[Myungsoo's Point of View]

+Nell+Losing Control+ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dgzkVWVMVQ [PLEASE START FROM 1:04]

It was another cool morning as I stepped out of the comfort of my crumbling house and into the fresh morning air. Equipped with merely my guitar and a few coins and notes to my name, I set out for the day, hoping to earn a bit more money than yesterday. "I think I'll go perform and Dongdaemun today. It will be a nice change from my usual spot by the Han river." I mumbled to myself as I wrapped my thin jacket tightly around my body. 

Walking to the subway station, I reluctantly pulled out two of my notes and bought a ticket. On the subway, I blended in with everyone else. No one bothered to question why I was here on the subway instead of at school. One look at me and they could tell that it was probably because I didn't have enough money.

It has been two years since I last stepped into school. This year would have been my last if I had stayed. I dropped out of school to take care of my ill mother and to earn money for the family. With my father gone and my mother now confined to her bed, I had to take responsibility. It's not like I was very good in school anyway and I definitely didn't like going, but what I missed was not school itself but the feeling of being normal and ordinary as a result of being a student. Right now, I wasn't a normal teenager. With my mother also gone, I was struggling to stay alive. I had lost almost everything. My dreams and imagination were the only things that couldn't be taken away. That and my music. By performing every day, I was desperately trying to hold onto the last thing I had left. 

Arriving at Dongdaemun, I selected a relatively busy area so that I wouldn't be in the way but many people would still be able to hear me. I assembled my guitar case in front of me and I sat down on a public bench. I heard the vibrations of the strings on my guitar weave through the cold air as I open my mouth to sing.

[Sungyeol's Point of View]

+Nell+Beautiful Stranger+ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncEyF5EYQDQ

A stinging sensation rushes to my face as it comes in contact with the chilling night air. It was oddly cold for a Spring evening. I swing my backpack over my shoulders and wrap my thick coat tighter around my body. Cram school was finally over for the day! I was tired of learning. I was tired of going to some prestigious school with a bunch of people who had their whole life already planned out. They all had hopes, dreams and aspirations and then there was me; the directionless wanderer. From my classmates I would always hear about how excited they were about studying abroad next year after graduation or how they were going to be working at their parents company. It's not like I couldn't work at my father's company and it's not like I couldn't study abroad either. I just didn't know if I wanted to do either of those things. Then I would go to cram school after school every day to be stuck in a room full of overachievers for another few more hours. It wasn't like I wasn't an overachiever myself. I just didn't know if I wanted to be one. 

I sighed as I walked along the Han River. After class every day, I would walk along the Han River to calm my thoughts. It was the only time of the day where I could be alone and forget everything that I was worried about. School. Graduation. My future. 
The river glistened in the night as it reflected the city's bright lights. I walked into the convenience store that was conveniently located by the river. I bought my usual cheap coffee from the self service machine. It wasn't good coffee but it was hot so it was good enough. I sat down on the seating outside the convenience store and gazed out at the waterscape. 

My fantasy was interrupted by the echoes of a whispering voice and a strumming guitar. I looked in the direction of the sound and spotted a very familiar face. "So he's still here." I muttered to myself. 

It was the same singing guitarist that was here every night, playing the same songs. I grew so familiar to them that I knew which song he would play next and would hum the tune. He always wore really thin clothing and I would be afraid that he would be cold. However, as he played it seemed like he wasn't affected by the weather at all. His voice was still steady and soft. I could see heat in his eyes. "He must have a lot of motivation if he can play in this weather every night." I thought to myself.

As usual, I watched people walk past, stop for a moment to listen and then drop a few coins or notes into his guitar case before strolling off. I usually listened while drinking my coffee until he finished and started to pack up, but on this particularly cold night, a nagging instinct told me to do otherwise. 

As he played the last notes of his final song, I ran back into the convenience store and bought two more coffees except this time I bought the hot canned ones. Quickly paying at the cashier, I rushed to the guitarist before he finished packing up and held out one coffee for him.

"Thought you might need something hot to drink." 

He looked up from counting his money and stared into my eyes. It was the first time I had spoken to the lone guitarist and it was the first time I saw his eyes up close. They were even warmer than I had first thought. They had a flare that I didn't have. A flicker of passion and desire. Maybe this was the motivation that he had and I lacked. He put his money into his pockets and took the hot can out of my hand. He fished out a bill from his pocket and offered it to me. 

"Thanks, but this is all I have." 

"No. It's fine. Consider it payment for letting me listen to your music.”

I sat down on the bench next to him as I opened my can of coffee and he stuffed the bill back into his pocket. 

"So how long have you been playing for?"

"Since I was in 4th year elementary school."

"Wow. That's a long time. What year are you in now?"

There was pause as he sipped his coffee.

"I dropped out of school two years ago. But I would be in 3rd high school."

"Oh. I'm in 3rd year high school too! We must be the same age." 

"Yea."

