Stay Alive | MYG ✅

Chapter Four

Hayley's POV

"Hey, Ji-Hu! How's it going?" I yell over the crowd as we meet in front of the bar.

"Good! Everyone is already in front of the stage," he yells back as he points over to our group of friends that always go to gigs together.

Live music makes me feel alive, which is a feeling I'm constantly chasing after. I can't explain how I crave that fix, that something to help pull me out of the darkness, even if it is for just a few hours. There is nothing like the booming of a kick drum vibrating through my soul or the smoothness of a bass line to temporarily turn off the anxiety in my brain. Sometimes it's the way a guitarist bends the notes, fingers gliding seamlessly over a fretboard, that makes me soar. Other times it's the way a singer approaches a song, the feeling behind the lyrics that lights me on fire. However, I'm truly exhilarated when all those elements come together, and I lose myself in another realm for a few moments. Moments where I can simply exist; I wish I could bottle up that feeling and keep it for when I feel myself sliding into the depression I'm always at war with.

"Great!" I reply as I let the moody darkness of the club sink into my senses as the opening act plays.

"I'm going to the bar. You want a beer?" he yells, trying in earnest to be heard over a singer that is practically screaming into the microphone, which thrills me to no end.

I nod and go to hand him money, but Ji-Hu waves his hand at me, saying it is on him as he drifts over to join the line at the bar that is crawling with customers.

Making my way through the crowd, I find the rest of our friends, which I've collected over the years since I arrived here. A motley crew of quirky, friendly personalities, all with a love of music and an understanding of what it's like to struggle mentally with all that the world has thrown our collective way.

"Hayley, this opener is awful!" one of my friends, Nali, yells at me.

"Nah, they are fun!" I cry out as I start bouncing up and down to the man screaming into the microphone.

She rolls her eyes at me with a laugh and joins in. "Yeong's band will be on soon anyway. Have fun!" I yell as we jump together and make funny poses.

Ji-Hu returns and hands me a beer just as our friend's band comes on, and the mood changes. They are less metal vibes and more rock band and I lose myself in my drink and the music surrounded by my friends.

💖

Yoongi's POV

Quietly we're ushered in through the back door, and it's not long before myself and one of the members of my security team are inconspicuously ushered into a dark corner of the club. I haven't done this in years but I couldn't help myself. I wanted to see her out in her element.

Dressed in nondescript clothing and hiding under a large facemask and a cap, I'm relatively safe in the darkness of the sidewall. The owner of the bar comes by with a glass and a bottle of whiskey, placing it on the table to my right, and with a respectful nod, he vanishes back into the dark corners of the club. I pour myself a drink and lean back, resting my foot against the wall as I scan the crowd when I spot her.

Surrounded by friends, her colorful hair falling around her shoulders, she seems much lighter than the Hayley I've been engaged with. This Hayley is dressed in a short yellow and black plaid skirt topped black corset with lace trim. Her black combat boots are laced with rainbow shoelaces, and she looks like she could be on stage leading the band herself. It makes my pulse race to know this woman, who is usually so nervous the words fall from her lips, seems absolutely confident while in her element.