Amber never really had crushes (well she did, back in 3^rd grade but she refused to count that as a crush after he told everyone that llamas are stupid).

So yeah, she doesn’t do “crushes” anymore. She’s a grown woman now and crushes are for teenagers so she refused to put herself in that situation. She’s in university to learn, not to invest herself on crushes. Especially not on a teacher.

But then again, Henry’s not really a teacher. He was an alumnus of the university, you know, the ones who love coming back to bother their old professors and scare new students. She had seen him in their orchestra practice quite a few times, watching like he doesn’t have anything better to do, making Amber wonder if he even has a job. Then one day, two months before the orchestra’s concert, he came in for practice and told everyone that he’ll be filling in for Ryeowook, their conductor, because he needs to attend to his sick mother. No one protested because duh, everyone knows who Henry Lau is. He’s practically a legend in their university.

Still, she doesn’t do crushes even though she finds it cute when he puffs out his cheeks to blow on his fringe when he hears someone go off key or when he draws out his tongue to wet his lips whenever it gets to the part of the piece where the music builds up, his eyes closed and his movements sharp.

No. It’s not a crush. It’s a mere appreciation of his excellent skills in music.

“Tell that to someone who will actually believe you, Amber.” Damn first violinists and their snarky opinions.

“Don’t worry about Krystal, unnie. I’ll help you with Henry, if you like.” Luna offered, looking up from reading her sheet music. Amber groaned because she doesn’t need help. It’s not a crush. Nope. And plus, it’s not like Henry’s going to notice her. They always say that your instrument shows who you are and like her viola, she’s awkward and no one pays attention to her.

“I appreciate the offer, Luna, but I already told you that I don’t like him.” She said, fiddling with her viola’s tuning pegs. She heard Krystal’s obnoxious laughter from the other table and was about to throw something at her when Sulli skipped over to their table, her short wavy hair swayed behind her and Amber’s almost certain that she could see flowers falling behind her as she walked. Maybe harpists are secretly fairies.

“What did I miss?” she asked, grabbing an onion ring from Amber’s tray.

“Amber unnie says that she doesn’t like Henry.” Luna informed, going back to her music sheets.

Sulli bursted into fits of giggles. “Yeah sure, and don’t even think that I don’t notice the way you ogle at him during practice.”

Amber choked on her drink. Maybe harpists are evil little creatures.

 

Few more weeks passed by and the orchestra is getting in a good shape under the cute new conductor. Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake was finally sounding a lot more swan lake-y than a chaotic mess (partly her fault because she kept missing her cues and it doesn’t help that Luna keeps shooting her knowing glances from the first violins’ section). Tchaikovsky would be proud. Sectional practices started as well which means Amber can watch Henry more closely (not that she has any problems before. She is first chair viola after all, which means she gets to seat in the front row). The only drawback she could think of is that their practices are usually in the early evening until around ten which spells hell for her because Krystal is ten times more snarky when she’s tired, Luna falls asleep while walking and Sulli trips over everything.

 So after a gruelling practice, the four of them managed to get to their dorm in one piece and Amber thought her fingers were going to fall off any second. They spotted Victoria in the kitchen, downing on some instant ramyun, face buried in a thick chemistry book. Krystal made a face but went over the table anyways. Amber followed her while Sulli and Luna made a show of collapsing on the couch.

“What are you doing up so late?” Amber asked the oldest as she thought of making herself a cup of coffee.

“Big exam tomorrow.” Victoria answered, raising the bowl to her lips to sip the remaining broth. “How’s orchestra?”

“Same old, same old.” Krystal said as she nodded on Amber’s offer on coffee. “Oh and Amber’s got a crush on the substitute conductor.”

Amber almost dropped the mug and turned to glare at Krystal. How many times did she have to say that she doesn’t have a crush on him?

“Oh, really?!” Victoria turned to Amber, hints of sleepiness floating away at the subject of her dorm mate’s blossoming love life. “You’re finally mooning about someone who’s not dead for over a hundred years?”

“Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven and Bach are some of the greatest composers of all time; I have a right to moon over them!” Amber pouted, turning the coffeemaker on. “And I don’t have a crush on Henry.”

“So his name is Henry.” Victoria smirked. “Wait, isn’t he that guy who’s scary pale and has big cheeks?” Victoria felt the need to puff out her cheeks and gesture with her hand to emphasize the point.

Krystal laughed and nodded. “That’s him!”

“Wait, he’s older than me?” Victoria scrunched her nose up, feeling a little bit insecure that someone who’s older looks way younger than her.

“Nah. He graduated early. He’s a music genius.” Krystal answered with a small scowl, going over Amber’s side and pouring herself a cup of coffee.

“So that’s why Amber’s got a crush on him.”

Amber wondered if they even heard her protest. Henry was not a crush. She doesn’t do crushes.

“Guys, I told you I don’t have a crush on him!” Amber groaned and she has half a mind of hitting her head against the cupboard to emphasize her exasperation. It looked appealing but she’s not up to dealing with the pain at this late hour.

