Mi Sun studied the pages of music, carving the notes into her head. Memorizing and getting everything together.
The performance was tonight. She and Ji Hoo both planned to meet up in the practice rooms whenever available. They exchanged phone numbers as soon as they got to school before heading to their own classes.
As much as the music teacher loved to hear the sound of Ji Hoo's instruments, he knew that Ji Hoo was technically in medical school. Hi Hoo of course, had devoted his life to both the arts and medical practice. His grandfather was in a tight condition, so they decided to leave the clinic closed for now.
Just as class was over and Mi Sun began to head over to the practice room, Jan Di appeared in front of her, holding an ice cream.
"Hungry Mi Sun?"
Mi Sun looked at her friend and smiled appreciatively before taking the ice cream and eating it in big bites. The stress seemed to melt out of her as she enjoyed the ice cream.
Mi Sun immediately thanked Jan Di for the ice cream, but Jan Di replied it was no big deal.
"Have you been stressed lately Mi Sun?" Jan Di asked.
Mi Sun hesitated, not wanting to admit the fact that practicing piano was actually beginning to become tedious and stressful, but nodded and finished up the ice cream cone.
"The piece is hard, and I feel like it isn't quite ready yet," Mi Sun confessed, standing up and stretching her limbs out.
Jan Di smiled. "Afraid you won't live up to Ji Hoo Sunbae's expectations?"
Mi Sun nodded. "The performance is tomorrow at six. The duet is about nine minutes long, almost ten."
Jan Di's eyes widened. "We listened to you guys played for that long? Yesterday?" she asked.
Mi Sun laughed and shook her head. "Of course not Jan Di. We only played half of it. You guys listened for four minutes. We never got to practice the last half since we kept polishing the first."
As their conversation about the piece continued, Ji Hoo waited outside the practice room where Mi Sun had practiced yesterday. He was patient, and expected Jan Di to be talking to her or something similar to that.
To help Mi Sun with her leadership, he let her decide what they practiced and even gave her primo. She did seem surprised at first, but accepted the news well. There was only one thing he was worried about.
Mi Sun didn't mention practicing the second part, and kept polishing up the first. She was probably the type who tried to make the piece perfect and then left the next part of the piece a bit more rough.
Ji Hoo decided to bring up the second part in case she forgot.
"Ji Hoo Sunbae! Sorry I'm late!" she yelled, running down the hallway.
Ji Hoo opened the practice room door and went inside with her, putting out a 'Do Not Disturb' sign in front of the door.
"I'm guessing you need a ride tonight?"
Mi Sun nodded. She could just take the bus, but then if her parents found out, they'd likely be furious and keep her under house arrest for a few days.
Ji Hoo chuckled as if reading her thoughts. In a way, her parents were somewhat like Joon Pyo's family, except slightly better. He sensed this, and so he offered her the ride. Mi Sun's eyes brightened and she eagerly accepted his suggestion.
Tonight was the night of the concert. Mi Sun's anxiety and stress was on top and Ji Hoo couldn't do anything about it.
They practiced for another hour before Ji Hoo convinced her to stop and take a little break, maybe out on the grass. Instead, she went straight to the fridge and pulled out two chocolate Popsicles, handing on to Ji Hoo.
"You like...ice cream?" Ji Hoo asked.
Mi Sun nodded with a straight face as she bit into the chocolate ice cream.
"I eat it when I'm upset and it always makes me feel better."
Ji Hoo couldn't resist but smile. It was almost exactly like what the pancake symbolizes for him. A comfort food. Delicious and able to cheer anyone up.
A realization hit Ji Hoo. Comfort foods were used when you were sad, stressed, or anxious. He expected Mi Sun to be a little worried, but definitely not to the point to where all she could think about was practice!
As Ji Hoo looked around the house, he realized something. A part of him felt surprised anyone having this trait in their personality could still be a musician and artist.
Mi Sun was a perfectionist. She told him a few days ago everyone who lived in their house had basically gone on a big break. Yet her house was clean and shiny. No dustdrifted on the piano or tables. No stains covered the floors.
As to why he was surprised...well, music required emotions. If you relied too much on the piece being exactly the way it was, it would've made it mechanical and unpleasant to the ear. The thought never had occurred to him, because she changed up the piece the first time he had played in front of the freshmen.
"Ah! We better get going!" Ji Hoo added, checking the clock on the wall.
Mi Sun looked at him in utter shock. "Hi Hoo Sunbae! We have another two hours before the concert begins!"
Ji Hoo finished the popsicle and threw the stick and wrapper into the trash can.
"Didn't I say I had to get there early?"
Mi Sun sighed and excused herself to change. Ji Hoo smiled to himself, wondering how she felt about the piece.
When Mi Sun was done, Ji Hoo really began to be concerned. Maybe Jan Di rubbed off on her when they were kids? Or was it the opposite?
It was nothing fancy, a pink dress with black layers that reached right below her knees with a black belt at her waist. Her hair was almost exactly the same as before, but with a hair clip at the side. She wore no makeup, and wore simple flats.
Jan Di wouldn't even go to somewhere fancy dressed in that!
"Is something wrong?" Mi Sun asked, concerned for Ji Hoo.
Ji Hoo shook his head and headed towards the door. If he brought up the fact that her dress was informal, she would probably be upset and definitely sad. Plus, she would most likely go back and change again, taking more time.
