It's been half-an-hour since we came to the music room, and I had to say I loved every single minute, check-that: second, of it.
We started talking about random things. How school was different in America compared to Korea, how our music taste was pretty similar (discluding my love for american rap), and how we both shared a lot of common interests.
We were sitting on bean bags in the loft, where I sat when I first saw her playing the piano, and were occupied in talking and eating Korean snacks.
"Where in California are you from?" I asked her.
"Los Angeles."
"No way...I've been there!" I exclaimed. I then explained to her about our show 'American Hustle Life' a few years ago, and told her about what I loved and hated about it. Especially the place I worked at with the horrible boss who gave us a "helicopter ride" that barely came off the ground. She laughed and then told me that she knew the helicopter place I was talking about, and further explained how it got shut down a year ago. That news made my day, and I'd have to keep in mind to tell Jimin that. He'd be flying off the walls once he knew.
"Do you feel homesick? You've been away for a while now."
She looked around the room with an unreadable expression before responding, "Actually, not really." She looked towards me. "Honestly, California didn't feel like home to me. I mean, it's been where I've lived since I could remember, but I guess it's just different without an actual family."
I wanted to hug her so bad, and tell her everything would be alright. I wanted to comfort her somehow, but I didn't know how. I couldn't imagine what it felt like to be an orphan. My family was so supportive and loving, that I couldn't imagine a life without them.
"I'm sorry." I said as a whisper.
She just shook her head and stood up from her spot. I gave her a questioning look in which she proceeded to walk downstairs.
She sat on the piano bench and started playing.
I didn't want to just awkwardly stand there staring at her, so I took the more normal route of sitting on a grey armchair close to the piano. I couldn't help but to keep looking over at her seated at the piano playing. It intrigued me how she looked so elegant just sitting there.
As she played the song further, I couldn't but feel that it was a familiar tune to one I heard when I was younger. And what made it shocking was that only one other person new that tune.
***
"Kookie! What do you think about this," Minyoung asked as I walked into the piano class of our elementary school. She always had practice after school, and I'd come from my dance class to walk home with her. It was our routine.
She started playing a melody that I really loved. It was slow, but it was just the style of music that Minyoung liked, therefore I learned to love.
I went to sit down next to her on the wooden bench and watch as she played elegantly with her small fingers. After a minute or so, she stopped in the middle and looked up at me.
"It's not finished yet, but that's all I have so far."
"That's really good Minyoung-ah. Like really good." I repeated. "You wrote that by yourself?"
"Yup." She responded, popping the p.
"It's going to be your song once I finish it, Kookie. Since you want to be an idol."
"Minyoung-ah, you wrote it. It should be your song," I emphasized.
"How about it be our song then? Only you and I will know about it."
***
Minyoung.
I thought that it may have been a coincidence, but the more she played, the more I knew it was the same song.
I got up from my current position and walked over to her. She looked at me and smiled. There's no way that she's Minyoung. Could she be? I shook my head trying to clear my thoughts before it was going to give me false hope, but it didn't move and stayed put. The curiousity ventured farther into me.
I looked harder as Halla continued to play. She's similar to Minyoung in so many ways, but... she doesn't know me. So it couldn't possibly be her.
There's no possible way. It's probably just a misunderstanding. I'm getting way too ahead of myself. Her name is Halla. She's from America. She's not her.
"Where did you hear that song from?" I asked her, trying not to sound to suspicious.
"Uh, I wrote it." She responded. "Do you know how to play the piano?" she asked as she sat down on the bench.
I shook my head, "No, that's actually one of my goals this year."
She patted the side of the bench next to her asking me to take a seat.
"Do you want to learn some basic chords?" she asked me hopefully.
I nodded my head and she lightly took my hand in hers and placed my fingers where they needed to be.
"You take your thumb, middle, and pinky and place them like this. That's the C-chord. If you move your thumb and middle finger over one, that makes the G-Chord..." She continued on with the rest of the chords, but all I could focus on now was her. Even more intense then I had before. I couldn't help but focus on the feeling I had when she kept moving my hands. It was weird, yet I liked it.
She played the song again, with me playing the chords in the order she had taught me.
I kept getting the keys wrong, which she would then pause and help me fix my fingers. I continued like that partly because I really liked the feeling I was getting everytime she would move my fingers, but also because my mind was in sorts.
Maybe I heard the song wrong. Maybe I'm just hallucinating. Maybe I'm doing that weird thing where people go crazy because they lose somebody. Maybe...
"Halla!" Jimin yelled as he bursted through the door.
"Jimin," she acknowledged after standing up from the seat.
"Sorry about that. I thought you had left already. You weren't answering your phone. Do you want to leave now?"
She looked back at me and smiled before turning to Jimin and nodding.
"Thank you for keeping her company, Jungkookie." Hyung said as he patted my back and messed up my hair.
"Hyung!" I whined playfully, trying to fix my hair.
"I'll see you later." she nodded at me.
They walked out of the room, and I suddenly felt lonely from the non existing presence that filled the air, and the seat that was no longer occupied next to me.
"Jungkook Oppa!"
I looked up hoping that it was Halla, but ended up being Yein. Great.
"Oppa! Where did you go? I've been looking everywhere for you!" she whined grabbing me by the arm.
I looked at her apologetically, because I knew that I was at fault for just running out of the room to go talk to Halla.
"Mianhae Yein. I went to talk to Halla."
After I said that, her face fell. What happened?
"By the way," I started, curiosity getting the better of me, "Why didn't you talk to Halla? Aren't you both like best friends or something?"
She looked up at me, as I was now standing up, and was wordless. I guess something happened between them.
"Nevermind" I said quickly. "I was just asking, it's none of my business."
There was silence that slowly crept in making it awkward.
"So... do you wanna start writing that song now or later?" I asked her.
"Later." she spit out immediately. "I mean... if that's okay with you."
"Yeah, that's fine," I assured. "It's getting late, you should get back to the dorm."
"Can you walk me there?"
I stared at her shocked at first, but then agreed not wanting to come off as a bad person, even if I really didn't want to.
The wind and sound of crickets was all that filled the air as we walked back to her dorm. I wasn't the best at talking to girls in general, so I could feel the awkwardness in the air. I noticed as we were walking that Yein kept walking closer to me, and I tried scooting left, but the sidewalk is only so wide.
She walked so close that her hand kept brushing mine. You know in the dramas where the girl and the boy fall in love after having their hands bump into each other several times and they end up falling in love? Well, I guess Yein was hoping for that, because she wouldn't give me any space.
"Thank you." she said as we neared her building front.
I nodded in response, waiting for her to hurry and go in.
She was almost to the door, until she turned around and called for me.
"I've always been a big fan of yours. And thank you so much for letting me have this opportunity to do a duet with you." She smiled and quickly gave me a peck on the cheek before running into her building.
I lifted my hand up and felt the spot. I could feel my cheeks rise, but it wasn't because I felt excited or anything. It was almost a guilty feeling that made my face heat up. Weren't you supposed to feel sparks or tingles or that giddy feeling whenever a girl kissed you? Or was that all in the dramas?
I shook off what just happened and started walking back to my dorm.