{v-day; btob/4minute} feb 1st
for: tharah | jaenguar
eunkwang/jihyun (btob/4minute) | pg | 2.3k
a budding female indie artist who gets piano lessons and one thing leads to another.
Jihyun sighs and leans back against the wall, beginning to unlace the straps on her ballet shoes. It's a monotonous routine, unwinding and unwinding until the satin ribbons fall away, but it's the best she can muster after a long, grueling practice.
As she stretches her legs out before her, wincing at the inevitable soreness, Gina sits down beside her and offers her a bottle of water. "Thirsty?"
"Thank you," she says, and takes it, sipping from the bottle gratefully.
"You know, I've always wondered why you didn't major in ballet," Gina says, resting her chin on top of her knees. She already has her ballet shoes off, feet bare save for her pantyhose, and her hair is still in its tight bun. "You're a natural, and the teacher loves you."
"I get along with the vocal teachers, too," Jihyun says reasonably, putting down the water and finally slipping off her shoes. The release is a relief. If Jihyun is honest with herself--and she is--she knows she could never just dance for the rest of her life. It's such a short-lived career path, and professional ballerinas are so cutthroat. There's more to life than just a small room paneled with mirrors along one wall, stretching oh so carefully and finding stability against bars and competing for the same solo dances. There's more to life than that one spotlight for one more starring role. When she applied for Sangmyung's music and dance programs, Jihyun knew her limits just as well as she knew her dreams.
"You're going professional in that industry, then? Is that what you want to do?" asks Gina, and Jihyun looks into her friend's face and realizes there are dark circles from late, worried nights there, under those expressive eyes. And maybe Gina isn't asking about Jihyun, but about herself.
"Yes," Jihyun tells her, as certain as she possibly can be. "Indie, I think."
"Indie?" Gina repeats loudly. "You could audition for an entertainment label and get big so much faster, though!"
Jihyun finishes the water, screwing the cap back on the empty bottle thoughtfully. "I don't think it's about the money or the fame, you know? I want to do it for the music, unnie." She can see the automatic protests on Gina's face already, things that Jihyun already knows, and scrambles to her feet even as her entire body protests. When she reaches up to free her hair from the mess of pins and hairbands that keep all of it on her head, her arms ache too.
"I have to go," Jihyun says, "or I won't have enough time to shower before my piano lesson."
"You still taking those lessons with that boy?" Gina asks, teasing smile on her face. "Eunkwang, is it?"
Jihyun laughs, shrugs. "That's the one." One of the piano majors she knew from high school, a guy named Sohn Dongwoon, had offered to put her in contact with his friend, when Jihyun had mentioned in passing how she wanted to work on her ability to read sheet music more, and brush up on her piano while she was at it. Now the two of them meet up once a week in one of the university's practice rooms, sitting close enough that their shoulders brush as Eunkwang walks her through another set of scales, and Jihyun recalls just how much she likes a man who knows his way around a piano. "Bye, Gina."
This week, the university is closed for a holiday on their usual day and Eunkwang emails her, saying, "hey, jihyun, school is closed but i have a piano over at my flat, so do you still want to have class? get back to me soon, eunkwang"
Jihyun squeaks a little when she sees the message, and her roommate, a hip hop dance major named Kim Hyunah, eyes her curiously. hi, eunkwang! i'd love to do that, see you friday as usual!, she writes out in reply. Then she realizes she used exclamation marks twice consecutively to end her sentences, and quickly changes the first one to a period.
"What are you doing?" Hyunah asks, suddenly right beside her and peering at the screen of her computer, and Jihyun jumps, nearly falling off of her bed. "Is that your piano teacher guy?"
How does everyone know about him, Jihyun wonders, seeing as it's not like she broadcasts the fact that she's getting extra piano help from a certain Seo Eunkwang to all of her friends. "Yes, Hyunah," she says, indulging the girl as usual.
Hyunah props her face up in her cupped hands, still staring at the computer screen as Jihyun adds a looking forward to seeing you, jihyun in closing. "You like him," she says out of nowhere, and when Jihyun looks at her in shock, she grins gloatingly. "You've been having these classes with him for weeks, right? You always come back looking like you've won the lottery."
"You're exaggerating," Jihyun chides, and hits send for the email before she can second-guess herself. She pulls a pillow into her arms to give her something to do, fending off Hyunah's pleads for details under her computer pings.
