Ryeowook left on Saturday morning and even though Byeol knew they were going to see each other again in two months when he would be coming back to Korea, she felt really sad and couldn't help crying when he left.

After that she decided to hang out a bit by herself in town to forget and to think about something else. Since she didn't want to stay with her mother and since Hongbin was back but exhausted and was resting, she walked down the streets alone with some music playing on her phone. She mainly went to some libraries but didn't buy anything contrary to her habits. However, she found herself wandering into a little shop of antiques which was hiding an old wooden upright piano. At first she didn't see it when she entered the shop, it was only once she was done looking at all the partitions sheets which were spread on top of it that she realized an instrument was hidden. The owner of the shop, an old man with wrinkled face and hands, but with smiling eyes asked her if she wanted to take a look at it. She didn't especially refused but said she didn't want to bother him or something. The old man patted her shoulder and even gave her a stool so that she was sitting in front of the beautiful piano.

“Do you know how to play?” he asked her.

“I do, but it's been quite a long time since I have played a beautiful piece,” she sadly smiled.

“I've learned to play on this piano,” he told her, “I found it at the beginning of the war. It was hidden into an old house which was about to be burn and during the night, I stole it in order to save it. Once the war was over, I took lessons and started playing. I've never really been good at it, but I liked the feeling that it gave me. My wife liked it a lot too, when I was playing, she said she was falling in love with me every times a bit more.”

Byeol smiled, really moved by this story and slowly caressed the keys.

“My father was the one who wanted me to play the piano,” she said, “when I was six, he made me took classes and I started learning. At first I wasn't playing because I wanted to or because I loved it, it was just because I wanted to please my father and I wanted him to be proud of me. He was proud of me, he really was. Especially when I had my first solo when I was ten.”

She stopped for a while and smiled at the old man who was looking at her with a fond smile.

“I was playing for the first time in front of a crowd of five hundred for some musical festival and my dad was at the first row to film the show. My parents were divorced, but my father had came especially from America to come and see me play. When I got off the scene, he hugged me and said I was the best daughter a man could ever have. That day, I knew the piano would be more than a simple hobby for me, I knew I wanted to play the piano for the rest of my life and I wanted it to become my job. So I started practicing even more at home and I was having private lesson with a big pianist every single day, even on week-ends. My mother didn't like it, but since my father was the one paying the lesson, she never actually asked for me to stop. I... I-” she swept away a tear, “I had a lot of friends whom I had known thanks to the piano, and people were always supporting me and saying I was the best. So obviously it made me wanted to play even more. When I was thirteen, my piano teacher made me passed an audition for a school which was in Germany. I was really excited about it and my father came back again to see me and to support me. The problem was that my teacher had also made another girl who was her student passed this audition, and there was only one place. I passed the audition and I succeeded. My father was even more excited about it than I was and he was even thinking about leaving the USA to go to Germany to live with me. And then...”

She had to stop because started to hurt because of all the tears she was holding back. The old man brought her a glass of water and patted her shoulder for her to calm down her bit.

“And then,” she said once she was able to speak again, “the girl who was jealous of me pushed me down the stairs. I hurtled down twenty stairs and ended up with a broken leg and wrist. I didn't really care about my leg but because I had to undergo surgery for my wrist and had pins, I wasn't able to play the piano anymore and the girl ended up going to Germany instead of me.”

Byeol rolled up her right sleeve and looked at the symmetrical red scars she had on the inside of her wrist. She touched it with her fingertips and she shivered because of all the bad memories which came back to her mind so suddenly.

“It took four months for it to be able to scar correctly. Except that after the accident, I had never been able to play the piano again. During the first months and even the first year, it really hurt whenever I wanted to play so I decided to completely stop contrary to my father's orders. And my friends whom I had at the school where I was learning the piano left me, none of them actually tried to talk to me after the accident. Even at school the other students were making fun of me. So I stopped talking to everyone and I stayed by my own. Ever since the accident, I've always been scared of trusting people and to stand in public. I'm scared that... if I ever want to show what I can do, people will try to hurt me once again.”

“Listen, my dear... what's your name already?”

“Byeol. Kim Byeol.”

“Byeol,” he smiled, “have you ever wanted to hit the girl who had pushed you and to hurt her just like she hurt you?”

“Yes, every times I think about this accident.”

“Then why don't you try to show her that even though she hurt you, you are still better than her?”

“Because I'm not.”

“You are, you are a better person than she'll ever be, I can tell that just by listening to your story. You should become a huge star just to ridicule her,” he chuckled.

“Hey... it's not really my type... I'm not the kind of girl who-”

“Then what's your type? What kind of girl are you?”

“I don't really know... I-I like to be alone and to read, I really like reading, and... and...”

She stopped because she didn't know what else to say.

“You don't even know who you are, Byeol. You're a young girl and while you should be having lots of fun with your friends and enjoying your life as a teen, you are here alone talking about your past to an old man. Do you really that the right thing to do?”

She frowned and didn't say anything.

*

“So... thank you very much to all of you,” Hakyeon tried really hard to smile but it turned more into a grimace, “I'm glad that you all want to join the group, but as you can see... you are a lot, so only a few of you will be able to join us,” he said while pointing at Jaehwan and Hyuk who were silently looking (judging) the girls who were waiting to pass the audition, “so... I guess you'll have to tell us why you want to join our group, if you can sing or play a musical instrument. Is it alright for you?” he asked and all the girls nodded and smiled.

