Midnight Tales | ✔

6

Jaehyun

"Mr. Kang"

"Yes, Jaehyun?"

Were now at the back porch of the house, just outside of the kitchen, sitting on the lounge chairs. Mr. Kang's reading a book and I, listening to music through my AirPods. It's two in the afternoon and it's still too hot to stay on the lawn so we decided to stay here.

"If you don't mind. Can I ask who was the girl on your painting yesterday?"

He smiled and put down his book. "Someone your grandpa met many years ago. I wasn't really able to meet her personally, but I've known her through your grandpa"

"Was she the reason why my grandfather couldn't love my grandma?"

"Ahh, questions, questions, so many questions Jaehyun my boy. Why don't you go to the study room to read something, I'm quite busy here you see" Mr. Kang winked then turned his attention back to the book he was holding.

Fine.

I went back inside and climb up to the second floor to where the study room is. No signal, no wifi, I couldn't do anything in this place. I pulled my phone out and pressed the volume and turn it to full level. As I reached the second floor, I quickly walked over to the second door and was about to open it but stopped.

No wait, I actually could do something.

I turned to the third door and walked over to it. I closed the door behind me as I went inside the music room and pulled out my AirPods. Good thing the glass panels were facing the opposite side of the sun and the room was now covered in daylight shadow. Walking over to the piano, I sat on the stool and opened the lid.

It was indeed an old one, though its keys are still pristine white. There wasn't any dust on the surface, a proof that Mr. Kang has indeed used the piano last night. I turned to the last key and played a note.

Then another, and another.

Until my two hands are on the keys and are playing the same melody I heard last night.

Since this morning when I woke up, I've been hearing the melody in my head, I couldn't take it off my mind. Even if I played random songs on my phone for how many times, it's still stuck inside me.

There's just something about this melody that makes me feel a lot of things.

Like longing.

I was already on the fifth repetition when suddenly the door opened so hard that it gave off a loud bang as it hit the wall.

I quickly turned around to Mr. Kang to explain but froze in my place when I found another person staring at me, wide-eyed.

It was the girl in Mr. Kang's portrait.

She sobbed as she covered her mouth with both of her hands.

"Oh my god, you're here! You're finally here!"

"Uh I'm sorry, but I—"

I wasn't able to finish what I was saying when she suddenly ran for me and jumped over to me. Pulling me into a tight embrace.

I was too shocked, I was too surprised and unbalanced that I wasn't able to support her weight and both of us fell down to the floor.

Of course, my head came first.

And I couldn't remember anything after that, as my head hit the wooden floor and everything blacked out.