E2 Baek x Jackson

@✵ jackson wang ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ "You think you can just only produce for 20/20 if you say so?" Baekhyun snorted, spinning once beneath the faucet to rinse himself clean. "Just say you'll miss me—no need to be shy about it." Not in the mood to go to bed without clothes that particular night, Baekhyun slipped into a large shirt and a pair of boxers, only towelling his head dry before heading out to look for Mongryong. He hoisted the dog up by his waist to bring him to bed, and they crawled under the covers together to analyze the video again. Baekhyun turned the volume up a little, wondering if he would pick up on anything that he didn't hear in his shock in that moment.

@✵ byun baekhyun ²⁰/²⁰ "I'll change my contract to only produce songs for your group," Jackson said, taking the opportunity to run his hands down Baekhyun's hips as he scrubbed the younger from the back. He thought about going in for a kiss, but then the thought of what he had witnessed at the company earlier had his body recoiling from doing anything too physical. They didn't need to remember that memory by doing something reminiscent of it. "Silly, if I quit, who's going to produce music for you and Yibo? She already has it out for you. You really think she'll just find you another producer? And one who's actually going to give you song tracks that work for your group dynamics?" he challenged the younger right back.

@✵ jackson wang ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Perhaps it was the exhaustion and the trauma talking, but nothing Jackson was saying made sense. "If you're going to be a full-time producer, then why would you be allowed to not write for the others? Then you're going to have even more time to write for them." Baekhyun was quick with his shower, wanting nothing more but to lie in bed. "Hyung, you can quit. You just have to give thirty days notice and then you're free." Of course, Baekhyun would miss going to work with Jackson, but his happiness was more important. "Wash my back for me?"

@✵ byun baekhyun ²⁰/²⁰ Jackson had thought about skipping his shower for the night, but with Baekhyun beckoning to him, he followed behind the younger instinctively. "Yeah, I'm coming," he said. He just wanted to wipe the night out of his memory, but as they stepped into the shower, a sense of dissatisfaction finally seemed to dawn upon him. "I'm not going to write music for the other artists anymore," Jackson said. "I'm actually planning on talking to her to change my assignment from rap coach to full-time producer." He stood behind Baekhyun as they began to wet their bodies and soap themselves up, "That way I don't have to deal with her bull and work so hard either."

@✵ jackson wang ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ "We've still got years left on our slave contract," Baekhyun reminded Jackson, releasing Mongryong from the dread of having his feet cleaned. He was dead tired, but seeing his boss woke him up. He was afraid of going to sleep, for a fear of Boa appearing in his nightmares. He ambled upstairs with Jackson, rubbing at his eyes and wishing he could gouge them out. The funny part about the entire overreaction he was having was that Baekhyun and Jackson had done the exact same thing in the company multiple times over the years—but at least they were smart enough to not get caught. "I need to shower," Baekhyun said. "Coming?"

@✵ byun baekhyun ²⁰/²⁰ "Knowing how insane her mind is, she probably will try to have it her way, both ways." Jackson said with a shrug. The shared understanding that they had witnessed something so unholy and unsightly that even holy water wouldn't be able to cleanse their eyes out was enough for them to sit through the rest of the ride in silence. Upon returning home, Jackson felt like he just needed to call it for the night. The shower and everything could wait until morning time. "Don't think about it baby," he said, fighting back a gag as he remembered the sickly sweet pet names that Ji Changwook had used for Boa. "I know it's still a bit too early to say this but...we should definitely start looking for other employment opportunities."

@✵ jackson wang ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ "So I wasn't wrong to say half the company revenue comes from us," Baekhyun mumbled, feeling a little slighted that Boa had chosen /that/ comment out of everything he'd said on company grounds to pick at. Sure, he could be a little quieter when he was talking , but it wasn't exactly a secret that 20/20 were by and far the most successful act at DSF. "Well, she can't have it both ways, you know? She can't want to sabotage us but take the profit, too." Unfortunately, an unreasonable person like Boa could do whatever she wanted. Baekhyun waited for Yibo's response, but when there was none by the time they reached home, he pocketed it to bring Mongryong into the house. "I accidentally thought about it again," he said as he wiped Mongryrong's feet, knowing he did not have to elaborate for Jackson to get the point. "I want to throw up... that's seriously disgusting."

