Donghae first met Yoona when he was nine. She had just moved in next door and had probably come over to introduce herself. He couldn't hear her voice nor the kind words she must have said. All he saw was her radiant smile and his young heart was caught. It was caught in the subtle upward curve of her smiling eyes, captured in the twirls of her flowing brown hair, enraptured by the gentle crinkle of her nose as she laughed. 

His parents probably asked her to come play with him and she must have agreed because she would come everyday- right after school since she was always dressed in her neat uniform. He would sit in the same room as her but continue to do his own thing- aimlessly scribbling in his notebook, randomly drawing music notes along the edges of its yellow, faded pages. 

Its not that Donghae disliked her- not at all, in fact, when he wasn't in his own world; he was secretly watching her from the corner of his eye. He caught every one of her movements- how she would open as if to say something, but then hurriedly close it; he also saw her frequent glances at the lone piano in his room.
 

He had really wanted to befriend the innocent looking girl. He just didn't know how to approach her yet, that was all. He couldn't speak to her- and it wasn't as if she knew sign language. So they continued on like that for a while, her quietly sitting in his room- fingertips tracing along the piano keys, idly pressing them, and him silently watching her, and making notes in his little book. 
 

But it was if God had been looking out for him because his parents started inviting her to dinner, and they started teaching her bits and pieces of sign language. They were just small gestures for small things, such as "hello" and "my name is" and other common introductory phrases.
 

Donghae remembered the day he first got the courage to approach her. 

It was sunny outside, the warmth of the sun spilling into the quiet bedroom. The piano seemed to be glowing and he followed her eyes towards the lonely looking bench. Donghae then stood, rather suddenly, and awkwardly marched over to stand in front of her. She looked up and her gaze drifted over towards his extended hand, which was probably wet with perspiration. She then gracefully let him lead her over to the piano, dusty from years of disuse. 

He clumsily set his hands on the old keys, pressing randomly, searching for that right note. He couldn't tell which one it was, couldn't determine the accuracy by sound, but simply- by his gut feeling. Yoona noticed and gently took his astray fingers, placing them for him, and then she quickly withdrew her hand and sat patiently watching him. He remembered gulping away his nervousness and letting the smooth feeling of the keys overtake his mind. His fingers played- played by instinct rather than by sound. He looked at the music sheet and played by his heart. 
 

Slowly, as he arrived at the third page of the composition- his fingers slowed, his eyes scanning hastily along the page, attempting to read the notes. He was rusty and he had never learned this part of the song; he never got a chance to. He saw Yoona move her hand from her lap and place her delicate fingers on his arm. 
 

He had stiffened for a second, due to her unfamiliarly warm touch. Then relaxed as realization dawned on him. She played the song on his arm, played the emotions out for him. Every heartwrenching note was depicted by increased force of her fingers- happiness through a fast, fleeting dance of her fingertips.
 

Donghae smiled as he recalled that moment. It was their first time really communicating with each other. They must have played for hours- because the next thing he remembered, the orange sun was already sinking behind the horizon. 
 

The smooth song of the piano that accompanied the setting sun on its descent was their first song.