"He replied!" Hyunah says excitedly, pushing Jihyun towards the laptop.
hey, jihyun, im looking forward to friday as well. heres my address, Eunkwang has sent back, followed with the address located in a part of Seoul Jihyun doesn't know very well. She shakes her head when Hyunah offers to go with her, though, deciding to risk getting lost in exchange for having to put up with Hyunah's giggling and teasing.
❊
The neighborhood around Eunkwang's apartment complex is small and quiet on Friday afternoon, even for a holiday. Jihyun hesitates before entering the lobby, taking the elevator up a few floors until she finds herself knocking on one of many doors in the hallway. As she waits, she realizes that she can taste the spring in the air, a refreshing scent after last night's rain permeating the indoors from the open windows at the end of the halls, and sighs happily.
"Hey! Jihyun!" Eunkwang says, appearing in the doorway. SMU's daily uniform is nothing unusual, a tie and suit jacket, both which he usually takes off while playing piano. Jihyun has caught herself watching the lines of his arms while he plays, dress shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the top buttons undone, but she can't help but stare to see him in the wifebeater and shorts he has on now.
"Hi," she stammers, and steps carefully into the flat, taking off her shoes. For a moment, she panics and wonders if she overdressed - or, as Hyunah complained, underdressed - but Eunkwang offers one of those broad, bright grins, and she's okay.
"The piano is in here," Eunkwang says, leading her into the living room. A sizeable television sits across from a three-seater couch, a low table in between cluttered with papers that Jihyun sees are stacks of sheet music, scrawled all over in Eunkwang's messy scrawl. But aside from that, the rest of the apartment seems quite neat, each item in its own place, with a sense of home.
"It's really clean," Jihyun comments when she catches sight of the piano, which sits next to an organized bookshelf of classical and contemporary music books. "I think my roommate and I aren't nearly this neat."
Eunkwang laughs and runs a hand through his hair; the roots of his blond hair are growing out, but he still looks good. "Mine is a neat freak, so I guess that's why."
"Who's your roommate?" Jihyun asks curiously, then blushes at herself for being so forward. To avoid his eyes, she looks down at her hands as she takes out the usual notebook and sheet music she needs for classes.
"His name is Minhyuk," Eunkwang tells her easily. "Music composition major like me, except he can do basically everything there is while I just stick to piano."
"I--I think piano is incredible already," Jihyun says, looking up from her music in a sudden burst of courage.
Eunkwang looks back at her, startled, and smiles again. "Thank you. Let's start?"
They sit on the couch, Eunkwang apologizing profusely as he clears away what he tells Jihyun is his latest composition for school, and go over the scales they did last week. He cheers for her when she gets the sharps and flats right, and walks her through each set of arpeggios she's unsure about. As Jihyun writes out the sharps for the C# Major arpeggios, she's hypersensitive to the sensation of Eunkwang's body beside hers, his chin propped on his hand as he watches her work. She glances at him, and their eyes meet before she looks back down at her sheet music worksheet, flushing.
"Excellent," Eunkwang says later, as he's looking over her music theory exercises. "I think you're really getting the hang of this."
Jihyun does her best to resist saying something like, It's only thanks to you, but she's spared from having to reply when the weight of an enthusiastic over-twenty-year-old drapes itself over Eunkwang's shoulders, drawling, "Now who is this?"
"Minhyuk!" Eunkwang complains, trying to shrug Minhyuk off, who only clings on harder. Jihyun realizes Minhyuk is shirtless and squeaks, hurriedly averting her eyes.
Minhyuk laughs and leans his head against Eunkwang's. "Seriously though! Is this the esteemed Nam Jihyun you keep telling me about? Prettiest vocal major you've ever set eyes on?"
"I will throw you off the balcony, and I don't even care that you're the one who cooks this house," Eunkwang threatens, but his words have no bite and Jihyun is too preoccupied with the fact that Eunkwang - Eunkwang - thinks she's pretty. Really pretty.
"You're no fun," Minhyuk pouts. "I still remember a week or two ago when you came home and told me that Jihyun looks like a fairy. It looks like you're right."
"A fairy?" Jihyun repeats, laughing, and Eunkwang's face is red when he wrestles Minhyuk off of him and pushes the other boy in the direction of the kitchen.
"Go away, Minhyuk, I'm supposed to be teaching!" Eunkwang yells after him, and resumes his seat beside Jihyun. The blush is still lingering on his cheekbones, and Jihyun smiles to herself as they get back to work.
