Fragile | Seonghwa

10

You stretch your arms after the movie, unfazed by the vivid gore or the "scary" scenes. You know your best friend has the same opinion on horror movies as you, as he's currently asleep beside you. You try to get up without disturbing him, but that seems impossible since his heavy head is resting on your shoulder. You didn't feel scared by horror movies, but you're still baffled by your friend who can sleep through one.

You quietly whisper, afraid to startle him. "Yunho, the movie's over"

A groan escapes his mouth and he stirs slightly. You sigh, not wanting to do what you're about to do next. You abruptly hop to the side, causing Yunho's head to fall quickly. Laughter erupts from within you until warm tears start forming in your eyes at his face while he rubs his temple where he hit it off the side of the sofa. 

That was so worth it.

You point at the credits rolling on your TV screen, without uttering a word. Yunho stares at the screen for a few seconds, trying to process something in his head while you simply watch him and his messy hair with amusement.

Something suddenly lights up on Yunho's face and he jumps up while glancing at his watch. "It's 5:13! Get ready, it's piano time soon!" he evily rubs his hands together. Waves of panic overcome you as you frantically try to think of a piece to play for Seonghwa-

For Seonghwa?

You quickly realise that you seem to only care about what Seonghwa thinks but you don't know why. Again, you brush off the thought while you flick through pages and pages of sheet music.

Something sad like Clair de Lune by Debussy? No, you don't want to ruin the mood. Maybe Maple Leaf Rag by Joplin? No, you don't want to something too lively. What about something well known like Für Elise by Beethoven? No, you don't want to be boring.

You shake your head at your thoughts as you continue you search.

"Just play your favourite piece, it's okay" you hear a voice behind you. You played piano for Yunho a lot growing up, he'd always find it calming to listen to you after having a tough time at home. Your favourite piece also ended up growing on him and finding a meaningful place in his heart. It reminded him of all the peaceful times in between chaos, just like it did for you.

"Are you sure they'll like it?" you worriedly ask. "They'll love it"

You fish out a piece in particular, which held so much meaning to you and your best friend. You read the title.

Arabesque No. 1 by Debussy.

"No one's here, see? I told you no ones cares" You ramble on, pacing back and forth in the empty practice room. Well, empty except for you, Yunho and an expensive piano in the middle. Yunho had managed to book this room out for half an hour for you behind your back.

"Relax, it's only 5:50 so they're probably on their way" Yunho rolls his eyes, growing slightly annoyed by your continuous complaining for the past ten minutes.

Your mind keeps wandering to Seonghwa. Will he like it? What if he finds it boring? What if he laughs at me? What if-

"Hey" Your thoughts are interrupted by a voice that you're too familiar with. "Seonghwa you're here!" Yunho jumps out of his seat, grateful for the presence of someone else, earning his ears a break from your nervous ranting. 

You suddenly stop in your tracks and try to calm down. "You came" you smile, feeling relieved. "Of course I did" he returns the smile. But this time there was no hint of mischief in it. Suddenly something in him changes and his smile disappears as quick as it came. He becomes cold again, before turning to his chair. What's his problem? You think to yourself, left standing in confusion.

"It's still 5:59 so we're technically not late, right?" Jongho storms into the room with Hongjoong shuffling in behind. A few seconds later Mingi tumbles in as well, clearly in a rush to make it on time. "Of course not! Y/n, take your place" Yunho ushers you and you remember why you were mad at him in the first place. You notice Yunho getting more excited beside you, obviously from Mingi's presence.

The other boys take a seat at the side of the room, anticipating what's to come. You've been playing piano for a very long time now but you still feel afraid of making a mistake. "I know you'll do great, just relax!" Yunho's voice instantly calms you down. That's right, I just need to be confident for once and everything will fall into place, you think to yourself for further reassurance. You try to ignore Seonghwa's piercing eyes on you as you mentally prepare yourself.

You wipe your hands on your jeans and take a deep breath. Focusing all of your attention to the piano, you finally begin. The sweet melody smoothly drifts out of the piano, quickly filling up the whole room. You grow calmer and calmer at the soft tune being played by your fingertips, and you eventually let the music take you away.

As soon as your performance comes to a satisfying end, the room is filled with applause instead of music. "You're so good!" Jongho brightly exclaims and you mutter a thanks, your cheeks slowly tinting a delicate pink colour. Yunho gives you a rough pat on the back and Hongjoong also throws in his words of encouragement. You can't help but notice Seonghwa in the midst of this though.

He stays standing in his spot with a straight face but you can see the tips of his ears glowing. You do admit that the room has grown to become very hot so you don't think about it too hard. You just feel a bit disappointed that he's being cold to you again. 

Yunho notices the tension between you and Seonghwa and decides to try and help. 

"Wait what? Mingi, you need water? That's ok, Y/n we're just going to the store, see you at the apartment!" Yunho blurts out. You notice him nudge Hongjoong as well. "Oh yeah, Jongho and I have a lot of homework too so we should leave as well. You're really good at piano by the way!" he also blurts out before running after Yunho and Mingi, Jongho stumbling behind while trying to keep up.

Yunho purposely did this to make sure you'd be alone with Seonghwa but rather than feeling grateful you feel dread. You both awkwardly stand in place and you don't dare lift your eyes.

"It's getting dark outside, I'll walk you home"