It was a very beautiful morning. Krystal could feel the sunshine was peeking through the window and it woke her up. A smile drawn on her face, today was her first day of the academy. She was really excited to learn so many things about piano. Although her father was a pianist, Krystal had never learned much about piano from him since her father was always busy.

 

Krystal got off the bed and she made it up before she gets ready to class. When she was about to go to bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth, she accidentally saw her roommate was sleeping soundly on her own bed.

 

‘Aish this monster… don’t she have class in the morning?’, she thought, she didn’t bother to wake her up though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

******* 

 

 

 

 

 

“Every note sounded on a piano is the result of a string, or set of two or three strings, vibrating at a specific frequency determined by the length, diameter, tension and density of the wire. A shorter, lighter string, under more tension, vibrates faster, and produces a higher-pitched sound. When you pressed the key of……”

 

Krystal listened to the professor’s explanation carefully. She was holding a pen and a paper note was prepared on her desk in case she needs to write something important.

 

“Okay I think it’s enough for today. Any question?”, the professor asked his new students but the students seemed understood about everything that he had explained, “okay then we’re done. Anyway, welcome and nice to see you all”

 

 

 

 

 

“Soojung aaahh!!”

 

Krystal turned her head to the voice direction.

 

“Sulli ah!”, She shouted happily as she saw her best friend was running toward her.

 

“Soojung ah… how was your first class?”, Sulli asked with bright smile.

 

“I enjoyed it so much. How about you?”

 

“it was reeeally fun!”

 

The two best friends giggled.

 

“Soojung, let’s get some meals in the cafeteria. I haven’t had breakfast yet”, Sulli pouted while her belly.

 

Krystal lifted her left arm to see her wristwatch, “Okay… I still have twenty minutes before the next class. The monsters in my stomach are screaming anyway”, she chuckled.

 

 

 

 

Krystal and Sulli were standing while roaming their eyes to get a table. Both of them were bringing a tray of food. They couldn’t believe that there were so many people in the cafeteria although it wasn’t lunch break.

 

“I think all of them is having breakfast too”, said Sulli.

 

“Hmm…”, Krystal pouted, “what should we do then?”

 

 

“Sulli sshi?”

 

Sulli turned her head when she felt someone tapped her shoulder.

 

“Taeminnie??”, she smiled brightly as she saw a feminine-looking guy was standing behind her.

 

Krystal looked at them confusedly.

 

“Ah… Soojung ah, this is Taemin, he’s my classmate. Taeminnie, she’s my bestfriend, you can call her ‘Krystal’”

 

“Nice too see you, Krystal sshi”, Taemin said with smile.

 

“Nice to see you too”, Krystal bowed a little.

 

“Anyway, you guys won’t be standing here forever will you?”

 

“But… as you see… we got no table”, Sulli pouted cutely.

 

“You can join me with my Hyungs”

 

“Hyungs??”, Sulli and Krystal glanced at each other.

 

“Yes. They’re over there”

           

 

 

 

Krystal and Sulli sat awkwardly with Taemin and his hyungs. There were four guys that Taemin called ‘Hyungs’. Another feminine-looking guy—just like Taemin—introduced his self as ‘Key’, the short black haired one was Choi Minho, the dark brown haired was Onew, and the last one—who reminded Krystal of her new creepy roommate, was Jonghyun. Yes, this Jonghyun guy really looked like Amber, but for Krystal, Jonghyun looked a lot better than Amber, because he often smiled.

 

“So Taeminnie, which one is your classmate?”, Minho asked the younger guy.

 

“Sulli is my classmate, hyung, and Krystal sshi is her best friend”

 

“Ahh… Sulli sshi…is a student under acting major?”

 

“Y…Yes… oppa”, Sulli replied shyly.

 

“I’m you senior then. How about you Krystal sshi?”

 

“Uh? Me? Umm… I’m a student under Piano major”

 

“Woaahhh… you’re cool Krystal sshi”, said Onew amazingly.

 

“You must be good in it”, Jonghyun added.

 

“Well… I’m still a beginner”, Krystal bowed her head while tucked her hair on her ear.

 

“Speaking of piano……… where’s Am?”, Key asked the other boys.

