Quiet | BTS ✓

13

"So tell us about yourself, Yoongs!" Hoseok says from the kitchen as he noisily clatters around, grabbing numerous pots and pans from the cupboards.

Yoongi clears his throat, feeling slightly uncomfortable at being the center of attention. "Ah, okay. I'm majoring in instrumental music, like Aria, and I'm in my final year. Um, I'm 22 years old and my birthday is March 9th. I only play piano, but I've been playing it since I was 14."

"Oh, really? You've been playing for a long time then," Hoseok comments, rather muffled since he has a spoon hanging in his mouth as he furrows his eyebrows in concentration.

"Um, do you need any help?" Yoongi asks, smiling.

"No, no, no. I'm all good. I'm used to cooking by myself since that couch potato over there never helps."

Yoongi turns to Aria and she rolls her eyes.

"So you dance?" He asks Hoseok to change the subject before Aria decides to beat someone up.

"I do! I've been dancing my entire life and my ultimate goal is to open up my own dance studio," Hoseok says, grinning. "Right now, I work at my parents' restaurant to pay the bills, but once I graduate, I'm going to buy a small building and transform it into my own little haven."

"Your parents own a restaurant? I'm guessing that's how you know how to cook so well," Yoongi comments and Hoseok nods proudly.

"Aria would honestly starve to death without me," he jokes and Yoongi hears Aria huff in annoyance.

He turns to her and sees her shoot Hoseok a death glare before turning her eyes onto Yoongi and blushing slightly when she realizes that he's looking at her.

"So you can play cello and piano, hmm?" Yoongi asks her, loud enough for Hoseok to hear so he can elaborate further for her if needed.

She nods, a small smile gracing her delicate features.

"She can also play violin," Hoseok brags.

"That's really incredible," Yoongi says in awe. "You're a force of nature, Aria."

Aria blushes again and turns her attention to her hands resting in her lap, trying to avoid Yoongi's gaze.

"Hey," Yoongi says softly, tentatively reaching out to take her hands into his own. "Don't be so shy about it. You should be proud of what your hands can accomplish through music. It's a special gift that you have."

Aria gulps nervously, staring down at their now intertwined hands for a moment before pulling her own hands away from him and quickly standing up from the couch.

She impatiently snaps her fingers at Hoseok, who glances up at her expectantly. She points her finger upwards and he frowns slightly.

"We have a guest. Don't be rude," Hoseok says, but Aria rolls her eyes and ignores him, quickly making her way up the stairs. A moment later, the two men hear a door slam.

"I think I upset her again," Yoongi groans out, slumping into the back of the couch for a moment before standing up and making his way over to the kitchen area and sitting down on a stool at the island in the middle of the space.

"She's not good with compliments," Hoseok says dismissively. "Only your uncle and I have ever heard her play. Well, until now."

"What about those assignments that Mr. Min gives out? She'll have to play for the class in December and a whole auditorium full of people in May," Yoongi points out.

"She took one of his other classes last year, and when those two assignments came up, he made an exception for her and allowed her to play her pieces in private, only for him. And she only did two solo pieces instead of one solo and one duet. But this year, I'm guessing he's pushing her out of her comfort zone," Hoseok explains. "She's just not used to anyone else talking about how she plays. Mr. Min and I have learned a long time ago that she doesn't like it when we talk about it."

"Why would she not like it being talked about? It needs to be talked about, Hoseok. She's incredible," Yoongi says in exasperation, running his hand across his face.

"Maybe it's because to her, singing was her first love. Singing was her passion, her true calling in life. She was completely set in her future career, and she was so content that she had her entire life falling into place exactly where she wanted it to be. And then suddenly, it was all ripped away from her. She lost her entire perfect future that she longed for so dearly. So now that she has found a new love, I think she's scared that if she gives herself to it completely like she did with singing, that it will be ripped away as well, and she will be left with nothing again," Hoseok says as he continues to move around the kitchen preparing dinner.

"And maybe when she hears someone else compliment her about playing, it makes her wish that her parents could hear her play. Maybe she wants to hear them compliment her, especially since they never got to hear this side of her," Hoseok continues, seemingly lost in his own thoughts and speaking more to himself than Yoongi.

"It's like when her parents died, a part of her died as well. The part of her that was open and carefree. The part of her that loved sharing her music with others died with her parents. It's like since her parents can't hear her anymore, she doesn't want anyone else to hear her either," he finishes quietly, staring down into an empty bowl.

"Deep down, she wants people to hear her," Yoongi says. "I can feel it. I can hear it."

"You know, she used to call me Hobi," Hoseok says, a small, sad smile playing on his lips. "All the time. She never used my real name. Not once. And nobody else called me that but her. So when everything happened, and she could no longer speak, I feel like Hobi died with that part of her that died."

"I want to bring that part of her back to life, Hoseok," Yoongi says. "She doesn't deserve to live her life alone in her silence. She's shutting herself away and I really, truly want to bring her out of that darkness she's surrounded herself in. I want to bring her into the light. I know that I don't know her that well, yet I feel like I do know her. I know it sounds crazy, and I know I'm still a stranger to both of you, but her music is... magical. And I think her parents would want her to share her magic with the world instead of hiding it away."

"I agree, Yoongs," Hoseok says, smiling softly at him. "And by the way... you can call me Hobi."