@✵ byun baekhyun ²⁰/²⁰ Though they knew that the video was now in Baekhyun's phone storage, neither of them seemed to want to revisit it. Jackson started up the engine, wanting to get home and wash his eyes out before anything else. "He's the one who found them. Dogs have a really good sense of smell, so I wouldn't be surprised if he had to smell it all this time too," Jackson said, checking on their dog in the back of the car as he started to pull out of the lot. He checked his rearview more once more, just to make sure they weren't being creepily stalked by the two lovebirds. "She doesn't want to terminate the contract because it's true you guys make the most money for this company," Jackson explained once they were safely on the highway. Your net album sales alone are enough to pay for the rest of the trainees' dance and rap classes for half a year, what does that tell you?" Jackson asked, "Plus the concert venues that your manager secures for you guys are always sold out. Money talks, princess."

@✵ jackson wang ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ "I did get it..." Baekhyun held his phone in his lap, cradling it as if the video could even be of any use to them. He wasn't sure what he was thinking when he started recording, but now that they were away from the scene of action, Baekhyun realized it was quite useless to have. "Well, we already knew she didn't like us before, but to actively sabotage us? Why not just agree to mutually terminate the contract?" Baekhyun chewed on the inside of his cheek—it was all a lot of process. "Let's go home first, hyung. Then we can think about what to do." Slumping down in his seat, Baekhyun messaged Yibo 'I just saw CEO Boa having with Ji Changwook'. Yibo was probably asleep by now, but it still couldn't wait. "Mongryong must be traumatized."

@✵ byun baekhyun ²⁰/²⁰ Taking the hint from Baekhyun on when it was time to retreat, Jackson backed away from the door quietly, rushing towards the stairs instead of trigging the sound from the elevator. By the time they got to the parking lot, they were panting for air. Jackson locked the car door as if that would somehow protect them from Boa creeping up on them in the middle of the empty lot. He turned to Baekhyun, shaking his head, "No that was the bodyguard she brings around with her. I remember his voice from the time we had a staff meeting." His eyes panned to Baekhyun's phone, "You got it all on video right? She has it out for us. You, me, even Yibo. That woman is a ing snake."

@✵ jackson wang ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Boa laughed through her loud moans. "I won't be satisfied until I've driven them into the ground. Cocky sons of es."

Baekhyun wanted to throw up. Hearing Boa insult him and his friends wasn't even surprising to Baekhyun. As much as Baekhyun talked about her, she probably had her fair share of smack about him too. In fact, he's said much worse that the things she was saying about them. But the sights? The sounds? The /smell/? This was something Baekhyun could've gone without witnessing for ten lifetimes. As horrible as it all was, he couldn't tear his eyes away, committing every detail to memory so he could retell the story to Yibo as the man picked up his s. The pair reached their release together, both loud enough to tear down the building. Baekhyun ended his video and scooped Mongryong up by his thick midsection, backing up as the things in the studio began to wrap up. He grabbed Jackson with his free hand, not daring to until they made it to the carpark and were sitting safely inside the car. "That... Was it me, or that's not Nichkhun?"

@✵ byun baekhyun ²⁰/²⁰ Jackson forcefully tore his eyes away from the nasty sight in front of them, but somehow just hearing the was worse than having the visual to go with it. Jackson saw how Baekhyun was fidgeting to grab his phone and his bit down hard on his lower lip to prevent any noise from coming out in his shock. Boa's each moan sounded so nasally and pitchy that Jackson could feel himself turning gayer and gayer with each moment he stared at the couple.

Even if he was not the one being insulted, Jackson knew how derogatory the term was that Boa was using to describe Yibo. As a fellow Chinaman himself, Jackson felt offended on the idol's behalf, and he fisted up his pants in disappointment at her ignorance. If she truly thought Baekhyun and Yibo were not good enough for their company, then it would be no problem if Baekhyun and Yibo started up their own company to rival hers. In that moment, Jackson already knew he would have no problem giving financial support to them.