 

“Ah… I haven’t seen her since yesterday. Where’s Amber oppa?”, Taemin said.

 

Krystal almost choked her food as she heard that name.

 

“Op… Oppa?”, Sulli raised her brows.

 

Taemin chuckled, “yeah I always call her ‘oppa’ because hyungs said I look more feminine than her”

 

“Did… Did you just say…… ‘Amber’?”, Krystal questioned as if she was deaf.

 

The guys looked at Krystal confusedly.

 

“Yes… she’s our friend”, Minho answered, “do you know her already? I mean… she’s so… you know…”

 

“She’s my roommate”, Krystal interrupted which made the guys goggled their eyes.

 

 

“No…”

 

“Impossible”

 

“Amber… got…”

 

“…a roommate? Didn’t Dong Hae Hyung give her a private room?”

 

Krystal forced a smile, “I still can’t believe it too. But yes, I’m her new roommate. And… I thought someone like her doesn’t have friends?”

 

“Oh… Amber is my cousin”, Jonghyun spoke, and the question about their look-alike-face in Krystal’s mind was answered.

 

“And we also work in the same company”, Onew added before taking a bite of his bread.

 

“Oh… I’m sorry I didn’t mean to judge your friend but… this is so important for me since……you know…I’m sharing a room with her and…… she treats me really bad.. I mean…”

 

“We know Krystal sshi…”, said Minho.

 

“Wait!”, Key suddenly realized of something, “Krystal sshi……you’re… a student under piano? Do……do you have piano in your room?”

 

“Yes, a digital piano”

 

“Oh God…”

 

“I don’t know what will happen to you, Krystal sshi…”

 

Krystal furrowed her brows confusedly, “why?”

 

“Krystal sshi…”, the youngest guy spoke, “Amber oppa……hates the sound of piano…”

 

Krystal frowned, “why??”

 

“Uh… Krystal sshi… I wanna apologize to you about my cousin… but… really… all you have to do is don’t mind her business, and…… be patient with her… because…… I know she will hurt you much…”

 

 

 

 

 

*********          

 

 

 

 

 

Amber put her electric guitar into the case carefully. Fender Stratocaster—her mainstay one. The guitar wasn’t just a thing for Amber, it was something—something to express her feeling, something to push away her sadness, something to make her forget her nightmare.

 

Amber locked the guitar case before she got up and about to leave the class.

 

 

“Amber”

 

Amber looked up and she found her cousin was standing there, smiling at her.

 

“Oh, Jjong”, she mumbled.

 

Jonghyun—Amber’s cousin—walked toward the tomboy girl, “where have you been? We’ve been looking for you here and there. And I just remembered you have electric guitar class on Monday so I came here”

 

“Do you need to tell me something?”, Amber questioned, without bothering to look at her cousin.

 

“……Umm… yeah…”

 

“Is it about work?”

 

Jonghyun cleared his throat, “…nope… but… this is really important”

 

Amber narrowed her eyes, this time she was staring at Jonghyun.

 

“Uhh… well…… I’ve heard about you……having a roommate?”

 

Amber rolled her eyes, “I think this is not an important conversation. Can I leave?”

 

“Amber. Please just listen to me this time”

 

“What?”

 

“I met your roommate, that girl, I met her. She is Taemin’s new friend’s best friend”

 

“And?”, Amber looked away.

 

“Am, look, she’s a pianist. So I wanna ……”

 

“DON’T TALK ABOUT PIANO WE PROMISED!”

 

“Amber! Listen! She knows nothing, and it’s not what her want to be your roommate. Don’t do something bad to her, please Amber”

 

“……… blame Dong Hae if I do something bad to her”, Amber lifted her guitar case and left.

 

Jonghyun sighed deeply. He knew it, his stubborn cousin wouldn’t listen to him.

 

 

 

 

 

********           

 

 

 

 

Krystal dried her hair with a towel. After she did so many activities today, she decided to take a bath to freshen up her body, and it worked, her sore body felt so much better now.

 

‘Amber oppa……hates the sound of piano’

 

Suddenly what Taemin said last morning echoed in Krystal’s head. Krystal eyed her digital piano that was placed beautifully right next to her desk. It was covered by a white thin fabric, Krystal took off the fabric, she stared at her digital piano for moment.

