This chapter is totally filler but I think it is needed filler 🤷♂️ Anyway the video attached is mentioned below. 9x9 is a temp group made by 4nologue for Great Men Academy. Captain is part of the group as is Third Kamikaze. Some of the members are now in a group called Trinity. If you haven't already and you want to check them out, go ahead. Their music is great. I also named Jack after Jackie, the guy in maroon.
"Hellooooooooooo!" Noh sang out after Pete opened the door.
Since Noh and Phun arrived back at the house and ate lunch, no one had seen them until the next morning. Dye had shown up with breakfast to see Noh was all smiles. He had looked a Phun and flashed him a thumbs up and a quiet, "You nice. Keep going."
He was now convinced that Phun had taken him very seriously because Noh had come out every morning with a smile. One time Ex caught him dancing in his awkward way in front of the fridge and recorded a quick clip. He posted it and tagged Ohm asking him if Noh was well. Ohm had then retweeted and tagged Secret with a "You nice. Keep going." on purpose. Dye had cackled, Noh had cursed both Ex and Ohm and Flex would only cackle as he ate.
Actually the idea of buying the town houses had come from Earn. Miles had come up with the idea from somewhere and asked everyone to join him. Earn and Pete had moved into one, Miles and the others had split some houses of their own and they had converted one into a studio slash play room slash whatever the hell they wanted.
Yuri also now living with them because it was close to where she did her internship. Pete had decided on his own to take a year off even though he didn't have to. He hadn't been focusing well in school and the entire situation had affected his grades. He had also listened to Earn and started therapy because his behaviors after the incident were concerning even himself.
It's great to see you Noh!" Pete hugged Noh then everyone else and rolled his eyes at the bags. He had made the mistake of telling they they also had his brother's kid with them and he could see the toddler bags among the baby stuff.
"This baby has so much cloths, he doesn't have to wear anything twice. Please tell me you did not bring more."
"Not that much. We mostly brought toys and things like his own little music pack." Noh said with a big smile.
"Oh God," Pete mumbled and rolled his eyes again to everyone's laughter.
"Da!" A pretty little girl scrambled out of a room and latched onto Pete's leg. He scooped her up and she buried her face into Pete's neck.
"This is Abee. My brother got a girl pregnant in high school and didn't know apparently. She also wasn't sure it was him and was hoping Abee was for the boy she is with now. They decided to keep the baby but when she was born, things became clear so they left her with the girls parents. Raising a baby was too much for them now though so they finally let us know. My brother just entered medical school as well and she things Earn is her Por so we have her."
The moment Earn's name was called she looked up and around. She took in all the men and saw none was the one she wanted so she ignored them all and lay back down.
"Well... Ok then." Flex was a bit disappointed. Usually kids liked him. They followed where Pete indicated and put down the bags.
"Trust me, she's only with me because you know who isn't here. He's the only person in the world she likes. She just tolerates the rest of us. He can't even hold poor Jack sometimes."
As if hearing his name, the baby monitor lit up and they suddenly heard a wail. Pete didn't hesitate and passed Abee to the nearest person before going to collect Jackie. Phun stared at the little girl who's sleepy face stared back at him before she put her head down and used him conveniently. She had been napping and wasn't sure what woke her but she hadn't really been ready to get up. Now though, she also couldn't quite go back to sleep.
Pete walked back in with Jack and a bottle and passed him to Flex. He finally was able to fix the bib and then just passed Flex the bottle. The huge man and little baby stared at each other as he drank. Flex was clearly in love and so was Jack... with his bottle. The kid drank the entire thing in no time, leaving everyone except Flex and Pete stunned and let out a loud and wet burp after.
"Holy cow," Noh whispered and suddenly saw why Dye was afraid of the little things. He turned to look at Abee and had a new appreciation for her resting form.
"Where's Dye?" Pete had finally noticed that a band member was missing. He know where Ohm was so he didn't bother to ask for him.
"He's scared of Jackie. Apparently he's not ok with things this young. I should have realized. He would dodge kittens in the hotel we were at in France. He said they were too soft." Ex told Pete who looked surprised.
"Oh. Well that's ok. He can come by when he's older." Pete didn't mind. Everyone had their issues.
"Oh he plans too. Trust me. By then you would want him to leave." Noh muttered as Dye was in his section all the time. Just there. Sitting. Or watching TV. Or eating. Noh was surprised he hadn't joined them in the bedroom.
Noh was on to him though. Dye was trying to drive him nuts to the point where he surrendered the studio key. That wasn't going to work though. The war was on.
The look on Noh's face got scary and everyone sort of stared at him with a side eye, wondering if they should mention it when suddenly his face cleared up and he turned to Pete.
"So I hear your still taking a year off from school?"
