Heart Strings

Chapter 3

The next day was spent running around and getting last minute school supplies before they had to get ready for the party. Geoun already had everything she needed, so she decided to go and get in some last minute practice.

Around 12 o'clock, Geoun got dressed and grabbed a granola bar on her way out. She bid her roommates goodbye and grabbed her violin and music and left. She got on the shuttle that would take her to the conservatory where the practice rooms were. The driver greeted her with a smile and she took a seat in the middle, placing her violin in the seat next to her. About 5 minutes went by and the shuttle stopped in front of the conservatory. Geoun thanked the driver and got off, heading inside the large brick building.

She entered the lobby and walked up the stairs to the second level where the individual practice rooms were. After scanning her card to get into a room, she set down her case and unpacked. Everything was set up and Geoun turned to the piano that was in there to tune her violin. When she was finally ready to start playing, Geoun put her phone on silent and stuck it in her case then started to warm up with some scales and arpeggios before moving on to memorized repertoire. Once she felt completely warmed up, Geoun took out the concerto she was working on and set a metronome at a moderate tempo before she started playing.

After running through the piece a few times and feeling comfortable, she increased the speed of the metronome and played through a few more times. She repeated this process until she was playing the piece at the correct tempo, then began to play without looking at her music - it was supposed to be memorized anyhow.

Once she could play the first page up to tempo and without looking, she decided to stop. Geoun took her phone out of her violin case and cleaned off her violin before securing it in her case then she loosened her bow and put it away. After everything was put away, she sat on the piano bench and checked her phone, her eyes widening when she saw the time.

"Holy shit I've been here for four hours."

She saw multiple texts from her roommates and immediately opened them.

Rose: Hey girl! We were wanting to leave around 4 or 5 to go get ready for the party, just let us know when you're headed back. 12:57

Lisa: Hihi! So we were just wondering when you'd be back. We're going to try and leave around 4 or 5. Okay, happy practicing! 2:16

Chungha: Hey babe, is everything okay? Lisa and Rose are worried since you haven't answered. We were going to try and leave in an hour-ish. Just let us know when you're done? 3:36

Geoun felt bad for not seeing their texts until now, so she sent a quick apology and let them know she was headed back. After putting away her music and grabbing her case, Geoun exited the room and hurried down the hall to the stairs. But she was so focused on getting back to the dorm that she didn't see the person walking towards her until they had already collided and she was on the ground looking at him.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying any attention and-" Geoun paused when she saw who it was. "Chan?"

"Uh. Hi. Um," he reached his hand out to help Geoun stand up and when she took it, a light shade of pink crossed his face. When she was finally standing up in front of him, an awkward silence settled between them.

"Um, thanks. And sorry again, I'm in a hurry to get back to the dorm because, wait. Are you going to the party tonight?" Geoun looked at Chan and raised her eyebrows.

"Mhm. My roommates are dragging me. But I don't mind, I'll probably just get a drink and then go chill in a corner."

"Oh nice. Yeah my roommates convinced me last night," Geoun let out a small chuckle. "Well I'd better get going, we're supposed to start getting ready. I'll see you later!" Geoun waved goodbye as she made her way down the stairs, completely missing the small smile on Chan's face as he headed into a practice room.