—

Low lights, hot sweat, loud music.

What Park Jimin would give, to be on the stage right then instead of just a mere onlooker.

To be the spectacle, not the spectator.

Jimin sighed, blowing a few pitch black pieces of hair out of his eyes as he wiped down the surface of the bar in front of him. He looked into his reflection as the clean surface displayed it for him, and he frowned softly.

Nearly two years, he had worked at the bar he was stood in right then, serving regulars and mixing drinks from early in the evening until the latest hours of the night. It paid well, the hours fit his sleep schedule, and he made tips quite often from friendly patrons.

He couldn't quite say it was exactly where he wanted to be, though.

Jimin looked through the crowd of people in front of him, squinting through the low lights and smoky air to catch a glimpse of what he wanted to most. On the stage that was set up for live music in the bar he worked at, a band was in the middle of their set,

He couldn't remember their name, but they played here quite often. Once every week, if Jimin wasn't remembering things incorrectly. Many different small town bands came and went through the doors of this building, but this one always caught Jimin's attention the most, and held it the longest.

He knew why.

The lead singer had the voice of an angel, sounding as if it were made for ballads and he belted out melodies while strumming the guitar in his hands. Jimin's eyes, weren't on him. Then there was the bass guitarist. Bleach blonde hair stuck to his forehead with sweat as he plucked out the song's filthy baseline. Jimin wasn't looking at him either.

The lead guitarist, full of energy and bursting with joy, bounced across the stage as if it were burning up beneath his feet. He was hard to ignore, with the dashing grin that was plastered on his face 24/7, but somehow Jimin couldn't stay focused on him either.

Positioned at the back of the stage, just in the outskirts of the spotlight, was him. Dyed blue hair sat unruly and frizzy atop his head as the beat at the drum set in front of him. The overhead lights made his hair look electric, and the sweat on his skin glisten. His shirt was long discarded on the floor next to his drums, stripped away when the drummer became far too hot too keep the material on him.

He was always the one Jimin couldn't keep his eyes off of. His muscles rippled beneath his skin each time he swung his arm to crash one of his drumsticks against the set in front of him, and the tattoos that swirled against his bare skin just made it that much harder to look away.

He was absolutely gorgeous, and talented too. Jimin was silently upset that he hadn't snatched him up for his own little band, when they were forming.

"Not very good customer service I'm getting here, I think I might have to write a bad review." Jimin's attention immediately snapped away from the band on stage, his eyes coming to rest on a familiar face that matched the voice he knew too well.

Kim Taehyung sat on a barstool across from Jimin, resting his head on his hand as his elbow propped it up. "They're good." He commented, nodding his head in the direction of the band that Jimin had been fixated on. "As good as us though? Not too sure about that."

Jimin rolled his eyes turning around to grab a glass for Taehyung.

"We don't even have a lead guitarist, so I think they might be." He laughed softly, dropping a few ice cubes into the cup he had in his hand. He and Taehyung had struck up the idea of forming a band when they were in their sophomore year of high school together, it was fun, and quickly became something Jimin was extremely passionate about.

Two years later though, Jimin only found himself on stage maybe two nights a month if he was lucky.

"Yeah, but you're really holding us up Jimin." Taehyung shrugged, watching as his friend poured a peach flavoured liquor in his glass. "You've got enough talent to keep two-timing as our singer and guitarist."

Jimin couldn't help but smile, the compliment from his friend helping to lighten some of his internal disappointment. Truly, he wished that their little band could grow to be something more, and that he could quit his job to make money off of something that he actually loved.

"I suppose." Jimin shrugged, adding a splash of vodka into Taehyung's drink before finishing it off with iced tea. He slid the glass over to his friend, chuckling when the other male nearly didn't catch it. "I just, there's gotta be some reason we're not as popular as say, them." He looked back over to the stage, his eyes dancing across the image of the blue haired man pushing sweat soaked strands of hair out of his eyes.

It must've been dyed recently, as his sweat was tinted cerulean as it rolled down his face.

"Don't know, don't care." Taehyung shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. His puckered his lips immediately, visibly taken aback by how strong the cocktail was. "If we just keep staying true to ourselves and do what we're doing, I'm sure we'll find a crowd that really messes with our sound."