After their allotted hour and a half, though Eunkwang always goes overtime for her on weeks he doesn't have an afternoon class, Jihyun gathers her sheets off of the stand on the piano and begins to put them away. Eunkwang is unusually, thoughtfully quiet today, his small talk and banter missing as he helps her collect her things. Though she knows where the front door is, he still takes her there, leaning against the frame of the door as she slips on her shoes. "You know," he starts.
Jihyun looks up from the fastening of her shoe. "Yes?" she asks, suddenly nervous.
Eunkwang looks sheepish, his smile bordering on apologetic but something else, something Jihyun can't quite place. "You know, you really are...pretty. Like a fairy."
From Eunkwang's own mouth, the words carry so much more weight. Jihyun looks down self-consciously at her shoes, both of which are now properly on her feet, and murmurs a thanks. When he puts his hand on her shoulder, however, she looks back up into his face.
"Do you--want to get coffee some time together? It doesn't have to be on campus or anything, just... I really like seeing you every Friday, I look forward to it throughout the whole week. Ask Minhyuk. He'll tell you," Eunkwang says in a rush. "It doesn't have to mean anything big just yet, but it'd be nice. To get to know each other some more, I mean."
This time, it's Jihyun's turn to blush. "I, sure. Yes, I mean. I'd love to!" she blurts in reply. "My friends are always asking about you, too, and you're a really nice guy. Coffee would be great."
They look at each other, and laugh in unison. "I'll send you an email about it, then," Eunkwang says as he opens the front door for her.
"I'll look out for it," Jihyun says, smiling back, holding her papers to her chest.
"Be safe on the way home!" he calls after her when Jihyun goes back down the hall to the elevators. The one she steps into is empty besides her, so she seizes the opportunity to text Hyunah, who instantly responds with lots of exclamation marks and happy faces.
❊
([JIHYUN] Thanks to:
This album is for my parents, who have tirelessly supported me in their hearts, and my younger brother who I hope is studying hard in school still!! Thank you to all my vocal professors and instructors, especially Kim Heejeong seonsaengnim, for taking care of me. Creating albums independently is not easy, and we worked hard!
Lastly, this is for Eunkwang, and all of the scales and coffee dates that led up to this. Without your composing and your support, this really would have been impossible for your fairy.)
A/N: i dont write hetero! i dont write girls! I DONT WRITE 4MINUTE I DONT KNOW THEM! but tharah, i hope you like this :C
eunkwang/jihyun (btob/4minute) | pg | 2.3k
a budding female indie artist who gets piano lessons and one thing leads to another.
Jihyun sighs and leans back against the wall, beginning to unlace the straps on her ballet shoes. It's a monotonous routine, unwinding and unwinding until the satin ribbons fall away, but it's the best she can muster after a long, grueling practice.
As she stretches her legs out before her, wincing at the inevitable soreness, Gina sits down beside her and offers her a bottle of water. "Thirsty?"
"Thank you," she says, and takes it, sipping from the bottle gratefully.
"You know, I've always wondered why you didn't major in ballet," Gina says, resting her chin on top of her knees. She already has her ballet shoes off, feet bare save for her pantyhose, and her hair is still in its tight bun. "You're a natural, and the teacher loves you."
"I get along with the vocal teachers, too," Jihyun says reasonably, putting down the water and finally slipping off her shoes. The release is a relief. If Jihyun is honest with herself--and she is--she knows she could never just dance for the rest of her life. It's such a short-lived career path, and professional ballerinas are so cutthroat. There's more to life than just a small room paneled with mirrors along one wall, stretching oh so carefully and finding stability against bars and competing for the same solo dances. There's more to life than that one spotlight for one more starring role. When she applied for Sangmyung's music and dance programs, Jihyun knew her limits just as well as she knew her dreams.
"You're going professional in that industry, then? Is that what you want to do?" asks Gina, and Jihyun looks into her friend's face and realizes there are dark circles from late, worried nights there, under those expressive eyes. And maybe Gina isn't asking about Jihyun, but about herself.
"Yes," Jihyun tells her, as certain as she possibly can be. "Indie, I think."
"Indie?" Gina repeats loudly. "You could audition for an entertainment label and get big so much faster, though!"
Jihyun finishes the water, screwing the cap back on the empty bottle thoughtfully. "I don't think it's about the money or the fame, you know? I want to do it for the music, unnie." She can see the automatic protests on Gina's face already, things that Jihyun already knows, and scrambles to her feet even as her entire body protests. When she reaches up to free her hair from the mess of pins and hairbands that keep all of it on her head, her arms ache too.
