Earphone Buddies | J.J.K (Complete)

Our Old Friends (ep 26)

Bang PD-nim's POV

A few days ago, two of my boys came to see me with a request; Seokjin and Namjoon, who I've known for years.

"Could you please hire Y/N and Kat, PD-nim?" they said to me. I met the girls and I said no, knowing that their relationships could get in the way of their jobs. But I could tell that they would make good employees, and they probably weren't going to get good career jobs without support. So I was on my way to a meeting with my dear old friend Jin-young Park, to recommend them to him.

When my car pulls up in front of their building, I suck in a breath. I haven't visited since they moved buildings, and although we own a very large building, theirs is still impressive. Glass rectangles form outside walls with concrete accents around the slightly rounded corner of the building. I can see faint hints of trees on the roof, to match those down here in front. We should consider something similar. It would make a small but nice difference, and maybe get some attention for being 'environmentally friendly', which is something that I know we need to focus on more. I'll add it to my 'to-do' list.

Stepping out of the car, I straighten my suit jacket, making sure my tie is falling perfectly straight. After walking into the lobby, I take another minute to admire their choice of decor. It's subtle but still pretty, with pictures of each of their artists and some themed furniture to match; a pink TWICE couch in one corner, a few Stray Kids chairs in another, and a wall that fans can use to pose like ITZY's new concept photos. A few other mementos that fans can take pictures with are dotted around the room, somehow not clashing. I spy Day6, Got7, and 2PM, among others. (okay, why do they all have numbers in their names? I'm just now finding this and it seems a little strange like what's the story behind that?)

I walk to the reception desk and explain to the well-dressed woman there that I'm Bang Si-hyuk, and I'm here to see Mr. Jin-young Park. She nods.

"Please follow me, sir. He's expecting you." She stands up and I follow her as she makes her way to a door and scans a pass around her neck, granting her passage farther into the building. She leads me into a waiting room not unlike my own back in the BigHit building, and tells me to please be seated and he'll be right out to see me. As I sit down, my efforts to straighten up my appearance go out the window; but when I see my old friend, I stand up not caring about my looks.

We shake hands firmly, each gripping the other's hand tightly and holding our right forearm with the left hand to show respect. I smile at him, "It's been too long, my friend."

"Likewise. It's nice to see you," he responds with his signature smile. It flattens his nose a bit, and creases his cheeks where the edge of his mustache would be if he had one. His eyebrows are arched up just like I remember, making him look condescendingly mischievous. His hair stands on end, probably from running his hands through it as he works. I see him evaluating me as I scan him, and we both have wide smiles on our faces.

There's something about starting a company together that bonds you for life, even if I did leave eventually. But both of us have done well, and I don't think either of us are still bitter about the separation. We both know that it was the right thing to do, even if it didn't seem that way back then.

He leads me back into his office, seating me in a comfortable chair as he sits down across from me, leaning back and crossing a foot over his other knee. He is the picture of ease, but I've known him long enough to know that he's questioning my purpose for suddenly scheduling a meeting. I think it's only the fact that we're old friends that caused him to allow me on such short notice.

"So, Si-hyuk-ah, what brings you here?" he asks curiously.

"Oh, where to start..." I try to collect my thoughts. "I'm here for a favor, actually. As I'm sure you know, Jungkook is dating now, which opens up some issues, but we're going to try to ignore them because of the prophecy. You know about the dream I had, right?" I pause, and he nods in agreement.