"When was the last time I steered you wrong Hak?" Yona smiled broadly her eyes gleaming with mischief and conviction.
"Well let's see" Hak started counting on his fingers, "There was when we snuck into an R rated film and got found out by the guards, there's that one time that you told me to tried my bike down the ditch and do a pro skateboarding trick, I still have a scar from that.. There's also the time when…"
"HAK! THIS IS A GOOD IDEA!"
Hak smiled as the small red-headed girl clenched her fists and stared at him, determination written all over her face. He let out a small laugh, "Fine, I'll do it, but on one condition… if I get in you're my manager.
Yona looked at the floor a little and made small circles with her shoes. "Okay.." she trailed off caught in contemplation. Yona hadn't particularly wanted to be the one in charge of Hak, but if he would only do it with motivation from her, she was willing. "I'm a little young to be a manager don't you think?" Yona said as she looked at Hak, testing him a little so make sure he was sure on the topic.
"Yona, you were the one who signed me up for the audition, you could say that you owe me for even doing this crazy stunt."
"But you have a talent! I've never in my life heard someone with such a clear yet rough voice like yours Hak, it would be a shame if you only kept singing for the restaurant."
"If you haven't noticed, my singing for the restaurant is what brings in money for my family, me even taking the night off hurts our family's income."
"This is a small sacrifice for the greater good of all humanity and with all the new acts gaining popularity recently this could be your chance! You could be like Elvis, imagine it! 'Hak Son Live' in lights like all the big singers!"
"You know I'm more of a Marty Robins fan…"
"BUT YOUR VOICE IS MORE SUITED TO ROCK N' ROLL!"
Hak ruffled his hair with his hand tussling it a little more into its semi-unkempt style. Yona stared at him as he tried to avoid eye contact. He knew that her eyes could make him do summersaults through the halls if she asked him to.
The door clicked open as a lady in her mid-forties with perfectly pinned hair turned to Hak, "Are you number 45?" she asked, looking up, a slight gasp caught in her breath that broke her perfectly formal tone.
"Yeah." Hak replied simply.
To say that Hak was good looking was an understatement. His eyes were cobalt blue, intense and piercing, almost as if he could see right through you. His hair a perfect mixture of unkempt and neat and shiny from his hair gel. His clothes reflected the quintessential bad-boy image that reminded one of James Dean with his slick black leather jacket and white t-shirt coupled with well worked jeans. Hak was indeed, the whole package, and the lady bringing individuals into the room knew it. Her business tone quickly reflected all the girls in Hak's class… smitten.
Yona trailed a few feet behind Hak listening as observing, if he made it, she would have to step up as his manager and figure out the industry. The thought intrigued Yona to no end as her sheltered life with her parent posed no excitement, no glamor, and no challenges. Pushing her childhood friend into auditions proved just such an opportunity, for the road of glamor and excitement.
The plan was to sing the song "Rock And Roll Is Here to Stay" by Danny & the Juniors, a safe choice that both Yona and Hak had enjoyed in years past.
The three walked into the room as the door closed behind them, a microphone on a stand stood in the middle of the room with a small stage around it set for auditions. Hak quietly walked up to the microphone and did a quick check in the microphone that indicated a seasoned musician. He swung around his bass guitar he so often used at the restaurant and checked the bass and sound system, then looked up at the judges.
"My name is Hak Son, contestant 45 from Midland, Michigan and I will be singing "Hallelujah I Love Her So" by Ray Charles. Yona gasped a little from the corner of the room as she glared at Hak. He flashed an easy smile at the judges and finally a wink at Yona and began to strum. After a few notes he sung "Let me tell you 'bout a girl I know, she is my baby, and he she lives next door," His eyes held a mischievous gleam as he focused on Yona. "Every morning 'fore the sun comes up, She brings my coffee in my favorite cup," The song continued as Yona got more and more angry from the corner but as he began to reach the middle of the song, his tone dropped from the playful tone to slow down the tempo and a prolonged bass plucking as he crooned "in the evening when the sun goes down ,when there is nobody else around, She kisses me and she hold me tight…" then a pause almost like a breath, he broke his gaze at Yona, and then focused on impressing the judges and picked up the tempo for a fun and up-beat finish.
The judges scribbled occasional notes as the guide in the corner blushed almost as if he was singing it to her. One judge at the end of the row looked up at Hak from his notes, "You're dismissed Hak Son, the announcement will be out if you make it in at the end of the day so sit tight till then."
Hak flipped his bass around and gave a quick bow before exiting the small room with the attendant. She didn't say anything but her face was covered in a bright red blush. They walked in silence past contestant 46 who looked like he was about ready to be sick. When compared to Hak's composed nature it felt as though a mouse was after a lion.
