otto

Poco a poco, con voi (Little by little, with you)

“Wait, I know this piece,” Yuna narrows her eyes as she racks her brain for a title. Walking by the dining table into the kitchen, Yuna curiously peers over into the screen on Eunbi’s laptop. “Ah,” she gives up, “what is this?”

Eunbi turns to Yuna with wide open, having just put in a piece of bread. “SSO performed this last month, they’re finally sending us the recording. Bruch’s Double Concerto,” she says when Yuna takes a seat beside her with a cup of water and bowl of cereal and milk.

“Oh, the one with the clarinet and the viola?” Yuna bends over to take a look as Eunbi re-positions her laptop for the two of them to share.

“Yeah. But I wasn’t selected,” Eunbi plainly says, taking a sip of milk from her cup.

Yuna knows the resignedness in Eunbi’s voice when she hears it. Last month, Yuna ponders as she tries to recall if there was anything she did notice about Eunbi, but nothing comes to mind. Last month was only her second month of knowing Eunbi, and it would be reasonable to not realise anything, along with her settling down in HSE and her commotion with Seokmin. Guilty, she stays silent, not knowing what to say or if she should even respond to that.

“Well but that’s what it should be because it’s my third year in the orchestra and I only graduated two years ago while she’s been in the profession for ten years,” Eunbi answers herself.

Yuna almost tells Eunbi “Your time will come” but she realises then that if Eunbi’s argument is about time then her statement would not be comforting at all.

Eunbi notices Yuna’s silence and figures that the latter probably is troubled about how to respond to her petty complaints as well. Feeling slightly guilty for the situation, she decides on a change of mood. “Well, this is pretty boring, and oh- the next episode is out!” Eunbi gets excited (or at least she tries to) and lifts up her legs to seat herself in a comfortable position to enjoy her web drama and her breakfast.

Yuna quietly watches the girl in her movements, her eyes furrowing in slight concern. Eunbi notices this as well. Her heart swells in gratitude for her housemate, and at once is comforted.

“Let’s watch this together unnie yah,” Eunbi smiles and gestures for Yuna to join her.

“Hwang Eunbi,” Yuna calls out, rather seriously.

“What’s with that tone!” Eunbi fusses, “And my full name on top of that,” she scowls.

Yuna smiles a little. “You’re doing very well, Eunbi yah,” she starts and gives Eunbi’s hair a good , “unnie is proud of you.”

Eunbi, as impudent as she usually is, wants to shun away from the touch and reject Yuna’s words, but instead looks down to relish the gush of warmth in her chest.

“Unnie,” she earnestly speaks, “I’m grateful for you.”

Yuna places her hand on Eunbi’s, which gives the latter a tingling sensation. Startled, Eunbi shudders, which pricks Yuna’s heart. Yuna tries not to mind it, when they were just having such a heartfelt conversation.

Eunbi’s phone rings, which startles the both of them. Eunbi searches frantically for her mobile phone that is right beside her, before answering the call. “Umma?”

“Yeah, it’s umma,” her mother says, “How have you been?”

Eunbi narrows her eyes, “I’m fine, why?”

“You know, I sent you a photo and some information the other day? About the matchmaking? Have you thought about it?” Eunbi squeezes her eyes shut as she turns away from Yuna in response to her mother’s words. Eunbi regrets not changing her phone already to a new, perfectly functioning one such that she doesn’t have to set her calls on speaker mode all the time.

“Y-Yeah, I thought about it,” Eunbi answers anyway, though the embarrassment within her is exploding. What would Yuna think of it? Eunbi cannot help but wonder, as she brings a hand up to her face.

“Yeah, they said Sunday is good too! I told them Sunday is your only free day,” her mother continues to explain, “and the young chap is pretty excited on meeting you too! He thinks you’re pretty, Eunbi yah, and he himself isn’t bad either. Well, if anyone thinks you’re pretty the deal is done.”

Eunbi feels her ears heating up, and steam seems to be emerging from them. “Umma,” she grits her teeth, “I’m your daughter,” she states, not knowing what else to say. She hears as Yuna pauses the web drama and eats with her utensils clinking. Eunbi stands up and walks into the kitchen.

“Well, I’m not sure who you take after,” her mother continues, “look at all those baby fat in your cheeks. And your tiny nose. Not to mention your-”

“Umma!” Eunbi whines, “Are you done?”

“Arasseo, so, are you going to meet him or not?” her mother asks rather demandingly.

“Do I have a choice?” Eunbi answers her mother with a question.

“This Sunday is good for you, right?” as Eunbi has expected, her mother has made the decision for her.

“Ah I got it,” Eunbi replies in defeat.

When Eunbi returns to the dining table, she sees Yuna minding her own business. The latter does not even look up to turn to her when she seats herself down at her seat. The silence is painfully awkward and Eunbi doesn’t think twice about continuing the web drama to fill in the silence.

Yuna thinks about Eunbi shuddering upon her touch. She thinks again about Eunbi going for a blind date. Feeling uncomfortable, she proceeds with finishing her breakfast and leaves for the day.

 

Yuna returns home to a tranquil scene, with the only motion being the curtains dancing in the wind. Her ears are welcomed by the music playing from the speaker, and her eyes land on a sleeping figure much like a soft kitten on the couch. Her eyes then shift to the scattered cutlery and utensils on the coffee table and she uncontrollably heaves a sigh.

Yuna walks over and cannot help but stay and look at the pure face of a sleeping Eunbi. She laughs a little at the small pool of saliva collecting on the couch and wipes it away hoping it doesn't create any stain.

