From being in a best friend duo, to becoming a loner, to being a stranger among a trio, to being a part of the most lively group o people she had ever known, Hana had seen a lot of phases. Being with Yuri since her childhood, of course she’d have the pain of their sunken relationship still lingering in her system. But the company she currently had had brightened her enough to be able to enclose the pain inside a box. No doubt she missed her, and the pain and torture she felt during her two years of isolation would creep out through the crevices, but now she had support and a reason to move on. She now had six companions helping her, three of which were the dearest to her. Other than them, her cousins were finally back, she was doing well with her psychiatrist, and Junmi had cut down on smoking by a lot. In short her life at the moment was going greater than she had expected.

It had been four days since Chanyeol came back, Sehun had made himself comfortable between the group, and their winter music festival preparations were soaring. They met every day for four to five hours, Sehun and Kai too, since they found their conversations interesting. It took a lot of their will power not to create the serious discussions they were having into bicker fests or unnecessary discussions.

Hana had agreed to Lay’s offer after a lot of consideration. A part of her told her that he was right; she wanted to let the world see what an amazing composer her father was. But there was another part, which nagged her telling her that she was exploiting a personal piece of her past with her father, a piece that should only be meant for her to know and cherish. Careful consideration and advice from Luhan was enough to make up her mind and ignore the voice that aroused her guilt.

To say they were awestruck when she played it would be the proper statement. Lay strummed his guitar and although his guitar made rare appearances in her song, it still gave off a soothing vibe and fit perfectly. They loved it, and to think that they had an already  halfway composed song prepared, it was a big achievement for them. Lay already knew that the song still needed tweaking. Since her father’s death Hana never bothered, or to put it plainly, had the heart to change what her father had helped her write. It took her a huge chunk of courage to let Lay make changes in the song. He, Hana, and Jongdae, with a little help from Chanyeol, spent three days on the composition. Hana had to admit Lay was good at this, in three days he not only was able to complete the tune for the piano, but he also made suitable adjustments of other instruments. In three days time, three genius minds had been able to finish the song. The more Lay heard it, the more he fell I love with it. Every time he would hear it, he’d remember the first time he saw Hana and the way she plagued his mind even-though he didn’t know her name then. He couldn’t believe that the stranger he saw months ago, would now be the girl he dotes on.

They were done with their instrumental, the three days the LayHanDae trio spent composing, Kai used that time to help Sehun get a closer look at their group, Chanyeol practiced his rapping and although he may not look like it, he was a decent lyricist. Kyungsoo and Baekhyun practiced songs with challenging notes, the practice sessions which later always ended up as competitions like who could hit the highest notes for instance. Albeit that most of them did not help with the composition, their own activities helped them in many ways. Sehun was now a lot more comfortable with them, Chanyeol was prepared to write a rap if Lay required him to, and despite BaekSoo’s seemingly unsuccessful sessions, they had themselves all warmed up and prepared. Lay was all set to write down the lyrics based on what Chanyeol had suggested earlier that week but he hardly had time, soccer practices were killing him and he considered it good fortune that they were able to fully get done with the at least the instrumental before the pressure of the upcoming games dawned upon him. If being the vice captain was such a pain, he didn’t even want to imagine the hell the captain would have to take from their coach.

In one way, he was a bit relieved that he hadn’t started with the lyrics, because two days after they were done with the song, came a Chanyeol barging in through the glass doors. The café was their hang out spot; they met even if they did nothing.

“If you guys thought my previous suggestion was amazing then this one is going to blow you guys away into the Pacific Ocean!”

“O….kay…” uttered Lay who was walking towards the door, Hana behind him.  The taller boy ran forward and held his shoulders, jostling him.

“I have a brilliant new idea,” Chanyeol stared determinedly into Lay’s surprised eyes and pushed him backwards towards the table.

“So here’s the thing, I was watching ‘The Little Mermaid’ yesterday-“

“Excuse me but what?”, interrupted Jongdae with a following fit of laughter of him and the others.

