Jungkook slaps me on the back with a bright smile. "Have fun, hyung! Hoseok-hyung, have a good time!"

"Thanks, Jungkook," I chuckle. "I'll take pictures if there's anything super interesting."

"Me, too," Hoseok adds. "Namjoon, you sure you don't want to come with?"

"Nah, I'm fine staying here," he assures us from the couch. "I'm really not feeling up to it."

"If you're sure," I state.

"I am."

"Okay," Hoseok announces. "We're off! Be back later, okay guys?"

"Yep!" Jimin calls from behind the fridge door. "See you guys later, have fun!"

I intend to.

Hoseok and I leave the dorm and hop into my car to head to the festival. We've been talking about this for ages, and now that it's finally time to go, I'm super excited. I haven't been to a music festival in a long time, and I can hardly remember the events of the last one I attended. I think the last one was when I was still in school, and I traveled out for a long weekend. I had just been a kid then. Now, I've got a feeling it's going to be a lot more fun. With Jung Hoseok at my side, anything is possible.

I've got high hopes. From what I remember, music festivals in Seoul are the perfect kind of hectic. Everyone's rushing around from act to act, bouncing between the karaoke and the street dancers as if they're pinballs getting knocked around during a game. Street food vendors send the entire street into a frenzied mess of scents and tastes, and prices are usually very low. You can pick up your favorite food on the go and then wander from area to area until you finally hit that one spot that clicks with you. Whether it be the dancers, the rappers, the vocalists, or even the street food, there's bound to be that one part of the festival makes you never want to leave it.

I remember my clicking point very well. It, of course, had been the underground rappers, rushing on and off stage one after another, performing their song of choice. What with all the underground rappers in Seoul, they could only really afford to have each person do one song. That's what meant so much. Each artist had to pick only one song that they thought perfectly defined them, and that's why I found it so interesting. These rappers summed up their whole style of art, their whole career, in just a few minutes. I found it to be beautiful, and I still think it is today. In fact, I think I find it even more beautiful now because I understand how difficult that is to do.

The drive to the festival is uneventful. Hoseok is his usual self– smiling and talking and singing along to the radio. I am my usual self in that I listen to him and focus primarily on driving. It takes somewhere between fifteen and twenty minutes to get there, Seoul's heavy traffic impeding our progress. When we do arrive, parking is even worse. We manage to snag a spot about three blocks away from the festival itself and then quickly hop out of the car. I call for Hoseok to wait for me, but he's practically thrown himself out of the passenger's seat and into the throng as it moves towards the festival. With Hoseok gone, it seems I'll be enjoying the festival on my own.

As I too join the crowd heading in the direction of the festival, I catch the eyes of people who recognize me. I smile and give acknowledging nods, and fans do the same. In all the chaos of the Seoul Underground Music Festival, there's a type of calm. Everyone's there for the same reason, and it's that they love music. It's really unifying and cool to see all these like-minded people together, enjoying the thing they love. That's the cool thing about concerts in general, too.

After traveling three blocks, I'm greeted by the sights and sounds of the festival. Passing between two posts and entering the pedestrian area, the fun begins. I find Hoseok, actually, getting some hotteok from a street vendor. I head in his direction as he pays for his meal and turns to me as if he knows I'm here.

"Here," he says, extending a hand and handing me one of the large pancakes. "Sorry for running off, I'm just excited."

"Me too, and thanks," I reply with a smile. "Are we going to split up, or no?"

"Let's stick together for awhile, okay? See a little bit of everything before we head our separate ways."

"Works for me."

Hoseok leads me in the direction of the Trainee Stage, where the crowd consists mostly of younger girls and talent scouts. The Trainee Stage is usually very popular, given that those who perform on it are more often than not idol groups soon to debut. They attract a lot of attention from younger kids and teenagers.

"Scoping out the competition?" I ask, chuckling.

"Nah, just curious," Hoseok replies. "People noticed you yet?"

"Yeah, a couple. They were nice. We didn't talk or anything."

"Same here. It's crazy to not have people all over us here, y'know?"

"Believe me, I know."

We stand near the edge of the crowd and watch the Trainee Stage. A boy group called Target is in the midst of a performance when we arrive, and we watch their set well. They're pretty good, all things considered, and though their live vocals could use a bit of work, they're bound to get better with time. The girls in the audience seem to like them, too. Next up is Jellyfish's new girl group, gugudan, which is the talk of the town concerning the Trainee Stage. Usually, Trainee Stage is for smaller companies to try and show off their groups. No one from the Big Three has ever had one of their groups on the stage, and even though Jellyfish isn't that big, Park Hyo Shin and VIXX are still a pretty big deal. They do a cutesy song that's really quite good, and when they're done Hoseok and I decide to head elsewhere.

