Guess what?

I was right.

On the first day I got there, they were having demonstrations from the students in Musical Instruments class. And they weren't mediocre players, either. They were performance-level prodigies, with the skills to win contests and qualify for national orchestras or something. Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but still. They were really good. And compared to them, who was I to join them? Luckily, I had Henry to keep me company.

"Ah, my favorite student, Henry! Please step up to the piano and perform your assigned piece." The professor called on Henry and applause was heard throughout the room.

"Wish me luck," Henry said as he left his seat.

"Good luck!" I said, though from what Seungah mentioned, I doubt he needed it.

I was thoroughly impressed as Henry went through the second movement of Beethoven's symphony no. 5 with grace and speed. He wasn't just a prodigy, he was a god. As his hands moved deftly over the keys, I could not take my eyes away.

He finally hit the last note. Silence covered the room. Then came thunderous applause. He didn't even break a sweat--as expected from the Henry Lau.

 

After class was over, I went over to Henry, who was being congratulated by his professor.

"Hey, are you doing anything after this period?" I asked casually.

"Nothing, I've got a free period. Why?" He raised an eyebrow at my question.

"I was wondering if maybe...."

"Yeah?...." He waited for me to continue my sentence.

 

"Could you tutor me in the piano?"

"Well, sure! That's what friends are for. We are friends right?" He wiggled his eyebrows at me with a twinkle in his eye. A mischevous smile played on his lips.

"Don't try anything, Henry Lau." I flicked him on the forehead and laughed as he rubbed his forehead. We walked together to the piano room.

 

"Here," Henry pulled out a sheet of music from the shelf, "this piece should be easy enough for you." He lay it down on the piano rack. I sat down in front of the old grand piano, colored down from years of misuse. I blew off the dust on the keys, causing me to sneeze really loudly.

Henry stood behind me as I played, watching my every move. Honestly, it was quite intimidating. Add that to the fact that I had never really received any proper education on the piano, and let's just say I wasn't at the top of my game.

Suddenly in the middle of the faster part of the piece, Henry stopped me.

"Your 's not right. It's too stiff. Then you end up playing the wrong key or playing too softly. You have to learn to relax, bend your fingers a little, like this," and then and there, Henry reached over and put his fingers on top of mine, his arms around me. My hands tensed so much, I was practically paralyzed.

Henry laughed. "No, no, not that way, relax." And his words turned my fingers to butter.

"Now, you press with the tips of your fingers, that way you can move quickly from one key to another, while having more control over how hard you push the key and how loud it sounds." He pressed the middle joint of my right index with his long, delicate fingers, making a loud D# ring in the air. The whole time, I was aware of his calm, warm breath on my right, his mouth near my ear. Where his arms would touch mine, I could feel a tingling sensation. Of course, innocent as he was, he was oblivious to my quickened heartbeat.

"Now, you try it." He pulled away, leaned casually against the side of the piano, and smiled expectantly at me. As he got up, I released the breath I didn't know I had been holding. I tried to play a few notes and found that it was easier, and my hands moved more freely. It took some practice, though, before I could completely forget the habit of stiffening my fingers, so Henry had to keep reminding me by tapping me lightly on the back of my hand, consequentially causing me to lose concentration, so I had to start over and over.

Eventually the bell rang, and we had to separate because of our difference in schedules.

"Thanks so much again, Henry! I really appreciate your tutoring!" I bowed.

"No need to thank me, it was my pleasure, Hyeri!" and he smiled that smile that melts a million suns, and turned and walked away.

 

*voice classes*

The next time I saw Seungah and Henry was in Voice Classes, our last period of the day and the only class the three of us took together. I sat on the desk beside Seungah, who was in front of Henry, and we chatted while the other students sang their assigned songs. I was new, so I didn't have an assignment; so imagine my surprise when the teacher called out, "Choi Hyeri, please come to the front."

I looked at my friends like, Help. They looked back at me like, Nothing we can do.

"Students, this is the new student, Choi Hyeri. She impressed the judges so much with her audition as well as academic performance, that she has been awarded with a 100% scholarship."

I looked around the room. Some faces were shocked, some were bored, a few actually looked jealous. Only Seungah and Henry looked at me supportingly, big smiles on their faces.

"Since you have not been assigned a song to since, you may sing any song of your choice."

I tried to collect myself. This is what I came here to do. This was my moment to shine.

I chose to sing the same song I sang during my audition, If I Ain't Got You. I closed my eyes and felt the music flow through me.

[ http://youtu.be/kG7niC8FmWM Just imagine this as Hyeri's voice. <3 <3]

 

 

When I stopped singing, I opened my eyes. Everyone was quiet. Crap, I thought, I . Compared to these people, I'm no better.

Then suddenly, applause.

I was shocked. I had never known this feeling. I'd never joined in any singing competitions or even sang in public. The only time I ever sang in front of anyone except my mother was in the audition for the Seoul Music and Fine Arts Academy.

