"Keep playing, I didn't tell you to stop playing!"

Mom, please... I can't play anymore. My fingers hurt, I can't hear the tune anymore. Am I playing this right for you? Is this good enough for you? .. No? Why..? Am I just not good enough for you that I have to continue playing something I can't even hear anymore. Please.. stop..

"Hong Jisoo, you're slacking again. You're already falling behind in school, and now your piano seems out of tuned. This is why I shouldn't have let you out with your friends. That's it, you're gonna solely focus on the piano now. First, you're gonna clean it until there's no spec of dust left, got it? It better be spotless by the time I'm back!"

It wasn't them! Stop, no.. It wasn't.. It wasn't them at all, I swear! It was just me.. It was.. I.. I've been focusing on school more than the piano.. Whenever you asked if I practiced, I lied, I'm sorry. I really am.. I'll practice harder, let me see my friends again..

"I didn't pay for lessons just for you to slack and skip them. Do I have to monitor you again? Jisoo, you're not a kid anymore. Don't make me."

I'm sorry, I'll try harder.

"Look at you, hear that resonating sound? You're getting better!"

Mom.. Is it weird I can't hear what I'm playing anymore? It's.. silent. My fingers are playing the right keys but I can't hear anything. Mom, am I okay?

"My prized posession, my baby boy. Look at you, on the headline, best youngest pianist. You're making so much money, your status is getting higher and higher, soon enough, we'll be able to travel everywhere. Your father comes home soon, isn't that great? He'll see his son getting far. We can brag and gloat about you all we want to. See this trophy, you earned it."

Is that all you care about? The money? I'm tired, mom, let me rest please.. Dad won't care about this, but he'll make me do more, let me rest before he comes.. I can't hear anything.

"Jisoo, Jisoo!"

I'm sorry for disgracing our name. I'm just.. tired.

"Wake up, wake up!"

Jisoo jolted awake. Sweat stained his body, his clothes clinging onto him. Soft pants elicited from his parted lips, his hand resting against his chest, clutching the fabric of his shirt. He inhaled deeply, trying to level out his breathing as his eyes fluttered back shut. "Great, they're back," he muttered bitterly, his throat scratchy and hoarse. Pursing his lips, he rested his head back onto the pillows gently, his gaze remaining on the ceiling, getting what little intricate designs he could embedded in his head. It was going to be the last time he sees this small apartment, and he can't help but miss it. Soon, he was going to move into the dorms at the university and start anew there. He wasn't going to be the little kid that was the top pianist in the world that has been training since he was five. No, he was going to be Hong Jisoo, major; undeclared until further notice. It would have been anything under performing arts but knowing he can't even hear his own melody, sometimes, not even anyone else's, he feels like he doesn't have the right to pursue that career anymore.

He doesn't even have the right regain the title of something that only brought back bitter memories.

At first, Jisoo played piano because it always fascinated him. His mother was a famous pianist and Jisoo was always fond of hearing her play, even if it was in the middle of the night. He'd drag his sleepy body out of bed and listen to her play nonstop until she was tired or until he passed out from exhaustion, and the relaxing melody it came with. After that, Jisoo's fondness for pianos grew and eventually, he began to play with the piano when he made sure no one was home. Despite not having a beautiful rhythm, he was keenly aware of the notes, as his small fingers briskly brushed against the white, ceramic keys, letting the rhythm take hold of him and play what little he knew. Slowly, his nimble fingers began to jam the key, and he wasn't sure when his mother came in, but she stopped him continuing, scolding him lightly.

"Jisoo, you're supposed to play them gently," she paused, playing the ceramic keys beautifully, causing him to stare at her in awe, "Like that. You have to treat the keys carefully or they won't play like you want them to play. .. Treat them nicely and they'll do whatever you want." she murmured, patting his head as he nodded, "Would you like to play?" 

Of course, his younger self agreed in a heartbeat.

He was basically a prodigy. Being able to read the music and trained by his mother that was already a famous pianist, he was lucky. He was. But as he continued to train and perform, his mother pushed him even harder. Made him practice every second of his life that he barely had time to sleep, do anything school related, or hang out with his friends. His mother kept the mindset that only school and the piano was important, so he had little free time. Which drove him mad as he grew older. He made a lot of friends, even if he didn't realize it was for the status. He was at such a prestigious art school and his name was always traveling within the halls. Eventually, Jisoo had to close himself off, because the piano was much more important. It reigned superior. 

As his fingers began to hurt every time he had to press down on the ceramic key, his love for the piano began to falter.

He never wanted to admit to those words, but it was always lodged in the back of his head, creeping up to assault him whenever he made the wrong move. Stay there mockingly so he was fed with guilt every time he sat in front of the piano. The only thing that would rekindle his love for the piano was whenever he would reminsice about how beautiful she sounded and how beautiful she looked on the stage every time he went to her performance. It represented innocence and purity and he aspired to be like that; to which he did to an extent, aside from the mingling of sorrow and woe. His music played a story, following someone's notes but adding his own twist to it. Jisoo knew he loved the piano, but he couldn't tell if the piano loved him anymore. After it has been bruised and battered, constantly yelled at by putrid words he didn't quite mean, even leaving it to learn the guitar in sec