This is a song chapter! I recommend listening to it after the chapter for the best experience. Because of this, the song name will be at the bottom. Sadly I cant post the link, so instead I'll tell you how to find it.

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Chapter 2, Starlit Song.


MC's POV

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'Hey mom, we haven't talked in a while. It's been about a week since I've moved in with Jaehee. I told you about her right?

We both have our little quirks that the other doesn't like but that's to be expected. Nothing huge thankfully. I usually stay up later, sometimes reading or drawing, but I forget I'm not alone anymore so sometimes I'll be talking to my gamer friends and get a little loud. Whereas, with her being so organized, ironically leaves her coffee mugs scattered around. But, we're getting used to it. I know this wasn't what you wanted me to end up doing with my life, but I think this will end up being a great thing for me. I didn't have much of a plan anyways for after college. I hope you can come visit us sometime once things have settled down, I would love for you to meet her.

Love you, MC.'

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"And, send.".

I push the little button and send the text to my mom before crawling out of bed.

Glancing at my phone, I realize it's already eight o'clock which, according to Jaehee, is pretty late. I pull on some clothes and head into the main kitchen/living area where I, unsurprisingly, find Jaehee pouring some coffee.

"MC, You're up." she says with a slight smile. "So, I was thinking today we go down to the 'High's hardware'* store and pick out some lights and appliances for the shop. We should order some wood and such for booth's and tables as well.". She takes a sip from her mug, her college logo on it. "Oh!", she says, a light bulb going off in her head. "I almost forgot, we should re-paint the shop too! The current paint is getting old and might start peeling off, plus this way we can put our own little touch on it."

"Sounds good." I say, sitting down at our small dining table. "While we're out, we should get a lock for the staircase door. The more I think of it, the more I freak myself out about it. Especially if we end up hiring people to help one day.". With a shrug I add "I would just feel a lot better if we had a lock.".

She sits down across from me and brings over some french toast. "That's completely understandable. But if we get help, I don't want them doing most of the work. That's not why I wanted to do this.". She seems to become a little worried at this.

"I know!" I quickly respond. "It's just," I speak between bites of food, "I think it would be a good idea once we become stable to have some part timers in case one day we just need a break. Not to fully run the shop, I know how much this means to you and wouldn't just hand it off to someone else.".

She seems to be reassured and calms down again. "Thank you MC.", she pauses to sip her coffee. "If we become a stable business, I wouldn't mind getting one or two people on call if need be.". After taking a bite of her breakfast, she points out. "We never did set our hours though.".

"That's true, what do you think?" I ask.

Brushing a stray hair out of her face, "I was thinking maybe, from six AM to eight PM?".

I almost cough up a bite of food I was chewing. "Jaehee...". I give a sigh.

She left C&R partially due to too much work, but inside, she's actually a bit of a workaholic. Though she would never admit it, she doesn't like feeling unproductive. While I admire her enthusiasm, I refuse to let her burn herself out. I will make her relax and enjoy life if it's the last thing I do. She's already loosened up a lot since we met at least.

"That is way too long. Heck, that's almost as bad as your hours when you were working for Jumin!". She seems to consider my words a bit, but still seems unswayed. "We are not working fourteen hours a day. The average person works from nine to five. It's not that I'm complaining, " I lean back into my seat, crossing my arms, "but you left C&R because you were working so much. I'm not going to let you collapse from exhaustion like you did that one time.".

She scrunches her eyebrows in thought. "How about... Ten hours? Say seven to five?".

Granted, we are running a coffee shop. But I was hoping to get her to take it a bit easier, but ten hours isn't too bad, knowing her, this is the best I'm going to get.

"Alright." I agree, "That works for me.".

"Well I'm glad that's settled.".

After we finish eating, we start to head out.

"We'll have to take your car. It's a bit far to walk." Jaehee says.

"Alright... But wait," A question comes to mind. "Why don't you have a car? Working at C&R, you could certainly have afforded one.".

She looks down at her feet. "That's the funny thing, MC.". I tilt my head and she continues, "I never learned how to, uh, drive..."*.

"What?".

"I never got my license.". She looks back up, "Never really needed to. For college, it was only a five minute walk. Even when I worked at C&R, it was only a short bus ride away, or even a half-hour walk if I felt like it.".

"Oh." Is all I manage out. "Well," I grab my keys from our little bowl by the stairs, "It's a good thing I can drive. Besides, a lot of people in the city don't drive. Even if they do have their license.".

She seems to consider my words. Laughing slightly, "I suppose that's true. I was just worried you'd think I'm weird or something.".

Teasingly I reply, "I do think you're weird.", causing her to arch her eyebrow. With a smile, I add "But only in the best way.".

"Oh!". She seems surprised at my compliment. "We, um, we should get going." she says as she brushes past me.

'Did I make her uncomfortable?'

