Page 53 of Free Heart
“Right, it’s a different culture there. The videos posted to YouTube from KPop groups are much more produced and edited.”
Dan nods, puts his pen down, and sits back, crossing his arms over his chest. He stares out at the view and then nods again. “Right, so this will be a challenge.”
I tilt my head. “What will?”
“Being likable. Pretending to like them too.”
I snort. “You’re really going to do this?”
“Sure. What else do I have going on? I don’t want to put the cart before the horse, as my fourth foster father used to say, but maybe something can come of it. A sponsorship, donations, something.”
“Maybe.” I don’t want to get his hopes up, but I’m excited to see a glimmer of energy in his eyes that hasn’t been there since before the accident.
I don’t want to stamp it out with tales of the uncaring internet. It’s probably just as uncaring as the walls Dan loves conquering, so he’ll undoubtedly be all the more inspired by it.
Maybe that’s good.
I check my watch. “I have to leave. Pete moved my shift from lunch to closing so I can go with Martin on those plumbing jobs this morning and early this afternoon, which means fewer tips, but the plumbing cash should more than make up for it.”
I touch my buzzed undercut and grimace. “At least my hair won’t be in the way while I work. Bright side of a bad decision.”
Dan reaches over and fondles the bristles too before slipping his fingers into the longer locks that frame my face. “It’ll grow.”
“It’ll take years to get that long again.”
Dan shrugs. “I keep being told patience is a virtue by the likes of you and Peggy Jo, so…back atcha.”
I slap his shoulder, but then lean in for a kiss which quickly gets a little steamier than I’d meant it to. I reluctantly pull away and hustle to get the cats back inside so Dan doesn’t have to worry about them. “Sorry, I need to go.”
“Duty calls,” he agrees, but he smiles and it’s the closest thing to the old Dan I’ve seen in a while. Maybe this new project will crash and burn, but if he gets energy from it, then I’m happy.
“I could probably blow you really fast,” I offer.
He grabs me by the neck and pulls me back in for another heated kiss, but then lets me go. “I’m fine. Got plenty to occupy my mind and learn about today. Get going, so I can work.”
Bossy Dan. Grinning, I think I like him like this. Very much.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Dan
With me beingin the moonboot and on crutches now, Rye and Lowell don’t have to take care of me so much. I can piss by myself, hobble into the kitchen to make a sandwich, and feed the cats.
I genuinely think I could make it the whole day on my own, but Sejin doesn’t trust me not to push things too hard—especially now that the doctor has said weights are okay. He told me that so long as I’m very careful, I can start small. He’d also said the hangboard is doable, so long as I never let my leg bang against the doorway or the floor.
Today, though, I only do the weights for half the time I probably should, and the hangboard for three-fourths of the time, because I have a lot I want to learn and figure out before Rye or Lowell shows up to mommy me.
The first thing I do is start one of Sejin’s KPop playlists on my phone. As the energizing music fills the living room, I settle on the sofa and begin my research.
First, I look at what folks in the climbing community are offering up: videos of climbs, videos of training, some climbing-related interviews, a few comic relief endeavors, but nothing overly personal. I’m not a huge fan of opening up, but when I compare what climbers are doing to the KPop VLives I’ve watched with Sejin, I can see a real difference.
Next, I download the VLive app to my phone and open up the pages for Astro, BTS, and a few other groups. I watch several of their translated lives, making notes of what they talk about,how they hold themselves, and the ways they interact with the camera. I’m not an actor by nature, and I’m not exactly the expressive sort, but I’m honest. And from what I can tell, the honesty, the sense of genuine connection that these guys offer, is key to folks liking them.
I might not be likable, but I’m always genuine, for better or worse. Some folks might enjoy that. There’s no reason to assume they won’t. Sejin does.
The next step is obviously to decide what social media options to pursue because I don’t have time to get good at all of them. Assuming social media is something you can “get good” at…
Whatever the case, like with climbing, I need to be focused. TikTok seems to be the direction the teens are going—easy for quick, hot takes. YouTube, like Sejin says, seems to ask for a slicker look, and for that I’ll possibly need to consider cameras beyond my phone, and editing software. But maybe not. Maybe I can make it work, especially if I stick to livestreaming. I make a note to look into all that as well.
