It was nearly six pm when Jonghyun and I finally wrapped up our rehearsal, content at the amount of work we had done over the past few weeks.

“I think we’ll ace it, Hyung.” He laughed as he started packing away his things into his grey backpack.

I hummed in reply and gave him a small smile,

“We’ve worked hard, so let’s try our best for the performance, yes?”

He nodded with a big smile and held up his fist in encouragement,

“yes Hyung! Hwaiting!” He shouted like a fangirl, I laughed and returned the gesture, before grabbing my bag to make my way home.

As I reached the front gates I passed every day, a familiar figure caught my eye, leaning against the cold metal and staring down at his feet.

“Hyun? What are you doing here?” I asked curiously as he peered up at me from beneath his fringe.

“Ah, there you are. I just felt like, um, walking you home, I guess.” He smiled sheepishly as he took my hand in his.

I laughed and gave a small nod, but it wasn’t hard to see that there was something preoccupying Woohyun’s mind.

We walked for a while in a comfortable silence. The sky tinted a soft orange and pink colour as the sun was about to set. The streets were getting less busy as peak hour passed, leaving only the numerous breadwinners who had worked overtime and were eager to go home to their loving family awaiting their return.

“Umma wants you to come over for dinner again, how does tomorrow sound?” Woohyun asked me as he gazed into my eyes.

I nodded and gave a smile, “sure, sounds great.”

“Oh, isn’t your performance tomorrow as well?” He asked as he lightly swung our entwined hands forwards and backwards.

I hummed in reply and shifted my bag onto my other shoulder. Damn why did I pack so many books today?

Woohyun must have heard my exhausted sigh as he grabbed my bag and swung it across his other shoulder, giving me a soft pat on the shoulder as he realised my tenseness.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to carry too much for your own good?” He teased as I gave a relaxed sigh.

“Yeah, but when did I ever listen to what anyone said anyway?” I smiled with gratitude.

He nodded with a smile and squeezed my hand gently,

“Good luck for tomorrow, Gyu. The lecturers won’t know what hit them. After you grab that high distinction, we’ll go celebrate, kay? Umma always cooks up a feast anyway, especially when you’re there.” He grinned as we turned the corner, reaching the front doors of my apartment complex.

At exactly 9:26 pm, Woohyun and I were lazily spread on my black leather couch as we stared thoughtlessly at the television. My back was leaned against Woohyun’s chest as his fingers ran through my hair repeatedly, twirling it around his index finger.

I hummed softly and played with my fingers, should I ask him what that phone call was about?

“Gyu-ah.” Woohyun whispered gently, just loud enough over the background of the rerun of Music Bank for that week.

“Mm?” I hummed in reply as I turned around to look at him.

“Appa gave me the talk again.”

“About the office?”

“Yeah.” He simply stated with a tired sigh.

“and what did you say?” I asked him, now fully sitting opposite him, looking into his eyes.

“I said no.” He said with a stubborn tone, looking away.

I laughed and patted his head,

“Of course you did.”

He moved his head higher as he rubbed his cheek lightly on my palm as he breathed out gently.

“I just wish he could see how much cooking means to me.” He whispered, sadness evident in his voice.

I nodded and gave him a smile,

“He will, Hyun, one day.”

“Yeah, one day.” He trailed off, deep in thought as I leant back into his chest, offering him my comfort and warmth.

The room echoed in enthusiastic applause as Jonghyun and I finished the last note of our song in perfect harmony. It was faultless. We exchanged a knowing glance and happy smiles as we bowed before the crowd. The lecturer, along with a couple of guest judges all stood, giving satisfied nods and clapped, clearly impressed. Our fellow mates looked as us with envy, but that was hidden underneath their great big smiles of encouragement and admiration.

Jonghyun and I bowed one more time before making our way out the doors of the lecture hall, grateful that it was all over.

“Hyung! That was great, I don’t think I’ve sang that well ever!” Jonghyun exclaimed, his voice going a few octaves higher as he expressed his excitement.

“You did so well, Jonghyun! That’s was exactly the way we wanted it to turn out.” I nodded in agreement, equally as happy as my partner.

