Chapter 2 | November 21, 2015

Elevator music can lighten up anyone’s mood. A cheerful, upbeat tune in a small, brightly lit compartment. Who could despise such a thing? Despise is a strong word, slightly dislikes is a better way to describe the Erin’s taste of elevator ambience. In her opinion, the music just made time move slower every time she stepped into such an elevator. Even if she only needed to go up two or three floors, it always felt like an eternity.

Erin fixes the snapback on her head so that it doesn’t cover her eyes too much. She leans forward a little to look closer into the mirrors that lined the elevator walls. Her eczema tended to act up during the transition between the burning summer heat and the frozen winter cold, much to her frustration. A frown made its way onto her lips as she stared at the splotches of paler skin against her tanned cheeks and forehead.

A more childish face leaned to the side from behind her reflection and it took some effort for the older girl not to laugh at the expression the face made. The younger girl’s ginger, silky hair brightened the small box in its infinite reflection.

“What exactly are you doing?” Erin asked in the language she knew the other understood best. She receives a soft shrug and a childish pout as her answer while the younger leans forward to rest her chin on her shoulder.

The good three inches Erin held over the girl made her tempted to bend at the knees a little to make it easier for the other to rest. She only hesitated because she didn’t want to upset the younger girl by implying her lack of height. Before she could move, the elevator dings, signaling their arrival on their destination floor.

The two girls step out onto the polished hardwood floors of the hallway. The elevator music fades away as the doors close, much to the older’s relief. She makes her way down the all too familiar hallway of practice rooms. The shorter follows with a natural, light skip in her steps, making sure to keep close in the unfamiliar environment.

As they pass by, she glances curiously through the sliver of glass next to each door that gives her a peek into each room. Some have young women or men dancing about to music she can’t hear from the hallway. The mouths of others are moving, but the songs they sing don’t reach the younger’s ears.

Erin stops suddenly and the girl behind her runs right into her shoulder blade. A soft, puppy-like whimper reaches the taller’s ears, but she doesn’t turn to look at the source. Her hand rests on the horizontal handle of the door as she peeks through the window.

“What is it? Why are we stopping?” The girl’s whispered English nearly goes unheard.

With a soft click, the door opens and the two slip inside almost soundlessly. Inside, mirrors line one side of the room. The only light comes from the tall lamp in the corner, next to the piano, pushed to the side. The gentle pitter-patter of the rain against the broad windows accompanies a young male’s voice coming through a recording on the laptop sitting on the ground next to the mirrors. In the center of the room sits a young boy, his eyes are closed in concentration as his dexterous fingers move across the black fingerboard of the mahogany-colored instrument between his legs. His right hand grips firmly on the wooden bow, dragging the blonde hairs firmly against the silver strings.

How many more tears like today’s are left?

I don’t know love or farewells, will you tell me?

Raindrops keep turning into tears, blocking my vision

Where are the tears like today’s going?

    Without a word, the rapper sits down, leaning her back against the wall with her knees pulled up to her chest. The younger takes this as her cue to follow, doing her best not to make a single noise in fear of breaking the cellist’s concentration.

    The song lasted for another good minute and a half, giving the younger girl the time to run her eyes over the boy’s features.

    His body looked frail, yet the tensed muscles of his arms as they deftly worked at the instrument made her note otherwise. Gravity pulled his short, dark hair down straight, save for a few strands that preferred to defy it. His facial features were soft, giving off the aura of someone younger than herself, yet she could tell he that he had a few years on her by the way he held himself. The voice in the recording was no Huh Gak, so she guessed that the singer was the boy himself. The powerful voice he owned contrasted rather greatly from the boy’s tiny frame.

Tears like today’s

I don’t know

How much more? I don’t know

    The piano accompanying the voice ends with the last lyrics, but the boy pulls his bow against the string for one last phrase. His left fingers move until the last note, leaving his wrist to create a strong vibrato.

    He gets up without any hurry, strolling over to his laptop on the ground with his string instrument in hand. The wooden bow hangs from his left, middle finger while the others hold onto the neck of the cello. He leans down to stop the recording before placing the instrument on its side. The younger girl didn’t notice Erin standing until she had her arm around the boy’s neck. Since he had a couple inches in height more than her, she leaned forward on the balls of her feet to stand better.

    “Cello with ‘Tears Like Today’?” a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “I like it.”

    Her words brought a childish grin to his lips, throwing his cool and indifferent demeanor out the window and into the November rain. He picks her up almost effortlessly and a squeak of surprise escaped her lips.

    “Seunghwan!” Erin’s arms wrap around his neck, clinging on for dear life. “Put me down!”

    A playful smirk overtook his grin as he swings her around a few times. “What happened to the girl who always begged me to give her piggyback rides?”

    Once he stops spinning, she keeps one arm hooked around Seunghwan’s neck while she uses the index finger of her other hand to poke at his chest to emphasize her points, “one, this is not a piggyback ride; and, two, that was like ten years ago.”

    The male rolls his eyes as he carries her back over to the shortest of the three. Her reddish, light brown hair looks orange in the dimly lit room and she looks exceptionally smaller with her arms wrapped around her bent knees. She relaxes a little, placing her chin over her knees displaying her small nose piercing to anyone close enough to see. As the pair approaches, she ducks tighter into her over-sized sweatshirt, hiding the bottom half of her face for a few moments.

    “Mona.”

    The girl blinks again before it registers that she’s being introduced. Her brightest smile takes over her confused expression and she gives a little hop after she rushes to her feet. “That’s me!”

    Seunghwan places the rapper down on her feet. Before she can stand up straight, his elbow lands gently on her shoulder, followed by his weight, knocking a slight frown onto her lips. Her eyes narrow at the male before she shifts her position to something more comfortable.

    “Seunghwan,” he gives her a soft, polite smile, but it quickly turns into a wide grin when he turns his eyes over to Erin. There’s a playful, teasing glint in his eyes as he speaks again, “I hope she’s not too much handle for you to handle as a bandmate.”

    Mona quickly raises her hands, head shaking so vigorously her hair finds itself in her eyes. “No, no, no! Not at all!”

    Erin’s eyebrows furrow as she lands a smack on Seunghwan’s back before Mona can say any more. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

    His light-hearted, signature laugh fills the otherwise empty practice room even though the hit was bound to hurt. The youngest blinks a few times as she watches the two of them continue to bicker. All the while, a soft smile remains on the corner of Seunghwan’s lips as if it's permanent. The words exchanged between the two don’t go unheard from Mona as she watches the two of them play around.

Seunghwan darts off after Erin hits him again, this time with mock anger in her eyes. He had said something to and out of habit she slaps his arm in slight agitation. When he dodges her attacks, it only serves to urge her on to chase after him. The rain outside provides the perfect rhythm for their playful dance.

    Little Cupid Mona was already formulating plans in her clever mind. It really didn’t take a genius to see that there was something special in the way Seunghwan looked at Erin. Even if the latter couldn’t tell, Mona clearly could. A smirk danced its way onto her lips as her fingers played with the hem of her oversized sweatshirt.

    Mona Sanchez was Starlightz’s Cupid, but it didn’t mean she wouldn’t have some mischievous fun carrying out her personal, romantic missions.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Hello Hello~ First reveal, I hope you all liked it! I might update slowly, but I hope you can bear with me >__<