When Jongin heard the music floating down the hallways, he knew it was what he had been looking for. He peeked through each classroom as he walked down the hallway briskly. He had to find it. And when he finally stopped at the end of the dark hall before a room, he took a deep breath and steadied himself. Pushing the already slightly ajar door open, he stepped in. As his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, they focused on a figure sitting at the piano. Soft waves of black hair shifted as her fingers grazed the keys. And the melody. It was absolutely amazing. Entranced, he was almost reluctant to interrupt her flow. With his slight cough, she turned around to gaze upon him. And wow, she was...

 

"Beautiful," Jongin blurted before reddening.

 

"Excuse me?"

 

"I mean. The piece, it's beautiful."

 

The girl's impassive face shifted slightly as her lips curled up, before she laughed lightly. Her laugh was beautiful, tinkling in a way that made Jongin heat up all over again.

 

"That's right I suppose. The song is called 'Beautiful'. Seems you have an affinity for this sort of thing, Jongin-sshi."

 

He was slightly confused before responding.

 

"You... you know my name?"

 

The girl studied him for a moment.

 

"Of course. Everyone knows the name of the school heartthrob."

 

Jongin felt himself redden all over again. He wasn't normally like this. He was supposed to be confident and y around girls. But she was different. Just like her music. Focusing on her features more, he slowly started to recognize her. He recalled all he had heard about her musical prowess from Chen. And all about her goddess-like looks from Sehun. And all about her academic excellence from Suho. And most often, about her cold and mysterious demeanor from the entire student population.

 

"Ah... You're Soojung right? The piano prodigy? The ice princess?"

 

At this her face immediately clouded.

 

"Of course. You would view me in the same light as the rest of the school, heartthrob."

 

Jongin, realizing his mistake at calling her cold, hastily backtracked.

 

"I-I didn't mean it that way, Soojung-sshi. Really, I'm here because of your music, not to judge you. That is, I'd like to ask that you prerecord the song you were playing for my solo dance competition."

 

Soojung raised an eyebrow.

 

"And why would I do that for you?"

 

Flustered, Jongin realized he didn't have an answer to that. She was right. Why would the school's treasured musician even bother to do something for him? What gave him the right to expect her to agree? He was shocked out of his silence when she spoke again.

 

"But... I'll do it for you."

 

Jongin's head snapped up as he gaped at her incredulously.

 

"On the condition that I can practice live with you during the upcoming time till your performance. I'd like to get to know you more, heartthrob. You don't seem to be all they make you out to be. So... let's do it."

 

-

 

The next few months, Jongin would show up at the practice room at seven every school night. And she was always there, true to her word, waiting for him. During practice, they talked once in awhile. But he was happy. He could feel Soojung thawing. She now acknowledged his presence when he greeted her in the halls. And she would welcome him with a smile at the beginning of every practice session. Jongin treasured their current friendship. So the feeling was foreign when he walked in the night before competition, nervous and breathing sparsely. He'd realized sometime during their sessions that his heart fluttered irrationally every time he saw or thought about her, and he was fairly certain it wasn't because of the upcoming performance. As usual, Soojung greeted him.

 

"Hey heartthrob," before she stopped, noticing the look on his face, "Something wrong?"

 

Jongin slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a colored piece of paper with words printed neatly on it. Soojung's eyes glanced at the paper before focusing on the text.

 

"You're inviting me to your competition tomorrow?"

 

"Y-yeah. I know you already prerecorded my piece but I wanted you to come see the show anyways."

 

Soojung's face remained still before she smiled softly.

 

"Thanks Jongin. I'll... I'll try to make it."

 

"Try", he thought. She said she'd try. It wasn't a confirmation, but she didn't reject him. That was good enough, he guessed.

 

"Then let's start?"

 

And so they went through practice. As Jongin began packing up after their rehearsal, getting ready to leave, he was stopped by Soojung's voice.

 

"Hey. Jongin."

 

"Yeah?"

 

"Do you have a stage name?"

 

"Um. No. I've never thought of it?"

 

Soojung studied him for a while before responding.

 

"Can I give you one? Your personality on and off stage just seems... different."

 

Jongin was mildly surprised at her request. Soojung wasn't one to ask these things. But he nodded.

 

"Of course."

 

"Then... make it Kai."

 

Jongin looked at her for an explanation.

 

"Kai... means 'open' in Chinese. And.... you're opening a door to your future with this performance."

 

Jongin processed the thought.

 

"It's nice. I like it. Alright, I'll use it Soojung. Thanks," he smiled as he opened the door. He paused before turning around, "I hope you can make it tomorrow."

 

Soojung looked at him with a smile that was oddly, slightly sad.

 

"I'll try."

 

And Jongin left, repeating the name "Kai" over and over to himself again. He didn't hear Soojung's soft voice as she packed up her own things.

 

"Your future isn't the only thing you opened, Kai." And she glanced at her heart before leaving.

