Fresh start

 

It was a good start of the week. The track and field is filled with runners training first thing in the morning. There are students chatting and casually walking around the campus. The morning breeze is as cool as ever―contrasting the warmth of the sun's rays. Yes, it is a good day in K-p international.

Dahyun was walking in the outer courts of the school grounds. Her brown leather messenger bag is hanging on her shoulder. With her right hand, she held on it's strap, and the other in the pocket of her skirt. Her yellow necktie fluttering freely from her cream cardigan. Her ears are covered by earphones, all the while playing some random k-pop, anime, classical, or whatever music is in her shuffled playlist, as she guides her steps across the sea of students doing whatever it is they do. "There are people running in the track, probably training for their next competition. Students playing soccer, maybe playing for fun?... could also be the soccer team practicing for their tournament as well. The baseball field is also filled with students playing baseball, competition? maybe..." She brushed it all off earning a soft sigh from herself. The campus is filled with students, either leisurely walking around, chatting with friends or maybe even boys and girls in the process of dating. "What a weird thought" the girl muttered to herself.

Dahyun has been recently talking to herself more―probably due to stress that life gives her. She looked up to the sky and stopped before closing her eyes. "Ah yes, the sky is as gray as I remember", she thought to herself. In fact for Dahyun, almost everything is colorless.

"This will be another day that will be slipped away, and another day wasted..."

Dahyun reached out for her locker and unlocked the lock before opening it. She then took her indoor shoes from inside and replaced her outdoor shoes with it. After grabbing the needed books, she hurried up to the east wing for her first class.

As Dahyun was walking up the stairs, she couldn't help but notice the old music room at the farthest end of the third floor. It was her getaway place back when she was still a freshman. This part of the building is rarely used due to the newer classrooms, and the fact that the blackboards are already old and destroyed―some with a huge crack on its upper left corner. It's basically the oldest part of the whole building, and it won't get renovated until 3 more years. But, it doesn't stop Dahyun. In fact, she was happy knowing that she will have the room all to herself until the whole duration of her stay in this school―that and a couple of others who sometimes wander off, or just needs a quiet place to stay. She checked the time and noticed it was still 6:45 am. She had at least 25 more minutes before classes start, so she went straight to the empty music room.

'Room 326 - Music Room' is written at the sign on top of the door. Dahyun smiled and stood in front of the closed door of the classroom. She slid the door open, and upon entering, held a widened grin. It was as beautiful as she remembered. The chairs that are lined up in 3 rows―each row had 20 chairs―the window that had a crack on the lower right corner, the destroyed blackboard, and the old black grand piano in the middle of the room. She walked towards the grand piano, and she noticed that it was dusty.

"Hello there buddy" she spoke to the piano before clearing some of the dust with her hand. She pulled up the piano's fallboard, and softly placed her fingers on top of the exposed black and white keys. She played each note first and adjusted the pins to tune the piano. It took her quite some time, but after cleaning the keys with tissue, tuning the piano, and dusting it a bit, it became good as new.

Dahyun has always loved playing the piano ever since she was a little kid. It started when her grandfather thought her how to play the instrument when she was three, and her first song was a simple 'Swans in the lake by John Thompson'. It was the first song she heard from her grandfather and her mother supported her "want" to play the instrument. It was an easy song, but it left an impact on her. This song was the start of Dahyun's legacy in piano, the song that started the story of the piano prodigy that is Kim Dahyun. She used to play it all the time back when she was a little younger for her friends and family. The song was her pride and glory. Whenever she was sad, whenever she was happy, whenever she wanted to cheer up her childhood friend Chaeyoung, this was her go to song.

"Back when there was still color in her life."

She brushed off the thought and started to press the keys―nostalgia kicking in. In the middle of the song, she closed her eyes. Pressing the keys, playing the song, it was more than muscle memory for her. Because for Dahyun, it was being played by her heart. Once she opened her eyes, the song was reaching the chorus.