The man, whose voice was starting to sound more and more familiar to Jackson, continued to her ego, "You're right baby. You need to show them their place. Drive them into the mud so that even their fans turn their backs on them. See who'll come begging you for help then. You'll have them in the palm of your hand, my love."

@✵ jackson wang ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Boa laughed, though it was cut off by a moan. "Then how else am I going to milk those trainees for all they're worth? If I knew you were so unadventurous, I would've agreed to stay in my office."

Baekhyun's head was spinning. Curfew? Meet up in the middle of the night? Unadventurous? Stay in the office? He shuffled half a step closer, horrified yet intrigued at the same time. The busybody in him /needed/ to know what was happening. He reached out to clutch Jackson's arm, wanting to stop him from running in or running away. Inside the studio, the two people paused so Boa could turn around and lean over the desk she was just lying on. Baekhyun almost threw up on the spot. He pressed his hand over his mouth to hold back a gag.

The man fisted up Boa's hair in his hand, pulling her head back as he pushed inside her again. "Even without your curfew, that Baekhyun and Yibo are giving you a run for your money."

Baekhyun mentioned! Yibo mentioned! Baekhyun pulled out his phone to record, and the video in the frame shook as if he was in an earthquake.

Boa scoffed between moans. "That jjangkkae should know he should be more careful—it's all because he's friends with that one who thinks he's singlehandedly bringing in half the revenue for this company. I'm going to—ah!—put them in their place!"

@✵ byun baekhyun ²⁰/²⁰ Jackson couldn't just let Baekhyun wander off to find out the source of the noise by himself, so he followed carefully behind the younger. It was the most unsightly thing in the world for him to see none other than his boss with her legs wrapped around a man, hair disheveled and shoes and under garments flung haphazardly on the floor. He gawked in disgust, then looked down at Baekhyun to see if the younger was as equally traumatized as he was. On top of that, the two adulterers seemed to be talking about him! Jackson didn't hear his name being said, but who else would opt to stay at this run-down company and still work their off to produce music without even making any extra money for it? He held onto Baekhyun's arms though when his boyfriend twitched, already knowing what was going on in Baekhyun's mind.

The man, whose face was still obscured, continued to with forceful movements, though he paused between every few to add as a comment, "Maybe you should enforce some company policy to have a curfew. That way we wouldn't have to wait until the middle of the night to meet up like this."

@✵ jackson wang ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Baekhyun bit back his own scream when a shrill scream broke the tension. He froze, wanting nothing more than to run, but Mongryong wasn't coming back to him. Instead, he pawed at the door, and the noises continued from inside the room. At first, Baekhyun thought it was a scream of fury because the ghost had discovered them, but after a long moment, he finally realized what he was hearing.

Who the hell was having so loudly in the building at this time of night? Baekhyun shifted to the door, peeking in the gap Mongryong had created. There was a woman—no doubt she was the source of all those ghastly sounds—with a man between her legs. His back faced the door, making it hard to discern who he was, but there was no doubt who the woman on the table was. Baekhyun turned his trembling eyes to Jackson for a second as if to confirm what he was seeing before he peeked again.

"Do you think they noticed?" the man panted, his voice strained from his exertion.

"Of course not," Kwon Boa said through her raspy moans.

"Why would there even still be—hng—people here?"

"That's what that guy does," Boa grunted, "He pretends he's working twenty-four hours a day. For what? He wants a raise? Raise, my ."

'That guy'? Baekhyun turned back to look at Jackson again, then back at the couple. He wanted to barge in to defend his man—Jackson had much better things to do than pretend he had work—but when Boa started talking again, he crouched down to continue listening. There was another reason why he wasn't bolting just yet: that man hovering over Boa wasn't Nichkhun, and Baekhyun was going to get to the bottom of this.

