The Trouble

by Daria Defore

  "Ahh…" Jiyoon laughed a little forcedly. "We'll see."

  We'll see sounded like a barrel of worms that Jiyoon didn't want Danny to ask about. So Danny changed the subject. "Hang on, you were telling me last time—what kind of music do you like?"

  Jiyoon sighed, drumming his fingers on the bar and not making eye contact. "Just… I don't know. I like music that's fun to dance to, and I have a weakness for—" he sighed again. "Incredibly sappy ballads that probably entertain no one but me." He name-dropped a few pop artists, and Danny nodded; he was pretty sure he had a couple of their CDs in his collection, and Vick was always playing music videos when they were studying.

  "That's cool," he said. "Listen, I said last time we should catch a concert together, and I'm still down for it. Kinda like a truce."

  "You were serious about that?" Jiyoon blinked at him.

  "Yeah… I mean, if you're okay with it. Devin can come, too."

  "I thought you were joking."

  "Not a joke. Listen—"

  "Oh!" Jiyoon pulled away from him as none other than Devin loomed over them. "Devin! This is Daniel—"

  "Danny, actually."

  "Danny," Jiyoon repeated, distractedly. His boyfriend had wrapped an arm around his shoulders and was staring at Danny with something resembling the intensity of the sun.

  "I know who you are." Devin was a good head taller than both Jiyoon and Danny, lanky and tense. Danny hoped it was from fannish joy and not because he was about to kick Danny's face in.

  "Yeah, I'm just Jiyoon's student." Danny laughed, trying to put him at ease. He held out a hand, and Devin shook it eagerly. "Nice to meet you."

  "No way, it's really—thank you. I got the CD. I mean, I already had a copy, but a signed one… wow."

  Danny wondered if this was how he had sounded talking to Erika earlier. Still, the praise warmed his chest with pride. "Thanks, man. I know you come to all our shows. I really appreciate the dedication."

  "I never get tired of watching you guys." Devin laughed and squeezed at Jiyoon's shoulder. "I think he wishes I would, though. It's all I can do to get him to stop listening to that pop crap. I'm trying to get some culture in him while I have the chance."

  "Oh." Danny's appreciation took a hard left. Jiyoon was looking off into the distance with a tight smile, like he had just spotted someone he wanted to dismember. "I was just gonna ask if you guys wanted to go to a show with me sometime. Demi Lovato is playing next weekend."

  "Is he trying to talk you into that?"

  "It was my idea, actually. I don't like to do just one kind of music all the time, you know?" He grasped for the right words. "I mean, shit, if I just listened to people who sound like me, I'd kind of suck." He kept his face carefully neutral and shrugged. Jiyoon was looking at him now, but quickly lowered his head when Danny made eye contact.

  "Oh. Right. Of course, I mean, you're an artist, so—"

  Danny laughed. "I dunno if I'd go that far."

  "You don't have to hang around with us, Danny," Jiyoon interrupted. "I'm sure you have things to do."

  Danny couldn't tell if he was trying to get rid of him, or save him from awkward conversation. Unfortunately, Devin was having none of it.

  "Hey, if you're not doing anything, I'd love to talk music with you. I'm a little bit of a connoisseur. I have a group myself. I mean a group of fans. We have some really in-depth discussions—"

  "Sure," Danny said, because Jiyoon looked like he was preparing to physically drag Devin away from him. "Lemme get these beers to my band—or you can come sit with us. Whatever."

  Devin turned bright red and looked like he was about to float away. "Awesome."

  It took about half an hour, but by the end of it Danny was certain that Devin was seriously a pretentious jerk. He had opinions about music—lots of them. Most of them negative. He kept mentioning how jazzed he was to talk about The Trouble at the next meeting of whatever pretentious music fan group he was a part of.

  Danny was starting to suspect that he was one of those white guys who liked The Trouble so much because they were all Asian, and therefore twice as obscure as your typical underground rock band. He neglected to mention Erika's business card in his wallet. The idea that The Trouble might sell out and release a professionally produced record might make the poor guy's head explode. Meanwhile, Jiyoon had spotted some other friends and gracefully excused himself.

  "I should probably check on him," Devin finally grumbled, and then he dragged himself out of the booth.