The once gray classroom turned into a beautiful field with a clear sparkling lake filled with swans. Then there it was, a young girl running along the green meadow. She had a paper bag in her hand with some bread, and she started feeding the said birds. The birds started eating and the kid was laughing with glee. The song was nearing it's end, and the girl was being called by her two parents. She bid her goodbye to the swans and left to hug her parents. The song ended, and the pasture by the lake with it. Everything is back to its gray color once again―her smile slowly faded away.

"Ding-dong, Ding-dong~" The school bell rang signaling for students to go to their first class.

Dahyun sighed at this and slightly smiled. "See you later buddy", she said before closing the fallboard. She then grabbed her bag, then walked towards her class.

Dahyun arrived at the classroom and sat at her seat by the window. The room was as noisy as ever. The sound of people chit-chatting in every part of the room is deafening. Dahyun let out a sigh before resting her chin on the palm of her hand. After a while, the teacher finally arrived, and the classroom was filled with silence as the students went to their designated seats.

"Alright class, if I call your name, you say present" the teacher instructed, receiving a "yes ma'am" from the crowd.

"Kim Yugeom"

"Present!"

"Kunpimook Bhuwakul"

"Present!"

"Jung Eun Bi"

"Here Ma'am"

The roll call continued, and Dahyun couldn't care less. She looked out of the window into the clear blue skies. There were birds flying with their wings spread open―the farthest they can. "Those birds, they're having the time of their lives." Dahyun thought to herself, before closing her eyes. "Such a nice view, now if only it has color...".

"Jung Yerin"

"Here!"

"Kim Dahyun" The teacher finally called her name, and she can finally rest easy knowing that she was called for attendance.

"Present", She said, loud enough for the teacher to hear. She looked out of the window once more and sighed.

"This will be one long day"

 

( * )

 

'Ding Dong, Ding Dong~" The school bell rang, signaling the students for lunch break.

In a matter of minutes, the classroom became partially unoccupied. There were still some students inside chatting, and some were eating their own packed-lunches that they brought with them. Dahyun was there, still looking at the view outside of the window. She watched as the once empty outer courts were filled with students. She stayed like that for a while, before finally standing up to leave. The students are given a generous amount of time for their lunch break―1 hour specifically―since they will have to switch to the west wing for their next class. Dahyun is an art major in music, specializing the piano, so she has to walk to the west wing of the school. But it doesn't really matter since the time given to the students is too big to be consumed just by walking towards the west wing. Since she still has about 50 minutes to spare, she decides to go somewhere to eat. She was about to go to the cafeteria, but when she noticed the horde of people waiting in line, she decided to just eat some snacks somewhere quiet. 

Dahyun walked back to the old section of the building. She skipped the music room and headed to the fire exit―that is seemingly locked. She headed up, and reached for the rooftop door wherein students are prohibited to enter―but heck, not even teachers go to this section of the school―so this slowly became Dahyun's place of peace and quiet. The rooftop is still as nice as she remembers. The breeze is just right―cool and strong―canceling the heat of the sun. She opened her bag and reached out for a pack of choco pie, and a juice box. She then leaned her body on the metal fencing, appreciating the view on top―you can see the whole outer court to the midsection from there. The students seem like ants, and the view of the city is just in front of the gate after a fast downhill walk.

She ripped open the choco pie and ate it after sitting down―with her body leaning on the fence as back support. She then grabbed the juice box, and stabbed the foil cover with the straw, allowing the shaft to enter the box. She took a large sip before releasing some air that was stored on her lungs. "Ahhhh" she voiced out feeling refreshed.

Dahyun still had 30 minutes before class started, so she brought out her music notebook and wore her earphones. She then opened the notebook and flipped it to an empty page. On the top of the page, she wrote down 'What is love?' with a small 'by TWICE' beneath it. She then played the song in her phone and started transcribing it note per note.