“Wouldn’t have happened without you, hyung. seriously, I don’t think we would’ve received standing ovations if not for your song writing skills and your knowledge about singing in the right key!” Jonghyung gleamed at me, voice full of appreciation.

I laughed and waved away the compliment,

“It was the doing of both of our hard work. We did well, dongsaeng!” I patted his head before checking the time, mentally noting that Woohyun was going to pick me up in less than five minutes.

“Gotta run, I’ll catch you tomorrow! Let’s have a celebratory drink tomorrow yes?” I waved to Jonghyun before rushing out down the hallway.

“Kay! Have fun on your date!” Jonghyun’s sing-song voice rang down the hallway, echoing against the walls as students who began to file out of their lecture halls looked around curiously, wondering who the cause of such a loud racket was.

The traffic to Woohyun’s parent’s house was terrible, making us stuck in between the rows of cars for more than forty minutes. Despite the long drive, Woohyun and I managed to fill it out with random outbursts of singing to the radio, casual thoughts and events that occurred during the day, and of course, Woohyun’s congratulations for Jonghyun and my successful performance.

Woohyun had spent the whole day in the kitchen, preparing the ingredients and making sure everything was perfect for one of the other head chef’s newly opened restaurants. Needless to say, the day was filled with plates and plates of food being served and cooked up, requiring the most impeccable timing.

He complained about the impatient and rude chef who did nothing but shout orders or insults at those who did not prepare a dish in time, or accidentally left a stain of gravy on the side of the white plate.

“Careless rookie mistakes! We can’t afford no rookie mistakes here, you hear me?” Woohyun imitated the chef’s voice in a low and angry tone, making me laugh at my boyfriend’s silliness.

I gave him a light squeeze of his free hand, the other was on the steering wheel, of course, as I gave him an encouraging smile.

“Don’t worry, just a couple of years more and you’ll out of there, working at your own restaurant and giving that chef a run for his money.”

He laughed and nodded, but I noticed a look of slight nervousness and uncertainty in his deep brown eyes.

I didn’t think too much of it and turned my head to continue to stare out of the rain pelted windows. The grey clouds were starting to come in, signifying a storm was going to come upon us later that night. I gave an inward sigh as I continued relying on the warmth from Woohyun’s hand to keep me content despite the terrible weather outside.

I hadn’t realised the extent of Mr Nam and Woohyun’s deteriorating relationship before tonight. Even though Mrs Nam was still as cheery as ever, ushering me in with hugs and kisses alike as she normally did, it wasn’t hard to see that Woohyun was uncomfortable even being in the same building as his father.

As we were seated at the dining table, Mr Nam came into the room and greeted me with a smile. I bowed my head in respect and returned the smile, but I noticed Woohyun stiffen up next to me as he looked down at his plate, refusing to look at his father. Mr Nam gave a curt nod before taking his plate filled with food with him, up the stairs, excusing himself as he had a whole stack of papers to work through.

Mrs Nam pouted in disappointment and gave me a sad smile as we exchanged a glance across the dining table. I smiled with a nod, saying that it was fine and that I'll make him a coffee sometime later that night. He smiled gratefully and directed a stern look in Woohyun’s direction before leaving.

As the footsteps up the long winding staircase faded, Woohyun picked up his fork, gave a small sigh and started moving small balls of peas around his plate.

"Nam Woohyun stop playing around with your food. It's not going to eat itself." Mrs Nam scolded her son with a stern look and gestured for me to begin eating.

I nodded gratefully and placed my hand on Woohyun’s knee, gently patting it to offer him some comfort. He turned and gave me a small smile, the sadness evident in his eyes.

After dinner, as the maids began clearing the plates still filled with food, Woohyun finished sipping his water and placed his napkin on the table before grabbing my hand. I thanked Mrs Nam and the maids, and got out of my chair, straightening my sweater before following Woohyun up the stairs into his room which he no longer used.

His room was covered in spreads of posters, reminding him of his teenage days of when he stayed with his parents. I the numerous photos of him plastered on the wall, some simply stuck on with blu tac, while others were outlined with fancy wooden frames. There was a graduation photo of Woohyun, complete with the black graduation cap and a white scroll rolled up, tied together with a red ribbon. I smiled at his cheesy grin that was captured in the moment.