“You really have to brush up your definition of crush, Amber.” Krystal peered from her cup and Amber did not miss her knowing smirk.

 

At 2:30 AM, after making sure everyone’s asleep, Amber looked up the definition of the damn word in urbandictionary (the real dictionary is in Krystal’s room and she’s not going to risk waking her). The first result that came out was:

Crush

a burning desire to be with someone who you find very attractive and special.

She blinked and scrolled down, trying to find a different definition.

                      Crush

1. the act of falling hard for someone even though it isn't love yet 
2.  a precursor to love 
3.  an amazing thing that gives you feelings of nerves and excitement whenever you see them.

Amber made a protesting sound at the back of .

She hates Krystal sometimes.

 

The next orchestra practice came sooner than Amber preferred because she still thinks her fingers are in danger of detaching themselves from her hands and she’s not quite ready to see Henry and admit to herself that she likes him.

This , Amber thought as she made her way to the university’s auditorium, this really .

Amber slumped on her seat, sighing as she took her viola out of its case, wiping imaginary dusts. She saw Luna coming over their section, wearing her signature smile before taking the seat beside her. Amber glanced at her lazily, nodding to acknowledge the younger’s presence.

“You slept late again last night, didn’t you?” Luna said and Amber winced. “You were typing something on your laptop.”

“Uh, homework.” Amber quickly covered up, setting up the music stand to avoid meeting Luna’s gaze. “I have a paper for World Literature. The Shakespeare one, remember?”

Luna nodded but didn’t seem to believe her. Instead, she got this knowing smile on her face that made Amber even more uncomfortable. “Whatever you say, unnie.” She stood up before Amber could defend herself because she did have a paper due in World Literature and she just went on a little break when she looked that word up.

“Sorry I’m late, guys.”

Amber looked up and immediately wondered if God was mocking her. Henry walked up to the stage clad in the classiest black suit that Amber has ever seen; his caramel hair that usually covered his forehead was styled up and if she didn’t know any better, Amber thought that he might be doing this on purpose.

“One of the kids I teach had his first recital this morning and I can’t miss it.” He explained, smiling as he picked the baton up. “Okay, let’s start tuning, then.”

Amber blinked and almost didn’t hear Onew starting. She quickly followed suit, tucking her viola under her chin. Once the tuning ended, Henry flicked his baton to start Swan Lake and Amber took deep breaths to calm herself as she heard the winds section open the piece. She stole a glance at Henry and he looked so peaceful and innocent as he sways his hand to direct them, grinning as he motioned for the string section to come in. She felt her stand partner, Fei, nudging her and Amber realized a little bit too late that she missed her cue. She cursed under her breath, trying to come in quietly but accidentally played the wrong measure. It was loud and obnoxious, almost mocking her and she was absolutely sure that everyone heard it. Henry did not stop though, so she took it as a sign to continue. Fei looked scandalized but Amber paid her no mind as she successfully found her own way to the piece.

. She knew having crushes won’t do her any good.

Eventually, her friends found out about her mishap (nothing escapes Luna’s “concertmaster ears,” as she likes to call it) and Amber was 500% sure that Henry knew about it, too, being the music genius that he is. He didn’t call her out about it, though, and she was glad that she didn’t have to look ten times more stupid than she already was.

“Look on the bright side,” Sulli said, lazily scanning the magazine in her hands. “You won’t see him until Tuesday.”

Amber groaned, slamming her head against the library’s copy of The Taming of the Shrew. It smelled old and disgusting and maybe if she inhaled ample amount of it, she’ll be able to call in sick and not attend orchestra practice. “That means I still have to face him.”

“I don’t get what the big deal is.” Victoria, who just got out of the shower, said as she dried her hair with the towel. “So you messed up, big whoop. Everyone messes up once in a while. The world’s not going to end, Amber.”

Amber groaned again. “It’s a big deal if you messed up in front of someone you like who happens to be a music genius!”

Krystal snorted while Sulli and Luna giggled among themselves. Victoria just laughed at her, patting her on the cheek.

“So you’re finally admitting that you do like him.” Victoria said with a knowing smile.

“What? When did I –“ Apparently, Amber has a habit of spewing things out of without her knowing. “Oh.” Another groan came out of as she faceplanted on the old, disgusting book.

“I hate you guys.” she whined.

 

Weekend came and Amber was still wallowing in self-pity when Krystal invited them to a party.

“It’s gonna be fun!” Krystal said excitedly. “Jessica unnie said I can bring whoever I want so I’m bringing you guys.”

Which is why three hours later, Amber found herself in a black dress (after refusing for at least a hundred times), her face coloured with makeup and her hair stuck in little pins. She glared at her dorm mates, tugging the hem of the dress to bring it lower so she won’t have to deal with her exposed thighs until Victoria slapped her hand away, threatening her that she’ll look for an even shorter dress that she could wear. Amber stopped tugging, knowing that the older meant it.