"I have to go," Jihyun says, "or I won't have enough time to shower before my piano lesson."
"You still taking those lessons with that boy?" Gina asks, teasing smile on her face. "Eunkwang, is it?"
Jihyun laughs, shrugs. "That's the one." One of the piano majors she knew from high school, a guy named Sohn Dongwoon, had offered to put her in contact with his friend, when Jihyun had mentioned in passing how she wanted to work on her ability to read sheet music more, and brush up on her piano while she was at it. Now the two of them meet up once a week in one of the university's practice rooms, sitting close enough that their shoulders brush as Eunkwang walks her through another set of scales, and Jihyun recalls just how much she likes a man who knows his way around a piano. "Bye, Gina."
This week, the university is closed for a holiday on their usual day and Eunkwang emails her, saying, "hey, jihyun, school is closed but i have a piano over at my flat, so do you still want to have class? get back to me soon, eunkwang"
Jihyun squeaks a little when she sees the message, and her roommate, a hip hop dance major named Kim Hyunah, eyes her curiously. hi, eunkwang! i'd love to do that, see you friday as usual!, she writes out in reply. Then she realizes she used exclamation marks twice consecutively to end her sentences, and quickly changes the first one to a period.
"What are you doing?" Hyunah asks, suddenly right beside her and peering at the screen of her computer, and Jihyun jumps, nearly falling off of her bed. "Is that your piano teacher guy?"
How does everyone know about him, Jihyun wonders, seeing as it's not like she broadcasts the fact that she's getting extra piano help from a certain Seo Eunkwang to all of her friends. "Yes, Hyunah," she says, indulging the girl as usual.
Hyunah props her face up in her cupped hands, still staring at the computer screen as Jihyun adds a looking forward to seeing you, jihyun in closing. "You like him," she says out of nowhere, and when Jihyun looks at her in shock, she grins gloatingly. "You've been having these classes with him for weeks, right? You always come back looking like you've won the lottery."
"You're exaggerating," Jihyun chides, and hits send for the email before she can second-guess herself. She pulls a pillow into her arms to give her something to do, fending off Hyunah's pleads for details under her computer pings.
"He replied!" Hyunah says excitedly, pushing Jihyun towards the laptop.
hey, jihyun, im looking forward to friday as well. heres my address, Eunkwang has sent back, followed with the address located in a part of Seoul Jihyun doesn't know very well. She shakes her head when Hyunah offers to go with her, though, deciding to risk getting lost in exchange for having to put up with Hyunah's giggling and teasing.
❊
The neighborhood around Eunkwang's apartment complex is small and quiet on Friday afternoon, even for a holiday. Jihyun hesitates before entering the lobby, taking the elevator up a few floors until she finds herself knocking on one of many doors in the hallway. As she waits, she realizes that she can taste the spring in the air, a refreshing scent after last night's rain permeating the indoors from the open windows at the end of the halls, and sighs happily.
"Hey! Jihyun!" Eunkwang says, appearing in the doorway. SMU's daily uniform is nothing unusual, a tie and suit jacket, both which he usually takes off while playing piano. Jihyun has caught herself watching the lines of his arms while he plays, dress shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the top buttons undone, but she can't help but stare to see him in the wifebeater and shorts he has on now.
"Hi," she stammers, and steps carefully into the flat, taking off her shoes. For a moment, she panics and wonders if she overdressed - or, as Hyunah complained, underdressed - but Eunkwang offers one of those broad, bright grins, and she's okay.
"The piano is in here," Eunkwang says, leading her into the living room. A sizeable television sits across from a three-seater couch, a low table in between cluttered with papers that Jihyun sees are stacks of sheet music, scrawled all over in Eunkwang's messy scrawl. But aside from that, the rest of the apartment seems quite neat, each item in its own place, with a sense of home.
"It's really clean," Jihyun comments when she catches sight of the piano, which sits next to an organized bookshelf of classical and contemporary music books. "I think my roommate and I aren't nearly this neat."
Eunkwang laughs and runs a hand through his hair; the roots of his blond hair are growing out, but he still looks good. "Mine is a neat freak, so I guess that's why."
"Who's your roommate?" Jihyun asks curiously, then blushes at herself for being so forward. To avoid his eyes, she looks down at her hands as she takes out the usual notebook and sheet music she needs for classes.
"His name is Minhyuk," Eunkwang tells her easily. "Music composition major like me, except he can do basically everything there is while I just stick to piano."
"I--I think piano is incredible already," Jihyun says, looking up from her music in a sudden burst of courage.
