Hey guys :)  Sorry for the delay in posting up the story.  I turned it into a two-shot because it passed 5,000 words and I wasn't finished yet >.>  Sooo, this is the first installment.  I'll have the second and final part up within the next to days or so, okay?  Thank you for subbing and I'll have a much longer author's note with the next update <3  Please do subscribe if you've taken an interest in the story.  And leave comments if you'd like!  :) (Up-voting doesn't hurt either <33)

Misun sighed as she recieved her last math test from her teacher.  She stared at the red marks on her paper but held her frustration between her teeth.   

"Hey, Misun," the girl next to her said, "are you okay?"

Misun automatically turned to the girl with a small smile.  "Yes," she said, "I'm fine."

Poof, just like that, all of her feelings were stuffed inside the bottle inside her heart without a trace.  To be seen by no one.

The girl nodded, believing Misun's words, and turned to face the front again.

Misun allowed herself one more sigh before she wiped her face void of emotion once more.

Just get through the day, Misun, the girl thought to herself, you're fine.  You're fine. 

The bell rang for lunch and Misun slowly gathered her stuff together.  It was just before she exited the classroom that she heard them.

"You know that girl from our class?  Park Misun?"

"Yeah.  Tch.  She's pathetic.  She doesn't belong with us.  She barely ever does any problems right."

"Barely?  You mean never right?"

The sound of the group's mockery ignited a spark of anger inside Misun.  She grit her teeth and was almost ready to turn around and confront them.

Almost.

The girl stopped herself, the spark of anger inside her quickly going out.  Why?  Because she thought that they were right.  Another sigh blew past the girl's lips.  How can I get angry when what they're saying is true?  Misun's shoulders slumped infintisemally, but in another second, she straightened up again and mentally shook herself.  No Misun, stop it.  Stop thinking like that.  Keep fighting, remember?  Don't let their words get you down.

"Ms. Park," Mr. Lee, Misun's math teacher said, suddenly snapping her out of her reverie, "are you all right?"

"Yes, sir," she responded immediately, "I'm fine.  I'll be going now."

Misun walked off, ignoring the curious stare of her math teacher as she mentally locked away her burdening feelings once more.

Yes, she was just fine.

Misun leaned her head against one of the trees in the school yard and closed her eyes in an attempt to clear her mind.  It was getting hard and harder to force herself to keep pushing every day.  She felt herself slipping mentally.

Taking four advanced placement college classes in high school was most definitely not a good idea.

Especially without any supporting figures.

Maybe. . . 

Misun shook her head quickly, realizing that her mind was going down a dangerous path.  Quickly, she took out her earphones and plugged them in, setting her playlist on shuffle.  She breathed in deeply and allowed herself to become lost in the beat of her music, temporarily forgetting about her problems.  She was exhausted, not having slept the night before because of her homework load.

About two minutes later, she was rudely interrupted by a flick to the head and the removal of one of her earphones.  The girl sat up straight immediately, startled.  She looked to her right with wide eyes to see her closest friend grinning cheekily at her with one of her earphones swinging in his hand.

"What the hell, Jonghyun?!" Misun demanded, glaring at the short, brown-haired boy.

"Tisk, tisk, tisk," Jonghyun said, shaking his head, "what a shame, Misun.  Don't you know it's against the rules to use electronics on campus?"

Misun rolled her eyes and snatched her earphone back from a laughing Jonghyun.  She shut off her phone and put it away, realizing that now that her peace had been disturbed, she wasn't going to get it back anytime soon.  "What do you want, Jonghyun?" Misun huffed.  The boy looked at her, affronted.

"What?" he demanded, "I can't even see my own best friend during lunch now?"

"Tch, don't kid yourself."

"That's what I thought," Jonghyun said, flopping down beside Misun.

"You're such an annoying dino."

"I get that a lot."

"How are we friends again?" Misun asked.  Jonghyun chuckled as he folded his arms behind his head and looked up at the sky.

"Music, mainly," he responded, "and the fact that you're one of the few human beings whose existence I can tolerate." 

Misun couldn't help but laugh.  "True," she responded.  Their friendship had always been like that.  Ever since the day they first met in 9th grade when Jonghyun discovered her in the Music Room.  He watched her play through a whole piece while singing a song before she turned around and panicked at the sight of him.  Jonghyun still laughed at the memory.  

"So," the boy said, pulling out a large bag of chips from his backpack and placing it in between himself and Misun, "how's your week been?"

