Once they reached the street, Yangyang shifted, just leaning a forearm on Amari’s shoulder. At their height difference, it was comfortable for them both and allowed them to walk freely, but also gave Amari some stability and protected him from oncoming pedestrians. It made him let out a noticeable “hah,” which Yangyang questioned, but he only shook his head in reply.

Yangyang didn’t say anything unless he absolutely needed to - nothing more than “We’ll take a left here” or “We need to cross the street” - like anyone accompanying a person unfamiliar with the area. It was a strange feeling for Amari, getting help without getting help. He wondered if Yangyang put thought and effort into it, or if he just acted that way naturally.

After a few blocks, Amari’s body began to tense up, feeling his surroundings become more recognizable. When he fully realized where he was, Yangyang quickly pushed him into a small alley and let him lean against the wall.

“Xiao Li? Are you alright? What’s wrong?”

His expression must have been obvious, because Yangyang's pitch was higher than usual, anxious at Amari’s reaction, and he kept a tight hold of one of his shoulders.

“We... We’re in Koreatown?”

“Yeah,” Yangyang answered softly. “Is that bad? Do we need to leave? Your face says we need to leave... It’s alright, we can leave.”

Taking a deep breath through his nose and letting it out through his mouth, Amari shook his head, placing his hand on Yangyang’s outstretched arm.

“No, it’s okay. I wanna go.” He tried to give him a smile. “I just used to do some... odd jobs here, and haven’t been back since then.”

“Not good jobs, apparently.” Worry was still heavy in Yangyang’s voice. “It’s alright. We don’t have to stay.”

“No, I really do want to go.” Amari was more reassuring this time, his body relaxed, and he removed the grip from his shoulder. “Let’s go.”

Yangyang grunted quietly, but still didn’t seem convinced. Pushing him back to the street, Amari held a hand out, encouraging him to lead the way. Yangyang sighed, giving in, and rested his arm back on Amari’s shoulder as they continued down the sidewalk. A little over a block later, Amari was pulled into a brightly lit building and up a flight of stairs. The place was uncomfortably familiar, but he made sure to stay calm so Yangyang wouldn’t notice.

“Isn’t this a noraebang?” he asked quietly, as they entered the door at the top of the stairs. “You took me to sing karaoke?”

“You’ve been here?” Yangyang sounded surprised, but then seemed to realize that if he had worked around here, it was likely he would know the place. “A friend of mine owns it. And it’s not entirely karaoke.”

Amari had no idea what that meant, raising an eyebrow in confusion, but he only received a laugh. A few steps down the hall, they approached a counter, and Yangyang hit a little buzzer to call for help. Amari stayed behind him, hoping he wouldn’t be noticed.

“Hyung! Long time no see!”

“Yangyang!” The man greeted him cheerfully, his voice old and gruff. “Where’s the gang?”

Yangyang forced Amari to his side. “Just me and a friend for tonight, hyung.”

“Huh?” The man behind the counter leaned forward to stare, then let out a small gasp. “Amari? Is that you, kid?”

“Hi boss.” He gave the man a small bow. “Oraenmanineyo.”

The owner laughed, deep and hearty. “Ne, oraenmanine! It has to have been, what, five years?”

He nodded and Yangyang stepped up to lean against the counter. From his position, Amari could guess he was staring at him, and could also guess his expression.

“Wait, wait.” Holding his arm out between the two, Yangyang forced the owner back behind the counter. “You know each other? You came here that often?”

Amari scratched nervously at the back of his neck, his head hanging. “Yeah, well... This’s one of the odd jobs. Kinda.” He couldn’t believe the situation and wanted nothing more than to just turn and run.

“You were just a little, sixteen-year-old kid last time I saw you.” The owner let out a short sigh, sounding relieved. “You look good. Like life’s been treating you well. I’m glad.”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

“This really is too strange.” Yangyang sounded as though he was attempting to solve a problem with no solution. “Let’s think about this, yeah? I meet Ziggy for a comeback, and there you are, living with him. You also just happened to have lived and worked with people in Chinatown, and speak Chinese. And now, you coincidentally also used to work at the karaoke I take you to as a surprise.”