With each response he didn't look me in the eye but instead stared at his guitar or the coffee. Up close I could look at him in more detail. He had short, slightly curled, black hair. He was probably tall as his legs were relatively long and had a very thin body frame. He almost looked frail. With his piercing eyes, he had a pretty flawless face. You could almost call it beautiful. He was definitely very attractive. 

"So why do you play here?"

"Isn't it obvious? I need the money." 

"Oh."

"Let me ask you a question for a change." He asked abruptly. "You're clearly pretty well off so what is a person like you, talking to a high school dropout, street performer like me?"

To be honest, I didn't really know myself.

"I would like to know the answer myself. Any ideas?"

In those minutes of silence that followed, we finished off our coffee and he finished packing up. When he finished, he stood up to leave and I followed.

"Well I should go. Thanks for the coffee."

"It's ok. Will you be here tomorrow too?"

"Probably."

"Then I will see you tomorrow then."

"Suit yourself."

I smiled and waved at him as he walked towards the subway station and I walked the opposite way to get home. 

+++++++++

For the next month, the mysterious guitarist and I met by the river every night. I would sit by the convenience store waiting for him to finish, admiring his skill from a distance. Each night, I grew more and more curious about him. Our conversations would only last around ten to fifteen minutes as we drunk the coffees that I would buy. At first we were still really awkward. I would do most of the talking and he would just listen as he stared off into the distance. It took him about two weeks for him to warm up to me, probably because he wasn’t used to people suddenly taking such an interest in him.

He told me about his sick mother who he used to play and sing for. Despite being against his decision to stop school and earn money, she let her son’s soft voice lull her peacefully to sleep every night. He told me about how seeing his mother’s face light up at the sound of his music gave him the courage and persistence to carry on, to fill the empty shoes of a father who abandoned them long ago.  His dream was to share his music with the world. He wanted to make everyone smile and give them hope like how he gave happiness to his dying mother. He hated the idea of being scrutinised and watched by the media and the faceless people on the internet, but if he had to put up with it in order to spread his music, he would gladly make that sacrifice. The only problem was that he had no idea how he was going to do it and that’s if he had a chance at all. I remember his exact words. “Maybe I’m just deluding myself. Maybe I’m fated to play on the streets forever, only earning a few fleeting seconds of attention out of each person’s precious time.” At the time, I really wanted to dismiss everything he had said, but I stopped myself. Who was I to say anything about achieving dreams?

Of course I had my own confessions to make. I told him about how lost I felt, how being from a privileged family wasn’t all as glitzy as it appears, how much I envied him because he knew what he wanted to do in life. I told him how the pressure from school and from my father was overwhelming and suffocating. I revealed that it was true that I hated everyone watching me, waiting for me to either step up to the plate or slip and fall. “What is the use of having everything at your fingertips when you don’t know what to do with it all?” I remember telling him. “What’s the point of trying so hard when you have nothing to show for it?” A-pluses weren’t going to impress my father. They weren’t going to impress anyone, because to them, they were just a part of the basic expectations. From the moment I was born, I was pushed onto a planned path that was created to make sure that I made it out on top. I was always busy trying to stay on track that I never even tried to think about where the path was leading me. He told me that he understood where I was coming from, but deep down I knew he didn’t. We were just completely different people searching for two completely opposing things, but maybe that was just what drew us closer and closer together.

The warm breeze of Spring was receding as the musician and I continued our daily routine of coffee and fifteen minute conversations.

"It's going to be Summer soon. It'll be way too hot for this coffee." The boy pointed out as he drunk the last bit of the coffee.

"Then I'll just need to buy iced coffee then." He took the two finished cans and threw them accurately into the bin a few meters away. "It's going to be Summer holidays soon. Luckily I have no school but I still need to go to cram school. Doesn't that ?"

"At least you're learning something and keeping your brain working. You'll need the time to study for your SATs."

"But that means I can't come to see you every day." I whined as I pouted.

"You don't need to come see me every day. It's not like you get anything from visiting me."

He seemed to be relatively unaffected by the notion of not seeing me on a regular basis but I sensed a slight flicker of disappointment in his eyes. 

"Don't worry." I patted his head, only to have my hand pushed away. "I'll definitely find a way to come every day, since you like me that much."

"Who said I liked you!?" He looked away in embarrassment.

"If you say so." I chuckled.

There was a silent pause in which neither of us moved or spoke. We just sat there staring at each other, hoping and expecting the other to make the first move.

"My name is Sungyeol by the way. Lee Sungyeol."

"What?"

"I just realized that we've known each other for nearly a month and we still don't know each other's names."

"Oh. My name is Kim Myungsoo."

"Myungsoo. That's a nice name. I like it." I commented as I smiled warmly.

That was the first time that I saw Myungsoo smile back at me. He was no longer a beautiful stranger. He was Kim Myungsoo.

