~ Together by a String ~ (Jiyoo)

~3~

She giggled after saying that but I was silent. I couldn't speak because I was feeling flustered all the way. Oh my god what is wrong with me.. I turned around and left Minji confused. I told her to continue playing and that I'll do some of my homework while she's strumming. I can't believe I just got flustered because someone called me a good coach, I must be an idiot.

♪♪♪♪

I was done writing some of my English homework and then suddenly, Minji put her guitar down and that made me look at her. She looked back at me and scratched her neck, maybe wondering how to say something.

"Umm.. Yoohyeon, what got you into playing the guitar?"

"Oh, it's kind of a boring story, I don't think you'll be that interested."

"I sure will be. C'mon, sit here."

She moved a bit away to open up some space and pat on the bench for me to sit. I sighed and sat down next to her, puting my hands on my thighs and started my story telling. I hope she won't get bored.

♪♪♪♪

"It all started when I was very young, maybe around 5 years old. My father was a songwriter and a vocal teacher and my mother - a guitarist. I fell in love with music thanks to them. Me and my big brother always watched them sing and play instruments and sing together. They were indicating their love for eachother thanks to music and writing. My mother gave me her guitar and taught me how to play when I turned 10 and ever since then, I never stopped. Me and my brother used to go to talent shows in small villages and we always used to win all thanks to their support... And that's basically all. It was kind of boring, wasn't it?"

"What- No! I liked the story! A lot actually."

"Pfft- it's not that interesting of a story, what's there to like?"

"Well, I liked that you had a good relationship with your parents and brother. As for me, we never really got along. My parents got divorced the day I was born and it was mostly my father and brother taking care of me. *chuckle* And they weren't exactly the best at it."

I listened to her story with full interest. I never knew she had such sad backstory. I'm not sure why I want to know more, but there's something about her life story made me want to be by her side for a bit longer now.

"I wasn't exactly appreciated for the things I used to do, even though I was giving my best.. Oh! I was the best student in my last school actually."

"No way.. Really?"

"Yeah! I got the best marks in school up until 8th grade, but no one thought much of it. 'Why aren't you better than your brother?' or 'Your brother is so much smarter'.. It was always all about him just because he was older. The amount of times I got scolded and... beaten up was more than enough for me to finally stop. I couldn't take it anymore and tried to run away many times, but it never worked. So I gave up trying to impress my father and brother and just started doing things for myself. And playing guitar has been a long time dream for me, but I never managed to get into it because my dad thought it was pointless and none of the people I talked to wanted to teach me because he threatened them. Thankfully, you gave me motivation again.. and are my teacher now! So, I think it's a win-win situation for us, since you can teach someone how to play the instrument you love and I got myself a new friend... Uh, Yoohyeon?"

I was staring at Minji's side profile. When she turned around to face me, I couldn't help it anymore. She shared her story without any second thoughts and was acting like it wasn't that big of a deal that she wasn't treated well. A single tear left my eye and I saw her worried face and shaky eyes.