CHAPTER ONE

Beyond The Scene

Strong winds blow from the west side of the land, forcing the two who remain rooted on the white sandy beach to keep a steady mind. Their hairs are tousled messily as a result of the unnatural phenomenon. The unsettling set of eyes fixed on the wavering sea splashing by the coast, metres away from their spots. The heart-racing scenario unwrapping in their surrounding appears to be a tell-tale sign of an unwanted turn of event. Never had they thought the possibility of the day will come. The two figures of polar opposites turn to face one another and at the moment in time, they share the same thought.

It is happening.

 

 

Rising up to the occasion is a man in his mid-twenties with a dreaded morning sigh. A very typical feeling yet it is apparent to many, especially his friends, he is indeed the heaviest sleeper. So to be awake after the constant ringing of his alarm, Min Yoongi groggily tosses his blanket aside, eyes still closed despite the movement of his body changing from a lying position to a sitting one. He groans as he reaches for his phone, only to see it is not his alarm at all. It is one of his bandmates calling.

“Yoongi, we’re screwed!” That was the first few words crossing his border of consciousness and he didn’t bother to check the name on the screen. A greeting would be nice, he casually thought. Luckily enough, he already accustomed to their voices. Therefore, judging on the loudness and chaotic message delivery, Yoongi knows who has the guts to disturb his sleep.

There were five of them – the band. Note the use of were instead of are because as the leader of the group named BTS, or Beyond The Scene for short, Yoongi hated how he managed to let a precious member slipping off his grasp. And it was, literally. At the mere thought of the day, he refocuses his attention back to the present time.

A video call comes from the second youngest and bassist of the band, Kim Taehyung. He has zero ideas why on Earth the boy chooses a video call instead of the normal voice call. Nonetheless, he can catch the caller’s face on the screen. Visually mature for his look but not by heart. He lives up to his position as the lively younger brother of the group and it might due to the fact the actual youngest is not capable of doing so.

We will get to that later.

At least there is no such thing a dull moment during their practice sessions. He is smart to sweep through the moment with strangest jokes. Either that, he simply belts out to the latest song he heard from the radio and claims it as to warm up his vocal cord seeing that he is one of the vocalists. The boy gets away from the ‘noises’ he makes as he tends to choose the kind oldest member of the band to spill to his heart content.

Kim Seokjin being that member, it is natural for him to give in to the fellow’s antics. As a bandmate, he remains the closest to the leader in telling bits of advice and idea for upcoming performances and reviewing or reflecting the ones they had done in the past. Being second in command is not his forte yet he is literally second in anything else in the band. He is the second keyboardist after Yoongi, another vocalist after Taehyung. But at least he does great with any given string instruments, mainly the guitars. If chances are given, he comes up with good lyrics too and the one in charge of their transportation.

“What kind of screw are you talking about, exactly?” Yoongi finally replied one he is situated on the edge of his bed, rubbing his eyes in the hope it will make the drowsiness go away to fully comprehends the situation. The fellow can be difficult to understand at times. When he catches hand gestures behind Taehyung, he blinks his eyes a couple of times to read the swift hand movement made by the youngest boy in the band.

The drummer, the beat of the group, and the position are hold proudly by a male named Jeon Jungkook, Taehyung’s partner in crime as what Seokjin would label him. Comparing him to the bassist though, he is the total contrast to the other. While the young one is out there being his loud self, the boy is quiet and stays at the back of his default instrument with his drumsticks.

Because you see, Jungkook is mute. Meaning he doesn’t have the ability to speak yet he can hear very well. He mentioned once about what happened which caused him to be in such way but that doesn’t seem to bother his friends at all. In fact, the band is the only true friend that sticks with him up to this day. The others take initiatives to learn sign language just to be able to have a proper conversation and understand him better. However, Yoongi cannot see what the boy is trying to say through the call.

“Hey, where are you? Don’t tell me you’re still in bed. We have a last-minute offer to perform at a wedding soon. In two hours.” Seokjin told him unexpectedly which makes Yoongi’s eyes widen in surprised. They are screwed, he ponders before rushes towards the shower after ending the call.

He is not a fan of tardiness. So for him to be tardy instead of his other members are never in his life dictionary. Also, what makes Seokjin think it is a good idea to accept an offer without his consent? They should have declined it no matter how desperate they are for the past few weeks.

Once he is done, Yoongi immediately runs down the sidewalk, breezing his way through the morning air. Usually, he will take his time to be at the rented studio and enjoys himself to the calming ambience of the sea from afar.