"Yeah. I thought about it for a while. It's more for me than anything else. I've also put out an ad for a nanny. I was wondering if I could share some of the candidates I like with you. You have really good incite for people."
"You know. I used to think that too. Now I sort of think that it's not people Noh is reading but human connection."
"Oh boy," Noh sighed out. "Here we go again." He settled in and looked at Ex who brushed him off. Ex fully faced Pete now and launched into his theory.
"Have you noticed that Noh would look at two people and say they suit or they don't without considering the people themselves? I have seen him with people he has never met before say they are good or bad for each other based on a vibe. When we went to a bar a couple months into the band, I was checking out this chick, and Noh said she was bad for me. I asked him why and he said, we didn't have a connecting vibe. Turns out he was right. We lasted a hot second then imploded. My point is he didn't know her at all."
"True." Noh admitted. He couldn't say if he would have recognized her an hour later that same night.
"I think he has a feel for the "wave lengths" or 'vibe" as he says, that we give off."
"The energies or auras maybe?" Pete added helpfully.
"Riiiiight! Whatever it is, he instinctively reads it well and he does it naturally that he doesn't even know how he does it."
"Like how he performs on stage?" Pete was teasing but the others were dead serious.
"Oh! Have you seen it too?" They all turned to Pete except Noh who sunk even lower. He had heard it all before.
"Yes. Noh has a spellbinding power with his voice. It's like magic. He's able to tell you everything with his voice. It's like he's painting a picture in your head and it's awesome. Earn and I thought he isn't even doing it on purpose. What if he were? Would that be a good thing or a bad thing?"
"What do you mean?" Now even Noh was interested.
"Well what if you became aware of it and you lose the power to harness it, to bring out the greatness you've got naturally? Or you just might harness it and become bigger than you are now and rule the world."
"I still don't understand what you guys mean." Noh looked at all of them. Phun was especially thoughtful.
"It's always been like this with him. He would always end up being his class rep for the yearly events. They say only Noh can do it best. When we got older and didn't have to do it anymore, I would hear the guys saying they actually missed the performances because they couldn't hear him sing any more. I think in this regard Noh has always had it easy. Maybe he needs something to push him to that next step. A real competition, or challenge, whatever."
"Having to sing for his supper for real? Like without it, the band and himself would suffer kind of thing?"
"Yes."
"Noh never worries for himself but the kids are another story. If it was for them, he would figure it out. Since it's not affecting anything, he's not too bothered."
Opening his mouth to defend himself, Noh was suddenly interrupted by the door opening and Earn and Miles walking in.
"NOH!" Miles launched himself at his favorite person and clung. Phun was used to it now and since Miles knew Phun was easily jealous, he did it on purpose. Noh just shook his head. Miles interest in him wasn't sexual so he wouldn't push him away. In fact sometimes he wondered if Miles had feelings beyond "like".
At the sound of Miles voice Abee looked over. She spotted Earn and immediately ditched Phun. She was so fast that Phun didn't even realize for a second that his arms were empty. He blinked and looked over then just shook his head. Pete laughed and nodded at Phun.
"Told you." He said softly and made room on his seat. The chair was for one but somehow the three of them made it work.
"Where's J_ Oh. Awwwww." Earn chucked at how Jack just stared at Flex who tickled him occasionally. "So how has everyone been?" Then he spotted the bags. "Please tell me it's not more cloths."
"It's more girl cloths this time and toys."
Earn only shook his head then realized Miles was now sprawled across both Phun and Noh. He shook his head again and sighed.
"So how was your first tour?" Earn looked around at all of them with a smile.
"Actually I wanted to ask you something. How do you feel after it's all finished?" Noh suddenly said before anyone could answer the question.
"After it's all finished? A bit disappointed that I can't be in front of the fans anymore, damn glad it was over, exhausted, feeling like I needed to sleep for ages, feeling like I needed normal, you know. Like I needed Pete, our home, comfort food, and just the four walls of our bedroom. Did something happen?" He looked at Noh and felt a little surprised. Noh always came across like he was in tune and capable.
"I'm not sure how or when it happened but at the end I was a wreck." Noh admitted. It wasn't like it was a secret to the band or Phun. He had needed help just to walk from the plane to the immigration line to the car. Nothing had made sense and nothing had registered.
"I was like that the first time. I had a lot of doubts that I did anything right. I thought I wasn't singing right or that I wasn't playing right or that I wasn't connecting with the audience. I wanted to just come home and be with Pete so bad and just bury my head in the sand and not even look at anyone ever again. Miles was the one who got me back together and back in the studio."
"I actually have a rest ban on the studio right now. 3 more weeks to go. I know we're all counting down. Did it get better after that first time?" Noh asked him after a moment of taking his words in.