@✵ byun baekhyun ²⁰/²⁰ Despite all his talk about investigating the ghost that Baekhyun had heard about, Jackson's feet stayed rooted in place when he saw Mongryong actually take off towards said ghost! Baekhyun was supposed to the one shying away from the experience, but because it was Mongryong, Jackson was being pulled with him to find their missing dog. His breath hitched when the sounds that they heard earlier got slightly louder, and even increased in frequency. When he turned to peer down the hallway, he saw that none of the doors were emitting light from the other side...except for one. It was a rehearsal room that had the purple neon lights lit up. Mongryong was wagging his short tail in front of said door, and Jackson gasped as he was so mercilessly sacrificed by Baekyun. "Mongryong!" Jackson whisper shouted, trying to get their doggy's attention, "Muscle Dog, come back here!" Mongyong didn't seem the slightest bit interested though, and instead raised his paw to push at the slightly ajar door, eliciting an ear piercing scream from the other side just a split second later.

@✵ jackson wang ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Did Jackson really have to bring up the ghost again? Baekhyun scowled, but he headed out the door with Jackson, keeping his eyes down once the studio lights were turned off and they were relying on the couple hallway lights to navigate to the elevators. Just mere feet away, Jackson stopped, and so did Baekhyun. An unmistakable ghastly moan drifted through the hair, and Baekhyun's hair stood on end. "Shh! Why are you so loud?" He jammed his fingers against the elevator call button, wanting to make a quick escape. It was just his luck Mongryong decided to run off. Baekhyun swallowed a scream. Mongryong had the worst timing.

The elevator arrived, and as much as Baekhyun wanted to leave without Mongryong, he turned back toward the direction Mongryong ran off in. "Come with me," he whispered to Jackson, not wanting to venture into the darkness alone. If he was going to die, Jackson was going down with him. They inched along the hallway, listening for Mongryong's breathing between the ghostly moans, until they found Mongryong standing in front of a studio door just around the corner, near the bathrooms. "Hyung, pick him up," Baekhyun whispered, giving the older a shove in the dog's direction.

@✵ byun baekhyun ²⁰/²⁰ Jackson made haste in shutting down his equipment and packing up his belongings to head home. Now that it was just the two of them in the building, he would much rather get back to the safety of their own home where no surprises were waiting for them. Baekhyun's neediness was the biggest surprise of all to him though, since he would've expected that the younger wanted to leave sooner than later. Jackson obliged and leaned in to kiss Baekhyun's sweet lips, nibbling on the lower lip before he let him go, "What's wrong? You want the ghost to know you're taken?" he asked with a chuckle. Reaching to grab Baekhyun's hand, Jackson bravely led them outside, "Come on now, no more of this. Let's just go home."

And as nice as it would've been to just get into the elevator and have a peaceful rest of their nights, the second time they approached elevator, Jackson did indeed hear a soft moan. It was faint, but indeed a moan. His heart dropped for a moment, and his grip on Baekhyun's hand tightened. "I think...I heard something!" he said, to which Mongryong whined in agreement. But, before either of them could think properly, Mongryong dashed down the hallway in the direction of the sound!

@✵ jackson wang ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Tugging on Mongryong's leash to force him along, Baekhyun said, "No we aren't." Since when was Jackson so adventurous, especially when it came to unknown things in the dark? While cleaning the studio of their takeout and coffees, Baekhyun stalled. What if they /did/ happen to hear that voice again while they wanted for the elevator? He should have put Mongryong there to stop it from going back to the lobby. Oh... if only they could just spend the night in the studio. Waiting until Jackson put on his jacket, Baekhyun cuddled up to him to stop him from heading out the door so quickly. Maybe if they waited a little longer, the ghost would go to sleep. "Hyung, give me a kiss. You've been ignoring me all evening."

@✵ byun baekhyun ²⁰/²⁰ Jackson caressed his injured chest from Baekhyun's slap, feigning deep injury. "What other time do you hear random ?" he asked Baekhyun, then jabbed the younger lightly to before taking his hand again as they entered the dark building. The elevator was also unusually quiet, it seemed, so when they stepped out, it was just a buzzing silence in their ears. Jackson looked down as he almost tripped over Mongryong's silent body, though the direction in which their dog was looking seemed to prove Baekhyun's claims true. "Let's go get our stuff first," Jackson reminded Baekhyun, "Then we'll examine what's going on." Truthfully, he didn't want to examine what was (hopefully wasn't) behind the door, but it was better to just dispel their worries than go home frightened over nothing.

