Chanyeol and Jongdae ended up talking nonstop in the next couple of hours that Kyungsoo was not able to continue translating. Not that he didn’t enjoy it.  On the contrary, he didn’t remember laughing so much in years, it seemed.

Kyungsoo hadn’t felt like this in a long time, having this sense of belonging and camaraderie. He vaguely remembered hanging out and indulging in street food with his classmates back in Ilsan, but that was it. They were very distant memories. Jongdae had always been friendly with him, though, and they had become friends because the choir master had given them duets for the church services all four summers that Kyungsoo had been singing with him.

He’d admired Jongdae’s natural vocal abilities very much. His friend could sing the contents of a newspaper and no one would mind. In fact, he once heard several members of their church before commenting that their ears had been blessed whenever Jongdae performed his solo.

Alas, good things must come to an end, and Jongdae had to get ready for his next job, which was to sing at the uptown bar where he also served as waiter.

“Ya,” Chanyeol piped in, as the three friends got up to leave. “We can drive you there.” He looked at Kyungsoo expectantly, as the smaller one glanced at his watch. “Kyungsoo-yah, we’ll drop Jongdae off before I drive you home?”

Jongdae bit his lip to conceal an amused smile. He had known to be Chanyeol to be an all-around nice guy—although people would assume he didn’t have too good of an upbringing because of his social status. However, his tall friend was being extra considerate towards Kyungsoo, which was quite refreshing to witness.

“Uh, I can catch the train from here...” Kyungsoo said shyly.

“Aniya!” Jongdae suddenly protested, grabbing onto Kyungsoo’s arm. “This the first time I’ve seen you in 6 years, so let’s spend as much time as we can, please!”

Kyungsoo sighed, scratching his head. He had forgotten how Jongdae could be just like a little beagle sometimes, and he almost always managed to get people to bend to his will (within reason). “Araseo, let me just call my parents.”

And he wasn’t embarrassed that he was still letting his family know of his whereabouts, even at his age. He was worried that they would wait for him before having their dinner, and it seemed as if he was going to miss mealtime with them, given the Saturday night traffic.

It wasn’t a long drive to Jongdae’s second job, thankfully. It was this hip, European-style bistro in Cheongdam-dong. While it was small in area, it was pleasantly packed when Jongdae, Chanyeol and Kyungsoo arrived. They entered the back door, where Jongdae was greeted by his 3 other band mates who were dressing up and getting ready for their set, which was about to start in 20 minutes.

“Oh yeah, these are my friends, Kyungsoo and Chanyeol.” Jongdae only threw a jacket on and mussed off his hair a little, facing the mirror. “And these are Kangjoon, Bogum and Eunwoo.”

His bandmates, who appeared to be more or less then same age as they were, nodded at them casually, even waving.

Kyungsoo couldn’t help thinking all of them could have easily been idols.

“So which one of them were you recommending to be the bass guitarist?” Kangjoon asked, grinning.

“Ah... that would be that giant over there.”

Chanyeol cowered a little bit, as the dressing room proved to be too small for 6 people to be inside.

Eunwoo, who blinked as if he were a real life doll, nodded in approval. “They’re quite good looking. They’d be a good fit for the band.”

The wide smile spread across Jongdae’s face. “Well, yes, that is true.” Then he turned to his suddenly nervous friends. “I haven’t told you guys, but we actually have quite a following, especially from the young girls and noonas who frequent our bar whenever the house band performs.”

“We’re all in college so we can’t do it every night. So it’s usually Fridays or Saturdays, depending on the band members’ personal schedules,” Bogum informed helpfully. “Unfortunately, I have a big exam the following week, so I won’t be able to perform with them next Friday.” He looked over at the two newcomers keenly. “If one of you is free, would you be able to cover the background vocals for Jongdae?”

“Oh, I vote for Kyungsoo-yah!” Jongdae excitedly piped in, causing the owl-gazed boy to look stupefied. He glanced apologetically over at Chanyeol. “And Chanyeollie can also play the keyboards like you, Bogummie.”

“Is it okay for you two, though?” Bogum, being the leader of the group, had to scratch his head. “The pay’s not that much... but there’s free flow of food and drinks after the show, so...”

Chanyeol and Kyungsoo looked at each other, their lips upturning a bit.

“Ooh! Seems like Jongdae is winning them over,” Eunwoo cajoled, laughing.

“I swear this wasn’t planned.” Jongdae put up his hands to display his innocence. “I did mention this to Chanyeol once but I haven’t said anything to Kyungsoo. So I’m hoping...?” He looked at them pleadingly, with those beagle-like eyes.

Kangjoon gave Chanyeol playful pat on the back, which made the chairwoman’s son jump back. “How about a mini audition? If that’s okay with you, of course.”

Kyungsoo fidgeted with his hands, feeling somewhat ambushed, but when he saw Chanyeol already reaching for an acoustic guitar, he figured he should at least commiserate with the taller one.

Chanyeol looked at him, whispering, “Justin Bieber...?”

The smaller one had to nod, at least the song choice wouldn’t require him to exert so much effort. “Love Yourself?”

Chanyeol grinned, because he knew the chords of that one, so he positioned the guitar comfortably on his lap and chest.

Jongdae was watching his friends proudly while anticipating his bandmates’ reactions—and his bandmates were serious musicians themselves so they had extremely high expectations—but he just knew in his gut, his bandmates would be blown away.

“Whoa, in English!” Kangjoon exclaimed, clapping in encouragement.

Kyungsoo heaved a deep breath as Chanyeol began to strum the strings.

For all the times that you rained on my parade

And all the clubs you get in using my name

You think you broke my heart, oh girl for goodness sake

You think I'm crying, on my own, well I ain't

Good thing Chanyeol was quick in thinking that he instantly picked it up when Kyungsoo stopped singing, only smiling at him:

And I didn't wanna write a song 'cause I didn't want anyone thinking I still care

I don't but, you still hit my phone up

And baby I be movin' on and I think you should be somethin'

I don't wanna hold back, maybe you should know that

And it was to Chanyeol’s delight—and everyone else’s—that Kyungsoo sang