The Fifth Picture

                It took another two and a half weeks plus one ridiculously difficult test for Youngbae to finally muster up the right amount of courage to walk back through the music building. He kept his head down but had forgotten the directions the professor had given him. So, he was forced to ask a man carrying a rather large black case for directions. Luckily, the man knew exactly where Youngbae should go.

                And so he found himself standing outside the door clearly marked with Yang Hyunsuk’s name. He nervously fidgeted with the hem of his shirt before taking a deep breath. He reached out and knocked twice on the door; half of him hoped he would get an immediate answer and the other half hoped that the man wasn’t there.

                He counted out sixty seconds before turning on his heel and heading towards the door. It looked like he wasn’t meant for this after all. He nodded to himself, liking where that train of thought was going. Unfortunately, his racing thoughts were interrupted by the sight of the piano professor walking through the doors Youngbae had been trying to escape out of.

                “Took you long enough,” the professor remarked gruffly, but he smiled at Youngbae just the same.

                “S-Sorry, sir, I had a test.”

                “You’re here now,” the professor shrugged, “So come on in and let’s have a chat.”

               Youngbae followed him inside of the office and marveled at the piano which took up most of the space in the room. Stacked around it were folders filled with students’ work and sheets upon sheets of music. A metronome, clacking the beat to a 4/4 time signature stood on the edge of the man’s rather small desk.

                Every surface that wasn’t occupied with something to do with music had a small figurine in its place. The only clear spots were the professor’s chair and the piano bench. Youngbae wasn’t sure if this man was merely eccentric or a full blown hoarder. Either way, he sat down on the wooden stool and kept quiet.   

                “I can’t read minds, kid,” Hyunsuk said after a few moments of silence, “What are you here for?”

                “That depends,” Youngbae mumbled, “How much do piano lessons cost?”

                “Two hundred thousand won but they count as one semester credit.” Youngbae groaned. He had hoped the price would be lower but had expected something like this. If he was going to do this, he was definitely going to have to keep it secret from his mother. There was no way she was going to agree with him doing something outside the business or econ departments. So, he was going to have to pay the price himself. The only problem he had was that he was a broke college student. “However, for you, I’ll make an exception.”

                “What?”

                “I’ll drop the fee if you’ll commit to a twice weekly lesson,” Hyunsuk explained, “You also have to agree to participate in the Winter Showcase at the end of the semester.”

                “I can do that,” he agreed.

                “Alright, let’s figure out the times for your lessons.” Hyunsuk smiled at Youngbae before turning back to his computer so that he could pull up his weekly schedule. Youngbae pulled his planner out as well and, after a few minutes of negotiating, they finally figured out a time that would work for the both of them.

                “So I guess I’ll see you on Friday,” Youngbae said before getting up off of the bench.

                “I guess you will,” Hyunsuk chuckled, “but make sure to tell that girlfriend of yours that you’re meeting with me and not some other girl.” Youngbae’s face turned fifty shades of red as he babbled about how she wasn’t his girlfriend -at least not yet- and even then she probably wouldn’t worry too much. He continued to stammer about how they weren’t a couple -yet- as he backed out of the door. Hyunsuk smirked at him and cocked his eyebrow as the college student left, clutching his bag to his chest.

                “B-Bye,” Youngbae bowed before walking as quickly as he could towards the exit while trying to get his face to return back to its proper color. He was about to meet with the aforementioned woman after all, though she was used to him acting like a blushing fool by now.

                He still liked to pretend he was cool in front of her.

                Chohee sat in the café with two melon sodas and a bag of chips still unopened with her camera up to her face as she captured the table setting. He smiled before sitting down across from her, interrupting the second, or maybe third, picture.

                “How’d it go?” she asked before snapping a photo of him.

                “Good,” Youngbae grinned, “He said that he would teach me for free. All I have to do is participate in the Winter Showcase.” He could see her smile behind the camera, the funny grin that caused her hidden dimples to show themselves.

                “You really are amazing,” she praised.

                “No not really,” he argued before tapping the top of his soda can. He popped the top and took a sip as she finally set down the Polaroid camera. She did the same to her soda but let it sit there and fizz while she opened the bag of chips for the two of them to share.

                “Will you invite her to the showcase?” Chohee asked before crunching a chip between her teeth.

                “Maybe,” he shrugged.

                “Will you change your major?”

                “Whoa, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” his face drained of color as he thought of his mother’s reaction, “These are lessons and nothing more. I just want to improve, that’s all.”

