Chapter Text
Taehyun has seen better days.
"Fuck, sorry!" Taehyun scowls as a lanky boy who, apparently went to his school judging by the uniform, zooms by on his skateboard, effectively causing all of his textbooks and loose papers sticking out from his binder to scatter on the pavement right in front of his school's statue of some dead and probably problematic president. He sighs as he bends down to quickly snatch at the papers that haven't hit the ground yet before consuming a hearty mouthful of more cement as a herd of girls stampede to the school's entrance with way more energy than should be allowed at 7 in the morning.
Rolling his eyes and doing a perimeter scan of any more potential bulldozers , Taehyun spots a head of floppy brown hair covering a pair of eyes and the accompanying body that runs into the flagpole in front of their school's double doors. "Kai!"
Kai finds him immediately as he speed walks to Taehyun, arms bare of any textbooks.
"Um...good morning?" he asks concernedly, seeming to pick up Taehyun's even-more-pissy-than-usual demeanor.
“Why do you look like you're Alexander having a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day?"
Taehyun groans. "Just lost like a third of the notes in my binder because of the very enthusiastic classmates we have here. Why are skateboards even allowed?"
Kai shrugs in his nonchalant, happy-go-lucky way of his that pisses Taehyun off to no end.
"Well, I mean bikes are so it only makes sense. You know what should be banned? Heelies. Like what is it, 2009?"
Taehyuh ignores his best friend's implication that outdated fashion is more important than safety hazards and wills himself to calm down. After all, aggression did no one any good, ever. Future senior quote material right there.
The duo makes their way to their joint first period class together- the school newspaper. Sure, school newspapers were a little old news- pun intended- but it's the way their school functioned. It's like they designed everything within it to be as cliché as possible, evolving technology be damned. Plus, their newspaper is a fun little paper zine that has ask columns, peer-submitted illustrations, and even teacher interviews featured, all printed in a tangible form that is passed around to each homeroom. That being said, it’s the least popular club on campus.
Taehyun swings his backpack over one of the long tables that occupied their school newsroom, Kai claiming a desk chair with his backpack next to a computer lining the wall before sitting across from Taehyun. Their advisor and English teacher, Mrs. Kim, drawls out a 'good morning' as she sips on her protein almond milk and stares at her desktop computer, probably waiting for an email from her wife.
"So...not to be all 'let's ambitiously spunk up our zine like the underdogs we are!' but these past issues have been sucking absolute dry ass," deadpans Ryujin, a blunt upperclassman who, oddly enough, handles the advice column. It wasn't the best decision on Mrs. Kim's part.
"We need an interesting story. Something to really grab everyone's attention and make people excited to go to homeroom every day."
Kai fiddles with his backpack's hibiscus flower keychain. The half-hearted, half-desperate talk about spicing up the paper wasn't a shiny new conversation for them as it was pretty obvious to everyone at this point that 80% of their printed zines ended up in the trash- not even decent enough for the recycle bin.
"It's the Riverside Ram Tribune, not US Weekly," chastises Mrs. Kim, even though the last issue of their news sitting in the trash bin behind her said otherwise.
Just as Taehyun is about to pipe in to support Mrs. Kim, Ryujin pulls up the latest issue of their zine, the scarily drawn Five Nights at Freddy’s fan art shutting any sort of argument on Taehyun’s mouth up. It was hard to find submissions that weren't hastily drawn instagram handles in MS paint in an attempt to self-promo or even just the classic ‘penis’, so they had to resort to choosing the closest image they could find that remotely resembled something. All because no one at their school cared enough to draw a fucking ram.
"Okay, well what did you have in mind?"
Ryujin scoffs before leaning back and almost falling off her desk chair, a mechanical pencil perched on her upper lip. "I don't know. I just know it needs a little TLC, that's all." She takes a sip of her Redbull, apathetic as ever. "I propose ideas, not solutions."
Taehyun rolls his eyes at their columnist, his treasured patience wearing thin. Aggression is regression. Breathe.
"More like you state the obvious instead of actually being helpful. And no shit our column sucks- your advice is terrible, the only students we interview are nerds, and not the actual smart nerds but boring nerds. Even a mind like mine can only write so many variations on the not-at-all overused question, “'What is in Riverside's mystery meat?”
Ryujin lifts an amused eyebrow. "The only saving grace of this godforsaken paper is Kai's cute little penguin doodles on the paper's margins."
"Aww, thanks Tae," Kai chirps. "But it is sad that the drawings I do in 2 minutes usually right before they're due are the most cherished part of our zine right now. Maybe ...you should do something."
