Yeon Ah, Hyo Min, and Hyo Rin were just about ready to fall asleep when the bell finally rang. Double Music Comp class is finally over! They had reviewed different chords and were forced to listen to classical pieces and identify the key shifts and the minor/major chord progressions for the whole two hours. ‘This class is going to be brutal, but beneficial, none-the-less,’ Yeon Ah stifled a yawn and organized her things into her bag. After parting from her friends, Yeon Ah walked to the Jazz Room. Inside, the band was already setting up and warming up on their instruments.

     “Hey Yeonnie, how was your summer?” trumpet player, Jung Tae Woon, asked her.

     “It was good. I got to go back to the states for a couple of weeks to visit my old friends. How about you? How was your summer?” Yeon Ah asked as she got out her alto and placed her reed between her lips, softening it with her saliva.

     “I worked part time to save up for this baby,” he held out his brand new trumpet.

     “Nice, it’s a Schilke. How much was it?”

     “The guy I bought it from gave me a huge discount, so I got it for $1200. It’s brand new; it was in its original packaging and all.” Yeon Ah nearly swallowed her reed when she heard the price. Although, she shouldn’t be so shocked. Her Yamaha was double the price, with a Vandoren V5 JAZZ A45 mouthpiece which was $100. Placing her reed on her mouthpiece, she positioned it and secured it in place. She warmed up her instrument and sat down in her spot, but noticed the teacher wasn’t there yet. ‘She’s usually here by now.’ The door opened and in walked Mrs. Bae, followed by the pink haired boy from the gym.

     “Good Afternoon class! It’s so nice to see you all again. I’m sure your summer was fantastic and I would love to hear about them after class. However, I’m sorry I came late; I needed to register this young gentleman for this band. As you all know, our pianist has graduated and we could not find a replacement in time. Luckily, one of my own students has been accepted into this fine school and will be our pianist from now on. He’s only a first year, so I expect you guys to teach him the ropes. Now, Byung Hun, take your place at the piano so that we can begin.” The boy walked over to the piano, and spotted Yeon Ah sitting in the middle seat in the front row. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something, but Yeon Ah looked away. “Today, I’m going to hand out all the pieces and will let you guys have sectionals. Miss. Chae, you will be teaching Mr. Lee how to play the piano.”

     “Doesn’t he know how to play already?” Yeon Ah questioned, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

     “Technically, he does, but he is classically trained and has never played swing pieces. I want you to go over the songs with him and get him used to the jazz rhythm.” Mrs. Bae continued to hand out the music when Yeon Ah walked up to her.

     “Shouldn’t he be playing and learning from the rhythm section? He is part of that group anyway.”

     “There’s a reason why I put you as the first alto, Miss. Chae. You’re the strongest jazz musician here and I need you to help him. No, I need you to tutor him. End of discussion. If you want, I can put this towards your hours or credits.”

     “No, no. It’s okay. I’ll tutor him.” Defeated, Yeon Ah walked over to her stand, collected her music and motioned Byung Hun to follow her. They went to one of the small practice rooms with a piano in it and set up there. “Okay, introductions. I’m Chae Yeon Ah, junior/third year student. My instrument of choice, the alto saxophone. Now, who are you?” Byung Hun was taken aback by her blunt intro.

     “My name is Lee Byung Hun, but call me L.Joe. I’m a freshman/first year student and I’m in the idol group Teen Top. I was play the piano and violin.”

     “If you play the violin, why didn’t you join the Strings Orchestra?” completely ignoring his comment about being an idol.

     “Actually, I was enrolled in that program, but Mrs. Bae said she needed me here,” he replied, unconsciously scratching the back of his neck.

     “Right, like there isn’t any other piano player in this arts school.” Yeon Ah wore her harness and hooked her alto onto it. “Let’s begin.”

1 hour and a half later

     “You’re still too stiff! You’ve got to let go of the monotonous beat of the metronome and feel the music. Let the rhythm take over. From now on, when you step foot into this music room, I want you to let go of all your prior knowledge of the piano and have fun,” Yeon Ah ran a hand through her ponytail, seemingly frustrated with the fact that he couldn’t grasp the concept of a jazz rhythm. Unhooking her alto, she walked over to the piano and nudged him off the bench. “I’m going to play it twice. The first time, I’m going to play it straight. Second time, I’ll play it swing. Please, try to listen for the difference.” Yeon Ah expertly played the piece twice, making sure she clearly made a difference. “Did you hear the difference?” He nodded, mouth gaping. “Now you play it. And close your mouth, you’re going to swallow a bee.” He snapped out of his trance and sat down on the seat. Taking a deep breath, he tried to reincarnate the tune and mimic the rhythm Yeon Ah just played. When he finished, Yeon Ah clapped. “You’ve done well, grasshopper. It was better than before, but you’re still holding onto your classical roots. For now, you’ve improved.” She checked the clock and saw that school was ending in 10 minutes. She looked into the music room and saw that everybody was packing up. “Seems like their done. You can go back into the music room now. I’m going to stay back for a bit longer. See you tomorrow, Byung Hun.”

