AllFreeNovel
Share Us
KWANCHAI
“You’re looking a little green there, Kwan. Do you need a sick bag?” Kasem was such a fucking smart-arse, but as my stomach rolled as the plane lurched again, I had to agree with him. It was true; I felt as sick as a dog. I hated flying at the best of times, but when the flight was as turbulent as this one, I loathed it.
It’d been a short, hour-long flight from Gatwick to Manchester airport, barely enough time for the cabin crew to serve drinks, but I couldn’t wait to be back on solid ground. I’d tried sleeping, sipping water, but even that had inevitably ended up in the small toilet where I’d puked my guts up. I should have known better than to eat before boarding, but I honestly didn’t think it’d matter on such a short flight. How wrong could I have been?
There were six of us on the flight. Five band members and our manager, Saul. We were a wannabe K-pop group called Kings. We’d never be as big or popular as BTS or some of the other bands out there, but our moves were slick, our vocals tight, and we were determined to give it our all. We’d had some success down in London, played some gigs, and our fanbase was slowly growing. We had 1500 followers on our Instagram account and had released at least five tracks on Spotify. We were slowly gaining traction in the industry, but that elusive record deal was nowhere to be seen despite Saul’s assurance that we were almost there, that he had the big producers on speed dial. ‘Any minute now’. That was Saul’s stock answer, but we were still waiting.
We had no ‘Army’ or ‘Bebes’, but our few Subjects were avid fans, and when they turned up to our gigs, it was a boost to the ego to see them go wild for us. Groups of teenage girls, and the odd guy, screaming and shouting our names—we all loved it.
I tensed in my seat, gripping the armrest tightly as another pitch of the aircraft had me breathing deeply through my nose. I was getting light-headed, probably hyperventilating, and I prayed to all the gods that we’d be landing soon.
The rumble of the landing gear had me feeling slightly better, and when the Captain spoke, telling us we’d be landing shortly in a windy Manchester, I was relieved and nervous at the same time. I’d seen the videos of planes that aborted landings because of hurricane force winds; I just hoped that wouldn’t be happening today.
Cho, my best friend, placed his hand over mine and squeezed. He knew how nervous I got, and he was the only one that didn’t tease me relentlessly about my weakness.
“Ignore Kasem. He’s a dick.”
I nodded. Words were hard to come by at the moment, but I knew he understood.
“Not long, Kwan. Deep breaths now,” he whispered, and I appreciated his concern.
I took another deep breath, swallowing back the bile creeping up my throat, squeezing my eyes shut. I blew out through my mouth, counting slowly backwards from one hundred. It’d worked in the past; I just hoped it’d work now.
Ten minutes later, we were on the ground and I breathed a sigh of relief. The landing was relatively smooth, and if I’d have been able to unclench my fists, I’d have clapped with everyone else. I needed to get off this plane, though, and now.
Saul’s booming voice sounded through the now far too warm cabin.
“Let’s go, Kings. Grab your bags. We need to hustle if we’re to get to the venue in time for tonight’s gig.”
I could barely stand, let alone hustle, but Cho helped me up and grabbed my bag from the overhead locker.
“I’ve got this. Just take it steady. Try to look as normal as you can. You know Kasem will give you hell otherwise.”
I did know that. Out of all the band members, Kasem was by far the cockiest and the biggest bully. He was also Saul’s favourite, being the youngest at just twenty-one and, according to our Subjects, the cutest. He drew the most attention with his high cheekbones, deep brown eyes and bleached blond hair, and didn’t he just know it. The only thing not in his favour was his poor dancing. He was the worst out of us all but was able to keep his place in the band with his strong voice.
The rest of us paled in comparison, and Saul made sure to let us know that at every opportunity. It was becoming a problem, but not one of us would voice our concerns. We each needed the security the group brought, most of us having come from homes that weren’t idyllic. Only Cho and I had a stable home life and the support of our families, but with our parents hoping we’d carry on with the family business, we’d come to a deal that if we didn’t make it big within three years, we’d return to them, not so much as failures, but as having tried and not succeeded.
Kasem, however, had a tough upbringing, hopping from relative to relative, his brash, outspoken manner not endearing him to anyone. His parents had shipped him over to the UK from Korea when he was young, hoping to follow on, but that had been fifteen years ago and they’d never arrived. They had cut all contact with him as soon as he landed at Heathrow.
We walked into the arrivals lounge and sat around waiting for our luggage. We’d debated having a tour bus, or at least some other form of transport, but Saul had decided we were important and flying was the only way to go.
If I could have afforded it? I’d have bought the bus myself—anything so I didn’t have to fly.
A clapped-out van awaited us as we stepped out of the terminal, and I wasn’t convinced the driver wasn’t over the limit or drugged up to the eyeballs.
Our gig was in Liverpool, another forty-five minutes away, and as we all piled into the minivan, I doubted it would get us there in one piece and was even more unsure as we pulled out into the path of a passing taxi.
“Fuck, Saul. Where the hell did you get this guy from?”
Kasem and his loud mouth. He was lucky the driver didn’t pull over and kick his scrawny arse out of the van.
For once, Saul seemed annoyed by his words, glaring at him, his lips pulling tight.
“This is my nephew, Kasem, so you might want to shut the fuck up.” He turned to his nephew. “Watch where you’re going next time, Paul. We’d like to get there in one piece.”
An hour later, after a drive that wasn’t much better than the flight, we pulled up outside our digs for the night at a small three-star hotel in the centre of the city.
“Well, gentlemen, this is where we’ll be staying for the next couple of nights. Make the most of it.” Saul pulled out his trusty iPad, flicking through the screens before stopping and holdingit up in front of his face.
