Piano Keys | Kim Taehyung | ✓

‖ Andante ‖

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Andante: (Italian- means 'walking') Neither too fast, nor too slow-It means that the music should be played at a 'walking pace'.  

After the sudden crescendo of love, andante is recommended- a moderate pace in a relationship is a must as it should progress neither too fast nor too slow.

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THE PAST, DAEGU

Spring came after winter, heralding the new academic year of our middle school. We were now in the senior most class of middle school, and also in our early teens.

Looking back, fourteen year old me was quite stupid and cheesy and totally in love with Iseul but when was I not? It's just that that year we knew that we were no longer best friends but something more.

"Iseul-ah!" 

I waved at her and she smiled at me. We were walking to school together as usual and I had picked her up from her house.

As we were walking side by side, our hands brushed like they do in the movies Iseul loved to watch and before we knew it, our fingers were linked together. 

I grinned at her and she grinned back and I suddenly stopped on the way. She had a confused expression on her face but when I cupped her cheeks and leaned in with a smile, her eyes widened,

"Yah! Not now, we will be late for school!"

She pulled back and I frowned and pouted at her, knowing that she found it difficult to turn me down when I did that.

"Now don't look at me like that Tae, we shouldn't do this right now. Also, have you ever heard about a bit of  restraint? It is advisable to go slow in the beginning." 

"Who says we have to be like that? Can't we do whatever we want?"

"No we can't."

She chuckled as she swatted my hands on her cheek away. I continued to pout petulantly and she gave me a mock-defeated sigh and said,

"Then, is holding hands enough for now Taehyungie?"

I grinned at her and nodded, knowing that I had to take whatever I could get. She wove her slightly-callused-from-practicing-too-much fingers through mine once again, and we continued on our way to school, with our backpacks bouncing slightly as we skipped ahead like elementary school kids, swinging our arms between us.

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"What the actual hell?! I swear I'll-"

Iseul raged, but I placed my hand on her mouth before she began cursing loudly and gave the students passing us in the corridor apologetic looks for her little outburst.

"Wait, let's go to the rooftop and talk there."

I told her and she reluctantly nodded. I took her by the arm towards the place where we usually hung out in school during our free time together.

 Students didn't usually hang out on the rooftop of the old part of the school building which was not in  use anymore due to some silly rumor that it was a cursed place which was haunted by ghosts but Iseul never paid any heed to such stupid stories.

We had discovered the place during our first year of middle school. Iseul was the one who had the idea of going there in the first place, when she heard those ghost stories.

 And as much as hate admitting it aloud, I'm scared of ghosts and heights but she convinced me to follow her there as she usually did for everything. 

From then on, it became 'our place' of sorts; a place where we two hung out alone whenever we wanted to get away from others. 

"What do you want to say Taehyung?"

She asked, crossing her arms across her chest. Whenever she was angry with me, she would resort to calling me Taehyung instead of TaeTae or Tae or Taehyungie. And she would cross her arms and furrow her brows, and the urge to kiss the V between her brows would arise.

"Iseul-ah-"

"Oh no, we shouldn't keep your female admirers waiting now should we? Kim Taehyung is ever so polite, so much so that he can't say no to any girl. How many chocolates and cakes did you get this year?"

She glared at me and I suddenly had the urge to chuckle when it dawned on me why she must be behaving like that. She had never reacted so aggravatedly on Valentine's Day before (sure she had glared and scowled at them like always but nothing like this.), even when other girls gave my gifts but this year was different.

I knew the emotion she must've been feeling all too well because it was something I felt whenever she received sweets and candies on White Day from other boys.

"Iseul-ah. Come here."

I grinned and wrapped my arms around her. She struggled at first but then sighed and hugged me back, placing her chin on my shoulder.

"Aww is my Iseul jealous?" 

I couldn't resist to tease her and she promptly pulled back at that, elbowing me while I winced at her jab. Though she didn't respond and simply continued to scowl, the telltale blush on her cheeks spoke otherwise.

I chuckled at that, and kissed the furrow between her eyebrows just as I had been yearning to do for a long time.

To my surprise, when I moved to kiss her lips, she didn't lean away or jab me and say something along the lines of "Yah! We're in school!". 

Instead, she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and I tightened my hold on her waist. A faint clink sound could be heard in the background and my mind processed it but I didn't give much thought to it at the moment as our lips moved in perfect synchronization and harmony, just like those piano keys of hers when she played. 

We had to eventually stop and break away for air, but I didn't allow her to lean back much. When I looked up, behind her, I realized that I had somehow pushed her against the metal railing of the rooftop. 

(So that was why I had heard the clink sound)

"Whatever happened to going slow?"

I asked her, and I sounded a bit breathless, as if I had run a marathon. But then again, so did she when she replied,

"We can go at a moderate pace. Haven't you heard of Andante?"

She pressed her lips back to mine with a grin which mirrored mine.

I preferred Andante to going slow. 

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