"But the suburbs hold no charms to soothe the restless dreams of youth"

Subdivions

Byeol sat on a hard wood chair in front of her vanity table, singing along to the radio that thrummed melodies. It was an old city pop song that Byeol was very fond of.

"Hitori aki no umi o mitsumete omoidasu..." Byeol sang along quietly to the small CD player that sat on the vanity in front of her. A smile creeped over her face as she leaned close to the mirror. Her fingers held her liquid eyeliner steady as she carefully drew a small wing on her eyelid. "Ano natsu no kage o sagashite..."

She sat back, smiling at her reflection. She brushed a strand of her short, taupe pixie cut out of her dark eyes, humming softly.

A loud banging at her bedroom door made Byeol jolt. On the other side of the door, her mother was shouting at her to get going.

"Byeol, ije irona!"

'Get up now, Byeol!'

"Omma, galkkeyo!"

'I'm going, Mom!'

Byeol resisted the urge to huff, checking her phone to see that it was only about 7. She had plenty of time to get to work. Still, she stood up and finished getting dressed as quickly as she could. She was still struggling with her tights as she hurried down the stairs, picking lint off her dark work cardigan.

Her mother, Ji-yeon, was in the living room. She stood in front of the big mirror that sat above the side table, in her blazer and slacks as she clasped on her earrings. The picture of a working woman.

"Joeun achimieyo, omma!" Byeol called from the doorway. Her was voice cheerful as she bounced on the balls of her feet, smoothing out any wrinkles in her pencil skirt.

'Good morning, Mom!'

Her mother didn't look up, didn't take any notice of her, only telling her that her breakfast was ready and that she could eat it on her way to work.

Byeol sighed heavily and glanced at her phone, her spirits quickly falling at her mother's tone. Her mood deteriorated even more upon noticing that it was dreary outside. She only had about an hour to get to work, and it looked like a thunderstorm was about to roll in.

"Damn it-" Byeol mumbled bitterly, shoving her phone into the pocket of her sweater.

She hurried to the kitchen, grabbing her purse and coat from the hook by the door. She took two of the still-warm egg breads that sat on the kitchen counter, pulling on her soft leather jacket and work pumps that sat by the kitchen door.

She called to her mom that she'd be home for dinner, receiving only grumbling in return. She stepped out the kitchen door, popping in her earbuds as she began her walk to work.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

It was a wet and dark day in Seoul, and Byeol regretted not grabbing her umbrella, but she trudged on. She hummed and bopped her head to her music as she walked.

Soon she was cold and wet, and deeply regretted not taking the bus, expensive as it was for her.

Oh, well. I'm almost to work anyway... Byeol thought to herself as she pulled the back of her jacket up to cover her taupe pixie cut.

At long last she arrived at a local vacation booking agency. Byeol had worked there since highschool as a receptionist, could you believe it? As sad as it sounded, it was likely going to be the only job she ever had. And even though it was dull and mindless work, it paid okay, so she really had no other option than to keep it.

She wiped her feet on the carpeting in front of her desk as she shucked off her jacket and set down her purse. She flopped into her chair, finishing off the last of her egg bread as she rubbed her arms to get the feeling back into them.

Across from her, her desk mate, an older woman named Yoongi, scowled at her.

"Tto neujotkkunnyo?"

"You're late again?"

"Ne, neutjjameul jattta."

"Yes, I overslept," technically a lie. Byeol had been up since six, but her mom was a late riser, so early mornings were really the only time Byeol had to herself. Yoongi didn't need to know that, though. None of her business.

"Nolral iri anijyo."

"I'm not surprised."

Byeol rolled her eyes. Yoongi always had something to say, didn't she? What was it with older ladies and always having a problem with Byeol?

She leaned back in her chair, beginning to take her calls. Man, she had a lot of work to do...

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

About 4 hours later, Byeol stood up and stretched, her cardigan riding up to show the smattering of black star tattoos that ran across her hip . She grabbed her jacket and purse.

She turned to Yoongi, telling her she was taking her lunch break. The older woman only huffed in reply.

Byeol hurried out the door and across the wet, slippery sidewalk down the street to the convenience store, trying her hardest to avoid puddles as the murky gray sky above her rumbled and flashed with lighting.

As she walked by the window of the convenience store, she noticed some bright pink posters tacked up on it. She paused to read them.

'SUG4RPOP auditions open now! From 6-13 to 6-20, bring your instruments and your talent to the Vieux Carre nightclub and tryout for your position!

Available positions:

Drummer

Guitarist

All members must be over 18 years of age and must bring their own instruments..."

The flyer continued on, but Byeol's eyes were caught only on the first four words.

She blinked, walking up closer to the window. Her keen dark eyes scanned over the phone number on the flyer, her belly fluttering strangely.

She was pulled from her thoughts by her phone buzzing in her purse. She jumped slightly, reaching into her bag. She huffed when she saw the notification pop up on screen.

