"Matt & S"

~ Initial ~

A/N: This two-part one shot will only really make sense if you've watched or know about Hakyeon's musical "Interview" and Jaehwan's musical "Blazing Sonata". Both are small production musicals produced by the Japan-based, Korean musical company Shinswave. I had the opportunity to watch both musicals last autumn and as I watched the musicals, I began to sympathize a lot with the character's story and in a way, wished there was an alternative universe in which Jaehwan's character, S, would be able to meet Hakyeon's character, Matt. I felt that if Matt was able to meet someone like S, he wouldn't have been so broken until the end. 

I have done a rough translation of the script for "Blazing Sonata" (still working on finishing it) as there was a Japanese script book which was for sale during the musical, but unfortunately, there were no script books for "Interview". If you wish to understand a little of what happened in Jaehwan's musical please follow the link below:

Blazing Sonata (Rough Translation - Ongoing)

* * *

Everyone I love is gone now. Even Joanne is gone. What am I going to do now?

He wandered the streets of London, unsure of where to head next. He wanted to find salvation but what he once thought was a paradise eventually turned into hell.

I'm just a monster. These voices I keep hearing, stop! Please! Someone save me...

His legs gave in and he plummeted on to the gravel floor under the pouring rain. But his knees were not as in pain as his heart was at that very moment. The tears were hard to hold back, it was nearly impossible. It hurt too much for him to really understand why he was still alive.

Please someone... save me...

"Um, are you okay?" that someone appeared and reached their hands out for the poor young man who was lying there on the floor and helpless. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

The young man finally stopped crying and traced the stranger's hands to his face. It was a handsome man with a tall nose and chiseled jaws. He was dazzling even underneath the rain with that long black coat. 

Is this death calling for me?

The young man was in awe and speechless while trying to comprehend what was real and what could be another delusion.

"Can you get up?" the stranger asked as he offered the young man cover under his umbrella. "Here, take my hand."

Without being aware, he took the stranger's hands and got back up on his feet.

"You lying here on the floor like this, there are many carriages that pass by at this time. You could get run over," the stranger told him. "Anyways, you don't look like you're from around here. Where's your home? Let me you back."

"I... I don't have one... not anymore," he said as his tears fell once more. "Everyone is gone. Everything is gone. I'm all alone now."

The stranger looked at the young man for a moment in a daze, thinking of how to handle the situation in front of him. He took a deep breath and made his decision in a second.

"Then, do you want to come with me?" the stranger offered.

"Huh?"

Though he was surprised, he decided to follow the stranger home. It wasn't as if he had anywhere to go to anyways. It could have been a trap and it could have just been another lie like how he's always been lied to but he was at a point where he was too desperate to think rationally at all.

The stranger brought the young man home. It was a cozy apartment surrounded by brick walls. The ceiling was high and the air was clean except for the floor which was covered with many pieces of paper. 

The young man leaned forward and picked one up, it turned out to be a music score. That's when he noticed a piano sitting in front of the large windows of the living room. Though nothing was exactly grand about the place, the piano itself tied everything together. He stared at the stranger for a minute, curious about the man's identity.

The stranger came back from the kitchen with a cup of hot cocoa for the young man so that they can warm up finally after being drenched in the rain. The night was cold and wet, eerie yet peaceful at the same time.

"Here," he said to the young man. "Be careful not to burn your tongue."

"T-thank you," the young man could only say as his eyes continued to scan around the room.

The stranger noticed it and cracked a smile from the young man's curiosity, "I'm a composer and a pianist."

"Huh?" it perked the young man's attention.

"I didn't introduce myself properly, did I? My name is S, what's yours?" the stranger finally said his name with a warm and welcoming smile.

S... a single letter of this name rung through the young man's head as if he heard the chimes of salvation that night.

"Matt. My name is Matt," the young man finally introduced himself as well.

"Where did you come from, Matt?"

"I... I don't really know anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"I followed and followed everywhere Joanne went or wanted to go. But she's gone now. Where could she have gone to? Heaven? She left me behind... she promised that we'd be inseparable," a drop of Matt's tears fell into the cup of hot cocoa.