Taehyun and Ryujin scoff at the same time for what he assumes to be completely different reasons.
"This is exactly what I'm saying. Pick up your slack, Kang!"
"I do a lot for this paper, more than you people!" whines Taehyun. "It's not my fault the people I interview think I actively seek out the most boring stories out there! Maybe I should lie and say I'm filming a reality show when I have my camera- something interesting is bound to come out of that."
Ryujin bobs her head in ferocious agreement as Kai shrugs in a contemplative way- way too contemplative for what was supposed to be a joke. "Kidding, guys. That's stupid, obviously."
Ryujin lets out a huff of frustration, slamming her palms onto the table.
"No, what's stupid is that the obvious solution here is to interview someone popular. Someone who'll give you an actual story, not tell you their track season is going well. Ask those ASB bitches.”
Now even though it was Taehyun's job as the head writer on their news staff to interview people and he was, after all, an aspiring journalist, he still wasn't exactly blessed with what employers like to call 'people skills’. But at the same time, he couldn’t be unprofessional- the world of journalism was a piranha-infested shark tank, a survival of the fittest.
“Fine. I’ll figure something out.”
Taehyun rolls his eyes as Kai gives him what might have been a sarcastic round of applause and Ryujin an eye roll of her own.
“God forbid Kang actually does his job,” she huffs.
-
It was worth mentioning that being the most cliche high school that functioned like it was still 2007 entailed a plethora of other stereotypes and tropes. The most notable and cringeworthy example of this stood right before Taehyun’s eyes: the ‘popular lawn’.
One could argue the space was literally just a fucking lawn- sure, it was weirdly more watered than the rest of the quad, but it was still just a grassy area where it’d get sat on, ass after ass. At least that was Taehyun’s logic- and his logic was usually the most, well, logical.
But, again, how cliche would their school be without status-based greenery?
“Kang Taehyun reporting, and I’m here with Riverside High’s daily dose of hard hitting journalism,” he states impassively, Kai rolling his eyes behind the camera. “Today’s hot topic: the ‘popular lawn’. Is the grass really greener on the other side?”
Kai then pans to the subjects of the interview, a group of people Taehyun can unfortunately identify extremely quickly. “Uh, hey,” drawls Yeji, a senior girl infamous for cop-busted house parties and snagging their school’s cheer team 2 consecutive championships since she’s been at Riverside. As far as Taehyun can recall, she’s never spent lunch anywhere else but the lawn.
“So, are any of you aware that this section of the lawn has been deemed only for the ‘populars?’ What do you think about this kind of social status segregation?” Taehyun interrogates, hoping Kai didn’t accidentally zoom in and catch the massive rain of spit he just spewed out.
“I mean, we’re aware. It’d be such an obvious lie if we said we didn’t,” Chan, another senior most known for being their school’s basketball team shooting guard, tries reasoning.
“But it’s not like anyone else can’t sit here. It’d just be weird since… we do.” He looks over to Yeonjun, a bored-looking junior who was currently scowling daggers at Kai’s camera. “Did that make me sound like a dick?”
Yeonjun ignores Chan and grabs at the cheap microphone Kai forgot to hold out for them. “What he’s trying to say is, we know we’re popular. But it’s not our fault that everyone’s too intimidated to sit with us.”
Kai slightly reels at the junior’s bluntness, but Taehyun pounces at the first non-vague response he’s received from these cardboard cutouts that are so worshiped at their school. “So, what if I were to sit with you guys? You’d have no problem with that even though I have no social merits?”
“It’d be weird because we don’t know you, not because of your popularity. Even though everyone knows the school paper is a joke,” Yeonjun retorts.
Despite being pretty efficient at bantering, Taehyun couldn’t refute the truth in Yeonjun’s words. But he’d be damned if his first attempt at hard journalism was ruined by the straightforward junior.
“Without adding too much of my own personal commentary, that sounded like something a self-righteous prick would say.” Kai captures Yeonjun rolling his eyes as Chan looks amused, Yeji too focused on dissecting a barely edible chicken burger.
“Well, Riverside, what do you think about that narrative? Do we feel more comfortable approaching the very people we put on these pedestals? I’m still Kang Taehyun, reporting on behalf of the Riverside Ram tribune and this has been my time.”
“Remember to buy homecoming tickets! $45 or $25 with a fee waiver!” Yeonjun pipes in just before Kai signals the filming’s end. Without being fed the confidence from the camera, Taehyun suddenly feels awkward and a little embarrassed- he guesses it’s the price of being an authentic journalist. It didn’t stop Yeonjun from looking any less pissed.