I follow her out and we get in my car. I turn the key, but it doesn't work. I try again but the engine only starts for a minute before dying again.

"Is everything alright MC?"

"Yep!" I say, slightly embarrassed. "It's an old car so this happens sometimes. It should start any min-", the car hums alive. "Haha! Got it!".

"Isn't that dangerous? If your engine is having problems, what if-".

"Don't worry!", I interrupt. "It just takes some time to warm up, that's all." I say, trying to convince myself as much as Jaehee.

"Alright." she says defeated.


We arrive within a few minutes and soon Jaehee starts asking me about paint colors.

"This is a nice shade of blue but this is a beautiful color green over here." she points to the color chart. "Neither of them feel quite right though." she says with a slight pout. "I just... I want everything to be perfect.".

I give her an assuring pat on the back. "It will be. What do you want?".

She hesitates for a moment, rubbing her shoulders "I'm... Not so sure. Blue might be sad seeming... But green can be associated with greed and jealousy and, and-"

I put a hand on her shoulder. "Jaehee, stop." I tell her. She gives me a look I well know to mean she's overthinking. "What's your favorite color?" I ask.

"We can't pick it so impulsively! Besides, you already know." she fusses. I narrow my eyes at her and glare her down before she relents, knowing I'm trying to make a point. "Yellow. Not a bright yellow but a light, warm yellow.".

"Well," I start, " yellow is warm. Very comforting too.". I start trailing off into my own thoughts "Yellow is bright like the sun. Yellow means happiness and creativity.". Smiling to myself, I continue, "Yellow is the color of sunflowers. Of warm sand between toes, and when fall comes around, yellow is the color of the leaves as they drift down. Yellow is a good color, the color you like. For me, its the perfect color. Because yellow," I pause briefly for effect, " is the color that reminds me of you.".

Her face turns a shade of red that I didn't even know was possible, heck, they might not even have it in a paint color here! I cover my mouth, as well as most of my face, in disbelief of what I just said. Jaehee starts to stammer but it comes out in gibberish as she takes a step back as if she got knocked off balance. She tries to hide the blush from her cheeks as she turns away, clearly flustered by my sudden confession.

'What is WRONG with me?!' I internally yell.

She turns away from me, intently staring at the color chart. After a moment, she points to a light yellow. "This one." she says, lowering her head down, cheeks still slightly pink.

"That's... perfect.". I shakily admit, still not fully recovered from blurting all that stuff out.

We spend a few more hours looking at various lights and appliances. At long last, we place our order so they can be shipped to the shop. The worker says it won't be till next month that they're able to get them delivered, which isn't too much of a problem considering all the other stuff we have yet to do.

Once we get home, deciding it's best to start painting sooner rather than later, Jaehee and I throw on some old clothes and prepare the shop to be painted. We lay down newspapers and put tape around the edges of windows.

Finishing our prep' work, I hand Jaehee a brush and ask, "Would you like the honor of the first brush stroke madam?", with an exaggerated bow.

Jaehee chuckles a bit to herself as she dips her brush in the thick yellow liquid and makes the first stroke.

"This is our shop now!" I cheer.

"MC," her tone sarcastic, but eyes sparkling with joy, "It's been our shop.".

I playfully pout, putting my hands on my hips. "You know what I meant.". Doing my best Jumin impersonation, "Miss Kang, please learn to be a bit more enthusiastic about your work.".

This time she's unable to stop herself and gives a wholehearted laugh. "I suppose I can be a bit more excited.". With a playful smile, she dips a finger in the paint, "However, no good deed goes unpunished, MC.".

Before I can react, she wipes her paint coated finger on my nose. After wiping it off and staring at her a bit in disbelief, I yell out "THIS. IS. SPARTA!", as I quickly give her a yellow spot on her forehead with my thumb. "Catch me if you can, simba.".

She rolls her eyes. "You did not just make a deesney* reference.". I smirk at her and cautiously get ready to run. Her eyes flit between me and the paint can and we both dip our index fingers in the cold liquid.

We both try smearing it on each other, dodging out of the way occasionally, but usually catching each other's cheeks or shirts.

Covered in paint, we both burst out laughing at each other's war marks.

"We shouldn't waste too much paint." she says, still smiling from our two-minute paint war. "We have stuff to do.".

I submerge my brush before slathering paint on the wall. "Well, let's get to work then!".

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Jaehee's POV

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I lie in bed, playing the day over in my head.

'Today was a great day.' I tell myself. 'So why am I so stressed about everything?'. I couldn't even pick out a paint color... I turn on my side and clutch my pillow. 'I'm so glad MC is here.'.

I should sleep, but I cant seem to drift off. My heart feels excited but my body is tired and it's altogether confusing my brain. I start thinking about what happened earlier today, again.

'Gosh... I've never been called weird and it seem like a good thing.'

I roll over to glance at my phone and check the time.