"Is she your lover?" S asked in curiosity.

Matt shook his head, "but I love her. I thought she loved me too."

S tilted his head slightly in confusion but noticed that it wasn't wise to ask any further. So, instead, he decided to welcome Matt with a song. He got up from his seat and sat in front of the piano. Without a word or introduction, he played an impromptu performance for the lost boy.

Matt found himself mesmerized and pulled in by the beautiful tune, unable to take his eyes off S's fingers which were dancing on the keyboard so happily. Though Matt knew nothing about the piano, he felt as if his broken heart was healed by the soft and warm melody coming from the grand instrument.

S allowed Matt to stay with him for awhile until Matt could think of where to go to next. Matt's memories were hazy and he was often confused as who he really is. But S didn't complain at all and instead took very good care of Matt but it turns out, S was actually younger than Matt by two years. Matt couldn't believe it when he found out because S felt so mature unlike other boys their age. Matt found himself in awe with everything S did and followed S's every step.

"I wasn't always mature. No, I'm childish even now, probably more than you think," S said one day as the two were chatting around the fireplace.

"What do you mean?" Matt couldn't really believe it.

"To be honest, I didn't like composing or playing the piano very much. It's just not my dream. I'm not good at it. Not one bit but I had a friend. A really important friend who inspired me and cheered me on when we were young because I lost my parents in a car accident."

Just like me, Matt recalled.

"But he played the piano for me everyday, telling me to smile and telling me that I wasn't alone. I believed his words and eventually it healed me," S continued. "But as I was healed, he became desperate for another reason. I was too late in realizing his struggles and loneliness, eventually, the search for his melody drove him mad and he... killed himself," S looked down on the floor with disappointment as he told Matt of his darkest past.

"I... I'm sorry. I'm sure you did everything you could to help him just like how you've been helping me," it was Matt's turn to cheer S up.

"No. I'm not a good friend. I should have dragged him away from that horrid place when I had the chance. If only I wasn't such a coward and so afraid of facing my own problems at that time, he could still be here and playing the piano, smiling at me."

Matt looked at S, who was obviously trying to stay strong and holding back his pain. Matt didn't know what else to say, as he was just as broken as S, so all he could think of was to give S a warm hug. 

S was surprised for a moment but he didn't dislike it. The warmth of another, how long has it been?

"Thanks," S said.

As S was healing and moving on from his past, so was Matt. The two of them were torn inside, broken and seemingly unable to recover but as their time together grew, the wounds in their heart was slowly patching up.

But Matt found a new purpose. He couldn't stay with S forever as much as he wished he did. His memories were hazy but he thought they were slowly coming back to him. He remembered Joanne mentioning someone she fell in love with, Eugene Kim, a popular novelist who stole her heart. Matt has met Eugene long time ago when they were young but Eugene's original name was actually something else at that time. Matt was suspicious of Joanne's sudden death, the death of his beloved sister. Eventually, Matt was convinced that the one responsible for his sister's death, the one who separated them is Eugene Kim.

"Are you really going?" S asked Matt as he held onto Matt's fragile wrist. "Do you really have to go?"

"Sorry... but I'll be back. I just have to figure out the culprit for killing my sister. After I do that, I'll come back. I promise," Matt tried to reassure S.

"If this man really killed your sister, won't you be in danger too?" S began to worry.

"I'll be okay. I'm not weak anymore. I'm strong now because of you."

"..." S stared into Matt's confident gaze and let out a sigh of defeat.

He leaned in and held Matt gently.

"Please come back to me," S said as he looked deep into Matt's eyes and kissed the man. "I'll always be here, waiting for you."

Matt smiled as he kissed S back and the two shared a tender kiss before they parted.

Eventually, Matt disappeared and S's home was empty once more. Aside from the piano, there was nothing left. S waited and waited, hoping that one day, Matt would keep his promise and return to him. But days became months and months became years, Matt never came back.

To be continued...