"Chan!" Hanbyul walked into her living room and smiled at the sight of her best friend. He came as soon as she called like he always did.

"What's wrong?" Chanyeol asked. "Is your leg bothering you again?"

She shook her head. "It's not my leg this time, I'm fine, Chanyeol."

He didn't believe her. 

"I'm serious!"

"Then what?"

"Are you going to do something at the talent show?" Hanbyul asked. "You are, right?"

Chanyeol nodded. "Mhm," He grinned. "Will you stand in the front row and cheer for me?"

"I always do, Chan."

"I know."

Hanbyul hesitated but she popped the question anyway. "I think I want to do something too," She began. "Will you do it with me?"

"Oh?! For the show? Byul, you haven't done it since freshmen year!" Chanyeol exclaimed. "What are you planning?"

She took out a few folded sheets out of her jacket pocket. "I think I want to play the piano," Hanbyul said. "Remember the impossible remix? I want to attempt it with you and..."

He's heard Hanbyul play the song a few times on the piano, he never understood how she was able to pull it off- how she was able to play a piece that intricate, a piece that required three people to play perfectly, decently on her own. Chanyeol reached for the piano sheets and flipped through it. "Byul,"

"I-I know what you're going to say." Hanbyul looked at him. "I know it sounds alright when I play it with Sehun but it would sound much better if we had a third person." She said. "It sounds beautiful already when there are two people playing the notes, but you know we need an extra set of hands to play the notes we miss. Imagine how wonderful it would sound if it was truly played properly, Chan."

Chanyeol didn't want to ruin the mood, Hanbyul seemed genuinely excited and interested in the talent show for once; after getting torn apart by all the girls during freshmen year, she never cared for it until now. "Byul,"

"Hear me out, Chanyeol." She pleaded. "It's my final year in high school and I probably won't get a chance like this ever again. I mean, when will I ever get to play the piano for a talent show?" 

"You're going to enter the talent show with something that doesn't exist?"

Hanbyul frowned. Sehun's real. "Chan," She pressed her lips into a firm line. "You always believed me when we were young- no matter how much nonsense I spewed you always took my side so why can't you believe me just this once?" 

"Hanbyul, we're almost adults now, this time it's different. How could you be this adamant about spirits? You know they're legends."

"Chanyeol, I can see them, I swear!"

Chanyeol shook his head. "Byul, stop..."

"L-Let this be a chance for you to witness it yourself! If you still don't believe that Sehun exists after this, I'll never talk about spirits ever again." Hanbyul said. "I swear, Chanyeol, I will never mention a word to you about them ever again."

Chanyeol didn't know what to say. She seemed serious and had a firm stance on what she wanted. How could he say no to the girl he loved so much? How can I say no to you, Byul? "Fine," He whispered. "I'll play the piano with you." 

---

That night Hanbyul was thrilled to break the news to Sehun. She stayed up a little later despite having school the next day and waited for him to notice.

"How come you're not sleeping yet?"

Hanbyul stuck her head out of her window. "Chanyeol agreed to play the piano with us!"

"Really?" He smiled. "That's great!" Sehun clapped his hands together. "If Chanyeol plays with us, the entire school won't suspect anything weird. Can you imagine if he didn't agree and we had to pull this off ourselves?"

Hanbyul chuckled. "They would think I'm a witch or something if I played up there alone with you. I think I would freak out too if I saw someone playing such a piece without a problem on their own." 

"Will Chanyeol be performing at the show too?"

"He's going to sing,"

"Whoa, he can sing and play instruments?"

Hanbyul nodded. "He's very cool, isn't he?"

"What can he play?"

"The guitar, the piano, the drums, and the violin." Hanbyul propped her head up with her palm. "And he can sing," She sighed. "Park Chanyeol, a man of talents..." She beamed proudly.

Sehun looked up at her. "Will we practice with him?"

She nodded. "Hopefully we'll get a chance, we might only be able to practice once or twice before the show," Hanbyul said. "I know he's skeptical still,"

The spirit shook it off. "Don't worry about it Byul, he's a man of instruments it seems, Chanyeol can probably wing it without even trying."

Hanbyul agreed. "You're right," She said. "I'll look over the sheets tomorrow and mark the notes that Chanyeol has to play. Can you come to the music room tomorrow?"

Sehun draped a few tree branches above her window, blocking some of the moonlight that poured into her room. "Of course," He said. "Sleep tight, Byul."

As promised, the forest spirit appeared during Hanbyul's lunch break at school. He was in the music room with standing by the window with a few books. 

"Sehun!" Hanbyul grinned cheekily and closed the door behind her. "I waited all day for this!"

Sehun pulled out the shiny black bench from under the piano and motioned for her to sit. He set up the sheets. "Were you itching to play the piano?" He teased. 

She tied her hair up and ran her fingers down the keyboard. "I was extra bored today, I don't know why..." Hanbyul admitted. "All I know is that I really wanted lunch to come fast so I can have this room all to us when everyone else went out to the schoolyard,"

Sehun turned to her. "It's because you have something to look forward to again, you're excited to be able to be a part of the talent show, right?"

Hanbyul glanced at him. "I owe it all to you and Xiumin, I would've never been able to do it on my own." 

"You'll do great, Byul. The school will be so blown away by your talent that they won't be able to do anything but applaud you." Sehun played the first note. "I actually love seeing you play the piano." He confessed.

"Why?"

Sehun looked at her. "Because it's something you like to do. I realized this a little late in the game but you love making music, Byul. Being able to see you do something that makes you happy, makes me happy. You radiate confidence and joy when your fingers dance on the keyboard, and I think that's beautiful." 

Hanbyul blushed and lined up the sheets. "R-Really? Do I seem extra cheerful when I'm in this room?"

"You are, Byul. You're pretty, to begin with, but when you're away from your jealous classmates, you're different. When you're able to do something you've always enjoyed doing, you're at ease and untroubled. The Hanbyul I see who sits through all her classes is different from the Hanbyul I see now."

There's a third Hanbyul I see, the Hanbyul who becomes vulnerable and carefree around her best friend. 

The Hanbyul who pours her love and concern out on her best friend without realizing it. 

The Hanbyul who loves Chanyeol nonchalantly.

The Hanbyul who I wish I could protect and truly care for. 

The Hanbyul who I wish I could love.

Meanwhile

Chanyeol stood outside the music room during his lunch hour and listened to the melody that came out of the room. He knew she wasn't playing it alone, there was no way she could. He was afraid to go in because he knew he would see her sitting alone at the piano and he would once again be unable to fathom how the instrumental came to be.

So instead he listened over and over again.

"Byul, it exists... there's a song out there that is as beautiful as you are."  

[a/n]: comments are much appreciated!