Autumnal Equinox (JinJi)

Thirteen

"How about I teach you guys a new one?" Jisoo suggested to calm the tension in the room. She stepped off her seat and taught them a new game, "I Can Do It Better." She had a couple of players start the game by improvising a scene, and then instructed the players on the side to jump in and shout "I can do it better!" and then take one of the players' place and demonstrate what they could do better.

"I can be poetic about the SAT's better!"

"I can slap Minseok better!"

"I can imitate a drone better!"

"I can beatbox better!"

"I can speak German-sounding gibberish better!"

Instead of arguments, the room was filled with laughter, and Jisoo sat back and watched as her young protégées improvised hilarious scenes. The gaggle of sheepish kids had come a long way since the summer program, and it was gratifying to see just how smart and sharp these kids really were when they were allowed to drop their guards and let their creativity run wild.

It was around this time that Jinyoung appeared in the classroom doorway with a laptop tucked under his arm. The children didn't notice him, and neither did Jisoo.

After a couple more minutes, Jisoo started to applaud and the children followed her lead.

"Okay, awesome round, guys!" she said. The kids scattered and started to collect their things. Sojung spotted Jinyoung in the doorway, and her mouth spread into a Cheshire grin.

"Hey, Miss Jisoo!" she said. "It's your boyfriend!"

Jisoo whipped her head around to see what the hell this little girl was talking about, and she saw Jinyoung standing there, waving stupidly at her. The other little girls giggled and started to surround him, beckoning him into the classroom. Jisoo straightened up and shook her head.

"Mr. Popular over here," Jisoo joked once all the kids had cleared out of the room. Jinyoung blushed.

"What can I say?" he said. Jisoo was putting her things into her bag, and he took a seat at one of the low desks that was in front of hers.

"Whatcha got there?" Jisoo said, noticing the laptop he'd brought with him. All of sudden, he looked nervous.

"I've been... working on something," he said hesitantly. He laid the laptop down on the desk and then opened it. Jisoo saw a music production software program open on the screen.

"On a song?" Jisoo asked, sitting down. "Dude, that's great! Can I hear it?"

"Why do you think I'm here?" Jinyoung fished a pair of earbuds out of his pocket. Then after untangling them, he plugged into his computer and then handed them to Jisoo.

"Just keep in mind," Jinyoung said before hitting the spacebar. "I haven't so much as touched a new song in years, so it's going to be horribly apparent that I am rusty. And, yes, I'm probably going to be a little sensitive."

"You're such a baby," Jisoo joked. Regardless if she liked it or not, she was just happy that he was writing again.

"Just play it, let me hear it."

Despite the tone of jest, Jisoo could see in his body language that he was nervous. His hand shook as he pressed down on the spacebar and played the song. It began with a soft, faded instrumental and subtle baseline, and then there was Jinyoung's soft, echoing vocals, with a falsetto line layered beneath.

I came back from being so far

Past the times I thought would last forever