"What are you wearing?" Mr. Canzoni asked as he let the band into their hotel room. It was a large suite with several rooms, so everyone had their own... except for him, he had already been told that he only got the couch. 

Looking up from the jacket his eyes kept straying too as the door closed, Teller forced himself to hide the smile he didn't doubt kept slipping onto his lips on the drive over. "Someone lent it to me at the airport." He said, not wanting to give away too much information if he could help it. He wasn't sure how Mr. Canzoni would react if he knew that he'd gotten hurt, then helped, by Ello. 

"Someone just lent you that? It looks expensive... take it off." 

Wait, what? 

"Don't give me that look. You're way too prone to accidents. You'll destroy it. Give it to me." 

Without thinking, Teller stepped back. "I can't. It's not mine." He said, already knowing that his excuse wouldn't help. Mr. Canzoni was starting to turn red, like he always did when Teller said anything that wasn't yes sir. 

"You are supposed to barely be seen! You can't go around wearing something that looks that expensive! And those sunglasses, too. Where's your old pair? Those look like they cost a lot, too." 

Honestly, Teller hadn't even thought about the price of the items he'd been given. He had no real reason to. He never planned on keeping them, or doing anything but making sure they remained in good condition and returning them. 

"They were also lent to me when my other ones broke. I need to return them." He said right before Mr. Canzoni snatched the glasses off his face. 

Teller wanted to grab them back, but didn't want to earn a second black eye. "These are made by Gentle Monster. Just who the hell did you run into that they had this kind of money for a simple pair of sunglasses?" He asked as he slid the glasses onto his own face after removing his own crummy pair. 

When Teller didn't respond, but just looked down, Mr. Canzoni grabbed his chin and yanked it up. "Answer me, boy. Who did you get these items from?" 

"Better talk, kid. You don't want to get even more bruises for being an idiot." Ike said as he walked back into the den area with the other band members behind him. 

They were all grinning, used to his predicaments and beatings by their manager. Hell, sometimes they used him as a punching back, too, but thankfully there were rules. He couldn't sing if he was half dead. 

"I..." Teller stuttered, blinking back tears that only made the band converge on him more, snickering. One of them slipped behind him while Ike leaned forward and yanked the zipper on Tay-Yun's jacket down. The man behind him jerked it off his shoulders, nearly making Teller stumble into Mr. Canzoni. 

"That'll look good on you, Davis." Ike said to the slightly shorter boy with blond hair, as he stepped back to stand beside Mr. Canzoni, arms crossing over his chest with a smirk on his face. 

Teller wanted to yell at them. To tell them that they had no right taking Tay-Yun's things, but like usual, he couldn't find the courage to take the beating that would come with the reprimand. 

"If we didn't have a show soon you'd have a matching pair of eyes for this. Now get busy practicing." Mr. Canzoni said as he shoved Teller toward the sofa. "We're going out. The song set better be perfect by the time we get back after all the practicing we'd done back in America." He said before gesturing for the boys to follow him out of the hotel. 

The words and numbers inked onto his arm almost felt as if they were beginning to burn and his hands turned numb from nerves as he rolled back the sleeve of his blood-stained jacket to read the writing. They actually took Tay-Yun's stuff... And it was probably extremely expensive, too. There was no way he could afford to buy even one of the items back, let alone two. Not to mention the possible sentimental value they might have. He could rarely remember a photo of Tay-Yun that didn't show him wearing at least the jacket. 

Grabbing his hair, he tugged on the strands as he paced over to the window, then began circling while his panic built. So much for a positive experience. Now I have to tell him that his items were stolen and I can't afford to replace them! 

Numbly, he walked into the bathroom and shrugged off his ruined jacket into the garbage. That's the only one I brought, too. He'd only been allowed his carry-on, and he hadn't planned on ruining the jacket so soon... or at all, really. 

Staring into the mirror, Teller licked his lips and reached up to brush his fingers over the discolored skin around his eye. He couldn't even remember what he'd done wrong to earn the injury, or if he had even done anything at all, and Mr. Canzoni had just been in a bad mood and decided to take it out on him. 

Squeezing his eyes shut for a moment to calm his nerves, Teller fished his phone from his pocket and dialed his grandmother's number. He'd had to buy her a cell phone after she was admitted to the hospital, because she didn't believe in having one with a landline. She picked up on the fourth ring, making him sigh with relief. 

"Hello, grandma." He greeted, putting as much enthusiasm into his voice as he could muster. 

He could hear the machines monitoring her in the background before she replied with a frail, yet excited tone. "Hello, my sweet little Teller. Do tell me what you've been up to?" 

Her little joke about his name always made him smile. "I've been good. I'm finally visiting Korea!" He said cheerfully, earning a hoot from his grandmother. 