When they arrived, Jessica greeted them along with the party host himself, Donghae who immediately led them to the bar, pouring them a drink. Victoria finished her drink first and headed straight to the makeshift dance floor. Krystal followed her a few minutes later while Luna and Sulli spotted someone they knew from across the room and Amber briefly wondered why she puts up with them. She sighed and sat down, sipping her drink slowly. Parties are not her thing, obviously. She’d rather mope around in the dorm and cry over her decisions in life.

Apparently, going to this party was one of the decisions that she’ll cry over in the near future. She saw Donghae going over to the bar with Henry in tow, the two of them laughing at something that Amber couldn’t hear. She cursed under her breath and stood up to get the hell out of there before he can notice her.

“Hey Amber!” She heard Donghae call from behind her. Oops, too late.

She turned around and hoped that her smile wasn’t too forced. “Hey oppa.”

“C’mon I’ll introduce you to someone!”

Amber internally cringed as she let the older drag her to Henry.

“So, this is Henry.” Amber looked up and found Henry smiling at her and Crap, he’s really cute. “And Henry this is--”

“Amber. She’s in Ryeowook hyung’s orchestra – the one I was filling in for,” Henry was still smiling at her and Amber tried her best not to blush. “She’s an excellent violist.”

Amber blinked, processing the fact that a) he said that she’s an excellent violist even after the disaster last orchestra practice; and b) that was the first time she heard him say her name.

“So Amber,” he called and Amber took the pleasure of listening to the way her name rolled off his tongue. He says it differently. He doesn’t say it as Embeo (ergh) like everyone else does. It’s Amber, starting with an A and ending with R and suddenly she was back home in L.A., hearing her sister’s hysterical laughter and her mom’s nagging.

“Would you mind having a couple of drinks with me?” Amber snapped back to reality and managed a nod even through the wild beating of her heart and the possible mental shut down.

Turned out, Henry was one of the friendliest guys she has ever met because halfway through her second margarita, she found herself laughing at his ridiculous jokes and she wondered why she was even afraid to talk to him in the first place.

Henry was halfway through an impressive impersonation of his Russian violin teacher (the Russian accent was spot on) when she realized that it’s getting late and it’s only 30 minutes until dorm curfew.

“Hey, you okay?” Amber heard Henry asked and she flinched. He must have noticed that she was only half listening. As much as she liked listening to his stories, she was busy looking for her friends who she thought were still in the party but as she surveyed her surroundings, she saw no sign of them, not even Krystal’s obnoxious red-pink hair. She started to panic.

“Oh my god, I have to go.” Amber hurriedly stood up from her seat, grabbing her jacket and bag in the process and missing the disappointed look on Henry’s face. She waved him goodbye before running out of the house, almost tripping in the process. She felt like Cinderella except she didn’t have a fairy godmother or any kind of magic and all she has was the excruciating time pressure and a confused prince (well, music genius, in this case) who might hate her for leaving him in the middle of a funny story.

 

“So you just left him?” Luna was staring up at Amber with wide eyes like she had sprouted another head.

Amber groaned and played with her lunch, stabbing her fork into her chicken with a bit more force than necessary (Onew The Oboe Player who was on the table beside them looked at her chicken sadly). “Please don’t remind me. And whose fault do you think that was? You guys left me!”

“You were preoccupied. And we thought he’s going to give you a ride or something.” Krystal said. She flipped her hair out of her face and Amber could see the entire basketball team swoon in the table behind her.

“He did ask to take you back to the dorms, right?” Sulli chimed in, raising an eyebrow.

“I…don’t know.” Amber sighed. “I left before he even got to say anything.”

“You at this.” Krystal sighed, leaning back on her seat and dramatically pinched the bridge of her nose that made Amber roll her eyes.

“Well, duh.” Amber groaned, harshly stabbing her chicken again and this time, Onew The Oboe Player did make a sound of protest. Amber ignored him and wondered just how was she going to face Henry in orchestra practice.

Tuesday came and Amber almost didn’t want her World Lit class to end (even though she still doesn’t understand Shakespeare and his joy in killing off his characters) because that would mean she’d have to go to orchestra practice. Amber had to applaud herself for looking like a complete idiot in front of Henry, though. She thought she was doing fine because they were talking and laughing and there were subsequent hints of flirting and of course she had to mess that up, too.

When Amber arrived in orchestra practice, she was immediately mobbed by Sulli, Krystal and Luna before she even had the chance to take her seat. Amber grumbled in protest because for Pete’s sake, she almost dropped her viola and questioned her choices in friends.

“What the hell?!” she exclaimed once Sulli had let go of her arm and she was safely seated.

“Talk to him.” Sulli commanded, poking her in the arm with every syllable and Amber wanted to remind her that she’s older.

“I can’t! At least not now. Practice will start in a few minutes!”

The door opened and the subject of their conversation appeared, patting down his tuft of caramel brown hair to tame it and Amber’s mind screamed cute!

Sulli, Krystal and Luna went back to their seats when Henry started tapping his baton on his music stand, signalling everyone to settle down. Practice started and Amber thought that she might have been hung up on Shakespeare and all his cheesy romantic because she swore that Henry was sneaking glances at her.

