The clouds were grey. The sky was gloomy. The ground of South Korea was about to be drain with heavy falling rain. It was like the heaven was sad. It was like the sky was about to burst into tears anytime now.

She was there, in front of a grave standing in between her father and younger sister. She was there with a black cotton scarf wrapped around her neck. She was there with her hands clutched onto her black coat tightly.

Jung Jihyun was there biting her lips in anger trying to surpass the overwhelming feeling she couldn’t held in. Solemn, that was what she was feeling right then.

Close relatives, distant relatives, good friends and even colleagues began to leave one by one after paying their respect to the late mother of Jihyun, the late mother of her younger sister and the late wife of her father who died from cancer.

The news was so sudden. She was at her school participating for the first time in an English debate competition held for the third year by her school English Department.

She didn’t win but she did well, surprisingly well since English wasn’t her first language getting third place wasn’t that bad. At least she got to go home with a trophy in hand and a medal and a certificate of acknowledgement but coming home that day with a big smile plastered on her face was wrong.

Everything was wrong.

She regretted everything. She regretted every single thing.

She regretted that from she could have known that it was her mother last wish and will to see her before she breathed out her shaky last breathe and before her beautiful soul slipped away from her fragile and vulnerable body.

The chilly cold wind of winter blew across her face, swaying her hair along the way gently and the rumbling sound across the sky could be heard but she couldn’t care less.

Her father patted her back lovingly before she could turn to her side and looked at him with teary looking eyes. He gave her a small weak smile, almost unnoticeable. He, too, was sad but he was the father. He had to be strong, not for himself but for his daughters, for his lovely daughters whom he loved so much.

“Let’s go, Jihyun,” he said softly while soothing small circle around her back to calm her down but Jihyun have no will to move further from her current spot.

“Honey…” her father cooed lovingly. “It’s going to rain soon. We should head back now.” He held her hands tightly but Jihyun released his grip from her.

“I want to be here for awhile more,” she stated weakly and her father opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off before he could even utter a single word.

“Please…” she begged. “I’ll be fine.” She assured him.

He couldn’t do anything but to comply with his daughter request.

“Very well then,” he nodded. “We’ll be waiting you in the car.”

He reluctantly left Jihyun alone and went toward his car with his younger daughter.

Silence engulfed her surrounding there was only her and her feelings and her mother and that was when she finally let herself broke down into tears.

That was when she let herself shed tears and be weak for once.

“Mom, I am so sorry. If I just didn’t turn off my phone, the news would have reached me a bit earlier,” she shakily said as if she was talking with her dear mother.

“If I didn’t ing enter that damn competition,” she momentarily closed her eyes and the tears fell down.

“If I didn’t ing left you this morning for that debate, I would still…” the tears fell down her cheeks uncontrollably and she shook her head in dismay.

“If the taxi didn’t get stuck in a traffic due to the snow…” her knees turned wobbly and fell down on the snow covered ground, kneeling.

“If it wasn’t for winter…” she said. “If it wasn’t for winter…” she repeated her previous sentence. “If it wasn’t for winter…” she said it again and the rumbling sound across the sky grew louder. “I would have still be able to come and see you, mom,” she bawled.

The rain then fell down heavily without any further warning. It was raining in winter and it was pathetic. She felt pathetic, really pathetic. She cried out loud to her heart’s content.

“Mom…” she called out desperately. “Mom…” she clutched onto her coat tightly. “Mom…” she shut her eyes tightly, the tears falling down mixing with the rain.

Footsteps sound were audible together with splashing of water and mud mixed together. Her father was there, standing a few meters from her with an umbrella shielding his body and head from the rain and with a sad façade plastered across his face.

“Mom…” she choked out. “Mom, you know I love you right?” she asked as if her mother was there beside her but she weren’t.

“I love you, mom,” her words came out more like a whisper.

The flashback gradually disappeared as she was abruptly back into reality by a fluffy little thingy clinging onto her leg for dear life.

She looked down to her feet and saw a fat looking cat with fluffy fur and orange-ish shade that makes it looked almost like Garfield.

Jihyun chuckled a little before squatting down and pat the cat on the head.

“So warm,” Jihyun smiled feeling the fluffy fur warmed her hands up and strayed away a little from the reality world but quickly gained her composure back again.

“Bye, fluffy,” she said and stood up. She brushed the grasses stuck on her jeans and fixed her black cotton scarf that was wrapped around her neck.

She then went out of the cemetery ground with slow steps as a way to still feel her mother’s presence right here.