@✵ jackson wang ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ "No, we're not checking," Baekhyun said, baffled Jackson would even suggest such a thing. What if they /did/ find something? What then? Neither of them were equipped to deal with a ghost, physically nor mentally. However, the next stupid suggestion to come from Jackson earned him a slap over his chest. "Why would I be thinking about that?" Baekhyun demanded. "I was just coming back from the washroom, why would I— You're so weird!" The quip did, however, relax Baekhyun until they reached their floor again. Baekhyun tried not to look in the direction where he heard the sound, but it was just his luck Mongryong stopped in the middle of the hall, staring directly at those rooms. He didn't bark nor growl, only stared. Baekhyun yanked on his leash. "Mongryong, stop it. Let's go home, okay?"

@✵ byun baekhyun ²⁰/²⁰ "What? No it's not," Jackson said, a little taken aback that Baekhyun would say something so outlandish. Jackson himself was pretty scared by the thought of ghosts too, but as long as he didn't think about it, it wasn't too pressing of a fear for him. As if there was a need to dispel this audacious claim of Baekhyun's for his own sake, Jackson squeezed the younger's hand and said, "I think it just might be the AC blowing in the hallways baby. When we get back, let's check those rooms together, and you'll see, it's nothing." Of course, they were going back to clean up the recording studio first. If there was something in the company that shouldn't be there, their first course of action was going to be escaping!

Once Mongryong found his spot and finished his business, they started back in the direction of the company. "That moan you heard earlier," Jackson said, "Are you sure that's not just you...thinking of the things we do at home?" he teased the younger, trying to lighten up the situation.

@✵ jackson wang ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Mongryong didn't like the spot directly in front of the company, so he began to lead them down the street, sniffling along the curb. Baekhyun chewed on the inside of his cheek, but he wasn't able to hold it in for long. Even Jackson's presence was not enough to comfort him after his encounter. "The ghost is real," he blurted out, thinking of the bone-chilling whine he heard again. "In the hallway, near the bathroom... I heard it! And the light was flickering... There was a ghostly sound..." Baekhyun tried to imitate the moan he heard. The mere memory of it sent a shiver down his spine, and he pressed closer to Jackson. "Like that... It's real..."

@✵ byun baekhyun ²⁰/²⁰ Jackson was used to walking around the dark building any time he stayed late at work, but when he was accompanied by Baekhyun, it almost felt like they were doing a forbidden elopement in an abandoned building. Since it was late into the night, he already knew that it was going to be chilly outside, so he instinctively pulled Baekhyun closer against him. It was unusual for his boyfriend to be quiet for long periods of time, so Jackson knew that Baekhyun's mind was wandering again when he brought up /ghosts/ of all things in the middle of the night. "Yeah, some trainees have mentioned it before," he said, kissing the top of Baekhyun's head in the elevator. "Why? Did they influence you too?"

@✵ jackson wang ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ Baekhyun felt like he had just closed his eyes for a second when he opened them again, but when he glanced at the clock, nearly half an hour had passed. "Eung... okay..." Standing carefully, Baekhyun rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stretched once. It wasn't until they reached the door that he remembered what caused him to run all the way back from the bathrooms earlier, and instinctively, he reached for Jackson's hand, attaching his chest to Jackson's arm. The elevator at the end of the hall was close to where Baekhyun heard the ghostly whine, but he said nothing as they walked. While they waited for the elevator, Baekhyun listened for the sound again with a bated breath, they made it into the elevator without any commotion. Still, Baekhyun couldn't just let it go. "Hyung," he began cautiously when they were waiting for Mongryong to find his perfect spot. "Have you heard of the DSF ghost before?"

@✵ byun baekhyun ²⁰/²⁰ "Are you sure?" Jackson confirmed, feeling rather skeptical of Baekhyun's answer. But, since he was given the greenlight to keep working, that was exactly what Jackson did. He was not known to turn down work time when he was fully engrossed in the zone. Baekhyun didn't stir at all, so it gave him ample time to think and work with the layers of the sound track. He could sense that Baekhyun had fallen asleep by the consistency of his deep breathing, so Jackson also tried to work calmly, letting his hardworking boyfriend rest. He continued on for as long as he could, until Mongryong's nuzzling against his legs snapped him back out of it. "What is it Muscle Dog?" Jackson asked, "You need bathroom?" Wrapping an arm around Baekhyun's waist, Jackson squeezed gently, "Baby, wake up. Mongryong needs to be taken out. Let's go together, okay?"

