Changes - lee donghyuck, haechan

15

"I just got here," Aera spoke into the phone as she pressed the elevator button with her elbow. She heard Yeejin sigh into the phone.

"Have you spoken to him?" The girl rolled her eyes at the question. Sometimes she regretted telling her best friend about the boy. Now she wouldn't stop nagging her about him.

"No, and I won't. I did nothing wrong," she stepped into the empty elevator and pressed the floor she needed to get to.

"He did have a fault but you also keep using the same stupid line. Actually excuses-"

"How is that an excuse?"

"You keep talking about him being the same old rude guy but you are no better,"

"I don't even know why I'm entertaining this conversation right now-"

"Respect your elders!" Aera couldn't help but laugh at the girl. She placed her back on the door and pushed it open. Her laughter instantly dying down when she noticed who was in the studio.

"Yah! Are you still there?"

"Well isn't this a surprise?" The stupid smirk of Park DongSe met the girls as she angrily clutched her phone.

"I'll talk to you later Yeejin. I think this building has a rat infestation," she didn't bother to hear a reply from the girl before she ended the call and maneuvered her way towards her seat. For some reason, it had completely passed her mind that he was supposed to be helping her today.

"I've been called worse," he continued to tune his guitar which laid on his lap.

"And shockingly enough by you," he continued without looking up. Aera annoying rolled her eyes and flipped through the piles of music sheets. She wanted to get this whole process over with.

"I was quite surprised that you were the famous session musician SM hired. I was jealous, if we're being honest," one thing DongSe had was that he always talked and he never seemed to stop. Despite knowing that the girl clearly couldn't stand him he only seemed to enjoy annoying her.

"Okay, so the chorus has the bass playing. You can play it yourself. I'll just work on recording what you play," Aera ignored the smirk he was giving her. His lazy eyes following her as she set up a stand with the music sheets in front of him.

"You should know how this whole thing works," she didn't wait for his confirmation before she started setting up things for the recording. This was her second time recording the music by herself. She hoped she didn't miss anything as she signaled with her fingers a countdown.

"Shouldn't I look over the sheets before you start recording?"

"The recorder likes hearing the practice sometimes as well," he nodded understanding. His fingers placing themselves in the notes he read off the paper before he waiting patiently for her to countdown.

"3....2....1," taking that as his cue. DongSe let his fingers play the notes. Despite her annoyance for the boy she sure as heck enjoyed hearing him play. He wasn't just called the best bass player in Seoul University for no reason.

"Pause it and play it again when I say to," he pointed a finger towards the desk to signal his instructions. Aera reached over and paused the recording. She watched him play around with the notes. His gaze shifting from the music sheets to his guitar.

"I heard about JooWon," he didn't take his gaze away from his guitar as he said it.

"His new girlfriends my ex," Aera looked up surprised at the revelation. Firstly she didn't know JooWon had officially a new girl and that said girl was DongSe's passed one.

"No hard feelings though," he chuckled bitterly. He seemed to be holding on to something he refused to say.

"Why do you say it like that?" Aera prepared herself for something terrible when he looked up to meet her eyes. His lazy gaze faltered a bit when he made eye contact.

"She had been cheating on me for two months with your famous ex-boyfriend," he waited for some sort of heartbroken reaction. Aera could only numbly stare at the guitar in his lap. Her eyes shaking around.

"I-I'll leave this recording. I need to take a breather," she pressed the red glowing button before she quickly rushed out of the room. Her lungs seem to stop supplying air as she moved down the hall. She attempted to allow air in by pounding at her chest. Her vision blurring as the tears laid at the edge of her eyes, the dam waiting to be set free.

Aera has managed to set foot into the elevator as she attempted to escape the building. The walls around her only seem to be caving in. The desperate girl coughed and wheezed at the lack of oxygen.

"Aria!" A frantic voice called out to her. She barely heard it. Her ears appearing to be underwater. The person was quick to crouch beside her and tend to her aid.

"Wha-what's wrong?" she managed to briefly look up at the person through her tears. She made out the face of the person she had seemed to be avoiding for the last couple of days. His messy and faded dyed hair taking up her view of him as he tried to get her to answer.

"I c-can't breath," she squeaked out. It was barely above a whisper but he caught it rather quickly since he quickly took action. He cupped her face in his hands.

"Look at me," the girl didn't react to his demand.

"Aria! Listen,"

"Aera, look at me!" At the sound of her regular name leaving his lips, she met his worrying eyes. If she wasn't hyperventilating she would have been worrying over him calling her Aera.

"That's it, look at me. Focus on my voice. Look at my eyes," she somehow did as he told her. Her eyes shifting between both of his. Eyes dancing to his nose, lips, the moles that decorated his face and neck.

"Good, breath. Come back to me," after some time and more soothing words from the boy she had calmed down.

"Donghyuck?" Said boy let out a sigh of relief before he pulled her cupped face to his chest. His chest vibrating as he let out a small chuckle of relief.

Aera was half confused half-dazed as to what had happened. It took her a few seconds in his embrace for her to quickly regain the memories of what exactly happened. After DongSe's revelation, she suffered a panic attack that Haechan seemed to pull her out of.

"Are you okay?" His soothing voice pulled her back to the present. He had pulled away but still had her face cupped in his hands, his fingers wiping at the loose tears that remained.

"I'm- I don't know," the unsettling feeling that grew in Haechans's stomach every time the girl seemed to be unwell, grew. It somehow broke him to see her lost expression. He wondered if things would have been different if he hadn't been such an ass to her just days before. He could've be there and prevented whatever caused her to be like this.

"Do you want to talk about it?" The boy was hesitant. Half scared half nervous to overstep and trigger anything.

"DongSe," he raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar name.

"He's waiting for me," she attempted to stand up but wobbled a bit. He reached out and steadied her with a grip on her waist. He didn't let go as she pressed the floor button.

"I'm sorry," he starred at the side of her face confused.

"Why are you apologizing?"

"Because I was a bitch-"

"You weren't a bitch. I was the ass. I don't know what came over me. I should be the one apologizing, not you," still in his arms she turned around to face him. She looked up with bloodshot eyes and stared up at him.

"I shouldn't keep mentioning the past. It's rude and immature of me to keep holding you accountable for how things used to be," Haechan couldn't reply before the elevator rang signaling their arrival. She sent him a soft smile just before she stepped out of his arms and exited the elevator leaving him standing. His mind racing at the indescribable feeling that grew in his chest at the sight of her softly smiling at him just before the doors closed.