Spotlight - Bang Chan

2 - First Impressions

Flashback//One Year before present

"Why am I not surprised to see you back here so soon?"

I turned to look at the figure leaning over the bar counter, dreading the fact that I already knew exactly who it was.

"Learn when and when not to comment, Changbin," I hissed, making direct eye contact. "What's the use in trying if you give up after failure?"

Changbin chuckled, pushing off the counter with his forearms. "I'm assuming that means you want a drink tonight?"

"No," I replied sternly, staring up at the glowing red stage in front of me. "I need to be focused on finding another opportunity, I don't know how much longer I can last working at a convenience store to survive."

"Hey," Changbin said softly, and I gave him an annoyed look. "You'll find it one day, especially with your determination," he assured me, pushing a seltzer water across the counter. "Even if your attitude absolutely sucks."

"You are really quite the charmer, Seo Changbin," I spat sarcastically, taking a sip of the water. "But thanks, I guess."

The entire venue was dead, just a few groups of bored teenagers and music junkies there to get drunk and waste time, 60-70 people max. Despite it being a Tuesday, this was one of the best times I could be out searching. Usually only new groups performed early during the week, as the music wasn't even advertised until the weekend. This meant less confident groups, which means more desperation, which means they might need more people to work behind the scenes. I'd gotten lucky finding a new band, I.O.I, that needed someone to help compose their songs and mix them for digital release about 8 months prior, but they'd disbanded just the day before I found myself sitting back in that hellhole.

I sat down my now empty glass, checking the time on my phone. 10:02pm, tonight's act was late. I sat back in the stool, staring at the stage that desperately needed an upgrade. The flooring was peeling it's black paint, the heavy colored lights trying their best to cover up the dusty state of the place. It was almost endearing, especially since it was a venue meant to foster new talent, but it wasn't cute if you looked too hard.

As if they could sense my boredom, the lights dimmed, signaling the start of the show. Some light applause echoed around the crowd as they stepped on stage to take their places.

It was four guys, a pretty blonde one at the drums, a round-cheeked one on the keys, a fierce looking dark-haired one with bass in hand, and the last one to enter, the guitarist.
I bit back a grin as I saw him, nearly in shock. He was tall and broad shouldered, his hair dyed jet-black. A silver lip piercing glinted in the light as he made his way to the front of the stage. He was attractive, all of them were, but I had to hold my judgement. What matters is what I hear, not what I see.

"Seoul!" He boomed into the microphone, scanning the room with a dark smile. "I would like to introduce you lucky crowd to our little family, Stray Kids!"
I snorted as the audience applauded his little display. He was definitely the arrogant type, and usually those types have the most unbearable music.

"Kid thinks he's cool," I sneered towards Changbin, only receiving a confused look in return.

"I've known him for awhile, he's got some serious talent," he argued. "Just stick around and see what they've got."

I spun back around in my seat with an annoyed look, trying to tune out the leader's little speech. I noticed they all had face mics, and I was intrigued to hear how their singing fit together.
"This first song is called 'Beware'," he said lowly into the mic, adjusting his guitar strap.