She was there alone since her father was busy with works and her younger sister was having her college entry examination today and they would have to visit the grave until later.

It had been a year since her mother’s death. It was that season of the year again, winter, the season she hated the most, the season that gave her off bad memories, the season where her mother passed away and left for heaven.

As she was walking along the street mindlessly to where her legs could carry her, she found herself walking along that familiar street once again.

She found herself standing in front of that store once again, The Do Instrument Shop.

She bit her lips and mentally scolded herself that she shouldn’t have been here. It was freaking -6 degrees right now.

She then turned her heels around to walk away but a beautiful melody stopped her on track and she momentarily closed her eyes enjoying the soft tunes.

It was her daily dose of bliss.

The solo piano piece was flawless. The sound was beautiful, full of emotion and triggering, even.

Sure, winter was saddening for her but it felt like that melodic piano piece was sadder. It felt like the melodic piano piece had a lot more than she could ever known.

It really blends in well with the cold season. It was so mellow and so beautiful that she fell in love.

However, something felt missing. *A violin companion would have awesome to go with this piece.* she thought but the pianist with his piano alone was awesome enough for her.

She leaned against the wall next to the door smiling ever so softly to her own self and if you were to look at it, Jung Jihyun was stunningly beautiful, breathtakingly gorgeous and surprisingly adorable.

She took a small peak against the glassy transparent door and saw the guy who seemed to be always sitting right in front of that piano every time she passed by the small shop.

Just, who is that guy? Who is that man who works his magic on the piano keys amazingly?

She felt like she was in heaven. It was simply a blessing. It was like all of the things that sadden her were being washed away just by that simple melodious piano sonata but then the piece was abruptly stopped and she frowned.

“Why did he stop? The piece hasn’t ended just yet,” Jihyun muttered under her breathe.

While she was busy contemplating onto why he suddenly stopped the door opened and the pianist went out. He walked pass in front of Jihyun with his hands inside his pockets and a cool façade on his face.

Jihyun looked bewildered by his sudden existence in front of her but she was more bewildered by his handsome features that she didn’t he owns. She could help but have a soft tint of pink on both of her cheeks. Yes, she was blushing like a high school girl in love.

She held her chest placing her hand in front of where her heart was situated where he stopped in front of her in realization. His tall figure was hovering over her that she had to held her head up to look at him and the first thing she noticed was his deep dark brown big doe eyes before her eyes fell down toward his nametag that was stuck proudly on his left side of his shirt. Do Kyungsoo.

He smiled toward her charmingly with his hand resting against the wall to support his body from crushing the cute female in front of him. Their face was a little bit too close for Jihyun’s liking. She grew shy around him

“Do you by any chance…” he started. “Play the violin, miss?” he asked.

“Y-yes…” she hesitantly answered. Yes, honey, Jung Jihyun plays the violin if you didn’t know. Kyungsoo’s eyes widened in surprise, maybe luck was by his side today or maybe it was fate simple play.

“Really?” he shouted in delight. “Then you must have know that piece I just played, right?” he grinned and pulled her wrist without even waiting for her to answer his question.

As soon as she stepped inside the shop, he gave her a violin but she didn’t take it from his hand.

“What?” she asked.

“Play with me,” he smiled and shoved the violin to her hand and she looked at it like it was some strange kind of thing.

He took his sit in front of the piano and stretched his fingers while she just stood next to the piano and the next thing Jihyun know was she was again drowned by the lovely piano melody.

The opening was sad, solemn, melancholy and mellow. Kyungsoo was playing it with emotion, pouring every single of it to the music and then it was time for the violin to bring in the piercing sound of heartbreak.

Jihyun placed her fingers on the strings and breathed out heavily, praying that she won’t mess up.

It had been long since she last touched the violin. It was last winter I guess.

She hated the chilly atmosphere and the memories she once made with it but that melodious piano sonata bit by bit changed her mind.

Maybe this winter is somewhat a brand new beginning.

The piercing wonderful sound of violin mashed up with mellow beautiful tunes of piano was simply amazing but other than that Jihyun could feel the sadness in the piano companion.

*Do we have the same story, Do Kyungsoo?* she thought.

Maybe they did have the same story.

It was beautiful. Music was beautiful. They were beautiful but fate were more beautiful.

They smiled toward each other. It was a rare smile you’d ever see.

They were a rare duet you’d ever see.

Winter was simply melancholy but a duet made it better.

boy-ish_shawol