The Thunder Lads Quintet

​It hadn’t been easy to find out which concert Junmyeon had meant that night. Yixing first called Junmyeon’s mother and asked which possible singer or band it could be. The woman was thrilled to hear Junmyeon wanted to go out (of course Yixing had omitted the drunken part). She suggested many known names that Junmyeon used to listen as a teenager. It seemed Junmyeon had been into international artist rather than the local ones. However, when Yixing researched about their upcoming activities, none of them were having a concert in Seoul anytime soon.

The next step was to search on Junmyeon’s phone. Even though Yixing helped Junmyeon find songs on the music apps and Youtube; he had never paid attention to what artist Junmyeon exactly listened to. He shouldn’t be snooping Junmyeon’s phone, but he believed it would help Junmyeon. Whether that reason was justifiable enough was up to debate. Yixing did the same procedure as before, and he got surprised when he found out which concert Junmyeon had meant. Nevertheless, he had found one artist that was performing in two days, and another one in September. It might be a waste of money, but Yixing bought two tickets for the earlier show.

The last step was going to be the hazardous one, telling Junmyeon. Drunken Junmyeon had been cooperative; sober Junmyeon was not so much. Still, Yixing believed he would say yes. Therefore, the night before the concert, during dinner, he finally asked.

“Jun-Mr. Kim, I have two tickets for The Thunder Lads Quintet concert. Would you like to go?”

Junmyeon stopped eating and went numb. “How did you know?”

“Oh, the other night when you… drank, eh, you kinda said you wanted to go… so, I looked it up and its tomorrow night,” Yixing said. He was relieved to know he had guessed right. And the moment of truth had come. Yixing anxiously stared at Junmyeon.

“It’s in Seoul,” Junmyeon said.

“I know, but I figured if we left earlier, then we could make it in time. And since it’ll end late, we should perhaps sleep over there, maybe in my place if you’re fine with it.”

Junmyeon was quiet for some time, and Yixing’s heart sank with every minute he didn’t say a word. Until Junmyeon broke the silence and asked, “What about Trost? Will he be alright?”

The words Junmyeon uttered were enough to make Yixing smile widely. “He gets really anxious from sitting in the back for such a long time, so I want to leave him in the Dog Care Center. They’ll take care of him.”

“Okay,” Junmyeon replied, “I’ll go.”

Yixing was beyond excited and would have screamed ‘Yes! Yes!’ but decided to contain himself, beaming at Junmyeon instead.

The next day, in the morning, Yixing and Junmyeon went to leave Trost at the Dog Care Center. Then they embarked on the five-hours trip. Most of the drive was in silence, and the pair only talked when they had stopped to eat lunch. It was around three in the afternoon when they arrived in Seoul at Yixing’s place. They had four hours to spare until the concert. First, Yixing gave Junmyeon a tour around his apartment. Junmyeon would be sleeping in Yixing’s room and Yixing in the living room. Then they sat and watched some TV while waiting.

When there were a few hours left, Yixing offered Junmyeon to borrow some of his clothes (since he was wearing his usual ones). Afraid that he had offended Junmyeon, he was about to apologize when Junmyeon actually said: “That would be great.” He helped him get ready. Once they were finished, Yixing thought Junmyeon looked radiant, model-like. Junmyeon was wearing his black pants and sapphire blue three-quarters shirt. Yixing had never worn that outfit before, and he was glad because he would never look as good as Junmyeon. Yixing would have to thanks Tao later for his fashion sense (and compulsive buyer behavior).

Around half-past five, the pair left for the concert. It was going to be held at a restaurant downtown. Once inside Yixing described the place for Junmyeon: the bar counter was to their right; there was a stage with a bass, a piano, a drum set, and a cello; tables surrounded the scene, and the lighting was dim. It was an intimate atmosphere. Yixing and Junmyeon sat in the middle, close to the stage. They had arrived early, so Yixing ordered them something to eat while they waited. Soon more people began to come in, and around seven o'clock, the place was full.

Five young men, possibly their ages, got up on the stage. The Thunder Lads Quintet was a jazz group, founded three years ago, that mostly did covers and renditions, but had recently released a few songs of their own. One by one the members introduced themselves to the audience: Jongdae, the pianist; Chanyeol, the drummer; Kyungsoo, the main singer and trumpet player; Sehun, the cellist and bass player; and lastly Baekhyun, the saxophonist and trumpet player. The crowd clapped, and then the concert began.