Two and a half hours later, Luna was already signalling that they’re out of time which means that if they don’t pack up soon, the janitor would not be happy. Henry caught up and nodded, clapping his hands together to get their attention.

“Okay guys, good job!” he said with a bright smile. “Wind section, 5 PM tomorrow. Strings, 7 PM. I don’t want anyone to be late. Brass and Percussion, you guys know your schedule on Wednesday, right?”

There was a collection of a loud yes followed by the sound of two padded sticks banging against the ground and Amber rolled her eyes. If she didn’t know how good Kris is with the Timpani, she would have second thoughts on why he was even in the orchestra. He’s such a klutz. One time, he got so carried away, one of his sticks slipped out of his hand and hit Jongdae on the head. The poor kid almost choked on his trumpet.

She noticed Sulli looking pointedly at her, mouthing that she needs to talk to Henry. Amber made a face and shook her head.

I can’t, she mouthed back and Sulli rolled her eyes. She looked a bit deadly and Amber was glad that harps are too heavy to carry otherwise Sulli would have already attacked her.

“Oh for God’s sakes, just go talk to him!” Amber heard Krystal hissed behind her before she felt herself being pushed forward and when she recovered, Henry was already there, looking at her with a slight worry. He was really close that Amber felt the need to step backwards to remember how to breathe because holy he smells really good.

“Hi.” Amber started, flinching slightly at her lame greeting. Seriously Amber, you left him in the middle of a conversation and all you can say is ‘hi’?!

“Hi.” Henry greeted back with a small smile and Amber thought, okay, maybe this is good. At least he doesn’t sound mad.

“Uhm, about last Saturday night,” Amber scratches the back of her neck. “I’m really sorry. Our dorm has a curfew and I really had to go that time. I feel really bad leaving you there and I really am sorry. I hope you’re not mad or anything.”

“I’m not mad.” Henry said and Amber heaved a sigh of relief.

“Oh thank God. Is there any way that I can make it up to you?” Amber tried not to sound so eager.

“A cup of coffee would be nice.”

 

Amber didn’t remember the walk to the café. Maybe it’s because of the heat or maybe it’s because the sidewalk was a bit narrow and they had to walk closer, making their sides brush against each other. Amber liked to think that it’s the former but who was she kidding, really.

“Hey Li Yin!” Henry greeted as soon as they entered and the girl from the counter looked up and waved. “That’s Li Yin,” he said once they were comfortably seated. “I grew up with her back in Taiwan, along with Zhou Mi, the café’s owner, until we moved to Canada when I was 10. I’m Taiwanese-Canadian, by the way.”

Amber nodded, smiling to fight back the urge to say that she knows that already, afraid that he’ll think that she’s a stalker. Which she’s most definitely not. She just likes checking his Facebook profile, her cursor hovering on the ‘Add Friend’ button.

Okay, maybe she is a bit stalker-ish.

“Speaking of which, Donghae hyung told me that you’re Taiwanese, too?” he said with a hint of shyness that made Amber chuckle a little. It’s like he was scared that she’ll label him as a stalker (not that she would mind, though).

“You asked Donghae oppa about me?” Amber raised an eyebrow, an amused smile playing on her lips. Henry smiled back shyly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.

“That’s okay, right? I mean, I don’t sound like a stalker, right?”

That’s okay! Please be my stalker! that little voice in Amber’s head screamed and it made her question her sanity. Also, nervousness was quite adorable on Henry.

They talked and talked, their coffees barely touched (Li Yin shook her head at them, mumbling how their ruining a perfectly brewed coffee) and smiles not leaving their faces.

Eventually, Li Yin had to interfere a few hours later because they’re about to close and the two of them never bought anything else except for the (untouched) coffee. Zhou Mi, who showed up halfway through their quite intense conversation about Wang Lee Hom and Jay Chou earlier, sent them away with a smile, waggling his eyebrows at Henry who in turn glared.

“Sorry about Mi-ge.” Henry said with a chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck again. Amber smiled, noticing that it’s something that he does when he’s embarrassed.

“It’s okay, really.”

“Thank you for the coffee.” Henry smiled, taking a step back and Amber felt a little disappointed as they stopped in front of her dorm. “I’ll see you at rehearsals. Don’t be late!”

Amber laughed and nodded. She waved and waved until his back disappeared in the dark. With a content sigh, she went inside.

Maybe having a crush wasn’t so bad.

 

“So what’s going on between you and Mr. Conductor?”

Amber looked up from applying rosin on her bow when Fei sat next to her. It took her a while to realize who ‘Mr. Conductor’ was. “What?”

Fei chuckled, taking her viola out of its case. “Don’t play dumb, Amber. Everyone in the orchestra knows that you guys went out on a date yesterday.”

“It was not a date.”

“A student-teacher relationship? I never thought that you were this risky, Amber.” Fei said with a chuckle.

Groaning, Amber replied with an irritated, “He’s not a teacher so it doesn’t count. And there’s nothing going on between us.” She wondered if that was what irked her most – that there’s nothing going on between the two of them. Maybe he got turned off when she said that she likes llamas. Maybe like her crush in third grade, he thinks that llamas are stupid, too.

