Chapter Text
Jisung almost doesn't hear the knock on his door. It's very faint and he's thinking he's imagining things when it goes again; A soft knocking on his bedroom door followed by a quiet whisper of his name. His hands stop moving, hovering over his laptop keyboard as he thinks if he actually wants to answer. He doesn't, so he might just stay silent and pretend not to be there for a while, until the person is gone at least. But when they knock a third time, he sighs to himself and answers. (It's not his mom, he knows. She doesn't know the word privacy, and if it had been her, she would have just opened the door to enter as if it were her own room and ask him whatever she wanted).
"Come in," he says, saving the file he's working on just in case, and looks at the door.
Sungchan doesn't come in at first, he just opens the door and peeks inside curiously, barely showing his head and looking around with big eyes. Jisung kind of wants to sigh again just by looking at him (it's inevitable, he thinks), but thinks it may come off as rude, so he just stays there, waiting and waiting until their eyes meet and he quirks an eyebrow, silently asking what he's up to. The boy looks nervous, and Jisung has the feeling that he might regret his actions and suddenly leave without explanations, but Sungchan proves him otherwise by fully opening the door and stepping into his room with awkward steps.
"How you doing?" he asks, putting on a shy smile and playing with his fingers nervously.
"I'm good, yeah, kinda busy," Jisung points at his laptop and scratches his head, hoping that maybe Sungchan can take that as a hint to just say what he wants and leave. But he doesn't. In fact, Sungchan just stays there, existing in the middle of his room, looking at one of his posters.
Jisung grows antsy by the minute and kind of wants to be swallowed by the earth.
"Please take a seat, it's weird to have you standing up," Jisung adds when it becomes clear that the other boy isn't planning on leaving anytime soon.
It's weird to have you in my room, he wants to say, but refrains from. After all, the fact that they're not close yet it's mostly all Jisung fault (because he refuses to take all the blame), he's been the one who's been avoiding the Jungs, the one who always skips their gatherings, the weird one. It's been months already since their parents started dating, months since they first met, so they should at least be more comfortable around each other, but they're not, and the weird, tense, awkward feeling hanging in the air just proves that.
"Oh, right... Thanks."
"No problem, dude," Jisung shrugs and cringes, scolding himself mentally, why did he call him dude? that was so weird. He tries to not look as mortified as he feels as he takes the laptop off his lap, considering it may be somehow rude to keep it there as if it were a shield from Sungchan. "What about you? Did your dad and Jaehyun come along too?"
"Actually no, I'm here by myself... I wanted to talk to you, ask you something in fact, and Eunji let me in."
Jisung nods, but says nothing. He didn't know his mom was already home, but that's another story. Sungchan wanting to meet him specifically is weird, and he kind of has the feeling that he knows what is Sungchan going to ask him, not being completely sure, just because it can also be another thing as well, but yeah... Jisung decides is better to not make assumptions and remain silent, letting the older guy speak first.
"Uh... I know I already asked before, like yeah, and I was totally set to keep the last thread of dignity I have but here I am!... and I don't want to be annoying or pushy? But, we're kinda desperate right now and you're like, our last option... I mean, not like the last-last, but I know you are super talented and-"
"We, as in...?" he interrupts, just to make sure they're on the same page (and because he can't bear that rant).
When Sungchan replies a "We as in my band,", Jisung knows for sure what is Sungchan is going to ask him. He wants him to join his band. He had actually asked him before about it, three times, and Jisung had said no thrice (well, actually the first time was his own mom asking him to join Sungchan's band, but it's kinda the same). He didn't want to come off as mean or rude (or even egocentric) when he said no, but he hadn't expected Sungchan's family to be around for a long time. Maybe that's why they're not close either, Jisung really thought they wouldn't stick around so never actually tried to be close to Sungchan.
Their parents are dating, like serious dating. But at first, Sungchan's dad was the fourth (or maybe fifth) guy that his mom dated in a spat of three months, so just as the other dates didn't hit off, Jisung thought that Sungchan's dad wouldn't have a chance as well. So he wasn't really interested in getting along with the man or his sons, because for him it was pointless, getting attached to someone and then having them ripped out of your life suddenly wasn't a nice experience, so the best way to avoid it was simply not getting attached to anyone. Joining Sungchan's band didn't feel right and the moment, but now it's been almost 9 months since they first met. A whole year since their parents got together.