This was her favorite past time. She loved transcribing songs into music sheets and post it online. Ever since she was four, her ears developed well in knowing which note is being played, and in which octave―basically, if you press a key in the piano, she knows which note was being played. She repeated the song at least 3 times, before finally finishing the whole sheet. She then checked her watch and decided to leave before the school bell rang. The west wing was a few minutes walk, and she wouldn't want to run going to her next class―which was P.E. She didn't want to be tired before that class, so she packed up her things and left.

 

 

( * )

 

 

"Ding Dong, Ding Dong" The school bell rang signaling students to go to their next class.

Dahyun was already in the locker room and changed into her P.E. wear. She wore the school's standard shirt and jogging pants, with the school's standard light blue jacket―since the weather outside is slightly cool, despite it being sunny. It didn't take long for all the girls―with P.E. as their next class―to fill the girls locker room. It was times like these that Dahyun thanks herself for getting in early. She left the crowd and went outside to the soccer field. More than piano, her brother thought her how to play soccer, and she has been in love with the sport ever since she was five―but her love for piano still stands stronger.

The students sat down on the grass, waiting for their P.E. teacher to instruct them on what to do. Dahyun sat at the far end and watched as the teacher instructed his students about today's activity. Everyone looked like they were listening intently, but Dahyun can't help but let her line of vision wander everywhere else but the class―everywhere else seemed to be far more interesting than where she is seated at―as she watched the time move slowly. How she wished that the day will end.

"Ok class, today we have free time. You can get yourself a soccer ball, or whatever ball you want to use, there in the gymnasium. If you want badminton or chess, it's all there as well." the teacher announced and flipped through her schedule. "Just don't let me catch you leaving school premises, or going to the cafeteria", she said, before fixing the papers she flipped. "You can't leave the outer courts or that's detention for you" the teacher ended.

The class agreed in unison, then went off on their way. Some students went to grab a soccer ball, some played badminton, some even went and readied to the sprint mark in the track, some went to talk about, while Dahyun just did what she always does during free time in P.E―move to a shade under a tree and put on some earphones. The music played always depended on her mood, and this time she wanted to relax, so she went to her classical playlist. 

'Waltz of the flowers - Tchaikovsky'

It wasn't the best in her playlist, but definitely not the worst. A mixture of a serene sound, mixing with the whistle of the blowing air in the background. This piece is usually the kind of music played in balls. For some reason, it pushes your brain to do something, like epinephrine is being stimulated simultaneously. The fact that Dahyun wants to jump up and dance, or just sway around in the field, proves it to be true. But we both know that she wouldn't dare do it―not in school at least. Instead, she listened to it while imagining a flower bed on a nice warm sunny day. She then laid down on the field, under the shade of a mahogany tree. 

"Free time is nice in its own way" she smiled to herself. The cool pleasant breeze under the shaded tree proves to be true. If it was her usual gym schedule, she would have to break a sweat 'which is not bad' but it's not something she likes doing... 'anymore'.

"Watch out!" people were screaming at her as a soccer ball was flying straight to her face.

Dahyun heard it faintly, she opened her eyes slowly with her imagination following suit. As her eyes fully opened, she sees a soccer ball flying toward her face. It's too close to take any action.

"Oof" she scowled as she closed her eyes and felt the ball hit the bridge of her nose, then her forehead. For a while, she felt a sudden ringing sensation on her ears, and her nose felt hot. "Ughhh" she grunted, and felt the blood slide from her nose, down by the bridge of . The feeling of floating filled her body 'and it's definitely not the music being upbeat'. She tried to move but fatigue was overcoming her senses. She saw people coming to her as her vision blurred. Dahyun out after.

 

( * )

 

Eyes opened slowly showing a blurred sense of sight. Dahyun squints her eyes trying to clear the blurriness of her peripherals, and once she opened them, she realized that she had been brought to the clinic. She then tried to fix her position by sitting upright, but she was immediately stopped by the nurse.