There was another photo of his family, taken also with Boohyun, who looked slightly older, but nevertheless very similar to Woohyun. The Nam family were laughing at something, and the photograph was captured at the perfect moment, as Mr Nam’s arm was around Woohyun, and his other hand held firmly by Mrs Nam. I gently turned towards Woohyun, who was just simply standing in the middle of his room, watching me.

“This is a beautiful photo, Hyun.” I gestured towards the family portrait.

“Yeah, it was before the company bloomed in the industry. We had more time for family trips back then.” He simply nodded with a reminiscing smile, before grabbing a large black case from underneath his bed.

He took out a light amber acoustic guitar, it was beautiful, as a tone of sunset colour graced the edges, emphasising the slight curves of the instrument. He lightly strummed a couple of chords, and started plucking at it randomly, creating an effortless melody.

“When did you start learning how to play guitar?” I asked him curiously, immersed in his playing.

“Ah, ever since I was able to hold one comfortably without it falling over my lap because I was too small”, he chuckled at the childhood memory, before continuing.

“My dad used to teach me before work became his first priority.” He trailed off, deep in thought.

His fingers came to a stop as he stopped plucking at the metallic nylon strings.

I gently nodded and told him to keep playing, not wanting the peacefulness of the simple tune to end.
 

He nodded and gave a second for thought as he started singing a pop song, strumming a constant chord progression with a steady rhythm. He grinned and gave a light smile as he stared into my eyes. His deep brown eyes reflected such pain, but at the same time they were slightly curved up in happiness.

His voice was beautiful, slight croaky and unpredictable, as if it would trail off any second, but his passion was breathtaking as his lips trembled slightly with the emotions of hope and love. I joined in with the familiar melody as we continued to spend the remaining of the night jamming together to the sounds of the guitar.

Around tens of songs later and an evident strain in our voices, Woohyun looked at me and handed over his guitar.

I looked at him, clueless, but held the guitar firmly to prevent it sliding off my lap.

“Your turn.” He gave a big smile as he confided in me with his musical love.

“Um, you know I’ve never picked up a guitar in my entire life before now, right?” I looked at him with a confused expression.

He laughed and picked up my right hand, before placing it on the neck of the guitar. Facing me and kneeling on his knees, he placed a couple of my fingers onto the frets of the guitar as he taught me the basics.

“This is a C chord.” He said as he left my fingers to press against the correct strings, he himself strumming at the body of the guitar. A loud clear sound rang out, and a smile lit up in delight as I successfully managed to play my first chord.

“Now, let’s try a harder one. Here’s an F chord.” He proceeded to show me the for the chord. I furrowed my eyebrows as my fingers failed to reach the right notes, and after a couple more attempts at it, I sighed in defeat. Woohyun laughed and knelt closer to me as he tried to place my fingers in the correct order, attempting to make it easier for me to reach.

I could feel his breath against my neck as he pulled gently on my thumb, allowing greater access for my other fingers. Miraculously it worked, and I breathed out in delight as I was about to keep an F chord ringing out. Woohyun looked at me and realised our close proximity as he smiled into my eyes, leaning forward and giving me a soft kiss.

His lips moulded perfectly onto mine as I responded into the kiss. I felt him leaning forward and without leaving my lips, he removed the guitar from my lap and placed it on the bed. I wrapped my arms around his neck and brought him closer to me, his warmth spreading down my body as we leaned onto the bed. I smiled and gave a small sigh into the kiss as Woohyun gently pulled away, leaving both of us breathless.

“Gyu, I think you need more work on the guitar, you should come over more often for lessons.”

He whispered as he gave a big cheesy grin, I laughed and swatted his arm away before capturing the childish man’s lips again,

not wanting the moment to end.

#

my my the chapters are starting to get full of kisses aren't they? ;)

anyway so i know most of you (my commenters anyway!) are curious about what's happening with Woohyun and his dad, and hoepfully this chapter and the next will explain a little bit for you guys :)

thank you all for reading, subscribing and commenting, do tell me what you think about this chapter and the whole fic so far! :D

<3