"I'm so proud of you! You've been wanting to go for so long!" Her excitement halted abruptly as she coughed hard a few times, but she continued right after she was able to catch her breath. "Is it beautiful? Have you been able to talk to some people there yet? Did you try the Kimbap or any of those other dishes you were so excited about?" 

Sliding down the wall to sit against it as she spoke, Teller took in her words like a balm on his tired mind. His headache faded to the back of his thoughts as he told her that he hadn't gotten quite that far yet and was just going to relax at the hotel till the next morning, since he wasn't permitted to leave, anyways. 

"Oh come now. Since when do you waste an opportunity! Get your backside out there and enjoy the day!" She chided, earning a quiet laugh from him that happened to slip out before he could catch it. 

"Alright, alright. I'll give it a try. I guess I'm just nervous." He said, an idea hatching in his brain at his grandmother's words. 

"I'm glad. Now get your butt out there. It's late here, but I know that it's probably early morning or afternoon there, so don't waste the day away. Push through that jet lag." 

Giving another chuckle, Teller replied. "Yes ma'am. Get some rest, grandma. I'll call you soon." 

"Good night, Tell. Enjoy yourself." She said before the line went dead. 

He sat staring at the phone for a long while before blowing out a breath and pushing himself to his feet. "Well, you have no sunglasses and your jacket is useless." Teller mumbled as he eyed himself in the mirror. When his attention focused on the small circular pin in his hair, his eyes widened a fraction. 

What if...

Hesitantly, he reached behind his head and pulled his hair back, then secured it with a tie he kept in his pocket. Leaving some of his bangs free, he then dug into his bag for the small amount of makeup he'd been forced to bring. 

"Never thought I'd actually want to use this stuff outside of working." He told himself as he began adding thin layers of concealer and blush to his face. His injured eye was hard to fade, but after about ten minutes working on it, it looked much less noticeable. 

"Not perfect, but not bad." 

Putting away the makeup, he pulled out a pair of tight fitting faded jeans and changed, then tugged off his black shirt and began wrapping his chest. He overlapped the fabric to make it look like he just might possibly be a female. He'd honestly brought the fabric in case he fell again and sprained a wrist or ankle, but it worked decently well as a fake bra, too. Once he was content with his work, he put on a white, long sleeved shirt with the word LIVED on it in large black letters. 

"At least I've still got my hat." That, along with his makeup and bandage made him feel like he just might be able to pass as a female. 

Grinning to himself in the mirror as he slipped his shoes back on, Teller knew he just had one more thing to change. Clearing his throat, he spoke a few words randomly before his voice began to rise until it sounded like a young female singer he had heard a few times. He couldn't place her name, but that wasn't a bad thing. Hopefully no one else could catch the similarity, either. 

"Alright. Let's get out of here." 

He wasn't sure exactly what he was going to do, but after checking his bank account on his phone, then looking up the items that had been taken, the exact information on them found through one of his fan pages, he knew that he had to find some way to make money. And quickly. 

Stepping outside without Mr. Canzoni felt strange. Pulling the brim of his hat down further, Teller hurried across the street from the hotel. He made sure that he moved quickly but calmly, not wanting to make anyone look at him if he could help it. 

When he got about three blocks away, he finally slowed down to start looking around. There were little shops everywhere and several help wanted signed in different windows, but he couldn't think that such simple jobs would be of an use. He also couldn't leave normally, especially if he got caught coming back on his current outing. 

Probably won't be able to walk if I do. 

Shaking off the disturbing thought, he continued on his way until he came across a large wall leading to an opening further down the sidewalk. Kids were milling about, going in and out of the entrance between the wall. 

When Teller walked closer and looked through it, he realized that he'd come upon a huge high school. I don't miss that aspect of my previous life. He hadn't been bullied, really, but he just didn't care for anything that had occurred there. It was all a boring blur. For some reason, though, seeing a school in Korea felt much more energetic. No one was moping about, everyone seemed to have a purpose. There also seemed to be a lot less smoking, but that could have just been because his school had been pretty trashy.

"What are you doing standing around staring into an all girls school, kid?" 

Looking over his shoulder, Teller felt his stomach sink as he looked up at a mountain of a man. "I..." The man's eyes narrowed as he leaned closer. Teller flinched, but bit his tongue to keep from talking. 

"Wait. Are you a girl? You don't look Korean and I know all of the exchange students." He said. Teller folded his hands behind his back and offered a wary smile. 

"I'm sorry, American." He said in his chosen female voice. 

The man shook his head on a sigh and offered a small smile. "American. That explains it." Pointing down the sidewalk, he gestured for Teller to keep going, then said in broken English. "Go on." 

