A/N: Hey, it's been a while since I've last posted something here. I've been busy with school and all, but here I am - back with a new story. For those who follow me on twitter, thank you so much for waiting and I'm so sorry for taking so long in posting this one here. I don't know if I'm completely satisfied with what's written here but again, I've been writing and rewriting bits and pieces of this because I wasn't happy with it which ended up with me taking so long to posting it. I hope you guys will enjoy this one! I'm still trying to learn and improve so any comments and/or feedbacks are greatly appreciated. Feel free to follow me on twitter (@burntbraincell) and let me know about your thoughts through there too! CC is also welcomed! English is not my first language, so sorry for any grammatical errors! It is quite a long read so I hope those who are reading will enjoy it, even though it might not be up to par with my other works.

CC: https://curiouscat.live/burntbraincell 

***

‘Jinnie, you’ll stay with me right?’

I will. I’ll do everything I can to stay with you.

‘Jinnie, you’ll come back…right?’

You hate the uncertainty in her voice. The girl that has captured your heart has never been (at least, as far as you can remember) unsure about anything. If she was, she never showed you. 

‘Nyeong-ah…promise me that you won’t give up, no matter what happens.’

***

Jang Wonyoung is different. 

The first time the two of you met was quite…cliche. You were the new transfer student who was shy and didn’t really speak unless prompted to. You remember your 15 year old self walking into the classroom after the teacher had called for you. Feeling the way your heartbeat was beating faster than normal, you shakily took a deep breath and closed your eyes briefly. 

Calm down, Yujin. You got this! 

After the short encouragement that you gave yourself, you walked into the classroom and stood beside the teacher. You introduced yourself - albeit not so confidently, while staring straight ahead. You hope no one noticed that you were staring at the noticeboard at the back of the classroom. When the teacher prompted you to sit behind some person named Gaeul, that was the first time you looked around the classroom. You could see a cute girl looking at you curiously and a pretty girl smiling and giving you a wave - you assume that she was Gaeul. 

After settling down, they quickly introduced themselves to you. Gaeul was an inviting and dependable friend. Rei - the Japanese girl who was sitting next to Gaeul, turned out to be an absolute cutie who was also quite shy. But once she’s comfortable enough - no one would’ve known she was Japanese apart from the slight accent that slips through. The two somehow wanted to befriend you. So you decided to do just that. 

But as you sometimes wanted your alone time, you would go to the room that you are most familiar with. After all, when you had a tour of the school, the only thing you paid attention to was where the music rooms were. 

Sometimes, you’d spend a few lunch times alone there. And sometimes, Gaeul and Rei would join you. They would sometimes bring their other friends with them - allowing you to meet a few more new people whom you’ve become friends with. Liz was a shy one that didn’t seem to like physical attention much (but you can tell that there was something with Rei that lets her be an exception), while Hyunseo (or Leeseo as she liked to go by) is the slightly less chaotic other half of the ‘Pokémon bread gang’. Who might be the other chaotic one, you might ask. Well, Eunchae may seem well behaved but when the two are together, the usual victims of their mischief ends up being poor, sweet, angel-like Garam. They were an odd bunch, but you love them all the same. They were people that you found friends in. 

As time passes, they all learn to know where to find you and on what days to leave you alone in the music room, just the way you like it. 

As you said before, the way you met her was pretty cliche. It was another one of those lunch times where you were alone in the music room. You were playing the piano, closing your eyes and losing yourself in the music. But it was only when you opened your eyes again, that you nearly had a heart attack. Looking straight ahead, past the piano itself was a pair of eyes, peeking through the small window near the door of the music room. The person was staring straight at you, before their eyes widened in surprise and quickly ducking away. There was silence for a good 30 seconds before you could hear footsteps hurriedly running away. 

That was the first time you’d caught a glimpse of her. 

This happened for a little over a month before you decided to confront the person on the other side. So you decided to play like you normally did and make a dash for the person on the other side before they ran off.  

When you spy the person peeking again, you wait a second for them to know that they were caught before quickly running out into the hallway. Only to come face to face with a beautiful girl in a crouching position, who still had her eyes widened and was awkwardly looking up at you. You blinked in surprise and the two of you just…stared. 

Snapping yourself out of it, you cleared your throat to speak. 

