“Lo! Who walks by yonder garden wall?!”

“It is...I, the great, uh, master thief?”

The script was snatched out of Hyunseong’s hands, a quiet protest escaping his lips.

“No, no, no! That’s not how you do it at all. You’re the best thief in the world, and you’ve been all around the globe stealing the most valuable artifacts. You’ve got to be confident, and sassy, because you’ve never been caught and you don’t believe you will be anytime soon,” she scolded. Hyunseong sighed as she continued her monologue, her hands flying everywhere. His eyes wandered over her face, taking in her lively eyes and soft pink lips. He flushed suddenly as he became aware of his own staring, looking down at his hands and pulling his sheet music closer to him.

“...and that’s how you act the part! Got it?” “Drama girl” puffed up with pride at her own explanation, and Hyunseong just laughed awkwardly.

“I...don’t think I’m good at this whole acting thing, honestly,” Hyunseong muttered. She looked incredulous.

“Wh-what?? Anybody can be an actor! Though, you’re a bit more stiff than most are...but it’s okay! We can practice.” The confidence in her voice made Hyunseong smile slightly, but he shook his head nonetheless. “C’mon...please?”

Hyunseong pulled his composition notebook in front of him and pointed at the cover. “This one is what I’m good at. I’m really just...happy to watch you act.” The sudden confession surprised even him, and he felt his face redden as he realized what he’d said. Luckily, drama girl was off in her own world, contemplating something, and Hyunseong let out a sigh of relief as he started working on his composition.

---

Waving goodbye to Donghyun as he stepped into the piano room, Hyunseong nearly ran straight into drama girl as he turned around. There was a sparkle in her eye that signalled some sort of plot, and Hyunseong felt his heartbeat speed up.

She grabbed his hand in excitement. “I have a great plan! You see, I’m working on writing a play that’s set in the early Joseon Dynasty, and you’re a traditional music major! Isn’t that perfect?”

The words she was saying barely registered as the heat of her hand travelled through Hyunseong’s arm and, seemingly, straight into the core of his being. Lightheaded, he simply nodded. She grinned and started talking animatedly about something, but Hyunseong couldn’t focus on the words, closing his eyes briefly as he enjoyed the warmth filling his chest, bright and clean as the sun.

-----

The next few days were a haze to Hyunseong; all he could remember was the frenzy of composition, the notes that poured from his mind to his fingers to the page. He composed at all hours of the day, even during his other classes, something that earned him a stern talking-to from Mrs. Kim. Donghyun just laughed at him and said he was “whipped”, but Hyunseong shrugged and kept going. He could see it already: the happy smile and enthusiastic praise that would rain down on him when he was finished, the hug that he would receive.

Hyunseong composed the entire soundtrack in a week. As the last strains of music faded from his head and his hand stilled, he leaned his head back and let out a long sigh. Rubbing his wrist, Hyunseong smiled tiredly and stared up at the ceiling. He felt completely drained but entirely content. Slowly gathering together the pile of papers, Hyunseong made his way back to the piano room he’d been avoiding for the past week.

She was sitting there as usual, chewing on a strand of hair and studying a playbook intently. As Hyunseong shut the door behind him, the slight click made her look up.

“Hey, I haven’t seen you around. Doing well?” she asked, tucking the hair behind an ear.

Hyunseong wordlessly held the stack of papers out to her. She looked intrigued and confused, but accepted them and began leafing through.

“Wow, this is...wow. Really good stuff. If we could have this playing here, and put this piece there…” she murmured, eyebrows raised. She looked through the papers for another second before setting them down carefully on the piano. “Thank you,” she whispered, and suddenly launched forwards and caught Hyunseong in a hug.

He almost fell backwards with surprise, but righted himself and awkwardly held his arms above her body. Was it weird to hug her back? Would it be okay?

After a few seconds of drama girl not letting go, Hyunseong let his arms slowly come to rest around her torso. “Umm, you’re welcome. I hope it’s okay…” he muttered shyly, trying not to get too close to her face. She looked up at him, a brilliant smile spreading across her face.

“It’s perfect! Everything I could’ve wanted and more. I knew I could count on you, traditional music boy.”

Finally, she let him out of the embrace, the heat of her body still lingering against Hyunseong’s bare arms. He coughed slightly and started edging out of the doorway, the embarrassment catching up with him. Drama girl had already begun working again, tapping the pencil against the piano as she got lost in thought.

Hyunseong had almost left the room when a small bud of light blinked to life in his mind. “Umm, hey. Would it be okay if...you let me compose some more music for you in the future…?”

She turned her head to look at him. Hyunseong almost felt like shrinking under that unyielding gaze, but forced himself to stay still. Finally, a gentle, almost loving smile worked its way across her lips.

“I’d love that.”

-----

so uhh i kinda wrote a sequel but it's rough i know but here it is :')