Chapter Text
He lights another cigarette even though he knows that if he keeps up at this pace his pack will be empty before the night is over and he doesn’t have the money to get another until he gets paid. He lets the match burn a little longer than he needs to - letting it come dangerously close to his fingertips. Even though Santa Cruz weather is mild most of the year, evenings can be chilly near the water.
He takes an extra-long drag as he looks around the boardwalk and for the tenth time today wonders if life will always be this hard.
“Are you even listening, V?”
“Hmm? What? Yeah, I was.”
He wasn’t.
Most of the time he tries not to listen. Gary and Charlie as usual are being complete idiots. They all three graduated together a few years ago. But Charlie and Gary come from money, both are privileged young white guys who could afford the luxury of flunking out of college after a year to chase their dreams because without a doubt their parents would forgive them in the end. Parents who picked them up at their dorms in San Francisco and lectured them all the way home. But ultimately allowed them some time to figure out what they wanted to do with their lives. At this point, it was being in a rock and roll band. And if that dream doesn’t come true, their parents will forgive the squandered period of youth and make sure doesn’t prevent them from being model young husbands and fathers one day when they take over family businesses and continue the tradition of entitled middle class people. Taehyung didn’t flunk out of college, because he didn’t go. It wasn’t even an offer on the table. He had worked part-time during high school, and after graduation, he just took on as many hours as he could.
For the most part, Taehyung has always felt like the community service project they acquired a few years ago and have held on to because even though he doesn’t have money or influence, he does have something they need.
Right now he is the only one in their band with any real musical ability. He wasn’t the only one a few days ago. Their lead singer had been part of the choir at the local high school. A nice guy with a great voice. Between Taehyung’s ability to play almost any instrument and pick out almost any tune by ear and their lead singer’s vocal ability, the band was starting to get popular. Charlie and Gary could play enough guitar and bass to keep a song moving, but Taehyung was the one who kept things going, even though it was made clear from the beginning that it wasn’t his band.
They thought they had hit the jackpot when all the little places they had been playing turned into an invitation to be one of the bands at an all-day concert on the beach during the Miss California pageant held there every year. Even better they have the last slot before the headlining band. So not the headliner or main event, but definitely this was to be their biggest gig to date.
The jackpot went bankrupt two days ago when the lead singer announced he would be attending college after all, would be moving to Texas immediately, and would no longer be a member of the band.
Now he has one month to find a new lead singer and be rehearsed enough for the pageant show. Gary and Charlie could and should be helping, but as usual, their focus is on something else.
“I am telling you it was the best piece of ass, the absolute best I have ever had. This girl knew what she was doing.” Gary explains with a glazed look in his eyes.
Charlie laughs, “Well you paid for it, what did you expect? She’s a professional!”
“I don’t give a damn. Best $10 I ever spent. I’m going back tomorrow night.” Gary defends his disgusting affinity for whore houses. “I’m telling you, V, you got to come with me. You’d be a lot happier if you got laid.”
Taehyung can’t even muster up the obligatory fake smile that he usually gives when they are being crude and he would really like to call them out, but instead just wants to get the attention off himself as soon as possible. His mind is too consumed with finding a new lead singer.
He knows who he wants, but he is trying to come up with anyone else.
It isn’t that JK isn’t a great singer, he is. Better than great - if that is even possible. Taehyung has heard him sing with the church choir a few times when Charlie’s mom had insisted that they attend church if they were going to continue to live free in the rental she and his dad owned.
He sounds like an angel.
But he is also expected to behave like one.
His parents are quite a bit older, having adopted him, which is obvious from the fact he is Korean and they are as white as white gets in Central California. But they are very involved in church. And they have had him singing in the choir since he was little. He didn’t attend public school with Taehyung and the other guys as his parents didn’t want him to be negatively influenced by average heathen teenagers. Instead, Jungkook had been homeschooled. And it shows.
