piano girl (이희승) ✔️

// 1

- hwang eunji

Hwang Eunji POV

"C'mon, Eunji-ah."

I look up from my piano, and stare at my twin brother.

Hyunjin's always been better than me, even if he doesn't want to admit it. I know it, he knows it, everyone knows it.

"What, Hyunjin? What do you want?" I ask, turning back to the keys and placing my right hand on middle C.

"I need you to go outside." Hyunjin begs, wrapping his arms across his chest. I freeze and tighten up.

"N-no." I stutter, and begin to play a self-composed piece with my right hand.

Hyunjin puts a hand on my simple keyboard. "It's such a nice day out."

I shake my head again. "That's even worse."

"I'll come with you, okay? And JeongMi will meet us at the park." He says.

I scrunch my facial features. "Fine."

My social anxiety has always said 'no' to that kind of shit. Hyunjin grasps my hand as we take a step out into the sunlight.

"See?" He whispers. "There's no one out here right now."

I take a shaky breath and start walking. After seeing nobody for a few minutes, I begin to relax.

"How you holding up?" Hyunjin asks. I nod.

"Alright." I say, looking up at the world. It's been a few days since I've even been outside. "Uh, where's Miyeong and Jeongin?"

"Right here!" A voice squeals, tackling me from my side. I yelp, tightening my grip on Hyunjin's hand.

"Let go of her, Mi. Don't scare her." Another voice says, prying the girl off of me. I inhale shakily and look at the two.

My best friends, Moon Miyeong and Yang Jeongin, her boyfriend. They've always been there for me, but occasionally Miyeong tosses me over the edge.

Hyunjin glares softly at the girl. "Don't do that, Mi."

"Sorry." Miyeong says. She chuckles sheepishly. "Classic ENFP-T!" She says, clapping her hands. I nod with a smile.

"It's okay." I take her hand with my right, and keep walking. I stay quiet as I watch the other three talk about their day.

"Keep quiet and listen, Eunji. Maybe you could learn from your brother by keeping quiet." My mother always said.

And I tried. I always kept quiet and listened to my brother talk. I tried to imitate his personality, his facial features, his speech.

But of course it didn't work. I could never bring myself to talk in front of crowds like him, or to make new friends off the bat like he did. It brought me to tears just thinking about talking to someone I didn't know.

"Your mother wouldn't understand what you're going through, Eunji." My father told me. "Don't listen to any of that shit she tells you."

My father understood what I was going through. He knew what it was like to have social anxiety. His never went away.

"Hey, Eunji." Jeongin says, tapping my shoulder. I jump slightly.

"Yeah?" I say, blinking away the shadow of thoughts.

 I see Hyunjin and Miyeong chasing each other on the playground. Jeongin follows my gaze to the two screaming.

"Did you forget that my brother's gay?" I ask with a smile, and Jeongin laughs.

"For a moment, yeah."

We sit together on a bench, watching Hyunjin do a cartwheel on the mulch and falls down with a groan.

"Fuck!" He yells, and Miyeong cackles.

"How's your anxiety?" Jeongin asks, staring at his girlfriend help up my brother.

"I would lie to you and say it's getting better, but I know it's not." I say, picking at my nails. "Hyunjin practically dragged me out here."

Jeongin laughs. "Has he got a boyfriend yet?"

"Nah. But he's crushing on Lee Felix."

He whistles. "Damn. You know he's Bi, right? He has a chance."

I gasp. "Really? That's great, Hyunjin won't have to cry! You know how many straight guys he's fallen for?"

Jeongin laughs, doubling over. Once he's recovered, he looks at me. "You know, Eunji, I wish you were like this around everyone. Not just around me, Miyeong, or your brother."

"Stop it, Jeongin."

"I'm serious!" His eyes widen. "You're so fun to be around. And I want other people to be able to have the same experience when they're around you."

My face flushes. "Stop."

"Stop what?" Miyeong asks, flouncing over to us. Hyunjin follows shortly, hobbling with woodchips in his hair.

"I was just telling her that she should be like this around other people." Jeongin says, and Hyunjin nods eagerly.

"Preach." Miyeong says, sitting in front of us.

I scowl at them. "Guys, stop it. Please. You know it's not that easy."

Hyunjin sighs, sitting next to me and putting his arm around my shoulders. "Sorry, Eunji-ah."

My lips tighten. "Yeah. It's fine."

Miyeong pouts at the sight of me sulking. "Stop ittt, Eunji. You're making me sad."

"I'm not even doing anything?" I say with a small smile. This girl never fails to make me smile.

"You look so saddd!" She complains, leaning into her boyfriend's knees.

"You suck, Mi."

"Thanks." She says sarcastically, and turns to Jeongin.

Hyunjin pats my head. "You know I want the best for you, okay?"

"Ew, don't be my boyfriend." I say, leaning away from him.

He sticks his tongue out. "I'm literally gay."

I laugh and lean on his shoulder. "I feel like you forget that I'm older than you."

"Uh, by like, three minutes!" He protests, and I shrug.

"Whatever."

"Still, Eunji." He says, and I tense. "Like Jeongin-ah said, you're literally so fun to be around. I just want other people to see you the same way I see you."

I groan in disgust. "Ohhmygod, you're literally giving me SWEET HOME ALABAMA vibes."

"Ew!" He exclaims, pushing me away. I laugh and swat his arm away.

"I'm just fucking with you." I say, and Hyunjin rolls his eyes.

"You see what I mean?" He says, bringing up his case once more. "You're so fun! Hey, I could introduce you to someone."

"Fuck no."

"His name is Lee Heeseung-"

I stand up. "Nope!"

"He's cool! He has perfect pitch and loves singing-"

"Hyunjin, stop it."

"C'mon! You two could connect!"

"Ending this here, Hyunjin."

"Please? Give him a chance!"

"Ending this conversation now."

Hyunjin scowls. "I'm still going to introduce you two."

        ___________