I wasn't one to wake up too late.

"Ugh..." I groaned as my hand lazily reached for the annoyingly loud alarm clock. I turned it off, and it began to blare again - sounding like a loud siren. "No..." I sighed before turning it off again. I snuggled even more under the covers, then as expected the alarm started blaring again. 

Finally, I opened my eyes reluctantly, and saw the first thing I saw every morning. The ceiling of my room was painted a soft ocean blue palette, with a quote written in bold, cursive font.

WAKE UP EVERY MORNING WITH THE THOUGHT

THAT SOMETHING WONDERFUL IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN.

I stretched after gathering my willpower, folded the covers and immediately put on my earphones. The music started playing, that was when I started being productive. It didn't take long for me to shower - do the laundry at 7 a.m. and clean the apartment as suggested in the schedule. By 7:30, I had time to spare to pick out clothes for the day, then I started reading a new book I had purchased. Chapter two, I read in my head...

I marked the current page I was going to get to later that night before bed, got up from my position on the couch and started to get dressed. I went for a bright yellow ribbon to tie up my hair, and looked into the mirror. Today is wonderful, Emma Song, I thought to myself before grabbing my violin and bag. As I was passing the living room, Yunyi had just came out of her room. Typical Yunyi, always exactly ten seconds in time for classes. 

"Hey Yunyi, I saved breakfast for you, it's on the table," I said on the way. "And I thought I'd help do your laundry so that means you'll do the dishes tonight, and you forgot to charge your phone so you can have my powerbank today. Oh and by the way, I left my book on the coffee table. It's so good, you should read it!"

She scratched her head, "What?" and she blinked. "What happened to 'sulky Emma' from last night?"

I shrugged, "People change, life goes on. See you later, Yunyi." and I left the apartment.

Yunyi shook her head before going back to her room, "I'll never understand what's in her head..."

---

---

"Something's just not right." I said after the presentation session. People were already packing their stuff and leaving the room, and the only two people who were left were me and Lia. She was the person who got paired up with me during our first lecture, and we have been close ever since. Also a transfer student from outside Korea, only she stood out even more with her blonde hair and blue eyes. She was what the local studets called the 'blonde foreigner chick', at least she didn't understand most of the Korean language. 

"What are you talking about? Your score was perfect, it was a ten out of ten even for Mr Park." she said.

"No, it's not that," I answered. "The melody's fine, but I've always imagined it to be...fuller. You know how I make music - it conveys some kind of message. I just don't know how to express it all." I snapped my fingers. "It needs a voice."

Lia nodded, "Well duh, you even named your score 'Brave Enough'. I'm not gonna lie, the song fits better with electrical violin - adds to the build-up. It's so modern, it's almost not a classical instrument anymore."

"See, it falls mostly on triads, then a modulation before the bridge - it's not a classical piece anymore. I'll need a voice, a special one at that."

"That just sounds like a Lindsey Stirling level kind of music, Emma. We're college students, not big- producers. Besides, the best shot you got are the people from the vocal department. I'm sure you'll find the right choir guy there. By the way, nice tattoo." she noticed the ink on my skin.

"Oh, uh thanks." I said awkwardly. "I thought it looked pretty."

"Ooh, good girl turns bad?" and we both laughed before leaving the room. 

As usual, the campus hallways were cramped as students were getting ready for after class activities. Some had the weekly orchestra practice, vocal training for the charity choir happening in two days, theater auditions and there were even some heading over to the other arts department. Art was both by seeing and hearing, which combined the two fields under one institution. 

"You have practice today?" Lia asked.

"No, it's someone else's turn this week," I answered. "You?"

"Well, nothing academic related. But the gang wants to get together at the garden, maybe create some new stuff. Who knows?" 

"Lia, you guys must be the only people in the campus to have time to focus on band practice," I commented. "By the way, have you guys found someone to replace Kaz?"

She scoffed, "You think? Kaz had great timbre and he could handle falsetto well - not everyone from the vocal department can fit with different genres. I can't believe he bailed out after a month, and now we're in turmoil if we can't find a new lead vocal before the campus's song festival by the end of this month."

