Page 22 of A World Apart
It doesn’t take long to get to Pisces from our apartment by bus. Just long enough for me to change my mind back and forth, oh, half a dozen times by the time we got to my stop, a few minute’s walk from the building.
Despite my inconstant thoughts, my legs kept propelling me onwards. Just like how my hand reached into my pocket and withdrew my keycard and then swiped it against the black pad next to the side entrance door.
“Earbuds,” I muttered to myself as I pushed open the door and walked into the cool lobby and towards the elevators.
“He’s not even here,” I muttered as I got off on the third floor.
“See?” I said to myself as I opened my locker and grabbed my little earbud case.
As if on instinct, I looked down the corridor to where Becka’s office was. Obviously though, she was still at home, presumably still on the sofa watching Netflix. There were a couple people in though; there always were. Pisces was a famous studio and we had clients all over the world in different time zones.
I pressed the call button for the elevator and waited. Slapping my keycard against my palm, tapping my foot on the floor, humming to myself.
This elevator was taking ages.
“Bollocks to it,” I hissed and shoved open the door to the stairwell and stomped down the steps.
When I got to the door to the second floor, I stopped. I lingered and debated with myself. Me, myself, and I all knew he was probably here. Time is money, you never want to spend longer than needed on studio time.
My fingers lightly pressed against the metal plate of the door, hesitating.
I suppose I could briefly see if he’s here. No harm in a quick look. And I’m here, after all. Sounded reasonable to me, so I pushed against the door and entered the second floor.
It was dark in the corridor. Only the low-level emergency lights, the green ‘Exit’ sign, and the red light above the door to Studio 3 were on. The light above the door indicated that not only was the studio occupied, but that it was currently in use.
The ceiling spotlights came on as I walked down the corridor, not that I needed the light to see where I was going. I couldn’t hear anything the closer I got, but that could have been because of the excellent soundproofing in the rooms.
In this instance, it was because there was actually no sound being made. The producer’s deck was empty, the big, padded chair turned around and empty.
My heart sank, the room was empty.
I looked up at the red light, puzzled, but then, why −
And that’s when I saw Jihoon pushing open the door that led to the vocal booth. He stopped by the empty producer’s chair and took a drink from the water bottle he was holding. In the process of tipping his head back, he looked over to the door, spotting me peeping in the porthole window, like some sort of creeper.
Quickly, I ducked back out of view, heart hammering.
A moment later, the door to the studio opened and Jihoon poked his head out. He smiled at me, a surprised, but pleased smile.
“Kaiya! I didn’t think you’d be here today,” he said, stepping out fully into the corridor, letting the studio door close behind him. It did not escape my attention that this brought us closer together. Close enough that I could just reach out my hand...
“Ah, I forgot these yesterday,” I said, waving my earbuds case like it was evidence. “I just came in to get them.”
He made an ‘ah’ sound and shoved his hands in his pockets. I wondered if it occurred to him that I probably could have retrieved my earbuds without the detour to his studio.
“Where’s TK?” I asked to cover the burgeoning silence.
He frowned, cocking his head to the side. “TK?” And then his expression cleared. “Oh! Trevor Kyle, TK.”
I giggled. Good grief. There was something about this man that reduced me to a simpering teenager.
“Yeah, sorry,” I cringed, “bad habit.”
He waved his hands. “No, no, I get it.” A look passed his face that I couldn’t decipher.
“You know,” he started, looking down at the floor and toeing the carpet with his black boots, “you can call me Joon. If you want.” he amended quickly. “Most people do. It’s easier than saying my full name.” It could have been the glow of the red light above us, but I could have sworn his face pinked up. Adorable.
I smiled, feeling fluttery.