‘Uh, did you…want to come in instead…?’

‘O-oh? Would you mind if I go in to listen?’ she answered - voice soft and unsure. 

‘I wouldn’t have asked if I minded, right? Come in. It’s better than being in the cold hallway,’ you invited, turning around to open the door for the two of you. It was unusual but you could feel the familiar heat creeping up your neck; tell-tale signs that you were embarrassed or nervous at the sudden attention on you. 

Sitting by the piano, you waited for the other girl to close the door. Once it was closed, you began to play - this time with a companion who was listening intently in the same room as you. It didn’t take long for you to lose yourself in the music once again and by the time you finished the piece, you had completely forgotten about having a companion in the room. Her claps reminded you of her existence and you turned to look at her. She hopped off the table that she was sitting on and was looking back at you with a sparkle in her eyes. 

‘That was amazing! That was Chopin’s Waltz in A Minor, right?’ 

Nodding dumbly at the way this girl seemed to know the piece, you watched as she made her way over to the piano, coming to a stop next to you.  

‘Thank you for letting me listen to your playing. I’m Jang Wonyoung from class 3-A in the junior division! Nice to meet you…?’ she enthusiastically introduced herself - sticking her hand out. 

‘Uh…Ahn Yujin. I’m new and in class 3-B in the junior division…’ you answered a little unsurely as you lifted a hand from your side and took her hand in yours. 

Her hand was warm in yours and you couldn’t help but marvel a little at how soft it was. But the giggle that had escaped her definitely didn’t help your current self. You are very confused. But the giggles were…cute. 

Cute? What the- this isn’t like yourself, Yujin. 

‘I came in for a hand shake-’ 

And it was almost as if you were burned by hot water or something when you realized. Just as you were about to fling your hand out of whatever the heck your mind was making you do, you felt her gripped your hand. She didn’t seem like she was planning on letting go of your hand. When you looked up at her, you could see a shy smile painted on her face. Her cheeks dusted in a light shade of pink. 

‘But that’s okay. I like this too.’ 

*** 

Jang Wonyoung is witty. 

As more time passed, the more you got to know about her. Her favorite color. Her favorite food. Her favorite time of the day. Her favorite weather. It started off with playing 21 questions and taking turns. But it didn’t take long for you to realize that you didn’t really need to do all that because you already take note of everything she says. You’re only playing it more so for her entertainment. Yet, it was strange how you don’t know why exactly you are humouring her like this. 

‘Do you wanna play 21 questions?’ Wonyoung had asked as she watched you play a soft tune on the piano. 

It was another one of those lunch times. But it’s funny how ever since that day, she would come inside everytime it was supposed to be your ‘alone time’. 

How did she even know that Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays are my alone days…?

‘21 questions?’ you replied, eyes still closed as you didn’t pause your playing. ‘Isn’t that for like…twelve year olds? Or icebreakers for awkward adults?’

‘And? You do realize it’s just an excuse to know a bit more about each other right?’ 

‘I mean,’ you paused. You turned to look at the girl sitting on top of one of the tables in the music room. Her designated spot in the music room when it was just the two of you.‘You can just…ask me anything and I’d probably be happy to answer you - regardless.’

‘Really?’ 

‘Yeah…as long as I can answer them, right?’

‘Fair enough.’ replied Wonyoung as she hopped off the table and moved to sit next to you on the piano stool. Surprisingly, it didn’t feel strange. You’re normally someone who doesn't really want others to sit with you when you play as you always felt a little restricted. You didn’t want to politely tell them to ‘get off’ because you’d feel bad. But that also meant you’d have to be very careful of playing in case you had to reach over to their side and they weren’t aware enough so you’d end up getting into their personal space and even possibly elbowing them. But it was strange. You found yourself not insisting her to get off the stool.  

Gaeul would’ve flipped if she knew. You can already hear it. 

‘Why do you let Wonyoung sit and not me? So much for being your first friend at this school!’

But what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.

‘What’s your favorite color?’ 

‘Probably blue? I’m not that picky with colors.’ 

‘Oh? I like pink! Day or night?’

‘Probably day. I’m more productive during the day than I am at night.’

‘I’m the opposite then because I love the night! I like looking at the moon and the stars - the moon doesn’t hurt my eyes the way the sun does when it shines brightly.’ 