“But you want something to happen?”

“…no.”

“You paused.”

“I didn’t.”

 

It’s been a week and a half since their little dat – get together in the café and Amber just realized the dangers of having a crush because she cannot be this upset about not being with a guy who names his musical instruments (because, a guitar named Bruno, really?). Over the past few days, her romantic escapades with ‘Mr. Conductor’ was narrowed down to her daydreaming about him while practicing the whole second act of Swan Lake during her free time (Victoria, who practices her ballet when she plays, usually taps her shoulder to tell her to stop drooling).

“You didn’t say anything embarrassing, right?” Sulli asked with a small grimace. “Wait, it’s you. Of course you’d say something embarrassing.”

“Hey!” Amber protested. “I resent that!”

“We don’t even know if Henry’s avoiding Amber unnie.” Luna reasoned out and Amber almost breathed out a sigh of relief until – “He could have a girlfriend for all we know and was just being nice to you.”

Amber considered hurting them. Suho’s cello was just at an arm-reach but she didn’t really want to ruin a perfectly good (and probably really expensive) instrument.

“Some friends you guys are.”

Victoria arrived at their lunch table soon after, carrying her ballet shoes on one hand and a thick chemistry book on the other (Amber still doesn’t understand why Victoria likes studying while doing her freaky ballet stretching). She sat next to Krystal, taking a piece of fries from the younger’s tray before beaming at them.

“You guys, I was talking to Jia earlier – you know her, right? She’s friends with Fei. She’s on your orchestra if I’m not mistaken. Right, so Jia is friends with this Zhou Mi guy who apparently owns the café that you guys went to! Maybe we can ask him if he knows Henry!”

Amber barely understood what she said but she was sure that it was a bad idea.

 

Classes ended and Amber wanted to run away but Victoria was there, standing outside her classroom with an eager smile before grabbing her arm and dragging her out of the building and into the parking lot where Luna, Krystal and Sulli were waiting. They forced her into Victoria’s car and Amber grumbled that she could report them for kidnapping. Krystal rolled her eyes and reminded her how bad her Korean was.

There were only a few people when they arrived: a couple of teenagers from a nearby high school; Jongin, who Amber knew from Krystal’s dance class (she talks about him all the time); Seohyun, their pianist; and Jongdae who seems to be a little bit flustered as Li Yin placed his order. Sadly, Henry was not there.

“Well, Henry’s not here. Let’s go back.” Amber said before they could even sit down.

“No, let’s stayyyy!” Krystal whined and Amber didn’t have to look to know that the younger was looking at Jongin who seemed to be passed out on his table, asleep.

“Yeah. Plus, we could still ask this Zhou Mi guy about him!” Victoria said, her Chinese accent becoming more obvious due to her excitement.

“Ask me about who?”

And of course, Zhou Mi had to appear at the perfect timing.

Amber greeted him in Chinese which made Victoria even more excited, immediately engaging him in a conversation. Her Chinese was not that good but from the limited knowledge that she knew about the language, she could tell that Victoria was already filling him about what was going on. She thought that she might actually die from embarrassment.

Zhou Mi eventually told them that Henry has been quite busy the past few weeks, talking with ‘The Big Guys’ which Amber did not understand. Before she could ask about it though, Zhou Mi told them that he has to go back to work because Li Yin was already sending him daggers from where she was. He went away, grumbling about why he lets his employees bully him.

The next day came and after lots of thinking, Amber has come to a conclusion that maybe, Henry was avoiding her. She sighed, making a note to herself to never ever underestimate those girls in dramas and movies because this crush thing was really upsetting. Now she knows why they call it a crush.

It was the afternoon of the same day when things started to take a turn. Amber was going through some of her Bach pieces, trying to rekindle her love for the composer which was so graciously ruined by a stupidly attractive music genius, when her phone vibrated in her pocket. She answered it, despite being an unknown number, thinking it could be Luna because she has a habit of forgetting her damn phone.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s Henry.” Amber almost dropped her instrument as well as her phone.

“How did you get my number?” she winced, realizing that it came out harsh.

Henry chuckled. “I have my sources.”

“Wow that didn’t sound creepy at all.”

“At least I don’t ask your friends about your whereabouts, Amber. Mi-ge told me that you went to the café, looking for me.”

Amber burned red in embarrassment and she wanted to hang up and throw her phone against the wall but Henry was laughing and she could almost see him leaning back against his chair, clapping his hands as he tried to contain his laughter; his eyes almost disappearing into slits. Amber felt her knees getting weak. Damn him.

“So why were you looking for me?” Henry asked after recovering from his laughing fit.

“I wasn’t – my friends – I don’t –“ she stuttered stupidly.

Henry chuckled from the other line, the low rumbling of his throat doing wonders to her sanity. “I’ve been meaning to call you earlier this week. I wanted to ask you something.”

Amber gripped her phone tighter as she waited for him to continue, her heart racing inside her chest.

