“So what should we do after school?” Donghae asked, shoving a few chips in his mouth afterwards. He looked expectantly at his friends, pouting when they momentarily ignored him for a few seconds.

“What’s today? Tuesday?” Eunhyuk thought hard, wondering if he had anything planned.

Kyuhyun bit the inside of his cheek, not sure what to say. He didn’t want to admit he had tutoring lessons just yet, so he quietly continued working on homework.

“I guess I’m free,” Eunhyuk shrugged. “Why? What do you want to do?”

“I was thinking that we should try out that new coffee shop that just opened up,” Donghae suggested happily, “It’s just down the street from here.”

“No, don’t go without me!” Zhou mi spoke up, setting down his chopsticks.

“Aren’t you coming with us?” Eunhyuk quirked an eyebrow as he stared at Zhou mi suspiciously. “What do you have planned today, huh?”

Zhou mi fidgeted nervously in his seat, pulling out a small pink envelope from his bag. Small hearts surrounded his name, written in neat, bubbly handwriting. “I got a letter today in my locker…”

Donghae blinked at envelope, snatching it out of Zhou mi’s hand to get a closer look.

“You got a love letter?!” Eunhyuk screeched, glancing between the letter and Zhou mi’s blushing face in amazement. “You lucky bastard! I want a love letter!”

“Who is it from?” Donghae inquired, passing the letter to Eunhyuk. Kyuhyun shifted closer towards Eunhyuk, feeling extremely curious; enough to even stop what he was doing.

“I don’t know,” Zhou mi admitted shyly, playing with his fingers. “The letter just says to meet her after school at the school’s garden. So I guess she’s going to confess to me.”

Eunhyuk stealthily opened the envelope when Zhou mi wasn’t paying attention, pulling out the letter to read it. His mischievous grin faded immediately when he noticed the handwriting was in mandarin.

“Aw, I wanted to read it,” He whined, the paper anxiously snatched away by Zhou mi.

“Thank god none of you are fluent,” Zhou mi huffed, his face turning a bright crimson color when he looked over the letter again.

“If the letter is in mandarin, then it must be someone from your Chinese club,” Donghae deduced, finding the whole thing exciting. It was certainly entertaining to watch their composed hyung freaking out over a love letter. “The handwriting looks familiar though. Maybe it’s from your crush. What was her name again?”

“You think it’s from Victoria?” Zhou mi blurted out, his eyes widening when he realized what he said. He hadn’t told any of them about his crush, but if his friends figured it out, then he was more obvious about it than he wanted to be. Blushing harder than before, he looked up to see Donghae grinning cheekily at him, Kyuhyun snickering, and Eunhyuk strangely banging his head on the table.

“So it’s Victoria,” Donghae smiled victoriously. He turned towards Eunhyuk, sticking his hand out expectantly. “Someone owes me 5,000 won!”

Eunhyuk frowned, pulling out his wallet and reluctantly handing over the money – not without a little resistance as Donghae had to literally pry his fingers away from the crumpled bill. Donghae stuck his tongue out, quickly pocketing the money.

“You guys bet on who my crush was?” Zhou mi stared at them, stunned at the transaction.

“I knew it was Victoria! There was no way it could be that other girl!” Donghae ignored his question. There was really no point in denying the truth now.

“I thought it was going to be Jia, since you hung out with her during winter break,” Eunhyuk stated somberly with a faraway look, his eyes distant as he took a bit of his kimbap. Kyuhyun rolled his eyes at how dramatic his hyung was, turning his attention back to slurping japchae noodles and answering worksheet problems.

“No, I don’t like her like that! I was just showing her around Seoul as foreign-exchange student buddies,” Zhou mi insisted.

“Ladies’ man, Gentleman Mimi,” Eunhyuk sighed wistfully, “Ladies falling for him left and right, while I can’t even get a love letter.”

“I’m not a ladies’ man!” Zhou mi complained, reaching over the table to swat Eunhyuk. Eunhyuk laughed loudly, easily getting out of hitting range. “How did you guys even figure out I like Victoria?”

“Last year, when you started getting jealous of Kyuhyun,” Donghae pointed out, chuckling when Kyuhyun immediately broke his pencil lead. Kyuhyun glanced up, looking between Donghae and Zhou mi in confusion.

