Work Text:
"Alright.. how about.."
Ryan started strumming his guitar, trying to find a good rhythm to work with.
"Same number
202
all by ourselves
just me and you"
He looked up from the couch towards Min-Gi.
"Think it's a good start?"
Min-Gi was standing against the wall across the room, sipping the coffee he had made for both of them. They had spent the whole evening brainstorming ideas for their first album. After their first official release, the EP "Our Oeuvre" , got surprisingly successful, they were able to get a record deal and start production on a full on actual album. It wasn't crazy successful or anything, but Train To Nowhere did get played plenty on the radio, and they finally had enough money to move out of the rented van and into a small apartment.
"You sure about the.. train stuff? I mean.. no one will like, get it." Min-Gi said through sips. "They'll think it's stupid."
Ryan laid his guitar on his lap. "Dude the things we went through on that thing are RIPE for the picking for a concept album! It'd be stupid not to use it," Ryan paused to take a sip from his own cup of coffee, placing it back on the arm of the couch before continuing.
One day his cup is going to fall and get fuckin coffee everywhere. Min-Gi quickly thought to himself.
"And it's not stupid. And if it is then it's good stupid. Stupid doesn't mean bad! Look at our bands' name dude." Ryan took off his glasses and started cleaning them with his shirt. "Plus like, you think maybe we'll meet.. other people who were on it?"
Min-Gi placed his mug on the table by his keyboard. "You think other people could have been on it?"
"Well.." Ryan put his glasses back on and laid back on the couch, not before moving his guitar against it. He started stimming by bouncing his fist on the cushion. "Seems like kinda an extravagant thing for just us to experience, yeah?"
"Hm.."
"Oh! Oh my god I forgot, hold on." Ryan rushed to his backpack by the door to get something, fumbling through the contents before pulling out a cassette.
He stood up and walked over to the other man. "Ah... When I went grocery shopping this week. I went to the record store before, and i found this and was like, holy shit? And I put it in my backpack so that when I got back, I could remember to tell you about it. But I forgot. But I remembered just now, so here!"
Ryan reached out to hand Min-Gi the cassette. The cover was a photo of a desert, with a cartoonish doodle of a train on top in marker. Written at the top of the case in a simple white font was “ Never Ending; Forever Moving” . The band name was "Orange Stripes in Purple Lights" . It appeared to be some indie experimental band from the looks of it, from the nonsensical band name to strange graphic design. Not that Chicken Choice Judy was much better.
"This is their only release as far as I can tell, from 1984." Ryan started. "I... haven't listened to it yet but.. look at the song names." He went and showed Min-Gi the back of the case. "The beginning track on side A is Where The Fuck Am I.. followed by This Fucking Sucks Ass Fuck. The fourth is My Friend The Penguin With The Hat (I Wish You Could Hear This).. Maybe this penguin was like, their Kez? Or something? Wait- ugh, I wish Kez was like.. here. She could work as both an instrument AND vocals. Dude she'd be a great addition to the band. We should add service bells to some songs.."
As Ryan mumbled to himself Min-Gi went over to sit on the couch, and proceeded to scan the song names in his head. Ryan followed and sat down next to him.
Every single track title fit way too well to what the experiences they had or COULD have had on the train were, and he hadn't even listened to any.
Min-Gi glanced at the last track on side B. This Train Goes On Forever .
"So what you're getting at is this isn't a unique idea in the slightest." Min-Gi said blankly.
"WHAT! What! No. No I'm saying that we can do this! Other people were on it Min! If we get popular enough maybe we could even.. y'know be like. I dunno. Like some sort of.." He gestures with his hands. "For other.. passengers?
Min-Gi looks back at Ryan. "No, no, I get what you're saying but .. I-" He sighs, "What if it fails and flops like this album? What if no one cares?"
"Dude hey," Ryan placed his hand on his shoulder. "I care. You care! That's what matters. Train To Nowhere was a hit! And hey, if we don't get like, Bowie popular, maybe we could be a cult classic, yeah?"