“Since you treated me to coffee last time, I figured that I should return the favour. How about I treat you to dinner this Friday?”

By now, she was pretty sure her heart already exploded. “A-are you asking me out?”

Henry chuckled nervously. “Yes. Yes I am. How does that sound? Dinner after rehearsals?”

Amber nodded but realized that she’s on the phone and he couldn’t see it so with a slightly trembling voice she said, “Yeah, sure. Awesome.”

After an awkward goodbye, she plopped down her bed, unable to believe what just happened. Bach. She’s got a date with a music genius and the best thing is, he’s 100% alive.

 

“Maybe he’ll take you to a nice and fancy restaurant and halfway through dinner, he’ll take your hand, look into your eyes and confess his undying love for you.” Luna sighed dreamily , clutching Amber’s pillows, eyes glazed and was probably off into her own fantasy world. “And then you would dance to Debussy’s Claire de Lune before he leans down to kiss you.”

Amber made a face because one, Claire de Lune is so cliché and two, she is not the romantic type. It’s not that she hates everything romantic, she’s just never good at it. She has a crush on dead composers, for crying out loud! And plus, she’s more of a tough girl. Like, the kind who will kick your sorry if you make a lame orchestra joke about the difference between violin and viola. Victoria’s ex tried once and he ended up knowing how good she was in taekwondo.

“Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.” Amber rolled her eyes and went to grab her pillow from Luna before kicking her out of her bed. Luna landed on the floor and yelped before sticking her tongue at her.

Amber ignored the younger’s grumbling as she exited the room before flopping on her bed with a sigh. She closed her eyes, deciding to sleep off her nerves. She’s dreading yet looking forward for Friday to come and she prayed to whoever was listening to please oh please not let her do something embarrassing.

 

Amber was restless when Friday came. She couldn’t focus on her classes, couldn’t even think straight. She didn’t even remember how she got to orchestra practice, to be honest. But she sat down and took her instrument out of its case with a blank mind, trying to convince herself that everything will be fine. If she had known that first dates were supposed to be this nerve-wrecking, she wouldn’t have asked if this was a date.

She’s definitely taking back what she said about crushes being a good thing.

Henry arrived a few minutes late as usual, setting his bag down on one of the chairs before climbing to the stage. He smiled at them, like he always does before they start (a stupidly adorable routine that he does because he said that if they start the practice with a positive aura, it’ll end in a happier tone) before his gaze landed on her. Amber tried to smile back without blushing like a school girl but knew that she failed because Henry grinned at her, giving her a slight nod. Fei seemed to notice the exchange and chuckled beside her. Amber elbowed her, telling her to shut up before tucking her viola under her chin.

 

Practice ended and Amber had to take deep breaths to calm herself or else she would throw up all over the place. Her hands were shaking as she put her instrument away and almost yelped when Luna, Krystal and Sulli tapped her shoulder.

“Geez, would you please calm down?!” Krystal hissed.

“I can’t.” Amber mumbled, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt (which she spent a good half an hour picking).

Sulli sighed, holding her by the shoulders. “Just be yourself, unnie. Well, maybe be a little less embarrassing.”

“You’re not helping.” Amber said through gritted teeth as Sulli smiled innocently at her.

“Here he comes!” Luna exclaimed and Amber froze on her spot, wondering if she should tell him she came down with something so she could crawl into a hole or something.

“Hey, are you ready?”

Amber felt Sulli nudged her and she blinked, nodding her head and picking up her instrument case.

“Have fun, you two!” Luna called happily as they exited the auditorium.

“But not too much fun, if you know what I mean.” Krystal added in English and Amber turned around just to (discreetly) flip her off.

“Sorry about them.” Amber mumbled, face red in embarrassment.

“It’s okay.” Henry chuckled even though he’s blushing, too.

There was a moment of silence as they walk to his car with Henry constantly playing with his keys and Amber trying to think of a way to start a conversation. Before she could open , though, Henry stopped walking and she almost bumped into him. She was about to apologize but Henry just chuckled and opened the car door for her. Amber smiled sheepishly and climbed on the passenger’s seat, trying to control the butterflies in her stomach.

“Where are we going?” Amber asked as they drove into the highway.

“Somewhere nice.” Henry answered with a shrug.

“I’m not underdressed, am I?” Amber couldn’t stop the blush that was forming on her cheeks when Henry gave her a once-over. Even though she’s never been on a date, she’s pretty sure that a loose graphic tee and skinny jeans (plus the faint smell of rosin) is not appropriate for one.

“Nah. You’re perfect.”

Goddamn this boy.

They arrived at a small Mexican restaurant almost half an hour later and now Amber can finally sigh in relief as Henry brought her inside and saw all the casually-dressed people.

“I was planning on taking you to a fancy French restaurant but Luna said that you don’t like fancy restaurants which is a relief because I don’t like them either and I’ve been cramming my French over the past few days so I could at least pronounce the food and I think I’ve said too much.”

Amber chuckled at the flustered boy. “I didn’t catch half of the things you said but I’m glad you brought me here. I don’t really want to spend my night acting all posh and pretending that their food is good.”