He pushed a few dirty blonde pieces of hair out of his face, before reaching down to stir his drink with the straw Jimin had given him with it. "I'd much rather just stay three friend messing around making music that we love, instead of making shit we aren't passionate about just to be popular, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." Jimin sighed, leaning against the bar. He looked back over to the stage, watching the band as they finished out the last song of the set they were playing tonight. The crowd cheered wildly, and though most of them were intoxicated, it was still enough to have the band members beaming with joy.

Really, that was all Jimin craved. The rush of being on stage. Being cheered for. Being heard.

"Anyway, I only came by to let you know Namjoon wants us to come over tonight for practice after your shift is over, you down?" He gulped down his drink, obviously having gotten passed the burn of the vodka in it.

"Yeah, I'm off soon anyway, so I won't be too late." Jimin answered, catching the empty glass when Taehyung slid it back over to him. "Is it an actual practice, or are we just going to be hanging out?"

Taehyung laughed softly, brushing off the oversized black T-shirt he was wearing before standing up.

"Honestly, probably the latter." He smiled, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a bill to drop into Jimin's tip jar. "But be prepared for either."

And after a quick exchange of goodbyes, and a small wave from Taehyung, the other male was gone.

Jimin dumped out the ice cubes from Taehyung's drink into the sink behind the bar before setting the glass there. He looked back to the stage, eyes widening as he noticed that they were beginning to pack up. His eyes darted around for a moment, searching for the drummer that was no longer found seated behind his drum set.

It was so stupid, but Jimin had seen him play so many times, and just kept getting impressed over and over again. He wanted to say something, felt like he needed to, at this point.

Finally, he found the man. Leaning up against the wall beside the back door to the bar, the blue haired man was folding a black denim jacket over his arm and now wearing the T-shirt he had discarded for the majority of the show. Jimin watched as he patted around in his pockets for a moment, before he turned the door handle, and walked outside.

Fuck. Jimin thought. He shouldn't follow him. He really didn't even have anything to say that the other male probably hadn't heard before.

'You play really well.'

'I like your hair.'

For the life of him, Jimin couldn't come up with a conversation starter that wasn't so dry it was embarrassing. But, god, he knew he would hate himself more if he didn't try.

As if on autopilot, Jimin was untying the half apron he wore for his shift and folded it on the bar beside him. He would get in trouble for walking out during his shift, but honestly, it was a fair price to pay in his mind.

Slowly, he took steps that brought him across the bar, through the crowd of people, and towards the back door. He walked past a few of the other band members, but he couldn't stop to talk, because he knew if he doubted himself for even a second he would lose whatever confidence was built up in him right then.

It seemed like years before he reached the door, and yet the handle was still warm from the drummer's hand when he grabbed it.

Cold night air hit his face as he swung the door open, sending a shiver down his spine and pricking goosebumps up on his skin. It was a crisp fall night, the air cool enough that he could create small clouds with each breath he took.

Closing the door behind him, Jimin stepped out into the alleyway next to the bar. The atmosphere outside, as opposed to inside, was strikingly different.

It was silent, the only sound that was taking up above in the night air being the slow traffic of cars that would pass by the nearby street.

Then, the flick of a lighter rang through the air, catching Jimin's attention immediately.

There he was, leaned against the brick wall of the building, the drummer Jimin had followed out here. He hunched over slightly, using one of his hands to shield the flame of his lighter from the wind as he lit a cigarette that was balanced between his teeth.

He looked like a scene from a movie, as he tipped his head backwards and smoke slipped past his pierced lip. It slowly swirled upwards into the air, before disappearing completely. Vibrant blue strands of hair fell into his eyes and obscured his vision, but he payed no mind to brush them away.

Jimin knew that he needed to say something, that he couldn't just stand and stare until the other male noticed.

At a lost for words, he scrambled, wracking his brain for anything he could say that could strike up a conversation with the male he had in front of him.

Finally, he opened his mouth.

"You shouldn't smoke."

—
a/n:
new book!! this ones gonna be a spicy one ;))

- Charlie :)