Yes, instead of out in the metropolitan city, the band chose to be near the waters. It is a mutual opinion from the past after they graduated from their respective universities and coming back from the army. Even Jungkook enlisted as soon as he could. Somewhere along the line, he said he did not want to be left alone. It had only been three months since his return from enlistment as a public service worker yet his skill does not seem to deplete. He is a natural at it.

Yoongi’s heart stays the closest to the sea ever since he was a little boy. He adores everything about it. The crystal reflection of the blue sky, the soft hush of waves making its way up the beach, and also for another reason he refrains from telling anybody. Not even the guys know the extra detail. At the slight thought of it, he instantly softens before bringing his hand up to the dangling necklace hidden behind his shirt as he continuously runs to the band’s studio.

 

 

“Don’t do that again.” The leader spoke sternly once he enters the underground building. Once the door closes behind him, he pauses to catch his breath. His eyes immediately scan his bandmates' faces. They appear calm with the exception of Jungkook, who looks a tad nervous? Perhaps expecting Yoongi to burst into a fit. Fortunately, it’s too early for that.

Their safe haven. Their second home. At least for Yoongi that is. He is very sure he owns half of the square studio judging on the cheap oblong table arranged along the wall on his right. Scattered on the left are their instruments and beyond that is a recording space which is still incomplete.

From the corner of his eyes, Yoongi can see Seokjin jolts as a respond and Jungkook refusing to look straight at him. Taehyung? He is by the PA system, somewhere tucked in the corner of the studio. Being the one who made the call, he fumbles with the phone in his hands. The leader has a vague idea of what he is doing.

“I have plans today and now I have to postpone it. Is everything even ready? What songs are we performing?” Yoongi listed his questions fast to gather information in an instant but all he is getting is a chuckle. “You’re not the rapper for nothing. We are already well aware of what to do before you came. Seokjin suggested that we should go with the usual set.” Taehyung glances from his phone and finally joining them.

“Thank goodness.” He sighs to ease his tensed mind and sees the youngest member of the band walks towards him. The other two are busy chatting and tuning their instruments to follow the conversation.

“You do know which set Taehyung said, right? Who will take her parts again?” Jungkook signed and it is only then he registers the confused expression displays by Yoongi. And it is not due to the method of talking. “It’s the wedding song set and from what I heard, you guys haven’t done it since I was enlisted. We’ve been doing street performances for months even after I came back.”

“You’re right. Taehyung will sound a bit weird singing her parts.” The older male curses at the thought. Realisation dawns upon him as he might actually forget one major problem with the so-called ‘wedding song set’. Wow, they need a better name for their song lists now that he ponders over it.

Taehyung has an amazing vocal but the lyrics will turn uncanny to the people in the ceremony. It doesn’t help that they haven’t practised and made an alteration to the set since they lost their only female member. Recalling them quickly, there is only be one compulsory duet song in the set. Nevertheless, without the original female vocalist and guitarist, the vibe will not be the same and Yoongi hates it so much for the no apparent reason.

“Let’s round-up from a quick discussion.” He said and gathers Seokjin and Taehyung in the centre of the room for an impromptu meeting once again.

 

 

The warmness of a good cup of coffee after a sudden performance at a random wedding eases Yoongi’s wired mind as he waits for his evening appointment. He bids his goodbyes to the band swiftly before hailing a nearby taxi to the current café he is in. Picking the corner table under the canopy provided, he scans his smartphone for the latest news and updates for the day. There is not much to see but enough to skip through the minutes and a male figure takes the empty seat across him.

“How’s today’s performance?” The tall fellow, handsomely clad in a navy blue suit asked him as a conversation starter and Yoongi curves a small smile, “It’s like always, Namjoon. How’s your day?”

Kim Namjoon is someone he meets occasionally for a talk on a topic which Seokjin will never understand. It is as if they are from another world and he rather not let the older male and the other guys get confused, twisted by his life any further. The male in front of him though is a unique man who wears formal attire on all occasion. But he doesn’t question his choice. It looks great on him anyway to be a problem.

“The same old people walking in and out of the office like always. Nothing new to say. Why do you want to meet me though? Is there anything wrong?” Namjoon’s eyes follow Yoongi’s hand as he brings his cup to his lips and returns on the table. “No special reason. Can’t we hang out without thinking I have things to ask from you anymore?”