“That was quite the story, Kang Taehyun,” he remarks, gaze sharp. “I’ll remember this the next time you try getting any kind of ASB-related perk.”
Taehyun wasn’t exactly shaking in his boots considering he wasn’t one of those kids who tried getting in on the student discounts and trips that came with being a part of the student body, but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t mostly intimidated by the vice president.
After all, Yeonjun was the definition of Riverside’s model pupil. He was equally preppy and charming, the student who bantered with the teachers and hosted any kind of school-related social event. Though Riverside had a dress code, the rules were somewhat lax- Yeonjun seemed to take advantage of this as he was never seen without any kind of accessory adorning the dull outfit. His entire presence at their school relied on garnering and receiving attention.
“It’s part of my job. Everyone notable is either loved or hated.”
“Trust me, I’d know. Way more than you,” Yeonjun sneers, his hair glowing a neon pink hue in the sun. Chan lightly grabs at his shoulder. “Chill, Jun, it’s one morning school story for the news. He’s just some feshie anyway.”
Taehyun wants to tell him that he’s actually a sophomore, but the latent reply is cut altogether when the shrill sound of their school bell rings. By tomorrow, their news would gain at least some traction- he was sure of it.
-
Taehyun is asleep.
The clicking of a pen slithers its way into his mind before he's brought back to reality from his blissful state of nothingness by the rapid ticks. He opens his eyes in annoyance.
Expecting to see Kai and confirm him as the source of his sleep deprivation, he’s instead greeted by the sight of a girl- someone he hasn’t noticed in their class before. She’s got wavy black hair and big brown eyes, undeniably pretty. She’s also clicking her pen like it’s her job to disturb everyone within her vicinity.
“Do you mind?” he asks pointedly to the girl. She turns her big eyes onto his, suddenly looking bashful. “Sorry?”
“Your pen. It’s distracting.”
“Oh! Sorry, just a habit I guess. My brother says it’s annoying too…he says that it’s all the nervous energy inside me,” she rambles. “Which doesn’t make sense because it’s not like I’m nervous all the time or anything, you know?” Taehyun sends her a strained smile to stop her.
“It’s fine, really. Just … stop.” He almost feels bad at the pure embarrassment on the girl’s face, but all that sympathy goes out the window the second he notices something out of the corner of his eye.
A poorly-concealed grin, head ducked. Not just that, but matching flushed cheeks to go with it. Was it possible she liked him now, all because he asked her to stop clicking her pen? Could crushes be acquired that quickly? Were all girls’ standards that low?
“And this will be a group project. Please get into groups of 3, and keep in mind that you should choose wisely- this assignment will be counted as a quiz grade.”
The class broke into scatters as everyone instantly looked for their friends, their teacher also pairing the more quiet kids with the kids who remained sitting in their desks.
Taehyun looks to his left where Kai has been wordlessly standing until he feels a tap on his right shoulder- pen girl.
“Can I join your guys’ group?”
Taehyun and Kai exchange looks. Kai raises an eyebrow: Can she?
Taehyun stares him down, inhaling a sharp breath: I would really rather not.
Kai rolls his eyes, a little frustrated: Why not?
The girl flits her eyes between them and their nonverbal tennis match. She clears her throat. "I can find another one. It's okay."
At that, Kai sparks to life. "No, it's fine! We really don't mind, do we Hyun?"
Taehyun reclines his neck back, the muscles straining and clenching . Leave it to Kai to be too polite for his own good. "No. Of course, not."
The girl clasps her hands together in excitement that was admittedly kind of endearing. It was like meeting the girl-version of Kai.
"Cool! I won't let you guys down," she says, receiving a curt nod from Taehyun and an equally blinding smile from Kai. "I hate people who don't do their share of work in a group project, so don't even worry about that."
Kai tilts his head towards Taehyun. "Well, as you would have it, this guy has that pet peeve, too. Match made in heaven."
She beams at them as Taehyun mimes a slicing motion to Kai's neck, the latter snickering at the whole situation. "Oh! And we can work at my house! We have a hot tub in our backyard!"
Kai 'oohs' at this while Taehyun mentally assesses what exactly is about to happen.
It's not like Taehyun has never had anyone crush on him or even confess their feelings. He's objectively pretty attractive and one of the top students in their grade. Given, though, it's still not a common occurrence because of the 'confession' to 'reciprocation' ratio he's accumulated, and his overall less-than-pleasant demeanor.
