Lipstick On My Guitar

Hanzo had once promised that he would be more than this, that he’d make his living touring with a band as their lead guitarist. But that felt like a lifetime ago now, and this was the only way he’d found to still hold onto those dreams. After he’d received his paycheck from the owner of the bar, he’d probably just return to his apartment and down his sorrows in sake.

“Uh, excuse me?” A small voice got his attention, and he turned to see who it came from. In front of him was a man, looking a little younger than Hanzo, with short black hair and a large scar across the one side of his face. He was eyeing Hanzo in a strangely hopeful manner. “I just wanted to say, you were really good.”

Hanzo squinted slightly. For some reason, this man looked strangely familiar but Hanzo could not think for the life of him how he’d know him. He was really pretty though, Hanzo could imagine he’d maybe managed to sneak into a few bands backstage areas in the past. But even thinking back to every gig he’d ever played, Hanzo could not place him.

“Thank you,” he finally answered, realising he had just stared at this poor man for a solid minute without reply. “Sorry to ask but do I know you? You look extremely familiar but I can’t figure out why.”

“No, I don’t believe we have met before,” he answered with a small smile. “My name’s Kuai Liang.”

He definitely didn’t know anyone by that name, this was going to bug him until he figured it out. Even so, he reached out to shake Kuai’s hand.

“Hanzo Hasashi,” he replied as the other accepted his handshake.

“It’s really nice to meet you, can I buy you a drink?” Kuai Liang offered, and Hanzo felt his eyebrows raise at that. He couldn’t remember the last time someone offered to buy him a drink. As flattering as it was, Hanzo wasn’t sure he was in the mood.

“I’m sorry, all I really want to do right now is go home to my bed.” It was surprising that the answer didn’t seem to upset Kuai all that much.

“I understand. Then, could I have just a quick moment of your time?” Kuai began to pat at his clothing like he was looking for something. “Um, you see, I’m a musician myself.” Oh here we go. Hanzo had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He got approached by ‘musicians’ all the time, looking to get something out of him. He should have realised that’s what this was, rather than someone genuinely interested in him or his music. “I’m currently working on my next album, and I’d really like to hire some local musicians. Try to use my position to get some names out there, you know? Aha!” He pulled out a small piece of card and handed it to Hanzo. “That’s the business card for the record company I’m with.”

Hanzo took it, at least to see where this guy was claiming he was from. He almost did a double take when he read Lin Kuei Records. They were one of the biggest record companies in the world. There was no way someone signed to them was scouting for musicians in small seedy bars. This was absolutely a scam, but Hanzo could not let Kuai Liang know he was onto him.

“Of course, there’s no pressure for anything, but when I listened to you tonight I couldn’t help but be moved by your performance,” Kuai continued to explain, thankfully oblivious to Hanzo’s suspicions. “There are certain tells when someone isn’t just playing the music, but feeling it as well, and I could see you were one with the song.”

“Ah. Thank you.” All very nice things to say, but so obvious he was just trying to butter Hanzo up. “What kind of album are you making?”

It was a simple question, an actual musician would know at least what genre he was going for. If he gave some wishy washy non-committed answer, it was yet more proof he was just out to scam him.

“I’m mostly known for pop, I guess, but with this album I really want to step away from electronically produced sounds and go back to something more acoustic.” Okay, well, he at least seemed to have a direction he was going in. It was hard to say if that was genuine or not. “The world sort of knows this one side of me, which is fine, but it’s not always who I really am.”

“Such is life as a musician,” Hanzo mumbled in agreement. At this point, he wasn’t as certain this was a scam anymore, but he also wasn’t convinced it wasn’t. He’d probably have to try and do some research. Work out exactly who Kuai Liang was first, and if it was worth risking his career for him. “Can I have some time to think about this?”

“Yes, absolutely, take however long you need. You have the number of the record studio on the business card… but…” Kuai suddenly reached into his pocket, pulling out a small notebook and a pen. He quickly scribbled something down before tearing out the page and handing it to Hanzo. “That’s my number too, if you have any more questions, feel free to give me a call.”

“Oh.” Hanzo wasn’t sure how to take that, but he accepted the page regardless. He took a quick look, there was the number, and the words ‘call me - K.L xx’ written at the bottom. “I’ll let you know if I think of anything or to give you an answer.”