“I’ve lived and worked a lot of places in the past five years...” Amari’s voice was hushed, and he couldn’t argue the situation wasn’t strange.

“Sounds like destiny to me!” exclaimed the owner cheerfully, then he paused, clearing his throat and lowering his voice. “And we don’t work with your old friends anymore, so no worries there.”

Amari didn’t respond, but could feel himself relax a bit.

“Anyway, third floor room, right?”

“Yeah. Is that alright, hyung?” Yangyang either didn’t catch the comment or chose to ignore it. “Can we get the big room at the end?”

“Of course. Anything for my two friends.” The owner grabbed something from the wall and handed it over. “Putting it on the tab?”

“Please.”

Startled by the large hand grabbing his, Amari was pulled to the stairwell. They walked up two flights of stairs, past the karaoke rooms he was familiar with, to a quiet, empty floor. He was led to the end of the hall and Yangyang unlocked a room with his key, swinging the door open and gently pushing him in.

Amari couldn’t make out the objects in the dark room, but the space seemed much larger than any karaoke he had ever been in. Yangyang turned on the lights and he winced, covering his eyes with a hand.

“Ah, sorry. Is that too bright?”

“No, it’s okay. I’ll adjust.” Rubbing his eyelids, he removed his hand, but kept his eyes closed.

“Alright. I’ll need the light in here.”

Yangyang rummaged around, moving some things, then went to the end of the room. Eyes open, Amari squinted carefully, barely seeing a figure next to a large, black object. As he made his way over, he realized Yangyang was sitting at a grand piano. He must have looked surprised, because there was a laugh and a hand reached for his wrist, pulling him onto the bench.

“It’s a practice studio,” Yangyang explained proudly. “A karaoke practice studio, for individuals and bands.”

“So, this room’s filled with instruments?” Looking around, Amari tried to make out the different shapes.

“Yeah.” Some notes rang from the piano strings, Yangyang making up a light little melody. “You can bring your own too, if you want, and plug in.”

He stopped playing and shifted sideways. “But, it’s also a karaoke room. You can come here, pick a song, and play lead guitar or the drums with a back track. You just select which instruments to leave out. You can keep or remove vocals, too.” Amari smiled in amazement and Yangyang chuckled at his reaction. “Impressed?”

He nodded, wondering how long this room had been in the building without him knowing.

“My sister and I, with some musician friends of ours, helped play a lot of the tracks. So we get a big discount, and just keep a running tab.” Yangyang went back to playing random notes and sighed. “We came a lot right after we took a break from performing, but then life got busy. I haven’t been back in a while.”

The timing overlapped with when Amari had lived and worked in Koreatown, and for a second he wondered if their paths had crossed before. If they had, he hoped Yangyang would never remember it.

“I didn’t even know this was up here.”

“It isn’t open to the public.” The playing stopped and Yangyang left the bench, walking to another corner of the room. “Instruments are expensive, so it’s reserved for bands, musicians, college students... What are you in the mood for?”

“I guess... I guess, since I wanna release some stress too, something fast. Loud.”

Yangyang chuckled. “Can do.”

Amari heard him shuffle through something, then after a moment he walked over and handed him a microphone.

“Vocals are off. I’ll sing backup.” He made a wide gesture to the center of the room. “Aside from this piano and the drum set in the opposite corner, all of the instruments and amps are pushed up against the wall. No cords or anything in the center.”

Putting a guitar strap over his head, he started tuning. “There’s a mic stand too, if you want one. And other guitars, if you want to play.”

Amari nodded and tapped the mic, blowing into it out of habit, then stood and walked closer to Yangyang.

“Ready?” Yangyang asked, his voice light and excited. Amari nodded again. “Offspring, The Kids Aren’t Alright. Good?”

“Perfect.”

Yangyang tapped something in his pocket and there were a series of beeps, letting him know when to start. He accurately jumped in with lead guitar, mixing himself with the other instruments flowing from the speakers. There was no difference between his playing and the track, the notes blending effortlessly with the rest of the music, and Amari could only smile, happy to hear him play live again.