“One more month… It will be one more month before classes start again…” Sooyeon thought to herself as she walked into one of the familiar practice rooms.

The winter break had been too long… After her freshmen year at K-Arts, Sooyeon found that she was perfectly contented to spend her days in school. Practicing was never really to her liking but it was more the stress of perfecting the technical part of her skill; having every move she made scrutinized by the instructors. She hated that. But she loved to play, just purely for the joy of the music, for her own enjoyment, not for anyone else. Often times, she would play a piece according to her own emotions and interpretation rather than what the composer intended. Her instructors hated it. In all honesty… they really didn’t know what to do with her because she wouldn’t listen to them but there was no denying how talented she was and on her best days, she was absolutely magnificent. So for the most part, they left her alone.

Sooyeon took her seat at the piano that was located at the center of the room. She skimmed her fingers gently across the piano keys. She struck a key. The sound from the piano reverberated throughout the room. Sooyeon closed her eyes as she absorbed the note that had bounced off the walls and travelled back to her. A smile broke across her face. She struck the key again, harder this time, causing the note to echo down the hall. She struck the key a third time, the sound now loud enough to cause the walls to vibrate. Then she started playing. Allegretto; the piece was meant to be played moderately quick but Sooyeon was feeling a little excited to be back in the school halls that she played in allegro instead…

The third of Franz Liszt’s six Grandes études de Paganini in G-sharp minor or more commonly known as La campanella, The Little Bell in English. Not the easiest of pieces to play by any means. This piece required extremely dexterous and accurate fingers, with notes stretching larger than an octave. But it was one of those days when Sooyeon was entirely engrossed in the piece that her entire being just mingled with the music. Just like a bell, each key she struck rang loud and clear. As the piece progressed, it became more dynamic, ending in animato. As she struck the last note, she held it for a longer period that she should have, letting the note linger in the room…

“5, 6, 5-6-7-8…”

It was Boa’s final year at K-Arts, her most important year and a month before the term even started, she already had a packed schedule of practice sessions and performances. Today, she was practicing alone. She had invited the others to practice with her but with it still being winter break, no one showed up but her. She wasn’t surprised, she had already expected that. Not for a second did she think that the others would show up but she had still hoped that perhaps she would have some company for at least a few hours of practice.

“Why am I the only one here? Is this unnecessary stress? Am I the only one who is worried about the future?”

Even as her body moved to the rhythm of the music played in the background, her head was filled with worries that had been increasingly plaguing her. It was starting to become more than a little bit of a distraction for her which in turn is making her practice hard in hopes of making up for the distraction.

She had already been practicing for hours and her body was at the point where every move she made was uninspired; she was exhausted. She finally decided to take a break and rehydrate. She turned off the music and laid, sprawled on the ground, catching her breath. Just then, her attention was drawn to something coming from outside the dance studio.

“What is that…?”

She wasn’t usually this curious and would have just went back to practicing but there was something about what had caught her attention; it called to her. Stepping out of the dance studio, the rays from the sun hit her skin, a warmth radiated throughout her body despite the cold weather.

“I’ve been indoors too often these days…” she thought to herself.

Her attention shifted back to the melody that was resonating throughout the halls. She didn’t know why but it was as if the music had wrapped around her and was now pulling her towards the source of the sorcery, but she willingly allowed herself to be taken away. As the music picked up speed, so did her steps, finally stopping right outside the practice room where a girl she did not recognize was tapping at the piano keys in full animation as the piece came to its conclusion.

“La campanella… Who is this girl? She played as if a thousand bells were chiming,” Boa wondered as she peered into the room through the little glass window in the door.

The girl in the room had her eyes firmly shut, head tilted up and an innocent smile on her face. Boa felt… enchanted. She had no idea who this girl was but there was something about the way she played the instrument, the way she gave the piece so much personality, the way she held the last note so that the lingering note could make a lasting impression, the way that the girl lost herself in the beautiful melody…

She hadn’t even realized it but her hand had grabbed the handle, opened the door and she was now standing in the doorway with the door to the practice room ajar.

“You played… beautifully…” Boa said in a trance. She was still bound by the spell of the music or perhaps it was the girl that had Boa so spellbound. After all, she had never before seen a lovelier creature.

The girl, not noticing that someone had invaded her sanctuary, nearly fell off the bench in shock and horror, slamming her hands on the keys in hopes of catching her fall. Unfortunately, her hands had crashed against the piano keys hard.

“Ahhh! It hurts,” she cried but her voice was so soft, it was barely a whisper.

Boa ran into the room, knelt by the bench and grabbed the girl’s hands.

“Are you alright? Are you hurt? Did you injure anything?” the senior asked as she the girl’s hands slowly with her own.

The girl shyly pulled her hands away gently, not wanting to be rude, and gave the older girl a slight bow.

“I’m so sorry… I was just in the dance studio when I heard your enchanting rendition of La campanella… The music brought me here…” Boa explained to the still stunned girl who was averting her eyes.

The girl got up abruptly. “H-have a g-good d-day, s-s-sunbae…” the sophomore stuttered, barely getting her words out before dashing to the exit.

“Hey, wait… Wait!” Boa called after the girl unsuccessfully. “Hey, what’s your name?”

Boa ran after the girl but by the time she got out the door, the girl had somehow managed to put a considerable amount of distance between the two of them. Furthermore, she was now joined by another girl.

Boa decided to just watch from where she was and not go after the girl. The third girl lifted her hand and cupped the other girl’s cheek, something that seemed to have a calming effect on the girl. Then the third girl took the other girl's hand and led her away, not noticing that Boa was watching them in the distance.

“I hope I see you again…”