Hana shut the door behind her and immediately plopped down on her bed. Today had been exceptionally nice. If she would exclude the wake up call, then everything went really well for her and for once she enjoyed time, something she hasn’t done in long. She could get used to this. She turned around so that she was lying on her stomach and grabbed a photo off her side table. She remembered the photo very well. It was when she and her parents had gone to the zoo when she was eight. The photo had her posing in front of a giraffe with a lollipop in hand and both her parents at each of her sides.

She felt soft pain in her chest. The thought of parents never returning was something she still could not grasp. She settled the frame back to its original place before she supported her body to rise from the bed and walked towards the piano in her bedroom. The music sheets were right in her view but she didn’t need to refer to them anymore as she had played the tune so often that it had embedded itself in her memory. Hana let her fingers slide over the keys once before she started playing.

The pain, the sorrow, the grief, it all came back with every note. She played the entire song and imagined her father smiling down at her, just like he always had when she played any of her own compositions for him. Her mother, who used to keep telling her that one day, she would make a great composer. She missed them. Their touch, their warmth, their everything. The song ended and she let out a long sigh before she replayed the song. During her second play she couldn’t help but feel like there was something missing. Like an important part that would add the finishing touches to the song. She had tried changing a few things, adding new notes here and there but then erased them and went back to the original. However, even with all the attempted alterations she felt like there was some part of it, although not sure which, that lacked something and it bugged her to no end that she couldn’t find what she was missing.

She closed her eyes, about to replay it again and attempt to figure out the missing essential piece when her phone suddenly buzzed creating an ungodly sound. She almost jumped out of surprise and stared back at her phone that lied carelessly at the edge of her bed. The phone buzzed over and over again, creating the same foreign sound over and over and Hana left her place on the piano seat to grab her phone.

The first question that flashed through her mind was, how the hell did this get here?. Hana did not have a social life to begin with thus having an application that is responsible for maintaining social relationships were of no use to her. Which is why she bore holes into her phone screen with every popping message that appeared in the group chat of an app that she was more than sure did not exist in her phone before today.

‘Hana: How did this application get in my phone?’

‘Baekhyun: OH HO! Han darling! Ur online! Kewl!’

‘Kyungsoo: Good God Baekhyun’

‘Lay: Bro writing kewl takes longer thn typing cool ._. ‘

‘Baekhyun: Whatever its still kewl.

Anyways, Han hun ._. hw cn u not hve kakao talk ._.

I downloaded it fr u, yea yea no need to thank me. ur welcum :D’

‘Kyungsoo: You went through her phone without her permission? What are you? Retarded?’

‘Lay: Definitely.’

‘ Baekhyun: HEY! I made this grp so we cn discuss the festival n stuff. U should be thanking me u.u

Besides, Hana dsnt mind rght hana?’

To be honest she wasn’t sure if she did mind his action or not. She was somehow a bit disturbed by the fact that Baekhyun had accessed her phone but she was somehow certain that he didn’t snoop. However, she was still to make her concern known.

‘Hana: I don’t mind, but I’d appreciate if you would tell me next time.’

‘Baekhyun: sorry I shudve asked… but I swear I dnt c anything! I jst saw in my contacts tht u wrnt on kakao so I installed it fr u. im sry plz dnt hate me T_T’

‘Lay: see, thts what happens when u mess with other pplz stuff’

Hana suddenly felt sorry for him, he did it for her, had apologized and even promised to notify her in the future. She didn’t see the harm in letting him off the hook.

‘Hana: it’s ok. I don’t hate you.’

Somehow Hana felt nice, it felt good to listen to someone talk and watching them bicker today was something she found truly amiable. She hadn’t had any encounter with a person other than her aunt and her teachers for a really long time now. The only other people who had crossed her path were her cousins, who’d rather ignore her existence than stay and converse with her.

She sat with her back touching the headboard and read all the popping messages, replying if something was directed at her and amused herself with their fun filled replies. She suddenly recalled her day and felt a warm feeling grow inside. The expression Baekhyun made after he spit out his pasta after only one bite was still fresh in her mind as well as the roaring laughter of Lay and Baekhyun. The fact that they had played rock paper scissors to settle the bill was still unbelievable to Hana. She had attempted to pay instead when they were not looking but was caught and they made it very clear that they did not approve a girl to pay when there were three guys present. Kyungsoo had run out of luck she assumed and Hana felt a little bad that the boy had to pay for everything they had ordered.

‘Lay: Let’s meet up tomorrow too! We didn’t get to discuss much today plus I don’t have soccer practice. What say :D ??’

‘ Kyungsoo: sure im in.’

‘ Baekhyun: I go if Hana goes u.u’

Hana shook her head at his childish reply before she contemplated for a while. Today hadn’t been so bad, but she was afraid. Afraid that they’d ask questions, various questions about her past that she did not want them or anyone to know.

‘Kyungsoo: NO is not an option Hana! comeon, say yes please!’

‘Lay: YES YES YES! SAY YES!’

‘Baekhyun: Cmon Han hun! Come pleaaseee~’

She let out a breath before she typed her answer after much consideration.

‘Hana: Sorry, I can’t’

It was too much of a risk, a risk she wasn’t willing to take no matter how much she wanted to tag along with them. She was an introvert and she’d keep it that way.

It’s for the best.

-

Hana woke up earlier the next day, much to her surprise. She didn’t remember when she fell asleep, the last thing she remembered seeing were the unsuccessful texts of persuasion by three disheartened boys. Last night with her aunt had made her realize something, it made her realize that one day, sooner or later, they were going to ask her questions, questions whose answers she’d rather not give. Maybe she could stall them a day or two but there will be a time when Hana would have no opening of an escape left. Her theory had led her to a conclusion that avoiding them now would save her from the one thing that she hated the most, pity. The last thing Hana wanted was for someone to pity her and if that meant keeping her secrets sealed from the world forever, then so be it. She still laid in bed when she made the decision of begging her aunt to pull her out of the entire production. It was difficult but not impossible and Hana was determined to make it happen. She didn’t need anyone to pity her, she was doing the job well herself.

Hana expected the empty house once she was downstairs. Although it was a weekday, her aunt being the principal often visited the school for some sort of an errand. She sighed to herself, guess I’ll have to wait till she gets back.

When she opened the refrigerator, she expected the sandwich her aunt had made for her before she left as well as the note that had a heart made on it stuck to the plate. She even expected the door bell as she saw the clock strike 10. Her aunt usually returned a lot later but she was more than glad to discuss the entire matter of her leaving the group with her as soon as now.

With a half eaten sandwich in her hand she walked towards the door and twisted the door knob. Only it wouldn’t budge and the moment she forced it open she saw a person she didn’t expect to see gracing the threshold of her aunt’s house.

More like 3 persons.