First Love // {yoonmin}

02 | The Black Swan

C H A P T E R   T W O

"Night wakes up in the middle of me and

I can do nothing but become the moon."

— Nayirrah Waheed

When I walked into the grand theatre the next afternoon, Park Jimin's eyes followed me to the sound deck like car headlights. A gentle heat cooked my insides when he nodded a greeting then tipped his chin at the CD sitting on top of the mixing board like a gift, flashing me a thumbs up. I picked up the CD and smiled back at him before continuing up the aisle. The boys were waiting for me at the far back, lounging on the velvet chairs in the last row, rolling cigarettes in advance for the mid-rehearsal break. I jogged up the stairs and collapsed in front of them in the penultimate row. The view of the theatre opened up before us like cliff-edge.

"Sup, boys," I greeted them, turning around to ruffle their hair.

Namjoon dropped his filter and flashed me a look. "Did you have to do that?"

I ruffled his hair some more. "Your hands did the crime not mine."

"Ha ha."

"Bite me."

He tried to grab my wrist and plunge his fangs into my veins but I escaped and smacked him upside the head.

"Ow!" he cried.

"Where's your uncle?" I asked Seokjin, ignoring Namjoon's glare.

Seokjin lowered his voice, wincing. "I don't think he's going to make it today."

"What? Again?" Namjoon asked. I smacked him again. "Ow! Stop doing that."

I turned to Seokjin and laid a hand on his wrist. "Let him know that everything is under control and to take his time."

Seokjin nodded. We both ignored Namjoon's bewildered stare, eyeballs bouncing between us like a ping-pong ball.

"I'm confused," he said, pocketing his rollie. "Since when did you care about Mr Kim?"

"Stop lazing around and help me set up. Rehearsal start in ten minutes and none of the running cables are connected. Did you put in an order for a 10kW main system? We need to add a few upgrades that Mr Kin didn't make clear. The orchestra needs more attention. If one instrument mic is faulty, it could affect the dancers. We can't afford to give them all in-ears."

Namjoon smiled sheepishly. "I may have forgotten about that."

I crossed my arms. "The instrument mics, too? What about the six wedges?" He shook his head and I groaned. "Then what have you been doing all morning?"

"Finding DJ bookings for us. There's a club in Gangnam that need replacement DJs for next weekend."

"What? Why would you do that? We're too busy with this showcase."

"They'll pay us well. Come on, it's only for one night."

Betrayed that he had gone behind my back, I crossed my arms. "No way."

"Aww c'mon, hyung. It'll be just like the old days."

I shook my head. "We don't have the time for that. It's Friday today. You failed to place an order in time for tomorrow's morning rehearsal so I'm going to spend the entire night chasing down warehouses before they close down for the weekend." I pinched the bridge of my nose and blew out a sharp breath. "You had one job, Namjoon. How am I supposed to work full time at MinMin Cafe and lead this showcase while working on music for our next mixtape?"