  Danny let out a deep breath and stared at Sam with pleading eyes.

  "I couldn't possibly drink enough to date that man," Sam announced.

  "Thank God it's not just me. Fuck, he's obnoxious."

  Even Victor was wincing. "He's a little… well."

  "That's the kind of guy who tries to use yellow-fucking-fever as a compliment," was Lei's contribution. "I never thought I'd say this, Danny, but compared to him, you're really a catch."

  "Wow, first of all, screw you. Second of all, I'm not competing with him. Just trying to repair the damage."

  "I don't think you can fix your personality so easily," Lei muttered into his drink.

  Danny punched him in the shoulder. "Jackass."

  Speaking of jackasses, Devin gave the word new meaning. Why the hell was Jiyoon dating that guy? Danny wracked his brain. Maybe Devin had other talents. Though Danny shuddered to imagine it.

  He took a long chug of his drink and excused himself to get another. Tonight was for celebrating, not fixating over cute guys with boring boyfriends. The bartender recognized him right away and started pulling him another draught of beer. He took it, turned around, and nearly ran right into Jiyoon, who had apparently been reaching out to tap him on the shoulder. They both jumped back from each other, and then Jiyoon sighed and grabbed his arm.

  "Come here."

  Wordless, Danny followed him through a hallway and onto the deck outside, where Jiyoon pulled away from him and crossed his arms. He was wavering a bit on his feet, and his tan skin was flushing. It was hella cute, and it made Danny smile, which was apparently the wrong reaction.

  "What exactly is your plan?"

  "Um…" Was it a trick question? He wasn't sure that he really had a plan for tonight beyond drinking himself silly and going home for a well-earned sleep. "Drink more… release an album? Go on tour… oh!" He snapped his fingers. "Turn in my homework!"

  "Are you making fun of me?"

  "No?"

  Jiyoon straightened up and then wobbled a little. "I want to understand why you're getting friendly with my boyfriend, buying him drinks, trying to take me to concerts. What exactly do you think you're going to accomplish?"

  "Oh. Is that weird? I was trying to be friendly. Do the friend thing." Danny wanted to smack himself on the forehead. Had he backpedaled so hard from trying to seduce the guy that he'd overdone it? "I came on too strong, didn't I?"

  "Friend thing…?" Jiyoon repeated faintly, his glare softening. "You really want to be friends?"

  "Yeah, I mean." Danny hitched up a shoulder, trying to parse the expression on Jiyoon's face. "We don't have to be if you don't want to. I realize I don't know you, but… knowing you might be cool."

  "There's not a catch?"

  "What would I get from pretending to be nice to you?"

  Jiyoon's shoulders sagged and he put a hand against the wall. "Never mind. I'm—go back to your friends."

  "Are you… uh, okay?"

  "I'm fine. Please just go enjoy your night."

  Danny slunk back to the bar, unsure how to fix what he'd done now. He wondered what Sam would say, but instead he just found Lei by the bar, pulling in an armful of beers.

  "Is it against the rules to talk to someone's boyfriend?" Danny asked him.

  "Dude, you could blow Jiyoon in front of that Devin guy and he wouldn't notice it."

  "No, the other way around."

  "You want to blow Devin?" Lei stuck out his tongue. "What were you smoking out the
re?

  "Oh my God, dude, no—whatever." He decided to finish his drink and let it be. There were happier things to think about—like the business card burning a hole in his pocket, and the cheers that had filled the bar when they finished their set. That was a sound he could really get used to.

  Chapter Five

  "I'm impressed with this demo," Erika Jones was saying, as if it were the most normal thing in the world and not totally life-changing. "It's fresh and authentic. You know Doubletime is invested in amplifying our artists rather than changing them to suit the public's taste. I think you're an ideal candidate to join the label, if I'm being honest."

  Danny's heart was doing a weird stuttery thing. "What would we need to do to make that happen?"

  "We would need to get your name out there. You have a decent following in Seattle. I put in a little research, and I know you've been playing regular shows. That's great, but we need to aim higher. I would want you opening for our bigger bands while performing your own shows in smaller venues. I could see us signing a short-term contract where we take care of your booking and promotion, provided my supervisors like the idea. We'll just see where things go. And then once the buzz is strong enough, we could look at something more long-term."