One date was followed by another, and another and another, and then a weekend trip, and then a family dinner, and just so much stuff that made Jisung realize he was wrong all along, and that the Jungs were really sticking out for longer. The cherry on top was Yunho (Sungchan's dad) asking his mom to marry him, and his mom actually accepting. They still haven't announced it, Jisung knew about it by accident, and hasn't said anything just because they hadn't said anything either, but he knows for a fact that they're pretty serious about it. Even his mom recently asked him to be more friendly with the Jung kids. And he knew that meant something.
They're not some random guys anymore. They're his soon-to-be step-brothers. Jaehyun and he were fine, the man was actually a very nice guy. But he and Sungchan were another story. They were just so awkward around each other that it was almost painful.
"... Our drummer left, and Donghyuck says he doesn't want a girl in the band, so I can't call my cousin to take over the spot, and next week we-"
"I'll do it."
"Wait- What?"
"I'll join your band." He says and forces a smile onto his face.
Relief crosses Sungchan's face, but as quick as it came, it goes away, being replaced by confusion and mistrust, like he was not quite believing that he had agreed to this so easily.
"I'm... I-I'm actually asking you to cover up for a while-"
"Oh... okay then."
"But if you want to join it's nice too!"
Jisung nods. "Okay then."
"Uh...C-can I ask why?" Sungchan questions, eyebrows furrowed, looking at him as if he had grown another head.
"Why what?"
"Why do you want to join us?"
"I thought you'd be happier than this if I said yes... And not to be egocentric, maybe grateful too. You just said you guys are desperate."
"I am! I really am!" the elder assures and looks like he is about to fall from his chair, "Both things, the three things I mean, it's just that it's weird that you want to join now just like that, I asked you before, twice, and you said no... Even your mom asked you."
"Would you rather me saying no?" he asks, turning his head to one side and actually making fun of the boy, "From what I just heard, you're really needing a drummer."
"We are, we do need a drummer, just, I don't know... I expected something else, maybe me down on my knees, begging you."
"You can beg, I don't mind."
"Yah!"
Sungchan looks really pissed for a second, then he realizes that Jisung is laughing, and his looks soften, laughing along.
"So... Will you do it? Be one of us?"
He's only doing it because his mom wants them to be friends, and he doesn't like her being worried about anything, so he must try and make an effort. This was a great opportunity to spend more time with Sungchan. Not that he is going to tell Sungchan this, but yeah. Also, he's already said yes like two seconds ago, so there's no point in backing off right now.
Jisung nods. "Yes, I'll do it."
"Great!" Sungchan pipes, so excited that it almost looks like he's won the lottery or something. "We have rehearsal tomorrow morning and we really need to step up our game because there's a gig next weekend and-"
"I got it."
"Well yeah, Hyung will drive us there, so be ready at 9 and yeah... Thank you."
"No problem."
[ ... ]
"So, you're replacing me?" Chenle obviously mocks him after Jisung tells him everything about this new band.
It was the right thing, he thinks, informing his late music partner about his new plans, more importantly, because Chenle is his best friend and there was absolutely nothing that Jisung would do or think without the other knowing about it. They've talked about this before, Jisung barely mentioning his rejection of Sungchan, and Chenle telling him that maybe it wasn't that bad if he joined him and his band. They're in the middle of a video call right now, and Jisung has just remembered about it, so he brought it up nonchalantly, more focused on the part of easing his mother's worries than the fact that he is actually joining a new band.
"I'm not replacing you," he clarifies, holding back a smile. "Replacing you would mean having them join DxD and then kicking you out of the team."
"That wouldn't be a smart decision, I'm the fans' favorite."
Chenle's laugh and his face go on intermittently for a second, getting pixelated on the screen, Jisung guesses it's the internet connection sticking its tongue out at him again. He chants a little prayer in his mind, praying for the connection to not drop out as he listens to his best friend talking about how happy he actually is by knowing that he has joined a band and how great it is that he will finally be making more friends. He has enough friends, he wants to tell him, but doesn't because that will lead to Chenle pointing out that Jisung only has three friends and that no, three isn't enough for a 19-year-old.
"Are you gonna announce it? Your new band?" Chenle asks and goes missing from the screen for a second. When he comes back, he has his dog in his arms.