Not wanting to make the man upset, Teller nodded and continued on his way. He felt eyes on his back, but didn't dare look back until he turned the corner. A sign across the street caught his attention when he turned back around to continue walking. 

ARCADE

Below the bright green sign was a board promoting a day long tournament for a shooting game. The prize money was 5000 won per victory, payable as many times as you were challenged. It wasn't much money, but the place seemed packed, nearly out the door. 

Maybe...

Slipping his hand into his pocket, he felt the 100,000 won he had and licked his lips. He wasn't bad at shooting games... Deciding that it couldn't hurt to try, he headed across the street and found himself in line to give the tournament a go. It took about twenty minutes before he was able to pay and sit down in a large leather chair. The place was far different than the arcades he'd seen in the U.S., mainly because it was a computer lounge of sorts instead of old fashion arcade games, but it was still pretty cool and they did have a few classic machines in the back. The lights were dimmed just enough, too, allowing the screens to keep everyone's focus. 

"Alright. The rules are first to five kills wins. It is timed. Victor takes the left seat and accepts all challengers. Any questions?" The organizer asked. After both boys shook their heads, Teller turned his attention to the screen. 

It loaded quickly, and after a short countdown, they were off. Teller didn't do all that well at the beginning, losing three lives right away. But, he somehow managed to come from behind as he got used to the controls. The game ended right before the time limit ran out. He'd won by a hair. 

Slumping back into the seat, Teller took a calming breath and reached across to the other boy, who was holding out his hand. "Good game." The boy said, earning a nod in return from Teller before he got up and left. 

Teller took his seat and waited until his second round started. The next player was extremely easy to defeat, as well as the next two. After that, several good players stepped up, making Teller focus much harder. He managed to beat them, but after his tenth win, his nerves were beginning to make his hands shaky. 

"All you guys are getting bested by a girl. Come on, let's see who can unseat her!" The organizer called to the crowd still pouring into the place. A loud roar went up, followed by some surprised shouts that drew teller's attention away from the screen right as someone else dropped into the challenger chair. 

Out of habit Teller offered his hand before they were to start, but when it was gripped by Sahn-Re, the boy from the airport with silver hair, and one of the members of Ello, he jerked it back abruptly. 

"Oh, do I sense a bit of a rivalry starting? Let's see if one of our regulars, and amazing musician, Sahn-Re, can take down this impressive girl!" 

Shrinking back into the chair, Teller did his best to keep his face hidden from Sahn-Re, but the guy seemed determined to watch him until the very last second of the countdown. Jerking his head up at the sound of the start buzzer, Teller did his best to focus on the screen. Where his other opponents had been somewhat predictable and just required some focus, besides the first, Sahn-Re was one hell of a challenge. 

The battle came down to the timer. Teller won, three to two, but he'd had to work his ass off for every single one of the kills. When the game announced the winner, Teller reluctantly glanced quickly at Sahn-Re before dropping his gaze and offering his hand to shake. 

"That was pretty amazing! What's your name?" Sahn-Re asked as he shook Teller's hand, then got up and stepped aside so that the next challenger could sit down. 

The sound in the arcade seemed to dwindle as everyone waited for a response, but when he just hunched his shoulders a little, the organizer stepped in. "Well, seems she's shy. We'll just keep going and see if someone can manage to stop her winning streak!" 

Relieved that he didn't have to talk, Teller leaned forward to watch the clock tick down. He ended up winning thirty matches before he got too stressed out by the amount of people and noise, to focus. 

Before people could surround him, he made his way to the counter and got his winnings. The arcade kept 5% of it, leaving him with a payout of 1,520,000 won. 1,410 dollars. It might be enough... for one item. 

Pushing his way outside after shoving the money in his pockets, Teller took a deep breath. The air had gotten crisp while he was inside, and with a glance up at the sky, he could tell that it was due to the rainstorm clouding over. 

I better get back soon. 

In fact... Taking his phone from his back pocket, Teller turned the screen on, then flinched at the message there. 

Get the hell back here! How dare you leave! Do you want to be able to walk tomorrow?!

Well, that's a great incentive to go back right now. Not. 

"Hey." 

Before he could turn toward the voice, someone was grabbing his arm and tugging him closer abruptly. Teller stumbled a bit, then scowled as he looked up... only for his expression to drop completely at the sight of Sahn-Re staring down at the marker on the inside of his arm. 

"You... you're...?" Sahn-Re stuttered as he raised his head. Teller couldn't see his eyes because of the sunglasses he'd added after exiting the arcade and the hat, but he didn't need to in order to know that he was stunned. "You're a... girl?" 

Oh. Crap. 

(I'm having fun XD)