Paganini's Puppet | Ryeji

FIN

Third Person POV
After 3 painfully long days of deliberating, the violinist had made her decision. It should've come easier to her, as it had been her ideal choice all along, but of course her girlfriend meant more than anything else in the world to her. She'd taken the time to process their last interaction with one another, believing she was never in the wrong. It was strikingly clear to the both of them what she wanted from the start.

"I...I'm going to Curtis. I'm sorry, Ryujin."

The tense pause between the phone line caused the violinist's anxiety to shoot up. She knew her girlfriend would be unhappy with her decision, mad even.

She heard a deep sigh on the other side.

"Okay...I understand."

The response took the taller girl by surprise, confused at the calm composure of her lover. Little did she know, the cellist had also thought over their last interaction, more so, "overthought it," coming to the conclusion that she herself was in the wrong. After all, her girlfriend's happiness came first, whether it be in a long distance relationship or by each other's side, Yeji's happiness was what mattered most to her.

"You're not mad?"

"...I guess I knew you'd pick Curtis. It's okay...I love you, Yeji. I want you to be happy."

The cat-eyed girl's mouth went agape, shocked at how easily her partner let those 3 words fly out of her mouth.

The slight pause caused a small panic in the other's mind, worried she'd made a mistake in letting the words out."Babe?" She questioned.

The endearment snapped Yeji's attention back to her concerned lover. "AHHH! I love you too!!! I'm coming over."

She hung up the phone, overjoyed by how understanding her girlfriend turned out to be, but more so by the confirmation of their love for one another.

But, as fate would have it, life wouldn't always be sunshine and rainbows. Lovers grow apart, one way or another.

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Ryujin POV
"Heyyyy!!! It looks like you're my roommate for the year!" A jubilant voice caught my attention.

I placed my moving box down and glanced over to the door, spotting a girl who looked around my height with short, black hair.

"Hi, I'm Ryujin," I introduced myself.

"I'm Eunbi," the girl responded.

I offered her a smile and began chatting with her in our dorm. She was easy to talk to, and we effortlessly clicked. At least I'd have nice company at this conservatory. I was afraid of being lonely, not having my girlfriend with me.

Yeji chose to go to Curtis Institute. I don't blame her. She'd worked her whole life to go there. I'm just a little upset that we can't see each other everyday when we could have had she chosen Julliard. But that doesn't matter anymore. We agreed to try to make our relationship work. We'd call each other over the weekends and text as often as possible. It just didn't feel the same as before. It felt...incomplete, lacking.

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Yeji POV
"Hi, I'm Yeji. You must be my roommate, nice to meet you," I introduced myself to the girl standing by our dorm's doorway.

"Hi, I'm Minju." She offered a shy smile.

"Need help unpacking?" I asked.

"That'd be nice..haha."