vocalists. Jude and I can't carry a real tune in a bucket, and Jay sings, but it's not really his thing. He likes to move. Feel the beat with every nerve in his body. Levi and Joe are vocalists, but their real love is guitar. Min and Ky are the ones who wanna sing and dance. They're the front men. They're the ones that want to be there."