“Hey.” Jieun was the first to break the silence. Yongguk was visibly tense as he nodded and returned a strained, “hey.” He looked away and his hand tensed around the familiar notebook he was clutching.

Another wordless moment passed. Jieun hovered for a moment, wanting to take a seat as far as possible and to get out her work as an excuse to avoid the awkward conversation. But Himchan’s words earlier made her reconsider. Maybe he is really just bad with first impressions, she thought. I can learn some more about Himchan, too. She resolutely sat in a cushion facing Yongguk.

“What are you doing?” She asked tentatively. She looked pointedly at the notebook.

“Writing,” he mumbled back. “Like song lyrics.”

Jieun, surprised, said without thinking, “that’s really cool! Can I see?”

“No.” The abrupt answer was a shock to Jieun. She blushed in horrified embarrassment. He didn’t have to make her feel bad about it. She was already regretting her attempt to talk to somebody who was only slightly more responsive than a rock.

“But I can show you.” Jieun stared at him. “What?”

“I said, I can show you…live,” Yongguk said a little louder this time. “That is, if you want to of course…” he trailed off. Jieun stared some more.

“Yongguk-sshi,” the woman at the front desk called. He stood up, and looked at her questioningly.

“Okay,” Jieun nodded, and followed him to the front desk. She crossed out her name on the wait list as Yongguk got the practice module keys.

The practice modules were cozy, with just enough room to fit a piano comfortably, but all of a sudden being in the enclosed space with Yongguk, the module was all too small. Yongguk flipped his notebook to a neater page that only had a few letters written down. He turned to Jieun and asked, “can you play chords?” Jieun nodded, and he handed her the notebook.

Jieun sat down tentatively at the piano, but as soon as her fingers brushed the ivory keys, her apprehension dissipated. The piano’s warm sound filled the small space. She looked up at Yongguk, who started bobbing his head to a beat. She followed the tempo he set, and he started to rap.

“Why do you look so sad? What are you longing for? My heart is in pain when I see your face, and I wonder how I can comfort you. I don’t know what to say no more.”

The depth of the lyrics caught Jieun off guard, and she felt her eyes welling up. She was saved the problem of keeping her tears in when Yongguk suddenly stopped. She was amazed at how his voice wrapped around the steady chord progressions she was playing. Playing piano had never felt like so much fun.

Yongguk must have enjoyed it too, because for the first time, she saw Yongguk smile. It was unsettling how much his sullen face had transformed. The wide, gummy smile made him look no longer like a street-hardened gangster, but almost like a little child. Then all of a sudden it was gone, as if he was ashamed of showing her that side of him.

But it was too late, Jieun had already seen his soft side, and she had realized Himchan was right. Yongguk really hadn’t been cold, he was just awkward. She smiled as she thought to herself, I shouldn't have been so quick to judge. Maybe we can be friends.