 

"Whooaaaaa. That was really something, Hyeri. I heard you were good, but I didn't know you were that amazing. You really are my idol!" Seungah put her arm around my shoulder when I went to sit down.

Henry whistled. "That was really somethin'. You hiding any more tricks up your sleeve?" I had to laugh at that.

 

Next was Seungah's turn.

"Hi everyone, today I'm singing Halo by Beyoncé." She said in a singsong-y, happy voice.

Then she sang, and it was like she was a whole different person. 

[http://youtu.be/8sttA-1mFq8  "Cho Seungah's" voice~? :))]

 I was really amazed, and it was clear that she knew what she was doing.

 

"How did you get such amazing technique?" I asked her as she sat down.

"Well, I studied music for a few years abroad. That's how I met Henry," she motioned to him. He nods back.

"Ah, you're so awesome! I wish I knew how to sing like that," I said.

"Ha! Look who's talking! I should be the one to say that!"

I'm really glad I met such great friends on the first day.

 

*after last period*

Finally the bell rang for dismissal. I was about to leave school. I was looking for Seungah, because earlier she told me that my house was on the way to her house. But when I finally saw her, she sitting on a bench with a guy our age, with wavy black hair and really long legs, so I guess he was really tall. He was playing a guitar with his long, slender fingers while Seungah was singing along. As I got closer, I could hear them better. It was really beautiful. The guy was really talented at fingerstyle, and blended with Seungah's voice. They looked at each other as they sang, and it was so cute. I decided that I would go home alone.

Suddenly, from behind me, I heard Henry call out my name. "Hyeri-ah~!"

"Calling me informally on the first day, eh?" I laughed as he caught up and walked beside me, our forearms touching comfortably.

"Hey, who's that with Seungah?" I pointed at the guy with Seungah.

"Ah, that's Jung Sungha, her first and only love~ or so she says. They've only been going out for a year. They met abroad, like Seungah and I did, except it was because Sungha had a fingerstyle concert in Switzerland and Seungah happened to be there. She was a big fan, so she went to the concert." Henry waved at them and continued in a mocking voice while walking towards them, "She met him 'coincidentally after the concert in a convenience store, and they went to a coffee shop and talked, not as fan to a celebrity, but as a person to person. It was like maagiiiic~' she says. Blech."

"Cheeesssyyyy." I giggled.

"I know right?"

"Hey guys! Come over here! Hyeri, this is my boyfriend, Sungha." Seungah motioned for us to come over to the bench.

"Annyeong, I'm Jung Sungha, nice to meet you. I've heard so much about you." Sungha bowed and smiled.

"Nice to meet you too." I bowed back.

"You guys on your way home?" Seungah asked.

"Yeah. I was gonna ask you to come with me, but-- "

"Hey, I can come with ya, Hyeri!" Henry cut me off.

"Oh? But don't you live on the other side of the city?"

"Yeah, but I can get there fast. I have a motorcycle." Motorcycle? Uh-oh. I don't like where this is going.

"Uh, no thanks, I'd rather walk..."

"Oh, come on, it's no trouble at all!" Henry said.

"Then, bye, Hyeri! Hey, Henry, go online later, okay?" Seungah called out.

"Safe trip, guys!" Sungha called out. Was everybody after my death?

"Uh, I don't know about this, Henry..." we were in the school parking lot. Henry handed me a helmet and I saw his motorcycle. It wasn't the small, energy-efficient type. It was the big, bad- type, shiny red with bulky parts. Oh no. I was NOT riding this. This spelled T-R-O-U-B-L-E.

"Well? Get on!" Henry put on his helmet and got on the bike.

I was reluctant. My legs were about to spring, and I was ready to run away, but Henry lifted me up and put me on the bike seat, which was very slippery. Ohmygosh. I can fall off this thing.

"Just hold on!" Henry called over the din of the motor. At first, I didn't know what he meant, but then the bike revved and lurched forward, and I instinctively hugged Henry's waist, held tight, put my cheek on his back, and squeezed my eyes shut. Henry chuckled at me.

"Hyeri-ah! Open your eyes! I need you to show me the way to your house!" I shook my head as much as I could without lifting my head from his back.

"Open your eyes. See? You're fine!" he said. I slowly opened my eyes. Well, we weren't dead. Yet.

"Um, just turn left here," I said, seeing the intersection leading to my house. "Here, stop here." we stopped in front of my house. No car in the driveway, meaning my parent's weren't home, thankfully. If they saw me riding with a strange boy on a motorcycle, I don't know what they'd do.

"Thanks for the ride, Henry. You managed not to kill me. This time." I got off and tried to catch my breath. I handed his helmet back.

"No problem. Anything for a friend." Henry smiled. Asdfghkl. His smile.

"I'm really lucky I was able to make two good friends on my first day." I said. He didn't reply, but instead waved as he revved his bike. I waved back and he drove down the street.

Yeap. It was a good first day.