~| Johnny Cho, Seoyul's Melody |~

 

 

Even after few days had passed, I still couldn’t forget about that night after the concert. And I was still curious about who Johnny Cho was.

 

In many occasions, I wanted to ask the other Crescendo House’s members about him. But I realized that perhaps not all of them knew about Johnny. So I reduced the number to only Junhyung and Sayaka.

 

And my reason?

 

Did you remember when Mrs. Cho said about establishing the group and making Johnny proud of Seoyul?

 

It made me logically thinking that Johnny was once part of the earliest members of Crescendo House; or one of the founders, perhaps. And at a certain point, he left the group and the other members started to create the recent group.

 

I didn’t know what they called their group before Crescendo House but Junhyung was also the earliest member of the group along with Seoyul. The articles that I had ever read about them always mentioned Junhyung as one of the founders of the group. It made me thinking that he must have known about Johnny. And with seven years of friendship with Seoyul, he definitely knew something about Johnny.

 

Meanwhile, Sayaka was Seoyul’s best friend. They had been together for long enough; I remembered her telling me that she had known Seoyul since sixth grade. So Sayaka would certainly know about Seoyul and her past. Or perhaps, she might have known something about Johnny within the group at certain point.

 

With all those thoughts, I determined to ask Sayaka and Junhyung about Johnny Cho. I just needed to find the right moment. And I really preferred not to have Seoyul around when I asked. So I waited.

 

Finally the right moment came. It was around two weeks after when the older members were preparing the next covers with me at the base. I really didn’t know since when Junhyung and Seoyul started to consider me as another song arranger of the group. But they often included me whenever they had discussion for arrangements.

 

Honestly, it was an honor for me although I didn’t really know what they were up to. Yet I enjoyed every moment of our discussions. Seriously, Junhyung and Seoyul were brilliant music arrangers and composers. I had learnt many things about song composing and arranging from them.

 

In the middle of our discussion, Seoyul suddenly cut off our discussion. “Okay, I’ll leave these all to you. I need to go back to the school right now.”

 

“Why?” Sayaka asked her as Seoyul stood up. “I’ll have a radio segment on 7.”

 

I took a quick glance to the clock on the wall. It was already 6.30 PM and I knew that she would be late if she used public transport to go there. “Do you want me to drive you to the school?” I stopped her before she went further.

 

“No need,” she said as she shook her head. “Just help Junhyung and Sayaka here. I’ll be fine on my own.” She gave me a smile then waved. “See you, guys.”

 

She got random answers as she walked out. I turned back to my two seniors. Junhyung and Sayaka were back to their discussion but then Junhyung left to the studio for doing his work. So I decided to ask about Johnny to Sayaka.

 

“Hey, Sayaka.”

 

“Yes?”

 

“Can I ask you something?” I asked.

 

“Sure,” she replied without stopping her writing.

 

Although I was curious, I tried to make my expression and voice tone as plain as I could. “Who is Johnny Cho?”

 

Sayaka immediately stopped as she heard the name and turned her gaze to me. She seemed not to expect me saying the name. “How can you know his name?” she asked.

 

I raised my sitting position a little bit. “Well, at the concert’s post-party, Seoyul and I met a woman that she called as Mrs. Cho. And when Mrs. Cho mentioned his name, I noticed a change on Seoyul’s look. So I wonder who he is.”

 

Sayaka heaved and put down her pen. “Johnny Cho was a great musician and an old friend of Junhyung. He was the one who started Crescendo House’s idea along with Seoyul and Junhyung. And basically, Johnny is Crescendo House’s leader.”

 

So actually, Crescendo House had a leader. “Have you ever met him?”

 

Sayaka nodded. “Yes, I met him when Seoyul brought me into the group by her recommendation. He was a friendly guy and a nice one too. He also taught us a lot about music and he was our mentor.” Her eyes sparked as she remembered about something. “You know. You remind me a lot of Johnny. He can play violin very well as well as piano and guitar. I’m sure that you can get along with him if you two guys can meet.”

 

“So where is he now?”

 

Remember my curiosity about why everyone used a past form whenever they talked about Johnny. Well, Sayaka was kind enough to tell me why. “Johnny died six years ago.”

 

I should have guessed about it. “I’m sorry.”

 

A sympathized expression came from Sayaka and she just smiled gently. “It’s fine. But among the earliest members, his death left a deep scar for Seoyul. They were very close and Seoyul looked up on him a lot. So I and Junhyung try our best not to bring up Johnny again in front of Seoyul.”

 

Something on Sayaka’s explanation left me an impression that Johnny and Seoyul were more than just partners or friends. “Were they a couple?” I blurted out the question without any second thought, in which I regretted it after.

