They'd been in the recording studio for two hours now. The interview was slowly winding down. Suho had talked about how hard his team had trained to win gold at the tournament. Every question revolved around last year. Unlike before, no one asked about his plans or goals for the future. Apparently, they'd only invited him as a nod to past achievements. Some professor must have recommended they include Choi. He could even guess who.
Suho quickly put two and two together: the student council wasn't thrilled about his candidacy for the "outstanding student" title. And now they were subtly hinting — your time has passed. Like Choi was the one desperate to be in the spotlight.
Despite the obvious attitude, he answered all the questions calmly, and once he was done, he could finally focus on Jia again. Suho didn't care what those student council upstarts thought about him as long as Jia was sitting across from him, looking ridiculously beautiful.
The interviewers had saved Jia for last. She was tapping her fingers on the table now and then, listening attentively to whoever was speaking.
Choi noticed that Jia kept touching her hair and fiddling with the zipper on her jacket. She did it quickly, subtly, but for Suho, every movement she made was crystal clear.
"Of course it is. You haven't stopped staring at her," his inner voice warned him. "Stop before someone notices."
Suddenly, when there was less than a minute left before Jia's turn, the girl glanced at him again. This time, Suho was ready. He sent her an encouraging smile and gave a slight nod.
"Good luck," he mouthed.
Jia gave a weak smile in return. Suho noticed how pale her face had become.
"Why is she so nervous?" Choi wondered as the interviewer started introducing her as the next guest.
Jia quickly turned toward the speaker.
In Suho's opinion, anyone here might have reason to be nervous, but not Jia. She was the only real celebrity in the room. Choi thought that people who attended high-profile events and were constantly in front of cameras didn't get nervous in situations like this. It was just a student club interview.
But, nevertheless, Jia was clearly nervous. She'd hidden her hands under the table and swallowed hard. No one was paying her any attention. Those arrogant bookworms were surprisingly blind to someone else's discomfort.
Suho couldn't stand watching Jia get worked up. She was the only freshman here. And maybe she had no idea what kind of crowd she was dealing with when she agreed to this interview.
Still, the host gave Yoon the floor, and Jia began to speak, leaning toward the microphone.
Suho listened carefully. She was holding up well, considering the absurd questions they were asking her. Something about hairstyles and skincare. Compared to everyone else's questions, these seemed almost out of place.
Suho thought about how the scriptwriter had clearly wanted to attract a female audience, completely ignoring the context of the interview. Yet again, the student council was lowering his opinion of them.
Choi glanced around, noting how the "outstanding students" were starting to smile condescendingly and whisper among themselves.
Jia looked embarrassed as she explained in detail the correct order to apply skincare products.
She kept fidgeting with the zipper on her jacket.
"I want to take her out of here," Suho thought, sighing heavily. He would gladly listen to her talk about anything if she were looking at him with the same focused attention she was giving the interviewer.
Unable to watch the other students smirk at Jia's explanation about overnight masks, Choi shot a menacing look at the host. The guy in the chair flinched and quickly switched to questions about the recent university promotional campaign.
"Jia-ssi, you mentioned wanting to try new concepts for photoshoots while studying at university. Is the freshman student image one of them?"
Jia paused for a few seconds, confused by the sudden topic change.
"A freshman is what I am right now. So that photoshoot came very naturally. As for new concepts, I'd like to focus more on the atmosphere of youth and energy. Actually, I discussed this with my agency recently. In my usual work, I don't get many opportunities like that since most brand campaigns require a more mature image."
"Youth and energy — that sounds wonderful!" the host said enthusiastically, tugging at his collar. Suho smirked darkly, keeping the guy under surveillance.
"What, getting hot? Go on, have some water. Useless interviewers," Suho thought with satisfaction, watching the guy grow more intimidated, throwing frequent glances his way.
The ones who had been whispering moments ago also went quiet, sensing the shift in the atmosphere.
"Do you have any ideas yet about what concept that might be, Jia-ssi?" the host stammered.
Suho turned his attention back to Jia. She hadn't noticed what was going on around her, completely focused on the interview.
"So diligent," Suho thought with affection. "It's a shame she can't stop touching her clothes. There's really nothing to worry about. One wrong question, and I'll step in. I won't let them use you."
Choi wanted to cover her slender fingers with his hand. Would Jia hold his palm instead of her zipper if she were trying to calm her nerves?
"Yes, I do have one idea," Jia answered. There was a smile in her voice. "A sports match? I'd like to try the image of an athlete."
Suho stared at her, not believing his ears.
"Baby, is that a hint?" A dark, slow thought seized Suho's mind in an instant.
An image appeared before his eyes: Jia in a basketball uniform, trying to steal the ball from him. Of course, Yoon wouldn't stand a chance against him, but Suho wasn't greedy. He'd let her score. Then he'd catch up and take the ball back. Suho vividly imagined the indignation on her beautiful face. Her cheekbones, her lips, those impossible eyes. By then, Jia would be out of breath but stubbornly refusing to give up. Suho would move close. He'd deliberately lose the ball just to wrap his fingers around her waist…
"Fuck, stop!" his inner voice snapped awake. The image dissolved, leaving behind only a faint buzz of excitement. He shouldn't be thinking about Jia like that. Not when she was sitting right across from him.
"Not the time to fantasize," Suho told himself firmly.
"Oh!" The host threw another wary glance his way. "You're talking about basketball? Our university is famous for its strong team. Perhaps if you need any advice, Suho-sunbae would be willing to help? What do you think?"
All eyes turned to him.
Suho leaned toward his microphone and, without taking his eyes off Jia, said softly:
"Of course. I'd be happy to help."
The others' faces showed poorly concealed surprise. In their eyes, something strange was happening with the former captain — first, he'd been radiating a murderous aura that made everyone want to slide under the table, and now, look at him, acting like nothing had happened.
Only Jia still hadn't noticed anything. She slowly licked her lips and said into the microphone:
"In that case, please take care of me, sunbae."
Suho nodded, and in that same moment, he firmly decided — tonight, he was going to ask Jia to dinner.