 

-

 

He was next. And he had scanned the crowd many times to see if she was there. But she never showed up.

 

You can't let this bother you, Kai. Soojung's a busy person. And she probably doesn't even see you as a friend. What were you thinking?

 

Kai cleared his thoughts, trying to remind himself that there would be eager agency scouts waiting to find prospective talented performers and offer them a career in the industry. He had to do his best... even if she wasn't there.

 

When the spotlight hit him and the music started, he decided to let go. And as the melody, her self-composed melody, washed over him, he felt free. Almost. Something was missing. She was missing.

 

The crowd clapped enthusiastically as he finished and exited the stage. He was almost numb when he won first. It was a blur as he was approached by various scouts. And as a new chapter in his life began, the past ended. He never saw her at school after that.

 

-

 

4 years later

 

"So, Kai-sshi," the interviewer asked as the cameras snapped away, "Can you tell as the story behind your stage name?"

 

Kai looked up, his eyes masked behind a pair of shades, and he scanned the sea of fans before responding in a strained voice.

 

"A... an acquaintance from high school gave me that name. She told me it was Chinese for 'open'. That I was opening up the doors to a successful future."

 

The interviewer nodded, satisfied.

 

"Alright, moving on to the next EXO member..."

 

Kai tuned the voice out as he thought about the concert he was attending later tonight. The tickets had sold out even faster than his own group's concerts would. But a friend had gotten one and couldn't make it. And when Kai was offered the ticket, he couldn't refuse. He had purposely tried to remove all news about the much-hyped about concert. But there he was, a ticket sitting snugly in his pocket.

 

A few hours later, he arrived at the concert hall, already teeming with people in their suits and dresses. How superficial, he thought bitterly.

 

After a lot of media attention and some irrelevant conversations, he finally settled down in his seat, front row, center. An usher offered him a program and he took it, glancing at the fancy calligraphy on the cover. His eyes slowly scrolled down until he found the name of the performer.

 

Jung Soojung.

 

His eyes snapped back up as the curtains opened. And there she was. Sitting serenely at the piano, in a long dress that fit her perfectly, her black waves over one shoulder. She was exactly as he remembered. Every detail, every bit of her. The way her hair shifted as she started the song.

 

He sat, mesmerized, for two hours, watching and listening to his first love play her heart out... Until his trance was broken by a voice. Her voice.

 

"Hello everyone. I'm so thankful you have been here, willing to listen to me play for two hours. As such, all good times must come to an end. So I'd like to play one last piece for you. This song is very special to me. I wrote it when I was in high school, on a whim. But it became something more than a simple tune. It helped me make my first friend."

 

Kai's eyes widened as he heard her words.

 

"Sadly, I didn't get to see him after our one year together. My parents told me on short notice that I was being sent to Vienna to further my piano studies. It was the day before his dance competition and I realized I couldn't go. He must've been angry with me. For I missed out on watching him perform. I missed out on cheering on my first love."

 

Kai's breath left him as she continued.

 

"We're both successful people now. If I said his name, you all would surely recognize it. So I guess things happen for a reason right? Our futures turned out well, whatever regrets I may have. With that, I dedicate this last song to my first love. Even though he isn't here and he probably doesn't know where I am anymore, I hope he can still hear this song one day. Enjoy 'Beautiful'."

 

The concert hall applauded as she sat down.

 

And tears rolled down Kai's face as he listened to her play the ever-familiar tune. It was beautiful indeed. She was beautiful. And the world never seemed more beautiful.

 

As the song ended and she got up, Kai knew this was it. She had expressed regret. And he was sure he would have none of that.

 

"JUNG SOOJUNG!"

 

The entire concert hall fell silent as all eyes him. He stood up shakily. Soojung's eyes widened as they found him and she suppressed a gasp.

Kai slowly walked on stage, until he was standing in front of her, sharing the spotlight.

 

"Jung Soojung," he said more softly as he reached out to wipe the tears off her face.

 

"Kim... Jongin. Kai," she murmured in disbelief before hesitantly touching his arm, as if to ensure he was real.

 

"Soojung. I don't know how to say this. But, please. We lost each other once."

 

Soojung's tears continued to roll down as the entire hall seemed to hold its breath.

 

"Regrets. They're not something I want either of us to have. And I promise myself I won't have them regarding you. You gave me the name 'Kai' to remind me of the future I was opening up for myself. But I realized, you opened something for me. My heart. And I regret that I never got to express my love for you."

 

"Kai... Jongin... I..." she stuttered.

 

"I'll always be Jongin to you. So... please allow me to do this. What I've wanted to do for the past four years."

 

And with the spotlight on the both of them, in front of a crowd of thousands, he kissed her. Sweetly, softly, with every bit of his emotions pouring out in his kiss. And as the crowd erupted into cheers and Soojung smiled into the kiss, Kai felt true happiness. Everything felt beautiful.

--

Until next time, let live, let die, and let's love! -Georgiana