Secrets of Attraction

Twenty: JOOHYUK

Okay, I figured I should just stick to one activity for Joohyuk. Music-producing. I'll probably edit  when the story is over. . . maybe. Sorry if this triggers anyone!

✿ Secrets of Attraction ✿

I couldn't remember the drive home. All I could think of was her face, the way she looked up at me, the gentle curve of her jawline. All I could hear was that beat from the morning when I first woke up - the one that went through my brain when I thought about being alone with her in the meadow. I thought about the stars, the heat of her mouth when we kissed. Fragments coming together. And then words . . .

You're the coffee that I need in the morning.

I was writing a song, without even realizing it. My fingers burned to bring the sound to life.

When I got home, the house was quiet. My parents were parked in front of the TV watching a kdrama where youths are starting a startup business. I leaned over the top of the couch to say hello, but they were both sound asleep with Joon's baby monitor on the end table next to them. I backed away quietly and went upstairs. There was a sliver of light coming from Josie's room. I poked my head in.

"Hey, I'm home," I said.

She looked up from her book. "Yeah, so."

I laughed; her enthusiasm killed me. "Night, Josie."

I flicked on the light in my room and closed the door behind me. My acoustic sat in its stand, abandoned since Sungkyung-Hyoseop. I took off my hoodie, grabbed the guitar, and sat on the edge of my bed. All went silent in my brain. I put down the guitar. Grabbed my phone. Send a few texts to Suzy, hoping some interaction would inspire me. Nothing.

I called and left a voicemail.

She'd probably changed her mind about having tea with her mother. Her phone could be dead. 

Or possibly you should calm the fuck down  and stop acting like a drooling love zombie.

I picked up my laptop and opened the musical software, wishing I were one of those divinely inspired musicians who could come up with a song in an hour. I placed my laptop beside me and picked up the guitar again; the guitar had fallen out of tune. It took a few seconds to hit that sweet sound, but when it got there, I started strumming, trying to pin down the melody in my head.

It's the sunrise; and those brown eyes, yes.

Another line. I grabbed my song notebook from my desk, opened to a fresh page.

There was a knock on the door.

"Yeah?"

Eomeoni stood in the doorway, her eyes darting across the bas-relief my dirty clothes formed across the floor. "Hyuk - this room."

"Oh, sorry, I'll clean it. Did I wake you?"

She came in and sat on the foot of the bed. "Nah. I thought I heard Joon stirring. How did I miss you come in?"

"You guys were sleeping, I didn't want to bother you. Must have been some drama," I said.

"Your father picked that out. Anytime I get a momento to sit still, I end up falling asleep these days. Tax season, ugh. I wanted to make sure you got in okay."

"Yep, I'm in."

She nodded, looked around the room again. "So . . . are you going to tell me about the weekend went? Or am I just going to have to get the tea from Aunt Lia?"

I laughed and strummed.

"Like you haven't already."

"You know me, yes, we talked, but it's only because you're so tight-lipped."