“Great, I look forward to hearing from you.” There was a beeping sound, and Kuai Liang frowned. Once more he reached into another pocket and pulled out a phone. How many fucking pockets does this man have? Kuai observed the phone before sighing roughly. “I’m very sorry, I will have to cut this conversation here.” Kuai offered his hand to shake one last time, and Hanzo accepted. “Once again, it was lovely to meet you.”

“You too,” Hanzo agreed, watching as the man scurried off towards the exit. He sighed, leaning against the bar and staring at the two bits of paper in his hands. If this was a scam, the business card looked really well made. The attention to detail was there.

“Uh. Hey.” The new voice caught Hanzo’s attention and he looked up to see the bartender wearing a weirded out expression on his face. “You… You do know who you were just talking to, right?”

“A scammer, probably,” Hanzo admitted solemnly, staring at the card once more. The more he thought about it, the more that had to be it right? Whenever did he ever get luck like that?

“Holy shit, you have no idea,” the bartender whispered in horror and all Hanzo could do was give him an annoyed glare.

The bartender shook his head, grabbing his phone and pressing a few buttons on it. Eventually he spun it around, and he was on an online video. A music video, some song called Rabbit Hole by Sub Zero. Now, Hanzo wasn’t that out of the loop. He knew who Sub Zero was, pretty much the most famous pop-star on the planet right now. What he couldn’t work out was why the bartender was showing him this.

The music started, and the singer in question popped up onto screen.

And that was when realisation hit him.

Sub Zero was Kuai Liang.

Kuai Liang was Sub Zero.

That’s why I fucking recognised him!

It was hard to tell because the Sub Zero persona always seemed so flamboyant. In the video he was all dolled up, very bold makeup slathered all over his face, dressed in a skimpy bunny girl outfit and dancing in a provocative way. Kuai Liang had seemed positively ordinary in comparison, a little quiet and shy even. Suddenly, he understood the comment about his onstage persona not always being who he truly was.

And then, another realisation hit him.

Sub Zero, world’s biggest pop-star, asked him to perform on his next album.

Holy. Fucking. Shit.

“I know you just told him you want to go home but here,” the bartender continued before sliding a glass of beer towards him.

“I uh, I don’t really have a way to pay for that,” Hanzo tried to excuse, because while sure, he would soon hopefully have cash from the owner, that particular money would be going on his rent.

“Dude, you just pulled a fucking pop-star, this shit’s on the house.” Bartender threw his hands up like he’d watched a god at work and turned away.

Hanzo took his beer and began to sip it, staring at the number in his hand. Knowing who Kuai Liang was changed everything. He actually kicked himself, regretting acting so flippant now. Still, at least he hadn’t just outright accused Kuai of trying to scam him and remained neutral. Because if Kuai Liang was sincere in his desire to use his influence to lift up local musicians, this sort of collaboration would be life changing.

He pulled his phone from his pocket, carefully transferring Kuai Liang’s number into his contacts. He knew Kuai Liang had said to call him, but that felt awkward so soon after they met. He pulled up messages, and sent a quick text.

[Hanzo said: Hello, it’s Hanzo, we just met at the bar. When exactly were you going to tell me you’re Sub Zero???]
[Kuai Liang said: Haha, sorry about that 😅 It was just nice to talk to someone who wasn’t fawning over me for once.]

Hanzo paused, he supposed he could understand that. Guy probably couldn’t go many places without being mobbed by fans. It must have been nice to just have a normal conversation for once.

[Hanzo said: I can appreciate that. I’ve been thinking about your offer, and I’d like to know some more details, if that is alright? Is there any way we could meet to talk about it?]
[Kuai Liang said: Yes, absolutely! I have a few free spots this week, whatever works best for you! 😊]
[Hanzo said: Would tomorrow afternoon be okay?]
[Kuai Liang said: Yes! 😊]
[Kuai Liang said: Do you have a location in mind? If not, I know this little cafe that’s a bit out of the way, should be quiet enough for us to have a good chat.]
[Hanzo said: Sounds delightful. I appreciate it.]
[Kuai Liang said: Great! I’ll see you tomorrow! I’ll send you the address for the cafe in a bit 💕]

Hanzo smiled, putting his phone away and triumphantly taking a mouthful of beer. He didn’t know how this would go, but for the first time in so long, he was hopeful for where this could lead him.

Maybe he shouldn’t have been so quick to assume his dreams were dead.

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