Obsidian Shade (黒曜石シェード): Novella Prequel

Prologue

February 1, 2021

Denver, Colorado

Eviana's Diary

I've been told throughout my life that my dreams often come true. I'm not sure why or how. Maybe I'm magical. Whatever the reason, whenever I tell someone my dream (or even nightmare), they always come true.

Which is why I stopped telling people.

But, sooner or later, you're bound to tell someone. Sooner or later, the luck will wear off. At some point, you are gonna slip up and that was the case with me. I successfully kept my dreams and nightmares to myself for about ten years.

I kind of had to practice keeping secrets anyway.

From fifteen until twenty-five, I survived.

So, what happened at twenty-five? you might ask yourself.

Well, at that age, I was introduced to the wonderband known as J'TASK. They were taking the world by storm, producing number one hits left and right and gaining international popularity! They appeared on multiple American shows, including Late Night TV and award shows.

You might be asking, Why this band? Why J'TASK? What is so special about them? Sure, they're successful, but what sets them apart?

J'TASK isn't your normal K-Pop—the shortened form of Korean Pop, a unique pop music genre—boy band group either. They make it known that they are a product of fans and therefore, do everything and anything for them (well, within limits, of course). I was watching Rockin' New Year's Eve in 2018 and they were on the uprise then, infiltrating the Americas.

That's when I first became a fan of the group and I haven't looked back since.

So, I clearly have a pretty good reason for discovering and following them. But who are they? Who makes up this fan-appreciated pop group?

J'TASK is made of five members.

There is the second oldest in the group at twenty-four, the self-appointed leader, Kim Maknae. Most of the time, however, he prefers to go by his stage name, "Astro." He's the main rapper of the group, providing a distinct strong and witty lyricism to his collected spitfire performance.

The oldest member is named Jung Taehyung or "JT" from his initials. Fans have also nicknamed and called him "International Pretty Boy" as he's got moviestar good looks and is drop-dead gorgeous. He's got a sultry range of vocals that make even the hardest of hearts melt. There is so much soul behind his singing that he can be in a low baritone one minute and high into a tenor range within one amazing vocal run.

In K-Pop there are various terms and in an idol group, members are usually given certain positions (which may overlap sometimes). There's the leader (which I said was Astro), the rapper, vocalist, dancer and visual. The "visual" is the member that usually has extremely attractive or exceptionally striking looks. 

The "visual" of J'TASK just so happens to be "International Pretty Boy" JT. 

Min Soojin is the third oldest of the group and is a talented, distinct sub-rapper. His voice is full of a gritty freshness that no other rappers can seem to tap into. He's so unique that a non-rap fan can't help but fall in love with the man. Everyone calls him 'Suga' because of his personality. He's so sweet to fans, like sugar.

Jeon Seok-guk is the youngest member of J'TASK. Everyone refers to him as 'Gukie' or 'Kookie,' which is a play off of his last name. Seok-guk sounds like 'Kook' or 'cook.' Oftentimes the other members will jokingly tease him, calling him 'Seokgukie.' He's got a super diverse role, being able to rap as well as sing. Though his range is not as vast as JT's - nor as soulful - he can still cover rap parts as well as vocal parts in songs.