Tteuptip High School.

There is a certain band club there.

Whenever the school holds a festival,

they are the club that shines at the opening.

Tteuptip High School.

There is a certain band club there.

Whenever the school holds a festival,

they are the club that shines at the opening.

---

Sunlight was slanting through the auditorium windows. A faded piano stood its ground in the corner. Having occupied that corner for three years because there was nowhere else to put it after a school festival, it had become a sanctuary for various people during breaks.

​

At the end of summer, in this place slightly cooler than the classrooms, he stopped his hands while tapping the keys and shook out his fingers. The resonance spread through the quiet space, echoing long.

​

Senior year. He obviously knew he had to study. That 'studying' everyone talked about as if it were natural—perhaps because there were so many expectations, or perhaps because it was something he once considered important in his life—had become a mandatory requirement. Still, occasionally, when he pressed the keys without thinking, it felt as if all that burden vanished.

​

However, that leisure didn't last long.

​

💚 “Huh? A senior playing piano in the auditorium?”

​

That sophomore leaning against the door, yeah, Jung Gongryong. An eyesore with a sly smile at the entrance. He turned his head without much emotion.

​

💚 “What, the reaction is too bland,” Gongryong said, walking in lightly.

💛 “It’s too grand to call it music, I’m just playing for fun.”

💚 “Just for fun? For no reason?” Gongryong looked like he might put his hands on the keys but eventually pulled back. “Well, I don’t really have a reason either.”

​

💚 “But I didn't know you could play piano. Were you in a band club before, senior?"

💛 “No.”

💚 “Then why are you playing piano here?”

💛 “I don't know.” Gakbyeol didn't really know the reason himself as he answered. “My hands just remember it.”

​

Gongryong snorted.

💚 “Then you should join the band club.”

💛 “What?”

💚 “You said your hands remember. You can play there.”

​

Gakbyeol laughed as if it were absurd.

​

💛 “That’s a huge leap in logic.”

💚 "Hmm, lol." Gongryong turned his head sheepishly. “But being a senior must be stressful, wouldn't it be good to blow off steam by playing an instrument sometimes?”

💛 “……”

💚 “Be honest, it’s not bad, right?”

​

Gakbyeol put his hands back on the keys without a word.

His fingers moved slowly, and a melody flowed out.

Calm, rhythmical notes.

​

Gongryong listened quietly and added one more thing.

💚 “…I think it would go well with the song we’re going to do together.”

​

Gakbyeol didn't answer this time either. However, his fingers were still touching the keys.

​

Eventually, leaving that conversation behind, Gongryong went back to the classroom.

​

Even so, he knew one thing. That tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that, he would keep coming back to play alone. Music played alone was generally comfortable. No need to show anyone, no need to play well. That might be why playing piano alone felt attractive.

But maybe, that 'song we do together', the music played with others, could feel different?

In the midst of that, he snapped back to reality.

💛 'Ah, I'm a senior. I don't have time for this.'