Chapter 2

Minjeong sat there, feeling dumbfounded. What the actual hell?!

After a long day of boring lectures and endless talks about laws and court cases, Minjeong had only wanted to do one thing: to pick up her guitar and finally feel the familiar feeling of the strings against her fingers. 

And that’s exactly what she did as soon as the bell of her last class rang. She took her stuff, went to retrieve her guitar from the teachers’ office and got comfortable in her usual classroom.

She’s calling it her classroom because her International law teacher, Mr Kim, once busted her going from empty rooms to empty rooms to play the guitar. But while Minjeong thought she would get reprimanded, her teacher ended up just giving her the keys to one of the classrooms, and telling her to keep it a secret between them. 

So now, she finally has her own room to play in peace. And that’s exactly what she did! She doesn’t know how long she spent sitting there but before she knew it, it was completely dark outside. 

She thought about finally packing up her stuff, but indulged herself with one last song to play. But apparently, it had been a mistake. A grave one at that.

She was peacefully playing when a dark-haired storm rushed in front of her, and blurted out something about joining a band. What. the. hell. 

“Um..” Minjeong was literally too stunned to speak. Who was this girl, why was she here and most importantly, what the hell was she talking about?

The girl, however, did not give her brain the luxury of even beginning to form a thought. “I’m sorry for eavesdropping, it wasn’t my intent really!” She almost sounded… flustered? “But!” She started again. “I was like, pulled by your melody and… wait I sound completely stupid right now…” 

Minjeong almost laughed after hearing the girl’s rant. It looked like she wasn’t the only one who couldn’t form a thought after all. 

Knowing that someone learnt about her secret felt scary but for some reason, the girl in front of her was more endearing than anything. Minjeong felt the ghost of a smile form on her face, and apparently the girl noticed it because her ears noticeably flushed. 

“H-hey don’t laugh I just-” This was the last straw for Minjeong, who erupted in laughter and caused the girl in front of her to helplessly whine. “Hey!”

“Sorry it’s just… I don’t even know who you are but what the hell girl!” snickered Minjeong. The mood was weird but familiar at the same time. It was odd but comforting, and the dreadful thought of someone seeing her with a guitar between her hands didn’t even cross her mind after she started laughing. When was the last time she felt so carefree? 

The girl cleared her throat, an obvious attempt to compose herself again. “Sorry for that…” She extended a hand towards Minjeong. “My name’s Yu Jimin, and I’m recruiting people to join my band!”

Minjeong laughed again, and shook Jimin’s hand, flashing her a smile. “Kim Minjeong. Nice to meet you Jimin” 

Jimin smiled back at her, and looked very excited. “Are you in?”

“No.”

Jimin’s face fell in an almost comical way, which made Minjeong laugh even harder. 

“Hey what was all of that for, that was straight up mean!” 

“Sorry sorry, I just felt like I needed to introduce myself too, you know? Basic politeness?” Minjeong knows that she sounded way too cocky and overconfident in front of that girl she had just met. But falling into this harmless banter felt easy.

“Whatever you say!” Jimin pouted and honestly, it looked adorable. How can someone with such a perfect face and charismatic aura can melt in such a puddle of cuteness? What kind of crazy gap moe is this? Life truly has its favorites…

“Why refusing though? You play so well… are you already in a band?”

Minjeong was tempted to lie and just go along with this, for the sake of tranquility. But this girl seems… unpredictable. Kind of like Yizhuo in a way. Minjeong has a feeling she’ll push if she tells she’s in a band, so maybe going with the truth is easiest.

A half-truth at least.

“I’m bad with crowds,” lied Minjeong.

Okay well, that wasn’t an actual lie in her defense. While it’s true that it’s physically impossible for Minjeong to share her love of music with others, she can’t even begin to imagine how she could do it in front of an actual crowd? Only crazy people like Yizhuo can do that!

“Oh..” Jimin looked at her apologetically. “That’s too bad…” And Minjeong felt so bad seeing how the girl’s face actually fell from disappointment. 

“I’m sorry… I hope you’ll find someone though.” Minjeong is bad with words, but she tried her hand at words of comfort. Not her best attempt for sure, but it’s the effort that counts, right? 

And apparently it worked a tiny bit because Jimin sent her a small smile, and thanked her. And gosh her close to serious face is so pretty what the hell? Resisting pretty girls is quite the hard task… but Minjeong will hold strong! She has no choice anyways. 

However, it seems like Jimin wasn’t exactly done. “Is it okay if I come by to listen to you play again?” 

Minjeong was taken aback by the question. Aside from her grandfather, she had never played for anyone else before in her life. So obviously she should decline the offer, right?

“Sure.”

***

There are many words that can define Yizhuo’s sound, but the most concise one would be to say that it was simply incredible. Who knew their college welcomed one of the best drummers Jimin had ever heard? 

The night of the audition, Aeri had texted Jimin and gushed about how skilled Yizhuo is, and how Aeri obviously accepted her into the band. And the day after, Yizhuo had been sitting inside the club room when Jimin had finally arrived there. 

She met with the girl, who was a literal hyperactive battery, and listened to her play. And yeah, Aeri had not exaggerated at all. That girl was a freaking genius. It was as if she only formed one with the drums, and it was simply incredible.

If only Minjeong had accepted to join them as well… Jimin could already picture the blonde sitting there with them, laughing and playing together. Was she delusional? Most likely. Was she a fool for basically asking to see Minjeong again? Completely. Did she regret it? Absolutely not. 