Eunkwang looks back at her, startled, and smiles again. "Thank you. Let's start?"
They sit on the couch, Eunkwang apologizing profusely as he clears away what he tells Jihyun is his latest composition for school, and go over the scales they did last week. He cheers for her when she gets the sharps and flats right, and walks her through each set of arpeggios she's unsure about. As Jihyun writes out the sharps for the C# Major arpeggios, she's hypersensitive to the sensation of Eunkwang's body beside hers, his chin propped on his hand as he watches her work. She glances at him, and their eyes meet before she looks back down at her sheet music worksheet, flushing.
"Excellent," Eunkwang says later, as he's looking over her music theory exercises. "I think you're really getting the hang of this."
Jihyun does her best to resist saying something like, It's only thanks to you, but she's spared from having to reply when the weight of an enthusiastic over-twenty-year-old drapes itself over Eunkwang's shoulders, drawling, "Now who is this?"
"Minhyuk!" Eunkwang complains, trying to shrug Minhyuk off, who only clings on harder. Jihyun realizes Minhyuk is shirtless and squeaks, hurriedly averting her eyes.
Minhyuk laughs and leans his head against Eunkwang's. "Seriously though! Is this the esteemed Nam Jihyun you keep telling me about? Prettiest vocal major you've ever set eyes on?"
"I will throw you off the balcony, and I don't even care that you're the one who cooks this house," Eunkwang threatens, but his words have no bite and Jihyun is too preoccupied with the fact that Eunkwang - Eunkwang - thinks she's pretty. Really pretty.
"You're no fun," Minhyuk pouts. "I still remember a week or two ago when you came home and told me that Jihyun looks like a fairy. It looks like you're right."
"A fairy?" Jihyun repeats, laughing, and Eunkwang's face is red when he wrestles Minhyuk off of him and pushes the other boy in the direction of the kitchen.
"Go away, Minhyuk, I'm supposed to be teaching!" Eunkwang yells after him, and resumes his seat beside Jihyun. The blush is still lingering on his cheekbones, and Jihyun smiles to herself as they get back to work.
After their allotted hour and a half, though Eunkwang always goes overtime for her on weeks he doesn't have an afternoon class, Jihyun gathers her sheets off of the stand on the piano and begins to put them away. Eunkwang is unusually, thoughtfully quiet today, his small talk and banter missing as he helps her collect her things. Though she knows where the front door is, he still takes her there, leaning against the frame of the door as she slips on her shoes. "You know," he starts.
Jihyun looks up from the fastening of her shoe. "Yes?" she asks, suddenly nervous.
Eunkwang looks sheepish, his smile bordering on apologetic but something else, something Jihyun can't quite place. "You know, you really are...pretty. Like a fairy."
From Eunkwang's own mouth, the words carry so much more weight. Jihyun looks down self-consciously at her shoes, both of which are now properly on her feet, and murmurs a thanks. When he puts his hand on her shoulder, however, she looks back up into his face.
"Do you--want to get coffee some time together? It doesn't have to be on campus or anything, just... I really like seeing you every Friday, I look forward to it throughout the whole week. Ask Minhyuk. He'll tell you," Eunkwang says in a rush. "It doesn't have to mean anything big just yet, but it'd be nice. To get to know each other some more, I mean."
This time, it's Jihyun's turn to blush. "I, sure. Yes, I mean. I'd love to!" she blurts in reply. "My friends are always asking about you, too, and you're a really nice guy. Coffee would be great."
They look at each other, and laugh in unison. "I'll send you an email about it, then," Eunkwang says as he opens the front door for her.
"I'll look out for it," Jihyun says, smiling back, holding her papers to her chest.
"Be safe on the way home!" he calls after her when Jihyun goes back down the hall to the elevators. The one she steps into is empty besides her, so she seizes the opportunity to text Hyunah, who instantly responds with lots of exclamation marks and happy faces.
❊
([JIHYUN] Thanks to:
This album is for my parents, who have tirelessly supported me in their hearts, and my younger brother who I hope is studying hard in school still!! Thank you to all my vocal professors and instructors, especially Kim Heejeong seonsaengnim, for taking care of me. Creating albums independently is not easy, and we worked hard!
Lastly, this is for Eunkwang, and all of the scales and coffee dates that led up to this. Without your composing and your support, this really would have been impossible for your fairy.)
A/N: i dont write hetero! i dont write girls! I DONT WRITE 4MINUTE I DONT KNOW THEM! but tharah, i hope you like this :C