Although you feel like a creep just sitting there behind the door, hoping no one's going to notice you, you can't help but love where you are. The door casts its shadow on you and the gap is small enough not to reveal you - you're in the perfect position to hear everything that is going on in the room ahead of you. Your head is turned towards the nearest window and from down here, you can see the birds elegantly fly past the school grounds, disappearing somewhere into the reddish afternoon sunshine. That is enough for now. After all, you know that you don't even have to see Baekhyun's face to get an idea of what he propaby looks like right now. 

When he hits one of the high notes, you shiver and rest your forehead on the cover of the box that is still uselessly positioned on your thighs. Actually, you think to yourself, this is the right time to be mad at him the way he was alfraid of. You always thought that you knew him inside out. You thought you knew the corners of his eyes and every wrinkle on his hands, and the way he laughed was one of the most familiar sounds to you. You loved it as much as you loved the way he said your name when you said something that made him grin in amusement. The way he said your name in general. That's what you fell in love with in the first place.

But it turns out that there was one thing missing in your picture of him. And even though keeping his singing a secret from you makes you feel like he didn't trust you enough, you close your eyes with pleasure. Because strangely enough the more you listen to him sing, the faster you come to admit that the secret he has successfully kept from you until today doesn't exactly ruin your loving picture of him. You can clearly see him in front of your inner eye, and his voice alone is enough to build up a whole new aspect of his person.

A colorful one, a strong one, an exciting one. His singing seems to cover him in some kind of new clothing that fits him perfectly. You sigh quietly. It feels as if this very moment is the one you had always been waiting for. This moment is the missing part of him that you never knew. But now you know – and it's precious.

It's a shame that you want to keep these thoughts a secret as much as he wanted to keep his talent to himself. But you guess that both of you have your reasons for doing so.

The sound of the teacher closing the lid over the claviature makes you snap out of your harmonious numbness. You hurry to get back up on your feet when you realize that this must be the end of today's lesson and when you look at the clock hanging at the end of the hallway you see that it's almost 6:15 PM. Whenever he wanted to meet after his appointments, it wasn't before 6:30 PM. You shake your head in desblief. Now everything suddenly makes sense. Just when you rearranged the box in your arms to continue carrying it safely for the rest of the way, you notice voices leaking out of the gap again.

„Now“, the teacher says, „have you already thought about it?“ The questionmark in his voice makes you stand still for one more moment, facing the floor guiltily. You know that you're about to reveal more of his secrets than he would want you to. You hear Baekhyun in his breath through his teeth. „Ah, yes, I have“, he replies inwardly but with the same sincere tone that he always talks in. His answer is followed by a moment of silence and you swear you can hear the teacher's expectations flood the room. „It's going to be difficult but I'll try it without someone accompanying me“, he continues on. You blink a few times and frown. The feeling of being kept in the dark about this 'something' that seems to concern your best friend preys on your mind.

The teacher sighs.

„I knew you would say this, so I gave them a call“, he says, „but it's not that easy. If you're going to audition without accompaniment, you already have to do so this saturday morning. Plus, the registration phase is over.“ Another moment of heavy silence but your mind is noisy. The word 'audition' echoes in your head. Baekhyun is going to audition. Not wanting your support on this is either modesty or arrogance. Or fear, but until today you wouldn't have thought about Baekhyun as someone who fears rejection. When you hear your friend breathe out stiffly you slightly lean against the wall behind you and turn your head to the side so you're right next to the door. No matter what this is about, but it seems to be bothering him. And if it bothers Baekhyun, it has to be something of great importance.

He clears his throat but doesn't say anything. „You know there are several eligible pianists in your year“, the teacher suggests and you can almost see Baekhyun shake his head a little, refusing to pick up on this thought of just chosing anyone. „I have to audition next monday and you're the only one I have ever practised this song with. I don't want to demand that amount of practise from anyone else.“ His voice is still strong but you notice the shaking undertone that tells you he's actually at a loss. He must've been worrying about that issue for a long time now. 'Babo', you think, 'don't keep things that bother you like that to yourself!' Plus, you yourself are a pianist as well. You've been taking lessons since you were ten years old but school made you neglect them for some years now. But with a little practise you'd be better than nothing at all, that is for sure.

„You know you have to, Baekhyun. I'm not going to be there on monday, I can't cancel that off-the-job training.“ They remain silent again and you hear someone packing their bags so you get ready to flee.

„What about your friend Ahn Minseo?“ When you hear your name, your lashes twitch in front of your eyes. „I heard she's a piano student as well.“ You forcefully shut your eyes and turn away from the room. Actually you don't really want to hear Baekhyun's answer. He's not going to ask you that favor just like that after having kept his singing a secret from you for ten years. Even though somehow you wish he would. When you hear steps approaching the door, you continue your walking toward the library to finish your work. But the last words you hear him say before turning around the corner are the ones that follow you for the rest of the day.

„If I ask her, she has to know about everything... and honestly, I don't want to disappoint her by failing the audition. There's a reason I haven't told her.“