Ryeowook POV

"I wanna come with you!" 

I laughed as Henry looked up at me with puppy-eyes, a begging look on his face. 

"Henli, it's the first class.  I can't have you distracting me and my students" 

He pouted, but nodded in understanding.  I gathered up my keyboard, popped on my sunglasses, and headed out the door.  I had decided to leave an hour early to make sure I had plenty of time. 

I stepped out into the fresh morning air, and I took a deep breath.  I was a bit nervous, and honestly I would have really appreciated Henry's company, but I wanted to make a good impression.  I didn't think it would look good to have Henry hanging all over me. 

I blushed as I thought of Henry's actions towards me.  He was always hugging me, and holding my hand.  It wasn't that I didn't enjoy it, I was just a little embarrassed by his open affection.  I was very pleased to have him as a friend, but I had to wonder if this was how best friends acted towards each other.

However, no one in the house seemed to see anything strange in the behavior.  My mother just laughed and said that's how he had always been.  She reminded me,

"Sweetie, it was always like that.  He and Kyuhyun were always hanging on you, competing for your attention.  That's just how he acts towards you" 

I shrugged, well if everyone else thought it was normal then I was sure it was fine.

As I walked around the mansions and pristine lawns, I searched for the address written on my hand.  I bit my lip as I spun around, examining the gold plated numbers on each door.  I just couldn't seem to find the right house.

I groaned, and spun around agitatedly.  Seriously, I knew I was bad with directions, but this was ridiculous.  I grumbled, but continued walking, determined to find my destination.

I ended up finding the house, but not by my own doing.  A little boy ran over to me, and tugged at my shirt.  When I looked down, he shot me a cheerful grin and asked cutely,

"Are you the music-sshi?" 

I smiled down at him, and nodded.  His smile grew even larger and he grabbed my hand and started pulling me.  I was surprised by the sudden action, and I protested in surprise.  However, I stopped when I found myself standing in front of the very house I had been searching for.

I looked down at the little boy in shock, and he giggled at me,

"This is my house!  My name is Onew, and my mommy said you would teach me and my friends about music!" 

I smiled at the sunny boy and ruffled his hair in affection.  He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the house where I was greeted warmly by Onew's mother.

She had a maid show me the room I would be teaching in, and then left me to my own devices.  I had been expecting a little more direction, so I was a bit nervous.  I shifted uncomfortably under the expectant eyes of the little faces.  I took a deep breath and smiled bravely.

"Hello!  My name is Kim Ryeowook and I will be your music instructor.  You guys can call me Wookie-hyung if you'd like"  

Onew, apparently the leader of his friends, stood up and introduced his little gang. 

"These are my friends, Minho, Taemin, Jonghyun, and Key" 

I smiled and bowed slightly when they bowed deeply in respect.  I noted almost instantly, how the little group was paired up.  Key and Taemin had a more feminine appearance, while Jonghyun, Onew, and Minho were more boyish.

It seemed that Key and Jonghyun were attached at the hip, and Taemin never strayed out of Minho's sight.  Onew flitted between the pairs, holding all of them in a cohesive group.  It was actually very cute, and I felt myself resisting the urge to squeal like a complete fanboy.  I composed myself and asked the children some questions,

"So what do you guys want to do?  Do you have any particular thing that you are interested in?" 

They all beamed at me and Onew announced with obvious pride,

"We are going to be famous singers!  We're going to be a band!" 

I smiled at his enthusiasm and nodded.  It seemed like more and more children were aspiring to be idols these days, and at my university I was quite familiar with those studying hard for the same goal.  Luckily, since I had the general background knowledge I had an idea of how to teach them.

"Well, do you each have something you want to focus on?"  Onew spoke up again,

"Taemin wants to dance, Minho wants to rap, and Jonghyun and I want to sing.  Well, we want to do all these things,  but that's everyone's favorite things" 

I nodded, but bit my lip in worry.  I wouldn't have any trouble with the singing, but the rap and dance would be harder for me. 

I pushed these aprehensions aside and decided to start with the basics of singing, and understanding different notes and pitches.  By the end of the first lesson, I had them all singing the vocal scale like angels.  I smiled, they seemed to have natural talent, and they certainly had the enthusiasm to do well.  I only hoped that I could help them acheive their goals.

When I started to head back to the Cho's manor, it was getting dark.  I was actually pretty exhausted, and I was not looking forward to the hike back up the hill.  I saw a bench near the base of the hill and decided to stop and take a rest.  I gently set my keyboard down and shook my tired arms.  I winced as my muscles protested in soreness.  I noted grimly that I really needed to work out.