Eunbi flutters her eyes open to the sight of Yuna hastily turning away to the coffee table, cleaning up the mess she's left before falling asleep.

"You were watching me!" Eunbi exclaims as she sits up.

"Debussy?" Yuna casually asks without turning to look.

Eunbi squints her eyes. Yuna can hear the girl click her tongue. "Ravel," she hisses.

"Sorry!" Yuna defends herself, "Well at least I could tell it was Impressionist," speaking as she stands up after cleaning up.

"Yahh, you were watching me," Eunbi repeats, sitting up but not yet getting off the couch.

"Was I?" Yuna still refuses to let Eunbi have any eye contact, not wanting to feed the latter any ego. "And yahh, are you using banmal on me?"

"You were looking at me!" Eunbi starts to whine.

"I looked for a while," Yuna admits after a sigh, because you looked so adorable, her ears flushing red at the thought, "because you were drooling."

Eunbi hears Yuna's distant shout from the kitchen amidst still frozen from the situation, "Remember to clear your trash!"

Eunbi's jaw drops and she covers , unable to make a proper comeback.

"And would you clean the microwave whenever you're done with it?"

 

When Yuna doesn’t fall asleep that night no matter how many times she’s been tossing and turning in the bed, she wakes up and strolls to the kitchen to fetch herself some water, before going back into her sheets.

As she lies herself down and closes her eyes shut, an image of the Eunbi peacefully sleeping flashes in her mind. Her lips spread into a small smile without her knowing, and Yuna starts feeling butterflies within her with the vision of Eunbi’s soft, white cheeks beneath her closed eyes. Yuna has the urge to give Eunbi a on her head, and she wonders when it will be the next time that she can see her whimsical housemate calmly asleep like a baby.

Yuna recalls as well Eunbi’s conversation with her mother that morning. A blind date, Yuna thinks as she releases a breath. What does she feel about Eunbi meeting a man? A man who thinks Eunbi is pretty?

Yuna catches herself in her thoughts and stops herself, her eyes wide open. Why am I like this? Yuna inwardly asks with a frown. It’s not like I did not go to meet Seokmin, even if it wasn’t a date. Who am I to feel anything about a stranger who might be interested in my housemate?

Well, Eunbi is a decent person, she thinks, more than decent. Eunbi has been a wonderful presence in her life since moving to Seoul.

Yuna remembers as well the look on Eunbi’s face, the way the latter had quivered when she had placed her hand on Eunbi’s. What was that supposed to mean? She furrows her brow, bewildered. No matter how she thinks about it, Yuna just cannot understand why Eunbi had reacted that way.

Wait, she stops herself in astonishment, finding her mind clouded by thoughts about Eunbi. Yuna senses the frustration growing from within her and wills herself to stop conspiring about anything between them or about Eunbi. Releasing a groan, she pulls the covers over her face and squeezes her eyes close.

 

a/n: well then seems like our poor yuna won’t be getting any sleep tonight :< anyway, eunbi's malfunctioning phone inspired by my life bc that is my current phone LOL i will be getting a new one soon. and we see an asian mom being an asian mom. or more specifically korean. HAHAHAHA. the mid part would be familiar to those following me for a long time now. i rmb, the idea came when i was also having ravel on my speakers and i was lying down on the sofa trying to catch a nap ahhh haha brings me back...  also my chapters have been getting rly long i hope it's okay HAHA omg i have ocd with chapter length anw im so sorry this chapter came late!! i was actually done with this chapter a long long long time ago before some of the previous chapters, tho i made edits along the way and i was overseas the past week as i said :/ been thinking a lot about hwang eunbi lately hoho might indirectly mean faster updates idk? i hope you liked this chapter! do leave a few comments eue

 

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corinneniix
when did this reach 100 subs!! thank you so much 💗💗

Comments

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ggprints
#1
Chapter 25: I love everything about this!!
Sinjulover #2
Chapter 25: I miss you author nim
Ghad20
11 streak #3
Congratulations
Khotshot #4
Chapter 25: This chapter really. The way Eunbi rants to yewon and me realizing I'm about the same age with them here and I'm definitely at that phase too, I relate to eunbi in a spiritual level omg. The words are really hitting me deep. Thank you so much for the update, Happy holidays.
SayTsuki
#5
Chapter 25: You don't know how much I love this story, it really is one of my favorites. I love the nuances and the essence of each character. Their interactions with each other and the slow way everything happens.
Although ... I WANT THEM TO SAY THAT THEY LOVE EACH OTHER !!!

Thanks for the update! and Merry Christmas!! ♥
riceyyywrites
#6
Chapter 25: OOOOH I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE PROPER INTERACTION BETWEEN THEM NOW AND THEY GET TO SPEND MORE TIME TOGETHER YAAAS

Umb's friendship is weirdly reminds me of the kind of friendship I have with my best friend.

You're not happy about how you handled Eunbi's attitude change? How did you want it to go originally?

I'm happy that they are back to comfortably talking to each other without that tension. If this will be the last update for 2020, I'm glad it's on a happy note! ^^
Khotshot #7
Chapter 24: oh i love this chapter so much. you write beautifully.
Hiii.
riceyyywrites
#8
Chapter 24: They finally meet! And it went well! That's nice to see! And aaaahhhh Yuna finally noticed! Yewon didn't have to say anything yet! Can't wait, woohoo!

I hope you've been fine as well! Have a good winter break! ^^
Poeticaffeine
#9
Chapter 23: unnie!!

well that was sweet and cute .