Henry beamed. “Good. There’ll be none of that here. The burritos here are heavenly.”

Amber only stared at his hand on her wrist as he took her to a table beside the large glass window and she has trouble keeping her internal organs in check.

“Sorry, I haven’t had the chance to contact you the last week. I was busy.” Henry said (a little bit nervously if you asked Amber) as they were handed their menus.

“So I’ve heard.” Amber smiled. “Mi-ge told us about you talking with important people.”

“Yeah. Seoul Philharmonics.”

HOLY—what? “The Seoul Philharmonics?”

Henry nodded. “They wanted to play something that I wrote so I’ve been revising, transposing and rewriting the piece for the past week.” He tried to act nonchalant but Amber could clearly see the tips of his ears turning pink. Cute.

“Holy dude! That’s amazing!”

Henry was surprised at her sudden exuberance, but chuckled nonetheless and he’s looking at her with such fondness that made Amber’s cheeks heat up. She cleared awkwardly before turning her attention back to the menu, all the while feeling Henry’s gaze on her.

“T-that’s awesome. Fantastic. Cool.” She mumbled dumbly just before the waiter arrived to take their order.

It was halfway through dinner when Henry excused himself to the bathroom and while he was gone, Amber pondered over the things she’d done so far. Well, she was definitely advancing on the conversation department, seeing that they’re back to talking like they did back in the café and he was actually laughing at her jokes (well, she hopes that he’s really laughing at her jokes and not at her).

Henry was taking too long in the bathroom that Amber actually thought that he had jumped out of the bathroom window to get away from her and almost breathed a sigh of relief when he came back to the table looking a little bit flustered.

“Are you okay?” Amber asked, watching him rub the back of his neck, hand gripping his phone tightly.

“I just—“ he bit his lip and turned an even darker shade of red. “Mi-ge called and told me to tell you he said hi and made some inappropriate joke about us.”

Henry was red in the face when he was done explaining and Amber was sure that she doesn’t even want to know what the joke was.

 

“How many more minutes ‘till your curfew?” Henry asked as they drove back to her dorm. Despite the awkward silence that followed after Zhou Mi’s phone call, they reverted back to talking after Henry tried to appease her with orchestra pick-up lines (“I C Major potential in us getting together”). Amber had laughed so hard, she almost spat her drink all over the two of them.

“About twenty minutes max.” Amber pursed her lips and stared out of the window, trying not to smile too much because she really had a great time. Henry seemed genuinely interested in her. He looks at her the way Krystal looks at Louis Vuitton (and Jongin).

“Sorry for this. I didn’t realize how late it was.” Henry said, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes.

“It’s okay, really. I had fun.” Amber smiled, looking away from the window to turn to him.

“Me, too.” He beamed and there goes the butterflies in her stomach again.

They arrived five minutes before curfew and Amber was starting to panic a little because the dorm head is going to kill her if she doesn’t go up soon.

“Goodnight Amber.” Henry said, handing her viola to her.

Amber took it with a grateful smile, jumping slightly when she felt their fingers brushing.

“Goodnight Henry. Thank you for the dinner.”

She contemplated on kissing him on the cheek because that was what she saw from the movies that Sulli made her watch, and stood there, burning a hole on the ground until Henry reminded her about the curfew. She let out an embarrassing squeak before dashing to the dorm, giving Henry one last wave.

Later that night just as she was about to go to bed, Henry texted her. She bit her lip to hide her smile even though it’s dark and Luna’s already asleep from across the room.

nxt time u pick where we’ll go

der’s a nxt time?

u can’t get rid of me dat easy

who said anything abt getting rid of u? ;D

;D

Amber’s cheeks hurt from grinning so much.

 

One date led to another one and another one and another one and another one. On their second date, Amber opted to watch a movie (“Pick a romantic one, unnie! That way, you can fall even more in love!” Sulli had said). Amber wanted to watch the cool superhero movie but because Sulli is Sulli and she has a habit of tricking her into things, she begrudgingly bought tickets to a romantic one. She thought that the movie was stupid and the scoring was really bad but she figured that it’s okay because halfway through the movie, Henry had held her hand and didn’t let go until they were in the car.

Their third date was on the arcade and they looked like giants in the sea of high schoolers. Amber pummelled his on Street Fighter and Henry took revenge when he defeated her on air hockey and failed to be mature about it. Before the night was over, Henry got her a plush toy in a shape of a bread (courtesy of the claw crane machine) which she so lovingly named ‘Mr. Bread.’

On their fourth one, Henry found out her love for roses after surprising her with a small bouquet after practice. The whole orchestra went nuts and she didn’t know who started it (she had a suspicion it was Krystal) but they started playing the wedding march. Amber burned in embarrassment and told everyone to shut up.

The roses wilted before their fifth one and Amber whined to Henry with a pout. Henry laughed and called her cute, promising to buy her another one next time.

