with the same dull routine set for pretty much all high school students in south korea, even the smallest of changes are craved by the bored student body of sopa. so when the teacher announced a new seating chart at the beginning of class, the sudden change in atmosphere from tired to excited was not at all surprising to park siyeon. while most of her classmates buzzed about around the rows of desks for their new seats, siyeon was normal as ever. that same stoic expression sat on her doll-like features, and the entire world was drowned out by the sound of drake’s 'jungle’ playing through her earphones. the aura the teen emitted was, as always, intimidating. and possibly even a little hostile; siyeon isn’t exactly a morning person.
she almost felt bad for her new deskmate, who has not yet sat down in the seat beside her. the last girl who sat next to her barely spoke a word, even during partner projects. in a way it made life easier on siyeon’s part, but at the same time, deep down we all know siyeon wouldn’t mind making a couple friends or two.
itunes was just shuffling to nicki minaj when the female saw a male slip into the chair beside her from the corner of her eye. now would probably be a good time to offer a friendly smile --or at least some sort of acknowledgement-- so she gave him a curt nod. then she was reminded of yeri’s note to smile more ( park siyeon’s resting bitch face is notorious ) so, very awkwardly, the rapper let the corners of her lips turn upwards just the slightest bit. it looked more like a grimace, but it was good enough.
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air_plane___give_me_a_chance.mp3
(FILE: REARRANGEMENT) (FILE: SONG)
COLLABORATION WITH: MARK LEE
“it’s a good song isn’t it?” he turns to his friend, eyebrows slightly raised as he lowers the volume of his laptop. it’s a song that’s been stuck in his head for weeks now, constantly on repeat (and he’s sure his helper at home is sick and tired of hearing him hum the tune).
the older boy reaches to nudge mark with his shoulder and he throws his friend a smile. “it’s been a while since i’ve performed and honestly –– i mean it when i say i know a ton of rapper,” (he doesn’t. other than mark he probably only knows like two) “but you’re the only one i can see fitting this song.”
and it’s in his persuasive tone, the manner in which he looks on at the younger boy, bottom lip jutting out like a child. “what do you say? sound good?”
“sounds great hyung,” mark finally replies and jaehyun’s at least glad that the younger boy agrees with him. “but how are we gonna perform this? i mean, i’m all up for it really!”
“oh mark,” he shakes his head and rests a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder. “hyung knows a lot of people.” (and this, is true).
it’s not too hard for him to get some friends to hook things up for them. a few calls here, text messages there and the renting of a microphone from an acquaintance and they’re all set to perform at hongdae.
perks of being a social butterfly of sorts (also for being rich).
“looks good hyung!” mark beams and jaehyun smiles, wide as he reaches to pat mark’s back. (and just years ago he would’ve easily ruffled his hair, jaehyun’s long limbs towering over mark’s physique. but it’s different now –– the boy is taller, almost close to jaehyun’s height himself).
“let’s get set up, okay?”
a crowd begins to form and jaehyun settles himself behind a mic.
ohhh girl
벌써 몇번짼지 몰라
받지 않는 전화
통화버튼만 누르다
밤 새겠어 정말
jaehyun begins to sing, both him and mark running their fingers through the strings of their guitar – it’s a joint performance after all and they’d thought it a good idea to have two guitars playing, amplifying the melody of the song.
he scans the crowd, the corner of his lips raising up slightly as a few passers-by begin to stop, looking on at the two boys curiously.
너 때매 내가 아니 전화가
열만 받아가
숨막히니까 답답하니까
그만 내 말 좀 들어봐
it’s a song that suits the tone of his voice; is at a tone comfortable enough for him to sing confidently in front of a crowd of people, which makes having fun a lot more easier.
he nods his head to the rhythm of the song, hands on his guitar as he continues strumming through.
when he reaches the last note he takes a step back, letting mark take the spotlight for his rap. the boy breezes through it and jaehyun smiles as he makes an effort to walk around (as far as the plug into the amp can take him).
soon enough it’s his turn to sing again and he reaches for the mic, gently smiling towards the crowd.
전화좀 받어
할말이 많어
내 속이 타 들어가잖아
전화좀 받어
듣고있잖아
이러다 미치겠어
he takes in a deep breath, hand removing itself from his guitar momentarily to reach out and hold the mic.
가지마
and as he belts out the note, mark continues on behind him, both of their voices unsurprisingly matching well. (jaehyun’s always more or less known that the tone of his voice and mark’s compliment each other –– something he’d readily put to use).
the next verse mostly consists of mark’s rapping and jaehyun simply continues on with his own thing, moving his head along to the beat and focusing more on the strum of his guitar, the melody that resonates through the speakers.
there’s a larger crowd that’s formed by now and he’s pleasantly surprised to see a few people clap, smiling a little as the two boys perform.
and then it’s his turn again, the chorus repeating once more.