You hummed, giving the girl next to you a quick glance. The way she was so excited explaining her reasoning. The air of child-like innocence. The way her eyes sparkled while she talked about the things she loves. It was all something you found endearing about her. 

‘Can I give you nicknames?’

‘Do what you like, Wonyoung. I’ll probably respond to almost anything anyway.’

‘Jinnie?’

You responded with a nod, letting her know that you were listening. 

‘Pup?’

‘Hm?’

‘Babe?’

‘Yes? W-WAIT wha-?!’ you responded almost immediately. Playing paused adrubtly. You can feel your cheeks heating up and you can only assume how ridiculous you looked with the way Wonyoung was laughing. 

‘S-shut it…it’s not my fault I, uh, wasn’t p-paying attention!’ Honestly the lie sounded stupid to yourself but you didn’t need anyone else to know. 

‘Do you always come to the music room?’ you asked back after managing to keep the heat out of the way for a bit. Maybe it didn’t hurt to slip in your own question every now and then right? 

‘No, not really. I usually hang with my friends. But I heard you play while I walked past once and really liked it - so I ended up coming back to listen.’

‘Before you got caught by me?’ you smirked. 

That’s right Yujin. Confidence. That’s all you need at this moment to get back at her! 

‘Yes. Now hush! Didn’t I tell you not to mention it again?’ Wonyoung whined at you. 

‘Fine, fine. I won’t mention it again - pinky promise!’ you said, as you stuck out a pinky to her. 

You must have said the right thing because the pouting girl stopped and nodded to herself. She then proceeded to hook her pinky and sealing it herself. Putting your hand down, you held back the grin that was threatening to show itself and picked up where you left off and played a few more tunes. 

‘Favorite drink from the tacky vending machine next to the gym?’ she asked after a moment of silence. 

Pausing to think about the question, you answered her with another one. ‘…we had one?’

She looked you straight in the eyes and in the most playful yet serious expression you’ve seen on her. ‘No way…Are you serious?!’ 

Confused, you nodded slowly. 

You watched as she tried to quietly mutter a quick ‘I will personally have to bring you there myself and we can choose your drink together’ under her breath, forgetting the fact that you have already stopped playing at this point and could hear every little thing in the room.  

You couldn’t help the curl of the edge of your lips. Wonyoung looked quite cute and you’re frankly quite amused at her attempt to be intimidating. ‘Sure?’

‘Okay! Let’s move on to some other questions!’

***

Jang Wonyoung is an interesting person. 

You came to know that Wonyoung is one of the popular girls in your grade but there was something that always bothered you. Why in the world would she be interested in becoming friends with the awkward new girl? Why would she bother spending so much time with you in the music room? 

Turns out, Wonyoung had always liked the sound of the piano - something about how it would remind her of her mother, who wasn’t around a whole lot while Wonyoung was growing up. You found out after numerous meetups and you were glad that she was comfortable enough to tell you. 

‘Jinnie?’

‘Hm…?’ you hummed as you idly played with the hand that was in yours. It was an odd development - one you’re not too sure how it happened. Perhaps there were secretly magnets in both your hand and hers. Or maybe someone decided it would be a great idea to glue both hers and your hands together without the two of you knowing.  

‘Do you wanna know what my favorite piano piece is?’

‘Sure?’

‘Believe it or not, it’s actually Chopin’s Waltz in A Minor.’

‘The one I was playing when I caught you in the hallway?’ 

‘Yeah. There’s just something about the melody that captivated me. I guess I liked how although it’s mellow - melancholic even, there’s a certain…hopefulness to it. It almost seemed like the pianist was longing for something or someone, you know? And the fact that my mom used to play it a lot…’

You could sense that there was more to it. But no matter how curious you were, you knew not to push it. You know your limits.   

Plus, you didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. 

‘I used to hear it whenever I was home from school. It was the first thing that would greet me. It gave me a sense of comfort and warmth, you know?’ you watched as Wonyoung let out a sigh - a wry smile painted on her face. ‘The last time I heard it was the last year of grade school…’

You’re not too sure what she meant - did her mom leave the family or did she mean leave in an entirely different sense? Either way, you wanted to comfort her as best as you could, so you squeezed her hand before removing yourself from her grasp and playing a tune on the piano. 

