The Piano and The Past. /Johnny/

Chapter 21

"What were you doing?" Nara asked Youngho, who was busy slurping his ramen.

"Eating." He drank the broth.

"No. I mean, earlier. At my place. Why did you come?"

"A hunch." He had a flashback of an hour earlier when Doyoung called him saying that Nara was not herself, so he decided to come visit her place. But knowing Youngjin was there, he wanted to take her away from him.

"Thanks." She said softly. "For taking me away."

"I can't hear you." He teased her.

"Thanks." She said louder.

"Speak closer, I can't hear you well, I think I'm deaf." He teased her because she rarely thanked him. He knew she would think of it as a joke.

But Nara did come closer and said loudly to his ear. "Thank. You."

Youngho was taken aback and moved his head backward. "What was that?"

"You said I need to-" She realised that he was joking earlier. "Ah, whatever. I'm ruined already. Go tease me all you want."

"Can I?"

"Wait, I didn't mean it that way. I mean- right, whatever." She couldn't even think straight and drank her juice again.

"Eugh, how cute." He softly flicked her forehead.

"Can't you find a cuter way to do that? It hurts." Nara held her forehead. It wasn't hurt, but she expected something normal. That she had tried to open her heart for him.

"Like what?" His eyes rolled here and there, thinking. "Like this?" He squished her cheeks with both of his hands. "Aiguuu how cute-"

The closeness of their faces made him stopped talking. His hand were still on her cheeks. Briefly took a glance at her lips, she had something in mind.

He pecked her lips for a short moment. Then sat back again. Nara felt her face heated by the short kiss.

"There. Removing traces of that MBC guy. Phase three done." He joked as if nothing big happened.

"Huh? This is confusing. Phase three?"

He nodded. "Phase one was interrupting you that night. When I first threw you the helmet. Phase two was stopping you from seeing him. And this is phase three. Removing the traces." He giggled. "Neat, isn't it?"

"Am I a civil war or something?"

"More or less." He smiled. "Stop thinking so much."

"Okay, I'll try. But don't randomly kiss me like that."

"You don't know how much I have restrained myself not to do that." He said in a small voice, almost like a whisper.

"What?"

"Let's go home. I'm full now."

--

The next weeks were filled with cheerful days for Nara. She spent more times with Youngho, though he would always change topics when she talked about her piano lessons. She didn't mind, as long as he was happy suppressing that bad memory, she would not bother him.

Boram had her rehearsal at the auditorium today, so Nara waited for her outside. She peeped her from the small creek of the door.

"Ah, I can't hear anything. She must be good. She has to be." She said to herself.

"Who are you peeping?" Doyoung's voice surprised her. "A rehearsal?"

"Yes, my friend Boram. She played violin."