#das

the sounds of piano echoed through the room as your fingers run the keys effortlessly like you had done this a million times before.

it was 4pm on a friday. most had already gone home for the weekend with the exception of a few teachers doing their last reviews and also students who had nothing better to do aside kicking balls on the school field.

do soocheol was one of them.

you took glances once in a while to observe the scene—or moreso him, playing below. you caught a glimpse of him stumbling over a ball when he failed to kick it and with wootaek laughing right after. you weren’t lying when you say you found that quite funny too.

it was between that or settling on the floating purple orbs on the sky. it is kind of beautiful now that you’ve seen it properly, finally seeing the beauty in what these other people had said.

you never thought he would notice you watching him, so you continued—not in that creepy stalker way of course.

until he did.

the moment was brief, but it felt like it lasted forever.

he made eye-contact with you the next time you glanced again—him looking up, hair clinging to his forehead from sweating and finally, he smiled.

you awkwardly raised one of your hands from the keys and waved at him, him doing the same thing.

you looked away quickly, not wanting to give him the wrong idea and tried focusing on your fingers. your fingers moved on it’s own but your mind was onto something else.

it went like that for awhile before a soft knock came. you weren’t expecting anyone.

“who is that?” you asked, suddenly cautious.

“it’s me, soocheol.”

his familiar voice boomed outside the door. instinctively, your posture was straight, your hair was fixed and your lip was hydrated again.

“come in.”

you watch as soocheol comes in and closes the door behind him. he had two sandwiches on both hands.

“didn’t expect to see you here.”

“i didn’t too.”

he replied while taking a seat next to you, keeping a safe distance. his hand held out towards you, offering one of the sandwiches.

“here, thought you might need it.”

you accepted it. your fingers slightly brushed against his as you took it. you muttered a quiet thank you, hiding the tremble in your voice. soocheol simply smiled.

you two ate in silence, enjoying eachother’s company instead of bombarding you with questions.

“piano’s are interesting.”

“hm?”

you hummed, turning to look at him. his mouth was full when he said that—making it sound like he was mumbling. he repeated it again this time, making sure you could hear it fully.

“oh. yes, very.”

you quickly replied, smiling. soocheol watches as you cleaned sandwich bits off your fingers before they hovered over the keys again.

“do you… want to learn a song? just a simple one.”

you saw his eyes lights up, and he replied quickly than he could—almost choking on his last bite of sandwich. you giggled at his childish antic.

“okay, before we start, make sure you don’t die first.”

he grinned.

“what do i do, boss?”

he asked, waiting for your next instructions.

“first, put your fingers on these keys..” you said, pointing him towards it. his hand placement was a little weird, so you slowly fixed it not before asking if it was okay for you to touch him—his hand was warm against your cold ones. suddenly, you felt heat rushed up towards your cheeks.

soocheol pressed the keys softly, slightly off-tone that it made you laugh but there is always a first time for everyone.

“you playing this can seriously kill a victorian child.” you joked once as he played. he gasped dramatically, as if you had ridiculed his entire bloodline.

“just wait and see.” he replied and you see him grin again.

what you didn’t realize was how close you two were, shoulders bumping like this was a normal occurence.

as he played his part, you harmonized with him on the other end of the piano, slowly and surely to catch up with his speed. it felt straight out of a romance novel—and you prayed soocheol couldn’t hear your quickening heartbeats.

he watched you as you started. his eyes glanced from your fingers to your face—smiling at your focused look.

“what’s funny?” you asked, not looking up.

“nothing. you look cute when you’re focused.”

your fingers abruptly stop, making him stop too. by the end of it, his left hand and you right ones are right next to eachother, itching to be hold.

“you know—i lied when i said piano’s were interesting.”

you hear his voice next to you, soft and quiet. you would’ve missed it if you didn’t paid attention—but he was the only thing you gave attention to during all this.

“then what is?”

you asked, slightly turning to him. if you moved closer, your face would be an inch away from kissing.

soocheol hesitated for awhile, observing your face for any signs of worry—and when he was sure you were fine, he continued.

“it’s you that i find interesting.”

your breath hitched in your throat. suddenly, the things you wanted to say was stuck.

“it was always you, since the first day we met.”

the light from the sunset fell across his face in thin, orange hues. upclose like this, you see the small creases on his cheek, the way his mouth slacked slightly open and finally, his eyes—clear. unblinking. gazing directly at yours, like you were the last precious thing the day had left to offer.

in that suspended amber moment, the whole day seemed to narrow down to this single moment, as though you were the only thing left in the world worth seeing.

his hand rose slowly, fingertips brushing your jaw like he was afraid of hurting you.

“may i?”

you nodded, allowing the pad of his thumb to trace down the curve of your lower lip, lingering there as if memorizing it’s shape.

then slowly, he leaned in.

the kiss was quiet at first, almost hesitant—lips meeting in the softest press while the last of the sunset moved across the edges of your faces.

his mouth was warm and you felt the small exhale against your skin as he tilted his head, deepening it just enough to make it real—slow and steady, like he was pouring everything unspoken into that single moment of contact.

your fingers curled into his shirt, anchoring yourself as the world narrowed to just the two of you. the heat of him, the faint tremor in his breath and the way his other hand slid to the nape of your neck, holding you close like he never wanted it to end.

when you finally parted—just enough to breathe—his forehead rested against yours. the sunset had bled into deep violet and indigo now, the purple orbs shining through like quiet witnesses. soocheol's eyes however, still close and searched yours in the dimming light.

"don't let go,"

he whispered, voice rough around the edges, thumb brushing your cheekbone where a tear you hadn't noticed had slipped free.

you didn't answer with words—instead you kissed him again. slower this time, letting the promise linger between you.

eventually, you pulled back just enough to look at him, eyes crinkled at the corners in the way that always meant trouble.

"you don't know how long i've wanted to do that."

before you could respond, he took your hands in his and guided them back to the keys again.

"now i've got an excuse to come here every single day."

soocheol murmured, his grin widening.

you stared. “you’re kidding.”

he leaned closer. “i'm serious. piano practice, you teach me. who knows, maybe i could be as good—or even better than you."

you snorted and slapped him across the chest jokingly.

"you wish. if it were me, i'll work on my ball kicking skills instead of being too overconfident." you added.

soocheol paused and slowly turned to you.

"wait-you saw that?"

his eyes widened and he quickly hid his face in his hands.

you giggled as you replayed the scene over and over in your head. then, you leaned in and pecked the corner of his cheek—quick, sweet—you could hear him laugh lowly and before you knew it, soocheol dragged you into a tight hug, almost pulling you down the floor.

"why did you even come here in the first place?"

"wootaek pissed me off, so i ditched him."

"you're so bad!"

you both laughed into the hug.

outside, it was late evening. inside, it's just the two of you and the warm echo of keys still humming.