"I'm sure you'll find someone by then," I said, putting my violin into my case. "Let's leave before Mr Park get's fussy, you know he doesn't like people staying in his classroom for too long. Gaja." 

"I keep hearing people say that, what does it mean?"

"Lia, you need to brush up on your korean."

Blame me and my earphones for the mishap. After we parted ways, I immediately put on my music once more - this time a cheerful musical song came up. Then my footsteps started grooving to the beat, and soon I was spinning. People were looking at me as they passed, but didn't make much of it. I was so busy humming and dancing, I didn't notice someone walking in the same direction.

"Oh!" the boy said as soon as we crashed into each other. Papers were flying, books tumbled onto the ground and people were looking. 

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" and I started collecting the stuff on the floor. "It's all my fault, I wasn't looking."

"It's okay, I'm partly guilty." he said as he looked up. First glance, the first thing I saw were his eyes. They were lovely and his smile in general was cute, like a very good looking bunny. I didn't know what to say as I stood there tongue tied and unable to answer back. 

"Um, I'm kind of running late so..." he trailed off.

"Oh!" I cried. "Um, sure here you go." and I passed him his supplies. Immediately he flashed another one of his smiles and walked away, further down the hallway and into the next corridor. 

"Bye..." I whispered.

---

---

I sat in the college cafeteria, with a cup of coffee and glazed doughnuts. The afternoon usually was peaceful and students didn't have classes, it was filled with leisure activities. As for me, it was a waste to board the bus all the way back to our apartment - and so I stayed back to redo my musical piece. It wasn't anything, I secretly wanted to show it to the lecturers, hopefully gaining their approval for a slot for the music festival. 

And so I took out my notebook, and stared. There were no musical notes on the pages, but tons of lyrical lines and gospel pieces - once that I recommended last week. Those were songs for the charity choir and musical next week, this was a vocalist's supplies. 

"Huh?" I accidentally let my words slip, drawing attention from everyone else in the cafeteria. Then I began to fret, where did my supplies go? I recalled what had happened earlier in the hallway and sighed. Emma Song, you are an idiot...

"Ahem." I heard someone sound, and I raised my head-

It was him, the boy I had crashed into the hallway. With his charming smile and bright eyes, it caught me off guard. "Hi, we, uh, met in the hallway a while ago," he started awkwardly. It was unbearably cute for some reason, and he beckoned out his hand. "Do you mind?" At first I was still clueless, then I realized he was asking if it was fine to sit down.

"Oh!" I said. "Sure, have a seat."

And so he sat down, opposite me as we were eye-level. He settled down his bag and took out the identical black file like the one I was holding, "I think that we may have switched each other's homework, Emma Song." he blurted.

"You know my name?" I cocked my head. 

"Well, er, your name was on the front page..."

"Right, I forgot. I didn't even notice yours," and I hastily turned to the front page of the other file. "Kim Doyoung, so that's your name." I said, mostly to myself before returning it to him. "I'm sorry for accidentally looking, but you must be from the vocal department." I blurted.

In return he chuckled, "I am, and pretty proud about it. And your self-composed pieces are wonderful to look at, Emma Song. I particularly admire your 'Brave Enough' piece."

I flushed red, "Oh."

"Sorry for accidentally looking too," he grinned. "I don't study instruments, but I know a thing or two about musical arrangements - and your work has potential."

"Haha," I laughed embarassingly. "Thank you, I'm still working on perfecting it." I stared down at the glazed doughnuts on my platter, and I bit my lip. "Um, have you eaten?" I asked Kim Doyoung. He shook his head. I pushed my tray towards him, "Here have some, I'm not really hungry."

"Well, if you don't mind," and he actually took it for real, taking a bite from a snowy white one. He was actually enjoying his treat, paying attention to chewing. I didn't even notice myself paying attention to his mouth, the way he ate reminded me every bit of-

"Why are you laughing?" he frowned when he caught me restraining my laugh, still with his mouth half-full. 

"N-no, it's just," I had to pause before continuing. "You look so much like a bunny."

