“Breakfast is ready! Good morning, honey,” mom chirped when she saw me going down the stairs.

I looked up and smiled a little. “Good morning,” I said.

But mom’s smile fell as I pulled a chair. I tried to ignore it, but she was watching me with hawk-like eyes.

“Honey? Did you cry last night or something?” she asked.

I looked up and asked thoughtlessly, “did I? I was studying all night, though.”

“Oh,” she said, placing some eggs on my plate.

“Thanks.”

“I just thought you might have been crying since your eyes are puffy. But then as you said…” She shrugged, going back to the stove to leave the pan there and start some cooking again. “You must have woken from your sleep then?”

“Hm?” I asked, pushing the egg on my plate with a fork, not really having the appetite.

“Sehun asked me for the key to your room to check up on you and then when he came back down he told us you were sleeping. I saw him even place that blanket around you. That’s why you shouldn’t forget to thank him.”

I was still trying to let what she said sink in when Sehun came down all dressed in his uniform. I was so stunned that I couldn’t help but stare. He stared back with a glower, as if he was not pleased to see me react that way.

“What are you looking all surprised for?” I slowly lowered my gaze and shook my head.

It was just that usually he wouldn’t be at home at this time and was probably already at school, trying to avoid running across me. But why did he have to come down for breakfast now? Of all times!

The chair across from me got dragged back. Sehun sat down wordlessly and started eating. He pretended to be mad and ignored me even though I already knew he was the one who placed the blanket over me. It was him.

But should I tell him I knew? Should I thank him for it? I contemplated about it many, many times, but in the end I decided to shut my mouth. I held back words because what happened that night came back to me. I already told myself to forget it that I wanted to erase everything that might have happened, even the thought of him actually taking care of me.

We made it out of the house after breakfast, still not talking to each other. Mom looked at us as if she wanted to say she knew something was going on, but she said nothing instead and let us be.

“Take care on your way. Don’t forget to study well.”

I smiled at mom and waved goodbye.

Sehun and I tried our best to put some distance between us and remained not speaking. I decided not to, anyway. Since I was afraid that I might actually say something useless.

“Good morning!”

The familiar voice that greeted made me look back. It was Jongin. He ran towards us and caught up, placing either of his arms over our shoulders, pulling us closer to him.

“How are you two doing? Is the war still on going?” he asked, not reading the mood between us.

Sehun and I briefly glanced at each other and then, almost at the same time, pushed ourselves away from Jongin with an identical scoff. I was sure this was actually amusing for Jongin to see us fighting again like kids that he laughed.

“It seems like I got my answer very quick,” Jongin smiled apologetically at me. I only shook my head at him and walked faster, leaving them behind.

“Hey, not too fast, Joo! Wait for me!”

We reached school thirty minutes before the time. The rooms weren’t that noisy since the kids were still loitering in the hallways. But, of course, I was not expecting to have a very peaceful morning prior to homeroom since Joohyun was already sitting on her seat. Sehun was quick to come towards her with a smile. He ruffled her hair and I just couldn’t ignore how happy that made Joohyun. It was incomparable to how I was feeling.

From the door, Jongin nudged me and pulled me by the hand to my seat. I didn’t notice I was standing there for longer than I thought that I apologized to him and the others that were trying to enter through the back door.

“Did you get home safely last night?” I heard Joohyun asking Sehun as soon as I set down my bag on my desk.

Jongin did the same and sat on the chair in front of my seat.

I sat down, trying to ignore what they were talking about, but their voices were just loud enough for me to hear and remember what I saw happen last night.

“I did,” Sehun said simply. “Your house isn’t that far. Did you get in without any trouble?”

Joohyun sounded like she was smiling when she answered. “Mrs. Im caught me sneaking in, but I guess she was not going to tell on me.”

“You shouldn’t have travelled to my house that late in the first place.”

I closed my eyes, trying to tune them out.

“I was just really worried. I’m sorry.”

“You always worry for nothing—“

“Mijoo?” Jongin’s voice almost startled me that I abruptly opened my eyes, only to find him pushing a white envelope in front of me.