'1:36 AM'

Crap.

It's useless to lay here. I get up to make some tea, and after a while I'll hopefully get sleepy, that's the plan anyways. I make my chamomile tea and drink it in the living room.

It's oddly quiet, but somewhat peaceful, as if I'm the only one in the city.

I finish my tea, no more tired than before, and head back to my room. A few minutes pass when I hear what seems to be a guitar strum. I sit upright, straining my ears to try and hear where it's coming from. I've accepted that sometimes MC will yell in excitement from winning her game, but this is a new development.

'Who's playing at this time of night?'

It seems like it's coming from outside. I'm not certain however, I can only faintly hear it. I get out of bed and head out onto the balcony where, of course, I find MC sitting down with her legs dangling through the banisters.

She doesn't notice me and instead keeps strumming on her guitar, staring off at the stars in thought. I stare for a moment, taking in the way the low light of the moon catches her hair as it flows slightly through the night breeze, almost in awe at how peaceful she looks.

'She isn't doing anything remarkable, so why can't I tear my eyes away?'

I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding, and move closer to her. It isn't until I'm right next to her that she acknowledges my presence.

"Jaehee?". Her eyes widen, "Oh my gosh, I didn't wake you did I?! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean too, I just couldn't sleep...".

"You didn't wake me. I couldn't sleep either.". I sit down and cross my legs. "You play guitar?" I ask.

"No, not really. I got it in freshman year of college cause I wanted to learn but never ended up playing it much.".

"You can't learn anything without practice.".

"But anyways." she quickly changes the subject. "I don't know any songs so I just strum on it. I like how it sounds, even If it isn't being played right." she says as she gives a slight giggle.

"Can I see it?" I ask. She hands me the guitar, obviously curious about why I asked for it. "I learned a bit, my mom taught me." I explain. "I think I remember at least one or two songs."

"Jaehee...".

"I want to share this with you. Besides, if you like hearing it when it's just being strummed, imagine how much you'll love actually hearing a song.". I tiredly smile at her.

She gives me a slight nod and I begin playing, thoughts of practicing with my mother resurface and the chords come back as naturally as breathing. I sing along to the song as I strum, MC swaying her head with the music.

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"Open your shiny eyes in the silent night~

I swooped down in the mysterious night.

I sneak without any sound of footsteps

In a lusting black cat's pose~

A silhouette that carries the moonlight on it's back,

"Come here" It smiles as it beckons me."

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After glancing over to see MC has closed her eyes to immerse herself in the song, I continue.

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"As you fall asleep, are you somewhere also,

Having a happy dream?

Kiss the starry sky. It's time for good children to go to sleep.

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Don't look at me, don't catch me~

I'm a butterfly who got lost.

I sing freely with these wings no one can see.

They're hiding in your heart~"

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My eyes dampen from the memories this song brings, I look over to MC for approval. She's looking at me, hands clasped over her mouth.

"Well? What did yo-"

I'm cut off as she flings herself on me, wrapping me in a hug.

"I loved it." she whispers in my ear, causing my face to heat up.

"Ah...", I pat her back, "Good?".

She let's go. "I'm sorry..." she says sheepishly. "I just realized how amaz- er, talented you are. I couldn't help myself.".

"It's alright. You're a great audience." I tease. "We should probably try to go to sleep now though.".

"Yeah." She tucks her hair behind her ear. "Probably.".

We walk to our doors, give each other a wave, her flashing me a smile as well, before we head back into our rooms.

After a while of lying in bed and probably way overthinking what just happened, I check my phone again.

'2:17 AM'

Now, with all this new stuff swirling around in my head... I might never get to fall asleep...

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Chapter 2, Starlit song. End.


A/N. This chapter's song Is actually sung by the voice actor of Jaehee Kang so I strongly suggest listening because honestly she has a beautiful voice.

Song name: Meikuu Butterfly, OR, Labyrinth Butterfly

(Just realized I cant put links in the chapters...)

To find it, go to Youtube and type "Jaehee singing". It's posted by StrawberryHero.

Note, that will not take you to the official song, but this is the one I listen too because it seems less auto-tuned.


* High's hardware because Lowe's isn't in the area. Surprising Lowe's haven't sued High's for copyright problems.

*Ok, I'm not 100% sure if it's ever mentioned that Jaehee can drive. Plz don't kill me if it does.

*Deesney, Owner of most movie franchises, as well as a bunch of theme parks.

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The spaceship's sensors have caught the RFA members meaningless thoughts...

707: "I wonder how MC is dealing with moving in..."

Zen: "Oh who's that handsome man over there? Oops, my bad. It's a mirror."


Thank you for reading this chapter of Mystic Radio! If you liked it, make sure to leave a like and subscribe so you know when the next update is! Now, go enjoy some Honey Buddha chips, and I'll see you next chapter! ~Des