You’re not one to be good with words, but you hope she’ll understand. 

That day, you played Kiss the Rain by Yiruma - hoping that she would understand the way the melody was romantic and sweet, yet melancholic and nostalgic. You hoped she would interpret it as something also hopeful. 

You hoped you could express her emotions through the piece you had chosen to play in a way to comfort her and let out her unspoken feelings. 

In the middle of your playing, you could feel the way her head laid softly onto your shoulder. The weight should’ve made you uncomfortable and hinder your playing. Instead, you found yourself adjusting so that she would be more comfortable without compromising your playing at all. 

‘Thank you,’ Wonyoung quietly whispered into your ear when you had finished. Placing your hands back onto your lap, Wonyoung reached out and held it in her own. It was warm and your heart felt…content. The two of you were settled back into your comfortable silence once again. 

*** 

Jang Wonyoung plagues your mind. 

You’re pretty sure it’s because she’s secretly a witch and has cursed you. Or you’re sick. Or maybe both. 

How else do you explain the strange pull that you feel everytime she is anywhere in your vicinity? There’s this unexplainable urge that you feel - a pull towards her, just so you are close to her. The strange urge of wanting to protect her. The strange urge to-

Oh. There’s the one who plagues your mind, just up ahead and walking towards the music rooms just like you. Deciding you’d go up to her, you quietly made your way over to say hi.  

‘Hi Wonyo,’ you said softly, lagging a little behind her so as to not startle the girl. But the said girl only continued walking, completely ignoring you. Frowning, you decided to walk a little faster to catch up. 

‘Wonyoung?’ you spoke, this time a little louder than before. Yet she still continued to walk down the hallway.

You don’t really remember possibly angering the latter. So why is she ignoring you like that?   

‘Jang Wonyoung,’ you called out to her with a frown on your face. Seeing as she wasn’t going to stop anytime soon, you reached out for her shoulder. Turning her to face you, you looked at her startled face and spoke out in confusion. ‘Neyong-ah, I’ve been calling for you for a while now.’

You see her eyes lower to watch you, a slight frown replacing her previous startled expression. She paused for a while, seemingly trying to process something. Frown still on your face, you watched as a smile made its way on her face. She lifted her hand and tried to smoothen out the crease between your eyebrows by softly rubbing the skin there.  

‘Frowning doesn’t suit you, you know?’ 

Blinking in confusion, you could only look at her. 

‘I’m sorry I didn’t hear you. Let’s go to the music room…together?’ said Wonyoung as she gently cupped your cheek and shot you an apologetic smile. 

Giving up, you nodded. She must’ve sensed that you were still a little…upset. Upset really wasn’t the right word but you couldn’t help but sulk just a little. You could feel the way her hand found its way to yours and she held onto your hand as the two of you walked over. It was a silent walk until she broke it.    

‘What are you thinking about?’

‘H-huh?’ you replied dumbly, head turned to the left. You cocked your head to the side unconsciously while your eyebrows raised in confusion. 

Were you even thinking before she asked you? But there’s something that you noticed that you couldn’t really shake off. She’s been looking at you, eyes flitting down to look at your lips. You can definitely swear on your dog, Azzo, that you weren’t delusional.

‘Don’t…look at me like that!’ Wonyoung replied as she quickly turned to look away. It could be the trick of the light, but you think you saw that her cheeks were dusted in pink, just before she turned away. ‘Y-your thoughts are too loud…’

‘My…thoughts?’

‘Yeah! A-anyways, let’s go in. What are you going to play today?’ 

‘I’ll…think about it. Probably whatever comes to mind, right?’

Settling in your usual seat, you started playing random notes - fully aware of the pair of eyes that were staring at you. You were…nervous to put it plainly. And so damn conscious of everything you do. Your hands were sweaty and you could feel your heartbeat increase. You know exactly what it was that made you suddenly like this. Come to think of it, maybe it was better to not have noticed the way she would look at your lips.  

‘You know, I’ve heard that many musicians can sing really well. Jinnie, could you test this out for me?’

‘Sorry, I know for a fact that I can’t sing to save my life. You’ve got to be dying or super, super, super special for me to hear me embarrass myself like that,’ you said, shaking your head as you turned to face her with a straight face. 