“What—“

“I almost forgot to tell you about this,” he said, scrunching up his nose as if he didn’t really want to bring this up. “Yixing gave it to me yesterday. He said to give this to you. It seems he was actually planning to give it to you himself yesterday, but then you left him behind. I was just trying to be a good person and decided to give you this before I forget.”

I slowly picked up the envelope from the desk with both my hands and opened it.

“I didn’t want to actually pry, but I was curious what was inside that envelope and why he wanted to give it to you that badly that I peeked a little. They were tickets for two to some piano concert in town. He was probably going to ask you to come and it looks pretty expensive too that I couldn’t just keep it away from you. He must have spent a lot on it.”

I was quite absorbed in what Jongin was telling me, but then my phone vibrated and I couldn’t ignore it. A text popped up from an unknown number that I quickly clicked on it out of curiosity.

From: 032xxxxx4695

Did you get the tickets from your friend? I was thinking you would like it if you can go to something like that to unwind that I asked my dad for them.

I would be glad if you would pick me to come with you. But you can bring anyone you want to the concert if you wish to.

Yixing was always thoughtful like this that I couldn’t help but get touched. We were not always that close, but he always did things that could easily move someone else.

The irony here, though, was why I only realized his sincerity now. It was too late before I even learned about it and felt like I wanted to let him in. That I wondered whether it would have been better if we got closer before this? Could we have been really good friends? Would have I also cried because of him when I left?

I knew that I was going to the concert with him. It was, at least, the best I could do to show him how thankful I was for everything he’d done. These past few days that he was in town. It was nothing but happy. I had only thought of accompanying him as a chore, but now I realized how it was also a breath of fresh air. He pulled me away from all things familiar and I was able to go to some parts of town that was unfamiliar to me. Like him. He used to be very unfamiliar to me, that it was odd to me how come I could still remember so perfectly some parts of him.

Maybe he was not the one who just observed who. But perhaps, somewhere along the lines, I was also curious of Zhang Yixing too that I came to understand him a little bit more.

-

Coming home that afternoon, though, took me to another unexpected surprise.

“Anything would have been fine, eommonim. You even took the time to make me some tea. This is very embarrassing. I’m sorry for putting you into the trouble of—“

“Yixing?” The both of them looked up at me from the living room when they heard me speak.

I was so astonished to see Yixing sitting on the couch in our living room with mom serving him some tea that I hurriedly approached them.

“Wh-what are you doing here?” I immediately asked him.

Mom, however, slapped my arm and scolded me for asking him like that. “Is that a way to greet your guest?! He came all the way here to visit you, Mijoo. Make sure to be a good host.”

“But mom,” I whined, pouting.

She only hissed at me and said, “I told him to come so don’t be mad at him.” Instantly her mood lifted as she shifted her gaze at Yixing. “Son, just enjoy your stay, okay? You two can take your time.”

“Ne, eommonim!” Yixing seconded.

I slumped down beside him and rested my head on the cushion behind. “How do you get along with my mom so well, Yixing?”

He turned to me and shrugged, smiling boyishly. “Who knows? Maybe she just likes the way I am? Your mom has always been nice to me and my family, anyway. It’s just you who always kept on putting some distance between us,” he said.

“Really?” I asked, surprised at what he said. Was it really just me who didn’t want to get any closer to him?

He nodded and then ruffled my hair gently. I backed away a little, feeling slightly embarrassed he was acting like that again.

“Anyway, it has been a long time since we last played together, so how about we play something on the piano? I want to hear how much you haven’t practiced in a long time,” he teased, earning a playful smack on the shoulder from me.

He laughed as I stood up, saying something like I was never that brute towards him before and yet he felt like it was fun to see this side of me, too.

I was embarrassed to have him find out that I wasn’t that quiet kid at all, but a part of me was relieved too that I did things unconsciously in front of him without me knowing as if a wall around me had crumbled.

“I’m still good at it. How dare you.” I boasted as I commanded him to follow me to the piano room.