"You should rest dear, you took a really bad hit on the head" the nurse advised.

"Thank you Miss Lee", Dahyun said.

The nurse smiled at the student before her. "No need to be too formal. Please, Just call me Nurse Sunny or Sunny-unnie", she said, showing the brightest of smiles she can give.

Dahyun replied with a smile, before laying her head back to the pillow of the clinic's bed. She was about to close her eyes when she heard the doors bust open. Dahyun was startled, so she looked at the direction to where the door was located. She saw a blonde girl running towards her, then stopped in front of the bed. The girl was panting heavily. "She looks like she ran a marathon or something..." Dahyun thought to herself.

"No need to rush pabo! geez" another girl said, as she walked towards the panting girl.

The blonde girl then bowed and clasped her hands together over her head. "Sorry for that", she said apologetically.

"I'm also sorry, I wasn't able to catch the ball" the girl beside her followed suit―not the clasping of hands though―then lifted her head up slowly.

"I kicked it too hard that I lost control of it..." the blonde-haired girl explained not changing her position but lifted her head with one eye closed and tongue out.

Dahyun watched the two, before sighing and giving a soft smile "That's fine, I myself wasn't paying attention" she chuckled lightly.

The two girls faced each other and laughed it off. "By the way, I'm Lisa and this is Mi-Joo" the blonde introduced.

Dahyun nodded and watched as the two talked about the past. How they were friends ever since the beginning of high school, and more. Dahyun listened closely and intently. It stayed like that for a while, before the two finally left the clinic. The room was left silent, and all you can hear is the sound of the air-conditioner and the scribbling of a pen.

"I'll get something from the teacher's office, stay as long as you need" the nurse recommended.

Dahyun replied with a smile and nodded before drifting slowly to sleep.

 

( * )

 

The bell rang signaling students that it's finally time to leave for home. That's when Dahyun sat up straight and stretched. She checked her sides for her stuff and saw her bag on the table beside the bed. She looked inside and found her phone and earphones. She then took it, and wore them.

She checked around for Nurse Sunny, but she wasn't anywhere in the clinic so instead, she shrugged it off. It was 4:42 by the time she left the clinic. Dahyun continued walking, her feet were guiding her to the old piano room like it was innate-like it was second nature. She passed a couple of students here and there while walking through the confinement of school. Just a few more corridors and she will be arriving at her destination. She smiled at the thought before she started running to the room.

"320... 322... 324... HERE!~" she exclaimed, practically sliding to stop herself from her sprint. This act made her rest her hands on her knees, as she was catching her breath. She stood up straight in front of the door and inhaled one last time before opening the door. The view of the old music room is finally in plain sight, piano and everything. She smiled at this, and left her bag beside the piano.

Dahyun proceeded to the window of the room. She checked outside, and saw the car park in front―it had bike racks as well. A little to the right, you can see the 100-meter dash area, and a set of runners were timing themselves. 'Probably practicing for a competition' she laughed at herself now, "how come I always end up thinking everyone is practicing for a competition?" she shrugged off the thought, before checking the sprint line once more. This time, she saw a face that was probably famous in the school as "one of the most promising female sprinter in the school 'Yoo Jeongyeon'". She watched as the girl readied herself to run, and by the time the starting gun was fired, she ran with long strides. Dahyun watched in amazement as the girl sprints to the end. "She was very fast indeed", she thought to herself before going back to sit on the piano's seat.

Dahyun stretched and reached out for her bag. She then grabbed the notebook inside it, containing the notes she wrote for 'What is love by TWICE'. She then placed it by the music rack, before opening it to the page where she transcribed the notes. She then pulled up the fallboard, revealing the piano's keys once more. She smiled at the sight, she can never really get over the joy of seeing the black and white keys of the instrument. The reason for this is not because the piano is something grand―well... technically it is a GRAND piano―but because of the stories of the old instrument, and how long it has lived. Some teachers and students say that this piano was here ever since the school started―which was ages ago. While some teachers and students say that this same piano, was the same piano used by the principal during his first concert. Before making a school ―either way, they both sound cool.