+++++++++

+Snow Patrol+Chasing Cars+ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1W5lFW-vUY

-7 Months Later-February-

“Are you sure it’s a good idea to bring me to your school?” Myungsoo nervously clutched onto the strap of his guitar case. “I don’t exactly fit in with… this.” He gestured to huge school building that we were standing in front of.

“Oh stop it. It’s fine. I invited you to my graduation ceremony and you will sit through it all whether you like it or not.”

I grabbed onto his free hand and pulled a still struggling Myungsoo into the school building.

“It just feels weird.” He muttered as he glanced around, admiring the open light space and expensive chandeliers that hung from the roof. “It’s been ages since I’ve been in a school and my school was definitely not like yours.”

“I never liked those chandeliers. I was always paranoid that one might suddenly decide to break and fall on top of me.”

A sudden burst of laughter escaped Myungsoo’s mouth.

“You really are an idiot.”

“Hey! You’re talking to the person who’s graduating first in the class. I’m no idiot.”

“Fine. Whatever floats your boat.”

I dragged him into the auditorium and showed him to his seat before rushing to join the rest of the graduates on stage. I don’t remember much from the ceremony, because I spent most of the time staring into the audience at Myungsoo, who was smiling and staring straight back at me.

++++++++++

After taking countless photos and waving goodbye to all my classmates after the ceremony, I took Myungsoo to one of the gardens on the school grounds. It was at the very back of the school so we were alone. Once again Myungsoo was amazed at the lush greenery and various structures that were scattered about my school.

“Wow. Maybe going to a rich school isn’t such a bad idea.”

“Trust me when I say that it’s not worth it.”

There was a brief moment of silence as we both sat down on one of the benches amongst the garden.

“So have you decided what to do with your life yet?” Myungsoo asked as he rested his guitar up against the bench.

“Yes, I have actually.” I affirmed confidently.

“Really? Well let’s hear it.”

“I’m going to study music like my father wants me to.”

Myungsoo’s eyes widened in slight surprise.

“But I thought you didn’t want to be your father’s puppet.”

“I don’t. That’s why I’m going to do things my way. I want to take over my father’s job but I’m going to do it on my own terms. It’s not like I was never interested in music in the first place.”

He relaxed back against bench after my assurance.

“So you’ve figured out what your dream is?”

“I’ve got an idea more or less. My dream is merely to help as many people achieve their dreams as possible. Starting with you of course.”

Myungsoo blushed lightly at my unexpected proposal and coughed to dissipate the tense atmosphere.

“I still don’t understand why you waited that long until you told me that you’re the son of President Lee at L.S.Y Entertainment. He’s only like the top producer in the whole country.”

“Why? Are you suggesting that you’re only friends with me because of my father?”

“No! Of course not!”

I chuckled at his sudden defensive outburst.

“Good, because I’ll need your help and support if this is going to work.”

“Where would you be without me?”

“Who knows? Probably still a dreamless and directionless wanderer. That’s why I promise to pay you back. I promise to show the whole world your music.”

Nervously, I gently placed my hand over his hand that was resting on the seat.

“I’ll hold you up on that promise.”

He leaned over and whispered into my ear. His breath tickled my ear and his deep voice was enough to make my finger tips tingle.

“There’s another thing.” Myungsoo pulled away from me and gave me a puzzled glance. “I’m moving out into my own apartment. Leave that falling down excuse for a house of yours and move in with me.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re my friend.” I sensed a sigh of disappointment escape from his lips. “Also because…” My body tightened as I spoke the next few words. “I think I might love you.”

There was a nerve-wracking few seconds of silence, where neither of us moved or spoke a single word. We just sat there staring at each other.

“Yes. I’ll move in with you.” Myungsoo broke the silence with six words spoken in a monotonous tone. I grew apprehensive due to his lack of enthusiasm and I doubted my own feelings. That was until I saw the corner of Myungsoo’s mouth curl upwards. “Because you’re my friend and because I think I might love you too.”

The following silence wasn’t tense but instead there were sparks of electricity in the air. Once again we stared at each other, communicating through glances without any words.

“I have another favour to ask. Can you play me a song?”

“Sure.” Myungsoo grabbed his guitar that was leaning against the bench and removed it from its case. “Do you have a particular song in mind?”

“You can pick. Just make it a song that’s suitable for the occasion.”

Myungsoo smirked at my suggestion because he knew exactly which song I was referring to. He strummed a few notes before he began the song. His voice echoed through the calm school gardens and into the atmosphere for the whole world to hear.
 

“We'll do it all
Everything
On our own

We don't need
Anything
Or anyone

If I lay here
If I just lay here
Would you lie with me
And just forget the world?”

We needed each other. We found each other. Now let’s chase our dreams together for eternity.

I really love all three of these songs. :) Of course this one-shot was inspired by the final song 'Chasing Cars' but also the second song 'Beautiful Stranger'.

Hope you enjoyed it! Please comment! :D