Rise of RM

Busted--------------------Again.

"Is the coast clear, Lee?" I asked, gripping the walkie-talkie's antenna between my teeth.
"Positive."
I dropped the walkie-talkie and finished throwing on my school clothes. In the light of the streetlamp, the glitter sparkled guiltily.
I probably shouldn't have ok'd Eunhaye to throw it in the crowd...as well as on me. But, it did ramp up the vibe, as well as the cash. Slicking back the 150,000 won, I carefully wrapped it with snack paper so it looked like food. Then, I stuffed all of my party clothes and DJ equipment into my Nike bag. It's bright red. Always gotta remember that.
Finally, I stood, straightening out my tacky school uniform and faced the apartments.
Sagwa apartments. My home and well,  that's it pretty much. There were nice little bushes lining the sidewalks and cute ads for the preschool up the street. But mostly that was it. The buildings were gray, A/Cs hung precariously out of windows and balconies. Ever so often at night, like now, you would hear two cats yowling in earnest. Either they were making love or making war, but I didn't have time to find out.
1:15 am.
I had to be inside, in my apartment, by the thirty or else....
So I slung the Nike bag over my shoulder and trudged inside, drooping like the weight of the world was on my shoulders.
Typical high school student.
As I entered, I gave a nod to security. He smiled and waved. I didn't know his name so I called him Bob. English names are what we were learning in class, so I thought it helped. I walked down the sidewalk, made a right, and entered the building. I first headed down to the basement, which connects to the parking garage. I checked left and right as I opened the door.
All clear.
I then creep sideways along the wall until I reach the janitor's closet. Except, the janitor doesn't use it. Really no one does. Perfect place to hide all my party goods. I pulled the key out from my shirt and unlocked it. Even the slightest creak sounds deafening in this giant space. I held my breath, then opened it. As quietly as I could, I crept in. Nothing but dust and boxes greeted me.
Good.
So, I removed the bag and placed it underneath a cardboard box labeled "DO NOT REMOVE." Slowly, I tiptoed back out and closed the door. Once it was firmly shut and locked, I turned back around and skedaddled upstairs. It was now or never. I pushed the up button on the elevator repeatedly until it opened. Then, I repeatedly hit the number 7 until it closed and made last minute adjustments on my outfit in the mirror. Finally it slid open and I skipped to my spot on the 7th floor, a god-given sign for greatness. Once again, removing my necklace, I unlocked and hurried right on in.
"I'm home!" I made sure to call out to signal my presence.
"So I see. And where have you been?" Came the stern, husky, rough voice of my dad, Kim Namjoon, probably the strictest dad in all of Hanam-shi, our city. He stood, arms crossed. His face stern as ever, glasses on straight and hair smoothed back in that English-teacher style of his. He was one after all. And at my highschool too. Sigh, life is not good to you sometimes.
"Studying of course!" I dumped my jacket and shoes and meandered past him. He snatched my arm.
"Hey!"
He narrowed his eyes and looked me over. I silently prayed, while low-key crossing my legs, that he'd find none of the glitter. His eyes then rested on my face as he leaned in closer. Unaware, I held my breath. Did he see something? Finally, he said,
"Have you been sleeping?"
Thank God!
"W-what?"
"Your eyes look terrible. I told you, you need sleep if you want to get an education."
"Oh, yeah. Guess I shouldn't study so much...I'll go shower now so I can sleep." I kept on walking toward my room, which is about 15 steps from the front door. Just as I reached the threshold, he adds.
"I guess you shouldn't party as much either."
My foot stopped. I probably should've kept going, but I think that if I had actually studied, I would've paused nonetheless. I shoot him a glance.
"Huh?"
"Party? You know? Large gatherings filled with people and games and alcohol and...useless stuff."
"What makes you think I went to a party?"
"Oh, I don't think. I know."
"I'd like to see proof. Otherwise, I'm innocent."
I struck an innocent pose. Dad reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone. He then tapped the screen before shoving it in my face. On the screen, a video played out. At first, the quality was really bad and I couldn't make out what was happening.
Gradually, the moving shapes became recognizable as people. People dancing. The colors became like those a club might have. I heard good music too. Strangely familiar good music. Squinting my eyes, I saw a figure who was lit up by stage lights amongst the moving people. It was a person too. A person doing the pose I do when I just did something zutter! Also wearing the clothes that I changed out of and put in my bag. Yes, without a doubt, the person in that video was me.
Did I admit that to my dad? NO! A true agent denies, denies, DENIES! They don't give in to hard evidence. They hold their ground. So that's what I did. I stamped my foot and fixed my most indignant glare upon my Dad.
"That's not me." Simple as that.
You gotta keep it simple. Otherwise, the lies get out of hand. He then retracted the phone and went about tapping on its screen some more. Then, he held it out again and showed me a photo.
