I was terrified. I was pacing back and forth in the bathroom trying to decide what to do. Would I casually walk out and just leave? Or should I go sit and watch the lesson. Clearly, I wanted to stay. I wanted to get to know Taemin as much as possible. I didn’t know what my feelings were towards him, for I never felt like this before.

Did I… “Like” him?

                I made myself blush at the thought. I pushed it out of my mind and continued thinking. If I stayed here any longer he would probably get weirded out. I had to move fast. I pushed my ear up against the door while biting my fingernails. I heard piano again.

                I put my hand on the door knob and opened. I decided I would stay. He would probably think I was weird either way, but I was really curious about his talent.

                Peeking my head around the door, I saw the long hallway leading to that kitchen. I slowly stepped out and made my way down. To my great surprise, there was someone in the kitchen. My eyes bugged out of my head in embarrassment. Again. What was I supposed to do? Just scurry out like it was no big deal? I was too late. They noticed me.

“Uhm, hey? Who are you?”

Wait… Is this a girl? Or a boy?

                I couldn’t tell. They dressed like a boy, wearing baggy shorts and a hat turned sideways, along with a short, boy-like haircut. However, they had a feminine-like face and shoulders. These situations just get continually more awkward.

“Uh… I’m sorry, I’m Ellie. I was using the bathroom. My dad is Taemin’s new music teacher.”

“Oh. Well hey, I guess. I’m Amber. Taemin is like my little brother. I came with him from Korea to keep him company. My ACTUAL brother, Kibum, came along, too.”

She’s a girl. And her English is perfect.

“And yes, I’m a female, to avoid any questions.”

She laughed. I let out a nervous, choked in laugh. It sounded really bad. She laughed even harder at that.

“I’m sorry. That was rude. Want anything? I was just getting some water.”

She opened the refrigerator and took out a bottle.

“Uhm, no it’s okay. I was going to go wait for my dad to finish.”

She shrugged and closed the fridge.

“Want me to go with you?”

YES! She’s saved me from an awkward entrance. I’m starting to like this manly girl.

                She joined my side and we walked to where I could see a piano. Taemin was sitting at the bench, conversing with my dad. They both looked over when I walked in with Amber. My dad looked super confused.

“Ellie? Why are you in here? I thought you were in the car…”

I was getting sick of telling the same story over and over.

“I had to use the bathroom. When the doorbell rang, that was me.”

He chuckled. “Oh. Well we’ll be done in maybe another half hour. Taemin is very talented.”

I smiled and nodded. I felt guilty for thinking he was a spoiled brat. I couldn’t wait to see him play.

Taemin looked really happy to see my dad was praising his talent. Had no ever told him he was talented before? He spoke.

“So you met Amber, I see.”

His voice kept melting my heart. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to have a normal conversation with him.

“Yup! I didn’t know there was anybody else here, so she took me off guard.”

I looked over at Amber and we both started cracking up. I think we were already friends. Now that I thought about it, I didn’t know how old Taemin or Amber were. I wasn’t going to ask. Hopefully it would come up eventually.

Taemin looked a little embarrassed. I immediately felt awful. Did I sound like I was blaming him?

“Ah—I’m sorry. I forgot to introduce you to Amber and Kibum. Kibum isn’t here right now, but I’m glad you met Amber. I hope you’ll be friends.”

Amber and I looked at each other again. She spoke.

“I think we’re already friends.”

                That made me smile. She felt the same way I did. I seriously never had a good friend before. I don’t even know anything about Amber. We kind of clicked already.

“Hey, Ellie. Let’s sit down and shut up so we stop interrupting Taemin’s lesson.”

                I laughed a little and agreed. We sat on a cushioned bench by the window. The piano was in a giant living room with fancy looking furniture. Taemin and my dad already started conversing again. I could catch a few snippets of what they were saying.

“Taemin, those songs you were playing before, did you compose them yourself?”

“Well, actually, I just came up with them now. My feelings just… Turn into notes in my mind.”

“Taemin, that’s truly amazing. I honestly don’t know if there’s anything more I can teach you.”

“Thank you very much. Could I try singing, too? I really want to improve everything.”

“Absolutely. Let me hear something.”

                At this point, my mind was blown. He could… Sing? I didn’t realize how talented he was. They were still talking, but Taemin looked a little uncomfortable. I wondered what was wrong.

“Um… I really hope you don’t mind, sir, but I can only sing some songs in Korean. Is that all right?”

“Of course. The language doesn’t matter—only how your voice sounds.”

                Taemin gulped and nodded. He turned back towards the piano and started playing a little tune. My eyes were locked on him. I looked over at Amber, and she looked just as hopeful as I did.

                Then it happened. He started singing. I didn’t understand a word he was saying. His voice made my throat close up. It was soft and beautiful. It took me a moment to realize my eyes were welling up. His voice was making me cry. This boy has made me do things I would absolutely never do. He made me giggle first, and now he’s making me cry.

When I heard him play for the first time, A few thoughts that I felt confident about popped into my head:

Yup. I like Taemin. A lot. I don’t know what this means or where it’s going to go, but no matter what, I need him in my life.

~~~

I don't know what's up with this website right now >__> I already added this chapter, but it got deleted somehow. Taemin's POV next. Sorry about this. I hope the problems get worked out soon~ Thanks for reading.