Paganini's Puppet | Ryeji

Dead

Yeji POV
The school year had finally ended. My only plans for the summer were to practice for my college auditions. I stood in my living room while Ryujin sat on the couch, staring at me while I fixed my sheet music over the music stand.

"Hehe...I'm excited to hear you play." She said with a wide grin on her face.

"Ahhh I don't even sound that great."

"Oh shut up. You always sound great! Let's hear the Paganini."

I sighed. "Okay...don't judge me too hard, babe."

Ryujin POV
I watched as my girlfriend picked up her violin and began playing.

Her start wasn't very strong. A few notes were clearly off and the runs were not as clean as they could have been, neither were her bowings. She rushed and dragged in different parts.

I could see that she wasn't in full control.

Once she finished playing, a frown formed over her face.

"Ugh...that wasn't very good."

"Awww...come on. You just need more practice."

"Ryujin...I've practiced this piece for months. It's only 3 minutes long and I can't even play it right," she whined.

"Aw. Hey. I'd say you just need to practice the runs slowly with a tuner and gradually pick up the speed. As for the saltando bowings...they were a bit uneven. Practice that part with a metronome and you'll nail it." I encouraged her but she ended up heaving out a sigh.

"The reason why I'm messing those up is because I'm nervous...not because I didn't practice. Trust me...I practiced those parts the way you suggested." She said with a disappointed tone.

"Why are you nervous, babe? It's just me you're playing in front of."

"I know...I just get nervous playing in front of anyone because...you know...anxiety."

"...oh. Well you don't seem nervous whenever you're performing on stage...?" I raised a brow at her.

"That's because of those pills..."

Right...

"Yeji...maybe it's time to find other forms of treatment? I know it doesn't sound fun...but maybe therapy could help better? You can't rely on your pills forever..."

She sighed. "It's just a big time commitment that I don't know if I'm willing to take."

"I understand. Babe...if you want...I can come to the sessions with you? I'll be here, whenever you need."

Her eyes gleamed. "Really? You'd do that?"

I smiled. "Of course. Anything for you."

She placed her violin down and got on top of me, hugging me with a cute smile on her face.

"Hehe...I thought you were going to play your violin for me?"

"Hmm...let's cuddle instead," she said while snuggling in my arms.

"Okayyy." I laid down on my back with her on top of me and turned on the TV.

"What show do you want to watch?" I asked her as I scrolled through the different channels.

"Hmm...just keep scrolling until something interesting pops up."

I continued to click the remote, skipping through tens on channels until-

"WAIT! GO BACK!"

"Wh-

She took the remote out of my hand and quickly switched back to the previous channel.

"Haha, why so impatient babe-

"BREAKING NEWS! PRODIGY PIANIST AND HEIR TO MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR CORPORATION, CHOI LIA, DECLARED DEAD."

My eyes widened as my mouth went agape. Yeji got off of me and I saw how tear drops were already forming in her own eyes.

"N-no way. T-there's no way," she muttered.

"B-

This...this has to be a mistake!" Yeji cried.

I watched as she pulled out her phone and dialed Lia's number before placing the phone to her ear.

"FUCK! Why isn't she picking up?!"

"B-babe..."

"I'm texting her. What the hell is going on?!?"

"...vacation...private jet...crashed in water...pilot found alive...body yet to be recovered..."

I heard segments of the news as the anchor continued talking.

"Babe...her body hasn't been found yet."

"This doesn't make sense! No. She was on the phone calling me just yesterday! Th- there's no way she's dead!"

I went to place my arms around my girlfriend but she shot up.

"Babe-

"I need to go. There's no way this is true. Lia...she...she's not dead."

"Where are you going??" I asked as I watched her rush to the front door.

"Lia's place! I'll come to your apartment later, babe. I need to go." She slammed the door shut behind her.

Time skip
I waited in my apartment for hours. It was already 9:00 p.m. and Yeji hadn't arrived yet. I know she must be distressed...losing her best friend so suddenly. I tried texting and calling her, but she didn't pick up.

It's late and I'm sure she's mourning right now. I'll just drive to her place and check up on her in the morning.

(A/N: sorry for the short chapter. My brain is dead atm.)