If this girl catches feelings like he suspects she already has, it could get ugly for the both of them. BecauseTaehyun doesn't enjoy rejecting people- it's awkward, telling them their feelings are completely one-sided, and it's heartbreaking for him, too, knowing that someone's going home sad because of him.
But Taehyun can't help that he doesn't feel anything for them. At one point in time, he once considered the prospect of liking Kai in that way, and even though he's come to realize he prefers being friends with him, it's still weird to think about having romantic feelings for anyone else. Liking a complete stranger? It really wasn't likely for Taehyun, and frankly, it didn't make sense.
He could be friends with this girl. He'll be the first to admit he's in desperate need of them, considering he only has Kai and Ryujin- and it's a term used loosely with her. He can just be friends with her, and that will be that.
"Alright, sounds good. What's your name, by the way?"
She lights up at the 180 in Taehyun’s personality. It would give most people whiplash, but she takes it in stride. "Minjeong."
"By the way," she starts. "Apologies in advance for my annoying big brother. He's been perpetually stuck in an emo phase that we're worried might not actually be a phase, at this point."
Taehyun nods in understanding. His older sister had been in an emo phase, and to this day, he can recite every lyric from Take This To Your Grave.
"It's cool. So.. tomorrow after school?"
Minjeong and Kai both nod in agreement as the bell for lunch begins to sound. A new friend- that's what Taehyun was considering this.
-
On the way home, Kai can't stop raving about the hot tub Minjeong supposedly has.
"You know how I feel about pool parties and swimming with other people- it's weirdly intimate and mostly uncomfortable," Kai says, sloppily licking at the vanilla ice cream cone they picked up from the convenience store. "But a hot tub...that's way too cool to pass up! I mean, who just has their own private one?"
Taehyun snorts. "Rich people, I guess. It's just a hot tub, you know."
Kai shrugs as he starts shoveling the cone in his mouth. "Yeah, but I haven't been in one since our family trip to Vegas, and that was 5 years ago. I'm excited!"
Taehyun finds himself grinning at Kai's buzzing energy, reaching into his bag to grab at his house keys.
"I think she likes you, too."
Taehyun purses his lips. He holds out his lone cone to Kai who has been eyeing it since the disappearance of his own. "Yeah, I picked up on that."
Kai looks at him with what might be pity. "Maybe, you should get to know her. Anyone would be lucky to be dating you, you know."
Taehyun smiles softly at Kai. "Thanks, Kai. And I know."
Kai rolls his eyes as Taehyun laughs, unlocking his front door and waiting for his cat, Hobak, to appear so Kai can greet him before heading towards his own house. He basically refuses to leave Taehyun's side until he gets to say 'hi' to the orange cat that appears once the jiggling of keys is heard.
"Mom, I'm home!" He yells to the living room. She's probably in there doing her midday yoga workout before she goes back to her at-home office.
"Oh, hello, sweetheart! There's some crab on the counter if you're hungry!"
Plate full of crab salad and some crackers, Taehyun plops himself into his desk chair and opens the school website to watch the morning interview footage Kai had emailed him. He cringes as he catches the spit that unfortunately turned out to be very visible on the screen and opens up a separate document to think about the next story he plans on covering.
It looked promising. Taehyun had to admit, if he were a casual viewer who became accustomed to their usual style of morning stories, this interview with the popular kids would definitely catch his attention more than the awkward interviews he had with teachers who tried a bit too hard to look 'cool' to their students.
But still, the prospect of having their story blow up filled him with a dull, kind of diluted excitement. It was what made Taehyun have doubts about journalism and writing, even though he knows logically that you have to sacrifice quality sometimes in favor of reaching an audience. But the last thing he wants out of this career is to become a leech, sticking himself to any kind of story that will be more about clicks than having some kind of message to convey.
His parents were more than supportive. His mom would be proud of him if he ended up being a school janitor, as long as it made him happy to mop up water and disinfect desks. Same went for his dad- of course, he would prefer him to have a job with some kind of socially acceptable merit, but he still prioritized Taehyun's happiness like his mom.
It was Taehyun who set standards for himself higher than he sometimes thought he could achieve. The reason why he likes writing and reporting so much is that it's all about the truth. Sure, there has to be a message being portrayed, but it's all based on what's real and true. There's something so powerful and human about earnestness and showing things as they are, and that's a principle that Taehyun isn't willing to sacrifice when it comes to his stories.
