- Thud
- Thud
- Thud
- Thud
As Ari continued banging his head against the window in frustration, he closed his eyes, and suddenly his hearing suddenly got better.
He could hear not only the air conditioning blowing but also the low hum of the radio and the sound of car horns constantly being pressed as they crawled through the city traffic, which always seemed to be a constant background sound.
- Thud thud th-thud.
His head slammed against the window rhythmically, unconsciously keeping time and forming a beat.
- Ta ra ra ra ra.
Several car horns blared loudly.
- Screeeeeee.
- Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep!
The sound of the brakes being hit and tires skidding on the pavement before somebody slammed on their horns.
Thud thud th-thud.
His head bounced against the mirror once again.
- Ta ra ra ra ra.
Different car horns were blaring out this time, making a slightly different tune as people pressed their horns in a delayed manner.
- Thud.
- Thud.
- Thud.
- Thud.
Each time he banged his head, the car horns sounded out almost like a mini song, and Ari absentmindedly tapped his finger to the little tune the car horns were making.
- Ta ra↑ ra↓ ra↓ ra↑.
- Ta ra↑ ra↓ ra↓ ra↑.
- Ta ra↑ ra↓ ra↑ ra↑.
It was like a little noise pattern game that the car horns were playing with each other, and it soon got stuck in his head as he tapped his fingers on the window.
When he thought about it, it was a pretty catchy little jingle and was pretty easy to remember.
In a moment of inspiration, Ari brought out his little prepaid phone and recorded the traffic sounds while tapping his fingers on the window.
Although he wasn't sure what to do with it, to his ears it sounded pretty good even with the bad playback quality.
Since he had never done anything like this before, he figured that it was the work of a picky listener, making him find good sounds in anything.
Now he only had to spend hours researching how to turn a jingle into a song and implement it within the next two weeks.
As the church bus continued moving through traffic, Ari slowly dozed off, his mind constantly replaying the sound of car horns.
When he got back to the church, after thanking Steven Choi once again, he put on his snail mask and thoroughly cleaned the hallways and bathrooms.
Then, he read through the details that the Popstar Academy team had given him, noting that he needed to head to the location a day before the actual audition to rehearse in two weeks.
He also got information about a group chat that would let people who passed the auditions meet up and group together for the next audition.
Since he was a solo act, he skipped past the group chat but bookmarked the document that would eventually have the profiles and pictures of everyone who had been accepted.
He wanted to see if he could find that blond punk who had gotten him killed.
After that, Ari started his Repeat Missions, doing the pushups, crunches, and lunges, and a 5k before cleaning up and heading to Korean bathhouse to thank Granny Choi and to help out as promised.
All the while, he kept humming tarararara, the traffic car horn song.
It was like an earworm, stuck in his head.
**********
-Ring!
"You're here." Granny Choi's slightly strict voice rang out as she stared at the young man in all black clothing, wearing a familiar mint green baseball cap and plain face mask.
As Ari walked in, the bell chiming behind him, his slightly swollen eyes curved in a gentle smile as we walked to the old lady.
"Yes. I just wanted to say thank you again for offering me a place to stay. If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a question."
Granny Choi stared for a moment before wiping her hands on her duck yellow apron with a resigned sigh.
"Ask."
"Do you know Grandma Kim. No, that was stupid, of course you know her. Did Grandma Kim put you up to this?"
"What? Do you think all Korean old ladies know each other?"
"I never said she was Korean." Although she couldn't see it through his face mask and baseball hat, Ari had a sly smile on his face.
It was something that he had been thinking about.
The Choi's were too nice and friendly to him.
And the only reason they could be nice to a random stranger like him, even inviting him to their workplace, feeding him, and giving him a place to sleep was if somebody had vouched for him.
And the only person he knew who could have done that was the person who recommended that he come here…
Grandma Kim.
He had already guessed it; all he wanted was confirmation.
"Tsk. Cheeky brat. Too smart for your own good." Granny Choi replied as she reached out and gently flicked his forehead.
"Thank you! Can I ask why?"
