12 Days To Christmas

Four Calling Birds (Younghoon POV)

I was riding in the car from a photo shoot when my manager asked me the most random question.

"Do you know how to play the flute?"

I cocked my head at the question.

"No. Why?"

"You need to learn"

"Why?"

"For the movie shoot"

I completely forgot about the movie until he had mentioned it just now.

"Oh, okay then"

I sat back in the chair,while my manager continued.

"But first, we're heading to bird sanctuary"

I sat up once more.

"Really?"

"Yeah, so sit back, cause it's going to be a while"

"Ok, but what birds are we working with today?"

"I heard but don't remember right now"

"Alright then"
I settled back into the chair, and watched the city flow by my window as I waited.

***

It was a long drive, but we ended up pulling in as people were getting out of the only other car there. I got after realizing who it was and that it was my partner for the movie,Melanie. I sped up a bit to pass her and open the door.

"Thank you"

"Your welcome ma'am"

"Please, call me Melanie"

She walked in and so did my manager, to see her manager was already waiting by the door to the back for us. The receptionist showed us around.

"Do you know what birds we're working with today?" I asked her,hoping she would know.

"My manager said Cockatiels"

I coughed a bit in shock.

"We're working with what?"

"Cockatiels."

"Should I be concerned?"

"Probably not"

"Okay then"

We continued to walk through until her manager stopped abruptly, and I quickly put my hand up so she wouldn't run into him. The holding area was honestly huge as I awed all the foliage around.

"Your hands," The receptionist asked, and  Melanie and I held out our hands for the food.

The food was poured and a few birds came down the snack. Melanie seemed was she used to it, but I'm not. I carefully petted the bird's feathery plume and finally warmed up after a moment.

"These ones are around 6 weeks old, so they're the perfect size," The receptionist said.

"Great!" Melanie's manager exclaimed.

We continued to pet the birds, slowly getting more comfortable with them.

"I need to learn to play the flute,"I said randomly.

"Why is that?"

"For the shoot"

"You need to play the flute?"

"According to my manager, I do"

"Interesting. I can't wait to hear you play"

"It's going to be a while before you hear that"

We continued talking and petting the birds when the receptionist led the birds away.

"You can come back another time to get to know them better"

"I'll schedule that soon" My manager called, before starting out the door.

Melanie followed behind him shortly as I caught up to her.

"Those birds are so cute with their yellow heads and little feathers on top of their heads" I commented, mimicking the crest feathers shape with his hands.

"Don't forget their orange blush-like circles" she reminded me and I felt my eyes grew wide as I remembered.

"Oh my goodness, your right!"

To say the least, I fell into a cuteness overload attack as we exited and went on our separate ways.

***

A few days went by, and we met up again, this time at a music studio. I was learning to play the flute for the shoot, and she had to be there to know the songs I was going to play because she had to join in at some point during filming. I was in the booth with my teacher and I knew she could hear me messing up ever so often, her silent giggles causing me to give her subtle glances back.

After finally getting it down, she was invited into the booth.

"What songs does he know?"

"Just a few basic ones for practice reasons, but we need a song that you both know, mainly for the shoot and for the birds when they fly off. Which is why I invited you in, so you can discuss." My instructor commented.

She looked at me, and I looked back, confused about songs to pick.

"I looked up the birds and saw many videos of them singing 'September' by Earth, Wind, and Fire. Is that a hard song to play?"

The instructor thought over the song.

"Not really. If he practices a bit more, he should be able to get it" The instructor placed his hand on my shoulder kinda roughly.

"Then that's what I'll play"I agreed.

"Alright, I'll wait out there," She said, leaving me to practice.

She watched as I continued to practice, slowly getting the song as time passed. Once I was ready, she was brought back in and was told to just tap on anything to the beat, cause it was the same thing we were going to be doing for the shoot. More time passed, and we were both in tune with each other, ready for the shoot.

***

The day to film came by so fast. I was in the car messaging my hyungs, cause they've already done this before.

"Will it take long?"

"It shouldn't, mine went by quick" Jacob replied.

"Mine didn't either, despite the difficulty with the birds" Sangyeon continued on.

"So I should be ok?"

"As long as you follow the director's instructions, and the birds don't act out of line too much, you should be good" Sangyeon answered.

"Alright"

"Hwaiting!" Jacob sent as I put my phone away.

My manager pulled off the main road and onto a dirt road,taking us to the bottom of a mountain. We arrived and everything was already set up. Turns out, Melanie had just arrived as she was walking to a trailer as we pulled up. I got out and went up to my trailer, where my costume and flute waited.

I put on my costume: a burgundy two piece suit, with plaid button up undershirt, and black dress shoes. I grabbed my flute case and went down to the shooting site, ready. Melanie came to my side, also prepared and looking stunning in her dress.

"Are you ready?" She asked.

"Yep, I practiced a bit last night, annoying some of my members, while others gave me moral support, so I think I'll do well"

"I wish you good luck"

The director soon came up to us, giving us a hopeful thumbs up, and we gave him one back.

"Places!" He called, and the shoot began.

I followed thorough, and felt like I did well, just like we practiced in the booth a few days ago. Before we knew it, the shoot was over, and we were both headed home.