Several days had passed and Bom was beginning to think that Dara was right. Maybe angering an obsessed mob of teenage girls was a bad idea. She had already experienced quite an array of harassment from the EXO fanatics. It varied from dirty water being poured on her head to opening her locker to have numerous thumbtacks pour out of it to even arriving at her desk covered in hand-written death threats. Girls are vicious creatures. She thought bitterly.

The ombre-haired girl paid no mind to the immature actions taken against her. These were but small, harmless attacks done by young girls whose emotions have gone awry. As ridiculous as she felt it was, Bom continued on to work hard in school so that she could achieve her dream of being a singer.

***

It was lunchtime when Bom strolled into one of the empty choir rooms of Seoul Arts Academy. She walked up to the grand piano that stood at the front of the room and ran her fingers lightly over the keys. A flash black played in her mind.

~

“Appa! Let me sit with you at the piano!” A four year-old Bom pouted up at her father.

With a chuckle he complied, “Alright Princess. Up and at-em!” He lifted the small child to sit next to him and she squirmed excitedly. Her eyes were as big as saucers as she carefully watched her father nimbly rest his hands on the black and white keys of their family piano. He began to play a soft melody that sounded like heaven to the young girl's ears. She watched, amazed as his fingers gracefully danced across the keys, slowly pressing more aggressively and faster as the tempo increased. Mrs. Park walked in on the two in the living room and a small smile graced her lips when she saw them together. When the song came to a close Bom looked admiringly up at her father.

“Appa teach Bommie to play the piano too! You promised!” she whined.

The man let out another chuckle, “Of course, Princess.” He lifted her once more and sat her on his lap as he held her hands and laid them to rest on the keys of the piano.

“This here is the 'Do' key... do you remember? I taught you Do-Re-Mi...”

“I remember Appa! Do-re-mi-fa-so-rahh-shii...”

“It's La-Ti Bommie.” The man corrected while smiling.

“Oh.” The small child blushed in embarassment.

“Don't worry sweetheart, we have plenty of time to teach you how to play music. I'll even teach you how to sing.”

“Chincha?!” Bom hopped excitedly on her father's lap while clapping her hands.

~3 Years Later~

“Is there really nothing else you can do Doctor?” Mrs. Park stared at the man who stood before her with a desperate expression on her face.

“I am so sorry Mrs. Park but it is far too late. It's spreading too quickly. The cancer has reached a state at which it cannot be cured.” The doctor looked over at the man who laid in the hospital bed with sorrow. “At most I would say he has three weeks left to live.”

Mrs. Park inhaled sharply as she tried her best to hold back her tears and held a handkerchief to . “Oh darling...!” She immediately looked in the same direction as the doctor but her focus was on the small figure that stood next to the hospital bed.

“Guess what Appa? Han sonsaeng-nim says that I'm getting really good at my piano scales. She said I'll move up in levels soon...” A seven-year old Bom held onto her father's weak hand as she watched him sleep peacefully. She was unsure why her daddy needed to sleep in a hospital when they had a much comfier and bigger bed back home. Mommy said that he was really sick and he just needed to stay here for a bit while the doctors helped make him feel all better.

“Hurry up and come home Appa... my recital is coming up soon. You promised you would make it. I told Han sonsaeng-nim to leave two front-seats open for you and Eomma.” Bom laid her head on the railing of the hospital bed.

Mrs. Park approached her daughter and spoke softly so as not to disturb her resting husband.

“Bommie... it's time to go.” she reached out to Bom.

“No!” Bom jerked away from her mother. “I'm staying here with Appa! I said I would stay by his side until he got better!” Mrs. Park laid a hand on her chest as she felt her heart wrench.

“He'll be fine sweetheart. We'll come back tomorrow okay? We need to get home Dara and Chaerin were supposed to be coming over tonight, remember?” she tried to convince her daughter.

“I don't care! I want to stay with Appa.” The small child's eyes glistened with oncoming tears.

“Bom please, don't make a fuss. Your father needs to rest.” Mrs. Park grabbed a hold of Bom's arms and began tugging her away from the edge of the hospital bed.

“Appa!! NO! I don't want to leave!” Tears streamed down the girl's chubby cheeks as she tried to fight back, but to no avail. Her mother was much too strong as she picked up the stubborn child and carried her out.

“APPAAAAAA!!!” A small, desperate hand reached out to the unconscious man in a frail attempt to grab a hold of him but soon she lost sight of him as her mother turned the corner and exited the hospital room.

~

Bom reached a hand to her cheek as she felt a tear roll down it. It was always hard reminiscing on the past. Reminiscing about her father. Only a week after the fit she had had at the hospital was her father's life taken away from her. She recalled sobbing for days after his funeral. For months she avoided the family piano in the living room of their home. It reminded her too much of her father and the memories they shared together. Mrs. Park could see how her husband's death had affected the young girl and it was then that she decided that Bom should move to America and live with her aunt for a while. As a mother, it was a hard decision to send her daughter away, but she did it for Bom's sake.

Bom shook her head of her thoughts of the past. She softly sat down onto the piano bench and gently rested her fingers on the cold ivory of the keys. Slowly she began to play, a sad melody resounding from the piano. She began to sing softly along to the notes.

Always stay by my side, my love
Don't ever let go
My hands always here for you to hold

Hope to see you here
You will always be near
We can trust each other
Live life with one another

My heart will never change as time goes
Even if our love has gone away
If its you, that my heart is always wanting
I'll love forever with you...

