Sighing heavily, Yonghwa gave up and brought the guitar closer to his face, inspecting each part of it to figure out what exactly was the problem. He narrowed his eyes at the strings. He traced the top E string carefully with his index finger. Yeah, okay, it indeed felt somehow different.

“Jonghyun-ah!” Yonghwa called out for his roommate.

“What?” Jonghyun yelled from the direction of his bedroom.

With lazy steps, Yonghwa made his way to Jonghyun’s room. He was sitting on his bed, cleaning the body of his own guitar. Yonghwa stopped in front of him and Jonghyun looked up, raising an eyebrow in question.

“You bought me the wrong strings,” Yonghwa pointed out, slightly waving the acoustic guitar in his hand.

Jonghyun frowned. “What, really?”

“Yeah, the gauge is too thick.”

Jonghyun wordlessly took the guitar from Yonghwa’s hand to inspect it himself. “Oh, yeah, you’re right. Sorry, I thought the strings were for your Gibson.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s my fault for not telling you the specifics.” Yonghwa shook his head, taking the guitar back. “I guess I’ll head to Minhyuk’s shop to buy new strings. Do you want something?”

“Nah.” Jonghyun put his own guitar back in its case, having done cleaning it. “I’m broke. I just modified my pedalboard last week.”

Yonghwa cringed in symphathy.

Yonghwa was a regular of Minhyuk’s shop. Well, probably everyone who in Music major at his university was regular, too. Minhyuk’s was not the only music shop near Yonghwa’s university buildings and student dorms, but it was the largest and they had the biggest collections compared to the others, in Yonghwa’s opinion. They also opened everyday, so it was really convenient if Yonghwa had a problem with his instruments on Sundays, like today. The owner, Minhyuk, was still young, maybe about Yonghwa’s age or even younger, so it was very easy and comfortable to talk to him. Probably those were the main reasons that Minhyuk’s shop was the most popular one.

Yonghwa opened the glass door of the shop and basked in the cool breeze provided by the air-conditioned room. He started to make his way to the guitar section to check whether his favorite ones were still there, but his steps were halted when an unfamiliar voice greeted him. “Welcome!”

He turned his head to the voice and had his breath knocked out of his lungs.

There, standing behind the counter, was the most gorgeous woman Yonghwa had ever laid eyes on. And that was saying something, because Yonghwa had seen his fair share of beautiful women (being a young musician wasn’t a bad thing at all). But, that woman behind the counter was of different kind of beautiful. Her face was a bit round, but it matched her big, shiny eyes perfectly. Her hair was straight, strikingly black, and it fell nicely just below her shoulders. Her smile was tiny, but a very sweet one, revealing a hint of pearly white row of teeth. But what caught Yonghwa the most was her voice. It wasn’t soft nor it was breathy or squeaky like most women he knew. Her voice was very clear, like when he strummed an open string with his guitar.

“Can I help you?” The gorgeous woman said. Yonghwa blinked  a few times to get his focus back, and tried to walk steadily to the counter. Up close, the woman looked even more atrractive. Her eyes were very, very brown, and Yonghwa tried his best not to drown in them.

“Uhm,” Yonghwa mumbled, testing his voice. He did well so far. “Where’s Minhyuk?”

“His parents need him to help preparing his sister’s wedding until this weekend, so I fill in to look after the shop,” She explained, and Yonghwa gripped the edge of the counter because he really, really like her voice. “I’m Shinhye, by the way. His cousin.”

Okay. Okay. Let’s get the facts right. So, her name was Shinhye, and she was Minhyuk’s cousin. Yonghwa had known Minhyuk since he was a freshman. And now that he was in his last year, Minhyuk had never bothered to tell him about Shinhye? Come on, Yonghwa had whined to Minhyuk about his girlfriend-less situation for the past two years! But wait, maybe it was because Shinhye had a boyfriend already? That’d be too bad...

“So? Can I help you?”

Yonghwa snapped out of his thoughts. “Yeah! Um...” Wait, why did he come here? He suddenly forgot. “My... my guitar can’t be tuned. Yeah, that’s it! I can’t tune my guitar.”

“Okay...” Shinhye eyed the guitar case slung over Yonghwa’s back. “Can I take a look?”

Yonghwa nodded rapidly, not trusting his voice. He opened the guitar case and carefully put his guitar on the counter. Shinhye gave him a reassuring smile. Probably she mistook Yonghwa’s nervousness as anxiety over letting a stranger handle his guitar. Yonghwa watched silently as Shinhye inspected the guitar, lingering his gaze way too long on her fingers. They were long, but not overly thin. Her nails were clean and very short. There was no trace of nail polish. Yonghwa subtly eyed her left fingertips. They were visibly calloused. Dear merciful God, did she play guitar, too? Because if she did, it would be too good to be true...

“Your guitar nut seems to be the problem.”

“My... guitar nut,” Yonghwa parroted dumbly.

