#ahyoungbe

jay had just spouted whatever came to mind, at the time. then again, that's how sparks of ideas always starts—something random, but ultimately fitting. after replaying the song over and over ( along with the music video, of course ), jay mentioned how retro vibes could probably work with the entire song. it had the beat too, bouncy and old school. the outfits that the senior idols wore in the mv had the aesthetic too. from there, the team started brainstorming.

everyone seem to agree with retro cyberpunk, which reminded jay of mad max ( the newer rendition of the movie, not the older one ). so it seems that'll be the focus of their aesthetics and storyline. they got sidetracked for a while, thinking of jukeboxes and rollerblades to complete the whole theme, but that's obviously way too ambitious of them at the moment. maybe someday. honestly, jay thinks it'll be fun to do.

now they have to think about the remixes though, so he's workshopping with the others for that, including @ahyoungbe. "i think we can mix in a guitar riff as the bridge approaches," jay suggests, humming. "nothing too metal, i think that'd kill the retro vibe even though we're putting in a bit of cyberpunk in there. you know a thing or two about sound mixing, don't you?" admittedly jay has never done any proper schooling for it, courses and playing it by ear has been how he's doing it these days.

he also remembers bringing his younger sister here—this time, he's the one with money. he's learned from his experiences, and walks them to the chips section without her even asking. he'd fondly tell her to get whatever she wanted, before quickly rescinding his offer when she picked up more than three bags of snacks. she's always been a cheeky one, but he doted on her anyway.

that's one of his last memories of her, though, since their parents fell out soon after. their mother took her and left for america, leaving him behind. he tries not to dwell on it, though, knowing that he made the decision himself, and that was the price to pay for chasing his dreams.

this would be the first time yuwol allows himself to step out of the cage that he had conjured around himself at the behest of his parents—but maybe he's being a little too dramatic about the whole ordeal. all he's doing his picking up a guitar and standing in front of a microphone to sing, using his own voice for once instead of hiding behind his violin as an outlet. which is a little funny, all things considered. whenever someone asked him what instrument he can play, his answer is always the violin. never anything else. it's the only one that counts, to yuwol ( and to his parents; its own can of worms ).

standing on top of a stage is nothing new, but he's doing this without his parents' knowledge. it's more of an underground performance if anything, not that known by those too narrowminded to venture out of their comfort zone like his strictly classical parents. at the very least, yuwol knows he's safe here, he can't begin to wonder what will happen if he's found out. he'll figure it out once he crosses that line.

for now, all he has to do is sing. so he does.

his performance ends within the blink of an eye, he was just given a few minutes to showcase his skills and there's a rotation to go through. yuwol exits his stage without giving much of a speech—the less they know about him the better. judging from the audience though, it seems he did okay? always his own harsher critic. he'll have to ruminate on his own later.

yuwol does want to hang around for a while longer within the premises though, intent on observing the other performances. much to his suprise, he ends up spotting a familiar face. ( @ahyoungbe ) is idling to the side, so he approaches her after packing his guitar—an instrument he started using again recently—back into its case.

𝐋𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂 𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐄, 𝐒𝐄𝐎𝐔𝐋, Seoul, SK Sometime between Christmas & New Year's eve, 2023 w. 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐀𝐇𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆

As the year approaches its end, Junho finds himself itching for a little relief. A year of non-stop hard work and stress had left him aching for the freedom and excitement of his life before he was a trainee. He doesn't regret signing with Lime, nor does he resent what his life is now, but there are days when all he can think about are the nights he’d spend out at concerts, meeting up with friends, or having movie nights with his roommate. He’s lucky to be able to make time for one friend a week, and lately he’d been a little biased in who he chose to spend his time with. But as the year ticked away and the end of December approached, the new year drawing ever nearer, he’d decided to let loose just a little bit—just enough to scratch that incessant itch. 

If there was anyone who could help him have an enjoyable night, it was Ahyoung. They’d bonded over their love of underground music a while back, and since Jun had been deprived of the underground music scene for almost the entirety of the year at this point, he’d turned to Ahyoung to keep him updated on new music, new names, new sounds, new venues. He wanted to know what he was missing. Tonight, however, he didn’t want to miss a single thing. He’d rummaged around in his closet that had become largely athletic-wear over the last year (at least until a recent shopping trip), and pulled out the slightly see-through black shirt he’d bought with Minju, running his fingers over the velour butterflies decorating the fabric. The reminder of her drew a smile to his lips that had remained until he reached the venue Ahyoung had told him about. He’d worried that he’d feel out of place in this ‘scene’ now, or like he was hiding a dirty secret from the other people here who would surely disapprove of his trainee status. 

The leather jacket Jun had thrown over the top of his shirt does little to keep the winter chill at bay, and he begins to feel his fingertips freezing and growing numb inside his pockets. He’d agreed to meet Ahyoung at the door, but the longer Jun waits the more he wishes they’d agreed to meet at the bar inside instead. While not eager to drink too much tonight, the guaranteed warmth of the building’s interior calls to him. But, just as he's about to text her and tell her to meet him inside, he spots the familiar figure and breaks into a smile. It had been too long since he’d seen her, and while she looked much the same, he feels as though they must have both changed a lot—he at least had. His hair needed cut, and the dark circles under his eyes were impossible to hide these days. But his smile is just as bright as the last time he saw her. 

@ahyoungbe

"if you're gonna take my picture again, can you make sure you get my good side?" jinyoung tilts his face, pointing to his cheek in an indication of exactly where he prefers ahyoung point her lens, skipping a greeting altogether as he simply approaches his friend and starts talking. the whole thing is kinda ridiculous, but jinyoung has leaned into it since the beginning and it's far too late to go back now; it all started with one photograph, after all.

now, he's just running into an old friend while trying to visit an even older friend. jinyoung hasn't happened upon ahyoung in hangyeol's club before, at least not that he can remember, but he also can't say that he's surprised to see her here. yeah, this type of place is exactly where he'd expect to find such a weird little gremlin-child of a girl on a saturday night. he just wonders how security let her in here with that massive honking camera of hers, unless she's actually getting paid for her work by the club.