Her fingers slowed to a stop as she stared dazed at the keys. Although there was a time when she couldn't even look at a piano, these days playing one seemed to calm her down in stressful times. She was absentmindedly one of the black keys when a distant clinking sound pulled her out of her stupor. Bom's head jerked up at the sound. Twisting around, she searched her surroundings. She eyed the back entrance to the choir room suspiciously.

"Who's there?" She asked.

 
Cautiously, she stood up from the bench and began making her way to the door. When she was only meters away she shakily reached out a hand to the door knob. Her finger briefly brushed the metal when the sudden creaking of the opposite door caused her to jump and squeal, her English slipping once again.
 
"!" Bom quickly twirled around in surprise when a familiar face peeked through and around to see her standing there tensely. 
 
"Minzy???" She heaved a sigh of relief. "Omo please don't scare me like that!" She placed both hands against her chest and felt her heart beating heavily.
 
"Ah! So this is where you have been unnie. I've been looking for you everywhere!" The younger girl stepped into the room. "What have you been doing all by yourself in here?"
 
"Nothing... Just a little practice is all." The older girl approached the piano once more and laid a hand on it, a somber look taking place on her features.
 
Minzy glanced from the large instrument to Bom's face and gave her a knowing look. "You miss him don't you...?"
 
Caught by surprise, she looked up at the short-haired girl and merely replied with a solemn smile.
 
"Is there something you needed me for?" Bom asked, trying to change the subject.
 
"Oh, right! Your home room teacher wanted to see you when you were free. There's still some time left to go see Choi sonsaeng-nim before the lunch hour is over." 
 
The taller girl tilted her head in confusion. What could the teacher want with her?  She simply shrugged and thanked Minzy as the two of them exited the choir room and headed towards the teachers' offices. 
 
 
 
Meanwhile, a certain nervous blonde finally let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.
 
Opening the back door to the choir room, Kris raked a hand through his hair as he slouched down onto one of the steps of the choir stands. That was a close one. Had Minzy arrived a second later he would have been discovered beyond that door for sure. 
 
He had been minding his own business hiding out away from the fan girls on the rooftop of the school when he heard the sound of a piano melody being played from a window a couple of floors beneath so he decided to check it out. His jaw dropped when he realized it had been Bom that was playing the beautiful music. Her face looked stained as if she had been crying. He wondered what she had been doing in there all alone.
 
He gulped as she began to sing along in such a soulful-yet sorrowful voice. Her voice was smooth and almost gave a jazzy R&B feel. He lost himself in her song. The tall male leaned in further against the back door as he peaked in through the small glass window. He didn't realize that his hand was slowly beginning to slip against the smooth door...

chakachaka

Kris stared wide-eyed down at the door knob that his hand had just barely brushed against, causing it to jostle slightly. His head shot back up to look through the window where he saw Bom perk up in attention at the sound. He quickly pivoted his body so that his face wasn't in view of the window. His heartbeat slowly increasing when he heard a voice from inside call out to someone. The Chinese boy's eyes remained focused on the doorknob as he heard footsteps drawing closer to the door he was hiding behind.

Kris thanked the gods up in heaven when Minzy made an appearance and said something to Bom that made her need to leave the room immediately. When he saw that the coast was clear he entered the room and sat himself down.

The sound of Bom's angelic voice rang in his thoughts. He never expected to hear such a sad tune come from the vulgar-mouthed girl. For a moment Kris remembered overhearing Baekhyun and D.O. talking the other day about having her in their vocal training class. They raved about how impressed they were with her skill but he didn't take it seriously until now. She definitely had a unique power to her voice. She can be full of surprises he supposed. I guess she had a good reason for coming to a school like this.


***

“Wait... what? You want me to dye my hair?” Bom had her arms crossed across her chest as she raised an eyebrow at the teacher who sat before her at his desk.

“I'm afraid that some students have been making some complaints about your... sense of style. They're claiming it's a disruption to their learning environment.” Choi sonsaeng-nim replied.

“That's a load of bull if I've ever heard it.” Bom rolled her eyes as she imagined some of those girls who called her out in the cafeteria a few days ago coming in to make the so-called 'complaints.'

The teacher coughed at her brash statement. “Nevertheless, technically your hair is out of dress code. That fuchsia is far from a natural hair color so it is not allowed at this school.” he shuffled through some of the paperwork on his desk as he continued, “You might want to tone down on the accessories as well. You seem like the type of person who doesn't want to cause too much trouble. Take my advice, I'd suggest you start with your physical appearance.”

Bom defiantly placed her hands on her hips. “Isn't this an arts school? Shouldn't you guys be all about creative freedom?”

The teacher sighed. “I don't make the rules Bom. I just enforce them. Look, I'm sorry but you'll just have to bear with it while you attend this academy. Once you become rich and famous go crazy with your style. Get a mohawk for all I care, just...please follow the regulations while you're here.”

“I guess I have no choice.” Bom sighed while fiddling with the bright tips of her hair.

Who knows, maybe by some unforseen miracle all her anti-fans will start to hate her less if she looked a little bit normal?

...maybe.

***

I'm back with a new chapter everyone! Sorry it took a while I got a little busy with family visiting and work got kind of crazy. (Also, I got slightly sidetracked with my oneshot I posted...oopsie *cough*checkitout*cough*) I wanted this chapter to give a little look-see into Bom's past and stuff so I hope you like it. Thank you all so much for continuing with your lovely comments and support. I'll see you all next time~

(Btw - the song I quoted in this chapter is Big Bang's "Forever With You" featuring Bom herself)