“Shut up, this is important.” Chanyeol glared and the rest quiet down whereas Jongdae took his sweet time.

“So as I was saying, I was watching that movie alright, and then it suddenly hit me,” he pretended to hit himself in the face and looked into space while the others looked expectantly, “You know how that the way it ends in that movie is the Disney version of the original plot right? So I was wondering, how about the lyrics be based on the original little mermaid story? Like put a twist in it of some sort? Huh? That would be cool wouldn’t it?”

The knobs in Lay’s brain that were running a little slower before picked up full speed and before he knew it he was grabbing Chanyeol’s arms since they were easier to reach and gave him an intent look.

“Park Chanyeol, you are amazing” with that he bolted out the door, with enough speed that left the others gaping. Everything happened so suddenly that no one, even Chanyeol, got the hang of it.

“What uh…” Baekhyun started and Kyungsoo coughed, “What just happened?”

“I don’t know man….”, said Kai. Chanyeol was staring at the door where he saw Lay disappear. He looked back at the group with a large smile, “I’m guessing he liked it?”

Jongdae chuckled and Kyungsoo shook his head. Hana was still a little baffled, how could he leave just like that when he knew they were going to go together?

“Weren’t you gonna go with him?” Hana looked up at Sehun who had one hand on her shoulder and a half eaten banana crunch muffin in his other. Hana gloomily noded before scrunching her lips to the side. Sehun saw her disappointment and handed her the chocolate covered donut with hazel sprinkles and Hana smiled thankfully at him, he always knew what to do. They indulged in their conversation and Chanyeol explained more of his idea when suddenly they see piece of paper getting slammed right between the table shocking everyone.

“How about this guys?!” they all simultaneously looked up to see Lay huffing and a thin sheet of sweat glistened his forehead. Hana shoved Sehun aside to make space for Lay to sit, earning an ignored glared from her cousin.

“Don’t tell me…” Baekhyun trailed off and snatched the paper to take a closer look. Kyungsoo sitting next to him leaned in and widened his eyes. Lay looked expectant and the others grew more curious with every passing second.

“You came up with the lyrics already?! But he just gave you the idea practically ten minutes ago!” Kyungsoo exclaimed and Baekhyun gaped. Jongdae took the opportunity to snatch the paper from his hand and shared it with Hana on his right, Sehun and Kai had abandoned their seats and were huddled behind them.

“Dude these are good….how did you come up with this so fast?” Jongdae asked and Hana nodded. Chanyeol grabbed the paper before Sehun could; the latter only rolled his eyes and allowed Chanyeol to share it with him and Kai.

“I had a thing in my head but there was no inspiration… basically, I had an idea myself but I didn’t know how to..put it in words. I planned on dropping it but then Chanyeol gave the mermaid reference and it felt like everything fell into place. Guys I don’t know about you but I’m super excited about this.” Lay explained with a straight face and Kai snorted.

“Yeah I can see how happy you are.”

“Your excitement is so contagious.”

“Lay please stop I cannot handle your hyper state anymore.”

Lay glared at the Kai, Sehun, and Jongdae respectively and turned his attention to Chanyeol who was nodding approvingly at the scribbled text.

“Yes. Something like this. Exactly. Heartfelt, deep, and perfect. Tell me I’m awesome.”

“You’re awesome bro.”

“Thanks Baek”, they bro fist and Chanyeol took his seat.

“So you guys like it?” Lay asked and the others eagerly nodded. What he wrote was not planned or thought through, it was completely random. Well, not completely random. He had an idea before, what he couldn’t figure out was how to put it down in words properly without making it sound corny or cheesy. There was no sequence yet but he was getting there. The lyrics were based off roughly of what he could remember from the original story and the ideas of what could go with it and how they could mold them were rushing through his head. He wasn’t sure how he’d write all the things in his head down, but what he was sure of, was that this song would be special to write.

“You’re not the one who will disappear into foam, something you never should’ve known…. wow bro, that's deep. Frankly I didn’t expect such genius out of you.” Sehun praised and Hana saw Lay’s eyes sparkle.  He really was excited about this.