Misun picked up a chip and stared at it.  She thought about her horrible test scores, her falling grades, her seemingly bleak future, the hurtful words of her peers, and the cutting words of her parents, all of which seemed to have increased in magnitude this past week.  After all of her fighting, she was finally on her last edge, just hanging onto it by her fingertips.  Severe cracks had formed on the bottle that held all of her emotions.  One last blow and it would completely burst, sending her into a black oblivion that would crush her existence

"Fine," Misun simply replied with a light smile, "yours?  Although I probably already know the answer to that. . ."

Jonghyun took a peek at the girl from the corner of his eye, noticing her prominent dark circles.  He wasn't an idiot and he knew Misun like the back of his hand.  Yet, he stayed quiet, deciding not to push her.

"It's eh," he replied, suppressing a chuckle, "you know how it goes.  School will never be 'great.'"

"Yeah," Misun chuckled, "unless you could somehow delete everyone inside of it and stop quizzes and tests."

"If only," the boy said, lowering his cap over his eyes, "got any plans tonight?"

Misun hesitated for the slightest of seconds.  "You know, the usual," she finally replied, smoothing out her face, "homework, homework, more homework, studying. . . oh, did I mention homework?"

Jonghyun laughed at the girl's small joke, apparently not having noticed her pause.  "Seriously, Mi," he said, "you're going to end up overworking yourself.  Take some time to relax and clear your head.  I mean, come on!  It's a Friday!"

"Pfft, what's relaxing?" Misun asked, "that word doesn't exist in my vocabularly."  Jonghyun snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Sure," he said, "just like the words 'sleep' and 'fun'."

"Exactly."

Jonghyun poked the side of Misun's head in annoyance, causing the girl to whine in protest.  "Just shut up and eat."

The two spent the rest of their lunch chatting and fooling around.  There were very few things that made Misun genuinely smile anymore, but talking to Jonghyun was one of those rare occassions that did cause her mood to brighten up a little.  

However, as soon as the bell singnalled the end of the lunch period and Jonghyun hugged her good-bye, the small amount of light inside Misun vanished, engulfed by the darkness swirling around in her head.

Two more periods, Misun. . . two more periods.

Misun breathed deeply as she entered her final class for the day:  Music.  The one place everything actually felt all right.  The girl smiled as she felt Jonghyun put her arms around her shoulders and gave her his signature goofy grin.  "Hiya," he said, "miss me?"

"In your dreams," Misun snorted, shoving him away.  Jonghyun pouted and showed her his puppy eyes.  "Oh don't give me that BS!" she laughed, "as if you're actually upset."

Sure enough, Jonghyun's pout disappeared as he laughed loudly.  "Okay, okay, you caught me," he chuckled, putting his hands up, "anyways, what are you doing with all your stuff?  You have like. . . everything from your locker!  You can't seriously have ALL of that for homework!"

Misun paused for about a second, trying to think quickly.  "Of course I can," she said, rolling her eyes, "my teachers are all evil, I swear.  I need everything for the weekend.  I have lots of crap to do."

Jonghyun chuckled, but his face immediately became serious once more.  "On a more serious note, are you okay?  You seemed a little. . . off during lunch today."

Misun cursed in her head.  He wasn't supposed to have noticed.  "Me?" she asked with a straight face, "no, I'm fine."  Jonghyun looked her straight in the eyes.

"Are you really?" he asked.

Before he could push the girl any further, Mr. Shin, the music teacher, called everyone to attention.  "All right class," he said, "today, all of the rooms have been opened for you.  Last names A - M, you're doing vocals today.  Those with the last names N - Z, either the piano or the violin, dependending on which room you get.  One person to a room.  Go!"  The class separated at Mr. Shin's command.  Misun immediately made her way towards a room with a piano in it.  The room was tiny, just big enough to fit an upright piano inside.  To Misun, the room was perfect.  She smiled a little and sat down on the bench, staring at the black and white keys in front of her.  

Unbeknownst to her, Jonghyun slipped into the room right next to hers.  The boy pulled out a sheet with his own lyrics on it and set it on the stand.  He had written those lyrics for a special someone for a special reason.  However, instead of singing, the boy pressed his ear against the wall.  Because it wasn't sound proof, he would be able to hear anything happening inside the room next to his.  Something that made Jonghyun constantly worry about Misun was the fact that he was never able to tell what she was thinking.  She constantly had a mask on, never revealing her true feelings to anyone.  Sure, she would smile and always tell him and others around her that she was fine, but lately, Jonghyun was beginning to doubt that.  Especially that one day when Misun accidentally forgot to hang up their call and Jonghyun overhead her mother and sister yelling at her for her grades.  "Jesus!" he had wanted to shout at them, "cut her some slack!  Do you even know what CLASSES she's taking?!"  Another ten minutes of silence had passed.  Jonghyun was beginning to get worried.  Is she okay? he fretted, she didn't.  No, she would never even think about something like that.  Right?  The boy stood up and walked toward his room's door.  Just as he was about to open it, he heard the tentative of keys.

