Finding You

Chapter 10: For the Love of Mario

Translating Alex's tags had only made the curiosity Yoongi felt so much worse. With every set, he learned a little more about them, but it never felt like enough. He kept coming back and looking for more. He supposed it could be compared to a drug addiction, but he didn't want to classify it as such because that made it sound so much more serious than it actually was. It was simply a healthy curiosity and nothing more. At least, that is what he told himself to make it easier to sleep at night.

It was August now and the group had just gotten back from Thailand. He was still unsure of Alex's gender, mainly because neither they, nor their friend named Jess, talked about it. There wasn't a single mention of it or even a slip-up. However, it wasn't like he would just stop coming to the blog if they were a certain gender. He was just curious what they identified as and felt like it was one more thing he could learn about them.

Today was another studio day, but this time he was with Namjoon. They would often work together like this, both of them huddled in the same small space and working on a track. They'd take turns; Namjoon would tweak and adjust the beats to his liking and then he would get up from the computer and sit on the small couch while Yoongi took his former place and listened to the changes. Yoongi would then make his own adjustments, sometimes layering in another beat he thought would mix in really well. Together, they would get a base down and then send it off to their manager, to be sent to the producers they worked with so they could add their own adjustments. By the time the song was finished, the track was usually vastly different than it was in the beginning, but Yoongi didn't mind that. It was a natural part of the process and having the finished product felt so satisfying. Yoongi was helping Namjoon to learn how to produce and while there had been quite a few arguments, they seemed to finally find some middle ground that worked.

Currently, it was Namjoon's turn and Yoongi sat on the couch, writing lyrics in a little notebook that was laid out on the coffee table while he leaned over it. The air in the studio was stale and contained a dryness that had Yoongi constantly licking at his lips to return moisture to them. It wasn't particularly hot in the studio, since the company kept the building cool, but he had a feeling the process had sucked all the humidity out of the air. Soon, he found himself focusing more on the little splits that were developing in the crevices of his lips rather than the words he was supposed to be writing down.

Yoongi let out a soft sigh and then sat up straight, turning his head to do a quick sweep of the room for his bag where his chapstick was stored. He twisted his body and looked over the arm of the couch, finding it on the floor next to it like he suspected he would. Grabbing it, he returned to a comfortable position and then reached inside for the little bag he needed, taking out the moisturizer from inside. After he applied it, he went to return the stick and then spotted his phone lying among the items.

Chewing on his bottom lip, Yoongi contemplated how much work he had already gotten finished. His mind felt in need a break, thoughts loose and weighed down. His dark eyes traveled to the book he had been writing lyrics in, seeing he was hardly further than a verse. He knew he should return to it, but he also knew his mind would be utterly unwilling to cooperate. Yoongi took in a deep breath and then let it out slowly, having made his decision and reached into his bag for his phone.

Alex hadn't updated their blog yet. A part of him pointed out that it should have been a sign to return to work, but instead he decided to scroll through the posts he had already seen, puzzling over tags he hadn't necessarily paid attention to yet. With all the translation he had been doing, he realised he was beginning to recognise more words but it didn't feel like enough. At this point, he knew what he wanted was to be able to just read through their words with ease and understand without any language barrier present.