My stomach dropped.
It was a photo I had foolishly posed for while I was giddy after my DJ work. I had my arms around two people, RocketMan and FastTurtle. They were the owners of the little venue. RocketMan was the one who hired me and they wanted a photo to which I agreed, thinking it'd be great for my KakaoStory. Which was a different account from my regular one. Can't have people spying 🕵️‍♀️ now can I? At least, certain people like my dad, who now wore his I'm-so-disappointed-in-you-look.
"So...this isn't you?" He asked dryly.
I squinted, trying to appear convincing.
"I mean, she's got the same height...but that bandana is so tacky. Would I really wear that?"
He still looked PO'd so I continued.
"And look at all that glitter! How could that possibly be me? Do you see ANY glitter on me?"
I patted myself down and even gave a little shake. Secretly, this was pretty ballsy, because I knew there might be glitter on me but I needed to persuade him. Now. When nothing happened, I turned right on my heel and entered my room, making sure to shut my door.
"Gosh, He is such the internet stalker..." I mutter.
Internally, my mind was racing. Where did he find that video?! Who took that video?! Usually, the venues I play have a strict filming policy so they don't get blown up by the cops . Gaaaaaaaaaaah! What if there were more videos like that...?! I'd have to be more careful. I dropped my school bag on the floor and did a great big belly flop on my bed. A sad excuse for one, but after a night of hard DJing, one can sleep like the dead. Speaking of dead, I'd be so that tomorrow if I didn't pass my Political science quiz. Which I didn't study for because, you know, partaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay...Ugh!
Sometimes, I wished I could just drop school and be all out in the underground scene. But considering my cooking skills and general naive ness, it'd be better if I waited. At least until college entrance exams. Then, I'll vamoose.
As I settled with this plan, my door opened. Whatever happened to knocking? My head shot up to see something in Dad's hands. It looked like a dinosaur cellphone. You know the kind with the big antennas? Almost like a wallow talkie but not quite. He said nothing, just pressed a button. A crackle filled the room.
"Yo, the party was great!"
"How much you get?"
"250,000 won."
"250,000!?  Sh#%! That's #%£*ing HUGE!"
"Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa boiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! We can finally get that sound table for our mixtape!"
"Yeah, and some mics this time! Way to go Chae!"
"It's Chacha! And thank you, thank you very much."
"Cut it with the accents, dude..."
"You need to cut it~~~~~Dem prices way too high you need to cut it~~~"
Silence. Dead silence. Dead because that was what I was about to be. A dead man. Well, dead girl, but you catch my drift. Dad stood there, tapping his foot expectantly. What? Did he want me to admit defeat? Throw my hands in the air and give up? No way José! Chacha doesn't go down without a fight. Sitting up, I turned and faced him.
"Is that supposed to b-"
"Cut it Chaeyeon."
I almost burst into song at that moment, cause I thought it'd be funny, but thank goodness my common senses kicked in and shut me up. Dad straightened himself up, and held out his hand.
"Hand it over."
"Hand over what?"
"The money."
"What money?"
I thought maybe if i kept up the dumb charade, it'd work.
"Hand. Over. The. Money. Now."
Fuh.
I dig into my book bag and slowly retrieved the wad I had earlier kissed with glee. Slowly, dragging my feet as if they were dead rabbits, I gave Dad the money. As he removed it from my hand, I felt a cold feeling wash over me. All that money...gone.
He tucked it behind him into one of his back pockets. He then, refaced me and held out his other hand. I frowned in puzzlement.
"Your walkie-talkie. Hand it over."
"I don't have it."
"Listen Chaey-"
"No; serious! It's not on me! It's somewhere else."
"Really?"
"Yes." Vigorous head nods.
"Then phone."
I blink.
"What?"
"Your phone. Give it to me now."
"But! But I have an appointment with Dr. Brenda this Friday an-and I have to set up a study date with Eunhaye! And there's that Taekwondo expo! It's going to be so lit! Dad, I ha-"
"I'm not asking Chaeyeon. I'm ordering. Hand. It. Over. Now."
I stare at the hand in disbelief. Finally, I dug back into my bag and snatch out my phone. The gudetama keychain swung back and forth as I dumped it into Dad's hands. He then turned on his heel and left. Right as he exited, he paused and turned back around.
"And you're grounded. 3 weeks this time."
As he closed the door, I flopped on the bed, dead for real this time.
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUH!
Why,why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why why, WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY?!!!!!!!
Why does he always...why can't he just...what's wrong with...tch! I blink and realize tears had formed in my eyes. Furiously, I scrubbed them away with my elbow. I can't believe I'm crying over this and I can't BELIEVE I still have to study for that dang test tomorrow!
Life is not good to you sometimes. But for me? It's all the time.