@✵ jackson wang ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ All of a sudden, telling Jackson about his pathetic ghost encounter seemed stupid. It would at least be story-worthy if Baekhyun /actually/ saw something, but the sound he heard could’ve been the creak of a door from an open window’s breeze for all he knew. There was no way he was going to disturb Jackson’s work over a loose door hinge. Baekhyun shook his head, shifting so he was flattened against Jackson and not blocking the computer screen. “Finish your work, hyung, I’m not tired. I’ll wait for you like this.” Then, seconds after his claim, Baekhyun dozed off without warning, becoming dead weight over Jackson’s lap.

@✵ byun baekhyun ²⁰/²⁰ Jackson laughed and nodded in agreement, "Yibo is taller and bigger than you now too, obviously so. It's time you both moved on to bigger and more surprising concepts." Of course, with Henry and Jackson as the main producers in charge of each 20/20 album, they took pride in their work to change it up from one concept to another, ensuring that the fans wouldn't be disappointed. When Baekhyun took a break to go use the restroom, Jackson nodded and fit his headphones back over his head, intending on getting a little bit more work done before the younger returned and asked to go home for the night. Jackson had only gotten started on testing a new sample and testing it over his existing layers before the door swung open so harshly that he felt the wind against his face from the force of it. Baekhyun was shaking like an abandoned puppy once he crawled into Jackson's lap, effectively cutting him off from the computer screen. "What's wrong baby?" he asked, naturally wrapping his arms around Baekhyun to comfort him. "You tired? Ready to go home?"

@✵ jackson wang ʳᵃᵖ ᶜᵒᵃᶜʰ "They better get used to it," Baekhyun said. "Even Yibo is too old to be doing the school concepts Boa keeps trying to push on us." Passing the headphones back to Jackson, Baekhyun slipped his feet back into his shoes before standing to stretch. "Baby-ssi needs to go to the bathroom. Be right back." At this time of the night, all the room lights were turned off, and only every other light in the long hallway was kept on. A couple of them flickered—some barely noticeable, some with the intensity of Mongryong slamming his paw on his 'Treat' sound button. Baekhyun didn't believe in ghosts or anything, but he did just watch a horror movie two nights ago, and now the demon's face was fresh in his mind as he made his way to the bathroom. He kept his eyes down for the most part, and even while he was washing his hands he didn't really dare look in the mirror.

On his way back to the production studio, he could have sworn he heard something drift from one of the rooms. It sounded like a whine, somewhat, but when Baekhyun looked up, all the rooms in the hallway were completely dark. That was enough to convince him to book it back to the studio, sprinting the last few steps and locking the door behind him once he was safe inside. He was sure it was nothing, but his heart pounded uncomfortably, and he made a beeline to sit in Jackson's lap, straddling him and burying his face against his neck. There was no ghost in DSF, contrary to the rumours flying around. It didn't really help that it was the seventh lunar month, and Baekjung was just celebrated days ago to commemorate the start of the month. A shiver ran down Baekhyun's spine. Oh, why were they staying out so late when terrors ran so rampant at this time of the year?

@✵ byun baekhyun ²⁰/²⁰ Jackson received the new lyrics with a nod in approval. "It's a new style for you and Yibo for sure," he commented, "Do you guys think you're ready to enter your 'y' era?" he asked with a playful wink, "Awuh! That's gonna be too much for your fans' hearts!" he said, clutching his own chest dramatically. He was glad that at the end of all the drama with the higher ups, Jackson and Henry could still work so closely with arguably the only talented group from DSF. In what other world could he expect the trainees to actually care about the music they were releasing to begin with, much less actively try to be a part of it!? "I like them Baekhyun baby-ssi," he teased the younger, "Keep throwing your lyrics at me."