"H…Hey girl!"
Yona ripped around toward contestant 46, "What?" she asked with a surprising amount of disgust. The boy started to gain confidence in himself the longer he stood in front of Yona. While contestant 46's height was considerably taller than Yona's he still seemed small compared to her confidence in Hak's ability.
"What is the judging like?" He asked, trying to be poised.
"Quiet." She replied sharply, her firm response came more from her anger with Hak than with the contestant calling her out but as she spent more time around the contestant, she began to feel as though her confidence was seeping out of her and into the boy in front of her.
"Hey is that any way to talk to another contestant?" He retorted.
"Well you don't seem the type to try to make it in this industry."
He looked down at his own attire, it was tailored and rich, his hair long and meticulously kept. He then turned to Yona, "It's not really the clothes that makes the man, it's the gift isn't it… besides if the producers don't put me through… my parents have funding more than capable of making them change their minds."
Yona began to shrink a little, his confidence was growing, almost as if picking a fight with people gave him energy. Hak watched from a few feet away as he finally stepped up to protect Yona. "How about you mind your own business." Hak responded.
The contestant's confidence reached a miraculous height as he turned from Yona to Hak, "What are you, a Knight protecting your princess? How sad! I'll win this completion and take that gem of a girl you have there for my own, I like her fire." Hak pressed his hand against Yona back, silently indicating that they should leave now. "Hey punk!" Hak ripped around to face the contestant, he shrunk a little but regained his composure, "My name is Tae –Jun Kan! Don't forget it, you'll see it on the board!" Hak turned back around as he pushed Yona forward quickly.
"He… Hey Hak! Don't you think you're pushing a little hard." Yona whined.
"Were getting out to the holding area and out of that guys sight."
"Hak he just wanted to pick a fight, thats why he called me out and not you, don't worry about it."
"Oh I'm not worried about him, I'm more worried about how you feel and if he made you feel even the least bit uncomfortable he's got another thing coming." Hak stopped for a second and looked over at Yona who had stopped moving completely and looked at him with a concerned look. "I mean after all I'm the only one allowed to pick fights with you!"
Yona's concerned face melted away as she punched him weakly in the side. "Your annoying- Soo-Won would never change personalities so fast."
"Heh, you're probably right," He replied which earned him a slightly firmer weak punch.
As Hak and Yona sat in the holding area other contestants were in various stages of panic and confidence. One group remained calm as they played old maid in the corner, others cried and the people who brought them patted their back reassuringly. Tae –Jun kept coming over and picking fights with Yona that became more and more flirtatious with each time he came over.
"Yona with the fire-red hair you sure do attract attention! Perfect for a top performer- maybe you should marry me?" Tae-Jun would taunt.
"Over my dead body" She whispered
Hak got up and put distance between Yona and Tae-Jun. Retreating back to Yona.
Yona sat on a single person chair as she looked back at Hak. He momentarily considered resuming his spot next to her on a separate chair but then thought better of it and stood in front of her.
"Scoot." He ordered and his hand gestured for her to move over and let him share the seat with her.
"Hak! You'll break the chair or maybe I'll fall off and my skirt will flip, do you really want that?"
Hak paused for a second, "Yes." Then he shoved his body next to Yona's. Her face flushed.
"HAK YOU'RE AN ABSOLUTE BOAR!" She got up and went to the other side of the room where she asked to be dealt in with the card game kids. They hurriedly agreed and made space for her. Hak smiled a little to himself, his plan had worked and Tae-Jun looked longingly over at the girl. Yona, after settling with the other kids, turned toward Hak and stuck her tongue out to which Hak just laughed.
After an hour of waiting, the auditions were over and the list of those who passed on to the next round were at the top of the list in order of preference for moving on. Yona rushed up to the list but got pushed out of the way by the crowd. Hak laughed a little, "See princess, you have to wait till the crowd thins then look, you being the first to see it isn't going to change the outcome."
"Yeah but I'm so nervous for you! I need to know as soon as possible!" she retorted.
Hak just gave an easy smile.
As the crowd thinned Yona surged forward and looked at the list. Hak had topped the list with 1059 points, the second had a mere 942 points.
"HAK YOU GO TO THE NEXT ROUND!" She ran over and gave him a hug. He gently patted her back as he let out a small sigh.
Tae-Jun turned towards the two and the got up into Hak's face. "Look!" he gestured toward the list. "I pass on to the next round! I will take the record deal and this red-head too!" He grabbed a chunk of Yona's hair as Yona pulled away with all her strength. His eyes burned as she glared at Tae-Jun.