"Don't think so. I wanna see if it works first, and if it does, then maybe not. I don't want to drag DxD into this; it would be weird." He shrugs and scratches the back of his head. "And I think they're just like amateurs and don't want to put that pressure on them."
"Do they know about DxD?"
"I think not. I'll be coming out as Jisung in this band, and I don't know if mom has told Yunho about my famous face."
"Yeah, I get you. I think is better not to do it as well... So, what is the band about? Have you met the guys yet? How are they?"
"Honestly, I don't know what type of music they do. Sungchan looks like your typical grungy kid, so I'm expecting an indie slash alternative sound. And I haven't met anyone yet, we'll be meeting tomorrow so..."
"Please, be nice. Remember to be friendly, and to smile and to fucking answer when they talk to you."
"You sound like you're lecturing me."
"I am! When people try to talk with you, you just stare into nothing with a resting bitch face and push them away. I just want you to make friends. You've ditched everyone else and now you only have Jeno there with you, and he doesn't count because he's basically living at Siyeon's now."
Jisung guesses Chenle is kinda right if he puts it like this. Jisung's friend group consists basically of Chenle, Jeno, and Taeyong, and he hasn't seen either of them since last year before the corona attacked. Chenle was the first one abandoning him (it wasn't like that, but he likes to play victim even if he's far far away from being one), going back to China for a student exchange program and then getting trapped there because of the lockdown. Jeno was a different story; even when they are supposedly living in the same city, they never get to hang out, mostly because their schedules don't match and because Jeno has been going and coming to Busan from visiting his girlfriend and has basically forgotten what friends are. As for Taeyong, he doesn't know if he could really call him an actual friend; the man used to be his TA during his first semester at college, and they got really close before he got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study abroad. So now Taeyong was living in Chicago, one ocean apart, and they only interact with each other through social media.
So Chenle's right when he says that Jisung is on his own, and that it wouldn't kill him if this band helped him reconnect with his music.
"I'm a music major, so I'm very connected with music, I think." He tells Chenle, mostly because he doesn't want his ego to blow out by telling him he's right.
"Yeah, but Dream in a Dream has been on hiatus since 2018, and your Soundcloud account has been inactive for ages now."
"That doesn't mean I'm not working on anything..."
Chenle gives him a pointed look. "Really? You're really gonna pull that on me? If that's so, show me anything you got that isn't homework... a single note or something."
Jisung looks at his laptop screen for a second and then looks away, his non-response being an actual response to Chenle to prove he's right and that he hasn't worked on any song in a while. It's not his fault, he wants to say, because the inspiration works on its own, and it seems like recently Jisung has none, and that it doesn't matter because he is not that popular anyway. Chenle was the popular one in DxD after all.
"Jisung just... I know you're doing this for your mom, but let yourself enjoy it too. You said it, you're not Andy in this, just Jisung."
[ ... ]
Indie Folk Rock Duo "Dream in a Dream" named winner of SMA rising star award.
January 06, 2015
Dream in a Dream (also known as DxD) is an Indie Folk Rock Duo that has been climbing up the stairs towards fame, with 100k followers on Instagram and over 150k suscribers on their Youtube page, last night they were named the winner of the rising star award.
The duo described the prize as "a unexpected event", also mentioning that they were already honoured just by getting nominated to the award. "We were rooting for the idols bands, Day6 was my favorite." Said Chris, the vocalist of the duo when we asked them if they ever thought about winning.
They beat fellow nominees Day6, JYP Entertainment idol band, The Two Strings, a Jazz influenced band and Kim Youngseo, a former idol member now soloist. This prize has previously predicted the success of artists including Urban Zakapa, Ulala Sessions, Huhgak and Roy Kim.
Conformed by Andy and Chris, this band has shocked everyone just by the decision to remain anonymous, as the present themselves wearing masks on stage and their music videos consists on a animated representation of their faces, and by the fact that both members are under the age of 17. They began posting homemade videos on Youtube and have gained attention of thousand of people over the last two years. Back in 2014 they were discovered by a independent manager who guided them over and made possible the release of their debut EP named "Birds in my head". Earlier this year, the duo signed to ANC Entertainment. Their single "If you wanna hear" made it to the top 5 on MelOn, and has been bringing more and more attention to the group.
They commented their plans of going on a tour this summer and keep doing good music that can speak the people's heart.