"Boom." Jungkook says triumphantly as soon as the final notes of the song play. He shuts his laptop with finality, exuding pure confidence. His latest song is an absolute banger, and he has no doubt it will do major numbers.

At least, he had no doubt. The uncomfortable grimace on Yoongi's face is what tells him he should reconsider that thought. The cocky smile he hadn't been able to wipe off his face since composing and writing the track slowly fades when he realizes that out of his agent, his manager, and his executive, none of them look as enthusiastic as he is about the masterpiece he just graced their ears with. Namjoon drags his hands over his face in exasperation, and Hoseok manages a pitiful smile.

"Well, if by 'boom,' you're referencing the sound of my eardrums imploding, you'd be correct." Yoongi finally breaks the awkward silence. Jungkook's jaw drops.

"What?" He blurts out dumbly. "Did I hear that correctly?" Yoongi has always been brutally honest, but that was just downright mean. He couldn't have meant that, right? Was it sarcasm? Yoongi is a pretty sarcastic guy, after all. Maybe it was Yoongi Code for "Your song is a guaranteed hit, Jungkook!" Hoseok promptly ruins any remaining hope Jungkook has.

"I think so." Hoseok says grimly. "He said your song is so awful it makes his eardrums spontaneously combust—"

"That's enough." Jungkook cuts him off quietly, eyes wide and voice void of emotion. "I was just checking to make sure I wasn't hallucinating."

"Yeah, unfortunately, this is very real." Yoongi quips ruthlessly. Normally, Hoseok or Namjoon would have stood up for him by now. Yoongi being honest to the point of hurt feelings isn't a new thing, especially when it comes to music. Namjoon and Hoseok temper his brutal words with ones of reassurance—but there are none. That's how Jungkook knows his song is really not as fantastic as he thought it was.

"Do you like any of it? Maybe I can rearrange some things, or rewrite some lyrics—"

"Jungkookie." Namjoon cuts him off. "I wouldn't bother trying to salvage this one." Jungkook wants to cry.

"It's a weak excuse for an EDM track with a basic baseline and equally underwhelming melody." Yoongi doesn't hesitate to tell Jungkook exactly what is wrong with the song, and Jungkook audibly winces. "It sounds like everything else on the radio right now—over processed, commercial bullshit."

"He's kinda right, Jungkookie. I mean, I never thought I'd say this to you, but the lyrics are awful. Even with The Song That Shall Not Be Named, the lyrics were mediocre, but this?" Namjoon sighs, shaking his head. "'You're wearing my shirt, Never thought it would hurt, But I still have your skirt, I hope you eat dirt.' Really? I hope you eat dirt?" Namjoon asks, and Jungkook looks down sheepishly. When Namjoon said them out loud, they sounded worse than in his head.

"Dude, what is it even about?" Hoseok asks with raised eyebrows.

"It's about, um, the pain of an ex wearing your clothes that they stole from you even after the breakup. Like, you're emotionally attached still but he's clearly not since he's wearing your shirt like it's just a random shirt and not your shirt so it clearly holds no sentimental value to him anymore but you're holding on to all the sentimental value and seeing that he isn't hurts like a bitch—"

"Oh, my God, stop. Please, just stop." Yoongi interrupts him, practically begging to be put out of his misery. "I know you're not over him, but you need to find something else to write about."

"Nothing else ever comes out when I try to write! It's just...him." Jungkook frowns. He really tried to break out of this streak of lousy songwriting he has been trapped in, but it has been six months since the breakup, and he has yet to produce a good song.

"Listen, we'll talk about that later. Right now, we need to focus on business." Namjoon brings Jungkook back to reality. "Bottom line is, your album is set to drop in three months. We've arranged for a twelve track record, and we have none. We have zero out of twelve even conceptualized, let alone recorded or mastered, Jungkook."

"And that's only one deadline. I've got press tours scheduled for the week right before you drop the album, and the week right after." Hoseok reminds him. "And then, you need to learn choreo and prerecord music videos by—"

"Hyung, if you give me another deadline right now, the deadlines will not be the only things that are dead." Jungkook interjects, voice pitched higher with the building anxiety he's feeling. He isn't lying when he says dying seems like a better option than the impending doom induced by deadlines.

"Hell, if we don't get this album out and make it good, you'll be dead either way. I'll kill you myself if we have a repeat of T—" Yoongi begins.

"The Song That Will Not Be Named." Hoseok quickly substitutes.

"Right, that." Yoongi mutters. "If we have a repeat of that, it will not be pleasant for anyone involved."

"So...what do we do?" Jungkook asks glumly.

"Well, we only really have one choice." Namjoon sighs, pressing his lips into a thin line gravely. "The last resort."

"The last resort?" Jungkook asks quietly.

"We hire you a writer." Hoseok sighs, and Jungkook's eyebrows shoot up, panic on his face.

"What? No! I've always written my own music!" Jungkook protests, but Yoongi raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah? Well, how's that going for you right now?" Yoongi asks, and Jungkook has to admit he has a point.

"Think about it realistically. You're never gonna be able to singlehandedly pen, produce, and master twelve songs in under three months, especially if you're struggling as much as you are right now for a good one." Namjoon tries to make him feel better, but it doesn't really do much for his bruised ego.

"Exactly. And you'll still have influence in your music. You'll be able to help write and produce and everything, but a writer will be helping as well. I think it'll do you good to have a new perspective on your work, some fresh eyes, someone to bounce ideas off of." Hoseok explains, and Jungkook nods slowly. He absolutely detests the idea, but he knows he has no other choice. "What do you say?"

"Fine." He agrees. Namjoon offers him a small smile and stands, clapping him on the shoulder encouragingly.

"All right. We believe in you, Jungkookie. You're talented, you're just in a rough spot right now." He says supportively. He moves over to the calendar hanging on the wall and removes the pen he has propped behind his ear. He flips to their desired release date—June 30th. "It's March 31st now. Just think, Kookie. If this writer does the trick, 90 days from now, you're gonna have another platinum album." Namjoon says.

90 days seems like a long time, but Jungkook knows the release date will sneak up on him quickly. He can't afford any more fuckups, not after The Song That Shall Not Be Named. He hopes the writer has got some major chops, or the next 90 days are going to be even more painful for Jungkook than he knows they already will be. Relinquishing full creative liberty to someone other than himself on his music freaks him out. He has always been a perfectionist, only trusting himself to produce music of the quality he wants. But, for some reason, he can't even reach the ideal quality for his songs anymore. How can a random writer do it, when even he, Jeon Jungkook, world famous singer songwriter, can't? And in only 90 days?

"Right. 90 days." Jungkook murmurs, mostly to himself. Yoongi sighs tiredly, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair. The three words he utters next make Jungkook shudder.

"Countdown starts now."

Singer-songwriter Jeon Jungkook has been successful ever since he first stepped foot into the music industry. His first single skyrocketed him into astronomical stardom, and after three years and five number one albums, Jeon Jungkook is a household name. Most commended by the public, all of his songs are written and composed by him and him alone. Everything he touches seems to turn to gold.

Until now.

Jeon Jungkook has lost his golden touch—

and he's relying on one girl to bring it back.

well hello everyone

here is the teaser for my new book, golden!!!

here's the thing though:

i won't be updating again until i have most of the book written and edited. a personal goal i have had for myself as a writer is not to get ahead of myself when publishing, so this is my attempt at self control hehe. my ultimate goal is to be able to have a consistent update schedule for this book rather than my weird sporadic nonexistent schedule i have for my other books!

please be patient hehehe i reeeally have big plans for this!!!

until next time,
r <3