Once she placed her hands on the keys, she checked the notes and started playing the piece. The moment she started pressing the keys on the piano, she noticed that some notes felt a bit off. It started with getting used to the song's beat. This happened for a while, followed by rearranging some notes. The song was finally complete, and she played it from the top. The song started in a soft beat. Something about it felt off, so she tried playing it in a more upbeat style of playing. The song finally felt right, she continued pressing the keys and closed her eyes. She wanted to play the song with a good note, one where the listeners will feel jumpy from searching that thing they are looking for. Where they are happily searching for the answer to their source of curiosity―the feeling of having soo much happy thoughts about love. The chorus entered, and Dahyun imagined a few people playing detective―with magnifiers and everything. All till she reached the bridge nearing the end. She slowed down the pace and started feeling a bit off. The once happy thought of searching for love became a somewhat sad one. She watched as one of the girls searching for the one thing they were looking for stopped in her tracks.

"Why search for something that would only end to heartache?" she thought to herself. Her fingers pressing the keys even slower now. Her smile fading once again, till she decided to stop playing the song before it even ended. She sighed before looking up. "What IS love?" she thought to herself, before closing her eyes once more―now in deep thought.

"Why stop playing? it was going so well!" said a voice coming from behind her.

She looked back and saw one of the most heartwarming smiles she has seen. The smile of the person who was with her through thick and thin. "Why should I continue? huh, Chaeyoung-ah?" Dahyun challenged.

"I didn't say you should continue" Chaeyoung smirked, earning a laugh from the older.

"I'm also here" a taller girl appeared from behind.

"Tzuyu~ Are you guys done with practice?" Dahyun asked.

"What practice? We aren't prepping for anything yet, most especially not now that this is just our second week in school unnie" Tzuyu replied.

"Yeah, plus it's not like I need practice with my art", Chaeyoung said, the statement made her hit her chest proudly. "As like you unnie, I'm finally a growing star in the art realm~".

"At least you're growing somewhere", Tzuyu said, earning a smack from the smaller one.

"Once I grow taller, I swear I will let you eat your words!" Chaeyoung retorted.

"If you grow taller" Tzuyu corrected the little cub, earning another smack on the shoulder.

Dahyun was amused at her two maknae's antics and laughed "Don't bully the girl Tzuyu, you might hurt her feelings. You do know about her short temper right?" Dahyun played along.

"Not you too dubs!" Chaeyoung growled at the statement.

"Don't cry now you baby cub, milk is quite expensive" Tzuyu exclaimed.

"Unbelievable! And here I thought I wanted the school meal club members to have a comeback and eat out, turns out it was just bully the small one club. Hmpf!" Chaeyoung said, then pouted.

"She didn't deny that she was small in the end", both Dahyun and Tzuyu thought to themselves.

"Ok, I will treat you to some ice cream. How about that?" Dahyun said while fixing the piano, and packing up her stuff before standing up.

"Me too unnie?", Tzuyu asked.

"Why not?" Dahyun said, earning a hearty "Yaaaay" from the two. Dahyun smiled at this, forgetting about the sadness she felt a while ago. They then started to head out of school, with Chaeyoung telling the older girl about the fun-filled day she had.

They were about to leave the school gates when Dahyun's gaze shifted somewhere in the distance. She saw a pair of hazelnut colored eyes meet with her for a split second, stopping her from her movements just to gaze at those light brown orbs. The girl then shifted her gaze elsewhere, as she was met with another girl with a beautiful smile showing her gums. there was a small mole between her right eye and the bridge of her nose. There was another girl that greeted her. She had big square glasses with shoulder-length black hair, and matching eyebrow leveled bangs.

Dahyun snapped out of her little daze when the two girls she was with called out to her. She shook her head before heading out with her two maknaes.