She desperately wanted to gush about Minjeong to Aeri, but a part of her wants to keep their encounter to herself. She’s not sure why though. Is it Minjeong’s mysterious aura? Or the fact that Jimin already doesn’t want to share her? She barely knows anything about Minjeong except from her divine guitar skills and her name.

Did she already ask if she’s delusional? Because she very much is. 

“Jiminnn!” Aeri waved a hand in front of her face. “Earth to Yu Jimin?” Jimin snapped out of her daze, and met her friend’s confused gaze. “Is everything okay?” 

“Ah! Um..” Jimin struggled to find words, feeling like she got caught red-handed doing something illegal. Is thinking about a pretty blonde guitarist illegal though? She’ll have to check. “Sorry I was zoning out. Let’s start!”

Aeri gave her a slightly worried look, before turning towards Yizhuo who was already sitting in front of the drums. “Ning, you ready?” Damn they’re already on a casual name basis? Jimin felt like she missed an entire chapter but whatever.

“Yup!” Yizhuo raised her drumsticks, and counted. “1, 2, 3, 4!” As soon as they started, the feeling that washed over Jimin was almost overwhelming. It’s crazy how just adding drums changed their sound so much. 

It was as if the three girls were having a conversation solely through their instruments. Words weren’t even needed here. It was just their shared melody, their feelings and them.

They had not even planned a particular song, yet they played together with a flawless ease. Jamming together felt as easy as breathing. And when they reached a satisfying stopping point, they stopped and all looked at each other.

“That was…” breathed Jimin.

“Amazing!” shouted both Aeri and Yizhuo at the same time.

And they’re completely right. What happened simply felt magical, and Jimin was already craving for this sensation to overwhelm her again. She had heard that jamming together for the first time was an indescribable feeling, and whoever told her that did absolutely not lie. 

Gosh. Jimin loves music.

***

A few days passed since Minjeong had met Jimin in the empty classroom and unfortunately, the rush of colors the other girl had brought to her life had merely been fleeting. Alas, Minjeong had no choice but to go back to her bland and dull daily life. 

But at least, hearing that Yizhuo got to join the band she wanted warmed Minjeong’s heart greatly. She’s glad that things worked out for her friend, and she can’t wait to hear her group play. Yizhuo told her to come along with her after their classes would be done for the day, and Minjeong gladly obliged. If she couldn’t share her joy for music with other people, she could at least get a glimpse of it through her friend’s music.  And that was way more than enough for her.

And this is how she found herself waiting for her best friend as soon as her class ended.

“Minjeong!” Minjeong wiped her head and was met with the sight of her bubbly friend rushing to her side. “Sorry, did you wait for a while?”

Minjeong shook her head. “Nope, don’t worry Ning.” She then let her friend grab her wrist and pull her towards the band’s club room. 

“You’ll see they’re so nice! Especially Aeri the guitarist!” So they already have a guitarist? Minjeong will gladly indulge in analyzing her playstyle then. As a fellow guitarist herself, she finds most of her inspiration from other people’s ways of playing. A very much needed process in order to hone her own skills. 

After walking for a bit, they finally reached a wooden door. The room was situated in a rather secluded part of the building, so coming here had taken longer than Minjeong expected. 

Yizhuo grabbed the doorknob and pushed the door open. “I’m here!” she announced.

When Minjeong peeked through the door, she finally got a glimpse of the club room. It was a small room, yet spacious enough to welcome a comfortable looking couch, a small round coffee table in front of it and the big drum set situated at its center. 

On the couch, someone was laying down. From what Minjeong could see, it was a young woman who had middle-length brown hair, and kind of looked mixed. Was she Japanese? Minjeong couldn’t really tell since she couldn’t properly see her.

“Oh Yizhuo hi!” The young woman got up on her two feet and rushed towards the door to welcome the Chinese girl. When she got closer, her eyes immediately fell on Minjeong who suddenly felt self conscious. Did she have something on her face? 

“I see you’ve brought someone with you!” she inquired. “Is she here to audition?”

Yizhuo quickly waved her hand. “No not at all, she doesn’t even play an instrument.” The woman’s face fell a bit, but she quickly replaced her gloomy expression with a kind smile. 

She extended a hand towards Minjeong who took it. “My name’s Aeri Uchinaga, sophomore in Fashion major! Nice to meet you um…” Minjeong chuckled softly at the girl’s behavior. So she is Japanese after all. She looked bubbly but at the same time incredibly chill.

She shook her hand back. “Minjeong. Kim Minjeong.”

“Ah! Nice to meet you then Minjeong!” brightly replied the older girl, all while energetically shaking Minjeong’s hand. Why was she such an extrovert magnet? What is this wizardry…  

Aeri eventually let go of her hand and turned towards Yizhuo who had already made her way towards the couch, and was seemingly busy munching on some chips. “Oh yeah Jimin told me she’s gonna be a bit late.”

Jimin? As in Yu Jim- 

Minjeong couldn’t even finish her thought when the door abruptly opened, revealing a very much familiar raven. 

“Hello!” she cheerfully greeted. 

Aeri rushed to the woman’s side and high-fived her. “Hey, took you long enough!” 

Jimin sheepishly scratched the back of her head, and laughed a little. “I had to help a teacher out with something. I’m sor-” Jimin’s words immediately died in her throat when her gaze met Minjeong’s. 

“Minjeong?!” shouted the raven.

Oh boy. What a mess.