“I have nothing against it. It’s just something I need to get used to. People I know rarely talk about anything normal even out of the office.” The younger fellow added with a short sigh, “I wish I do have a normal life.”

“Is this kind of lifestyle not normal enough for you?” Yoongi stated in genuine curiosity, “You’ve been doing this since you’re sixteen. Heck, you started doing this ever since you were little.”

“And I’m thankful because other kids out there are not as fortunate as me to have a company passed on by their parents after stepping out of college,” Namjoon replied and Yoongi can detect the tiny bit of sarcasm in his tone. Also from the way he rolled his eyes after saying it. “Hey, without you I wouldn’t make it this far.” He chose to tell the truth.

“Yoongi, how’s that song coming along?” The younger one changed the topic easily to something the older one loves. Yoongi figures it isn’t the best to dive deeper into the topic seeing the direction it goes. He smiles.

If there is one thing he can see doing for a long time, it will be music. As cliché as it sounds, he has an undivided love towards it from the first time he found his finger gingerly hovered over the classic dark brown piano tucked in the corner of a music shop. It was his first love. He knew what to do with the rest of his life. Such a persistent man we have here.

“That was just a joke. What makes you think I’ll make a song out of it?” Yoongi recalls a memory of him playfully playing his keyboard on Namjoon’s tablet to an unplanned composition in Namjoon’s office. The lyrics were just jumbled words from midair but apparently to his friend, it was good enough to make into an actual song. Yoongi has that kind of talent in him.

“I don’t know. You’re just that good. It’s strange to know that you have no intention to be a music producer. How long do you think the band can keep going? Based on what I heard from Seokjin and Jungkook from our last hangout, you guys aren’t doing so great.”

“Jungkook goes there often too?” Seokjin is understandable because, for whatever reason, their friendship bond is strong but Jungkook? The quiet boy of the band? That takes him a little by surprise.

“Yeah, he goes to my office sometimes to talk. I know sign language too, you know?”

“I know.” He has to know. It is a part of Namjoon’s job to know sign language by heart yet there is some confusion here and there. Mostly due to the fact, every country appears to have different interpretations of certain things. He studied abroad. Something related philosophy, or was it history? Yoongi can’t recall well the exact course. Aside from that, Namjoon is doing well in his office although it does hinder his dream to open his own library.

“Anyway, what makes you think I have no plans in having a promising career?” Yoongi picks up the discussion from where they left.

Of course, he thought of that. He thought of that a lot but he does not have the heart to disband the band yet. BTS are his friends, with or without the one missing member. They can pass as a family too if he wanted to admit it. Leaving them is the last thing on his mind. If he can, he wants them to be at the top chain together. He is waiting for the right timing and push. To be honest, Namjoon can help him with that.

“The offer still stands. I can give him a call anytime. He is more than willing to help you. You can even start from the bottom since that’s what you want but knowing him and the band’s ability, you can go higher than that. People will love you guys.” Namjoon ends his speech with a sip of his drink before they decide to part ways.

‘Will they really, Namjoon? Will they really?’ Yoongi contemplated deeply as he took another cab ride back to his home in the evening. Without anyone accompanying him to his destination and a quiet driver, he is able to rethink most of the discussion he had with his trusted advisor.

Summer has lengthened the hours of the day that they did not realise it is already seven and they only had coffee so he makes a detour down the street to head over to the studio, knowing that at least one of his friends is there doing who knows what.

Yoongi catches the hush strum of the acoustic guitar, echoing throughout the room as soon as his feet enter the underground studio. The youngest bandmate of his is busy tuning the instrument yet from the way his head moves upwards and meets the other’s eyes, he can tell who came. So, the fellow lowers his guitar and beams a bright smile.

“You came from the gym, aren’t you?” The older questioned when he takes a quick glimpse at the boy’s choice of outfit. A simple black t-shirt and sweatpants. He lets his hair get blown by the floor fan on his side. Yoongi assumes that since the studio is like Jungkook’s second home so he is not surprised to see how comfortable he looks, attire wise.

“I did and I suddenly had a melody stuck in the back of my head. I had to come here instantly or else I’ll forget it.” He signed enthusiastically, before joining him at the couch and continues, “How about your meeting with Namjoon?” Jungkook beams a wide smile.

“You met with him often?” Yoongi chose to ask upon remembering bits of their conversation. Seeing his head bobs instantly, the older knowingly nods too.

“So,” Yoongi spoke slowly, “What kind of melody stuck in your head, Kook?”

･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ.

CuriousCat