Quiet | BTS ✓

11

After a long, busy day filled with classes, Yoongi finally walks into his last class of the day. Immediately, he spots Aria seated in her usual seat, but this time, she's not alone. The black-haired man that asked her out the first day of class is seated next to her in the seat Yoongi has been sitting in all week.

Aria looks annoyed as the man speaks animatedly to her, grinning like a madman and laughing at whatever he's saying to her. She doesn't seem to find him the least bit funny or amusing as she continues to try to ignore him.

Yoongi walks to the back of the room and Aria's eyes move to lock onto his, her annoyed gaze shifting into one of relief.

"Hey Aria," Yoongi says, sending her a small smile before turning his attention to the man in his seat. "I'm sorry. I never caught your name."

"Because I never told you," he scoffs as he keeps his eyes on Aria. "I was just telling my friend here that I asked around about that 'boyfriend' of hers, and it turns out that the two of them are just friends! Can you believe that dancer lied about being this hot chick's boyfriend?"

Aria rolls her eyes, but continues to ignore his presence as the man continues to ramble on.

"Anyways, I was just telling her about the date that I'm going to take her on," he exclaims.

"You won't be taking her on a date, pal," Yoongi says calmly as he crosses his arms across his chest.

"Oh? And why not?" he asks tauntingly, smirking as he runs a hand through his greasy black hair.

"Because she deserves someone who sees her as more than a 'hot chick'," Yoongi responds coolly. "And one more thing: she isn't your friend. She's my friend, and I'm fairly certain she finds you just as repulsive as I do. Now if you would please remove yourself from my seat."

"Whatever, bro. I have plenty of girls lining up to hook up with me," he scoffs, standing up. "Your loss, hot stuff."

Aria scrunches her nose up in disgust as he walks away, bumping shoulders with Yoongi as he passes by. Yoongi rolls his eyes at the immaturity in the grown man before sitting down next to Aria and letting his backpack fall to the floor next to him.

Aria leans over, letting her shoulder gently hit his.

"You're welcome," Yoongi says, smiling at the unspoken thanks.

Aria smiles back shyly before turning back to the notebook on her desk.

"More personal stuff?" Yoongi asks, raising an eyebrow.

She nods while she begins to write in it again, and Yoongi looks away to protect her privacy.

Mr. Min comes in and clears his throat loudly, causing the students in his class to cease their idle conversations.

"I have an assignment for you all. What I want from you is to compose and perform a piece for me. It will be performed on Monday and it will be only for me to hear, unlike the piece due in December which will be played for the entire class. Anyways, for this piece, I want the theme to be one thing: loss. I want to hear some form of loss in your piece. Whether it be the loss of a person, of an object, or even of a feeling. The grade you receive will be based on how well you portray the specific loss you choose to play about and how well you can execute it on whichever instrument you choose to utilize. Please remember to continue to work on your pieces for December and May, and also remember that I would like the name of your partner by this Friday, which is in two days' time," Mr. Min says as he seats himself down at his desk.

The class continues after Mr. Min's announcement and he begins his daily lesson as the students listen attentively and take notes. Aria has closed the notebook from earlier and now has another one open, intently watching Mr. Min and only turning away from him when she looks down at her notebook to take notes, her textbook sprawled open underneath her notes.

Yoongi's desk is set up in a similar fashion, his textbook open while he messily writes down notes from his uncle's lecture. He tries to listen as intently as he can, but the gears in his head are turning as he thinks about this latest assignment.

To compose and perform a piece about loss.

Aria has endured tremendous loss. The loss of her parents, the people who gave her life. The people who cheered her on and supported her in the dream of becoming a singer. She also lost the ability to do what she loved to do. She lost her voice, silencing her forever. Silencing her from ever singing another note. She lost her parents and she lost her first true passion.

But what has Yoongi lost? What has he truly completely lost?

He lost his parents, but not in the same way Aria lost hers. His parents willingly left his life while her parents were ripped away from their daughter.

And honestly, he doesn't miss his parents. He was never a son to them. He was only a business opportunity. His younger brother was exactly like the friends who so easily abandoned him when he chose music; his younger brother loved the idea of having it all handed to him without needing to lift a finger.

No, the loss he wants to portray has nothing to do with his parents.

He wants to play about the loss of himself. He lost himself when he chose music in the beginning. He thought he didn't deserve to be happy because he chose himself in that moment. He left his uncle behind as well as the dream of going to the very school he is enrolled in now.

He let himself wither away into nearly nothing. While he chose music in that moment, he didn't ever fully give himself to it. He shut himself away, slowly suffocating himself as he became isolated and broken. Yes, he was learning to play music like he always wanted to do, but it was like he held the music away at arm's length, never letting it become one with him. He didn't feel like he deserved the music. The music was too good for him, too pure.

He held himself back, alone and so sure that he would never feel the true happiness he so desperately wanted. He knew he could find it within the music, but he thought he didn't deserve to find it. Not after everything he had done to his family.

He doesn't miss his parents, but he is sorry for not being the perfect son that they so desperately wanted. He is sorry to his little brother for leaving everything to fall solely on his shoulders. He is sorry that he abandoned his uncle after everything he had done for Yoongi. He is sorry that though he chose the music, he didn't fully give himself to it.

He lost himself in those three years. He nearly lost everything.