Taehyung thinks he might be around 19, but he isn’t sure as there is no graduation year to go by. He will be 21 at the end of this year and has been working as kitchen help at the diner (or café as most locals called it) next to the Hotel Casa Del Rey since graduation. It was only a year ago that he had crossed paths with JK who was hired as a bellhop at the hotel. Sometimes he would come into the café after his shift, with his ridiculous red uniform on, with all the little gold details. Thank god he usually takes off the hat and lays it on the chair next to him instead of wearing it.
Taehyung assumes he is probably a great bellhop. He’s used to being told what to do by his strict conservative parents. And by all indications, he does what they tell him to do.
When he comes in, he always orders a hamburger with catsup only and a soda. The drink is the only thing that varies. He will order different sodas or cola with different flavors. Taehyung has made a game of it in his mind to try to guess what he will pick each time. He rarely gets a moment to stand still at the café, his responsibilities include everything from bussing tables and working in the kitchen, basically whatever task is asked of him. His unquestioning cooperation keeps him on the good side of management which means he can easily get the time off he needs to rehearse and perform. But no matter how busy he is, he always manages to observe JK.
Only a small part of the fascination is his drink preferences. Taehyung has never been able to forget that voice he heard on that Sunday a few years ago. Also, JK, like himself is obviously Korean. While it isn’t out of the ordinary to see anyone of Asian descent in this area, Jungkook just seems different somehow. It could be his strict upbringing or his homeschooling, but to Taehyung, he is interesting.
Interesting, but possibly also some trouble. Obviously, JK is still under his parent’s roof, sings solos every Sunday in the church choir, and probably mows the lawn every Saturday whether it needs it or not. If, and that is a big if – if he even wanted to join the band as their lead singer, would his parents let him, and if they did, how would he get along with the other guys who are currently discussing the breast size of every woman that walks by them on the pier.
“Dude!” Gary exclaims, “you are missing some of the best tits we’ve seen all summer!”
Taehyung takes the final drag off his cigarette, tosses it onto the concrete, and snubs it out.
“You guys tell me about it later. I’m going to walk over to the café and check my work schedule. I forgot what hours I work this week”
A total lie. Taehyung is meticulous about his work schedule. He can’t afford to get fired. He is careful with everything in his life because it feels like he is always one mistake from total disaster. It’s been like that for so long, he doesn’t remember it ever being any other way.
He shoves his hands into his pocket and heads toward the café. He doesn’t have a reason, but he has to get away from the boardwalk for just a while.
It’s pretty busy for a Saturday night. Taehyung is partially glad he had the night off so they could rehearse, even though the other guys copped out after an hour of practice and wanted to come “check out chicks.” But the other part of him hates that he is missing a busy night, which often means more tips.
The bell on the door rings as he enters. The clean well-lighted atmosphere always lifts Taehyung’s mood. The red vinyl covered booths and chairs at tables – the stools lined up at the counter. The jukebox is playing in the corner.
Flora notices him right away. He wonders if she ever gets a night off. He isn’t sure how old she is, but she has worked here as long as he can remember. She’s one of those no-nonsense people who tells you the truth but doesn’t force it on you. She’s been the voice of reason for Taehyung many times. She always wears her auburn hair in a French roll and he’s never seen her not in her white and blue waitress outfit. She always calls people terms of endearment like kiddo and sweetie, but it feels like she means it. He doesn’t know if she has a family. He actually knows very little about her except she is like the human embodiment of the word serenity. She isn’t happy. She isn’t sad. She just is.
“Hey there, it’s not your night to work!”
“Nah, I know. I just wanted to stop in for a minute.”
“Well alright. Coffee?”
“Sure, thanks.” He doesn’t like coffee much at all, and he puts so much cream and sugar in it, that it probably can’t even be chemically called coffee anymore, but Flora always gives it to him for free, and it’s warm.