"Yes and no. I pulled myself together, got back up on stage, and felt like I was soaring again. It was a wonderful feeling. On the other hand, touring will test your endurance limits and you have to find ways to recharge and find a balance. Tours are also not set in stone. Dates and places are added to make money because at the end of the day this is a job and we are the product. You have to watch out for your mental health and physical as well. Don't ever disregard how you feel because you can create a dangerous situation if it's not dealt with immediately."
"I came back and I felt a disconnect. From the band and the fans. Its not like that now but if you had seen me the weekend I came back, you would not have been able to connect with me at all."
Earn nodded in understanding and looked at the other two. "What about you guys?"
"I think worrying about Noh actually made everything else seem second place. I was so focused on him that I wasn't bothered by much else." Ex admitted.
"Same. Even Ohm was worried about him and actually they wanted to add one more show but Ohm said no and communicated with Mr. Kim and we came home as planned." Flex added. Abee suddenly left Earn and Pete and went back to Phun who picked her up. Flex handed Earn his son who looked at his dad and made a sound of recognition. Earn held him up into his shoulder and patted his back.
"I see. Here is what I have learned. At the end of the day, the band is everything. No matter what is happening, talk to each other. Talk and share and stay connected. Sometimes I even used to gather everyone and we would just sleep in the same room together or talk until we were too tired even to do that. It's why we did all we could when Third and Kerd decided to leave. They weren't happy because it turned out to be totally different from what they were expecting."
"The money wasn't coming in the way they wanted." Flex said, summing up the biggest issue.
"Yes. That was a huge part of it. Bands like us struggle to compete with the boy group craze. Its rare that we make it in this era of singing and dancing phenoms. Then we have to consider that we are Thai. Our country is small and our language is unique to us. We have a huge battle to fight and it will be a lot of hard work."
"It will be. I'm at least happy that the world knows us for our bl dramas. It's always a good avenue to work through. Some of our stars are doing just that and putting out music as well. Still, I think that we have a long way to go. What do the think about the new 4nologue project with 9x9?"
"They have a great lineup. Good age, great energy and the star appeal visually."
"One of the people involved reached out to us for a song. Not the lead single but a more vocal heavy track to go on the album."
"They asked us for a love song."
"I thought so." Noh had suspected from something said that this would be the case. Now the bands were discussing now music and Phun and Pete could only share looks. Finally Pete scooped up Jack and pulled Phun and Abee away. They changed the baby then shared out the food that had been prepared just for the visit. Jack fussed a little and got another half bottle before falling asleep. He was a pretty long baby and Phun saw that he would be tall. Also for a kid that was made by Pete and Yuri, he looked a bit like Earn. It was actually alarming.
"I know. It's a recent development too. He started out looking like Yuri until roughly 2 weeks ago. We wondered if maybe he was switched with Earn's secret love child except it's the same birthmark here on his back so we have no idea what happened."
"How is his little personality?"
"Not really that clear yet. He's only 2 months old so he eats, sleeps and shits a lot. Also once Abee gets enough of her Earn fix, she showers him with so much love that it's actually cute to watch. They babble to each other a lot. I don't know how they understand what the other is saying but they seem to be clear on a lot of things."
Phun looked at Abee who was stuffing her face with cheese and smiled. "I would not be surprised."
On the way home, Flex broke the silence and finally asked Noh. "Are we writing a song or cleaning out the archive for this new group?"
"I actually have a song I think we can give them. You remember the one I half finished in Japan when we were invited over for the wedding?"
"The one about the moon?" Ex tried to remember. There was another one but he didn't recall what it was about.
"No the other one. The one about eternity." Noh confirmed.
"Ohhhhhhh! Yeah. That was a good one. Do you have a plan?" Ex was in his own way asking about timelines.
"I'm going to tell Mr. Kim that we will agree to it but that we are finishing out the rest period. I'm not backing down on that. Next weekend, let's go meet Ohm. Phun do you have plans? Are you coming or do you want to_"
"I'm coming. We can drive over from Friday evening. Want to ask Fi? He was planning to come but his brother needed him."
"Oh that's where he went. No problem. You know Fi is always welcome. I hope Dye hasn't made any plans. Let's call him."
"Yoooooo! How is the baby. What's happening?"
"Yo. Who's there with you?"
"Per again. He's come to talk to you Noh so I'm entertaining him until you get here."
"Ok. Did you make any plans for next weekend?"
"No. What's happening?"
"We're going to meet Ohm. Also, the 4nologue call, we'll fix up the Eternity Song from your cousin's wedding for them, after the rest period is up."
"Sure. Better tell Ohm we're coming to meet him. Mick has some new project and a different group. A new boy band. The dancing and singing kind."
"You say that with such bias," Noh pointed out.
"Well I much prefer the way we do it." He laughed and Noh could only shake his head.
"Tell Per we'll be there in 20 minutes and to wait for me. That's an order." Noh cut the call and looked over at Phun. What could be wrong with this kid now?