Baekhyun started playing the trumpet then Chanyeol, and the others accompanied him. The song had a gentle melody that harmonized marvelously with Kyungsoo’s voice. It was an English song, and Yixing had to ask Junmyeon which song it was. ‘But Not For Me’ Junmyeon answered.

The following performances were just as brilliant as the first one. Yixing had never listened to jazz before, but he was glad to have experienced this. ‘Take Five; Moanin; So what, and Blowing the Blues Away,’ were just a few of Yixing’s new favorite songs. If Yixing hadn’t been so absorbed with watching the group playing on stage, then perhaps he would have seen the occasional half-smiles on Junmyeon’s face.

Two hours later, it ended. The public cheered and greeted the five young men, who were standing there smiling and bowing. Junmyeon and Yixing perhaps were the one who clapped more enthusiastically.

Yixing waited that the multitude dispersed before they got up to leave. It would be less stressful for Junmyeon. As they sat there, one of the band members came to their table.

“Hey! Thanks for attending our concert!” said the tall male, Chanyeol.

Yixing introduced himself and waited for Junmyeon to answer.

“Hi Chanyeol…, I’m Junmyeon,” he said.

Chanyeol grinned. “What did you guys think?”

Junmyeon answered hastily before Yixing could, “It was perfect!”. Apparently embarrassed by his entusiasm he quietly added, ”It was... Really good.” 

“Thank you,” Chanyeol said while smiling, “How did you guys found out about us?” he asked.

“Oh, he wanted to come, and I just accompanied him,” Yixing replied and tapped Junmyeon’s shoulder, “It was a good choice, though. I must say it too, you guys were amazing.”

“Thanks! What about you, Junmyeon?” Chanyeol asked.

“I’ve been listening to you guys since you began uploading covers online,” Junmyeon muttered.

“Wow!” Chanyeol said in awe. “That was a long time ago! You must be one of our older fans. Wait here; I must get the others.”

“But I’m bli-” Junmyeon interfered.

“Blind. I know, just like our pianist, Jongdae. But why does that matter?”

“What? Jongdae is blind?” Junmyeon asked.

“Yeah, last year he was diagnosed with uveal effusion. Basically, his retina in both eyes slowly started to disintegrate. Now, he can’t see anything.”

“But, how can he play?”

“Just because he’s blind doesn’t mean he can’t, right?” Chanyeol said and chuckled, “That’s what he always says at least. And don’t go yet, they must come to greet you,” Chanyeol said and ran backstage.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Junmyeon asked Yixing.

“Sorry, I thought you knew,” Yixing said.

“No, he had never mentioned his illness before.”

Chanyeol came back, followed by the rest of the band members. Again, one by one they started to introduce themselves to Junmyeon and Yixing while shaking hands and smiling. Surprisingly Junmyeon moved his head towards their way when they talked to him.

“There’s almost one hour left until our next performance, do you guys want some company or were you about to leave?” Chanyeol asked.

“It’s fine by me,” Yixing said, “What about you?”

“Oh, sure,” Junmyeon said.

The quintet grabbed some chairs and sat around the pairs table, Jongdae chose to sit next to Junmyeon.

“It’s really nice to meet you,” Jongdae said. “I can’t believe we have met an old-school follower, those surely are rare.”

“Yeah, you guys are brilliant. And I’m sorry for asking but… How? You were so fantastic on stage I would have never realized it,” Junmyeon wondered.

Jongdae laughed. “We might be blind, but we’re not useless Junmyeon,” he said. “It was either sulking and cursing for the rest of my life or standing up and playing the piano. You see which one I chose in the end.”

“That’s… Amazing,” Junmyeon said.

“Sulking and cursing, Jongdae?” Baekhyun asked and huffed, “Isn’t that a gross simplification?”

“Okay, it might have been a little more than that,” the pianist said, chuckling.

“A little more? You tried to jump from the balcony,” Baekhyun added.

There was a small silence. Junmyeon didn’t know what to say but felt he was probably the only one who could sympathize with the pianist.

Jongdae laughed and lightly pushed Baekhyun, who was sitting next to him. “You’re never letting that go, aren’t you Baek? You just like it when I tell that story because you can be the hero.”

Baekhyun chuckled. “Hey, it’s my shining moment! I saved your .”

“I know, and I’ll be forever grateful,” Jongdae answered honestly and kissed Baekhyun’s temple.

“Okay, you two lovebirds,” Kyungsoo interrupted. “Let our guests speak now.”

Yixing had observed the exchange amusedly. While Junmyeon just kept thinking about Jongdae’s current state and how the pianist felt back then.