For a split second I thought he was going to be offended, but he simply looked surprised. "Well, that's a first coming from someone I just met a few minutes ago. But I'll take that as a compliment."

"Don't get me wrong, I didn't mean it in a bad way." I said. And so with that comment, it lightened up the atmosphere. We began talking, diving into random topics from musical tastes to Taylor Swift and Beauty and the Beast. It was amazing, how things escalated so quickly and naturally. 

"I personally loved Gaston's scene," I exclaimed. "With the dancing and the arrangements to the singing - oh, it was fantastic."

"And who could forget the iconic scene in the ballroom?" he continued. "Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme..." he started singing with an angel of a voice. 

"Beauty and the beast..." I continued, trying to act like a professional singer. We both laughed at the same time, I laughed mostly at myself. "I'm so sorry for my bad voice."

"Not at all, you were fine."

"On the other hand, you sounded like an angel." I told him, without hiding my admiration. 

"Nah, I'm mediocre." he said shyly.

"Honest to heart, you sounded like an angel sent from heaven. Not many get to be labelled that with just one line from a Disney song." and he laughed at my comment. "You must have been in a choir or something before?"

He shrugged, "I'd actually kill to be in a band for once, it always seemed cool to me."

Then an idea came into my mind, "Really? Are you still interested?"

"Yeah, feels nice to fulfill some childhood dreams."

Without thinking, I stood up and looked at my watch. We'd make it, if we run. And I looked at him, "Then I have the right chance for you, Kim Doyoung."

He blinked, "I-is this for real? B-but-"

I took him by the wrist, "Come on, before it's too late!" and I dragged him out of the cafeteria. We were running through the hallways, ascending the staircases like runaways on a heist with time chasing us. I didn't look back, because deep inside my logical piece of mind was questioning everything I was doing. Sometimes it did that, when the reckless part of me had the urge to do something without thinking carefully.

Soon, we were in the campus garden. My eyes navigated like a hawk, and as expected Lia and her bandmates were at their usual spot under the oak tree. we continued racing until we were panting after the run. 

"Emma?" Lia frowned. "What are you doing here? I thought you said you weren't coming. And this is..." she turned towards Doyoung. 

I cleared my throat, "Doyoung, this is Lia. And Lia, this is your potential lead singer in your band." 

Lia's eyebrows shot up, "Oh really, well can he sing like really sing?"

"Well, I can try," he said light-heartedly. 

Lia shrugged, "Okay, Daniel play us a tune," and Daniel began playing an accoustic beat that familiar to the ear - Bieber's Love Yourself. 

And so Doyoung began singing, his vocals so clear it impressed even Lia. When he was done, everyone clapped. I wasn't ashamed to admit I was the one who clapped the loudest. "He's amazing, isn't he?" I said.

"Your voice is amazing and absolutely wonderful," Lia started off. "unfortunately it doesn't really suit our style."

"What?!" I cried, making everyone jump. "What do you mean? You personally said he was amazing at singing, Lia!"

"I'm sorry, I really am!" she said hopelessly. "But it's just not the kind of voice we're looking for, I'm so sorry if it's hurtful Doyoung."

Despite everything, Doyoung laughed it off. "S'okay, I was trying out for fun anyway. No big deal, it's completely fine."

"Though you do have a voice from heaven, dude," Daniel remarked. "You gotta be someone from the vocal department, right? Good luck on the show next week."

"You guys too," 

"Ahem, I'm still kinda sour you rejected him," I huffed. 

"Well if we all can't be bandmates, we might as well be friends," Lia answered. "Doyoung, we're heading over to the paintball rink this weekend - wanna join?"

"Oh, well I'm free that day so why not?" he flashed a smile. "But Emma's coming too right?"

"Er, yeah!" I replied. "'Course I'll be coming, right Lia?"

"Sure, the more the merrier!" she said happily. 

Then Doyoung looked at the time, "Oh, I need to get going. I'll get back to you guys soon, maybe online?" and we exchanged social media names and all before he took off. 

"Emma, is it me or are you staring at him?" Lia teased. 

I rolled my eyes, "We barely know each other, don't jump to conclusions!"

She shrugged, "Just sayin'."