your rhythm - MarkHyuck

- three

"Don't look down on me," I flipped through the pages of music sheet and placed them on the music desk, separating it accordingly.

"I'm not you friend," Irene, my teacher, said.

"People think that passing out is a big deal, it's really not," I let out a huff and placed my hands on the keypad, getting ready to play. "You have a medical condition, how is that not a big deal?" She covered the music sheet with her hand.

"I can take care of myself, you don't have to worry," I smiled at her. "Now let me play," She crossed her arms and stood next to me, not even moving a bit.

"Go ahead,"

This time I made sure that I was ready and not stressed-out.

I started off slowly and picked up the pace, finally feeling the rhythm and the beat of the piano piece, one that I made by myself.

With, of course, some changes by Irene.

"You're forgetting the staccato right there hon," she pointed at the semiquavers. "And you're slow on the beat, fasten up,"

I redid the part she pointed out and followed the beat. "One and two and three and four and one and two.." I whispered under my breath.

I continued for the next few minutes and slowed down near the ending. "You need more practice," she said.

"Point out the mistakes I've done," I said before passing the music sheet to her. She grabbed a chair nearby and sat down next to me, grabbing a pencil to doodle on the sheet.

"See right here, this part, you forgot the accelerando. That is the first mistake. And your tempo was not even near to what it stated here," She circles on the number at the very beginning of the piece.

"Vivace, 140 bpm, briskly, lively and fast. This isn't a sad song, no one wants that. You're not playing a lullaby for the audience do you get it?"

"Yes ma'am,"

____

Jaemin stirred all the ingredients in the pan, adding a few cups of rice and 2 spoonful of sesame oil. "Smells good," I put down my bag on the floor and plopped myself on the couch, switching on the television to ease my mind.

I could see my keyboard from the side of my eyes, wondering if I should practice for a bit. "Do you think I can practice with the keyboard?" I asked Jaemin for his opinion. Though I don't think it would be a good idea to do it.

"Keyboard and piano are two different things Donghyuck, I suggest you to go to Jisung's room to practice," He said before pouring all the rice into two different bowls.

He brought both of the bowls to the main room and gave one to me. "Thank you," I whispered under my breath. "Jisung is going out tonight with Chenle so I think its the perfect timing for you to practice, you don't have much time,"

"Why are you suddenly acting like a mom," I asked, raising my left eyebrow and stare at him with full suspicion. "I'm not always fun and games, I can be mature too you know," he changed the channel to disney plus and proceeded to put on princess and the frog.

"Mature my ass," I lightly kicked him on the shoulders and grabbed my phone, calling Jisung.

hello?

"Hi Jisung it's Hyuck,"

yea i can tell, what do you want?

"Can I use your piano to practice for the upcoming competition tonight?"

okay, i'll leave the keys under the rug, make sure you dont leave it inside when you go out

"I definitely won't repeat the same mistake baby,"

ok bye, i trust you on this!

I ate all the rice that was in the bowl and washed it before leaving the room. I headed straight to Jisung's room which was on the 3rd floor, one of the spacious room they had in the university.

I looked around as a habit before entering his room but when I checked under the rug, there weren't any keys. That was when the door swung open. "Didn't you just call me a few seconds ago?"

"No it has been 5 minutes," I answered the male with white hair. "Whatever, here's the key. Don't forget to put it under the rug when you leave, I can't bare going through the same thing for the third time," he said to my face sternly. Jisung might look like an innocent little hamster but he was certainly rigid.

"You don't have to remind me that. By the way, you probably need to take your coat along since it's getting cold and I know Chenle doesn't live here," I reminded and pointed at the black winter coat sitting on his white couch. "Really? Alright then,"

He goes back in and I followed him from behind. "Have you eaten?" I asked as I walked closer to his black grand piano placed right next to his television. "Nope, I'm heading out to eat with Chenle at the new seafood restaurant nearby," Jisung answered, putting on the coat.

"Have a great time then,"

"Will do Hyung," he said before leaving.

ding

A little sound came out of my phone. I checked the notification and it was a message from Irene along with a voice message.

Madam Irene
I played it for you so it would be easier for you to follow along and practice meanwhile.
*attachment*

Me
thank you

I sometimes wonder how she could leave a period at every end of a sentence. Doesn't it seem weird and awkward for her to do it or is it just another thing old people usually do?

I understand that the period is something that you use when you're mad at someone. Though grammatically it is correct to use period to indicate the end of a sentence but it seemed like it wasn't when it comes to texting.

Have I been brainwashed by the internet and social media? Most definitely. The generation made up tons of slangs and there will be more in the future. The older I'm getting, the less I am caught up to the younger generation. Is it something I should be ashamed of?

But either way, I won't say that she's old but she is to me.

I played the voice message and the beautiful rhythm of the piano started to fill up the whole room, entering my ears and vibrating my eardrums. I closed my eyes and felt the music flow inside of me, enduring every detail that could be heard.

The accelerando she told me about and the staccato I had left. I tried understanding the music.

It may sound ridiculous, hell I'm even laughing at myself for saying these but its a method that could help me to play the piano better. Understanding is the key to everything, when you're trying to learn specifically.

How are you going to learn if you don't understand? It was a question I ask myself almost everyday.

"You can do this Lee Donghyuck, you will win the competition!"