“Yes.” Shinhye nodded. “Do you know what a guitar nut is?”

Yonghwa knew exactly what a guitar nut was. “No, I don’t.”

“It’s this small strip here.” Shinhye touched the white bar at the joint where the headstock met the fretboard. “Did you change the strings recently?”

“Yeah, a few hours ago.”

Shinhye nodded knowingly. “It seems like the strings don’t match the guitar nut. It’s too narrow for these strings, so they are too far from the fingerboard.”

Yonghwa found it incredibly hot that she knew so much about guitars. Yonghwa tried to keep his cool and asked, “So... what do you suggest?”

“I would suggest that you change the strings with the right gauge.”

Yeah, exactly what I meant to do.”Alright, I’ll do that.”

Shinhye helped Yonghwa choose the strings (he pretended that he was completely clueless), and he put the package in his jacket pocket. He then carefully packed his guitar in its case and slung it over his shoulder. “Um.” Yonghwa fidgeted on his feet. He really wanted to linger, but he didn’t have any reason to. Besides, there were about five people in the shop looking at various instruments who would probably need her help. “Thanks, Shinhye.”

“You’re welcome...” Shinhye trailed off expectantly.

“Yonghwa. I’m Jung Yonghwa.”

Shinhye beamed at him. “You’re welcome, Yonghwa. Please come again.”

His name sounded so wonderful coming out of Shinhye’s lips. Yonghwa tried not to climb on top of the counter and perform a celebratory tapdance.

It might be creepy, but since then, Yonghwa had been visiting the music shop everyday for the next five days after his class. His excuse was always the same: he accidentally snapped his guitar string, and he would need a new one, please. Monday, it was the E string. Tuesday, the B string. Wednesday, the A string. Thursday, it was the E string for his other guitar. Friday, it was the G string of his electric guitar. Yeah, no, it was definitely creepy, but it was all Yonghwa could do, because if he faked a bigger, more serious, valid problem, it would cost him much more money, and the fact that he was a broke college student did not help at all. Also, each time Yonghwa came, he always learned a new thing or two about Shinhye, and he wanted to know more.

He found out that Shinhye was twenty one, and she was on a month break from college. She was in her third year of studying Mechanical Engineering, and she lived about an hour away from the music shop. And yes, she did play guitar, although just for fun, because her parents didn’t allow her to pursue music. Her advanced knowedges of mechanics and her love for music got her offered to take over the shop while Minhyuk was busy this week. Yonghwa also found out that Shinhye did not have a boyfriend, because the times when she wasn’t in class, she spent it to do her assignments, and the  guys in her major somehow did not see her as a girl, because there were only, like, seven girls in total.

“In the first year, the guys were staring at us too much. There were very few of us, so we kind of stood out. It was really uncomfortable. It’s either we change how we look to blend in or we need to put up with the stares. But as time goes by, I actually like this style a lot. It’s convenient, and very comfortable.” Shinhye had told Yonghwa once, and it explained the outfits that Shinhye always wore: flanel shirts, loose t-shirts, jeans, sneakers. It also made sense that her hairstyle was so plain and not dyed in flashy colors. These past five days, Yonghwa never even saw her with any make-up on.

And Shinhye asked him things, too. Yonghwa liked to entertain himself by thinking that Shinhye was as curious about him as he was about her, but Shinhye only asked him questions after Yonghwa asked her something. So, it was likely that Shinhye was only being polite, and it was no more than basic courtesy, much to Yonghwa’s disappointment.

Anyway, Yonghwa did tell her that he was twenty two, and was in his last year of college. He told her that he majored in Music, and his concentration was guitar. He lived in the student dorms with a roommate, Lee Jonghyun. Their hometown was Busan, and they couldn’t afford apartments in Seoul. The two of them formed a duet two years ago and had been performing at cafes and bars just for fun. But since about four months ago, they performed every Saturday at a cafe two blocks from the university buildings, for an hour, with nine or ten songs per set, and they were paid quite decently. It was great, because they got to practice, establishing stage presence and earning money at the same time.

When the shop was particularly empty, Yonghwa even vented to Shinhye about how he was stressed out from composing a piece for his last assignment in college, that would probably affect his whole future.

Throughout his story, Shinhye listened avidly, encouraging him with a soft hum or a small nod,  and sometimes she even offered him a tiny, comforting smile that made Yonghwa’s bones melt. And Yonghwa thought it was impossible to fall for someone this fast, but there he was, denifitely falling. And more than anything, Yonghwa wanted Shinhye to break the fall, to make it not painful, to reach out her hands and catch him. It did take him five days, but Yonghwa finally realized that it was time for him to finally man up and take some action.

“Hi, there,” Shinhye greeted him from behind the counter as usual, and Yonghwa flashed her a huge smile. He must have looked stupid, but hey, he was just happy, alright? Give him a break.

“Let me guess,” Shinhye sang, “you snapped a string during your performance today.”