Thirty minutes into the class, Misun finally touched the keys of the piano in front of her.  The sound of the ringing notes calmed her.  She took a deep breath.  Last chance, Misun, she thought to herself grimly, this is the final gate.  If it doesn't work this time. . .

The girl shook her head twice and took a deep breath.  Then, her fingers began to dance against the beautiful ivory keys, playing the first song that came to her mind.

A beautiful, heart-breaking melody finally reached Jonghyun's ears.  He pressed his ear harder against the wall, straining to hear the piece that Misun was playing.  The boy recognized the song instantly.  Of course he would.  It was the song that Misun had been playing the day they first met.  A River Flows in You.  Jonghyun felt his eyes prick and water slightly as he listened.  They say a musician conveys through his music what he can't in words.  And that was what he heard.

 Misun allowed her eyes to close as she let the simplistically complex piece occupy her mind.  Many had criticized the piece for being overrated, but Misun thought otherwise.  The interesting thing about music to her was that it the same exact piece could be played in hundreds of different ways.  It all depended on the touch of the musician.

Misun poured her heart and soul into the piece, attempting to release every negative thought inside her head through her fingers.  

The girl kept her finger pressed down on the key as she hit the last note of the piece.  A droplet of water dripped onto one of the pristine white keys, The girl stood up and gently closed the lid of the piano.  She gathered her stuff and walked towards the door of the small room.  She put her hand on the handle, but turned around once more.  She gave the room a sad smile and shook her head.  Without another word, Misun exited the small room and walked towards the Music Room's main doors.  The bell rang as soon as the door shut behind her.  

The sound of the bell ringing jerked Jonghyun back to reality.  He quickly wiped his eyes and ran out of his practice room, immediately running to the room Misun had been in and wrenching it open.  His heart dropped when he saw no one inside.  An uneasy feeling settled inside his stomach and he slowly walked over to the upright.  He lifted the lid covering the keys gently.  Mindlessly, he played three chords in succession.  When his middle finger made contact with a wet spot on the piano, he stopped in surprise.  He inspected the drop of water closely and sighed.  Oh Misun. . . he thought, why won't you just talk to me?  What's going on with you?

"I don't know what you're planning on doing with your life anymore."

Those were the first words that Misun was greeted with as soon as she entered her house.

"Honestly," her mother tutted, "do you even try in school?"

"Yes, mother," Misun said stiffly, "I never give anything less than my absolute be-"

"Lies," Mrs. Park hissed, "all you do is sit around with your earphones plugged in all day,  Or you're chatting with your friends.  You honestly expect me to believe that you actually do work?"

Misun squared her shoulders.  "Yes," she said, "I never want anyone to think that I never tried."  Plus, she mentally added, it was Jonghyun and music that had been keeping me around for this long.

Her older sister scoffed.  "Really?" she mocked, "tell me, have you even decided what college you want to go to?  Do you even know the requirements to enter any university are?"

Misun said nothing.  "That's what I thought," her sister replied, "at the rate you're going, you don't qualify to even fill out an application for any good university.  Don't give me that bull about you actually trying.  My fianceé asks about your studies all the time.  He wants to know what college you're going to.  What would he and his family said if I told them that you're going to a second-rate community college?  That would be so embarrassing!  Imagine what the rest of our friends will think about our family!"

Again, Misun remained silent.  I tried. . . she said in her head, I really did.

"Whatever," Mrs. Park said to her older daughter, "just let it go.  She's already disgraced us enough.  Just let her do whatever she's doing."  Misun bit her lip but proceeded to walk past her mother and sister and up the stairs, stopping at the front of her room.  

The girl felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, but she ignored it.  Instead, she took slow, well-thought-out steps to her bed and sat down, staring blankly at the opposite wall.

The thoughts hit her hard and all at once.  

"You're a disgrace."

"She doesn't belong with us."

"What are you going to do with your future?"

"You don't try."

Misun gripped her head and rested it between her knees, trying to force the bad thoughts away.  Usually, if she sat like this for a while, she'd eventually calm down.

It didn't work.  The thoughts buzzed like angry hornets in her mind.  The girl's phone buzzed again.  And once again, it was ignored.

When Misun raised her head again, her face was wiped clean again.  Except this time, it was a different kind of clean.

The bottle inside of her had burst.  Even music wasn't able to pull her out of it.

With shaky hands, the girl grabbed a pencil and a piece of paper.  After a few minutes of writing, she set the two items down on her bed.  