                “Mm’kay,” she accepted the answer though they both knew it was false. She took a long drink from her soda while Youngbae dug through the bag to grab a handful of the slightly salted snack. “I just want you to know something.”

                “What is it?”

                “You don’t have a lot of time in this world,” she stated, her face blank, “You’ve got to make the most of it while you can.” Youngbae stared at her, the crunched up remains of a chip slowly dissolving in his mouth before he finally managed to swallow.

                “Why do you say that?” he asked.

                “It’s just…experience,” she mumbled before pulling her beanie down further on her head, covering her bangs and forehead completely.

                “You don’t want to tell me yet?” she shook her head, “Okay, I’ll wait. You will tell me eventually though, right?”

                “Yes.” Her lips formed the tiniest of smiles which Youngbae wished he could capture in film to record it for all of history. It faded before he could even think of grabbing her camera. So he did what any good hopeful boyfriend would do and changed the subject.

                Her body posture relaxed as the two began to discuss the daily events. She talked about the photos she took and the pretty girl with bright blue hair she had talked with at another coffee stand. Youngbae talked about how boring his professor had been and how much homework he had to do later that evening, but he also spoke of finding a new song he wanted to learn.

                When the sun started setting, Youngbae finally pulled himself away from the allure of another couple hours of aimless laughter and chatter. He did have the pleasure of walking her to the street where they finally split up. He waved goodbye once she got safely across the street before heading towards his bus stop.

                Youngbae walked through the door to the smell of a delicious homemade dinner. He smiled from ear to ear as he took off his shoes. He greeted his mother before dropping his bag off in his room. As quickly as he could, he made his way back to the kitchen. “You cooked?”

                “Of course I did,” she replied in an even tone. She was acting like it was nothing but it was the first time she had really cooked in a long time. Most nights, they ordered out, heated up leftovers from his grandma, or he prepared a meal for the two of them to share in separate rooms.

                “What’s the occasion?”

                “I just remembered that my baby is growing up,” she mumbled as the rice cooker beeped, signaling the rice was ready. Youngbae reached for plates to dish the rice up on before helping his mother set out the main course along with three, count them three, side dishes.

                They prayed before digging in to what seemed like a feast to the boy. The meal may have been silent but it was delicious and, for that alone, Youngbae was thankful. His mother had never been much of a talker anyways; it had always been his father’s role to fill in any lapse of conversation.

                “Do you want me to help with dishes?” he asked after he had finished.

                “No, you go do your homework. I’ll take care of everything.”

                “Alright,” he nodded, “Thank you for the meal.”

                “Yes, yes, now go get good grades for your loving mother,” she shooed him away from the table. He nodded but the smile faded from his face as his mind went back to the massive amounts of homework he had to complete.

                Ever the diligent son, he started immediately on his business homework. He finished the reading for one class along with the worksheet for another before he allowed himself to become distracted by the internet. Instead of getting on social media like his usual break, he began searching for some more contemporary musical scores to learn.

                After ten minutes, his phone’s alarm went off and it was back to homework. Part way through his econ homework, his phone began to ring again. He welcomed this new break as he picked up the phone. “Yeoboseyo?”

                “It’s Jiyong,” was the reply, “Can you help me with the take home quiz? I’m stuck on problem six… Man, what the hell is this ?”

                “If you paid attention instead of flirting, you’d know problem six,” Youngbae teased before ruffling through the stack of papers that had appeared on his desk. He found the quiz and was more than pleased to see that he had managed to complete up to question ten during one of his breaks. “I’ll help you though.”

                “Good-”

                “For a price,” he added, causing Jiyong to groan.

                “What is it? You want me to buy you a new pair of shoes or something? Bro, I’m not made of money, you know.”

                “That’s not it,” Youngbae hastily corrected, “I… Well I need your help.”

                “My help?” Jiyong asked incredulously, “In what?”

                “I want to ask a girl out,” he blurted, his ears burning. He was so glad that this was over the phone and not in real life or he would die of embarrassment for Jiyong to see him like this.

                “Oh,” he couple hear the smirk in his best friend’s voice, “Well that, my apprentice, I can definitely help you out with.”

                “Yeah?”

                “Yup, but first… Give me the damn answer to problem six.” 

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[A/N] So I redid the poster and the background- I hope ya'll like it. Please comment/subscribe and let me know what ya'll think :)