Shinhye looked tired, and it was probably a no wonder, because it was ten minutes before eleven PM, which was closing time. Yonghwa was equally tired, too, but in a great way. He was still basking in adrenaline rush from the successful performance earlier, and he got to see Shinhye’s face afterwards. Talk about being the luckiest man on earth.

“Actually... no,” Yonghwa said, his tone was unusually serious. Shinhye sat up straight, looking at him in concern. “I... I’m here to see you.”

Shinhye fidgeted on her seat, and for some reason refused to meet Yonghwa’s eyes. “Um... why?”

This is it, Jung Yonghwa. You are brave enough to perform in front of dozens of strangers, serenading them with self-composed cheesy love songs. This is nothing. You can do it. With a renewed determination, Yonghwa swallowed past the lump in his throat. “Because today is your last day here, and I can’t let you leave without at least having your number.”

Shinhye lifted her head to meet Yonghwa’s gaze. Her eyes were infuriatingly bright, even more than usual. “W-why?”

“Because,” Yonghwa croaked out. He cleared his throat. “Because I’d like to talk to you again.”

“About guitars?” Shinhye asked softly, she sounded hesitant, and hopeful.

“No.” Yonghwa sighed, lowering his head in shame. “I... I snapped those strings on purpose.”

“...I know.”

Yonghwa snapped his head up. “You knew??”

“Or course I knew.” Shinhye laughed. Yonghwa noticed the edges of her eyes crinkle slightly. He wanted to touch them. “Who snapped a string everyday? Unless you’re a really violent guitar player. And I know you’re not.” She smiled, looking a bit shy. “You’re a gentle person.”

Yonghwa’s heart thumped violently inside his ribcages that he was worried that Shinhye could actually hear it. “Why didn’t you say anything, then?”

Shinhye shrugged. She suddenly seemed to find her nails very fascinating. “Because I don’t want you to stop coming here.”

Yonghwa had guesses, but he needed to ask and make sure, anyway. He wanted to hear it from Shinhye’s mouth. With that voice of hers that he liked very much. “Why?”

Shinhye sighed, as if annoyed that Yonghwa just went ahead and made her say it. “Because I like you.”

Yonghwa desperately wanted to sit down. He suddenly couldn’t feel his legs. “Well... I like you, too.”

“...I know.”

For a few seconds, Yonghwa was paralyzed upon seeing the open affection on Shinhye’s face. But he needed to say something. “So... I do have many questions besides guitar that I’d like to ask you, though...”

Shinhye walked over to the window overlooking the outside, and flipped the ‘OPEN’ sign to ‘CLOSED’. She then walked back to stand in front of Yonghwa, a small smile on her lips. “Yeah? Like what?”

Mostly driven by instinct, Yonghwa put his elbows on the counter to brace his body and leaned closer to her. “Like... are you free next Saturday?”

Shinhye bit her lower lip, seeming to be in a deep thought. A deep thought that only last for three seconds, anyway. “Yes I am.”

Yonghwa smiled. “Alright. Next question is... do you want to meet me next Saturday? Grab a coffee after my performance, or something...”

Shinhye mirrored his smile. “I’d love to.”

“Uhm... and... can I safely assume that we’re a thing now?” Yonghwa scratched the back of his neck nervously. “We’re together now, right?”

Shinhye only looked at him for a few seconds with an expression that Yonghwa couldn’t decipher. But probably it was because he was too busy trying not to dig a hole and hide in it forever. Every second was excruciatingly, painfully slow.

“Yes, we are,” Shinhye finally said. Her hand inched closer to Yonghwa’s that was gripping the edge of the counter. Without hesitation, Yonghwa put his hand on top of hers and linked their fingers together. They mutually leaned closer to each other and their lips timidly met. Yonghwa felt Shinhye gasp against his mouth, and his hands moved on auto-pilot. He cupped Shinhye’s cheek with one hand, and touched Shinhye’s waist with the other. Not moving, just lying there, lightly squeezing. Shinhye then put her hand on the back of Yonghwa’s neck, and inched it upward, fingers tangling with his hair, caressing his scalp gently.

Shinhye let Yonghwa lead the kiss, and he tried to keep it light. He couldn’t lose it here. It was late, they were both tired, and anyone could see through the windows. This wonderful thing between them had just began, anyway, and they had all the time they would need later.

When Yonghwa pulled away, Shinhye’s shy, radiant smile made him feel all tingly inside. If someone came in and told him to wipe the -eating grin on his face, he’d tell them to just deal with it, because the state of his happiness was not optional at the time being, and Yonghwa had a feeling it would stay that way until tomorrow and the many days to come.

END

Notes: I do play guitar but only for fun, so I don't know for sure about the mechanic aspects of it. I asked my brother and had Google help me out a bit >< So... if you find any mistake, please kindly point it out to me and I'll correct it immediately! Thanks for reading! ^__^