Reaching Out | ʜᴏᴘᴇᴋᴏᴏᴋ

1: Higher Places

I remember seeing him on a stage once.

Engulfed in the flames of bright lights and purple LED's.

Surrounded by people that would cheer his name over and over again like they had been possessed.

My father was never someone I relied on to be an active part of my life. Of course, he wrote to me a few times when he was permitted the paper, but he never gave me more to remember him by. I have his old collection of CD's and signed albums tucked away in the guitar case he left behind in mother's closet.

He's just someone I will always see as a free soul, locked away in a prison cell for doing what his heart told him to do. Maybe it was for the best, and maybe, it gave him a new chance. Who knows, mother won't say a word.

I'm supposed to be a Sophomore at Seoul University, studying biochemistry and the science of plants and anatomical figures, but I haven't attended a single class since January. It's October now, and I haven't the faintest idea when my life will begin again.

Mother always wanted me to follow in her footsteps, wanting ultimate success through the gratitude of a simple diploma.
But, I guess you could say I'm 'wasting' my time by sketching in my brother's old notebooks, or by working alongside my friends at the club.

Kim Namjoon's Nightclub, Monster Lotto, is the finest place ever to have a drink of tonic and watch live entertainment; Becoming co-owner of the place, Seokjin added his own special touch of elegance and grace to this place that now only a certain status-quo could get tickets in.

The performers and musicians that play here are just incredible.

Most nights are filled with sweet jazz and bitter gin, while others are filled with Billboard's edgiest bands, while you sip on rum and play darts. Its easy to see how two strange young men came together to make this place work. They are two separate sides of a coin after all.

The work here isn't difficult or anything, although it does mean I can't be anywhere near the main bar when we're open. I find myself most useful cleaning and doing odd-ball jobs that Seokjin has listed in that clean-freak head of his. I enjoy it nonetheless, enjoying the free concerts and performances even more though. Every friday night, Monster Lotto is filled with the fans of Alpha Blue, a group of Korea's greatest underground dancers.

If you dig around, you can actually find yourself in the middle of a fanbase. They even have a official website where you can buy merchandise and pictures of the members when they were little or something; its a bit on the extreme side, but none of that matters since I don't need silly videos or fan-cams to watch their performances.