  "What's long-term?"

  Erika smiled wryly at him. "I would say a full-length album and your own headlining tour."

  "Woah," Danny, Vick, and Lei breathed simultaneously. Sam was attempting more composure, but even she couldn't keep the shine out of her brown eyes. This was their fucking chance.

  "Would you like to talk about it amongst yourselves?" Erika asked. She pushed her chair back from her desk. "I could give you a moment."

  "I think, uh…"

  "Can we have five minutes?" Sam said, voice smooth. Danny swallowed the "yes" on the tip of his tongue.

  "Take ten. It's not a decision to be made lightly." Erika gave them a serious look, then left the room.

  Danny spun towards the rest of the band. "What are we waiting for? She's literally handing us a break."

  "Are we all on the same page about that?" Sam crossed her arms and looked meaningfully at Lei and Vick. Both of them shrunk in their chairs.

  "Why’re you looking at us?" Vick asked.

  "A tour?" Sam asked. "You’re both sophomores. Vick was living at home till this year."

  Vick reddened and shrugged. "Yeah… but this is important. Right?"

  "We have our shit together, you know." Lei’s spine seemed to have grown back, and his chin was set in determination. "We’ve been doing school and the band this whole time. Besides, it's not like she's sending us on tour tomorrow." Sam opened her mouth to speak, but Lei plowed on. "Let's sign the thing and see what happens."

  "Come on, Sam." Danny leaned forward to tug on Sam’s sleeve. "You were just as pumped as me when we got that card. This is what we want."

  Sam let out a long breath and finally nodded. "If you're all sure…"

  "One hundred percent." Danny grinned and punched her lightly in the shoulder. "Let's do it."

  *~*~*

  Danny was still buzzing days later when he walked into class. His mind was full of flashing lights and screaming fans—even a cramped tour bus was worthy of his fantasies. He spent the hour doodling guitars in the margins of his notebook and making vague, excited Tweets about the future (each of which was immediately favorited by Victor), until he got an email notification from Jiyoon.

  It was addressed to their study group, telling them that he wouldn't be able to make it this week. Danny frowned at his phone. There was no excuse, just an apology and a promise to make it up to them next week. Maybe Jiyoon was ill? He didn't seem like the kind of guy who would drop school for anything less than a five-star emergency.

  Then Jiyoon wasn't at their Friday night show either, which wasn't weird! Danny didn't think it was weird, because hey, Jiyoon didn't like their music. Except Devin was there at the bar as usual, looking chill and pretentious. Or maybe that was just Danny's imagination.

  "You sucked tonight," Lei told Danny as they waved their way offstage.

  "Yeah, sorry, I was thinking about my TA failing my ass."

  "Ew, TMI."

  "Failing. I obviously said failing." They stowed their instruments and made their way back down into the bar. "You know when you talk to someone and you can't do anything right? It's that kinda—ow, sorry—" he said as he stepped directly into Jiyoon Lee. "Oh fuck!"

  "Hello," said Jiyoon. "Is this a bad time?"

  "No! Not a bad time. Uh." Danny looked for Lei, who was waving goodbye as he cut through the crowd, a huge grin on his face. "Yeah, my friend is gone apparently, so. Uh… how are you doing?"

  "Me? Oh, fine… Listen." Jiyoon was standing up straighter than anyone else in the bar, which was worrying. "I need to ask you a favor."

  "Sure. You know, I took really good notes—"

  "That's great. How do you feel about rebound sex?"

  "I feel… confused. What?"

  "I broke up with Devin this week," Jiyoon was explaining in a voice that was too calm for the words coming out of him. "And I thought I might as well ask."

  "Are you drunk?"

  "No."

  "And you're like… okay, right?"

  "I'm fine!" Jiyoon huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Look—"

  "Wait. No, I'm sorry." Danny wanted to bury his head in the ground. "That's why you skipped group this week, right?"

  "Yes."

  "I thought you might be having a medical emergency. Or that you were pissed at me."

  "There is no scenario in which I would skip study group just because you're a little annoying."

  "Wow, thanks."

  "Shit." Jiyoon sighed, eyebrows coming together in a guilty frown. "I'm sorry. I'm not very good at this. And believe me, I'm not immune to the irony of me asking you for this. But it's not terribly unusual to be attracted to someone… so different from you," he finished charitably.

