Chapter 25: Triangle

Loud, muggy rains drummed hard against the walls and windows of Chanyeol's studio apartment. Tao had arrived sopping from head to toe and none too pleased about it. The standard issue umbrella he carried was given a vicious shake before it was discarded in the entryway. Snug in its case, his bass was unharmed, but the paranoid musician spent the first part of practice meticulously inspecting the instrument to the point of distraction. Chanyeol looked on with bemusement, for the youngest of the band usually had zen to spare. That cool, collected calm did not extend to the monsoon season, however, and Tao was edgy as an alley cat. It was just as well Kai hadn't arrived yet, for Chanyeol wasn't sure he could handle the two at once.

Though it took some time to fall into a productive rhythm, they eventually got down to business. Tao relayed the details of a melody Kai had been developing for the past week, playing both the recording and the bass line he'd composed for Chanyeol. An hour slipped by as guitarist and bassist volleyed ideas and riffs. The dull excuse for daylight filtering through wan curtains dimmed further, and it was only when Chanyeol rose to turn on the lights that he realized just how much time had passed. 

"Where is he?" he wondered aloud as he pulled back his chair and sprawled in it, seating his guitar once more across his lap. "He did say he'd be here."

"Don't know," Tao looked up, soothed of spirit now that he was dry. He pulled his phone from his pocket and checked for messages. "I've got nothing."

"Yeah...same here," Chanyeol muttered as he checked his own. Several other messages awaited him - one from Baekhyun, another from Hyuna, and a few from his manager at the bar, no doubt trying to squeeze another shift out of him on short notice. Swiping the manager's out of sight, he clicked on Baekhyun's name to read his message.

"I'll try calling." Tao suggested, reclaiming Chanyeol's attention. He dialed the erstwhile vocalist and waited for several rings, only to be greeted by the obnoxious tones of his voicemail. Sparing himself and Chanyeol, who could hear it from where he sat, he quickly hung up. "No dice." 

"This isn't like him," Chanyeol frowned and pushed his fingers through his hair, worn long and unbound. Resting his hand atop his head, he glanced from the doorway to the far window, pensive in the wake of unsettling thoughts. Just then, Tao's phone buzzed. A message popped up on the screen, drawing a similar frown on Tao's features.

Fr: Kai

Client. $. ttyl.

"What." Chanyeol asked suspiciously, seeing the expression on the bassist's face. He leaned closer and tipped his chin towards the phone in his hand.

"He has a client," Tao said slowly, tapping the screen to close the message.

"Right now?" Chanyeol questioned in disbelief. "What the..." Shaking his head, he sighed and rose from the chair, pacing across the room aimlessly. "He has all week to do all and he had to schedule someone right now? During the one time we can all find time to practice?" 

Tao hummed noncommittally, and strummed his fingers across the strings of his bass. A low chord filtered through the amp. He chewed the inside of his lower lip.

"You don't seem particularly surprised." Chanyeol eyed the bassist.

Tao lifted both hands and shrugged. "You know better than I do that the only predictable thing about Kai is that he's unpredictable."

"Bull," Chanyeol grumbled. "What's going on with him? He's been acting strange for months. This is just...openly strange, by comparison."

Tao's lips pressed to a firm line. His gaze shifted to the side and he wet his lips. "You know... he's said the same about you," he said carefully, as if weighing how much or how little to reveal.

"What?" Chanyeol sat upright as he fixed a bewildered stare on the bassist. "He said that?"

"He might have."

"Tao," Chanyeol wiped a hand over his face as he leaned his elbows on his knees. "Not helping."

"I don't want to get caught in the middle of this."

"There are three of us, someone is bound to be in the middle." Chanyeol said, then grimaced as he saw the scowl on Tao's face. "Sorry. I don't mean it like that. I just - what's going on? He hasn't really said anything, aside from some snippy remark