"Wow," the girl mumbled pathetically, "I really have changed."  Where is the Misun that would have fought against this?!  Where is the Misun that would have continued to fight no matter what other people said?  WHERE?!

Ironically, it was her own bleak conscious that answered her.

She's. . . she's gone.

Misun took a deep breath and ran everything over in her mind.  The pros and the cons.  Her familiy.  Sure they'd be sad, but only for a little while.  At least with me gone, they never have to worry about being humiliated because of me ever again.

Her teachers.  I doubt they'd miss me very much.  They have enough students to deal with as it is.  I was no one special.

Her friends.  As upset as they'd be, they have each other.  They'd be okay.

Her.  Can. . . Can I ever forgive myself for what I'm about to do? Misun wondered, it's. . . it's the best option.  I. . . I'm too tired to fight anymore.  I just want it to end.  I want everything to end.

There was a succession of vibrations now coming from her phone, disrupting her thoughts.  The girl kicked her phone underneath a pile of clothing.  Reaching under pillow, she pulled out several multi-colored pills.

Park Misun had finally let go of the edge she was clinging onto.  

"WHY ISN'T SHE PICKING UP HER STUPID PHONE?!" Jonghyun demanded, running a hand through his hair in frustration.  He was worried.  Misun ALWAYS returned his texts within at least 5 minutes.  And the fact that she wasn't picking up his phone calls?  No. . . something was wrong.  He grabbed his jacket and ran downstairs.

"Going somewhere, son?" his mother asked as he rummaged for his keys.

"I think there's something wrong with Misun, Umma."

The elder women froze.  "W-what makes you say that?"

"Gut instinct, Umma.  Something's not right."

"Then what are you waiting for?!  Go!"

Jonghyun nodded and sprinted out of his house.  He hopped into his car, started it, and slammed his foot down on the acceleration, making the car's tires squeal against the asphalt.  

"Come on, come on," Jonghyun growled, pushing his car's speed past 70.  He tried dialing Misun again. 

"We're sorry, but the number you're trying to reach is currently not available-"

Jonghyun cursed fluidly under his breath as he hung up the call.  Within a matter of minutes, he stopped his car in front of Misun's house.  Without waiting another second, the boy catapulted himself out of the driver's seat and ran up the steps to her door.  He collected himself before politely knocking on the door.  Seconds later, the sound of a lock opening reached his ears. 

"Ah. . . Jonghyun," Misun's mother said.  She didn't necessarily dislike the boy, but it bothered her that Misun spent so much time with him.

"Annyeonghaseyo, Ajhumma," Jonghyun said quickly, bowing, "I was just wondering. . . if Misun was home?"

"Ah. . . yes, she is.  Did you need something?"

"Did she forget to tell you?  We have to work on our group project together," Jonghyun lied easily. 

"Oh, really?" she said in surprise, "that's funny.  She didn't mention anything. . .  Actually, I haven't spoken to her since she got home.  I THINK she's in her room.  Oh, and excuse her attitude.  She's being very temperamental at the moment.  Jonghyun remained silent, but clenched his hands into fists.  He knew EXACTLY why Misun would be upset. 

"Thank you," he said, bowing once more, "and don't worry, I'm sure I'll be fine.  Mrs. Park shifted to the side, granting Jonghyun access, before shutting the door and going back into the kitchen.  She's fine, Jonghyun, she's fine.  There's nothing wrong.  Everyone is normal, the boy thought as he walked up the stairs, she's okay.  You're just overthinking things.  She told you she was fine.  Why are you so concerned?

Jonghyun couldn't unwind the tension in his stomach.  By the time he reached the front of Misun's bedroom, he felt sick.  Taking a breath, the boy knocked.  No response.

"Misun?" Jonghyun called, knocking a little louder.  Nothing.

The boy's heart was thundering in his chest.  Quickly, he tried to turn the door knob.  Locked.  Jonghyun began losing his cool.  He called Misun's name a third time and rattled the door.  Jonghyun looked around frantically.  He was ready to break down the door, but he didn't want to alarm anyone.  Maybe she was asleep.  Seeing the bathroom, he quickly ran over to it and opened one of the drawers, pulling out a bobby pin before returning to Misun's door.  Quick as a flash, Jonghyun stuck the bobby pin into the lock and began moving it, attempting to open the door.  His hands were shaking.  Seconds later, the click of the lock alerted Jonghyun to his success.  Without waiting another minute the boy pushed the door open.  The sight of a pair of legs dangling right off the edge of the bed made the boy sigh in relief.  She's okay.  Smiling, the boy opened the door fully.

"Mis-" was all that got out of Jonghyun's mouth before his bag fell to the floor and his jaw dropped in shock.

"MISUN!"