Min-Gi smiled slightly. "Hm."
Ryan's grip on Min-Gi slightly tightened. "Min-Gi, I don't care how successful Chicken Choice Judy is .. I just.. care about making music with you. I want to make music with you and no one else. The reason my solo career went to shit is cuz you weren't here. We could be the most hated band on Earth and I'd still-"
Ryan suddenly pauses and pulls away.
"Ohhh no this sounds. It's not.. I'm not. Um..." Ryan gets up from the couch, backing away while waving his hands. "Sorry. Ugh that sounded.."
Min-Gi can see Ryan's face redden. He can feel his start to, too.
"I'm not- I don't want you to think that- I'm just BAD at wording things you know?"
"No of .. of course not man. I wasn't .. thinking that." Min-Gi starts rubbing his shirt sleeve with his thumb.
"Ok good... um.." Ryan picked up his guitar from the floor.
Ryan covered his face and stared at the wall. Min-Gi stood up to go towards his keyboard, trying to avoid staring while he let Ryan go back to his usual seat. This was hard because deep down, he was thinking that , and actually, hoped he was. um, and kinda really thought Ryan was looking really cute right now and kinda really thought he wanted to kiss him. Not that he'd actually ever admit that to himself, though.
After around 10 seconds of awkward silence Min-Gi took a deep breath and placed his hands on the keyboard.
"Okay.. let me.. can you start playing that song from before again?"
Ryan nodded, back to sitting on the couch. He began to play the melody again, a little faster this time, with Min-Gi joining in with his synth.
"Same number
202
all by ourselves
just me and you"
Min-Gi continued,
"a ringing bell right by our side..
hummhhuh.... something something lie?
overwhelming, i want out, i don't want to know what anythings about
same number.. 202.. being honest is a hard thing to do"
As soon as they finished Ryan immediately stood up and put his hands on his head with a huge smile.
"Oh shit, that's good! Dude that's so good! Yes!" He went up to Min-Gi and shook his shoulders, suddenly back to his usual self.
"Really? I was just.. Saying what came to mind.." Min-Gi mumbled glancing over at the floor, away from Ryan’s gaze.
"Seriously Min, you are a natural, our brain, our brawn, uh what else do they say.. Girls are all over you man, for good reason!" Ryan goes and gives him a wink.
Min-Gi lets out a slight laugh, feeling his face turn red.
"Ryan, c'mon.. Seriously that's a first draft. I.. I didn't even make a second line."
Ryan breaks away from his hold, shrugging and turning around before crossing his arms to look back towards Min-Gi.
"Listen Min, I'm the bad boy of the band, right? And you're the... hot silent one, you get what I'm saying?" Ryan was doing his smug cat face. His leg was bouncing while he stood there.
"Uh.. What's this got to do with my lyrics?"
Ryan just stares for a moment before going back to his seat, sudden energy gone again. "The.. I. Sorry." He didn't say anything else as he got to playing his guitar.
Min-Gi stared at him for a second, before looking down at his own instrument. He started playing along with him again.
They listened to the music filling the room, sitting with no communication besides the sounds of guitar and synth.
Min-Gi wondered what he could say, what could he do. He stood there thinking. He thought about Ryan’s face from before, looking back up at the guitarist without moving his head.
His hair was covering his eyes, which were barely visible. Min could tell he was chewing the inside of his mouth.
Min-Gi lifted his hands and stopped playing. It took Ryan a couple seconds to realize before looking up, saying nothing but with a wuh? face.
“Ryan?”
“Yeah?”
“You look really cute right now.”
Ryan’s cup of coffee fell off the couch and shattered on the floor.
“FUCK.”
-
Chicken Choice Judy - 202
(title track from the 1987 album "202")
Same number
202
All by ourselves
Just me and you
A ringing bell right by our side
I know that now I lied and lied
Overwhelming
I want out
I don't want to know what this is about
Same number
202
Being honest is a hard thing to do
But now we know
(Me and you are) 202