But it's exactly what he's doing. He could tell himself that it's not that deep to make the morning news of their high school more exciting for students, but it's still carving a dangerous path for himself, dangling popularity and the saving of their news club in front of him at the cost of a story he really believes in.
Taehyun sighs as he powers off his desktop computer. He'll have a moral crisis when he's done with his precalculus homework.
-
Taehyun chews at the flesh around his fingertips as the lights start to dim. The morning news are currently being booted up on his homeroom teacher's computer, his heart beat picking up once his face is projected as a still frame on the white board. Like most mornings, no one cares enough to look up.
Kai had been blowing up his phone about how much of a bitch the footage was to edit and how it was now Taehyun's moral responsibility to buy him Baskin Robbins on the weekend as a form of payment- especially for the potential ass kicking he would receive from the junior class vice president.
“Kang Taehyun reporting, and I’m here with Riverside High’s daily dose of hard hitting journalism. Today’s hot topic: the ‘popular lawn’. Is the grass really greener on the other side?”
He catches his English teacher, Mrs. Seo, actually look up from her phone and watch the interview. As he glances around the room, Taehyun realizes that not just her, but pretty much the entire homeroom, is focused on the projector, laughing at Taehyun's bluntness and 'oohing' at Yeonjun's snark.
It's a foreign feeling, but Taehyun finds himself feeling more proud than ashamed like he expected to. He's actually enjoying the attention and reaction from his peers, even though the rumors and gossip that's begun to suffuse throughout the room is exactly what he was expecting. It's just that he likes it.
After the period ends, Taehyun is more than bewildered when some kids slap his back and jostle him, muttering a 'good job' or 'really funny, Kang' before exiting the classroom.
"That news story was very entertaining, Mr. Kang. I mean, I know you're one of my most talented writers, but I didn't know you had it in you. Being entertaining, that is."
Taehyun grimaces in confusion. "Thank you?"
Mrs. Seo beams at him. "Of course! I look forward to actually looking forward to reading your writing!"
Well, damn. "See you tomorrow, Mrs. Seo," he bites out.
"Bye now!"
-
As soon as he leaves the classroom, he's ambushed by bubblegum pink hair and flying chain accessories Taehyun fears might be used for purposes not related to fashion.
"How dare you, Kang Taehyun!"
A painted fingernail is thrusted at Taehyun's chest as he comes face to face with the livid vice president. "That was humiliating, and you know it!"
Taehyun glances around, but Yeonjun must have caught him during his ASB period so there's no one in the halls to rescue him.
"You're so dramatic, it wasn't that bad," Taehyun says as Yeonjun continues trying to burn lasers into him. "I asked questions and you answered! It's not my fault people perceived them as, well, douchey."
"Drop the story," he growls.
"No way in hell! You're just mad that our joke of a news team is finally getting attention!"
Yeonjun fixes him with a stare that almost ( almost ) has Taehyun surrendering right there out of pure, legal fear. But he has to stick his ground- his stories are his babies, now matter how much they piss off these ASB freaks.
"You are a parasite, Kang Taehyun. How can you even sleep at night knowing you slander people in the name of quote unquote 'journalism'?"
Taehyun looks at him blankly as Yeonjun stands there with his arms crossed petulantly, looking less like a tiger broken out of its cage and more like a toddler that had their tablet taken away.
"Look, I'm sorry that Kai...edited it the way he did." Taehyun tries to suppress the laughter threatening to burst out of him as he thinks about Kai's comical zooms and text layover commentary, Yeonjun looking far from amused if the intensification of his pout was anything to go by.
"But I can't drop the story. Maybe you should just be less of a dick, then we won't have a problem."
Just as Yeonjun opens up his mouth to ferociously retort something, Taehyun turns around. School news loser:1. Vice president: 0.
He takes his seat next to Kai and wordlessly holds his hand up for a high five. Kai raises his eyebrows and slaps it. “Okay, then.”
-
Taehyun and Kai arrive at Minjeong’s house, and Taehyun isn’t going to lie, he was expecting nothing short of a mansion when he was given the address. The house is located in one of the more ‘fine living’ neighborhoods, and paired with Minjeong’s MacBook and name brand Hydroflask, Taehyun naturally just assumed she’s rich. Not to mention the sacred jacuzzi Kai can’t stop talking about.
As they arrive, the sight they're met with is not exactly a mansion, but still a house far nicer than both of their houses. It’s a two story with what seems to be a garden on one side of the house and topiary on the other. On the front porch, there’s twin floral arrangements that decorate the door’s entrance. Taehyun rings the doorbell with the arm that isn’t holding a Walmart carton of brownies.
