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Jungkook looks outside the window where the rain is pattering against it. The outside is dark and alive, the rain falling like drops of coloured crystals from the neon lights of the street in the heart of the city, and Jungkook thinks he can stare at it all night.
“Jungkook, you ready?”
He turns at the Yoongi’s voice calling him, bringing him out of his reverie, feeling like his eyes just focused back on the present.
He nods. “Ready,”
It’s his second week at Sweet Rhythm. It’s a jazz bar run by his friends Yoongi and Seokjin, and Jungkook helps them out when he’s free or when he needs work. They immediately put him on schedule for a singer, knowing the he liked to sing and sang pretty well.
(But if you asked Jungkook two weeks ago if he was good at singing, he wouldn’t exactly say yes.)
He had only agreed upon the condition that his beloved Yoongi-hyung would accompany him on the piano. They had given in to the big, bambi eyes that Jungkook knows too well how to use.
And it is different, having Yoongi accompany him. He doesn’t have to worry too much about missing his cue or going off-beat (he rarely does but being nervous can fuck up a lot of things). It is comfortable, and if Jungkook tries really hard, like if he closes his eyes and shuts off all the small, incoherent sounds and mundane chatter of the patrons, he can pretend he’s not on stage. Just another karaoke session with his friends.
But it’s better now. He’s been making eye contact with the patrons and taking song requests and learning more about jazz so that he can practice a wide variety of songs, so that he can cater to more people.
Seokjin says it’s been working. He finds it hard to believe, even when last week, on his third day, an old lady pressed a soft kiss to his cheek and handed him a wad of bills.
“You sing wonderfully, my dear,” she had said, patting his cheek gently.
Since then, he’s been interacting more with the patrons, and shaking his hips and doing little dance steps to more upbeat songs.
Not a lot though, just a little. When he gets enough courage to weave in and out through the tables, he’ll probably deem himself a “performer”. Tonight, he's just a singer.
It had been raining for a few days now, and the crowd at the bar is mellow, matching the weather. Jungkook likes this better because it’s more intimate.
And even if he screws up his set list, not many people will remember.
So, he fixes up the mic stand, smiling at the gentle hello’s of the rest of the band as Yoongi takes his seat at the grand piano and stretches his fingers. Then he looks at Jungkook over the top of the piano and nods. Jungkook nods back.
As the opening notes for the first song floats from the piano, he takes a deep breath. It’s a soft song, something to set the mood to, and Jungkook likes this part the best.
It goes well. He sings the first few songs and sets the mood, seamlessly moving on from one song to another. He’s smiling and he’s so lost in the music that he doesn’t notice the new people coming in, the air turning a little livelier, the bar turning a little bit brighter.
There are some upbeat songs in the middle of his set list, and some of the band members are beckoning the patrons forwards, asking them to take up the space between the stage and the tables and dance.
In between the songs, Jungkook works up the nerve to say, “I hope to see some spectacular moves, tonight!”
It earns him a soft wave of giggles as chairs are pushed back and people make their way to the front. The band members are preparing for the next set of songs, giving time for the older people to find a comfortable spot with their partners. Jungkook grins, excited about the night.
Then, Yoongi starts playing the piano and the drums kick in and Jungkook gets so lost in the beat with his own swaying that he almost misses his cue but he catches it, singing into the mic sheepishly.
Looking around the room, Jungkook feels happiness swell in his chest because there are people smiling, dancing, shuffling their feet and swaying their bodies, because of music. Music that he’s part of. The feeling is irreplaceable and his cheeks are starting to hurt at this point because of how much he’s smiling.
There’s a musical interlude and Jungkook steps away from the mic for a moment, taking it all in. His eyes fall on a much younger man, nursing a glass of dark liquid, who’s staring back at him with intense eyes.
Young people are quite common at Sweet Rhythm. It is, after all, owned by a couple in their early thirties. So that was not the surprising part of seeing him.
But he is uncommon. While the young people tried to dress up more formally, something was always amiss: their jackets were too fashionable, shoes too trendy, make-up too bright, jewellery too loud. They didn’t exactly blend in with the old school crowd, who had an air of their own.
Like they belonged in this space. Like they were here all along, never moving on from their youth.