 

For a moment, Sayaka seemed to hesitate. But then she said, “Not to that point. But Johnny was close with something that we called Seoyul’s first love.”

 

I knew it. I had guessed that Seoyul must have special feeling for Johnny and I was right.

 

“Sorry, Daniel.” Sayaka apologized.

 

I forced a smile. “Why are you apologizing? I’ve guessed it since I saw her reaction for Mrs. Cho.” And even though I had guessed it, I couldn’t help but to feel hurt inside; it felt too much for me.

 

On the next day, actually, I didn’t know what I was doing; my feeling messed up and I felt my mind going above the cloud. So I watched the students playing basketball on the court while reading a book about basic practicing to calm myself. Then, I saw an energy-drink’s bottle being offered in front of me. I looked up and saw Junhyung, offering me a drink. “Thanks,” I said as I took the bottle.

 

“You’re welcome,” he replied as he sat beside me. Junhyung looked at the court and heaved. “You know. I’ve never liked doing sports actually. I hate the idea of getting sweaty after running around.”

 

I just scoffed. “My brother always keeps me doing sports against my will,” I told him.

 

Junhyung only smiled lopsidedly and dropped his gaze. “Listen, Dan.” I could feel that he was getting serious. “I’ve overheard you asking Sayaka about Johnny yesterday.”

 

I nodded and threw my gaze back to the court. “Yeah, I was.”

 

“Did it surprise you to know who he was?”

 

I lifted my gaze and smirked. “Actually I’ve expected that he must have been an important person for Crescendo House. When I saw Seoyul reaction at Johnny’s name, I have guessed that something was happening between them.”

 

Junhyung gave me a bitter smile. “But to tell you the truth, Johnny was an amazing person. He was a friendly guy. And I couldn’t think of anyone who hated him.” He turned his gaze to our department’s building. “And just like us, he was also enrolled here as a Music student.”

 

“He did?”

 

Junhyung looked back at me and nodded. “He was a talented and an amazing young musician. I always looked up on him.” He smiled reminiscently. “I first met him when my piano teacher asked him to teach me. Seriously, I was thinking that piano is hard. But he could make me enjoying the lesson. He then taught me how to play guitar and eventually he taught me about composing songs.”

 

“How did he meet Seoyul?”

 

Junhyung became silent for a while as he looked afar. “I didn’t actually know how. But I think I remember him telling me that he met Seoyul on her school’s music exhibition. He told me that he had met a girl with an amazing voice and he wanted to nurture her, giving her a place to sing. The next thing I knew, he had introduced us and Crescendo House was formed.”

 

He dropped his gaze as he took out his phone from his pocket. “During our earlier days in Crescendo House, we didn’t record our session regularly like now. We were only jamming for fun. But sometimes we were performing on café or the street. Johnny had a lot of acquaintances.” He looked for something on his phone then handed it to me. “Here.”

 

I took the phone with confused look.

 

“This is one of our earlier videos with Johnny. It was taken before Sayaka joined us.”

 

I turned my gaze back to the phone and played the video.

 

In the beginning when the video went on, it seemed that someone was standing in front of the camera then turned and went few steps away. It was when I realized that that person was Seoyul. It seemed that she was the one who the camera. She then sat between two guys, who I recognized as Junhyung and an unknown guy holding the guitar.

 

I knew immediately that he was Johnny. He was a good-looking guy, I must say, but he looked a little bit pale comparing to Seoyul and Junhyung. His black hair was styled in mushroom style, almost covering his eyes. He looked neat. But with one look, I could guess that he was a clumsy type of guy, calm, kind and a little bit naïve.

 

Seoyul was introducing the song in her cheerful nature to the camera. It was a Japanese song, Renai Revolution 21 from Morning Musume. Johnny then played the guitar. It amazed me to see how well he was handling the guitar. I could see that he had been played for long from his way strumming the guitar. Even with just a guitar, Johnny could fill a song with music.

 

I could also see how close they shared their bond through the song. They could fill and cover each other’s flaw, combining their voices together to create a harmony. They also looked as if they were enjoying singing together as they were smiling and teasing each others with their gazes and expression. It was very entertaining to see them. I found myself enjoying the song even with only vocals and a guitar.

 

From the video, I could see that Junhyung, Seoyul and Johnny were a package of perfect combination musicians group. They could sing, harmonize, and play music well.