“But what the hell is the ‘disappear into foam’ thing?” Kai asked rather confused.

“The original little mermaid story my dear cousin is different from the Disney one. In the real one, when the mermaids die, they turn into foam. So in the end, if the little mermaid doesn't kill the prince, she’ll turn into foam and disappear. Get it now?” Kyungsoo cleared and Kai nodded gratefully towards his cousin.

“I think we should all read or at least read the summary of the original story to get a better grasp at this whole concept.” Jongdae suggested and the others nodded. Well, everyone except Sehun and Kai.

“Hana can read it and explain it later.”

“So can Kyungsoo. Right bro?”

“Why do you guys need to know the story anyways, you’re not even helping.” Baekhyun voiced and Kai and Sehun exchanged looks and shrugged.

“We like being in on everything.”

Hana shook her head at her cousin and grabbed the sheet from Chanyeol. She read it again. Although there were only three proper lines, they were beautiful. The rest of the scribbles were more like notes.

‘I will burn all of the scars and exchange them for your love’

‘Please don’t hesitate anymore, take away my heart.’

‘My love will protect you.’

‘Stormy night.’

‘Knife.’

Many more random words were spread across the page and Hana could already form possible lyrics in her head. Sehun placed a hand on Hana’s shoulder but the girl was too absorbed to notice.

“Since Hana is the reason we got the instrumental so soon, let’s see what she thinks. So Hana, you like it?”

“It’s beautiful….”

“You heard her. If she says it’s beautiful then it’s- wait a second.” Sehun interjected and stared back at his cousin who was unaware of what she did yet again. Since he witnessed it once before he snapped out of the trance sooner and looked around to find the others, except Chanyeol, staring at Hana with gaping mouths. Jongdae too, was a little taken aback because even if it hadn’t been long since he knew her, she still hadn’t said a word. Kyungsoo’s eyes looked like they’d pop out and Baekhyun’s mouth was open a bit too wide. Kai was leaning from around the chair to stare directly at her face. Chanyeol was confused over the current situation and turned to Jongdae for help but the latter only shrugged.

“I think I need to stop hanging out with you guys….” Jongdae voiced and Kyungsoo’s eyes retracted to his original size. He excitedly turned towards his left and faltered when he saw the still dazed Baekhyun. The slap Baekhyun received at the back of his head brought him back to earth and after blinking a few times, Baekhyun turned towards Kyungsoo with the same excitement and pointed towards Hana from under the table and mouthed words to which Kyungsoo vehemently nodded. Jongdae called for their attention silently and snickered as he pointed towards Lay. The boy looked like a child who just saw a Wonka stamp golden ticket. The other two broke into wide smiles, if they were this happy to finally hear her voice, how much happier would he be? Baekhyun looked towards Sehun and found him giving Hana a proud smile. Sehun knew that Baekhyun was the only one among them who knew the entire story; Baekhyun too figured that Sehun would know since he was a part of her family. Both of them exchanged knowing smiles before his eyes finally settled on his cousin Chanyeol who was standing behind Hana looking at his friends with extreme confusion. Baekhyun was about to break the silence but a certain tanned lunatic beat him to it.

“YOU CAN TALK?!” Kai exclaimed and everyone jumped. He was leaning right next to her so he basically screamed into her ear. Sehun passed Chanyeol and elbowed his friend for asking such a ridiculous question and while Kai was rubbing his sore torso, Hana was still trying to process the situation.

“Of course she can talk, what are you? An idiot?” Chanyeol spoke and Hana’s eyes widened as she remembered. She instantly looked towards he cousin and found him beaming at her. Her cheeks suddenly became warmer and her heart rate unhealthily increased. She didn’t plan on talking just yet, she wasn’t ready. How could this be possible? This was the second time she spilled words and while it was okay during the first ‘accident’ since it was only Sehun and Luhan, this in Hana’s eyes was a muddle. What is she supposed to do now?

“O-k! Lay don’t you have to go to your soccer practice? Hana you were gonna go with him right?” Baekhyun suddenly reminded and Kyungsoo got up collecting the paper and Hana’s things and shoved them in her bag.

