piano girl (이희승) ✔️

// 7

- "i just want you to love me."

Lee Heeseung POV

I twitch, standing in front of the Hwang's house.

Did she like it?

Dumbass, of course she did. She's been begging for a grand piano for ages.

I walk to the door and hear a faint grand piano playing in their grand hall. It sounds beautiful.

I knock on the door, but the music doesn't stop.

Instead, Hyunjin answers it. "Oh, hey, Heeseung!" His voice is a near whisper. "Sorry. It's just Eunji will most likely kill me if I start screaming. And her playing is really good, so I don't want to interrupt her. Come in!" He says, leading me inside.

When I do step inside, the first thing I see is Eunji sitting at the piano, her black hair tied up into a high ponytail.

"I know, right?" Hyunjin whispers to me. "She never has her hair up." He then grins, then runs upstairs, leaving me alone with the girl.

I slink towards her, then stand at her side. She's playing Rachmonioff's Liebesleid, an intense piece that has your hands flying all around the keys.

And her hands fit perfectly. When she hits her final chord, she looks up at me with a smile.

"So? What do you think?" She asks, patting me to sit down next to her.

"You sounded great." I say with a grin. She leans her head on my shoulder, making my heart do flips.

"It's such a beautiful piano, Heeseung-ie. Thank you so much."

This girl is taking me on a whole ride.

My arm subconsciously wraps around her, pulling her closer to me. She doesn't push me away or yell.

She just sits there.

"S-sorry." I stutter. She shrugs as best as she can and I can tell she smiles.

"Stop apologizing when you do the smallest things, okay? Aren't you supposed to be tough?" She asks, punching my thigh.

I groan. "Ugh, whatever." 

We sit there for a little bit, when she starts playing.

It's a piece I recognize- Howl's Moving Castle's 'Merry Go Round of Life.'

When she finishes her beginning part, I begin the duet.

"You know this one?" She asks, and I nod with a smile.

She keeps playing, and we get lost in the music together.

Hwang Eunji POV

I look up at him with a smile, and hug him. "You're literally so good at piano!"

"Shut up, you are too." He says, patting my head. I let go of the hug and ask him:

"Why'd you get me this?"

His answer is quick. "Because you wanted it."

"I know, but..." I go back to playing the beautiful instrument, just chords and arpeggios. "Why?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Heeseung's arms folding over his chest. "Well, I love making you happy. You know that."

And I do. My heart flutters as I remember all the times he's gotten me strawberry shortcake.

"And... I saw how much you loved piano the first time we met, and how much you wanted a grand piano. So... I thought just, 'why not get you one?'" He continues.

"So you were serious?" I ask, resting my right hand on the C Major chord and looking up at him. He nods with a soft smile, and I smile in return. "That's so sweet of you, Heeseung-gie."

He stands up, giving me a sign to play Ravel's Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte. I keep playing, and my empathy senses tell me that Heeseung's a little stressed.

I keep playing.

"Eunji. Can you just look at me for a second?" Heeseung finally asks. My fingers hit a wrong key, slightly pushing me over the edge.

"What do you want from me, Heeseung?" I ask, saying it gently.

"I just want you to love me." He says quietly.

At that point, my hands are off the keys.

"Excuse me?" I fully turn my body to look at him, feeling even shorter to him now.

He stands firmly. "I said, 'I just want you to love me.'' He repeats, his cheeks tinted pink. My face flushes red.

"I-I don't know what you mean."

He sighs and sits back next to me, our bodies close. "I like you, Eunji. I don't just like you as a friend, I like... like like you!" He says, his bottom lip trembling. "It's always been like this. I would watch you during class and I could feel myself slowly falling for you, but then what crossed the line was when I finally got to meet you. You were so much fun and I just... I finally realized that I was in love with you."

Tears are falling from his eyes, spiked with his confession.

He keeps going: "Whenever you play the piano, I just feel... so honored to be in your presence. It's amazing. You make everything sound so beautiful, so easy, so lovely." He looks down. "I... I fell for you, Eunji. I fell for you so hard."

My hands are shaking, Heeseung's tears dropping onto them.

"Heeseung, I..."

"Don't respond if you don't want to." Heeseung says, and I can see his lips forming a sad smile. "I... I know I might've just ruined our friendship, but..."

I raise my shaking hand up to the nape of his neck. "No. Heeseung," I say, pulling his face up to mine. "I've always liked you too." I whisper.

"What?" He asks, his eyes darting around my face.

His beautiful eyes.

"Yeah." I say, tears forming in my eyes and I smile.

Heeseung places his hands nervously on my waist, and I nod in approval.

"Thank you, Eunji." He says, moving closer by the second. "Thank you for everything."

I smile, his scent flowing into me.

He kisses me.

        ____________