After the Incident, Jae had foresworn music entirely. The trouble with that was how deeply wired into him music had become. If he didn't use that part of himself he might very well lose what was left of his mind. Grant it, he was still curiously free of the guilt that had gnawed at his core since that night. Maybe that was why he had dared to hole up in one of the music rooms to play his guitar. He was still cautious; sound insulated room or not he wasn't about to sing anything. He couldn't take the risk that his cursed powers wouldn't get away from him and damage something- or someone. After all, it wasn't as if he could barricade himself in. And even cement blocks and iron girders could be damaged if that sonic bullshit got too out of control.

But now that he wasn't literally drowning under the crush of his emotions, Jae was once again heeding the siren call of music. And it was thus that he found himself blissfully unaware of his surroundings as he played his guitar. He had started out simply plucking the chords of some of his songs and whispering the words too softly for even him to hear. But before too long he was truly lost in the music; weaving together bits of various songs and ideas and wishes and blending them into a fairly passible tune. From time to time his fingers flubbed a note, but what did he really expect after hardly tickling the stings for months?

He was completely lost in his own little world until a discordant sound brought him back to reality and the rather unpleasant feelings in his hands and fingers. That he would worry about later. Right now it seemed he had acquired an audience of one and that his audience had just fallen out of his chair. Hands instinctively stilling the metal strings, Jae set his guitar on a seat next to him and was on his feet before the other boy had even finished speaking.

"No no," he insisted, picking his way over. "Here let me help. My hands need a break anyway," he added ruefully. And so they did. Fresh blisters had begun to develop in areas where his musician's calluses had thinned through disuse.

Jae couldn't help but laugh a little.  It was the warm sort of chuckle that invited the listener to join in; somewhat self-deprecating but relaxed and easy going.  "Oh, no, not at all" he replied, turning aside the other boy's mention of clumsiness as he straightened the position of a chair with his considerably tender hands. Everyone had their moments of clumsiness, even the most graceful. He wasn't about to pass judgement on someone when he had played his hands into a complete mess. What was that if not another sort of mindlessness?

He looked rather chagrined as his erstwhile audience neatened up the last of the chairs and rummaged around for the first aid kit that was stashed here. Amazing. Jae hadn't even realized there was a first aid kit in the room, not that he would have availed himself of any of its contents anyway. When the other male returned to his side and set about administering to his battered fingers. A hint of warmth colored his tawny cheeks at the gentle touch and he stammered out an awkward, "Well sorta," to the question presented him.

"It stings a bit but I guess..."Jae trailed off and shrugged, careful not to pull his hands away from those administering to his self-inflicted wounds. "It's already feeling better, honestly," he added. "Thank you." Then, to the question posed him he responded, "A few others, yeah. Guitar is my usual go to but I play the bass, keyboard, and some percussion." As an aside he added, "My percussion is pretty rusty though. But I also sing." That was a bit of an undersell but it was at least partially intentional. 

An answering smile crossed Jae's face and he looked down at his carefully bandaged hands. The younger boy's statement that he wasn't a very good singer had him shaking his head slightly.

"Don't sell yourself short. Honestly most people think they don't sing well when really they just don't know their range or how to use it. You're probably better than you give yourself credit for." He smiled again, feeling strangely light, and emotionally buoyant, after the ever increasing weight that had been crushing him.

Unaware of the other boy's drop in mood, Jae shrugged a bit tensely at the question posed him. "I'm not in any music classes," he said a bit cautiously, skirting around answering directly. Then, without even trying to be subtle, he changed topics completely. "But anyway, I should thank you properly for tending to me but I'm not really sure what I should do for you. The least I can do is introduce myself, I guess... I'm Jae." His expression turned sheepish.

When he'd first arrived to Aurora, Jae was in no state to be in a music class, his sizable musical talents aside. Now? Now, perhaps he wouldn't mind it but the idea of regularly playing music in front of or with others on a regular basis still gave him a swirling feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. But he buried that knee-jerk reaction and kept his mind on the situation at hand. 

"It's good to meet you too, Simon," he replied with a smile that quickly shied toward self-deprecating as Simon suggested he play for him when his hands recovered. Well he guessed he could do that...

"Um, sure, if that's what you really want," he said rather diffidently. "I mean," he continued, "I could always cook you something instead if you've had enough of my out-of-practice plunking." He wasn't an amazing cook by any stretch but he made a mean bowl of bibimbap- secret family recipe and everything. As for what he liked? Jae shrugged at that question. "Uh, I dunno. I like animals?" he asked, rather than stated. Aside from his music he wasn't a very interesting person at all.