From: Mrs.Yoongi

Are you almost done? Your line is ringing off the hook.

Byeol went to shove her phone back into her bag, but paused. She quickly snapped a picture of the phone number on the flyer, turning away from the window.

She hurried into the convenience store, grabbing some dosirak and an energy drink. All the while, her mind was on the band flyer and the possibilities that came with it.

For as long as she could remember, Byeol had wanted to be a musician.

She couldn't remember a time where she hadn't loved music. In high school, the only classes she'd shown potential in were band and music class. She lived and breathed music.

So if she was so passionate about music, why hadn't she become a musician?

Well, how could she, really? Her mom-

There I go again, blaming Mom... Byeol's inner voice was bitter as it chided her.

Is it really her fault? Byeol was the one who never took any chances, after all.

But Ji-yeon was the only person Byeol had. How could Byeol, in good conscience, pursue her passions when her mother hated the very idea of them? If she did, she would surely feel guilty, no matter how successful she became.

Was that really an excuse, though?

Byeol supposed she couldn't be too bitter. After all, she was only 18. She had a lot of life ahead of her, she still had time to become successful, right?

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

Byeol scuffed her feet as she walked back into her building, staring at the picture of the band flyer as she chugged her drink.

She sighed deeply and shut off her phone as she reached her desk, draining the last of her energy drink.

Yoongi was on a call when she came in, thankfully, so Byeol jumped straight back into work.

The rest of the day was painfully long, the clacking of keyboards and the ticking of the clock working together to make Byeol feel like her head was about to explode.

She was convinced that if she had to talk about the prices of outgoing flights to New York one more time today, she'd lose her effing mind...

Byeol bit at her nails, the bitter taste of chipped gel polish tainting her mouth as her eyes flitted across her computer screen- bad habit- and her foot tapped absentmindedly as she waited for the clock to strike 5.

"Geumanhaeyo, Byeol," Yoongi said sharply, glaring at her from across the desk.

"Knock it off, Byeol."

"Mianhaeyo, yunkki buin," Byeol muttered, holding in the urge to roll her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Yoongi."

At that moment, the clock made a small chime as it hit 5 O'clock. Byeol practically jumped out of her seat, brushing roughly past her coworkers as she rushed out the door. Normally she was more conscientious when it came to other people, but her mind was... Elsewhere right now.

It was still cold and overcast outside, but the rain had stopped briefly. Byeol was yet again staring at the picture of the band flyer as she walked, her eyes locked on the phone number displayed on the bottom.

Yeah, yeah, it was dangerous to be distracted while she walked home, she knew that, but right then Byeol frankly couldn't care any less if she got mugged.

Because right now, she was practically being handed a one-way-ticket to achieving her life-long dreams of becoming a musician. How could she pass that up?

She knew that if she passed this opportunity up, she'd regret it for the rest of her life.

Byeol took a deep, steadying breath as she stopped in her tracks. She leaned her shoulder against the concrete wall of a nearby office building, her mind running ten thousand miles a second.

With a shaky hand, she carefully typed the number into her phone, her heart dropping to her stomach as the line began to ring.

"SUG4RPOP dorm rooms," A woman's voice, a bit raspy and speaking in English, answered the call after just a few rings.

Byeol cleared her throat. "Um, hello! Is this... Uh, Lisa Hoff?"

"This is she."

"Oh, well, I was calling about the auditions for your band? I saw a flyer and I-"

"Name, age, and position, please," the woman on the other end of the line interrupted Byeol quickly.

"Ah, Byeol Seong, 18, and uh- guitarist!"

"Byeol... Seong... Spell that for me, miss?"

She felt a brief moment of panic, second-guessing if she knew how to spell her own name. God, Byeol, you're so stupid sometimes... She shook her head and cleared her throat, spelling out her name carefully.

"Got it. Okay, we'll be expecting you at the Vieux Carre tomorrow afternoon, around 3 O'clock. Please bring everything you need for your audition. Thanks for auditioning, and I hope you do well."

"I will! Thank you again, Miss Lisa."

"Don't be late." At the sound of the dial tone, Byeol sucked in a deep breath and laid her hand across her face. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes, though she couldn't really understand why. Nerves? Fear? She had no idea.

Byeol cleared her throat as she pulled her phone away from her face and slipped it into her bag, gripping her purse strap with white knuckles.

I'm so glad I took English in high school...

Wow, that was the first time Byeol had ever thought that-

She started on her way back home, feeling the same odd sort of fluttering sensation settle in her belly. Whether it was nerves about tomorrow or anxiety for the inevitable arguement that would come when she told her mom about her audition, she couldn't tell.

Either way, she tried desperately not to think about her mom as she headed back to their place, instead trying to keep her thoughts light and optimistic.

She had an audition tomorrow! That was a good thing, right? This is what she had been working towards for years!

This could be the start of something huge!