“Why are you guys called ‘The Thunder Lads Quintet?’ I understand the quintet part, but the rest?” Yixing asked.

“Oh, it was Jongdae’s suggestion, and it won the voting three years ago,” Sehun answered.

“Back in high-school when it was only me, Baek and Chanyeol who was in the band, we were called ‘The Thunder Lads.’ Let’s just say we weren’t exactly the quietest ones. So, the name stuck to me once we formed the official band.”

“It was three votes against two, and I still think it was a mistake,” Kyungsoo lamented.

“You’re just mad because we didn’t choose ‘Kyungsoo and the four idiots,’” Chanyeol said.

The group laughed, save for Junmyeon and Kyungsoo. The later one shook his head and said, “We could have shortened it KATFI.”

There were more laughs.

They continued chatting about their lives and such (except for Junmyeon). Soon, Chanyeol and the others were engrossed in a conversation with Yixing about whether Chanyeol’s dreams predicted the future.

Junmyeon took the chance to ask Jongdae quietly, “Jongdae, how did you…?”

“Managed not to try to kill myself once again?”

“Yeah…”

“Chanyeol told me about your scars. And to be honest, I can’t give you a concrete answer. Time and support, I guess. It’s not a good idea to be alone, believe me. But everyone copes with it differently.”

“Then I just want to know if the feeling ever goes away, or if you’ll live with it for the rest of your life.”

“No, it doesn’t last forever. When you manage to accept yourself as you are, then you’ll be able to move on, and live without fear. But that’s easier said than done, isn't?”

“True.”

When Junmyeon and Jongdae’s conversation was over, they redirected their attention to the group.

“Hey, Jongdae I always wondered, what’s the hardest part of being blind? Besides not seeing of course,” Sehun asked.

Jongdae hummed and said, “I guess talking to Chanyeol.”

Everyone else except Junmyeon laughed.

“Why?” the tall drummer enquired.

“Every time I ask you a yes or no question, you never answer because you’re nodding or shaking your head,” Jongdae said.

More laughs erupted from the group.

“Sorry Dae, sometimes I just forget you’re blind. I mean you basically do almost everything we do,” Chanyeol said.

“What about you, Junmyeon?” Kyungsoo asked.

Yixing looked at him anxiously.

“I… Not being able to do everything without help… But recently someone’s been showing me that there's still plenty I can do by myself.”

Yixing smiled, feeling his heartbeat a bit quicker.

“That’s the spirit,” Baekhyun said. “Soon you’ll be as crazy as Jongdae and even go water skiing. But everyone could use a little bit of help sometimes.”

“Baek, I already apologized for slightly burning your favorite shirt,” Jongdae said.

Baekhyun sighed. “I always say you do the laundry, I do the ironing.”

The group continued chatting for a while until the band members had to leave to prepare for their next performance. Before leaving, the group told Junmyeon and Yixing they would be glad to see them again, gave them a signed copy of their first original EP, and took a picture with them.

Afterward, Yixing drove them back to the apartment. It was around eleven o’clock when they arrived. Yixing prepared some tea for the two, and they sat in the living room.

“Thanks for bringing me tonight. It was spectacular, and I had… A great time,” Junmyeon said.

Yixing was beaming with happiness. “I’m glad you did. It was kinda the point of it.”

“Did you have fun? And did you really enjoyed their music or did you just say that to not disagree with me?”

“I loved it! Honestly! I didn’t expect you’d like jazz. It’s pretty uncommon, considering the artist we have here. Still, I really liked them, they're so talented. And they were all so friendly and funny.”

“Yeah, I know. I’ve been actually wanting to see them live for a long time. But you know, with swimming I barely had time for myself before,” Junmyeon said.

“At least now that’s done.”

“I still can’t believe Jongdae though.”

“Why?”

“It’s just… You’ll think everything ends once you are blind. But knowing he’s standing there, playing just as flawlessly as he did before, and doing so much else, it’s… Extraordinary.”

“It is, but I guess it must have taken him some time until he finally came to terms with it,” Yixing said.

“Yeah, it did. I wonder… I wonder if I’ll ever feel the same.”

“You will, one day, I know you will.”

Junmyeon sighed. “I wanna go to bed now. We should leave early to pick up Trost.”

“That’s a good idea,” Yixing said and stood up. He helped Junmyeon walk to his room and handed him his pajamas.

Before Yixing closed the door, Junmyeon said, “Goodnight and again, thank you... Yixing.”

Yixing’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of his name. This time Junmyeon had said it consciously. Despite the shock, he still managed to reply, “Goodnight, Junmyeon.”