A short silence hung in the air before Heechul turned and headed back into his own room. I blinked a few times, dumbfounded. I waited momentarily, but he didn't seem to be coming back. 

"Bye to you, too..." I muttered to myself before walking back to my room. The sound of someone clearing their throat unsurely stopped me in my tracks. I glanced behind me and my eyes widened again. 

What the...

Heechul was standing in the middle of the living room awkwardly, an instrument of his own clutched in his hands. My gaze swept over the glossy wooden body, the black designs on the surface, and the taut strings pulled along the centre, ending in numerous tuning notches.

A violin.

The instrument was held in one hand while the bow was held in the other; I could see both of them trembling slightly, as if he was nervous. He took a deep breath after realizing I was not anywhere closer to saying anything and raised the violin to rest on his shoulder. Bringing the bow across the strings, he took another breath and dragged it across the body. A high, yet soothing, sound echoed in the dorm, bouncing off the walls and flying intro my ears. I recognized the melody of my incomplete song radiating from the instrument. He looked up and made eye contact with me for a moment before closing again. I raised my flute to my lips and joined him in a duet. We played the song together in perfect harmony until the part where I left off, the both of us frozen in position for a few precious seconds and indulging in the magical echo of the music as it slowly faded into the air.

I looked over at Heechul to see a small smile gracing his thick lips and couldn't help but return it.

"You made song...? It nice..." he murmured. 

"Thank you..." I bowed in gratitude.

"...Let's finish it..." My head snapped up to see him avoiding eye contact again.

"Finish it?" I repeated. "You mean...you and I?" He nodded slowly, his face flushing a light shade of pink. My mouth broke into a wide grin.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Play an A," I told him in order to harmonize with my C sharp. After quickly jotting down the last few notes, I sat back and observed the score with satisfaction. A couple hours had passed and we had accomplished more than I had hoped for.

"Let's try it," Heechul suggested and we both raised our instruments. Music drifted around the room in an enchanting melody; I couldn't help but smile to myself. It wasn't only the music that had touched my heart, but the fact that Heechul and I had written it together.

As friends.

The last note hung in the air. It still was not finished.

"It still needs an ending..." I trailed off. "Let's finish it later. It's getting late and you have your schedule tomorrow morning." Heechul agreed and began packing up his instrument. I separated my flute and placed it gingerly back in its case. The both of us stood up.

"Well...good night..." he said awkwardly before rushing back to his room. I chuckled to myself as I gathered the score together.

I was proud of how far we had come in so little time. Heechul was a good person underneath. I stepped into my room and shut the door. Placing my flute and the score on my desk, I quickly changed and slipped into bed. The tune of the song was repeating itself in my head; I contently closed my eyes and let the music lull me to sleep. Hopefully, it will be finished by tomorrow.

I woke up to a rapping on my door. I groaned and untangled myself from the blankets and stumbled to the door. I was surprised to see Leeteuk's bright, smiling face on the other side of the frame.

"Good morning, Mei Ling-ah!" he greeted cheerfully.

"Why are you so happy so early in the morning..." I groaned, rubbing my puffy eyes.

"Heechul-ah, Hyukjae-ah and I ~ go ~ SUKIRA ~ you want ~ come?" he asked, grinning widely like the child he was. My eyes widened as their wariness drained away.

"SUKIRA? Like your radio show?" I gawked. He nodded. "But...I thought no one was supposed to know about me?"

"Don't worry ~ manager not ~ come ~. I ~ care of it. It ~ ok, I ~ promise," he replied. I raced to throw on some presentable clothes and quickly brushed my teeth. Running a brush through my hair a few times, I didn't even bother checking the results before rooting myself in front of the band's leader all in the span of about five minutes. "Done!" After overcoming his moment of shock, Leeteuk laughed lightly before leading me out.

I was jittery throughout the entire car ride. Heechul, thankfully, was driving. I was excited to leave the dorm. As grateful as I was for the band housing me, staying indoors and constantly cautious of my existence remaining a secret was a bore. Shopping was thrilling, and I couldn't help but thirst for more.

"Are we almost there?" I asked like a little kid on a road trip.

"Yes we are," Hyukjae replied, pointing out the window at the building coming into view. My grin grew wider and wider as Heechul parked the car and we made our way inside. I pulled my cap and hood lower over my face so that no one would see my features; I still had to be careful.

Once in the building, we made our way to the recording studio. I sat off to the side while they got ready. I furrowed my eyebrows as Heechul quietly slipped outside. I cocked my head to the side in confusion. Where was he going? Weren't they going to be on air soon?

"I need to talk to Heechul-hyung," I said quickly and followed him before anyone had a chance to utter a word.

I trailed him out to a sectioned off area behind the building. At least that would keep any of his crazy fans out. I watched in confusion as he pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it. Selecting a thin, white stick from the package, he closed the box and put it away. He held the cigarette between his teeth as he produced a lighter from his other pocket and lit the end. My eyes widened at the puff of smoke that streamed out from between his lips moments later.

Smoke...

Smoke...

_____________________

I AM FINALLY DONE MY FREAKING EXAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

SORRY FOR THE SHORT CHAPTER, GUYS >.<

MY BRAIN IS STILL FRIED OUT FROM MY EXAMS, SO HELLO WRITER'S BLOCK =.= I'M WORKING ON THE NEXT CHAPTER THO^^ HOPEFULLY IT'LL BE UP SOON :)

IF YOU GUYS LIKE THIS FIC, PLEASE SUBSCRIBE, COMMENT AND UPVOTE!!!!! THANK YOU AND LOVE YOU!!!!!!!

OH, AND PLEASE CHECK OUT MY "NEW" FICs:

Heads or Tails?

and

Flames of Passion

THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU <33333333333333333333333