Paganini's Puppet | Ryeji

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Yeji POV
I ended the recording and thanked my piano accompanist before walking off the stage.

"That sounded AMAZING! You're for sure submitting that, right??" My girlfriend asked as I approached her.

"Haha...well I don't want to make my accompanist do that all again, so I guess."

"Great!!! Application deadlines are almost here, anyway; it's best to just submit the recordings you have to the music schools."

"Okay, okay. I'll submit them later today."

"Hehe, I'll submit mine too."

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Ryujin and I had applied to the same schools. The end goal was to go to a top music school and achieve our dreams together as a couple...now that Lia isn't here to fulfill my past dreams with her.

Senior year went by like a breeze. No more drama, I began hanging out with Ryujin and her friends, and we were both still top of our class.

Life was officially taking a turn for the better. I'd been going to weekly appointments to see my therapist, and I could feel my mental well-being improving. I mustered up the courage to talk about the grief I was going through, and learned to accept reality. Life only moves on, and death is always inevitable. Part of me will always feel a slight pang in my heart for not being able to do anything about Lia's death...but I learned that I shouldn't blame myself for what happened. I learned to come to terms with her passing, knowing that constant grief would only hinder my life.

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"Babe, are you ready to check your results?" Ryujin asked.

I sighed. "Okay, let's open them together."

We both pulled out our phones and began opening our results to the musics schools we applied to.

"Save the best ones for last?" She asked.

"Sure."

It came as no surprise to me seeing straight acceptance letters. Not one rejection.

"Ryujin, I'm going to open my Julliard and Curtis results now..."

"Okay, let me open mine as well."

I took a deep breath in and out, then proceeded to open my letter to Julliard.

The word "Congratulations" was all I needed to read.

"EEEEE!!! I got into Julliard!!!!" I squealed with a bright smile.

I turned to see my girlfriend smiling. "Hehe, I got in as well!"

"AHHH! Oh my god, this is amazing!" That was an understatement. I was overly ecstatic.

"Okay, okay. Let's check our last result; we still have to see if we got into Curtis Institute."

"Come on Ryujin, you know we both probably got rejected."

"Too soon to say, come on, check!!"

"Okay, fine." I rolled my eyes while smiling at her encouragement.

We both opened out results at the same time.

My heart skipped a beat when I read the letter. With dilated pupils, I re-scanned it at least 3 times, making sure I wasn't imagining the words in front of me.

"Ah, guess you were right...I didn't get in. It's okay, we still get to go to Julliard together!" Ryujin's statement made me snap back to reality.

"B-babe."

She turned her attention to me after hearing me stutter.

"What?" She questioned, waiting for me to continue.

"I got into Curtis..."

I watched as her eyes widened.

"T-that's great! Wow...I'm so happy for you, Yeji."

She's probably just saying that, because deep down, I know she wants me to go to Julliard with her.

"Ryujin, should I...go there?"

I should be happy, overjoyed, but I felt uncertainty and inconclusiveness more than anything. Maybe my brain just hadn't processed this reality yet. But, it'd been my dream to go to Curtis since I was a child, and now that I've finally been offered a spot, I feel empty.

"I- I mean...I thought we were going to go to the same school together...babe." Ryujin's eyes shot down with a hint of disappointment.

"I know...but this has always been my dream school. Don't you want me to go?"

She didn't answer.

"Babe?"

"What about us? We were supposed to grow successful together. How can we be in a relationship if we're not even going to the same school?" She looked mad and spoke in a rather passive aggressive tone.

"W-we can make this work. Our schools would only be two hours away from each other and we can visit each other during breaks. Long-distance relationships can work, Ryujin."

"Don't you think you're being selfish? We can both just go to Julliard together. It's considered the best music school in the world. Why turn it down? You're just going to make our relationship complicated."

"Selfish? You knew this was my dream school! Isn't it selfish of you to insist I go to another school because you couldn't get into the same school as me? I told you, we can make our relationship work. What's your problem?!"

She scoffed. "I can't believe you, Yeji."

"What?!"

"I should go. I can't deal with this right now."

"Ryujin!"

"Look, if you choose Curtis, that means you're choosing your dream school over our relationship. I want you to be happy, really, but would going to Julliard make you any less happy than going to Curtis? Because you choosing Curtis would make me much less happy. Please... at least consider our relationship."

"I am! We can make it work, you just need to put in the effort!"

"Yeji...I think you need more time to come to the right decision. Call me when you have a clear answer. I'm going home."

"No, Ryujin...babe."

"I'll see you...some other time. Bye."

She walked out the front door with her head down.

This was supposed to be a moment of pure joy and happiness after years of hard work paying off, yet all I felt was dejection.

(A/N: okay...next chapter will be the last chapter 🥲)