Haein was nervous. No, scratch that, she was more than nervous. She fiddled with them hem of her dress and gripped the neck of her violin, looking at her music instructor, whom nodded at her with a bright smile and urged her onto stage with a wave of her hand. Haein squeezed her eyes shut, hoping everything would go right, before walking on stage.

She looked at the audience with awe, more people had turned up than she thought would and soon her awe turned into terror. Different scenarios played out in her head as she ran through her mental checklist. Violin tuned? Check. Resin on the bow? Check. Practiced 500 times at least? Check. What if I miss the beat? Play the wrong note? What if a string breaks? All scenarios would seem ridiculous to her usually, but in the moment Haein was suspecting the worst.

Walking over to the microphone, she tapped on it, checking it for sound. “Hello, uh, ladies and gentlemen.” she started, her eyes darting around the auditorium, “My name is Yeom Hae In, and I’ll be playing a piece for you this evening. Um, enjoy.” The crowd was silent, looking at her expectantly. She backed away from the microphone and pulled her violin onto her shoulder, settling her chin into the familiar chin rest. She took a couple deep breaths, trying to calm down her heart which was beating ridiculously fast. It was the first performance of the year, but she still wanted to make an impression.

Haein set the bow on her strings and began to play, letting the melody ring throughout the auditorium.

Yulhee walked into the auditorium, finding a seat in the back. She was late for the show, but then again she hadn’t really planned to go. Her dance meet had ended earlier than expected and her mom wouldn’t be there to pick her up for another thirty minutes; so when she saw the flyer announcing the “Strings Extravaganza” she figured it would be better than sitting out front fiddling with her phone.

Now that she was settled down, she could hear the music playing throughout the auditorium. She looked up at the stage and she watched as a girl played the violin. The first thing that struck Yulhee was how pretty the girl was, and the second thing she noticed was how she played. It’d been a while since Yulhee had seen any of the students at school play the violin, but she never saw anyone play with so much focus. She could tell this girl was serious, as she shut her eyes and let the music move her, her fingers moving with precision as her bow played out a beautiful melody.

Yulhee was entranced, and eventually found herself moving closer to the stage, finding an empty spot up front. The song suddenly ended, and while it felt like only a few seconds to Yulhee, Haein had been playing a good seven minute piece. Haein bowed as the audience clapped, a smile lighting up her face and Yulhee watched as the girl went off stage. Someone else came on stage, but Yulhee didn’t bother to hear them introduce themselves, as she was already heading to go backstage.

Haein was smiling madly. She didn’t know if she could smile any wider, but she sure tried because the amount of joy she felt was incredible. She had played wonderfully, even in her own eyes, and her instructor embraced her in a hug, rambling on about how great she did, how proud her parents would be, blah blah. Haein didn’t really catch the rest of her spiel, she was too excited to think about anything else, and now that she really focused on her surroundings, she noticed a girl suddenly walk up to them. The brunette tapped on her music instructor’s shoulder and asked for a word with me, immediately ceasing her teacher’s ramble. “Ah yes, go ahead, I should get back to my next student anyhow.”

After she walked away, Yulhee smiled at Haein, causing the other to bow her head in a shy manner. “You did really well.” Yulhee complimented. Haein looked up and her cheeks were a bright pink, “Oh thank you. I practiced hard and I guess it paid off.” she said, biting her lip nervously. “What’s your name?”

“My name’s Yulhee. And from what I could hear out of your teacher’s speech, your name is Haein?” she said, as if asking for confirmation. Haein nodded, tucking her pink hair behind her ear. “You’re cute.” Yulhee said with amusement, and Haein swore she was now as bright as a tomato. “B-but I’m not!” she protested, stuttering after the blatant compliment. But then she realized her protest didn’t make very much sense. “Um, what grade are you in?” she said, quickly trying to change the subject.

Yulhee took her hand, causing Haein’s eyes to widen as she was pulled along, out of the auditorium and into the hallway. “Can we talk out front? My mom will be here soon.” Haein nodded, “Sure.” she answered quietly. Her parents would probably wonder where she went, but the concert shouldn’t end for another forty-five minutes, and she was curious as to why this girl was taking such an interest in her.

Both girls walked silently until they were out front. “I’m in grade 10.” Yulhee said, breaking the silence. Haein nodded, slightly surprised, “I’m in grade 12.” she replied.

They continued to ask simple questions like these, what their hobbies were, what music they enjoyed. Haein was surprised when Yulhee said she was on dance team, but after looking down and seeing her strong thighs, she was convinced and had another blush forming.

Yulhee gave Haein her full attention, a small smile on her face the entire conversation. She watched as the girl with bubblegum hair would blush or giggle at something she said and at one point she reached up and wiped her cheek, claiming she had a stray eyelash, and causing the other to blush like crazy. There was no eyelash, that had been a lie, but Yulhee needed any excuse to touch her, and had to refrain herself from pressing their lips together after Haein would scrunch her nose while trying to explain things.

Haein felt like her face was permanently red in front of her, but she also felt very comfortable talking to the younger so casually. She wanted to lean into her, but felt that would be too sudden for two people that just met. When she felt something was missing next to her, she noticed her companion had stood up from the bench they were sitting at out front. Haein resisted frowning, especially when Yulhee announced she had to leave, that her mom was here. She nodded, standing up and waving goodbye, “It was nice talking to you.” she said.

Yulhee grinned, “You too.” she said, and watched as Haein turned to walk away. She grabbed her hand quickly and spun her around, “Wait.” she said, reaching down into her gym bag and finding a stray pen. She gently pressed the pen to her palm and neatly wrote the numbers to her cell. “You should text me.” she explained, sliding the pen back into her bag. Haein nodded, smiling brightly, “I will.”