This man is like that. Dressed in a regular white (expensive-looking—Jungkook can tell) shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows (gulp), and in formal black slacks, he belongs here, as young as he looks. Jungkook thinks an old soul decided to take over this beautiful man’s body.
His cue arrives and still maintaining eye contact, Jungkook sings. The man gives him a small smile.
The song finishes and everyone claps. Jungkook is bowing, to the audience and the band members, and prepares himself for another upbeat song and then his eyes catch the young man again.
The young man’s eyes have been trained on Jungkook throughout the song. Even when Jungkook looks away for a moment to see the other patrons, or simply close his eyes to bask in the moment, his own eyes always return to the pair looking back at him with an unreadable expression.
Then, the man watching him starts to dance. It’s not like how the young people at the bar usually dance—lots of headbanging and throwing-up of hands (since that’s all the kind of dance they knew), or the older ones dancing with their partners, slowly or fastly swaying. No, he is dancing alone, or rather, dancing with the music as his partner, singing along to the song, making the happiest, cutest expression on his face that Jungkook has ever seen in his life. Including Yoongi’s face when he’s pouting (but don’t tell him that).
Jungkook might slightly be love.
The man had stopped dancing even before the song ended, resorting to looking at Jungkook the rest of the time. Jungkook silently gulps as he continues to sing his song.
And if his eyes stray towards the dark haired, handsome man, well, you can’t really blame him. More than half of the crowd had been unabashedly at him when he danced. He was a hard person to look away from.
Even so, Jungkook wrenched his eyes closed and focused on the final song in the set, wanting to end it off on a soft, calm tone.
After the last few notes of the piano, Jungkook grins. “Thank you, all. This was the last song of the night. I hope you have a pleasant rest of the night!”
The crowd goes awww, disappointed at the ending of his set list. They do this every night. It takes everything in Jungkook to not give them a full night of entertainment.
“Um, not quite,” a deep voice interrupts the potential chanting of encore, encore .
Jungkook whips his head to look at Yoongi borrowing a mic from one of the band members. He only gives Jungkook a small smile and a nod.
“We have one last song to close tonight, and it’s a very special song, so we hope you’ll stay and listen,” Yoongi’s low voice carries through the room and the patrons are visibly excited.
Jungkook is only confused. He shoots a look—both nervous and what is happening and why didn’t you tell me earlier?— at Yoongi who only nods reassuringly before sitting down at his piano. Jungkook looks back at the eager faces of the crowd and tries not to shrink back. In the dark of the bar, he spots Seokjin’s familiar and soft face full of warmth, giving him a thumbs up and a flying kiss.
Taking a deep breath, Jungkook looks at Yoongi and gives him the slightest of nods. Yoongi grins his cute gummy smile and starts the piano. The rest of the band picks up their cues and after a second, Jungkook’s eyes widen.
He knows this song. He wrote this song, in the confines of his small apartment, on a rainy night when he was feeling particularly emotional about things. The rain pattering on the railing of the tiny balcony, the lights of the city soft and muted, his heart feeling full and nearly bursting. He had poured all of it into this song.
That was years ago.
He had shown it to Yoongi one day and he had been so impressed that Yoongi almost pushed him to pursue music more seriously.
Jungkook had laughed it off. “It’s just a hobby, hyung. I’m not even that good,”
Yoongi had only hummed. “You could be,” He hadn’t brought it up again.
Until today.
Before Jungkook could even wonder why , his cue comes up and Jungkook hurries to start.
Your faint voice that brushes past me
Please call my name just one more time
Though I’m standing under the frozen sunset,
I will walk towards you, one step at a time
Still With You
There’s a bit where Yoongi’s piano comes in and it’s Jungkook’s favourite part. Yoongi’s piano skills are unmatched and usually, he would take a step back to just enjoy the melody playing out.
But today, his eyes find the handsome stranger, who is giving him a warm, but small smile and suddenly Jungkook can’t look away.
The lights dim, and even though he can’t see the other man anymore, Jungkook can feel his intense gaze.
In the dark room without a single lighting
Though I shouldn’t be used to it,
it feels familiar again
This subtle noise from the air conditioner
If I don’t even have this, I think I’ll break down
Laughing together, crying together...
He can barely hear the band over his thumping heart. If, in the beginning, his swiftly beating heart was the nervousness of singing the song, it has now morphed into nervousness of baring his soul. Especially to the handsome man whose gaze hasn’t wavered.