I must admit I didn’t touch the piano much during my stay at the Ohs’ house and I wasn’t well rehearsed, but Yixing was putting me up to a challenge that I wouldn’t back down from. I hated losing the most, I must admit, even though I sometimes hated competing too.

The piano they had in the house was a black grand piano. It had a room of its own, I heard, because Sehun’s mom used to play the piano very much. That was also the reason, too, why I didn’t go into the room so much. I didn’t want to ruin the good memory he had left of his mother and I also didn’t want to bring up bad memories of her to their family just because I wanted to play.

I risked this one opportunity to play the piano and have some fun with Yixing because I knew Mr. Oh was at work and Sehun was still out of the house hanging out with Joohyun. We were free to play for a while, that I pulled up the lid off the keys and told him to share the seat with me.

“Sit down and watch me. What piece do you want to hear anyway?” I asked as I felt him sit down next to me. I placed the music sheets I left in the room before in front of us and flipped through the pages. “Should I play Chopin or Haden or maybe Beethoven?”

“Fur Elise?” Yixing offered with a smile.

My lips stretched into a wider smile at an idea. “Or maybe should I do Pathetiquè?” It was his favorite piece out of all that was Beethoven’s.

At this, he widened his eyes and blinked at me in confusion. “You remember?” he asked, trying not to open and close his mouth like an idiot.

I couldn’t help but laugh as I nodded. “You always secretly played it if you’re alone.”

“How did you—Oh no. Don’t tell me that you—“

I shrugged, saying coolly, “I often came early in the morning to the academy before. But you always came earlier than I did. I couldn’t beat your record, but it wasn’t that bad because I got to hear you playing for free that kind of piece.”

“I’ll be starting now,” I announced, cutting off to the chase.

My fingers pressed onto the keys gently. I applied a little more pressure than I remember doing so, because my fingers felt stiffer than usual. It seemed I really lacked practice, but it was fine. I took my time in getting used to playing again and started off slow and sad. I picked up on my pace as I went on and somehow as I was in the middle of the piece that I got the total feel of it. The piano had possessed me again that even if I closed my eyes I knew which key was next. It was just like this before, too, when Yixing and I worked together at practice and during recitals.

It was a happy memory, as I remembered, that I couldn’t help but smile the moment I realized another pair of hands had joined me in the play. I opened my eyes and saw Yixing pressing on the keys too. Our fingers were like twins doing the same movements at the same time. We were so synchronized that we couldn’t help but smile at each other at how compatible our playing was still. I couldn’t help but silently boast at him, and he coolly accepted his defeat with a smile.

“You should be not this good if you haven’t had that much practice, you know?” he said, as if teasing me.

I shrugged, trying to play along. “A genius is always a genius, Yixing.”

He chuckled, amused at what I said. “You’re probably right.” His gaze flickered down to the keys as we repeated verses and suddenly he had a serious expression on him. “That’s why I thought it would have been nice if you actually stayed and didn’t leave the academy without a word.”

My playing slowed until we both stopped, the echo of the song slowly fading in the background.

I looked at him and he was looking back at me poignantly.

“I think it’ll be nice if you can think about going back to the academy. You can take special classes in music for high school there and get into a good university afterwards.”

I didn’t know why he was telling me this that I had no words to utter. Yixing was talking about my future as if it was that easy. Did I look like I wanted to do music in the future or I had great talent in it that he was proposing this?

“I-I can tell dad about this and I’m sure he’ll help you get back easily to the academy. And then you can play the piano all you want. Or even the strings you loved to play. And then I can help you with things that are difficult for you. We can pair up for recitals once more and—“

“Yixing,” I interrupted, smiling at him apologetically. “It’s really nice that you’re thinking about me like this, but I don’t think I’d want to get back into the academy with anyone’s help. Especially your family’s help. I don’t want people to think that I got special treatment just because we are friends. And besides…” I sighed, letting my hands drop to my sides as I looked outside the huge glass windows. The afternoon glow was a beautiful shade of amber, pink and blue. It was beautiful and sad at the same time.

“I still don’t know what I want to do in the future, to be honest with you,” I continued, letting my voice drop to a whisper.

“And I want to think about it really hard