2017, DAY THREE
Sunday, August 20, 2017 8:31 AM
Taehyun is still out cold when Soobin wakes up, so he makes a few preparations and heads out to the hotel to see Minyoung.
The air is quiet outside, a typical Sunday morning in upstate New York. Performances don't begin until 10 AM, and they end at three. King Solomon won't technically play at Sperry until the festival is over, enabling Soobin to be on stage with Taehyun. Their set is scheduled for five o'clock sharp, closing out NeoNara and the weekend with a bang.
Taehyun hates that this is how they have to perform now, working around Soobin's visa and military time. But it is what has to happen.
When he stirs, he notices Soobin is gone, and panics for ten seconds before he figures he's at the hotel with Minyoung. Sure enough, when he texts, Soobin answers back immediately with a selfie. Good. At least Soobin is keeping busy.
Taehyun's head is clear this morning, so he decides to be domestic. He makes the bed, putting everything away so his parents can drive the RV home later that night. He gets some of his protein sandwiches out of the fridge and heats them in the microwave, drinking water to go along with his breakfast. He sits in the booth and makes sure his phone is charged. The D4FES staff still have his laptop, but they will deliver it to him or Soobin later on today.
They will have a dual soundcheck at 12 PM with the other group playing Sperry today, a boy band known as Star One. Then, they will rest while Star One plays their set at three, and then the fun will truly begin. But for now, Taehyun rests in the quiet, in the knowledge that Soobin is with his sister, stilling the voices that insist he is somehow leaving today for Korea.
Soobin wouldn't just do that. Especially without not preparing Taehyun first. But at the same time, if Minyoung is here...then she's reminding Soobin of everything he is missing. Not now, but he will go back after the D4FES is done, Taehyun thinks to himself. He best prepare for it now.
He scrolls through his phone, checking social media, seeing the Tweets about last night's D4FES banger. A disproportionate number of messages are about Polaris Rider, complaining that there was no Rainbow Connection, but Taehyun doesn't worry about those. The show at D4FES is not big enough for cannons, and Polaris didn't want to bring them regardless. When he scrolls down further, he sees a bunch of conversation about Scarlet Canary and Mansions in the Air — ahh, good, so at least some people know who wrote that track! — and then it's mostly SQRL-X talk.
When Taehyun filters out the national talk, though, he gets a lot of local messages about King Solomon. Nearly everybody in New York State is messaging, not only about the show he just played last night, but the show he is going to play later on today. Since it's a free show again, and it's first come, first serve, Taehyun knows people will be fighting for spots. In fact, some people have posted that they are already in line, camping out to see King Solomon perform.
He posts his own message thanking everybody for the D4FES show, and promising a good show later on today. And then, he puts his phone down and tries not to think about Soobin.
At eleven, Roger and Melinda knock on the door, and they take Taehyun to lunch at the food tent. Taehyun does his best to distract himself with wheat noodles and vanilla ice cream, but Soobin hasn't texted for an hour. It means he's still with Minyoung, but Taehyun can't help but be a little clingy, can he? He doesn't care what Soobin does; he just wants to know he's okay.
"Soobin is fine," Melinda tells Taehyun for the umpteenth time.
Taehyun pauses. "I didn't say anything about Soobin."
"You didn't need to say anything. Your face did."
"Oh," Taehyun says, and they both laugh after that, and Taehyun lets it go for now.
He lets it go all the way up until he is supposed to meet Soobin for their soundcheck, and as the time gets closer, he gets more nervous. And then Soobin appears, with both Minyoung and Yeonjun in tow, and Taehyun breathes a little easier.
"Where were you all morning?"
"Being Korean," Yeonjun says, not missing a beat. "We were having a long winded discussion about K-Dramas." Minyoung says something in Korean, and the three of them laugh, and Taehyun feels left out. But then Melinda sits down by Taehyun with some ice cream, and they talk in English, and it makes him feel more confident for some reason.
Like he belongs.
Something still doesn't seem right here — like there's something he's not being told — but it's just because his world is clashing with Soobin's. Come the end of the festival, Minyoung will go back to Korea, and Soobin hopefully won't be going with her.
Minyoung stays with Yeonjun while Soobin and Taehyun go to Sperry for their soundcheck. As the golf cart takes them away from the food tent to the arena, Taehyun feels the need to ask. He's nervous, and Soobin is...quieter than usual. "You're hiding something."
Soobin pauses. It's enough for Taehyun to know — he's been with Soobin officially for two and a half years at this point. "What is it? Babe, you know you can tell me anything."
"I can't tell you this."
Taehyun's heart sinks, and he shoots from the hip before he can stop himself. "Fine! If you're going to leave me, then just do it. But tell me first!"
"What?!" Soobin nearly falls off the golf cart. "Who said I was leaving?"
"You've been talking to Minyoung all weekend, and I know she just came from Korea, and —"
Soobin puts an arm around Taehyun, nuzzling into his neck. It stops Taehyun cold. "Do you think for one second I would leave or go anywhere without telling you?"
"You were kind of quiet this morning."
Soobin chuckles, and then, "I'm not leaving NeoNara without you. I'm always here, on site at the festival. And even in an emergency, Yeonjun or your mom would tell you where I went. But don't you dare think for a second that just because my sister is here means I'm going anywhere." And then he pauses, and, "Wait a minute. Do you think Minyoung is going to take me back to Korea?"
Taehyun nods, feeling tears pinprick at his eyelids. "I know it's dumb —"
"It's not dumb, it's a healthy fear, and I'm here to tell you that she's not doing that. She came to find me, not to take me home. You are my home. Even if I never return to Korea — I would be okay, for the rest of my life, if I am with you."
Taehyun can't hug Soobin back — he has to hold onto the golf cart — but he leans into Soobin's touch. "Promise?"