     “Noona, I said call me L.Joe. Nobody ever calls me by that name. Plus, it’s my stage name in Teen Top,” L.Joe stated, looking over at Yeon Ah.

     “Well, Byung Hun is the name your mother gave you, so that’s the name I’m going to call you. Now leave. I’ve got to make up practice time. Oh, and don’t call me Noona. I don’t know you and I hate formalities,” Yeon Ah turned to her saxophone and picked it up. L.Joe walked towards the door and was about to leave, but then a smile formed as he turned around.

     “See you tomorrow, NOONA!” He quickly shut the door and ran to the music room. ‘Great, now I’m stuck with a five year old. Thanks Mrs. Bae. Thanks.’ Yeon Ah soaked her reed again and began playing her alto. Engrossed in the music, she didn’t notice her phone ringing, nor did she hear the messages she received. After about an hour and half of practice, she checked her phone. ‘Oh shoot, I missed a lot of calls.’ Scrolling through her call log, she had missed two calls from the twins and two from her parents and brother. She checked her texts and they were all asking where she was. She checked the time and noticed that it was already 6:40 pm, which only gave her 20 minutes to get home. And at this time, it’ll take her longer since it’s rush hour. Scrambling, Yeon Ah gathered all of her things and her instrument and ran towards the parking lot. Throwing everything onto her bike, she shoved on her helmet, started the bike, and rushed out of the gates. Since the main roads would be busy, she took a detour and drove in the residential areas.  Blazing past the houses, she was able to make it home with 5 minutes to spare.

     “Mom! Dad! I’m home!” Yeon Ah walked through the doors and immediately saw her brother’s sneakers on the shoe rack. “YAH! DANIEL CHAE, WHERE ARE YOU, YOU BUTTHEAD!” She dropped her things in her room and barged into her brother’s empty room. Then she ran downstairs and found him setting up the table for dinner. “You! You’re dead meat!” She charged at him, but was abruptly interrupted by her dad who picked her up and swung her around. ‘Why does everybody do that to me? Must be the height…has to be the height…’

     “Welcome home, sweetie. Why are you so late?” her dad put her down and patted her head.

     “I had to tutor some new kid in jazz today, so I stayed behind to practice a little bit longer.” She glared over at her brother, who innocently waved at her.

     “Don’t kill your brother, Yeon Ah. Now clean up and come down for dinner.” Yeon Ah kissed her mom on the cheek and ran upstairs. She changed out of her uniform and washed up before sitting at the table. “Don’t think I didn’t forget Daniel. I’m going to beat you later.”

     “Why do we have to go through this every single time? You’re younger, so you’re the baby,” Daniel rolled his eyes as he ate some Kimchi.

     “We’re twins! So what, you’re older by 8 minutes. Oh wow, you’ve seen 8 more minutes of the world than I have. You're just as much of a baby as I am, bro,” Yeon Ah stuck her tongue out at him. Their parents rolled their eyes this time. Yeon Ah and Daniel always seemed to be in a fight, but their sibling bond is strong and the fights won’t affect them.

     “Anyway, Joo Chan-ah, Yeonnie, the reason why we’re having this dinner is because we have something to tell you both. I’ve been temporarily relocated back to the states, so your mother and I will be moving there this weekend,” Yeon Ah dropped her chopsticks and stared at her parents.

     “Does that mean I have to move as well?” she warily asked, afraid of what her parents would say.

     “No. You’ll be staying here and attending school as usual. This is why you are here, Daniel. I know you are currently living with your group in the dorms, but we need you to come back and live with your sister. We’ve already talked to your company president and he agreed to this,” her mom looked at Daniel, waiting for a response.

     “If the president says it’s okay, then I’ll move in tomorrow! I missed home anyway, so this is a win-win situation for all of us,” Daniel smiled at his parents and sister.

     “Great. We’ve also transferred you to Korea Arts and made sure to put you in separate classes. The principal knows the situation, so don’t look at me like that Daniel,” their father pointed at his son. The family happily finished their dinner and cleared the table. Daniel bid farewell to his parents and gave Yeon Ah a noogie. They both smiled at each other and stuck their tongues out. Although they are fraternal twins, they looked almost identical when they smiled. Yeon Ah chuckled and said good night to her parents before running up to her room. She finished her homework and looked over at her brand new radio clock. ‘Only 9:16 pm. Since I have the time, maybe I should make a CD for the new piano player.’ She started downloading different jazz pieces with noticeable piano parts in all styles of jazz: swing, funk, bossa nova, and more. After burning three CDs worth of music, Yeon Ah washed up and went to bed. 'The boy better be happy I burned these for him.'

Chapter 3~~~~ 

Daniel finally has some action LOL 

I think from now on, italicized will definitely be English. Unless stated otherwise...

Thanks for the comments so far! I reply to all comments in the comment section, so check up once in a while ^^;;

See you in the next Chapter!

-greenninjapanda GNP-