TWO DUTCHIES KISSING ??

PROLOGUE - A SUPPOSED INTRO INTO 'JOOST KLEIN'

You were lying on your bed-a mattress on the floor with a sprawled-out blanket and a weighted blanket so heavy it toppled onto the floor beside you. It's August 8th, 2023, 23:52, you're listening to the top 100 tracks in the Netherlands. Your song was there, number 73; although you were a decently 'niche' artist in comparison, you had a huge presence in your country.

Not much attention was paid to the music, doing anything but paying attention. Now, somehow, you're on the patio, holding a lit cigarette. Sure, smoking is all the craze for young adults and teens, which was a trend originally for you, but now it is some cursed necessity. But you can't complain when you're in the supposed best part of your life, spacing out to music on the patio while the half-moon's light hits right in the eyes.

And then the music comes back to your ears, like a moment of realization-this song is good. Like, really good. Originally, you were listening to the playlist to get more used to Dutch vocals, and a lot of these songs weren't your taste, but wow . "Friesenjung," you note down, "Frisian boy?" Overall, your knowledge of German is sparse, but it's quite easy to assume considering your C1 Dutch knowledge. You recognize Ski Aggu, you know of Otto Waalkes, but, Joost ? Isn't Joost a Dutch name? Isn't the song German?

The curiosity is plaguing-Joost? Taking a small look around on his artist page, his artist page was interesting. Was one of his album covers a baby photo of him? You couldn't help but chuckle a little, playing a random song among his most popular. The curiosity got to you, and as you put out your cancer stub and got up, the music crept into your brain, like a warm pastry smell creeping up your nostrils. In both scenarios, you felt comforted, however, the soft pastry smell couldn't compare to the hard, thumping song coming through your earbuds.

It was an interesting song, in the best way possible. You liked gabber, hell, it was your favorite genre and you had made several songs in that genre, but this wasn't like any of the gabber you heard. You couldn't compare it to all the Brutalismus 3000 you heard in the tiny Berlin clubs, it was truly unique. Your small adventure into the 'strange' artist had happened to lead you to a pot of gold.

The earbuds are still in your ears while you head your way to bed, pressing play on his discography. You meant to lay down, watch some TV, and listen to music, but the second your head hit the pillow, you were out. And you wake up, it's November 1st 2023, 17:02.

Not much had changed in your personal life in those three months. Your health, happiness, and music status had stayed the same, despite not touring for half a year. However, you had a new music obsession-Joost Klein. On the train from Rotterdam to Amsterdam, headed to a venue you knew quite well, on and off stage. It was quite a large venue, and while you enjoyed Joost only for his music, your life was quite free, and you had the time to stick around afterward. Maybe you'd see him afterward; he wasn't a bad-looking man at all.

You bought merch, put it in your bag, and easily made your way up to the barricade. You were the only one in, as you had come in early, and the security guard felt pitiful that a young female was stuck in the dreary conditions-the other security guard knew you well from your concerts, though, and let you in for other reasons.

You lit up a cigarette in the venue, no one truly cared. Smoking was prohibited, but it was 30 minutes before the start, and everyone knew that the 16-year-olds passed around joints when the concert started. You weren't expecting anything, the workers were setting up, and Joost wasn't on until 21:15. Leaning over the barricade, you start blindly scrolling on Instagram when you hear a yell from your far right side.

"I KNOW YOU!!"