 

“How can a genius musician hate such a beautiful sound…”, she questioned herself.

 

Krystal put the towel around her neck. She then pulled the rolling chair and sat on it. Intuitively Krystal put her hands on the piano keys, her slim fingers started dancing—earned a very beautiful melody from it.

 

A song titled ‘funeral march’ by chopping was played by Krystal beautifully. She didn’t even realize that someone opened the door of the room.

 

 

 

Amber dropped her guitar case, her hands was shaking.

 

Krystal stopped playing the piano as she heard something banged the floor. She turned her head and she found her roommate was standing there with pale face.

 

“Stop it…”, Amber said with shaking voice.

 

Krystal was shocked, she couldn’t believe that the tomboy really hate piano.

 

“…wh…”

 

“Don’t say anything just don’t play that thing when I’m here you got it?!!”, Amber yelled and left the room.

 

 

 

 

 

*********          

 

 

 

 

 

“Oh My God… I can’t believe this… where is she now?”

 

“I don’t know unnie, She left the room after she scolded me”

 

“Soojung ah, you should talk to Sir Dong Hae, you can’t share a room with someone like her seriously”

 

“I don’t know Sulli ah… I really don’t like her… and I’m really scared of her… but… I don’t know…something in my heart tells me to stay with that weirdo”

 

“You kidding me?! What makes you want to stay with a monster?!”

 

“Not that I wanna stay with her…… but… you know… I love music so much… I just wanna know, why someone that is really talented and genius in music like Amber… hates the sound of a music instrument… I’m curious about it”

 

“But Soojung sshi… Sulli is right, if you keep staying with Amber, you can’t play your piano freely, you can’t explore your skill”

 

Krystal let out a deep sigh, “No unnie, no one can stop me to play my piano”

 

“But how if she hurts you Soojung ah?”

 

“…… she won’t”

 

 

 

 

 

*********          

 

 

 

 

The night wind blew against Amber’s body. She looked up to the sky, there were so many stars up there—such a beautiful night. How Amber wished she could take those stars and put them in her heat, so that her heart becomes lighter.

 

Amber sighed. Being someone like this was not what she wants. But she couldn’t forget it, her nightmare.

 

 

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

 

2000, October 10^th, San Fernando Valley, California

 

“Do re mi… do… re…”, little Amber was practicing her fingers over her new guitar, “A is Do, B is Re…”

Suddenly she heard the sound of piano was echoing loudly. Amber frowned. She stopped playing her small fingers on her guitar’s neck.

 

“Dad??”, Amber walked through the stairs, the sound of piano didn’t stop echoing, “Daddy! Are you there?! Why you playing the piano like that? It sounds creepy”, Amber shouted as she stopped in front of her Father’s music room.

 

 

Amber opened the door hesitantly, “Dad…”

 

…

 

…

 

…

 

…

 

“DADDY!!!”, Amber shouted hysterically as she saw her Father was lying on the piano keys, his body was full of blood and shaking which made the piano didn’t stop echoing.

 

“Dad!!”, Amber ran toward her agony father, “Dad why are you lying here.. Dad… please stand up…”, Amber was sobbing hardly, “HELP! Please help my Daddy please! Someone please stop his blood!! ……….Daddy… Dad”, Amber put her tiny hands on his father’s stomach that was flowing so much blood, “stop please don’t bleeding anymore! Please stop shaking Daddy please stop the piano I don’t like the sound of this piano please!!”, Amber was sobbing harder, her face was really wet and reddish.

 

Suddenly Amber’s father’s body stopped shaking, and the piano stopped echoing.

 

“Dad..”, Amber looked at her father’s face. His eyes were opened, but he didn’t move anymore, “Dad…”, Amber put her palms on her father’s face, it felt so cold. Amber knew it, her father was gone. “Daddy… … please wake up”, she put her head on her father’s dead body while sobbed.

 

 

“Amber…”

 

Amber looked up as she heard someone called her name.

 

“Uncle…”, she called the man who was standing by the door. But then her eyes found a gun on the man’s hand. Amber stared at the guy in disbelief, “YOU KILLED MY DADDY!!”

 

 

 

 

 

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