 

( * )

 

It was already late at night when Dahyun reached her house. She entered the door, and removed her shoes by the steps, before reaching out for the light switch. Once the lights were on, she looked at the empty house―the same one she was used to staying at. "I'm home", she said lightly, before entering the house. Her family's house is a two-story modern house.

As you enter the door, you are greeted with a small corridor that is connected to a huge living room with three couches. Two of them are one-seater―which are parallel to each other and are slightly tilted to face the tv―with one being a long couch. In the middle of the couches and the tv, is a wooden table standing under a fuzzy carpet. The living room has different shelves holding pictures of the family, some of them had ornaments that hold family value―or something, I dunno―and a black Yamaha C5 grand piano sitting by the wall. The living room is directly beside the dining room, which has a long table that can accommodate 12 people. The dining room is connected to the yard outside by a glass sliding door. The kitchen is connected to the dining area, complete with an exhaust fan, fridge, and everything. The kitchen also has another door leading to the backyard, where there is a cobblestone grill, and is modified into a small zen garden. The dining room also houses the stairs going up to the second floor where the family's rooms are located.

Dahyun stepped in the house and went to the kitchen so she can grab something to eat. Upon opening the refrigerator, she sees some leftover chicken curry, so she grabbed it and covered it with foil wrap, before putting it in the microwave set up for two mins on high.

She grabbed some water and fixed the table, putting one placemat and a set of utensils to use. She then went to the living room table and saw a note on top of it.

                                             "I won't go home till midnight. There is food there in the fridge and the freezer is filled with meats. If you are hungry, go ahead and eat since I might go home late. See you tomorrow Dahyun. -Love Dad"

Dahyun internally sighs as she picks up the note, and puts it in her pocket.

'Ting!~' The microwave tinged signaling Dahyun to get her heated food. So she did so, and placed it on the table, then removed the plastic wrapping. Once the steam reached her face, she took a good whiff and thanked God for blessing her with good food. She prayed, then started eating. While munching on the food, Dahyun grabbed her phone and messaged her father stating that "she is finally home and is eating dinner".

After finishing the food, she fixed the table and went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. After washing the dishes, she directed her steps towards the grand piano. "Hello Yammie~", she said, the wood of the fallboard before looking at the trophy cabinet beside it. The cabinet held trophies, medals, and certificates that she has accumulated over the years. She slowly moved towards the table right next to it, which held a picture of her mother with a vase of flowers beside it.

"Hi mom, today, I got hit by a soccer ball on the face... I woke up in the clinic bed" she laughed at herself then fixed the leaves, and flowers in the vase. "But it was all good, I managed to meet new people... I had a fun day since, after everything, I went to eat with Chaeng and Tzuyu" she said faintly, before waving goodbye to the picture. It has been 10 long years since her mother's death, but talking to the picture helps her relax, so she does it every now and then. After everything, she carried her stuff and brought them to her room.

 

( * )

 

Dahyun finished taking a bath, then she changed her clothes. The pale girl then lay down on her bed. She was wearing a pink pair of pajamas with little tofu drawings on it. She checked her phone and opened twicetagram. She sees a picture posted by @BabyTigerChae, which was the picture the girl took with the three of them eating icecream together in the shop awhile ago. The caption stated "Got some free ice cream from Dubs~ Thanks unnie!". She laughed at this, and tapped the picture twice. She then closed her phone not wanting to comment, it was not something she does―these days―so she lay her body flat and looked at the ceiling. She then put on some earphones, and pressed the play button. The song that played was once again, 'What is love by TWICE'. 

"It looks like I forgot to cancel the repeat" she sighed.

"What IS love?" she then asked herself, remembering her train of thought awhile ago

She closed her eyes, and suddenly remembered the pair of hazelnut colored eyes that looked at her for a few moments. 

"What a weird imagination I must have" she told herself, before closing the light and headed to sleep.

 

tbc

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