“Well in that case off you guys go! See you guys later! Lay don’t forget to assemble the lyrics and write more of them. Have fun guys and happy training!”

Lay and Hana were pushed out the door by Kyungsoo who threw Hana’s backpack towards her before closing the door and waving at them through it with a smile. Even while giving him weird stares they kept walking and Kyungsoo kept waving until he saw them walk across the street. Once he saw them disappear he turned towards their table with a creepy smile and walked back swaying his arms. Plopping next to Baekhyun he hugged his friend’s arm, much to the latter’s surprise.

“She talked….she finally spoke..l feel content for some reason.” Kyungsoo then proceeded to sigh dreamily and snuggled into his friend’s arm. While Baekhyun agreed with him, the sudden non hostile contact was creeping him out.

“Yeah, it” Baekhyun shrugged his arm away from his friend and received a glare, “does. Her voice was so cute….” Baekhyun recalled and smiled. Sehun cleared his throat but they ignored him.

“I’m sorry, but can someone explain why it’s such a big deal that “she spoke”?” Chanyeol asked making air quotations at the end.

“Yeah, I don’t get it either.” Jongdae nodded and looked inquisitively towards Baekhyun and Kyungsoo. Kai took the vacant seat next to his cousin and Sehun next to Baekhyun.

“Please do take a seat.” Kai said and Chanyeol proceeded to take a seat next to Jongdae while looking at them warily.

“ Jongdae-sshi, how long have you been hanging out with us?” Kyungsoo asked and Jongdae thought for a while before answering.

“Ever since the last day of exams so…….three weeks?”

“Exactly, and in those three weeks, have you ever observed Hana-sshi speaking?” Baekhyun asked and Jongdae remained still. He hadn’t of course.

“And you giant. You’ve been here for like, four days now and I know that’s not long but have you heard Hana say a word since you came?” Baekhyun raised his eyebrows at his cousin and Chanyeol shook his head looking like a confused puppy.

“Precisely. Kai knows her for three months, we’ve known her for a little more than six, and I assure you, today was the first time in those six months that we ever heard her say a word.” Kyungsoo stated and Jongdae and Chanyeol’s eyes widened. Kai was nodding and Sehun sat silent with a poker face.

“Is- is that even possible?! How could you guys just hang out with her for six firggin months without her saying anything?!” Jongdae exclaimed and Kai raised an eyebrow.

“You’ve been hanging out for three weeks haven’t you?”

“True, but three weeks is not six months!” Jongdae reasoned. Chanyeol was still in shock and Baekhyun leaned over the table to shake his cousin to bring him back to his senses.

“But…why hasn’t she….? You know….six months? I mean…how…what…..when…..why..” Chanyeol trailed off and they sighed. Jongdae too looked at them for answers and Sehun tensed. He knew Hana wouldn’t want anyone to know.

“When we met her, her aunt told us a few things. She’s a shy person, and also, her parents died in an accident. Her aunt said that ever since then she succumbed to her shy nature and doesn’t talk much. Lay talked to his brother about this and he said that it’s nothing serious and that she’ll talk to us when she’s comfortable.” Baekhyun explained, leaving out the details and Sehun relaxed. Baekhyun managed to explain the situation while revealing as little as possible and for that Sehun was grateful. Chanyeol and Jongdae nodded slowly but they still couldn’t get over the fact.

“You see why we’re so happy now?” Kyungsoo asked and they nodded while Kai leaned back in his with a wide smile.

“I honestly began thinking that she was mute-“

“I told you she’s not mute.” Sehun interjected and Kai responded with a pair of ‘I know’. Jongdae shook his head.

“I still can’t believe it though. You guys got a lot of patience to wait six months huh?” Chanyeol asked and they shrugged.