I sat down and looked around disinterestedly.  Suddenly, a large willow tree caught my attention.  I started at the tree, and I vaguely recalled it from my childhood.  I had a dim memory of running and hiding beneath the curtain of leaves.  I looked around at the empty spance surrounding the tree, and had a nagging feeling that something was missing.

I scoured my bain, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.  I finally shrugged it off, knowing that I would drive myself insane if I kept obsessing over it.  I stretched my arms over my head, sighing at the relief of getting my blood flowing.  I was about to reach out and pick up my keyboard when a large, elegant hand picked it up before me.

I looked up in surprise and almost fell off the bench when I saw who it was.  Cho Kyuhyun stood in front of me, a blank look on his face.  I just stared stupidly, not quite knowing what to say.  My mouth opened, but no words came out.  He was the one that ended up breaking the awkward silence.

"C'mon let's go"  Then he turned and started walking up the hill.  I was frozen momentarily, but hastily scurried after him when he turned around and shot me a questioning look.  I caught up to him, but the silence was still overwhelming.  I figited with my hands nervously before stuttering,

"Um... t-thank y-you..."  He just grunted in response and said off-handedly,

"Well you looked like you were having trouble"  We lapsed back into silence, our footsteps the only sound.  I clenched my fists and gathered my courage and said,

"I'm really sorry for that time when I barged into your room.  I wasn't even thinking..." 

I trailed off as my courage started to fade.  He didn't really answer at first, and this just heightened my anxiety.  I was shocked when I heard him chuckle softly.  It wasn't quite a genuine laugh, but it was still the warmest I had ever heard his voice.

"Don't worry about it.  I... don't really handle surprises well.  When you burst in, it startled me and I'm afraid I acted improperly.  I apologize for scaring you" he said politely. 

He smiled down at me, but it seemed forced, almost as if he had forgetten how to really smile.

However, his attitude was a complete opposite of what I had otherwise experienced.  This version of Kyuhyun was all stiff politeness.  Although he was a lot less scary in this state, I couldn't help but dislike it.  The other Kyuhyun I had seen was mean and intimidating, but at least he was showing some sort of emotion.  His current mood was so blank and emotionless, that a shiver actually went down my spine.  This Kyuhyun was like a doll, and it kind of creeped me out.

I smiled at him brightly, hoping that the smile's warmth might thaw some of the stiffness from his demeanor.  He smiled again, and this time it was smaller, but it seemed more natural.  I mentally cheered in triumph, maybe he was actually human.

By this time, we had entered the gates surrounding the whole mansion.  As soon as we stepped into the brightly lit house, Henry came running up to me and practically tackled me with the force of his hug.  I staggered a bit, but laughed at his excitement.  When Henry finally stepped back, he seemed to notice Kyuhyun for the first time.

A strange expression flitted over my dongsaeng's face.  I was about to ask if everything was okay when Kyuhyun cleared his throat and wordlessly handed my keyboard to Henry.  He turned and walked towards the elevator, never making a sound.

I stared at him in confusion, but was jostled out of my thoughts by Henry grabbing my hand and dragging me into the kitchen.  He started asking me questions about how my first day was and how things had gone  I smiled and began to answer, distracted with his bounless energy.

Even as I turned my focus to Henry, I couldn't help but wonder about the strange tension between the two brothers.  I wanted to ask, but felt it wasn't my place to know.  I assumed Henry would tell me if it was important.  Satisfied with my reasoning, I focused my full attention on my exuberant friend.

Kyuhyun's POV

I shook my head.  I really didn't know what had possesed me to approach Ryeowook.  I knew I should have turned around and just escaped undetected, but before I knew what was happening, I found myself grabbing his keyboard.

I tried to tell myself that it was just my guilty conscience speaking.  I had felt bad after scaring him so badly, but I knew that I couldn't really pin it on that.  I knew I had helped him out of familiarity, it was an automatic response even after all these years.

I sighed, and opened my laptop, clicking the keys with practiced of my fingers.  I would have been blind if I didn't see the look my brother had sent me.  I saw it, and I read the message loud and clear. 

It was a warning look, and I knew very well that he was telling me to stay far away from a certain small music teacher...

Here you guys go!  Hope you enjoyed the update!  I know making SHINee little kids is a little weird, but I couldn't think of anything else, so I just went with it...

Thanks for reading y'all! ^^

Comments = ~<3

Location: the North Pole, meeting up with a bunch of E.L.F.s (hehe, see what I did there?)

Mood: full...

Music: "Stranger" by SHINee