Stitches

The students flooded the hall as the school bell rung. Waves upon waves of students rushing to head home made it impossible for other students to leave.

"Ugh." Ha-Eun sits at the back of the class, playing with a pen. Switching it off and on.

"Yo!" Byeol appears behind Ha-Eun, catching her offguard.

"Byeol?" Ha-Eun turns around, surprised. "How did you get in here?"

"I just walked in, pretty easy." Byeol sat on Ha-Eun's table. "Made any new friends?"

"Well, two." Ha-Eun points to the next to her. "The guy who sits there, he's called Jaeneung."

"Another Korean?" Byeol was also surprised. "Do I know him?"

"Oh, he was that guy from the subway." Ha-Eun reminded Byeol.

Byeol looked at Ha-Eun. She squinted her eyes. "I was at the subway?"

"Forget it." Ha-Eun stands up and picks up her bag. "Let's go."

Byeol stood up but tripped on something, hitting her chin on the wood floor. "Ow!" She bit her tongue.

"How clumsy can you be?" Ha-Eun walked over to Byeol. "What did you even slip on?"

"I dwon't knwow!" Byeol spoke as she stuck her tongue out. "Thwis!" Byeol picked up a shoe bag from underneath her foot. It was blue in colour and had a little key chain attached to the zipper of a paintbrush. "Who'sth isth it?"

Ha-Eun takes the bag from Byeol and looks at it. She inspects the key chain and sees the word '2016 Runner Up' engraved onto the brush. "It's Jaeneung's."

"Thwem asks him two apwologwise!" Byeol cried out as her tongue was still swollen.

"Not my fault you're an idiot." Ha-Eun sticks her tongue out makes a face at Byeol.

"You-" Byeol grabbed Ha-Eun's leg and dragged her down, pulling her shoe off. "Mweet me at the chickwen shwop at two!" She stomped off while folding Ha-Eun's shoe.

Ha-Eun laughed hysterically. "Nwo Pwobwem!" She mocked Byeol. She wiped away the tears from her eyes from laughing too much and stood up, one foot shoeless. "It was worth it." She justified it to herself.

xxxxx

"Where would he be?" Ha-Eun walked around the school, hopping around.

"Maybe the auditorium?" Ha-Eun poked her head through the auditorium door. "Or not." It was empty besides for a janitor taking a nap in the middle of the room.

"What about the science lab?" Ha-Eun poked her head into the science lab. "Who am I kidding, he's an idiot." She didn't even bother looking around.

"What about the girls toilet?" Ha-Eun waltzed into the girls toilet, checking the stalls and underneath the sinks. "Wait he's a guy..."

"What about the boys toilet?" Ha-Eun waltzed into the boys toilet, only to be greeted by the view of a shirt, pants and underwear on the floor. "Maybe I shouldn't be here." She waltzed right back out.

"Ugh, where are you?" Ha-Eun played with her pen as she walked through the halls of the school. "What about..." Ha-Eun walked down the stairs, into the creative section of the school, where the art, music and drama room are.

Ha-Eun hopped around, still with only one shoe on. "Oh Jaeneung! Are you there?" Ha-Eun called out into the halls, only to be greeted by silence. "Ugh." Ha-Eun hopped her way through the hall, first walking past the drama room. "Definitely not."

The next classroom up was the Music Room. Ha-Eun turned around the corner and looked into the Music Room window. It was a massive wooden room with a giant piano just in the middle of the room. A skylight poured light down onto the piano, acting as a spotlight. She dropped the bag and placed her foot down onto the dirty floor. She walked over to the door and opened it, only to be greeted by the smell of old wood and dust. This room hadn't been used in years.

"A piano." She walked towards the piano, completely star-strucked. She circled around it, inspecting individual part of the piano. It was well built, the strings were well maintained and none of them were rusty. The wood itself was made with excellent craftsmanship, you could tell it was handmade but it didn't have any flaws, just the touch of man. She walked away from the piano, clutching her hand into a fist.

"I can't." She bit her lip, holding herself back.

"Go ahead." A voice spoke behind her.

"Jaeneung?" She looked behind, but it was someone else.

"My name is Alex. I'm the teacher in charge of music." He had light silver hair and wore spectacles that definitely did not suit his face shape. He had a defined jawline yet had oval glasses with a black frame. He was wearing a red and black checkered shirt that barely fit his well-built body. "I'm guessing you're looking for someone named Jaeneung but got side tracked." Alex placed his book down.

"Spot on." Ha-Eun said awkwardly as she shot finger guns at Alex.

"C'mon, it won't hurt. Do you know how to play the piano?" Alex stood up and walked down the stairs.

Ha-Eun walked back a bit, she was slightly intimidated by Alex.

"What? Scared of me? I'm just a teacher. You can call me Mister Dorian." Alex walked towards the Piano and sat down. Alex looks at Ha-Eun's hands, they're trembling. "You're scared."

"Huh? Oh-" Ha-Eun grabbed her hand, stopping them from trembling.

"You used to be a pianist, aren't you?" Alex took off her glasses. "The way you hold yourself, your hands are tense yet they move smoothly." He places his glasses in his shirt. "You're Ha-Eun, aren't you?" Alex knows her by her name.

"How did you know?" Ha-Eun was surprised but felt more at ease.

"How could we not know? You're a legend." Alex laughed. "The girl who had everything but lost everything in matters of seconds." Alex sighed. "They called her 'The Walking Metronome'. She would be able to command an entire symphony and make them follow her lead by just playing the piano." Alex placed his hands on the keys. "You were considered as one of the greatest. You weren't even 15 yet."

Ha-Eun breathes heavily. "What do you want?"

"Ha-Eun, I don't want anything. I know you're afraid of the piano, it's perfectly fine." Alex played a single note. "But you can't be afraid forever, the whole world is waiting for you, your car crash single handedly affected the lives of every pianist in America and in Korea. You're an icon of what it means to be a pianist, Ha-Eun." Alex stood up.

Ha-Eun looked down, avoiding making eye contact with Alex. She walked past Alex, towards the piano. "Sometimes it's better to put on a bandaid than getting stitches." She places her hands above the piano, her fingers gently floating above the keys. A singular drop of water dropped onto her hand and trickled down her finger, onto the keyboard. "I can't reopen this wound." She looks at Alex, her face covered in tears and her eyes blurry.