Archive of Our Own ^beta

The venue is stuffy, crowded with people that probably want to be at this band's live performance a lot more than Tala does. She's sitting at a diner-style table, with a friend. Klara looks at Tala, excitement showing in her very obvious smile.

"Isn't this exciting?" Klara asks, and it's clear that she is at least a little more relaxed than Tala. Tala had come out with Klara since she didn't have anyone to go with, plus this being Klara's girlfriend's first live performance. As far as Tala knew about this band, Tayanne was the drummer, and there was a bass guitarist, lead guitarist and a vocalist.

"Yeah." Tala tries to make her voice sound more enthusiastic than she felt, but it comes out strained. "It's really loud."

"Ah, yes, I suppose it would be." Tala honestly couldn't tell how Klara tuned the noise out, the crowd rustling and shouting loudly. God damn it, the band hadn't even gotten on stage and Tala already wants to never hear anything again. "If you'd like to go, I'm sure Tayanne wouldn't mind."

"Nah, I'll stay." Tala had taken the bus here, she wasn't about to just ride the bus back home. Plus, she knows how important this is to Tayanne, as her and her band had been practicing for a long time. As far as rehearsals went, Tala hadn't attended any, content with what she heard from her friend.

Tala had each of the band members categorized carefully with the info the mechanic had given her, and they were listed as follows.

Drummer, Tayanne Alves. Kind of a loose cannon, and has an odd fascination with explosives, and the way they're made. Thank god she's a mechanic, otherwise the world would perish at her extremely explosive feet.

Base guitarist, Mateo… something. As far as Tala knew, Mateo was a pretty chill dude. He had bought coffee for the band almost every rehearsal, and although Tala had only met him briefly, she liked him. He had an affinity for animals, often showing photos of his two cats, Wingman and Dizzy. Supposedly, he had other animals as well, but Tala had never seen them.

Lead guitarist, Jamie. Jamie was the closest person to the lead vocalist, and was the one who brought her into the band, apparently. He was pretty goofy, and Tayanne often said that rehearsals where he was absent just weren't the same, because of the fun energy he brought to the room. He apparently learned guitar by ear when he was around 16, and had been playing ever since.

And finally, the vocalist. Unfortunately, Tala knew a lot about Han Sunwoo. She was a jokester, and made lighthearted jokes, almost always improving the mood in the room. Tayanne would often talk about Sunwoo, telling Tala that they would get along well. Sunwoo was a chef at a pretty high-class restaurant, and was the last one to join the band, having been pretty insecure about her singing, and being really hesitant to join. Jamie eventually convinced her.

Those were the only descriptions she had. So it's safe to say, without meeting any of these people, she was skeptical. Tala just hoped they were good. She hoped they were good enough that when she got out she wouldn't hate this goddamned venue as much.

Okay, maybe those were high expectations for them.

"Oh! Look Tala, they're about to start!" Klara's eyes go wide, watching as Tayanne walks on stage, sitting at her drum kit. Tala could see the hearts in Klara's eyes, forcing herself not to smirk amusedly. It was sweet. A little sappy, but sweet. Tala often teased Klara about her devotion to her girlfriend, but Tala always rolled her eyes playfully, not intending the words to hurt.

Tala directs her eyes towards the stage, where a very nervous Tayanne sits, her knee bouncing quickly. Her eyes dart around the crowd as her bandmates settle on stage. Klara gave a little wave as Tayanne’s eyes settle onto them, and Tayanne's face lights up, waving brightly at them. Tala has a feeling she isn't the one being waved at.

"Yo! Hi everyone!" A voice booms through the microphone on the stage, drawing everyone's eyes toward the person speaking. The woman is just a little taller than Tala, her dyed white hair pulled into a stylish ponytail. She wears a white shirt and jean jacket, and a small, almost smug smile.

Wow. Tayanne had said something to the effect of "Sunwoo's totally your type". And wow.  Alright, Tayanne, you win this one.

"We are (insert band name) and we're here to show you a great time!" Sunwoo raises a fist into the air, pumping it enthusiastically. A confident smile rests on her lips, and she grabs the microphone, an instrumental already started behind her. "Are you guys ready?"

And wow. Tala is dazzled. The lights, the music, and as Sunwoo starts singing—

Her voice. It's nothing to gawk at as the song starts, but as they swiftly make their way into the chorus, Tala's jaw nearly falls to the floor at her voice.

Because Sunwoo's voice is literally perfect . Tala can't imagine her being insecure about her singing, and Tayanne had said she was good , but not this good. Sunwoo grins carelessly, singing the next line as the band launches themselves into the chorus.

" You've got my heart bursting at the seams!" Sunwoo sings, and it's clear that music is her passion, on this stage, anywhere, because she looks radiant. Sunwoo looks like she wouldn't rather be anywhere else. " Maybe you're the boy from my dreams!"

Tala barely gets a breath in before Sunwoo continues to sing, stealing it away once more.

"If you're gonna love me, make sure that you do it right," Sunwoo sings, and she does this adorable head bop to the music as she sings, and grins ear-to-ear. " I'll be under your window in the moonlight! Oh, I tend to keep my heart locked watertight,"

And their eyes meet. Through some cruel twist of fate, Sunwoo sees Tala, her eyes wide, her body frozen. Through some cruel twist of fate, Sunwoo sees her, smiles and winks . She winks. And it's not in a flirty way either, a playful look, and a wink tossed over her shoulder like it was a loose scrap of paper.

"All you gotta do is meet me after- meet me after midnight!"

Holy shit. No. Tala, you don't even know her. Don't do that. Don't look at her like that. Don't stare.

But, regardless if Tala wants her to or not, Sunwoo plunges into the next lyrics, singing and smiling with a passion that Tala didn't know was actually possible to experience. Why had this woman been so worried about her singing? She wasn't perfect, by any means, but she was good enough. Good enough for Tala to wish she had accepted those many many invitations to practices. She could play acoustic guitar well enough. She could've attended and kept up with at least some of the musical lingo used.

Her regrets aside, Sunwoo once more lauches into the chorus, making direct eye contact with Tala before beginning to sing. It's a small smile that finds its way onto Tala's lips, smiling almost coyly before Sunwoo's face flushes lightly, and adorably . She turns back to her singing and Tala can swear she sees the slightest hint of flusteredness in the others expression before Sunwoo moves on.

A few verses and bars later, and the song ends. Sunwoo is sweating, Tala can see it from here, and Tayanne and the other band members aren't safe from it either. As the music fades, Tala feels the electricity through the air, and Tayanne wears a self-satisfied smile from her drumset. Tala can't deny she wasn't looking at the drummer for the majority of the song, but she sounded good.

And Sunwoo smiles from her place on the stage, and Tala can always appreciate raw beauty. The kind someone only achieves when they do something they enjoy. The kind she possesses when she runs, the kind Sunwoo has when she sings. The kind Klara has when she's tinkering with a random invention.

Tala can always appreciate the raw beauty of someone deeply and truly in her element. The kind Sunwoo has right now.

God, she wishes she attended those practices.