 

“You know? Johnny was also the one who taught Seoyul to sing.” Junhyung told me, making me to look at him. “He often told Seoyul that he would fill the music no matter how Seoyul sings it.” He then took the phone back. “There was a video of them that I recorded few days after we formed Crescendo House.” He seemed to find the video and returned the device back to me. “Here.” He played the video.

 

It was a video of Seoyul singing Janet Jackson’s Doesn’t Really Matter, with Johnny accompanying her in guitar. Seoyul was still wearing her school uniform, in which I recognized it as a well-known prestige school on our area. Her voice wasn’t as good as the video that Junhyung had showed me earlier; her voice was still raw. But I could see that she had a strong base as a singer.

 

Yet again, I was amazed on how well Johnny played. He could guess Seoyul’s direction and match his playing with her singing. I also found out that he was able to play guitar in free-style way; I ever tried it once and it was kinda hard to do. He was also singing as the backing vocal, filling the gap of Seoyul’s solo. But their duet was something that I really envied. And there was no way I could beat Johnny in music.

 

“Junhyung.” I diverted my gaze back to Junhyung. “Sorry to ask. But how did he die?”

 

“He died from Acute Leukimia,” he said. “His mother told me when I paid a visit on his funeral.” He dropped his gaze and heaved. “Johnny was never been a healthy guy ever since I knew him. When he first gave me his lesson, he just came out from hospital after recovering. It turned out that he had been struggling with the illness since his teenage year.”

 

“And Seoyul…” I gulped. Suddenly, my throat felt dry. “How did she accept his death?”

 

Junhyung smiled bitterly. “I don’t think Seoyul could accept his death well enough. She could barely set a foot at his funeral. She just stood outside his house. And I’ve never heard her visiting Johnny or seeing his parents until now.”

 

I went silent because of it. I could understand that Seoyul was very shocked. It must have been hard to accept the death of someone that you cared the most. But why did I feel so much pain in my heart?

 

I dropped my gaze again to the phone in my hand. At the end of the video, I saw Seoyul laughing while covering with her both hands and Johnny was smiling proudly while raising his two thumbs up for her. It warmed me to know that Seoyul had never lost her bright smile. But it also pained me to think about her grief and sadness of losing someone that important for her.

 

I heaved and handed the phone back to Junhyung. “Thanks.”

 

“You’re welcome.” He received the phone and pocketed it back. “You know. Sayaka might have told you that you’re look like Johnny. But you’re actually not. I admit that both of you are talented and brilliant musicians. But you and Johnny have different style, personally and in music. So don’t try to compare yourself with him.”

 

I only nodded while looking back at the court.

 

“And… I think you might have chance with Seoyul.”

 

I turned my gaze back to him, feeling surprised and confuse. “What do you mean?”

 

He turned back at me with teasing smirk and knowing look. “You like Seoyul, don’t you?”

 

It snapped me to realize that Junhyung had seen me through. I indeed had fallen for her. I was admiring her before. I had drawn to her bright personality and friendly nature. But I didn’t know since when it all turned into love; I just started to realize it when she stood up for me against Daisuke. I tried to deny it and suppressed the feeling but I had failed; it always grew whenever I saw Seoyul.

 

So I just scoffed amusingly to hear Junhyung’s words and dropped my gaze as I shook my head. “Have I exposed myself completely?”

 

I could hear him slightly chuckling. “No, not really. I just happen to notice.”

 

I looked at him again and found that he was looking back at me.

 

“But, Dan, seriously I really think that you might have a chance. Honestly, I have never seen Seoyul so eagerly recommending a new member’s candidate for Crescendo House before. I know that you’re good but she was so eager to recommend you.” He smiled gently. “And I can see that she treats you differently.”

 

His words made me silently wishing that it was true. I dropped my gaze. “Perhaps it was because she thinks that I can be great.”

 

I heard Junhyung scoffing. “Perhaps,” he said. “But either way, you’re the closest person for her right now. No matter what, Seoyul knows that she must go on. Perhaps one day, she will realize who matter the most for her.” He then patted my shoulder. “Just don’t lose your hope.”

 

I looked at him for a while then said, “Thanks.”

 

And he only smiled.

 

 

Author(s) Note:

Thank you for reading this story and I really hope you enjoy it until the very last. I'm very sorry for any grammar mistakes. And the song that Seoyul & Junhyung sang with Johnny is taken from Goose House's cover of Morning Musume's Renai Revolution 21. The video is down below, you can just click and play. The other song is Janet Jackson's Doesn't Really Matter in Accoustic Version, sung by Angela. I have the song yet I don't know how to embed MP3 file here. So help, everyone?
Any suggestion and questions are very welcomed. Feel free to ask me from the comment box or via my Twitter @AFFalize_sakura ! :3