  "That explains you and Devin," Danny was saying before he could stop himself.

  Jiyoon grit his teeth. He was staring very hard at Danny's mouth. "Your window of opportunity is rapidly closing. That is—if you're still interested. I don't expect—"

  "No—I mean, yes! Sorry." Danny rubbed his hands over his face and tried to wrap his head around this moment. "I'm just… right now?"

  "I would like to leave as soon as possible. I know that Devin is here, and I'd rather he didn't see me." Jiyoon bit his lower lip, and Danny found himself staring, wondering in a way he hadn't let himself before. "I'm not here for revenge or anything like that. I just." He swallowed, and Danny followed the line of his throat. "I want you."

  The words went straight from Jiyoon's mouth to Danny’s groin by way of a shiver down his spine.

  Danny liked to think that he said something cool like, "What are we waiting for?" or maybe, "Then let's get out of here," in a suave deep voice. But it was probably closer to "yeah" or just a grunt. He notified Sam with a text that read GETTING SOME ASS TTYL and followed Jiyoon outside.

  "I don't live far," Jiyoon was saying. "Do you mind walking?"

  "I'm good."

  Jiyoon kept looking back until they got a couple blocks from the bar, and then his shoulders finally relaxed.

  "Worried you might see him?"

  "I keep imagining trying to explain this, and I'm very aware there's no justification that makes sense."

  "Being two attractive people who want to fuck isn't enough?"

  Jiyoon gave him a narrow-eyed look and stepped towards a glass-doored apartment building. "Is everything so simple for you?"

  "Uh…" Danny watched him punch in a code and then followed him up the stairs. "I try."

  The apartment was exactly what he had expected from Jiyoon. It was just one room, but immaculately kept. Dishes were lined up by the sink, and a small bed sat against the opposite wall with the sheets tucked in neatly. The only mess was Jiyoon's books and papers spread across the tiny two-person dining
table.

  "Cute place. It looks like you."

  "I'm not cute."

  Danny winced inwardly. "I just meant… it's clean."

  Jiyoon raised an eyebrow at him as he deposited his jacket on the hook. "Thank you."

  Danny slipped out of his shoes and waited, hands in his pockets. "Hey, so… what exactly are you looking for? I mean…" he trailed off as Jiyoon stood in front of him.

  "You're all sweaty," Jiyoon commented, looking him up and down.

  "Oh, shit—yeah, sorry it gets hot onstage." He yanked the collar of his T-shirt up over his nose to smell it, wincing. "I should've washed—" He stopped as Jiyoon's hand closed over his wrist, pulling the shirt back down. Then he took a step closer, and Danny realized for the first time that they weren't both just short—they were basically the same height. Nice, he had a moment to think, before Jiyoon finally kissed him.

  The pressure of Jiyoon's mouth on his surprised him, but in retrospect it shouldn't have. Jiyoon kissed like he talked—straightforward and demanding. The only difference was that for the first time, Danny felt like he had his full attention, like Jiyoon was into him. Like, way into him. He opened his mouth and let Jiyoon suck on his bottom lip, tasting desperation in the slide of Jiyoon's tongue over his.

  So maybe they weren't friends yet. But this was something he wouldn't fuck up. He cupped his hand around the back of Jiyoon's neck and sidled into him, letting Jiyoon press back against him with the full length of his body. Danny knew he had been blessed with a great face, but when it came to body, he was really coasting on having an ass and thighs that were thick from performing hard onstage. And right now Jiyoon's fingers were dancing up the sides of his ass before he gripped Danny's hips and slid his mouth over Danny's cheek to kiss his ear.

  "Talk to me. I want to know about that night you tried to pick me up."

  "Sure," Danny gasped. "I guess I could do that."

  Jiyoon made a humming noise and left a wet kiss on the side of his neck. "All right." Without further ado, he sank to his knees and pressed his face into Danny's crotch, nuzzling his cock through his jeans. Then he sat back on his heels and gave him an expectant look that made Danny strangely weak in the knees. "I'm really looking forward to this," he said before matter-of-factly tugging Danny's pants down to his ankles and mouthing his cock, underwear and all.