no strings.

characters: xuanyi, seola/hyunjung, bona

summary: the only bad thing xuanyi did is breaking one rule.

 

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part i.

 

xuanyi hopes her dreams come true. but it dawns in her that her dreams are far from becoming part of the reality. well. maybe.

 

she is still hoping her dreams will come true anyway.

 

the slight movement on her side wakes her up. she opens her eyes and sees that everything else around her is still dark. the sun hasn't risen yet, but hyunjung is already up. 'hyunjung unnie?'

 

'oh, sorry. did i wake you up?'

 

xuanyi shakes her head, but she figures hyunjung might not see so she mouths a no.

 

the silence stretches as time passes by until hyunjung is already by the edge of the bed, ready to stand up when xuanyi gently holds on to her wrist, 'will you stay a little longer?'

 

'...'

 

'please?'

 

'...okay.'

 

*

 

'you can't deny it this time!' xuanyi ignores her seatmate as she scoots toward her.

 

bona drags a chair and sits across, xuanyi's desk in between to separate them.

 

'hey, look at me.' but stubborn xuanyi doesn't. she keeps scribbling on her notebook, covering her eyes with her other hand for bona to get the message that she doesn't want to talk to her this time.

 

pissed, bona takes her pen and notebook and throws them on to her own desk which is just parallel to xuanyi's. then she sits on her classmate's desk, grabs xuanyi by her chin, and inches closer.

 

'i saw it with my own eyes.' bona looks around. once she has assured that no one inside the classroom is listening to them, she whispers, 'kim... that kim seola? she went out of your room earlier. she stayed all night in there, didn't she?'

 

xuanyi scoffs, 'honestly, what's the big deal.' she stands to grab her things from her classmate's desk while bona is left in bewilderment.

 

'what's the big deal? what's the big deal, you are asking me?' bona mocks as she watches every movement xuanyi makes, and only speaks again when her classmate is close enough so xuanyi will be the only one hearing what she will say.

 

'well, nothing. except that maybe you're dating one of the most popular musicians here in the university?' bona claims, then she pauses quickly after. she has thought of a remark to attack xuanyi and she thinks now is the time to actually blurt it out, 'and the fact that you are my bestfriend and you're not telling me anything? oh maybe you did but that's not the whole of the story?! like there is something else that i have to know but you. are. not. telling me?'

 

xuanyi knows her bestfriend-slash-classmate-slash-nagger is disappointed, 'i already told you the story. i am not dating her. she is just my tutor that is why she sometimes stays in my dorm. okay.'

 

'and besides...'

 

bona crosses her arms while raising an eyebrow to inquire.

 

well, xuanyi is also disappointed, 'seola has a boyfriend.'

 

*

 

it is an understatement to say that xuanyi has a crush on her tutor. if there is a more appropriate phrase to describe her feelings right now that is: xuanyi is in love with her.

 

it's all by generous fate when xuanyi met seola, or hyunjung—the name her tutor prefers to be called.

 

*

 

pursuing her passion in the music world was a big challenge for xuanyi since being musically inclined was not what she had been training for since she was young. she had had trainings in singing, yes, but the technical aspect of music was somewhat still unknown to her. for example: she couldn't read notes, and that's one of the many basic foundations one must have before entering the department of music.

 

her lack of basic knowledge drove her to seek help from people around the university.

 

she asked her friends and other students, even those non-music department people so long as they're able to teach her. she also posted help on boards, even on places where advertisements should not be placed. all those she did prior to her entrance exam to the music department which was scheduled to happen in two months during that time.

 

she received offers from many people, but most of them weren't affordable for xuanyi. until one night, she received a message from an unregistered number saying that she would help her for free. it wasn't all too believable for her since xuanyi didn't believe in free lunches given away these days, but she took the bait anyway.

 

the sender of the message happened to be seola. and when xuanyi first met her, she has fallen in love.

 

*

 

'a boyfriend?' bona snickers. 'i doubt.'

 

'it's true okay. he's also a violin major, you should check him out. he's a senior.'

 

*

 

'i'm kim hyunjung' was seola's first greeting. since then, xuanyi has been calling her that name. 'i was the one who sent you the message.'

 

xuanyi couldn't describe how she was feeling that time. she's just sure of one thing.

 

'wait, are you really teaching me for free?' she had to ask just in case.

 

seola smiled at her, 'yes! of course i am serious about that!'

 

from then on, seola became her private tutor in music.

 

they agreed to meet at xuanyi's place thrice a week, every night. despite xuanyi's constant nagging due to her worry of her tutor getting off late, seola assured her that she had her ways to get back to her own home safely.

 

seola asked her what xuanyi knew about music, and much to her surprise, this girl she's about to teach had the least knowledge for someone who's willing to sacrifice her life in business school.

 

'i've always wanted to play violin and perform in concerts, but i never got the chance to learn it, nor anything about music.'

 

xuanyi's already asking a huge favor from her tutor during their first day. she thought seola was about to give up on her, but she was smiling at her, it was an assurance that she's willing to teach xuanyi.

 

'i'll do my best in teaching you then'

 

*

 

seola had her own teaching style. it's a combination of theory and practice—math in music, she called it. 'you have to know what you're learning so you apply it here first, since we're just in the basics,' seola said, bringing out a mini toy keyboard from her bag. 'i know it looks silly and childish, but trust me it helps a lot.'

 

'no, no, no! it's okay, i'm fine with this!'