"Promise."
"I need to talk to my therapist about this," he says with a laugh. "I need to make sure my attachment to you is secure. Think it's probably still leftover from Mayumi."
"Honey, if I spend the rest of my life cleaning up after Mayumi's messes, it will still be worth it."
They pause, and Soobin leans up so they can look at each other. Then, they both say, "Greg," at the same time, and they are straight giggles until they get to Sperry.
Star One are already testing the microphones when Soobin and Taehyun get there. The five men are on stage, blocking their dances to ensure they don't fall off the platform. A long runway has been constructed for their show, dividing Sperry in half to a certain point. There are lights installed on the runway, and they are tested as well, flickering on and off to the beat of every song.
Taehyun watches as the members of Star One continue to test their headset microphones, running through songs and vocalises while the graphics package flickers in the background. He supposes that, in another life, perhaps that could have been him. What if he had remained in Korea? Would he be a pop idol like that? ...No, probably not, because his life would be completely different.
He'll never know his birth parents, but he has come to peace with the fact that they did the right thing by giving him up. He doesn't want to dwell on what ifs forever.
Soobin notices Polaris on the side of the stage, holding Taehyun's laptop. He waves at her, and the golf cart drives toward the side, stopping in front of Polaris. "It's all charged up," Polaris says as she hands Taehyun his laptop.
"Is my chair here?"
"It is, but it's not bolted in yet. Are you still okay with doing the soundcheck without it? Or do you want me to do it again for you?"
"No, I can do it." Taehyun turns toward Soobin. "Soobin is here."
Star One clear the stage, and the NeoNara staff spring into action. While Star One is a boy band, King Solomon needs their equipment on stage. For now, they set up a small folding table, complete with the cables and mixer that Taehyun will need. The D4FES staff put Taehyun's DJ decks on the table, and then Soobin helps Taehyun up onto the stage. They plug his computer in, and it boots perfectly.
"Everything seems to be going off without a hitch," Taehyun says as he plugs his over-the-ear headphones in.
Neither one of them look like King Solomon yet — or at least the modern day iteration with all-black clothing and sunglasses — but as Taehyun tests his programs and then all of the deck functions, Soobin can't help but be reminded of the boy he met so long ago. If he pretends, he can still see the blue baseball cap on Taehyun's head, the odd orange sweater covering a frame that has now filled out a bit after all those years. And the nerves that "Terry Reynolds" would have had are now long gone, replaced by a confidence that not even Meniere's could steal from him.
"Okay, we're set," Taehyun says. "What about your headset?"
Soobin leans down and gives Taehyun a quick kiss on the lips, then puts his headphones on and reaches for his launchpad. Taehyun is left embarrassed on stage as Soobin plays every silly sound known to mankind on his device, making the stage whoosh and boing and mattress squeak all over the place.
After they are done, Soobin gives all of the equipment back to the D4FES staff; they will be responsible for the stage turnover once Star One has completed their concert at three. Taehyun and Soobin are instructed to relax, and so Soobin takes Taehyun back to the RV for a nap, then makes a few phone calls and texts some people. Minyoung comes over at two, and together, they all go to the Star One concert, sitting in the reserved section. It is a good show, and even though cheesy pop music isn't his thing, Taehyun enjoys it.
What he enjoys even more is watching Soobin and Minyoung enjoy it, doing all of the fanchants. Minyoung even has one of their lightsticks.
At four PM, the closing ceremonies for NeoNara are held. The staff get on stage and thank everybody for coming out, and then Sperry is shut down quickly. Everybody is cleared out of the stage area to ensure the entire set can be turned over. From here on out, Sperry is not technically part of NeoNara. It is yet another live show by King Solomon, a man adopted at birth from Korea, and the man who loves him whose visa prevents performance in traditional venues.
A long line snakes around the NeoNara structures, traveling through the food stands and around the main entrance. Fans who have checked out from NeoNara are now waiting for Sperry to open back up, wanting a good view for the King Solomon show. Since the NeoNara staff cannot help with a show that is not theirs, members of the D4FES staff help run security. Even some of the acts help organize things; Mana and Airi stand at the front of the line, while Saki and Saori help Soobin and Taehyun completely transform Sperry's stage into an EDM wonderland. The screens from NeoNara are left intact, and Photon Maiden's staff have created graphics for King Solomon's show, free of charge. They are already loaded onto Taehyun's computer to auto-run, with a few standard backgrounds loaded in case something happens on stage.
Soobin and Taehyun get dressed in the green room; Taehyun adds a black vest to his dress shirt, and Soobin wears a turtleneck. They will both be abnormally warm during the show, but it's all part of the image.
Soobin feels a hand on his shoulder; he turns, and it's Beomgyu. They both clap each other on the back, and then Beomgyu whispers into Soobin's ear.
"Break a leg."
The crowd is finally let into Sperry at 4:45 PM; the staff ensures that people do not push their way in, and soon, everybody is in their places. Taehyun's laptop is already on stage, and Ibuki runs up and starts the graphics package. The lights go down; even though it is not dark yet, Taehyun and Soobin use the relative darkness on stage to sneak up, turning away from the crowd on stage and putting their sunglasses on.
The crowd is already going crazy. Taehyun's chair is bolted in nearby in case they need it, with Steve leaning against it. The King Solomon logo is on the screens. It is 5 PM on a Sunday.
"Let's show them what we can do," Taehyun says with a smile.
Soobin nods, turning around first. "Let's."
Asterhythm: I can't believe we've reached the next to last chapter of NeoNara! How exciting is this? I hope you're all ready for next chapter and the final ending of this story.
If you're reading this in real time, I'd love to do an FAQ to wrap things up. If you have questions, post them here or DM me!