Next stop is the Karaoke Stage, which is exactly what it sounds like. Talent scouts are all over, searching for the slightest scrap of unclaimed talent to call their own. The only people that ever bother singing here are those desperate to try and become idols. We don't stay long, but those we hear singing are pretty good. Two guys and a girl perform, singing Beast's 12:30, Bigbang's Sober, and Lovelyz' A Choo, respectively. The boy who sings 12:30 is without a doubt the best. He nails Yoseob's high notes, which is quite the difficult feat. I've got a feeling he might be in training soon.

From there, we just wander around awhile. I buy some odeng for lunch to repay Hoseok for his hotteok, and we decide to go our separate ways and meet up at the Karaoke Stage in an hour. I walk aimlessly until I encounter the street dancers, and – unsurprisingly – find that's where Hoseok is. I don't walk over to him; just watch the dancers go at it for ten minutes or so and then move on.

Before I head over to the Rap Stage, which is where I know I'll be spending most of my time, I decide to take a little break and just watch the festival as it happens. I take a seat on a bench and absentmindedly tap my foot against the pavement, watching the commotion of the festival as it moves around me. There are bright colors everywhere, from the colors of the attendees' clothing to the banners and balloons of the food carts. Neon dots flood the otherwise dull street today. The noise is amazing, too. It's kind of a mess, all things considered. The sounds of the Trainee Stage mix in with that of the Karaoke Stage and the street dancers, creating something like a hypnotic lull. It's white noise, but at the same time, focusing in any given area results in hearing something really interesting. There's a method to the madness, and I really like that.

I stay on the bench for about fifteen minutes, just watching until I decide to visit the stage I came for. I stand up and brush myself off before hurrying off to the Rap Stage, excited to see artists' stages. When I arrive, I stand towards the back of the crowd, really just trying to blend in and listen to the music. As I listen I'm hit with a wave of nostalgia from my own underground days. I never performed this stage as an underground act. I usually did club gigs and things of the sort and tended to accidentally book other shows on the day of the festival. How I managed to do that consistently continues to dumbfound me, but it happened and I can't do a thing for it now.

Nonetheless, it's amazing to watch these underground rappers up onstage because they remind me of myself. I remember being young and just wanting to have my voice heard. I remember living and working on my own to make my way. I remember how hard it was, and I feel for everyone up there performing. It was terrible, and yet I loved it. I love it now; I even long for it sometimes. Being an underground rapper is the definition of independence. You get to do whatever you want and when, and you always get to speak your mind. The trouble is, you aren't always heard. In fact, you're rarely ever heard. With idols, it's essentially the opposite. Everyone listens to you, but you can't always control what you're saying. I've got it easy because Big Hit is pretty lenient on what I write and I can usually say what's on my mind, but a lot of idols are not that fortunate. Many voices with a lot of things to say are muted, and it's a shame. All they want is to be heard, and now that they are, they can't speak their minds or get their message across. In the rap industry, you're either underground and unheard or idol and unspoken. Unfortunately, there is very little in between.

I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn on my heel to see who's touching me. It's Hoseok, unsurprisingly, and he seems very happy.

"Had fun with the street dancers?" I ask.

"Absolutely. I may or may not have joined them."

"Judging by the sweat all over you, I'd say you did."

"Well, you're right. Have you been here this whole time?"

"Nah, not all of it. I got here around twenty minutes ago. Before I was just people-watching."

"I see." He pauses, listens to the act who's currently onstage. His delivery could use some work, and he's probably new, but his lyrics are very strong. I'm sure he's got a lot going for him.

"Impressed by anyone?" Hoseok asks me.

"Impressed by everyone," I reply, turning back to the stage. I watch the boy as he finishes his set. He's sixteen or seventeen. For his age, his lyrics and performance were overall very good. To Hoseok, I add, "It takes guts to do this."

"Do you miss it, Yoongi?" He asks me.

"Sometimes," I reply. "Especially times like now when I see something I've always wanted to do. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah, totally. I feel the same way with the street dancers. You love where you are and you don't want to go back, but sometimes you just wish you were that kid with the dream again."

"Right, exactly. I couldn't put it into words."

"And I can, because I'm great."

"Right."

"Do you wanna head home? Namjoon texted me a little while ago asking when we'd be back."

"Uh," I trail off, thinking about it. I'm about to accept when the announcer for the Rap Stage catches my ear.

"Up next is underground rapper Silver performing her track, Calling."

"Hoseok," I say pointedly.

"Yes?"

"We'll go after this."

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Yo!

First Yoongi chapter, who's excited? And by who, I mean who of the seven of you that have read this is excited? Well, I'm excited. I'm having a great time writing this! It's a bit slower moving than PtP, but I think that's a pleasant change of pace considering that PtP moves a bit too fast. With luck, you're having fun!

Anyway, I would absolutely adore it if you voted for this chapter and commented! Of course, you don't have to, but if you like this book and you want more people to see it, voting and commenting is the way to go! And, if you see any typos or things of the sort, let me know! I've been using a new editing software recently, but you might catch something it doesn't.

Thanks so much, and meme it up,

Sam

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