“Me?”

“I know, ridiculous right?” Eunhyuk agreed teasingly, hiding his smirk behind a sip of water. Kyuhyun glared at him, before turning around to see Zhou mi’s sheepish expression, purposely avoiding his gaze.

“Zhou mi-hyung used to get jealous whenever Victoria asked you to be lab partners in Chemistry class. I had to assure him a couple times that you didn’t like her as anything more than friend, now I don’t think he’s too bothered with it, right?” Donghae mentioned, which completely surprised Kyuhyun since he never knew this.

“We’re just good friends.” Kyuhyun reassured quickly, observing Zhou mi carefully.

Zhou mi just smiled at him, “I know, Kyu. I trust you.”

“Just being yourself is very reassuring too,” Eunhyuk commented nonchalantly.

“Because you don’t show interest in anyone but your textbooks,” Donghae added. Kyuhyun growled, slapping Donghae’s hand before Donghae could high-five with Eunhyuk. They continued laughing at his expense, even Zhou mi too. The bad thing about being friends with certain people for so long was that no one was intimated by threatening glares anymore. But, that didn’t deter Kyuhyun from glaring at them.

“I have interests!” Kyuhyun defend himself, highly offended at the joke.

Eunhyuk snorted. “Yeah, in math and video games.”

Kyuhyun couldn’t refute that since Eunhyuk wasn’t exactly wrong. Not wanting to admit it, he angrily shoved a spoonful of noodles into his mouth. He chewed angrily when Eunhyuk snickered; clearly knowing he won the short verbal spat.

“So, hyung,” Donghae mentioned cautiously, a slow smirk sweeping across his lips. “When did you start realizing your feelings?”

Zhou mi stared at the ceiling, finding it was the only safe place to look. “I think last year, sometime in the summer. I remember I used to get really nervous around her, whenever she was around I couldn’t stop looking at her. She always had the prettiest smile when she would greet me and-”

Zhou mi continued describing Victoria as Kyuhyun listened, having someone else in mind; a guy with short auburn hair, a bright, beautiful smile and that just so happened to be his teacher-

Kyuhyun’s eyes widened, accidently inhaling his noodles. His eyes turned watery, having swallowed the wrong way as he choked and coughed harshly. He fervently searched for a napkin, grateful when Donghae handed him one. Zhou mi handed him his water bottle, unsurprised when Kyuhyun greedily chugged down the water, emptying the bottle in one long sip. Sitting closest to him, Eunhyuk patted Kyuhyun’s back.

Kyuhyun sighed in relief; the stinging feeling gone as he wiped away excess water around his lips with the back of his hand.

“Thanks,” Kyuhyun croaked, handing back the empty water bottle.

“Are you okay?” Donghae stared at Kyuhyun cautiously, practically waiting for him to choke again.

Kyuhyun just nodded, his throat extremely sore from all the coughing.

He wasn’t prepared to admit he was thinking of their music teacher, out of the adamant belief that it was a complete mistake. There’s no way…I don’t like him like that. I don’t…

He stared pointedly at his homework, more determined to focus on anything but the group’s conversation. To avoid suspicion, he commented here and there but never really paid much further attention, refusing to think about anything but calculus.

Little did Kyuhyun realize that Eunhyuk was watching him closely.

------------------------------

Kyuhyun his dry lips, peeking shyly into the empty classroom. He pushed the door open carefully, finding the absolute silence to be rather eerie. He walked inside, feeling a little distraught at his teacher’s noticeable absence. He had expected his teacher to already be in the music room – after all, he was the one who appointed the time. Maybe I came here too early?

It wasn’t easy sneaking away from the gossiping duo, especially since they liked to ask so many questions. But, he managed to lie about staying late to study for college entrance exams and that pretty much scared the two off. They didn’t question him anymore after that.

Kyuhyun wondered to the glossy grand piano in the corner of the room, polished keys gleaming under the glow of the late-afternoon sun. It was a beautiful instrument, but a complicated one. He stepped closer, fingertips lightly brushing against the smooth white keys.

