8^th April 2009

That day, that Thursday morning, when I had first seen him…I thought it would have been the last as well.

It’s been three days.

Every morning I have been going out on my little walks to the beach, just like always. Not once have I encountered that strange boy again. But what was I expecting? Of course no one would be out so early in the morning, no one but me anyway.

New to this town or not, I presumed he would be like everyone else here.

I guess it would be better this way. I mean, the whole reason I go out in the mornings is to avoid the other townspeople and enjoy the feeling of having the whole place to myself. Maybe I was just slightly taken aback by the possibility of having to share my very own special place with another person.

Sometimes, I even wondered whether I was just dreaming. The whole image of a boy especially a good looking one sleeping on the beach – on my beach – without the slightest care about the rest of the world, looked so surreal to me.  

For all these years, all those mornings, never once have I encountered something or someone like this before – the people in this town are usually too up in their own busy busy little worlds. So it’s only fair that I find the whole scenario bizarre.

Maybe he’s different – that’s what I had thought.

And maybe I was right…

At the bottom of the small mountain in town, low tree branches and tangled bushes had grown out over time, hiding a once popular trail. Traces of old wood, green with mold, outlined the manmade steps (well whatever was left of it). And a certain boy emerges from the long forgotten trail of eroded path, face beaming with great satisfaction. For his little morning expedition had led to the rediscovery of the most perfect place to see the aesthetically pleasing view of the whole town from its highest peak.

It’s a shame that such a magnificent place had been neglected for so many years. And to be quite honest, he had felt disappointed in the people of this town. But negative feelings aside. All is good since he can keep the place to himself, his very own secret spot – there’s just a wonderful feeling of some sort, kind of like a great achievement, in thinking about it like that – his very own secret spot – it kind of have a nice ring to it.

Smiling once more, he makes his way back into the town with slow, relaxed steps.

Despite his long, interesting morning, it was only coming up to one o’clock noon. The sun was still high up, the sky clear and blue. A soft breeze came whirling pass him, carrying along the faint sound of a light melody.

Stopping in his tracks, Baekhyun stood in place, allowing his ears to pick up the music. It was very, very faint, but he could hear it nonetheless.

It was strangely enticing.

Slightly repetitive, yes, but very beautiful.

Almost like cherry blossom petals dancing in the wind before gracefully landing on the ground.

The composition – simple, innocent and supposedly joyful – gradually, gradually, it got louder, clearer.

And as Baekhyun got a better listen of every note being played, every light, fluttering touches with professional fingers gliding across the keys, he felt his heart clench in a funny little way.

Why was it that within such a light hearted melody did he sense a bittersweet expression of loneliness? Like the inner feelings of a delicate soul lost in the middle of nowhere was slowly seeping out through every note.

Absentmindedly, his feet took him up a small hill where a single house stood. There were no gates nor fencing but the specific location, distanced from the rest of the town, created a sense of isolation. The house itself looked bigger and more modern in comparison to other houses here.

And it is here, where the music had come from.

Going around the front, towards the right side of the building, he saw a set of six French styled exterior doors that were all opened, allowing the music to escape to the outdoors. Billowing white long curtains waved around, its sheer fabric rippled along the breeze, as though dancing to the melodic sound of the grand piano that sat by the doors.

And with another whoosh of the wind, the curtains blew like a waving flag before gently settling down, subsequently revealing a glimpse of a young lady. Ebony black hair, long and straight. Pale complexion with long lashes (just about) grazing her cheekbones as her eyes were set on the keys below her. The serenity that surrounds her as she immerses herself into her piece, brought upon a certain natural elegance to the young girl.

Her surroundings complemented such image as the inside of her home had a traditional western style to it. Solid wooden furniture, dark in colour which blended with the neutral room colours – cream and white. The piano itself was black with a glossy shine, nicely contrasting the white curtains and French doors.

The melody slowed, keys were pressed down with hints of hesitance and eventually came to a gradual stop.

“Wah~!” Baekhyun breathed out, filling up the newfound silence with his overly enthusiastic applause.

Lashes appeared to flutter as the girl looks up and meet eyes with him. A tint of pink highlighting her cheeks.

I knew someone was there. I could feel their eyes on me as I played the piano but simply did not wish to stop. An abrupt stop would only destroy the beauty of the piece and would also feel like disrespect towards the music (maybe it’s strange to think like that but it’s just how I feel).

So I continued playing.

Trying to ignore the presence of an unwanted audience despite how uncomfortable it was – something I did not show.

As my piece came to an end, loud clapping was heard and I looked up to face my unwanted audience, only to meet eyes with a familiar face.

That was when it struck me…

Dressed in a casual raglan shirt, white with grey sleeves, matched with a pair of slim black jeans. His clothes slightly dirtied with of brown here and there…not exactly the school uniform I remember him in (well it is a Sunday) but it’s him, it’s undoubtfully him.

Baekhyun looked into the girl’s rounded eyes and noted that he had taken her by surprise.

“Ah. Sorry, I just heard you playing that piece of music and before I knew it, my legs had already brought me up here haha.” He gave his thigh a good slap as if blaming it all on his legs. Eunmi sat unresponsive, eyes still rounded. “I’m sorry for disrupting you.” He did a little bow and quickly sprung back up like someone had just injected excitement feels into him, making Eunmi jump slightly. “But that was really AMAZING! You’re so talented!”

He smiled that big, goofy smiled she had pictured him with. His smile really did look permanent on his face and it wasn’t that sort of polite, fake smile either. He seemed like he is genuinely happy, all the time.

His smile, it’s so real.

It made her want to smile too.

Just as the edges of her lip tilted up, parting ever so slightly-

“Is something going on?”

Eunmi and Baekhyun’s eyes simultaneously followed the voice to see Jinhee walk into the room. Whilst older girl came to an abrupt stop upon seeing a stranger stood outside the doors.

“Oh~ and who might you be?”

Her question was left unanswered as Baekhyun politely greeted her with a small bow and turned back to Eunmi.

“Sorry if I disrupted you. I should probably get going now” he looked at the confused Jinhee once more, bowing at her again and left, just like that.

Jinhee stood dumbfounded, she blinked a few times as she watched the stranger go.

“Well that was strange. Is he someone you know?”

Eunmi silently shook her head as Jinhee gave one last glance at the spot where the boy had stood and shrugged off the thought of him.

“Come on. Time to take your meds now”

“Neh~” the younger girl replied but her eyes were still set in the direction the boy had gone.