Once in a Lifetime

001

(Imagine the song at the top as the one that is playing :)

Straight away, the tropical hue of the electronic notes hit my ear drums and I couldn't stop myself from smiling and dancing in my seat. As I waited for the drop, I turned to the others to see if I could catch a glimpse of their reactions. They were all in a similar condition to me with their excited faces and slight bob of their heads. All except for Yoongi, that is.

He was staring at the screen intently, watching the sound clips roll by, almost like he was looking for something. So obviously, I checked the screen too, wanting to know what he was searching for, when all of a sudden the bass dropped and the simple tones of an electric guitar started to build up in a new wave of sound. One that I hadn't put there myself.

My eyes widened and I glanced at Yoongi who was already grinning at me, thumb up in the air in silent question to which I aggressively nodded my head. I slouched back in my chair and proceeded to wriggle my body happily to the rest of the song with a satisfied smile on my face, feeling extremely proud of our creation.

The song ended too soon for my liking, even though the track was nearing the four minute mark, I never wanted it to end. This song would be bouncing around in my head the entire time I would be working later, and I knew it, but I didn't mind. It'd be better than listening to the stale jazz that was always floating through Café Luna's antique speakers.

I've begged Mrs. Park to let me change the music nearly a thousand times since I started working there three and a half years ago. Her response is forever the same, though.

"Once you start producing music that goes on the radio," she'd say, pointing her wrinkly manicured finger toward my chest. "Then, I'll play that instead. But until then, my old timey music stays. Okay, my dear?" she'd respond, using air quotes to emphasize my previous complaints about her genre selection. I'd nod my head and she would ruffle my hair playfully before lightly pushing me in the direction of the counter, encouraging me to resume my previous task.

I was never angry with the older woman. I couldn't be even if I wanted to. She had been like a mother to me ever since the day I moved back to South Korea from America, leaving the rest of my family in California to pursue my dream of being a music producer. Mrs. Park was an old family friend we had known for years. She would come visit us for a week every spring and that time spent with her was undoubtedly my most favorite part of the entire year.

When I first arrived at the airport a few years ago, all I had with me was the hot pink Hello Kitty suitcase I had borrowed from my younger sister Reina and the backpack my older brother Sunwoo had gifted me on my 18th birthday the week before. I set out to find the lady, and when I had found her, she was sitting on a bench with two coffees beside her, clad in the Café Luna logo, as her eyes swarmed the various faces around her.

When she caught sight of me, her eyes lit up and she jumped from her seat, abandoning the drinks, and ran toward me as fast as her short legs would allow before crashing into my open arms with the force of a tidal wave, something I had come to expect from her.

After several minutes of 'I missed you', 'How was your flight', 'You've gotten even prettier since the last time I saw you', and additional fragments of love she used every time she saw me, we left the noisy area and made our way to her small home in the city which was only five minutes away from my future Alma Mata.

I lived with her until the start of the new school year. The lady had fussed over me for weeks, making sure I had all of the clothes, decorations, and supplies I needed to start my college journey. After packing all of the items into my tiny shared dorm room and meeting my roommate Heejin, she gave me a huge hug and made me promise to visit her at least once a week. That turned out to be an easy promise to keep.