For the life of him, he couldn’t even remember the real reason –not the stupid excuse he gave to his friends- why he wanted to play the piano. Why did I?

Absentmindedly, he tapped a piano key as he tried to think.

“Ah, Kyuhyun,” Ryeowook said, startling Kyuhyun out of his thoughts. “I’m so sorry I’m late. I lost track of time doing paper work, I didn’t think grading papers took so long!”

“It’s okay, seonsangnim.” Kyuhyun mumbled, stepping away from the piano.

Ryeowook just smiled softly, taking a seat on the piano bench. “Okay then, let’s get started. Shall we?”

Kyuhyun nodded, taking out his crumpled music sheets before sitting down. He became acutely aware that they were sitting close together, sharing the small piano bench. Kyuhyun stiffened at the faint warmth felt from having someone so close. The gentle scent of cologne, a nice citrus mix, smelled wonderful on Ryeowook. Kyuhyun swallowed nervously, strangely finding it harder to breath.

Peering shyly at Ryeowook, he watched as his teacher shuffled through his papers, trying to straighten some of them out. Once the paper organization was settled, Ryeowook placed the music sheets back on the piano.

“Okay, before we start learning the basics, I want to work on your posture,” Ryeowook stared at Kyuhyun, noticing how tense his student looked. “In order for your palms not to hit the keys, you have to have proper posture.”

Ryeowook demonstrated the proper way, watching as Kyuhyun poorly mimicked him. “You need to relax, Kyuhyun. Your shoulders are too stiff.”

Kyuhyun glanced bashfully down at the piano keys, struggling to relax his shoulder. Oh …why can’t I relax?! Why is my heart beating so fast? “Like…like this?”

He tensed further when Ryeowook stood up, standing right behind him. His eyes widened upon feeling warmth on his shoulders, the sensation leaving a faint burn in its wake. Gently, Ryeowook guided his arms to the correct position, thin fingers briefly skimming down his arm to his hands. Kyuhyun unconsciously held his breath, not sure what to do.

Peeking from the corner of his eyes, he could see Ryeowook’s perfect profile; the prominent jawline, the smooth skin of his exposed neck. It didn’t help that his face was only a few centimeters away, since Ryeowook was leaning over his shoulder. The scent of his cologne was stronger; the smell oddly alluring and comforting. 

“Like this,” Ryeowook mumbled unintentionally close to Kyuhyun’s ear, the crystal clear voice ringing pleasantly. Kyuhyun could practically feel all the blood rushing to his ears, bright red ears matching his rosy flushed cheeks. His heart was thrumming noisily in his chest and he wondered if he was going to have a heart attack anytime soon. He even wondered if Ryeowook had any idea what he was doing to him.

“Okay, perfect,” Ryeowook backed away, patting Kyuhyun’s shoulder. Kyuhyun felt strange at the sudden loss of warmth. “Just relax your shoulders and you should be fine.”

Kyuhyun simply nodded, not really trusting his voice at the moment.

“Now try playing a few notes for me,” Ryeowook suggested, eyes focused on the keyboard. Kyuhyun hesitantly pressed on a key, satisfied it was the right note. He played three more notes before inevitably hitting the wrong key.

He frowned, feeling a little embarrassed failing in front of Ryeowook. “Sorry…”

Ryeowook patted his shoulder comfortingly, kindly pointing out his mistake which all stemmed from tensing up at the wrong moment. “It’s okay, just try again.”

The rest of the lesson progressed rather quickly, going over the basics of identify each key and its corresponding note. Every time Kyuhyun made a small mistake, Ryeowook was there to quickly correct it by adjusting his hands or arms – each touch resulting in Kyuhyun’s heart beating at dangerously high rates.

He wanted to believe that this strange feeling didn’t mean anything. He wanted to strongly believe it was because of lunch, since he almost died, so his heart was just being overly sensitive to everything. But the minute Ryeowook looked at him; eyes shining brightly, grinning excitedly when Kyuhyun managed to play a few notes successfully without a single mistake. He knew exactly what this feeling was by the way his heart had skipped a beat.

A/N: It is still the 21st in North America, so Happy Birthday Ryeowook! Thank you for subscribing and commenting. :)