03/30/13

            Yoona was tired today. She had stayed up all night practicing the guzheng, trying to perfect the most difficult part of the song. Walking into her practice room, she practically collapsed on her stool. Slowly, she began to warm up her fingers on the guzheng.

            A knock came from the door, and Yoona knew it was Taecyeon. She sighed. She wasn’t really in the mood to see him today. “Come in.”

            “Hey,” Taecyeon smiled brightly. His smile faded when he saw her. “Did you even sleep last night?”

            “Yes,” she replied tersely, continuing to play on her instrument. Then... “Ouch!”

            Looking at her finger, Yoona saw red. Before she could process what was happening, Taecyeon was right next to her, grasping her finger, hovering way too close for her liking.

            Her body tensed up, and her mind screamed in alarm. Jerking her finger back, she gathered herself in a protective hold. She shouted, “What the hell are you doing?!”

            Taken aback, Taecyeon backed off, remembering her hatred of men. There was a long silence as he processed what just happened. When Taecyeon realized that Yoona had pricked her finger, he simply reached out to her quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly.

His stomach dropped. She was looking at him like he was a monster. Someone must have done something to her. Something traumatizing.

            He gritted his teeth and tried to contain the anger that began to boil inside his blood. Whoever did this to her will pay for what he did. Tenfold. I will make sure of it.

            But right now, he must make sure Yoona is okay. Turning away to hide his anger, Taecyeon whispered, “I’m sorry. I was just concerned for you. Your finger is bleeding.”

            She yelled at him, “I know my finger is bleeding! And I can take care of that myself!”

            “I’m sorry,” he repeated. Not knowing what else to say, he buried his head in his hands. Damn it all! If only I knew what to say. If only I could see her future.

Seeing Taecyeon’s distressed state, the ringing alarms in Yoona’s mind dissipated. He didn’t mean any harm, Yoona. Calm down.

            But her hands were still shaking. And they reminded her that men were men. Even Taecyeon. Taking a deep breath, she gathered herself together. Turning slightly toward him, she asked, “… What do you want with me?”

            Taecyeon turned back toward her, confused. “Excuse me?”

            “You’ve been visiting me every day for the past two weeks. It’s not normal for a guy to visit a girl so often,” she explained, eyeing him suspiciously. “What’s your ulterior motive?”

            Taecyeon stayed quiet for a while. Finally, he decided not to answer her question, knowing that she wouldn’t like his answer. Much to his dismay, he fell back to the words, “I’m sorry.”

            Then, he left.

            Yoona’s chest tightened. Even though she expected his answer, she was disappointed.

            ::::

            After that, Taecyeon didn’t visit her again, and Yoona tried to tell herself that it was for the better. She wouldn’t have been able to give him what he wanted.

            Still, she couldn’t help looking up at the door every once in a while, almost expecting Taecyeon and his goofy smile to come in. Every time she looked up, she scolded herself for being weak. Throughout the course of the past two weeks, she had gotten used to his presence. Damn him.

            It also didn’t help that she received guzheng picks from Victoria a few days afterward. Although Victoria didn’t mention it, Yoona knew Taecyeon was the one who requested the picks.

            ::::

            Finally, the day had come! It was Hyuna and Hyunseung’s wedding day, and Yoona was to have her first performance.

            Yoona must be really nervous right now, Taecyeon thought. He sighed. If only she would let me visit her right now.

            “Taecyeon, you’ve been sighing non-stop for the past week,” Hyunseung called out, exasperated. He was in the middle of putting on his wedding robes, and hearing Taecyeon sigh on his wedding day made him frustrated. “It’s getting on my nerves.”

            “Sorry about that. I just keep thinking of her, and then…” Taecyeon sighed again. “I wish I didn’t scare her off like that.”

            “You didn’t scare her off, Taecyeon.”

            “You’re right. I didn’t.”

            “She gave you the chance to explain yourself, and you didn’t say anything.”

            “I didn’t want her to think that I was a typical man trying to chase after her!”

            Hyunseung opened his mouth to reply.

            “Alright, I guess I am a typical man chasing after her,” Taecyeon threw up his arms. “But I’m not chasing after her for the typical reasons!”

            “Then tell her that!”

            Taecyeon sighed. Again. “I knew you were going to say that.”

            “You know everything I’m going to say!” Hyunseung shouted.

            “Yeah, and aren’t you glad I let you say it anyway?” Taecyeon smirked.

            “Very.”

            Taecyeon laughed at Hyunseung’s terse reply but quickly sobered as he thought of Yoona. He looked at the ground. “I still don’t want to tell her, though.”

            It was Hyunseung’s turn to sigh. “A good relationship is a relationship without secrets. Think about it, Taecyeon. I know you can predict my words, but you also have to process my words. You know that they’ll help you.”

            There was a knock on the door.

            “I’ll think about it,” Taecyeon smiled. “Now go, it’s time for you to get married.”

            Hyunseung smiled back. “You’d better be next, Taecyeon.”

            “I’ll do my best.”