Tramposo hermoso,
Veneno de amor.
¡Qué ricos tus besos!
¡Qué fuerte tu ardor!
Me sueltas tan fácil,
Volviendo otra vez.
Tramposo hermoso,
¡Qué insensatez! *
After the chorus, Dolores launched into some intricate finger picking on her acoustic guitar. Somehow, despite the difficulty of her guitar playing, she managed to swing her hips to the rhythm and even did a quick turn.
Woosung sat at a table alone in a dark corner of the bar. He wore a mask to avoid being recognized. Nights like this one were rare. He was usually either touring or in the studio recording with his band, The Rose, but they were on a brief break. So, he had decided to get out of the living space he shared with his bandmates and see a little bit of that authentic vibrance of Seoul at night. What he hadn't counted on, though, was finding a breathtaking girl singing in Spanish. He had to admit, he was intrigued. The song was in a minor key but was rather catchy. What was even more astounding to him was her ability to play an instrument and dance at the same time. If his first producers could see this girl, they would have signed her on the spot. One of their biggest complaints about his band was that they didn't dance as much as other K-pop bands. He would always end up reminding them that most K-pop bands don't play their own instruments either. It's easy to dance when you don't have a guitar strapped to you or you're not sitting at a drum set. Producers could suck sometimes. That's why he had started his own label, so that he could do the music he wanted to do.
As Dolores began to pack her things to leave, Woosung approached her. She felt his presence behind her before she saw him. She whipped around to face him. He seemed to smile under his mask.
"I loved your set, especially that last song," he gushed. "Do you have some time to have a drink with me? I'd love to talk about using that song on an album," he continued. He slipped his mask off as if it were a big reveal. He waited a few moments to see if she recognized him. He wasn't sure because her stare was blank, and she said nothing.
"So, what to do you think about that drink?" he repeated.
Dolores looked at him dully and said, "My dad taught me never to drink with strange men."
"A very good policy," Woosung affirmed. "But do you really not know me?" he asked.
"Should I?" she countered, eying him cautiously.
"Well, maybe not," he admitted. "I'm the lead singer of The Rose." When her face showed no recognition, he went on. "It's a K-pop band," he explained.
"Okaaaay," she answered, stretching that word for all it was worth.
"Well, if you don't want a drink, how about a coffee?" Woosung offered.
"It's 11:00 at night," Dolores countered. "Who drinks coffee at this hour?"
Woosung was running out of ideas. It seemed like bad manners to have a serious conversation without offering the other person something to drink.
"Okay, how about a slushy?" he threw out as a last-ditch effort. Dolores' expression perked up.
"Alright," she said. "But only if it's blue," she stipulated.
YOU ARE READING
Bitter Root
FanfictionWoosung meets a prickly singer who challenges him. He wants to use her song, but even more, he wants to know her on a deep level.