“Well, yea. It was hard, even harder during the first month since we weren’t used to having a non communicating person in our group. But Hana’s a nice person so we figured we should encourage her and make her more open. And now look!” Baekhyun beamed. Sehun felt assured that his cousin was in good company. It relieved him to no ends to know that his cousin befriended such people. The props went to his mom though; she was the one who forced Hana to work with them in the first place. All in all hefelt lucky that Hana got to meet them.

Jongdae’s view of Hana was the same as his two friends. But to think that they waited this long just to get her talk made him admire their patience and persistence, moreover, their friendship even more. Chanyeol was moved by his cousin, he felt prouder of him. Kai was also looking admirably towards Kyungsoo. Kai had a hand in her recovery as well; however, he knew how hard it was to communicate and keep up with Hana, and to think that Kyungsoo had been doing it for three months longer than him made him respect him even more.

Kyungsoo and Baekhyun were ecstatic, Kai was smiling the entire time too and Sehun felt waves of relief constantly wash over him. Baekhyun suddenly thought about Lay, how happy must he be that the girl he liked finally spoke, and the first words she said were compliments to his lyrics? 

“Alright! Since I feel super happy today, there shall be a treat!” Kyungsoo announced and everyone at the table cheered. It wasn’t everyday when Kyungsoo gave a treat.

“So who’s gonna give it?”

And today wasn’t one of those days.

“What the heck? You announced it you give it!”

“Just because I announced it doesn’t mean I have to give it Baek.”

“Yes! It does-“

“Rock, paper, scissors. Looser pays.” Kai interjected and everyone stared at him. Chanyeol and Jongdae felt like they should play as well, they may have met her late but Hana was their friend and they liked her. Her step of improvement made them happy too.

“Alright. Everybody set?” Sehun checked and they nodded.

“OK then. 1….2….3!”

-

Hana felt like she could die from embarrassment. Lay had been smiling randomly ever since they left the café and she had a hunch why. Did she sound weird? Was her voice funny? What’s up with this guy anyways? He hadn’t said a word, instead he would only look at her, smile widely and look around, then look at her and smile again. Although she loved seeing his dimple, and his smile was the best thing she had ever seen, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

Lay had his very own personal mp3 player fixed in head and his music were her words. Her voice, her different pronunciation, it was on loop in his head. He couldn’t help but smile. He had been waiting for this day for a really long time, now he just hoped she’d continue to speak. Considering all that they knew about her, it made him even more happy that she was 100% comfortable around them, why else would she finally speak? The next time he turned to look at her he saw her trying to cover her face with her hair. The black blanket made him unable to see her pink tinted face. He brought his hand closer to her face and tucked her hair behind her ear, earning a gasp and a wide eyed stare.

“You look prettier when I can actually see your face.” he smiled and the red on her cheeks darkened. She looked away and Lay chuckled. They were almost at the school grounds and before they knew it they could already see the soccer team warming up on the field. Lay let out a loud sigh and turned towards Hana.

“You sure you wanna stay today? It seemed like you got bored last time.” He asked concerned but Hana eagerly nodded. She liked watching him practice; watching him work hard so he wouldn’t let his team down gave her inspiration to work harder too. Besides, she gets to see more of him so what’s there to complain about?

“Ok then….Today’s practice might stretch longer than usual, if you feel like going home then go ok? Don’t worry about me.” Lay smiled and Hana nodded. She found him staring straight into her eyes and suddenly, things changed. They weren’t smiling but their expressions were bright and time seemed to have stopped for a while. He reached and tucked the strand that escaped behind her ear and smiled warmly.

“You’ll wait for me?” he asked and Hana nodded, “Yes.”

Her reply made him smile even wider and gave her a quick peck on her forehead before running off into the field, leaving Hana stunned in the corridor. Her face was burning, and her eyes were wide, she slowly walked towards the bleachers and sat on her usual seat in the last row. Not only did she unintentionally speak twice today but she also received a…..never mind.  She saw him running back into the field in his tracks and hoodie, the grey hood bouncing with every step. She saw him spin his body half-way and sent her a two salute while running towards his team. She felt an eruption in her stomach and her smile grew wider as she waved back. Things were getting better and better.

-

i took longer than i should have ._.

sorry ^^