It was before their sixth one and there’s only one week left before the concert when Amber came across a problem. She was with Krystal, Luna, Sulli and Victoria in Zhou Mi’s café, minding her own business (and maybe texting Henry under the table) when Li Yin came, carrying a paper bag.

“Hey Amber. Can you please give this to your boyfriend? My mom just came back from China and she has this ridiculous soft spot for the guy so she bought him treats.” She said and Amber blinked because she doesn’t remember having a boyfriend.

“My boyfriend?”

“Yeah. Aren’t you and Henry, like, together now?”

To be honest, Amber doesn’t really know. They go on dates, yes, but is that enough for them to be considered as an official couple? They haven’t even kissed yet (Henry tried once but she chickened out. Partly because she just ate heaps of onion rings but mostly because she doesn’t even know how to kiss).

Amber’s mind was a mess as they went back to their dorm. She attempted on asking Henry about it but all of her text messages ended up in her drafts.

She didn’t have time to attempt again because before she knew it, the concert was two days away and they were slaving off in the university’s auditorium, practicing and practicing until Amber swore that if she heard Henry say ‘one more time’ again, she’ll slap him in the face so he could feel how calloused her fingers were. But she didn’t because he’s still the conductor and she’s kind of in love with him.

“Okay, if you guys continue this, we probably won’t need that dress rehearsal tomorrow.” Henry said cheekily and Luna made a sound of protest. “I’m kidding, Luna. Now go rest and I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

She was about to pack up, already thinking of flopping on her soft, soft bed when Henry appeared in front of her, grinning like a little school boy, dimples and all.

“What’s up?” Amber asked, carefully putting her viola back in its case.

“Can I talk to you?”

There was a collection of teasing ooohs followed by giggles and snickers from the rest of the orchestra. Amber groaned and hid her face in her hands.

“Well, I need to talk to her alone so can you guys, like, I don’t know, leave?” Henry said good-naturedly, making shooing motions with his hands. More giggles and snickers ensued before they left, throwing them winks and claps on the back (she wasn’t sure but Kris might have been making lewd motions with his fingers and she reminded herself to shove his timpani mallets up in his once she sees him tomorrow).

“So what do you want to talk about?” she asked, trying to keep her cool despite the storm of butterflies on her stomach that seems to be present whenever he’s around. He sat next to her and she discreetly moved a little further away, afraid that he’ll hear the wild beating of her heart inside her chest.

“After the concert, Ryeowook hyung would be coming back, which means that I have no reason to come here anymore.” Henry said, looking over at her with a hint of sadness. “Unless…”

“Unless what?” Her voice came out as a whisper but Henry heard it and scooted closer, grabbing her wrists when she tried to back away.

“Unless you give me a reason.”

“W-what reason?”

Henry leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together and Amber’s breath was caught in , her mind in a tangled mess. , he was so close.

He closed his eyes and she only noticed just how long his eyelashes were and if he wasn’t so busy messing up her brain, she would have for it.

“I like you, Amber. I like you a lot.” He whispered so that only she could hear it, like it was some kind of secret that only she has the right to know. “Do you like me, too?”

Amber couldn’t think anymore, not when he was so so so close with his lips just inches away from hers. She managed to let out a shaky, “Yes,” before Henry dared to kiss her, softly and gently. She didn’t know what to do and she was so sure she stopped breathing for a second there.

Her eyes fluttered close as Henry pulled her much more closer, tilting his head to the side and Amber almost gasped when their lips slide against each other, her hands curling into fists. His lips were soft as they looked and he tasted like her favourite spearmint gum that he nicked from her before rehearsal started. Amber thought she was going to melt. Kissing Henry felt so good, she doesn’t want it to stop.

Henry’s lips left hers but kept their forehead touching, chuckling as he tried to catch his breath. Amber was still dizzy as she tried to wind down, trying to remember how to breathe properly. His hands were still on her waist and it’s about the only thing that keeps her from falling to the floor.

“So does this mean that I’m your boyfriend now?” Henry asked and Amber finally found the strength to chuckle, hitting him lamely on the chest.

“What do you think, idiot?”

Henry laughed and kissed her again.

 

The concert was a success and Amber could still hear the buzz of cheers and applause of the standing audience even when Henry was already delivering his overly cheesy speech in their after party.

She saw a few teary eyes, including Suho’s, but she had an inkling feeling it was because of the lame jokes that Kris told him earlier. The speech ended with Henry raising his can of beer in a toast which the orchestra happily followed.

She met his eyes right after he took a swig from the can, smiling as he approached her. She admired the way he looked in a suit, turning light pink as she tried to straighten her dress, careful of not spilling her drink all over herself.

“Hey.” He greeted and Amber failed to control herself, spilling a little bit of the beer on her arm. She doesn’t have to look up to know that Henry was grinning as he wiped her arm clean with his handkerchief, obviously pleased that he has that effect on her.

“Shut up.” Amber warned just as he put the handkerchief back in his pocket.

Henry was still wearing that smug grin as blinked innocently at her. “What? I didn’t say anything.”

“I hate you.” Amber groaned as she tried to push him away but he just chuckled and kissed her.

“No you don’t.”