Erased (Chaelisa Au)

Chapter 1: Life Flashlight Before Your Eyes

"This... this is amazing Lisa." Hyun Suk said just after listening to the mix Lisa brought in.

And it would have made Lisa happy, excited even, this was the moment she's been working hard for after all. The goal she was striving towards all her life.

However, the lack of enthusiasm in Hyun Suk's tone makes Lisa think there's a 'but' in there somewhere.

"But..." Hyun Suk then said.

Ah, there it is. Lisa thought to herself as she sighed. I knew it.

"I just, I feel like there's something missing." Hyun Suk went on. "I knew form the moment I heard you play at the club that you're pretty good. But I also had this feeling then, like you're too afraid of losing yourself to the music. I hear pretty sick beats but I can't seem to grasp who you are, you know? Who the person who made this is, their identity. Like your heart isn't in it."

"Thanks for your time, I guess." Lisa then said, defeated. She's had a steady two night gig as a DJ at small blink and you miss it, hole-in-the-wall club in Atlanta hoping it could lead to her big break in becoming a music producer herself. It was as pure chance that the Hyun Suk guy sitting across the desk to her just so happened to be one who was working as a music producer for a big label company and gave her his card after hearing her set a few weeks ago.

To those blind to the obvious, this was the big break she's been waiting for since forever.

And right then, it felt like her dreams had been dashed.

"Come back when you find it that missing piece of your sound, okay? Don't be afraid to dig deep to find it!" Hyun Suk then said. It was a nice surprise to hear. A tiny bit of hope.

Something that Lisa wasn't exactly holding onto, but oh well.

She could keep trying and hopefully she won't exhaust the guy who wants to give her the break she deserves to get into the industry.

The rest of the day went on it usual dreary pace leaving Lisa to contemplate her next move.

She was working hard on the mix she had given to Hyun Suk, but apparently it just wasn't enough.

Music has been her life. It's her escape. It's where she finds herself.

It's supposed to tell people who she was. And truth be told, Lisa thought it already did.

But apparently that's not the case.

So how does she find that missing piece she never thought was missing in the first place?

"Yo, Manoban, you listening? You and future Mrs. Im both have orders for delivery!"Nayeon called out, snapping Lisa back to the present.

Nayeon, it's never going to happen. Okay? You need to stop it or the air in here is just always going to smell like the fresh smell of the scent of your desperation." Jeongyeon replied in a rather calm but know it all tone that always gets Lisa to chuckle.

She and Jeongyeon both make it out of the waiting room of K-Pizza. The restaurant's pretty decent and highly frequented by students from a nearby school district. Im Nayeon was the manager, she was the daughter of the owner after all. She's okay, a whole lot of obnoxious on most days but she leaves Lisa alone for the most part. Really. It's Jeongyeon she goes after. From what Lisa could tell, the two sort of have this thing going on. Serious for Nayeon, not really for Jeongyeon.

Jeongyeon was different though. She's her self-proclaimed best friend despite Lisa never really talking much to her.

Well, technically Jeongyeon always talks to her, she just drifts off on most days to think about whatever music mix she's working on.