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Chun stared at his phone, the notification that had popped up not three seconds ago. A text from Fang– his lovely band-member, who had picked up the task of trying and failing to get a drummer after his own last attempt (reflexively, he shuddered, recalling the outright dangerous amount of mysterious green paste on the studio ceiling, and the aftermath of having to clean it all up. That was the last time he'd give a guy with no profile picture a chance). The drumset in the corner of their shared rental space had remained dusty and dormant for what felt like years, but was in reality a mere three months. Turned out, trying to get a drummer was harder than it seemed to be, even with the occasional notification from the online form they'd set up.
Right, Fang's message.
He pressed on the notification, watching as his contacts loaded. Fang, Yun, some guy from his college, and his parents. Chun grimaced to himself– he had to get more friends.
Fang - yooo! how's my favourite bassist doingggg?
She wanted something. Obviously.
Fang - anyway
Fang - guess who found us a drummer!
Oh? Now that was what Chun wanted to hear.
Chun - a drummer? no way. it better not be someone weird like last time. i think we all remember how our last attempt went.
Fang - you say 'our' as if that wasn't expressly your fault, 橙子.
Gods. As much as Chun loved his nickname– Chéngzi– it was a little annoying when coupled with Fang's insistence on reminding him about his fuck-up.
Chun - so how about that drummer?
Expert distraction, Chun.
Fang - i want you to know that i'm rolling my eyes.
Fang - anyway.
Fang - so, a friend of mine's schedule opened up recently, and he's a drummer! i figured we could all go out for a few drinks, see how we all mesh?
Fang - well, really it'd just be you meeting him. he's yun's brother.
Chun had completely forgotten Yun had a brother, and he felt his cheeks heat in realisation that the name had completely slipped his mind. He always tuned out when listening to them talk about the guy– wasn't as if he ever had to know.
Until now, he supposed.
Chun - oooh, right right right
Chun - so… let's give me the benefit of the doubt and say i Definitely remember his name
Chun - what name would i be remembering, exactly?
The few seconds of silence after his last message made the shame even worse. He could feel Fang's laughter through the lack of correspondence.
Fang - right, yes, since you definitely remember the name of one of me and Yun's closest friends, since you'd never forget something as important as that.
Chun - don't make fun of me! it's not my fault i don't remember the name of a guy i never met!
The embarrassment burning in his chest only made it worse. Gods, he was glad his mother had decided to marry a black man– at least his blushes weren't as visible as they were on someone with lighter skin.
Fang - alright, alright, fine. that goop incident was 100% your fault though
Fang - his name's 秀.
…His name was 'Xiu'?
Chun - hang on. did i read that right?
Chun - his name is Xiu?
Fang - ya dipshit
Fang - what's up with his name? you know him already or something?
Chun blinked at his screen stupidly. Was he being blind? Or just antiquated?
Chun - well… xiu is a girl name, isn't it?
A few seconds of silence passed, and Chun felt anxiety starting to flare in his wrist bones. Was he being an ass? Was there some kind of special meaning behind the name that he was completely blundering past? Was he being a bigot?
Fang - oh. yeah, it is, isn't it?
Fang - i forgot about that
Fang - but yeah his name is Xiu
Fang - you know yaoguai don't really care about that stuff.
Didn't they?
Chun wouldn't claim he was some sort of all-knowing paragon of virtue. He had blind spots, especially when it came to yaoguai. He couldn't help it! Sure, he'd recently moved to Xiaobing– a city where the lines between the two predominant peoples of China lived in relative harmony and equality. But he still remembered the stories of his childhood, in his small town, with crying maidens snatched away from their families by the grasping hands of beasts that lived for centuries upon centuries, snacking upon the weaker forms of humans who were so easily killed.
Those days were behind everyone, of course. It had been nearly a century since humans and yaoguai began to work together instead of against each other. And yet… he remained uneasy. It was almost ironic– he was black, for the gods' sakes. His treatment was no different to the treatment of yaoguai.
Fang - hello? anybody still there?
The new message snapped Chun out of his yaoguai-inspired spiral. Fuck, right, the new drummer.
Chun - right. i kinda forget that yaoguai aren't all traditional
Chun - its just kind of intuitive, i guess. I mean, can't they live up to thousands of years?
Chun - kinda makes sense to assume some of them would be more traditional with that kind of thing.
Fang - well yeah, but they're still modern people, dude
Fang - don't be racist
The irony of the statement pulled him out of his reverie once and for all, tugging an amused snicker from him. The two chatted on, discussing where to eat, what to eat, what to wear. And slowly, the small, nagging voice about the strangeness of Xiu's name quietened down, as did its sister that warned of the dangers of yaoguai. After all, they were modern people.