The door opens and they are met with the sight of Minjeong, not wearing her uniform but rather a school sweatshirt and sleeping shorts. Her hair is pulled into matching braids, and she greets them with her usual sunny smile, gesturing for them to come in.
“Ooh, you brought brownies! I hope you brought swim trunks, too, because whenever you’re ready, I can plug in the hot tub.”
Kai’s eyes get all starry at the mention of the jacuzzi while Taehyun just rolls his eyes, pushing inside.
“Okay, I finished my slides and bought this poster board. We’re gonna need a printer, though, to get the images to glue on.”
Minjeong nods, completely serious, before getting out a plastic pencil box you’d see in an elementary school, filled with markers and glitter glue.
“I’ll work on my slides, but in the meantime, can you print the pictures? When I’m done I’ll start decorating the board. The printer’s downstairs in the basement, by the way.”
Taehyun nods in agreement before shifting his attention to Kai, who is munching on the chips and guac that’s been sitting on the table. “And what will you be doing?”
Kai doesn’t stop chewing, making Taehyun cringe as he looks at the guacamole staining his teeth as he talks. “Oh, you know, work.”
“Finish your slides.”
Taehyun heads downstairs, not before hearing Kai’s sarcastic ‘yes, dad’ and Minjeong’s accompanying laughter. He passes through a hallway and can’t help but gaze at the pictures adorning the wall- they’re one of those families.
The first picture is a black and white photo of whom he assumes is Minjeong and her brother, except there’s another boy, so he supposes she has two brothers. She’s the smallest toddler in the middle, wearing a headband with a gigantic flower as a boy who looks to be not much older stares into the camera with doe-like eyes and an almost mischievous smile. The third boy stands out as the only teenager, resting his head on the arm balanced on one bent knee and wearing a corny smile. They’re definitely a visually pleasing trio of siblings, he can’t deny that.
That statement only gets truer as he looks at the next photo. The oldest sibling isn’t present, but Minjeong is pictured as well as her other brother- the one Taehyun can’t stop staring at. They seem to be at some sort of formal event, maybe a wedding, as they smile next to an older looking lady who looks radiant as she holds the shoulders of the two siblings. Minjeong stands there looking beautiful with her hair pulled into a bun and a smile so earnest it kind of takes Taehyun’s breath away, while her brother-
Taehyun feels himself snorting as he looks at the boy and his uncomfortable stature, posture bent and lips pursed as he attempts to smile for the camera. He wears a baby blue polo and ill-fitting khakis, but the whole country club look is comically juxtaposed by his long black emo hair framing his face that looks more constipated than anything.
Despite the humor in that, Taehyun can’t look away from him. Maybe it's because the sight is so endearing, seeing him look so out of place and awkward in the way only teens can look in family photos. Maybe because the boy is, objectively, really… pretty. Taehyun doesn’t know, but he doesn’t get the chance to find out once he’s shaken out of his stupor by the sound of Kai’s shrill dolphin laugh from the living room. Right- he needs to use the printer in the basement.
Downstairs, he flicks the light switch on, the fluorescent light illuminating an almost cozy space. There are decorative blankets hanging on each wall as well as some string lights, but it's not what catches Taehyun's attention. The space is predominantly occupied by several instruments- a drum kit with the logo 'Freeze' written in a questionable font on its bass, a synthesizer, and a glossy black electric guitar. There are actually several guitars- the one currently plugged into the big ass amp next to the kit, an acoustic laid on the couch nearby, and two more electrics hanging on hooks behind. In the center is a mic stand.
Taehyun has never considered himself a musical person, but of course he likes listening to music. Him and his mom would listen to hip-hop, mostly, or belt the words to anything mainstream that'd play on the radio. But he knows about rock, which he assumes is the genre of the band that rehearses down here. He likes rock music, but has never been anywhere near a 'rock' environment, no festivals, concerts, nothing- so, naturally, Taehyun finds himself curious with the expensive gadgets and shiny guitars.
He crouches down next to the couch and inspects the acoustic. It's cool to the touch, a smooth matte wood. He's tempted to strum the strings, but figures the owner might be one of those guitarists who are super picky about people touching their instruments and would notice his fingerprints somehow. He lightly grazes the hi-hat next to the drums and finally reaches the dark electric.
The most he could do near the object is breathe considering the silence is interrupted by a voice calling out, "You touch. You die."
Before looking at the source of the threat, Taehyun feels himself rolling his eyes. Yep, definitely one of those musicians.