"Granny Kim and I were friends way back before we lost contact and then reconnected. For a while, she's been complaining bout this pretty smart and talented kid who is living on the streets. She wants to help him, but he's prideful like a wild cat and doesn't want handouts. Each time she sends him somewhere and tries to help, he runs away like a stray cat. Sound familiar?"
"Maybe?"
Ari looked up in the air to avoid looking at Granny Choi's face.
"She says she doesn't want him to ruin his life and regret not accepting help later, the way she did, so when she saw the opportunity, she sent you to me. I'm used to dealing with prideful personalities like yours that like to pretend to be tough but are soft and delicate inside."
Granny Choi looked at him before continuing, "I don't do anything at a loss for myself, so don't worry your head about causing me trouble or this or that. Focus on healing, staying out of trouble, and helping out here and there when you can while going to school. If you want to quit, just let me know."
"Hmmmm. I don't like handouts."
"For me, it's not a handout. Just like with Grace, I am using your young bones so my old ones can get a break. Come in the evening and help out when you can. If you don't work, you won't eat, and you won't get paid. Deal?"
As Ari hesitated, somehow, Granny Choi's magical wooden spoon appeared and began to threateningly tap on the cash register, "If you say no, I'll nag you every day and get Kim to chase you down and nag you too. Then I'll send Steven to find and harass you. Do you know how much he's been raving about how well you clean that church of his? You have to stay. Got it."
"…got it."
"Good. Steven tells me you signed up for a music program? And passed the first round."
At the sudden subject change, Ari blinked before sitting comfortably on a bench and responding.
"Yes."
"Are you going to win?"
"That's the goal. There's money on the line."
"What's the name? Is it on TV?"
"Popstar Academy: Project 777, and yes, in a couple of weeks."
"Okay, I'll ask Grace for details. Are you going to school tomorrow?"
"No."
At his response, Granny Choi frowned, "Why?"
"I have something to do."
More specifically, he was going to go to the UCLA music library to get books on making music, borrow all the recording equipment he could rent, and ask for hands-on help if he could find it.
To successfully make a song, it would be more efficient to spend the next two weeks focusing on it rather than going to class.
He wasn't worried about his grades, especially since he had already gotten enough credits to graduate and received his acceptance letter to community college.
He would just say he was sick with some contagious disease. What were they going to do? Call his parents?
All he needed to do was cancel his tutoring job, and it would probably be fine.
Unfortunately, Granny Choi opposed his thoughts.
"Don't skip class."
"Okay." Ari readily agreed, even though he planned on doing the exact opposite.
His philosophy in life, developed by having been homeless for almost two years, was to ask for forgiveness, not permission.
As if sensing his thought, Granny Choi typed something into her phone before nodding with a smile.
"I remember your school ID. Grace's school is 2 close to yours. Steven can drop you both off together. No skipping school. Education is important."
Ari stared at her for a moment before replying politely.
He felt grateful for her help so far, but he needed to do what he needed to do.
"I don't need the ride, but if you insist, I don't mind, but I'll just take the bus from there to where I need to go. This competition is important to me, and I need to prepare for it properly."
Granny Choi narrowed her eyes before beginning to bargain.
"You can prepare and still get your education. Half-days at school, and I provide you breakfast."
"One full day at school and I get breakfast."
"Two half days a week. Breakfast, packed lunch, and dinner are provided for free every day. If not, you pay for your dinner starting now. Take it or leave it."
Granny Choi walked over to the restaurant's door and began opening and closing it, fanning the scent of tasty meat and side dishes in his face.
At first, Ari was a little dumbfounded at her actions, but then he began to laugh.
"You drive a hard bargain, grandma. I'll take it."
Ari solemnly shook Granny Choi's outstretched hands before wondering what had possessed him just now.
Why was he bargaining about whether or not he would be going to school? He could just not go without any argument.
Was he really being bribed by free food?
"Yeobo! The pretty duckling is here for dinner! Put some beef ribs on the grill."
He wanted to say something, but when he smelled the delicious scent of food as Granny Choi ushered him into the restaurant, Ari swallowed his words down along with his saliva.
It wouldn't be so bad to show his face in school, would it? Just twice a week, half the day, and then he'd leave.