They both hopped on his motorcycle and began to drive to the art center. Ji Hoo was slightly worried he over pressured Mi Sun. Mi Sun was almost at perfect ease. She knew that she could trust Ji Hoo to keep everything together, and had her parts memorized and down.
"Ji Hoo Sunbae! Shall I wait backstage?" Mi Sun asked uncertainly, glancing at him.
He thought it over for a moment before replying "backstage" and going to the dressing room to change. Mi Sun sighed, disappointed she couldn't get an audience's view
She had never seen Ji Hoo perform in public before, but she heard it was legendary, and something to never forget. But she relaxed, comforting herself by saying she was going to be in it.
When the show began, Mi Sun took a while to analyze the sound of the piano. She winced, and started making adjustments in her head as to which parts to use petal on. The petal held the notes out for way too long. Plus, the piano was louder in the bass than the treble.
After thirty minutes into the shows she went onstae and bowed, before taking a seat next to Ji Hoo. He smiled confidently at her, trying to figure out whether or not the anxiety was biting at her. She returned the smile, followed by a determined look on her face.
So they began. The same bang that scared Jan Di and the F4. Mi Sun focused on the notes for a while, before scolding herself mentally.
Relax Mi Sun...she told herself.
Suddenly, Ji Hoo noticed a change in her playing. More free and strayed away from the original score. Ji Hoo just smiled, noticing the whispers in the crowd, all knowing she changed the piece up.
After almost ten minutes, they ended the piece was a scale and rolling chord. The crowd cheered and clapped.
"Wasnt that fun?"Ji Hoo whispered to a slightly tired Mi Sun when they went off the stage.
Mi Sun nodded and stumbled offstage. She had never performed in front of such a large crowd before, and certainly felt like she let it all out today. Was Ji Hoo angry at her for not listening to the instructions on the original score? She must've caused him so much trouble...
The show ended with many people talking to Ji Hoo and Mi Sun. Mi Sun began to slightly stress out because of the attention though, and excused herself. She found the back door of the art center and slipped outside without catching anyone's attention.
There was a small garden outside, complete with a little fountain sprouting water out. It was quite a nice scene to be honest. Even the bird chirruping soon founding something to be gawking at in the garden.
When the coast seemed clear, she ran back inside, where there were still some people talking with Ji Hoo. She politely waited for about five or six minutes before they all left, never noticing Mi Sun.
"Mi Sun, if they were bothering you I could have-"
Mi Sun shook her head. "No, it's all right. I was getting to see some scenery and it looked nice anyway. Are you ready to go?" she asked.
Ji Hoo nodded and they both went outside. Both were silent until they began driving.
"Mi Sun...I think that was probably one of my last concerts I'm going to do for a while now."
Mi Sun looked shocked and surprised both at the same time. She wanted to argue with him, that he could play more if he wanted to. But she knew it was hopeless. He was planning on becoming a doctor.
She didn't say anything, but silently pleaded for him to do one soon in her head.
As Ji Hoo pulled up to Mi Sun's house, she stepped off and thanked him for the ride. Hi Hoo left with a small wave and sighed. He knew that Mi Sun would be upset by his announcement, but he didn't expect her to not say a single word on the trip back!
Mi a Sun was a dedicated musician. Ji Hoo wanted to be a doctor on top of that. Sure, he had his symphony, but doctoring school was only getting tougher and tougher for him as a second year. Jan Di also requested him to help her at times, which he did with no complaints .
He still didn't exactly know why he was helping Mi Sun achieve her ultimate peak in music. A part of the reason was probably because he wanted to make sure he could nurture the young musician himself, keeping the possibility of someone else teaching her something wrong a small problem.
But he also couldn't say he was his private music teacher either. As much as he wanted that, Mi Sun would begin questioning right away. Plus, she had no need for a teacher at this point. She had figured everything out by herself.
But Ji Hoo wanted to help her. Her innocence was something he admired, and the fact she expected perfection was another surprisingly personality trait.
Ji Hoo smiled to himself before stopping the motorcycle in front of the F4's gathering room. Joon Pyo had said he was going to make a very important announcement regarding F4's relationship nowadays.
Of course, Ji Hoo himself felt the group slightly drifting apart after their high school days were over.
He sat down in a chair and waited for Joon Pyo to talk.
"I think, we should go hang out somewhere. It's been a really long time..."
The rest of them were surprised. Joon Pyo suggested they hang out? Jan Di sure changed him a lot.
Woo Bin smiled. "How about a club?"
They quickly shot that idea out of the window.
"Double dates!" Yi Leong suggested. Both Joon Pyo and Ji Hoo glared at him, Joon Pyo hating double dates and Ji Hoo not wanting a girlfriend.
"A walk," Ji Hoo said.
They all stared at him.
"What do you mean by...a walk?" Yi Leong asked slowly.
Ji Hoo shrugged. "Just...walk around town. Talking, buying some stuff, maybe some other stuff too."
Joon Pyo sighed. "Why don't we all just take Ji Hoo's suggestion?" Joon Pyo wanted to explore the commoner's side of town ever since he hung out with Jan Di there. He wanted to take a look around and do some things too.
"Then it's settled. Meet outside the porridge shop tomorrow at eight am?" Woo Bin said.
They all nodded and promised each other they would be there, and left.