One of the things she still hasn’t found out about you, was the fact that sometimes, you’d like to sing while playing the piano. Now, one would think that you’d only know how to play classical pieces - anything from Bach to Chopin. But what people didn’t know was that you actually liked playing renditions of pop songs on the piano for fun. And even though you’re bad, you still enjoy singing.  

She paused for a moment, watching your lips again. 

‘Aw, please Jinnie?’  

‘Nyeong-ah, no. You’re not gonna catch me embarrassing myself like that.’ 

‘Fine.’ she said, as she walked over to you and sat down on the piano stool. ‘Play something? I don’t want to only watch your back while you play.’

‘Well, you can still hear me play even if you only visually see my back from there,’ you joked with a roll of your eyes. 

A comfortable silence fell upon the two of you. Well, to you it was comfortable, until you noticed the way Wonyoung had stayed silent and awkwardly started to scratch the side of her fingers. A nervous habit that you noticed from the time you spent with her. Concerned, you reached out to hold her hand in an attempt to stop her from doing any more damage to herself.   

‘Hey, what’s wrong?’ you asked softly. Her eyes were on yours, before they looked at your lips. You swallowed nervously, unsure what is going to happen.  

‘Jinnie…I can’t hear you very well.’

‘H-huh? What do you mean-’

‘I…forgot my hearing aids today.’

Ah. That explains it. A lot actually. Why she didn’t stop no matter how many times you called out to her in the hallway. Why she kept pausing for a moment before replying. Why she kept staring at your lips. 

God you’re thinking too deep into things! Get a grip and stop thinking she’d want to kiss- STOP THERE!

‘Oh…’ you muttered, thinking what you could do. You could swear that your brain never worked this fast in trying to think of something - anything, that could make this situation better for her.  

‘I’m sorry-’ Wonyoung started, eyes looking down to her lap again. There was something in her voice - almost as if she was…ashamed of her condition. 

‘Hey, it’s okay. Being able to hear or not doesn’t change the fact that you’re Jang Wonyoung - Miss Popular who happened to be the same weirdo I found outside the music room,’ you said gently, trying desperately to lighten up the mood. You held her chin up and moved her to face you. You hope your eyes, the words you were trying to say could convey what she meant to you.

‘You should’ve told me earlier so that I can speak slower!’ you said as your eyes widened in recognition and a light bulb went off in your mind. ‘You can still hear a little bit, even without your hearing aids right?’ 

‘Yeah. My cousin Minjoo bought my spare ones and will be giving it to me in my next class though so I’ll be able to hear better.’

‘Cool. Well, I hope you don’t mind sitting a little closer and me invading your personal space for the time being.’ you said with determination. You at comforting people, but you hope she’d understand this one. ‘Don’t laugh, okay?’    

Seeing her nod, you leaned a little closer to her as you played the first chord. 

‘I’m only one call away. I’ll be there to save the day,’ you sang softly into her ears, despite the pink blush that covered both yours and her cheeks.

***

Jang Wonyoung is the girl you like. 

Perhaps it was because you’ve spent so much time together. Or maybe it was because of the whole deal with the piano session that goes on every other lunchtime.

It really didn’t help that your mind had decided that she was perfect. Beauty, brains and a kind personality? You’re honestly starting to be convinced that God really took his time when Wonyoung was born. But that’s alright - you’re happy that you were able to meet such a wonderful person.  

The first time you’ve realized that something wasn’t quite right was when you found yourself looking for her. Whether it was in the hallways, in between classes and even in the cafeteria during the short moments where you’d buy your lunch, your eyes were always trying to catch a glimpse of her. The only times that you didn’t need to look for her was when she would show up at the music rooms on your alone days. 

The second time you realized that something wasn’t quite right was when you found yourself unconsciously tuning in on your classmates or other people you didn’t know talking about Wonyoung. You’d find yourself pausing everything you were doing - be it eating, writing, heck even breathing, just to listen in. Your body seemed to think pausing what you were doing helped you listen better. 

The third was definitely how nervous yet happy you suddenly found yourself feeling whenever you were around her. You were giddy but you also found yourself clamming up which in your own honest opinion, it was the weirdest thing to feel at the same time. It was almost as if your body didn’t know how to function properly whenever you were around her. Did you mention the way your heart seemed to beat so fast you thought you might have unknowingly ran a whole marathon before seeing her?       