Eventually, he does turn around and meets the eyes of a boy with long black hair wearing an oversized Green Day shirt and flannel pajama pants. It doesn't take Taehyun long to realize that this is the boy.
He strides over and does a karate chop towards the space between Taehyun's hand and the guitar he hadn't even been touching. "This guitar is absolutely off limits. This whole area, actually, is off limits." He scowls at Taehyun who can't help but stand a little shell shocked at what's happening.
"Hello? Who the fuck are you?"
Taehyun jolts back to the present as the boy unwaveringly holds eye contact, waiting for a response.
"I'm Taehyun."
The boy rolls his eyes. "Okay, Taehyun, stop breathing near my baby. Go back upstairs and work on that stupid project."
Now it was Taehyun's turn to fix him with a glare because he really didn't appreciate being bossed around by strangers related to his acquaintances. Even if those strangers were as pretty as this one.
"I came here to print something. And don't worry, I wouldn't dream of touching your baby."
Taehyun turns toward the printer in the corner of the room as he hears a scoff resound from behind him.
"That guitar costs more than your college fund. If there's even a centimeter's worth of a scratch, it's your death wish."
At this point, Taehyun is finding it hard to believe that this guy is even being for real. He's never met someone so stereotypical, like some grumpy older brother from a bad chick flick. Somehow, he thinks his sister would be into it, though- pretty boys with bad tempers who are weirdly territorial about their guitars.
Once the pictures are printed, Taehyun is ready to hightail it out of there. He doesn't consider himself shy, but he's oddly feeling very on edge around Minjeong's brother. It really didn't make sense considering Taehyun wasn't necessarily intimidated by this guy's 'threats', but the prospect of making eye contact with him made him want to jump off a rooftop.
As he moves towards the stairs, Minjeong's brother intercepts him and takes a long look at him. Taehyun is buzzing with nervous energy, and it only catalyzes when he says, "Wait a second. You're on the school news team, aren't you? You did that interview?"
Of course. Of course, that was his legacy. He was probably going to have to incorporate that interview into his senior quote since this was obviously how he was going to be remembered by the future classes. He nods ruefully.
"I write for the Riverside Ram Tribune."
"Yeah, I have literally never heard that name before."
Taehyun rolls his eyes, beyond frustrated for multiple reasons before gesturing to the drum kit.
"And I've never heard of 'Freeze' before. I mean, it sounds like a bad Eurovision group. You probably could've found a better band name using 'random band name generator'."
Minjeong's brother grunts, yet the atmosphere is relieved of some of the tension from before. His demeanor is more playful somehow, but maybe that's just Taehyun's wishful thinking.
"I could be in a band called 'Macaroni and Cheese' and it would still be cooler than working for the school paper. But I thought the interview was funny. Entertaining and all that."
Taehyun feels his mouth start stretching upwards, and it's beyond stupid considering the last thing he needed was some random guy's validation. It still felt nice though and somehow more genuine than the other compliments he's been receiving.
"I'm all for taking those ASB preps down a notch. Even though I don't think my friend appreciated it as much considering he would commit nothing short of murder for that Yeonjun dude."
Taehyun sits on the faded leather couch as Minjeong's brother remains perched on the amp that his guitar is plugged into. He really hopes there's progress being done on their group project and he's not holding them back too much, because he honestly doesn't know what he's doing at this point.
"Let me guess. He's in the band."
He nods, the movement of his dark locks effectively making Taehyun feel weird again. "He's our drummer. Soobin's his name."
The name is familiar to Taehyun as he vaguely remembers doing one of their lackluster stories on a guy named Soobin and how he would drink ketchup and various condiments like a gogurt pack. To him, it was the grossest thing he had ever seen, but to Kai, it was more fascinating than Disneyland.
"And your... synth player?"
He shakes his head, and the movement is ten times more distracting than the nod. "Arin plays bass. The synth is for composing. Producing. The works."
Again, Taehyun doesn't know shit about music, but he knows how much time and skill it takes to compose a song. But even so, there was still the possibility that they actually suck. Did they suck? He's reported on the talent show last year, and they didn't perform so they probably suck.
“Right, uh. I should get going then.”
Minjeong’s brother nods and plops down onto the now unoccupied sofa, sprawling out and taking out his phone. Taehyun waits for a beat- for what, he doesn't really know.
When it becomes obvious the boy has nothing else to say, Taehyun starts his way up the stairs. He can't help but turn around and spare a glance, however, but the boy is still immersed in his phone. He doesn't think much of the eyes he feels on him when he turns back around.
