Chapter 4

The Concert

 “You have guests” Myungsoo said nonchalantly when Sungjong stepped into the apartment with a bag from a supermarket. The voice made his heart jump a little in surprise. Myungsoo was sitting in front of the TV with a game console in his hands. His swollen eyes never left the screen, and Sungjong got the feeling he had been there for a while.

He hadn’t time to contemplate his roommate’s elusive behavior for long, though, because two equally widely grinning faces emerged from his room, and he found himself gulped in a warm embrace that immediately made him feel at home.

“Dongwoo, Hoya! What are you doing here?” Sungjong asked while hugging the two men back. “We had to come see you somehow” Hoya grinned, ruffling Sungjong’s hair (the boy quickly groomed it back under control). “Sorry we let ourselves in like this” Dongwoo apologized. “It’s nothing! Can I get you anything? Tea?” Sungjong asked like a proper host. Soon they were sitting on Sungjong’s floor for the lack of more fitting furniture, chatting away to catch up on the happenings of three months apart.

“Oh, and there was this one time we went to an amusement park, and I managed to drag Dongwoo here into a ghost train. So, there we sat, surrounded by akumas and ghosts and stuff, when he suddenly decided that it was all too much, ‘cause he tried to climb of the carriage. They actually had to make an announcement asking people to ‘please stay on their seats’. And most of the people there were grade-schoolers anyway” Hoya recalled. “C’mon that is not how it went” Dongwoo laughed, and Sungjong suddenly got the feeling that that was exactly how it went.

“By the way, how is the ‘plan’ progressing?” Sungjong asked. Although the pair was currently earning their share by dancing, they had dreamed of a career as rappers since 6^th grade. Hoya shifted; “That’s actually one of the reasons we came back now. We’ve been trooling around with our demo, and it seems we finally caught something. A very big fish. (Dongwoo stretched his arms out and mouthed; “Like THIS big”) And now it’s time to do some serious convincing” Hoya explained. “You mean pleading” Dongwoo said, making Hoya straighten his back. “I don’t plead”, he said. Dongwoo bursted into laughter at that statement, making Hoya stretch the side of his mouth with a hooked finger until a muffled; “Arasso, arasso, arasso” came out.

After taking a moment to gather himself Dongwoo said; “Of course that wasn’t the only reason we came back—“. It was Hoya’s turn to cut in; “Yeah, I missed the Korean cuisine. And baek-saeju.” Sungjong smiled widely. It was like watching a pair of bad comedians, but he’d really missed this.

Like always Dongwoo continued from where Hoya had left of; “And our parents naturally, but we’re also here to see how you’re doing. So, how’s the uni?” he asked. “A lot of work, but other than that it’s fine... But something weird happened yesterday.” Sungjong said and reached into his drawer to take out a very familiar stack of laminated pieces of paper. Something, curiosity perhaps, had stopped him from leaving them in the trashcan.

Sungjong told his best friends about his venture into the world of showbusiness, gaining a satisfactory amount of ‘seriously?’-s and ‘really?’-s as a response. When he’d finished Dongwoo and Hoya exchanged a glance and a nod, as if having a silent conversation through their eyes. It made Sungjong feel like an outsider; they were no longer three. His two best friends now shared something more, a deeper synchronization than what could be seen in their movements.

“We think you should go for it.” Hoya spoke first. “Only if you want to, of course. But what would you lose?” Dongwoo said. Sungjong turned his eyes on the floor to think. Dongwoo brushed Hoya’s thigh urgingly, and soon the sound of Hoya’s voice made Sungjong lift his eyes again.

“Oh, and that roommate of yours better not be giving you headaches, or I’ll come over and give him one to remember” he said, crackling his knuckles without managing to produce a sound. “Okay, that’s enough of testosterone in the air for one evening” Sungjong intervened, laughing heartily; “Myungsoo’s alright.” “Really? ‘Cause I’ve known you forever, don’t underestimate my psychic abilities”, Dongwoo said doubtfully. “I’m serious. Everything’s alright” Sungjong said. “Why don’t you invite him to the Rolling Hall then? It wouldn’t hurt him to go out more” Dongwoo suggested.

When he had walked his visitors outside Sungjong returned to his room, but after a moment of contemplating his possibilities his head popped outside of the door. Myungsoo hadn’t moved from his spot on the floor since Sungjong came home. Maybe he did need to get out more…

“Uncle-Gyu’s band is having a gig tomorrow. Do you want to come along?” he asked his roommate. Sungjong had a habit of calling Sunggyu Uncle-Gyu whenever he wasn’t around, mainly because he knew it irritated the man to no end.