할말이 많어
내 속이 타 들어가잖아
전화좀 받어
듣고있잖아
이러다 미치겠어
가지마
and once more their voices come together to blend, jaehyun’s focusing more on the higher notes and carrying the melody. his voice falls behind mark’s as the boy’s rap takes more center and focus.
너에게 해야할 말들이 많은데
이렇게 널 보낼수는 없어
the lyrics aren’t exactly something he can relate to but he tries his best to feel for it –– the desperation of a man unwilling to let go of his lover (or something of that sort).
전해주고 싶은데 전화좀 받아 –––––
and the song ends there, jaehyun bringing himself to mark’s side with a little huff leaving his lips once he’s done with the high notes. he turns to look at his friend and the both of them exchange wide grins before going in for a high five.
it’s only then when he realizes just how much larger the crowd has gotten and the applauses aimed towards the both of them. he stares on a little taken aback before he breaks out into shy laughter and a smile.
“we should do this again,” he says, turning to mark. “we make a pretty good team.”
mark grips a bouquet with his hands, careful not to let it brush against anyone as he slowly makes his way through the bustling crowd whilst looking around for the familiar face of his favourite hyung - his favourite hyung who had just graduated from their school. the thought of not being able to see him around in school anymore makes mark feel a twinge of loneliness again, but he tries to hide it with a bright smile. i need to be happy for hyung, mark reminds himself repeatedly as his eyes dart around.
the bouquet in question was big and a little pricey for mark, but he doesn’t mind the splurge because jaehyun was the recipient in question and also because he had a lot of fun at the florist choosing the different flowers and colours to include in it (not that he would ever admit it out loud). they all had their symbolisations too of course (mark looked it up beforehand) but he decides to save the explanation for later in text form - jaehyun probably had a lot of friends to see and pictures to take, and mark doesn’t want to take too much of his time.
“hyung!” the word leaves his mouth before he even realises it, and his legs race to jaehyun’s side excitedly. “happy graduation, this is for you!” he passes the bouquet to jaehyun carefully.
mark takes a deep breath. he’s run what he wants to say to jaehyun about a thousand times in his head, but he still finds it difficult to start; to say the right words.
“h-hyung,” he begins, and his voice breaks a little. pull yourself together, mark lee! he tries to keep his emotions from spilling all over the place, and continues talking. “you’ve worked so hard, and you’ve b-been through a lot… and you’ve finally graduated from school… and you’re going to college…” - he finds that he’s blinking tears out of his eyes, and rubs them stubbornly and harshly - “a-a-and hyung, i-i just want to say that i-i-i’m proud of y-y…” he can’t finish his sentence because he’s sniffling now, and he gives jaehyun the most massive bear hug he can muster even though jaehyun’s taller than him, feeling his face redden and unable to continue with the mini-speech that he had prepared.
it’s bustling –– it’s always bustling during sopa’s graduations; cameras flashing everywhere as reporters busy to the side to get good pictures of certain idols. jaehyun’s not one of them though, the boy just another graduate, surrounded in a circle of friends he’d spent his time in sopa with.
he’ll miss it, he realizes as he stares on at the yellow uniform (the uniform he’d worn proudly for years). “so –– what’s your plan mr president?” an ex-classmate jokes and jaehyun bursts out into a smile, laughing.
“well ––” but then he hears a loud hyung! and immediately the boy turns around, only to be faced by his (favourite) junior and friend. and the smile only grows wider as jaehyun takes a step forward, something dear and affectionate tugging at his chest.
“mark!” he greets and he’s passed a bouquet of flowers –– just like what he’d asked for through text. “you actually got me these,” he grins, laughing softly, “it’s huge!”
he’s got more to say to mark, to tease him a little because it’s always fun watching the younger boy get flustered and shocked –– he’s like the little brother jaehyun never had. but then mark begins to speak and at first jaehyun thinks he’s only dreaming it up but mark is sniffling, crying and dammit –– it gets to jaehyun too, the older boy starting to get a little teary eyed.
“mark,” his name leaves jaehyun’s lips softly as the younger boy engulfs him in a hug. jaehyun smiles and he surrenders himself to mark’s embrace. “you big baby,” he finally says, but his voice is cracking up a little too.
he uses a hand to pat at mark’s head –– it’s sad, really. that he’ll have to leave sopa, leave his friends here. at a place that held so much memories for him. “didn’t i tell you i’d tease you if you cried today?” a pause, “well maybe not yet.” (but he will, at a later time)