It should scare him, feeling these familiar and intense feelings towards a man he’s been eyeing from across the hall but he likes it. He all but latches on it.
As he’s singing the words he wrote in a moment of vulnerability that he’s been carrying in a small corner of his heart, he does a quick sweep of the crowd and nobody is moving. Every single pair of eyes is focused on him and usually, he would shrink at the attention but with the knowledge that he’s singing his own words, therefore messing up is not an option (it is never an option), he stands taller and closes his eyes.
He stays like that, swaying on his feet when the trumpet solo comes in and he takes a step back, smiling.
He’s very happy, today.
When the song ends, there is a moment of silence and Jungkook, softly blinking his eyes open, is afraid that the crowd doesn’t like it. What if it was too sad? What if—
But then the patrons and the staff burst into a loud applause and he think he spots some of them even crying, including Seokjin.
He-he did this. His song moved so many people and his heart is so full that it leaks out as tears at the corner of his eyes. He turns and hugs Yoongi and relays his thanks to him and the entire band for bringing his song alive. Then he expresses his gratitude to the crowd for being there and then he leaves the stage.
“Will you sing this again?” someone from the crowd asks before he leaves the stage, and Jungkook smiles.
“So what if I do?” the energy and adrenaline is surging through him as he winks and leaves the person gaping.
It’s nearly time to close the bar and Jungkook doesn’t want to leave yet. He is nursing a glass of coke at the bar, bothering his Seokjin-hyung who looks only fondly annoyed (don’t tell him that Jungkook knows), and staring off into the void when he comes up.
“Hi, can you get me a glass of your best cider and something soothing for the pretty man with the golden voice, please?”
Jungkook’s head whips to see his leaning against the bar, resting on his elbow, hip jutted out.
“Hi,” he says, his deep voice reverberating through Jungkook’s bones.
“I'm Taehyung,” he holds out his hand. “What’s your name, pretty?”
Jungkook blinks. He’s acutely aware that his mouth his gaping open when the man’s serious face turns into a child-like grin and oh no, be still, my heart, Jungkook thinks.
There’s a sharp pain on his cheek and Jungkook hisses. Seokjin had pinched his cheek and does not look apologetic. The older man cocks his head at the handsome man—Taehyung, Jungkook realizes he knows his name—and then leaves. Jungkook gulps and turns to see the him still smiling, hand still stretched out.
He takes it. Taehyung’s hand is big and pretty, dwarfing his own. “J-Jungkook,”
Taehyung smiles. “Pretty, just like you,”
“You’re prettier,” Jungkook blurts out and his face heats up. Taehyung laughs, throwing his head back.
“Cute,” Taehyung only smirks as he sidles up and takes a seat facing the musicians on the tiny stage. “You sing really well,”
Jungkook blushes even more, mumbling a thanks. They sit in silence for a moment. Jungkook is working up the nerve to talk to him—about anything—but he doesn’t get a chance because Taehyung’s phone rings and speaks into it. Jungkook tries not to overhear actively, but he catches it anyway.
“Already?...not fair, I thought I had more time?....Okay...okay, I understand. Will meet you at the entrance,” he clicks off and Jungkook hastily looks away.
“Jungkook-ssi, I’m-I’m sorry, but I have to leave,” Taehyung actually looks sad.
“Um, okay,” Jungkook doesn’t like how small his voice sounds.
“But,” Taehyung gets up, out of his chair to stand directly in front of Jungkook. He has to look up at his handsome face and his heart races. “Can I see you again?”
Jungkook’s breath stutters. He blinks. “Really?”
The boxy, boyish grin is back on Taehyung’s face. “Really,” Then he takes a small pocket notebook and scribbles something and tears off the paper. His elegant fingers folds the paper into a small, neat square, and tucks it into the front of Jungkook’s shirt pocket.
“Call me, pretty,” Taehyung winks at him and drowns his drink. Then he sashays away, humming the tune of Still With You under his breath.
“Okay,” Jungkook says to the air, and gulps down the soda.
His hands are itching to get back home, to his soundboard to translate the melody in his head (which unsurprisingly sounds the way Taehyung’s face is) and he hopes he get to see the other man soon.