The music stopped abruptly and Mirae looked up, eyes wide in shock. She stared directly into Junsu’s own shocked eyes.

As Yesung lingered by the door, watching the scene silently, he couldn’t help but think that Yoochun might have been right about this.

“Sorry,” Junsu squeaked. His hand flew over his mouth, covering it in shock as he processed what he had just done. “I didn’t… It just… You see…”

Mirae shook her head. Her hand moved through patterns, eyes darting between Yesung and Junsu in an attempt to coerce the elder man to translate her reply. Yesung gladly helped as he stayed by the door. It’s okay. I just didn’t expect it. Come in.

Junsu hesitantly shuffled in with Yesung trailing behind him. Yesung sat beside Mirae in a relaxed position, nodding good-naturedly at the girl in greeting. Junsu took a seat in front of the guitarist, head bowed down with his hands clutching his pants. “Sorry,” he murmured.

Mirae had to hold back a smile. She tapped Junsu’s knee lightly, prompting him to look up. She gave him a smile, eyes crinkling with happiness. It’s really okay. I can’t believe that you remembered the song.

“A-Ah, I… It helped, somewhat,” Junsu admitted.

I’m happy that it was able to help you, but how did you know how to sing it? You didn’t hear anyone sing it when I gave you that song. Mirae questioned with a tilt of her head.

“I asked Yoochun hyung how it was supposed to go and he taught me the first verse until the chorus. It stuck to me,” Junsu answered.

You have a beautiful voice. Why don’t you sing? Mirae asked.

“I don’t know how,” Junsu embarrassedly said. His cheeks flushed with color as he saw both Yesung and Mirae looking at him in shock.

“What do you mean you don’t? You just sang a while ago!” Yesung exclaimed. It was the first time that Junsu had heard the elder man speak with such intensity in emotions.

“Yoochun hyung only taught me how to play the piano. I don’t really know about singing,” Junsu said. “The words flowed out of me just now. I never really received any training.”

“That idiot,” Yesung murmured under his breath. “He has a perfectly great voice under his wing, but he’s hiding that talent behind a piano.”

Mirae stared with amusement at the eldest within the room. However, she couldn’t help but agree. She had only heard a snippet of Junsu’s voice, but the guy had a nice vocal color with good emotional delivery. The tone was a little shaky, though. It was probably because he hadn’t really sung before and he was singing a song that was quite new to him. But that was easy to fix. A few lessons and pointers would be able to shape Junsu’s voice to its full potential.

“Well, would you like to learn?” Yesung offered gently as he finished his mini rant.

Junsu stared with wide eyes. “Huh?” he uttered.

“I could teach you, if you’d like,” Yesung answered.

“I don’t know. Wouldn’t it be hard to sing because of my hearing?” Junsu responded nervously.

“No, no, I’m sure you can learn. You can still hear, can’t you? Your hearing isn’t guaranteed to fade away. You just need something to help you listen in the same level as others,” Yesung said. Initially, he had only wanted to help Junsu because it was a favor that Yoochun had personally asked. Although, after hearing the young man’s voice Yesung suddenly wanted to make sure that Junsu would be able to become a great singer. The elder was adamant in his decision and he would insist until Junsu agreed.

“I don’t know,” Junsu muttered unsurely.

Mirae picked up on the uneasiness and she nudged Yesung, glaring at him with warning. She turned to smile at Junsu, her hands once again at work. You don’t have to decide right away. You should think about it more before you answer. It wouldn’t help you in the long run if you regret it later. If you need to talk to someone, I’m sure Yoochun oppa or Jaejoong oppa would be more than happy to listen.

Junsu offered a grateful smile at the other, nodding in appreciation. “Thank you,” he whispered.

What now? Mirae signed as she looked at Yesung.

“Well, I was hoping that Junsu could play the piano. I wanted to see how good he is before taking any further steps with music. But after hearing his voice,” Yesung trailed off.

Mirae looked at the eldest with contemplation. Her hands moved through patterns, a tentative look settled on her face. What if I play the piano? Maybe he’ll relax a bit and try it himself.

“Do you think that’ll work?” Yesung asked, extremely doubtful.