Myungsoo kept his eyes on the game while answering; “Sure, they make decent music”. Sungjong stared at the boy for a while, long enough to make Myungsoo glance at him sideways. “When is it?” Myungsoo asked, in a tone suggesting that he thought Sungjong wanted him to ask more, ergo the staring bit. “Eight pm.” Sungjong said, giving up and retreating back to his own room. Myungsoo could be really nice sometimes, but when he was on a gaming streak talking to him was almost as productive as talking to a refrigerator.

But it was the right call to invite Myungsoo to the concert, wasn’t it?

Turns out it really, really wasn’t. But that Sungjong didn’t find out until much later that evening.

* * *

Even if Sungjong had told his best friends that all was fine with Myungsoo, he was constantly afraid that the boy would do or say something weird again as they sat side by side on his car. He was relieved when Myungsoo continued his act of a well behaving piece of furniture, sitting silent and still on his seat.

They met Dongwoo and Hoya in the front of the Rolling Hall, which was already crowded with people. “Gyu’s doing pretty well for himself” Hoya remarked.

That was an understatement.

Although Sungjong had heard his uncle’s singing countless of time, this was different. After getting over the initial nervousness he seemed to be powered by the crowd. They’d even thrown in new songs, ones that Sungjong had never heard before. Some of them slipped further from the melancholic rock that Sunggyu’s band normally played, into a chatechory of songs that were easier to listen to. Songs that could appeal to the large public, Sungjong thought. They could make it big.

In the middle of the concert Sungjong got distracted when he found himself next to a person he had thought he’d seen the last of. For whatever reason Sungyeol had come to the Rolling Hall as well, looking a bit lost and like he’d had a few too many drinks of encouragement.

“Hey” Sungyeol leaned to say over the music. Sungjong smiled at him amusedly. Just like the first time we met, Sungyeol thought. Sungjong could have asked how the man had ended up here, but given that he came with Woohyun (who blatantly winked over Sungyeol’s shoulder) Sungjong didn’t really want to know more.

“What about your ‘guy’s night’?” Sungjong asked, cupping his hands into a sort of megaphone. “My manager couldn’t make it. Turns out he really is sick” Sungyeol yelled back. Sungjong almost felt like making fun of the man’s apparent lack of friends, but he was pretty sure that the noise around them would annihilate all attempts at wittiness. The conversation dried up, and they joined Myungsoo (who had been secretly following their interaction) and Woohyun (who was mostly just completely immersed in Sunggyu’s singing) in watching the band.

When the concert ended their group, now consisting of Myungsoo, Sungjong, Sungyeol, Dongwoo, Hoya and Woohyun, waited until Sunggyu’s newfound fan girls scattered off. Sungjong’s and Sunggyu’s association wasn’t kept under cover for long. When everyone’s attention was elsewhere Woohyun cornered Sunggyu about it.

“So he’s really your nephew?” Woohyun asked, amazed. “Yeah…” Sunggyu answered. There was a devious smirk on Woohyun’s face as he contemplated the fact; “Humm… Not bad at all.” Sunggyu was immediately alarmed. “What are you going on about now?” he asked, narrowing his eyes to slits. “I’m thinking of collecting the series” Woohyun pondered.

“I will never talk to you again”, Sunggyu stated after a moment of staring in disbelief, and turned to leave. Woohyun was quick to stop him by grabbing a hold of his arm; “C’mon now, that was a joke”. Sunggyu shook him of but turned back around; “Well, maybe I’m getting tired of your jokes. Just leave me alone, will you?” Woohyun could finally see the relation between the uncle and his nephew. They both had a way to shut people out when annoyed. Like a hedgehog that curls on a ball. Sunggyu the Hedgehog, what a cute thought (Woohyun had never been one for concentrating).

“I’m sorry, okay?” Woohyun said, inkling closer. Sunggyu frowned at that; “I don’t think you are”. Woohyun wasn’t taken aback in the slightest; “You know you’re the only one I want” he whispered into Sunggyu’s ear. “You… just… aish!” Sunggyu was too frustrated to find words. He wanted to be angry, he really did, but somehow his body seemed to have a differing opinion. At the moment it was treacherously pumping blood to his cheeks, a fact hopefully hidden by the dim lightning.

Woohyun backed away with a satisfied expression and Sunggyu decided he needed a drink. Preferably something with enough alcohol to knock out a bear.