He starts to take a seat at the counter, but after a quick scan of the restaurant, he notices JK, sitting in one of the booths near the back, eating his hamburger, in full bellboy attire.
He gets his leg halfway onto the stool and changes his mind. They need a new lead singer. They need JK. If he is going to refuse, he might as well get it over with now.
“Hey, JK, right?”
The young man looks at him blankly and nods. This isn’t going to be easy.
“Can I sit down?” he motions to the booth.
Another blank stare. Another nod.
Taehyung sits down at the same time that Flora arrives at the table with his coffee. He grabs the cream and sugar and piles it in as usual.
“You just get off work?” He feels stupid the minute the words come out. Of course, JK just got off of work – why else would he be dressed like the monkey that takes a penny, tips his hat, and hangs out with the organ grinder on the boardwalk.
If JK thinks it’s a stupid question – Taehyung can’t tell. His look remains impassive as he raises his straw to his lips and drinks.
Taehyung takes a small sip of coffee. It needs more sugar. He puts more in. This catches the attention of the all too quiet booth partner.
“That’s an awful lot of sugar. You’ll make yourself sick.”
Taehyung smiles. “Oh yeah? You might be right. But I can’t drink it otherwise.”
“Sorry I guess that’s a weird thing for me to say.” His face turns pink. “I hear my parents say it all the time. Too much sugar, too much candy will make you sick.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind. Too much sugar probably isn’t a good thing.” Taehyung shrugs. “But your soda is full of sugar too.”
“Yeah. I know. If my parents knew they’d flip out on me.”
Taehyung nods as though he understands. But it’s only because he has seen plenty of overprotective parents. Not because he personally has any experience with overprotective parents or even parents who give a damn, because he doesn’t. He stirs his coffee a few more times as he tries to think of the best way to approach JK with his offer.
He comes up blank and just decides to go for it.
“So, I heard you sing. The choir at your church. You’ve got a great voice.”
JK lowers his glass and looks warily across the table.
“Anyway, you may know, we have a band – here locally. We’ve been playing around town and a few small places out of town, but we just got an invitation to play at the grandstand at the beach next month. It’s kind of a big deal, it’s during the weekend of the Miss California Pageant. So, a lot of people will be there.”
When JK doesn’t respond, he just keeps going. Out of nervousness, he runs his hand up over the hair above his ear and down to his ducktail on the back of his head.
“Our lead singer bailed on us a few days ago, and I was thinking maybe you’d be interested in joining up with us for the gig. We’d have about a month to rehearse so that you could learn the songs. What do you think?”
“No thanks.”
“Wait, you’re just going to say no without even thinking about it? I mean don’t you want to know more before you make a decision.”
“I don’t need to think about it,” JK says matter of fact. “I very rarely go down to the beach and boardwalk – especially not during the beauty pageant. I work at the hotel a lot and when I’m not there I’m helping my parents around the house or with church things.”
“Oh, so you are saying you're too busy?” Taehyung could just get up and walk away, but something makes him want to know more about why someone with JK’s talent would pass over an opportunity like this. “You can just say you prefer old church music over new music. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“I don’t prefer church music,” he says quietly. And even more quietly he follows with, “And I love rock and roll music. I keep a radio hidden under my bed.”
“Then come on,” Taehyung hates to beg, but he is going to anyway. “Just say yes. If you hate it after the gig, you can just quit. Just try it.”
Despite not being finished with his hamburger or his soda, JK grabs his bellboy hat and stands to leave. “Thank you for the offer, but the answer is no. Sorry.” He starts to walk away.
Taehyung in his haste doesn’t think twice and puts his arm out to stop him as he passes. “Hey, come on. What are you afraid of?”
He pauses to answer and looks straight at Taehyung. “Nothing”
He walks around the extended arm and out the door.
But Taehyung had already gotten a good long look into his eyes. And it was obvious that if JK was being honest he would have answered that question instead with - Everything