 

seola taught her about music symbols and their functions during the first night. the staff, measures, and how to read notes on sheets in the next lesson.

 

xuanyi had few drills and short quizzes about which note sounded this and that before she was taught about chords, sharps, and flats. and for her to appreciate what she is learning, seola gave her some nursery rhymes to play.

 

'i know it's funny you're just learning them now, but trust me, better learn them late than never,' seola giggled while listening to her student playing twinkle twinkle little star on the small keyboard she's been bringing to their class.

 

'hyunjung unnie, when do i learn how to play violin...' xuanyi asked one night during their break.

 

'oh that...' seola looked at her, then to the keyboard, 'i've never really thought of that. i think... i'll leave it up to you.'

 

'what... what do you mean...'

 

'i'm here to teach you about music. to make the pillars of your foundation strong enough for you to understand what more there is in the complexity of the music world. whatever way you would like to apply your learnings, i will leave it to you.' seola added that she wanted xuanyi to discover how to play her favorite instrument on her own, for her to realize it's actually fun how knowing what she's learning on that small keyboard can be applied on violin, and on any other instruments.

 

'and oh, it's just a week til the exam.' xuanyi was reminded. 'if you do good and pass, i'll give you a gift''

 

xuanyi did good for someone who crammed learning music in two months. it's all thanks to seola. but she couldn't even pay her for everything her tutor has done. seola refused the payment whenever she would attempt to give any.

 

'and oh, for your gift.' seola took out the huge box she's been carrying with her for that night, then she handed it to her student. 'it isn't a new one but here anyway. you can start with this when you're in school'

 

xuanyi was just planning to buy herself a violin but now she's actually getting herself one for free. she couldn't be happier.

 

'the strings are broken so...'

 

'it's okay, it's okay, i swear! this is the best!'

 

'instead of paying me, buy new strings for your little buddy instead.'

 

xuanyi couldn't control herself for a moment, she caught her tutor in her arms and squeezed her tight in an embrace, mouthing so many thanks because of everything. seola froze, she felt, but then a hand started patting on xuanyi's head and she's hearing her tutor chuckle.

 

'it's alright.'

 

the night's still too long but their final 'lesson' night is already coming to an end.

 

'hyunjung unnie, may i ask one thing,' xuanyi broke the silence that was eating them. at times like this seola was usually the one who's doing this by giving pop quizzes or random things for xuanyi to do. but since they're done with learning what there was for her to know, it's student's turn to ask.

 

xuanyi's actually afraid to ask since her question had nothing to do with any of their lessons. it's a personal matter that she wanted to know, an itch on her curiosity, something that has been circulating in her mind since day one they met, but she never got the chance to ask.

 

'which instrument do you like playing?'

 

'oh, me?' seola's face suddenly glowed as she smiled, 'it's piano.'

 

xuanyi clapped hands in her excitement. then asked a favor if she could play a piece for her on the toy keyboard.

 

seola wanted to but she said it would be too hard to actually play music on that since it only covered an octave. then a thought suddenly popped into her student's mind, seola found herself being dragged outside xuanyi's room.

 

'are you sure we're allowed to use this?' whispered seola, looking at her student crawling under the table to plug in something underneath.

 

'no one's really using it here. it's actually for everyone but you know how this dorm is for business students, they have very little time allotted for recreational stuff since most are busy with cases... ah there!'

 

xuanyi took a chair from the corner of the dorm lounge and set it for seola to sit on. she the keyboard and tried hitting on some keys to see if they still worked. 'still good.'

 

'will you...?'

 

she heard her teacher giggle, 'alright'

 

seola sat on the chair, adjusted some volumes and key settings, warmed her fingers up on the board by running through some basic chords, then started striking the keys.

 

xuanyi didn't know what piece her teacher was playing but it wasn't a fast one, not a slow one either. it's just right to suit the night mood. it's soothing xuanyi's ears—her hands clasped together as she listened. she couldn't stop smiling because the melody was so sweet.

 

seola was playing it with both eyes closed—it seemed like a piece she has mastered long ago for her to do that.

 

but just like their lesson night, the song ended quickly. xuanyi's feeling mixed emotions.

 

'what's the title of the song?' she gleefully asked.

 

'hmm... i'm not telling you~'

 

'eh?'

 

'let's just say... it's a lullaby. a lullaby for xuanyi,' seola said, ruffling her student's hair.

 

'thank you for everything, hyunjung unnie'

 

'it's nothing. have fun in the music department you're entering.'

 

'will i still see you around?'

 

'i hope so'

 

the night ended, so as their contract as student-tutor. xuanyi wanted to give her so much thanks in any form possible for one last time but seola refused to accept.

 

'good night' was seola's last words that time. xuanyi waved her goodbye after dropping her at the nearest station from her dorm.

 

as xuanyi walked back to her room, the melody of the piece her tutor played continued to ghost in her mind. she could still remember the song somehow. xuanyi wanted to know the title. she promised to herself that one day, she'd know that piece so she started transcribing the song on a piece of paper for her not to forget about it.

 

*

 

'if that's true, why have i not heard of him all this time?' bona snickers.

 

in xuanyi's defense, she mentions their current situation: bona is in the department of performing arts, while she is in music, although they might share some subjects and knowledge in some areas, 'there are some things that don't get to the ears of people from other departments. one of which is that.'

 

bona narrows her eyes, 'are you actually telling the truth.'

 

'i am'

 

xuanyi might have lied about one thing, but the rest are truth.

 

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part ii. coming soon [will be added on this page]