‘What does this mean?’ you unconsciously asked out loud during one of the art lessons that you had on Thursday afternoons. Mrs Jeon thought it would’ve been a genius idea to have her Thursday afternoon class sophomores combine with the elective Thursday morning class juniors so that the juniors can be ‘mentors’ to the sophomores. You didn’t really see the point but you guess you had to thank your lucky stars for pairing you up with a junior named Kim Chaewon.

Chaewon’s quiet and wasn’t the type to talk much. But when she does speak, she knows exactly what to say to make you feel better - whether it was making you feel less bored by playing along with your jokes, giving you good advice or cheering you up because you just weren’t that blessed in the artistic department. You’d like to say that in the time that this art class thing has been going on for the past two months, you’ve adopted Chaewon as your older sister. 

‘What does ‘what’ mean…?’ Chaewon piped up next to you as she continued with her sketch without looking at you. 

‘Do you reckon I’m sick or something? My body seems to be just as confused as I am in my head whenever I see this one person…’ you answered her vaguely. 

‘Ah…confused as in you’re not too sure what you’re feeling?’

‘Yeah…I could be nervous and so damn giddy at the same time. Yet my hands are clammy and my heart is about to beat out of my chest and I just…want to…I dunno, throw up or something?’ 

‘...And this only happens when you see this one particular person?’ Chaewon asked calmly, almost as if she didn’t care. But you knew better. Chaewon had her full attention on you even though she was still sketching. The numerous times you’ve watched her rub out the same line was a clear indication to you. 

Nodding furiously, you watched as Chaewon fixed up the last bit of whatever she was sketching before grabbing a different pencil for shading. ‘I think you’re fine. You just have a really big crush on whoever that person is.’

‘I- what?’

‘Yeah, go tell them before someone else confesses. Just letting you know, throwing up and confessing at the same time isn’t really a good look.’

‘I’ll uh…keep that in m-mind…? By the way, how would you know? Have you felt this way before?’ you asked curiously. This was your chance to learn a little more about the mysterious yet popular junior that every other sophomore was talking about. 

‘Yeah, maybe.’

‘WHO?!’

‘...That’s for me to know and for you to find out.’ 

*** 

You were busy trying to finish copying the last part of Gaeul’s notes. Damn Mr Han and his monotonous voice. This man might have been some rapper back in the days because, how the hell did he expect the class to be able to keep up with his talking? It was the short break in between classes and the others were all using this chance to socialize or complain. You paid no mind to the chatting around you but something someone said had caught your attention. 

‘Hey, why is Seoyoon running in the hallway?’ 

‘Are you sure it was Seoyoon? Class president of the class two doors away, 'goody-two-shoes who can’t run for her life' Seoyoon?’ 

‘I mean, who else has their flaming red hair tied like that? And the school blazer with THAT many badges?’ 

A loud scream could be heard and frantic footsteps soon followed after. Everyone in your class was suddenly thrown into a loop. Some of your curious classmates had chosen this chance to be their nosy selves and go outside to have a look at what was going on. Risking themselves for detention? Yeah, that’s not you. 

‘Yujin, do you know how to solve question fourteen?’ asked Rei as she tried to finish the homework that was due for maths. Talk about cutting it close, seeing as the class that starts next was maths. 

‘Rei-yah, I’ll help you out. Let the poor puppy finish copying the notes,’ giggled Gaeul as she moved her seat closer to Rei.

‘What the hell was that?!’ came a loud yell from someone outside the classroom. If you weren’t so concentrated, maybe you’d notice that the person who had said that was Sungchan, one of the guys in the class that you were pretty close with. A frantic figure had burst through your classroom - sweaty and face paled. You looked up from your note taking with a raised eyebrow. 

‘ING RUN GUYS! I JUST SAW MR IM BITE A CHUNK OFF MS YOON’S ARM!’ yelled Jihoon, eyes shaking in fear.   

‘Jihoon, what are you on-’ started Gaeul, clearly not amused at the prank that Jihoon was trying to pull. 

‘I’M NOT KIDDING, GEL. RUN! IT’S A ING ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE!’

***