"I WILL NEVER MARRY A COMPLETE FOOL LIKE YOU!" She grabbed Hak's hand and pulled him out to the parking lot towards Hak's beat-up pickup truck. Yona gave him another quick hug before jumping into the other side of the pickup truck.
Yona turned on her phone as messages popped up on the screen, a missed call from Soo-Won illuminated her screen as she quickly tapped the call button. Hak rolled his eyes as he pulled out of the parking lot, the breaks squeaked as he paused when turning out of the parking lot. He rolled forward as the streetlights flickered lightly over the road. He waited for the routine greeting to Soo-Won as he drove down the street thinking over the events of the evening.
"Hi Soo-Won! I missed your call what came up?" Yona chatted with a slight squeak in her voice, Hak had heard that squeak before, it was how her voice got when she talked to Soo-Won, he had come to hate that squeak… it belonged exclusively to Soo-Won.
"What!" Yona gasped. "NO! Father would never… there's no way…" Tears started streaming down her face. Something was wrong. Hak pulled over to the side of the road as he waited for Yona to calm down enough to explain the situation. Her breathing rasped and caught as if the words didn't want to come. Hak looked patiently at her as he waited.
"F—Fa—athe-r co-lap—s-sed a-a-nd-d h-es in th-e ho-s-p-it-al…" more sobs broke out of Yona as the color ran out of Hak's face.
"DAMMIT! That old man!" He stuck the keys in the ignition as the engine roared to life and pulsed forward. He pushed down hard on the gas as his car bellowed from the excessive force of the gas coursing through the machine. The drive home usually would have taken two hours but the trip home only took 45 minutes. Motivated by Yona's throaty sobs, he made it to the hospital and demanded to know were Yona's father was. The nurse looked at them and asked if they were family, to which he said Yona was his daughter and he was a close family friend. The nurse only let Yona through as Hak was forced to stay in the main waiting room. He looked at the light tan walls as colorless and abstract paintings that filled the room and felt trapped. His eyes darted around looking for Yona, any signs of her or her father, even Soo-won would be a sight for sore eyes as his anxiety grew.
After an hour he had had enough, he took off for the door he had seen Yona taken though. Muffled 'hey's and "stop right there"s echoed behind his as he frantically looked at name plates on doors hoping to see just one familiar name. Footsteps quickened behind him as he finally found the room and yanked the door open. In that moment Yona stood frozen looking at Soo-Won as the heart monitor in the room flat-lined with its piercing sound as Soo-Won looked at Yona with cold eyes, eyes Hak had never seen before. The rest felt like it was in slow motion.
Hak grabbed Yona's hand and pulled her out of the room as door after door came rushing past, avoiding the nurses and doctors who had caught up to Hak. Some people he slowed down enough to knock their feet out from under them, occasionally taking side doorways until he made it to the waiting room he had initially been held in. For good measure he pulled a chair out from the waiting room and blocked the door as they made their way out into the parking lot. The evening air bit against his skin as his adrenaline screamed with the pain of carrying another human for long periods of time at an accelerated pace. He fumbled with the keys as he made it to the car and pushed her in and ran around the other side. He shoved the keys into the ignition and forced the car backwards jarring the both of them backwards.
He sped out onto the road that appeared to be deserted, safe for driving at such extreme speeds. Hak momentarily looked over at Yona who at some point had fell asleep. He slammed his fist on the steering wheel that let out a cut-off honk.
"DAMMIT!" He yelled. He slammed his palm on the steering wheel letting out long honks.
Hak knew what had happened- the old man was dead… Yona was an orphan now and Soo-Won had something to do with it. He had no idea what he could do. Lights zoomed past, indicating that he was in a city. His eyes darted around as he spotted a Super 8 advertising 48 dollars a night. He slowed down and looked at his passenger, Yona was out cold, her cheeks red and patchy from all the crying. He sucked in a breath and pulled into the Super 8. He knew the faire would hurt him when he got home, but the priority was Yona at this point.
He brushed a stray piece of hair out of her face and looked at her for an extended moment then picked her up and took her inside.
He set her on a chair in the lobby and paid the fee from the tips he had gotten from his job with Yona's father, picked her up and took her to the room. He laid her gently on the bed, and covered her up. He didn't dare change her clothes, he owed her father too much to defile his daughter after his death.
He wandered over to the window and pulled a small sliver of the blinds open and looked out over the expanse of the city. He let out a deep sigh, his troubles had just begun but in the meantime, he needed to sleep, and tomorrow, he would face the world.