The third first girls were awful singers, didn't know how to play any instruments and were only there to be close to the head boy even though they claimed to be really interesting in music. The three boys didn't even need to talk to each other to know they obviously weren't going to join. The fourth girl was Yoora who clearly admitted she wanted to join to be with Hakyeon. Yet, because she knew how to sing and to play the guitar a bit, Hakyeon knew he would have to negotiate really hard with Jaehwan and Hyuk if he didn't want her to be part of their group. The other girls were as bad as the first ones and once they had all left for the boys to talk a bit, they all came to the same conclusion: only Yoora was worth it.

“I can't believe that out of ten girls, only one of them actually knew how to sing,” Jaehwan rolled his eyes.

“Well,” Hyuk shrugged, “with Yoora sunbae we'll be four, and if Hongbin sunbae also joins, we'll be five. It's more than enough, no?”

“Can Hongbin really sing? I didn't know that.”

“He can,” Hyuk blushed a bit.

“Well, five is not that bad I guess,” Hakyeon shrugged and stood up, “I'll wait for Hongbin to come and tell us he'll join to announce who we've selected.”

“Alright! Let's go and eat now!” Jaehwan also stood up and picked up his bag which was left somewhere on the ground.

He walked toward the door and when he opened it, he bumped violently into someone. Because he somehow had good reflexes, he managed to catch this person before she fell on the floor.

“O-oh... Kim Byeol,” he stuttered.

“Hi,” she bowed her head, “sorry for... that, I just... I just-”

“Byeol?” Hakyeon appeared behind Jaehwan, “what are you doing here?”

“Here? Hum... Yun told me they were doing some kind of auditions today for... for your group and well, am I too late?” she frowned.

“Yes you are we-”

“You're not,” Hakyeon covered Jaehwan's mouth and grinned, “you are absolutely not late! Come in!”

He pushed Jaehwan out of her way and let her entered. She greeted Hyuk with a shy smile and put her bag and blazer on a chair.

“So you have to be quick,” Jaehwan folded his arms over his chest, “I'm really hungry right now!”

“What... what do I have to do?”

“That's simple. Why do you want to join this group?” Hakyeon nicely asked her.

“Because I want to,” she titled her head, not sure it was the answer they were expected.

“Alright. And do you know how to sing?”

“Y-you already know the answer,” she bit on her lower lip.

“I do, but they don't,” Hakyeon chuckled.

“Oh, then yes, I can... I mean, I think I can...?”

“She totally can,” Hakyeon told his two friends.

“And do you play any instruments?”

“The piano.”

“Then consider yourself as being already part of our group, congrats, Byeol,” Hakyeon stood up and playfully pinched her cheeks.

“We still don't know if she can sing or not,” Jaehwan tsked.

“I told you she can.”

“But I don't trust you. Byeol can you sing something?”

“R-right now?”

“Yes.

“Hum... I-I don't know I'm not-”

“Let's go and eat together,” Hakyeon pushed her toward the exit after he had gathered her stuff and his own stuff too, “you were hungry, right?”

Into the corridor, he put his arms around her waist.

“What happened to you?” he asked her, “why did you suddenly decide to join?”

“I want to try,” she admitted, “I just want to try to play again in front of people. I... I don't know if I'll be able to succeed or not but I want to try.”

“Byeol, you are going to succeed.”

“Don't expect too much from me, alright?” she looked up to lock eyes with him, “I don't want to disappoint you.”

“You won't, don't worry.”

He kissed her temple and she tried to push him away, but as usual, he made sure she wasn't running away and kept her close. They arrived at the cafeteria and as soon as they stepped into the noisy big room, Yun saw them and called for them. Byeol sat next to her best friend and Hakyeon in front of her, so next to Hongbin since strangely enough, Hongbin and Yun were eating together at first. When Jaehwan and Hyuk finally arrived, the younger one sat next to Hongbin who sent him his most beautiful smile and Jaehwan sat on the other side of Yun but not before he had kissed her cheek. Yun slapped his shoulder and blushed while all of the other people around them watched them with curious gazes.

“Hum... have we missed something?” Hakyeon asked.

“Probably,” Jaehwan wriggled his brows.

“What happened during the trip?” the oldest of them all asked with knitted brows.

“Who knows?”

Hakyeon shook his head while Hongbin and Hyuk laughed a bit. On her side, Byeol just kept looking at the new couple sitting next to her, feeling really happy for her best friend, but also feeling about a bit curious: curious about how they both ended up together, but curious to know how it felt to have a boyfriend.

“-yeol. Byeol!”

“W-what?” she shook her head and looked at Hakyeon who was calling for her.

“You need to eat,” he smiled.

“Oh no it's alright, I'm not hungry.”

He tsked and with his chopsticks, he picked a piece of meat of his plate and handed it to her. She frowned and shook her head yet he insisted and forced her to open . Because she knew he was way too stubborn to let her alone, she gave up, opened and ate the cold meat. Hakyeon smiled and made sure she was really eating. Indeed, she wondered what it felt to have a boyfriend.

Merry Christmas everyone ! I hope you had a great day :D

And for this day, we have Byeol's past story. What do you think about it ? What do you think will happen next ? 

Don't forget to comment to tell me what you thought about it !

Thx

xx

Mae