Jongin leaned his back against the thick tree bark, letting out a sigh as he did so. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, letting the heat from the sun rays beat down on his face. "Where is this girl?" He mumbled to himself.

Bomi had not come for nearly thirty minutes now to their usual spot near the school's back entrance to walk home with him and he was beginning to grow tired of waiting. Luckily his mother wouldn't worry if he ran late as long as he got home by dinner time, but it wasn't normal for Bomi to keep him waiting for so long. Still, he knew that she was a tough girl and could handle herself if she ever got in trouble.

Jongin breathed in deeply. It was serene and quiet, with the only sound coming from the ruffling leaves being swayed by the gentle breeze. Hardly anyone ever came to the back side of the school so it was quite peaceful, and he appreciated that.

Just as he was about to call Bomi to ask of her whereabouts, he heard the clamor of a door shutting nearby. He moved his head to his left to find Son Naeun walking out of the school library with several books in her arms.

It was common knowledge amongst the sophomores that Son Naeun would dedicate an hour to herself in the school library until they closed. (How else could she be able to rank number one in her grade every year?) It was also common knowledge that Naeun practiced her piano as often as she ate.

So when Jongin sees her slim figure walking out of the library’s double doors thirty minutes earlier than normal, he can easily infer that it’s one of her piano practice days. What he doesn’t expect is for her to step over to the bulletin board pasted on the side of the wall.

There wasn’t much on it, just a few random notices and some ‘Missing, If Found’ signs. Since it was a bulletin near the school’s back entrance, no one payed too much attention to it. However, Naeun had obviously taken an interest to one particular notice in the center.

Jongin had to squint his eyes to see the bold lettering at the top of the flyer. As he read the words to himself, he blinked in surprise. Dance? Since when was the model student Son Naeun into dance, much less ballet?

From the notice, it appeared that the Nutcracker ballet would be held in the school theater that year. Below the information and performance dates was a long list of blank lines for those who wished to audition.

Jongin watched curiously as the girl held a pen to the paper hesitantly. Naeun bit her lip, her written name still absent on the line, before she dejectedly placed the pen back down. Without a word she turned her back to the board and walked out of the school.

And that bothered Jongin. A lot. Honestly, he didn’t know why such a thing bothered him so much. What should it matter to him whether or not Son Naeun wanted to audition for the ballet?

And yet the the mental picture of Naeun refused to leave his mind even when Bomi finally arrived and found him in these thoughts. He didn’t question her lateness and she didn’t question his lack of curiosity.

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Taemin collapsed into the piano seat and sighed. Asking his teacher about a math problem after school had not turn out to be a wise decision. His teacher had taken it upon himself to personally reteach the entire section to Taemin, burning up about 15 minutes of his time. It had taken him another 5 minutes to dash over to the piano studio. He just hoped that no one else needed to use the studio after him.

He took a deep breath as he gently placed his fingers on the keys. As he began to play, his thoughts cleared away and all stress was set aside. This was his time.

It’s not long after he begins playing that Naeun had finally made it to the piano studio herself. As soon as she enters the building, she can feel the change in atmosphere. No, it was a change in the sound. The sound of a piano was already present and resonating throughout the studio, a change from her usual practices when she was alone.

The girl curiously made her way down the hallway to the source of music. She peeked through the tiny window of the door to see the backside of the boy playing the piano. Despite the fact that it was now her time to practice, she slung her backpack off her shoulders and settled down on the ground beside the door, not wanting to disturb him.

Naeun closed her eyes. It’s so beautiful, she thought to herself. Naeun may play piano extremely well for her age, but she had to admit that this boy was truly talented. She had listened to him play Chopin Waltz No. 7 multiple times during his practice, but she never grew tired of it. Somehow he had managed to make the piece sound different each time. During the second time, he gradually increased in dynamics and by the fifth time he had changed up the tempo.

She got so lost in the music that she herself hadn’t even realized how much time had passed until the harsh whisper of “Crap, I’m late for dinner now, too” cut into her thoughts. Before she could blink her eyes open,