Quiet | BTS ✓

50

"Today is the day," Mr. Min's voice booms from the stage in the auditorium.

His class is all seated in the chairs situated directly in front of the stage as they all nervously glance at each other and their teacher standing above them.

"This solo performance counts for fifty percent of your semester's grade. I'm sure you all have practiced endlessly and I have complete faith in you to showcase your true skills as a musician. As I've said, you will be playing in front of me as well as your classmates, and we will all give each musician our utmost respect and attention. Is that understood?"

All of the students vocalize their assent as Mr. Min smiles warmly down at his students.

Aria and Yoongi are seated in the front row, with Aria's shaking hand enclosed within Yoongi's comforting grip.

He knows how nervous she is to play in front of a group of people for the first time, and he will, as he has always done, provide as much comfort as she will allow while she waits for her turn.

Yoongi won't admit this out loud because he's too focused on calming Aria, but he is anxious. He has only played in front of people one time, and that was when he played in the waiting room of Aria's therapist's office. And to him, it was nowhere near as nerve-wracking as this; when he played in front of those people in the waiting room, he was playing for strangers.

Today, in this auditorium, he will be playing in front of people who know him: people who he will have to interact with after displaying such raw emotions in front of them.

And that makes him anxious.

He is going to have to release that control that he clings on to. He is going to have to let go, and he is terrified that when he lets go, he won't be able to grasp it ever again. Not after he walks off that stage.

Yoongi comes back to his senses and realizes that people have already begun to be called up to the stage to play their solo pieces. He swallows the lump in his throat and holds onto Aria's hand, not only for her comfort, but for his own as well.

The woman on stage ends her violin solo, and everyone gives her a round of applause to show their respect for their fellow musician.

"Min Yoongi," Mr. Min calls and Yoongi's heart skips a beat as he imagines all of the things that could happen after he leaves his heart on the stage.

Aria squeezes his hand gently before letting her fingers slip away from his as he reluctantly gets out of his seat and walks up the stairs to the stage, his feet moving him to the grand piano at center stage.

His slightly shaky hands place the sheet music onto the piano before sitting down on the bench and letting out a slow, steadying breath.

Yoongi smiles to himself as he sees his old friend seemingly come to life as his fingertips touch the keys, and he feels comforted that, truly, he is not alone on this stage.

Not when he has his piano there to walk with him through this.

And with one last deep breath, Yoongi begins to play.

The rich tones of the piano become amplified by playing in such a spacious room built for better sound quality, and even he gets chills on his arms as he hears his piano sing more beautifully and proudly than he's ever heard it.

This gives him confidence; it feels like, to Yoongi, the piano is showing him just how wonderful this moment really is.

So, as Yoongi's fingers glide across the keys of the instrument, he feels the steely grip of self control slip away from his fingers.

He imagines the music becoming a physical representation of his emotions; he can see his sadness dancing across the stage in a periwinkle ballet dress, dark hair flowing in the breeze as she twirls around and around the piano.

He can see his dependence on control slipping off of his tree of life like leaves in autumn, tumbling and swirling around in the air for a moment, trying to find something tangible to latch on to, before giving in to its fate and falling to the ground, decomposing as it's left forgotten in the tangled roots of the tree that the leaves once resided on.

Surrounding him on the ground are daisies of hope blooming beautifully as they come through the ground that was once littered with self doubt.

As the gentle breeze blows around the scene, Yoongi can smell a familiar scent lingering in the air; a scent that reminds him of a girl he once met in a music room.

No matter how many times the dancer in blue tries to crush the daisies beneath her dancing feet, they refuse to crumble.

And as the daisies grow and flourish, the dancer in blue becomes engulfed in the sweetest, purest light as she herself turns into a beautiful girl with dark blonde hair and light blue eyes, wearing a dress made of the light that transformed her. She moves through the daisies, no longer dancing, and stopping every once in a while to take in their beauty and their intoxicating scent.

The leaves of the overbearing need for control become dust under the girl's feet as she walks to the tree of life. As she moves closer and closer, Yoongi hears his song emitting from the girl's mouth in the form of a sweet, clear voice as she hums each note with the most gentle care in the world, as if each note she hums is as precious as the light she was born from.

The tree, once bare after shedding the weight of the control it once was weighed down by, is now blooming fresh, green leaves and budding white flowers nearly as bright as the girl herself.

His life, much like this tree, has been given a new beginning. It has been given a second chance.

What is left of his sadness and heartache is nothing but dust blowing away in the breeze of utter bliss.

He no longer holds on to the control. He no longer holds on to the self doubt. He no longer holds on to the sadness.

Now he has hope. Now he has a new beginning.

And with that, the scene fades away slowly, the daisies nearly twinkling in the light being given off by the girl with light blue eyes who sang his song with so much genuine love in her eyes.

The last thing he sees is the girl surrounded by the light, smiling softly at Yoongi as she fades away, and his fingers slip away from the keys of the piano as the piece ends.