Back in the living room, he finds Kai and Minjeong eating homemade kimbap while watching Free Willy, Kai trying to hide his tears as Minjeong laughs at him. Minjeong notices him first as Taehyun places the printed images on their poster board for gluing later. He sits beside her, reaching over to lightly hit the back of Kai’s head.
“What’s with you and these movies about aquatic animals?”
Kai sniffles, no longer bothering to hide the wetness on his cheeks and tearfully eating at a roll of kimbap. “Did you know Keiko died? He didn’t make it when he was released back into his natural habitat! It’s so sad.”
Kai always got super emotional about sad animal movies. Marley & Me, Where the Red Fern Grows, he could never finish them without becoming a blubbering mess. It fills him with a surge of affection for his best friend as he gets that familiar feeling- the need to hold him and have some sort of physical contact. It really did give him headaches dissecting what exactly these kinds of feelings meant.
“What took you so long, by the way?” Minjeong asks. “You missed a pretty big chunk of the movie.”
“I think I met your brother,” Taehyun says cautiously. There it is again- another feeling he can’t exactly identify or discern what it means. But it’s vastly different from the warm, fuzzy pit that opens when he thinks of Kai. It’s buzzing and uncomfortably foreign, yet not completely unpleasant. Taehyun doesn’t think he likes it.
“Ah,” she says, face contorting into one of sympathy and disgust. “So you met Beomgyu. I have no idea what you guys talked about, but I still apologize for him. Being in a band is like his only personality trait.”
Taehyun shrugs. “Yeah, he’s not too pleasant.”
It wasn’t a lie- their interaction wasn't hostile, but it was still far from friendly. Him and Taehyun were like kerosene and fire, both ignitable and more likely to work against one another. But to say the whole experience was unpleasant felt a little unfair. After all, looking at him with his dark locks that framed his elegant face perfectly was far from unpleasant.
-
Taehyun stares at the off white stretch of ceiling as he thinks about Beomgyu.
He tried to think about the continuation of his story on the popular kids, tomorrow’s pre-calc test, whether or not he had actually enjoyed his mom’s new stuffed eggplant recipe, but he couldn’t help his thoughts drifting to his new friend’s older brother. He honestly can’t believe he missed his presence at school- it’s not that hard to attract attention considering the overwhelming mundanity of being in the same building for 8 hours a day, so being in a band should make one as popular as the athletes. But he had never seen him on the popular lawn or even on campus, not even in passing on the stairs to his next class.
Groaning, Taehyun reaches for his phone and calls up instagram. It wasn’t hard finding his profile considering Minjeong had followed him after their group project session, so he scrolls through her feed until he finds a tagged picture with him in it.
He looks at his profile picture- it’s a picture of him on stage, singing into a mic as he strums on the sleek, black guitar. His bio is a link to another account called ‘freezeisforever’, an account he recognizes as his band’s business page. There’s a lot of content- way more than the amount of pictures on his personal page. Pictures of him, a tall guy with glasses (presumably Soobin), and a really pretty girl holding a bass as they do various poses into the camera. The page ranges from impressive, professional photos of the members and on-stage pictures to extremely questionable photos like Soobin and the pretty girl licking at Beomgyu’s ears from each end as he pulls an exaggerated disgusted face into the camera.
The page only has around 100 followers, but there are already over 50 posts on the feed. He checks Soobin’s profile which has a lot of pictures that don’t include his face, from a picture of a corn dog with a smiley face made of mustard on it to a hedgehog wearing a tiny cowboy hat. There’s also a lot of pictures with the girl, Arin, he discovers, as they pull funny faces and post unflattering photos of the other.
He goes back to Beomgyu’s page and comes across a picture of a napkin with what seem to be lyrics on it: ‘At the end of the maze, across the mirror over there, please find me. Please don’t give up on me.’ Not only is the handwriting extremely aesthetically-pleasing, but the lyrics…he can’t believe the brat he met in Minjeong’s basement wrote that.
They’re so simple, yet clearly have meaning to Beomgyu. It sounds like a plea, like it came from the desperation to be understood.Taehyun knows that feeling well. Even though Taehyun has never written lyrics after turning in a poem for English class and only getting the comment ‘??’ from his teacher, he still can appreciate writing of any kind. He does want to be a journalist after all.
After listening to the covers Freeze has uploaded to their soundcloud (he’s pretty much a bonafide stalker at this point), he switches off the light in his room and thinks about who Beomgyu was begging not to give up on him.