Let’s give it a try. There’s a song that he needs to hear. Mirae grinned as her optimism shone through.

“What song?” Yesung questioned. He didn’t know that Mirae had planned a surprise.

You’ll see. She laid the guitar on the floor and headed to the piano. Sheets of music were carefully arranged on the stand, even if she didn’t need them. Soon, the room was engulfed in music, and it was evident that Mirae had lost herself to the melody of the keys.

Yesung eyed Junsu with interest, wondering what the younger male would do. Junsu’s eyes were closed, his body relaxed as he listened to the song. The sound of the piano flew across the room, connecting the three musicians through the music. As the piece ended, Junsu’s eyes opened and he looked at Mirae’s back. She sat upright; just relaxed enough to not look stiff, but there was a tinge of vulnerability in her posture that appeared in his vision. He wondered if she was as strong as she portrayed herself to be, if she really was as happy as she looked.

“What was that song?” Junsu asked after a period of silence.

Mirae turned around. A smile was pasted on her face as she signed her answer. Butterfly, Yoochun oppa wrote that song recently. It was supposed to be a gift for you.

Junsu’s eyes widened at the sudden revelation. “Why would he give me a song?”

When he saw that you were suffering, he wanted to give you strength. But he saw that you were distancing yourself from music, so he kept it hidden. I asked him if I could show it to you today.

“That…” Junsu didn’t know what to say. He could’ve known about this song earlier, but he made the decision to stay away from music. He nearly lost the chance to hear such a beautiful melody because of his fear.

“Are you okay?” Yesung asked.

Junsu had turned pale, and this earned him worried glances from both Yesung and Mirae. He waved away their concern with a shake of his head as he stood up. He took reluctant steps towards the piano until he was sharing the bench with Mirae.

“Can you play it again?” Junsu whispered. His eyes were focused on the notes and lyrics. The song was beautiful even if it was just the piano, but as he read through the lyrics, he felt a connection. In a way, it was an answer to his doubts. It was also an encouragement given to him by his hyung.

So I take one more step

As I feel the sky that fills my heart

Even if I want to escape

Even if I want to avoid it

I need to get up again

It is my way, woo

My own way, woo, once again

Mirae smiled at Junsu’s sudden burst of compliance. She placed her hands on the piano once more, nodding thrice before she started. Junsu managed to sing along with the tune. He was shaky and unsure, but he had a grasp of how the song was supposed to go. However, the chorus was something that both Mirae and Yesung paid great attention to. As Junsu sang those lines, it felt as if he was renewing his strength and belief in himself and music. He was slowly beginning to stand up again.

‘Maybe, just maybe,’ Junsu thought.

The song slowly came to a close with Junsu holding the note uncertainly. He was startled as Mirae nudged his side, a proud smile settled on her face. You should sing more. It’s your key.

“What do you mean by that? It is the key for what?” Junsu questioned, brows furrowing in confusion.

Before Mirae could answer, the door opened. Everyone turned to the door and found Jaejoong standing by the door. He had a gentle smile on his face, so Junsu was shocked at the words that flowed out from the elder man’s lips. “Mirae, are you ready to go to the hospital?”

It's been quite a while since the last time, right? I think nearly 2 months have passed since my last update. Unfortunately, I've been quite busy with finishing up school work and such. I will be leaving for vacation soon, maybe at the end of the month, so I'll try to squeeze in one more update before I leave. I hope that this chapter was able to satisfy you after my long absence. 

This chapter still deals with Junsu's problem with music. I know that seems rather undecisive and confusing. Is that too unnatural? I wanted to portray him that way because music was once the most important thing to him. Now that his hearing is on the verge of being lost, he's finding it hard to pick it up again and continue. Please tell me if it's too unnatural or unrealistic. Also, I think that the relationship between Mirae and Junsu is really starting to take shape. What they have is something that is shared between their mutual love for music, but also the losses of some of the most important senses that they need to pursue their passion. But, why exactly is Jaejoong taking Mirae to the hospital?

I'll update the next chapter before I leave or something, but feel free to leave your thoughts about that. Thanks for your patience and continuous support! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! Comment and subscribe~! (I think this is the longest author's note that I've done.)