The Piano and The Past. /Johnny/

Chapter 9

It was Thursday, but from early in the morning, a house was as busy as if it was Saturday night party. A mother put down a plate of fried eggs as the five boys devoured the smell.

"Start eating your breakfast. Don't wait for Johnny hyung, you'll be late." The woman said. The five boys nodded and in a flash picked up their chopsticks.

"Mom! Did you wash my jacket-" Youngho walked down the stairs and was surprised seeing the boys eating so fast. "Slow down. Renjun, you need to chew slowly, remember?" Jisung mocked Renjun for being told off, but Youngho immediately caught him. "And Jisung, you too. Having the same name as our nation's soccer player doesn't mean you have to eat fast."

"I don't remember raising a mother of five boys..." His mother chuckled. "Sit down first. What were you talking about?"

Youngho sat down and caught his breath. "My jacket. The denim one. Did you wash it?" He asked in English.

"I did. But I think it's dry now." She knew that he would go to the laundry rack to get his jacket so she held him to sit down. "Finish your breakfast first. No buts."

The five boys tried hard to hold their laughs. But Jaemin snorted, from trying too hard. Youngho pointed his chopsticks toward him and mouthed, 'You're dead.'

"I saw that. When they're done, wash their dishes. They need to be at school right on time." His mother pressed her hands on both of his shoulders. The five boys had finished their breakfast and left for school.

He sighed. "Okay, mom."

Then his mother was reminded by something. "Ah, I almost forgot."

"What now?" He asked as he ate his fried eggs in one bite.

"Your friend with a Thai accent called... What was his name, hmm... Ren? Ben?"

"You mean Ten."

"Ah, yes, Ten." She scratched her forehead. "He said yesterday your phone died so he called the house and asked about you."

"And?"

"Nothing. I thought you and him are close. I mean, I know you and Taeyong and Yuta were used to be classmates, but I've never heard of a Ten before."

"He's a friend of Doyoung. He just moved here and speaks English. So I think he's more comfortable to talk to me."

"Ah, so that's that. I think he's a nice boy. He tried to speak funny Korean to me but I answered in English, then he talked faster." His mother chuckled and took the empty dishes into the sink. "How's the academy?"

"I don't want to talk about that." He stood up and brought his own dish into the sink. When he started washing, his mother asked him again.

"Don't you want to go back? To play piano again?"

Youngho threw the washing sponge and the dish in his hand, making his mother startled. "I'll wash these later." He left the kitchen and walked upstairs to his room.

--

A piano's keyboard was abruptly pressed. Nara dropped her head on the middle keys, making random sounds stroking the strings. She sighed. "Should I give up?"

She kept her head on the piano for minutes before her phone vibrated. Nayeon called her. Intuitively reached her phone, she picked the call.

'Are you busy?'

"I don't know. Are you?"

'Do you want to eat something? It's ten minutes to 5 pm, your practice time is almost over, right?'

Nara just put the phone on her right ear while she rested her head on her left side. "I don't know if I can go home now. I'm too tired to move."

'That's why I'm here.' There was a knock on her soundproof room. Nara moved her head and checked through the square glass on the door. Nayeon was waving her left hand while her other hand was holding her phone. 'Jja-jann.'

--

"Eat slowly, you will get indigestion." Nayeon poured the boricha into Nara's cup. "What did you have for lunch?"

"Bread and strawberry milk." Nara kept inhaling the noodles into her mouth.

"And that's all?"

She only nodded as her mouth was full.

"You should eat more." Nayeon took another bite as she kept looking at Nara. "Is it that hard recently?"

"About what? Recital?"

"Both recital and....him."

Nara stopped chewing. But then she continued to finish her food, trying to ignore that she didn't hear her sister. "Recital is fine. I just need to master another two songs. But one of them is a duet and my partner is better than I am, so..."

"I believe you can do well in your recital. My concern is-"

"Knock it off." Nara lost her appetite and put down her chopsticks. "I'm trying not to think about him. Too much. I want it to be just about enough."

Nayeon recalled the day Nara cried in her room. She peeked through the door which was left opened a bit. She knew that her sister was not going to be fine. That she was hurting and someone needed to tell her to stop and healed her wounds.

"Nara, I need you not to even think about him. Not for 'just about enough', but completely over him."

"I can't, okay? Do you think if you were to be taken away from me, I would forget you easily? The memories stay, eonni. Everything."

"I can just call you. You're my sister, not my ex."

"But isn't it the same? The point is, I can't forget people easily."

"No, the point is, you just don't want to let him go. Even somehow deep inside you want to, but you just can't. Until when will you-" Nayeon wanted to tell her that Nara needed to stop hurting herself, but she stopped her words. Part of this happened because she forgot which broadcasting station Youngjin was at. Thus making Nara met him once again.

"Until when will I what?" Nara asked. Nayeon just sighed.

"I just wanted to say sorry, that you have to meet him again. That's what I'm trying to tell you. And I want to make sure will it be okay if we keep this drama endorsement thing. If you feel burdened, I can talk to them to withdraw the contract." Nayeon gulped her cup.

"I'm fine. In what way should I say that 'I'm fine' to you so that you will believe in me?"

"I don't know. I will trust you when I trust you. That you're fine. And happy." She smiled at Nara. "Should we go home instead?"

"Okay. You go pay."

"To England, I mean."

Nara rolled her eyes. "Know your place. We both know that we're busy." She chuckled as she stood up.

"But I miss mum and dad." Nayeon spoke english in British accent. "And that field by the beach. I miss random sketching around there and throwing you cold sands."

Nara just sticked her tongue out.