The Pianist | yoonseok

1. Monotony

It had begun to pour by the time Yoongi got off his bicycle.

He stood there for a moment in the entryway, his shirt rumpled and splattered with raindrops and his pants dripping muddy water onto the doormat. The door was the only thing standing between him and certain doom.

He let out a sigh as he smoothed out his shirt with the flat of his palms, taking in the reality of his shabby appearance.

In all his months of working here he had never arrived quite so late or so rumpled. he gazed at the big blue sign over the door with the words "Staff Only" printed on it in blocky white letters.

He closed his eyes and mentally prepared himself for the inevitable onslaught waiting for him on the other side of that door.

He opened his eyes, turned the doorknob and stepped inside.

"MIN YOONGI!"

Yoongi winced.

Neem rounded on him immediately, tablet in hand. Her brown bangs looked about as angry as she was.

"WHY ARE YOU SO LATE AND WHY ARE YOU DRIPPING MUD ONTO THE FLOOR?"

Her voice rand out, her heavy accent somehow making her words sharper.

"I-I'm sorry Neem, it was raining and-"

Neem interrupted him immediately- "I DON'T WANT EXCUSES!" and then, seeming to have apparently regained some degree of composure she added, "Just replace Binnie, he's been covering for you," she looked at him then and Yoongi noticed the tiredness in her eyes like smoke over glass.

He gave her a curt nod before stepping around her and into the corridor that lead up to a door hidden behind thick red curtains.

When Yoongi opened the door, his senses were immediately overwhelmed.

The delicious smells hit him like a truck and the waves of dozens of conversations taking place at once attacked his auditory functions.

In the midst of it all, he heard one forlorn violin playing the most depressing tune he'd heard in a while.

He wasted no time and quickly stepped behind the violinist. He tapped his shoulder in greeting and the boy turned around, relief washing over his features like something tangible. He gave Yoongi a tight-lipped smile before disappearing behind the curtain himself, leaving Yoongi alone with the grand piano in front of him.

Yoongi let out a sigh that was somehow equal parts yearning and dread.

He stroked the glossy surface of the instrument almost affectionately before plopping down onto the seat in earnest. He let his pale fingers hover over the keys for a moment before jumping into a slightly drawn-out rendition of 'Clair de lune'.

That was how Yoongi spent the rest of the evening, lost in a world that consisted only of him and the piano he was paid to play in front of dozens of people who couldn't care less.

He shifted from one piece to another and eventually to one of his own original compositions. He wasn't aware of the time slipping past him after a point. It was only when Neem suddenly stood in front of him that he realized his shift was over.

A guitarist stood beside her nervously fretting with the strap that held the instrument to her back.

Neem nodded to the girl beside her, " She's taking the shift after yours now," She gesticulated at the girl to take a seat and Yoongi, still dazed from the trancelike state he was in, barely realized he had to make way for the girl. He walked over and stood beside Neem as she hastily rushed through a set of basic instructions. Yoongi looked out into the dining area, where large round tables sat neatly around each other.

Each table had at least six people lost in conversation or food which arrived steaming hot in expensive dishware. Yoongi was no longer paying attention to Neem and let his eyes wander freely. His gaze was drawn to a table of important looking men and women dressed formally in crisp coats and blazers of navy blue and black. They were taking turns talking incessantly to Someone, Yoongi's gaze drifted towards the right where he saw a man looking right at him.

Yoongi suddenly snapped alert and schooled his features to a neutral expression that he hoped looked pleasant enough.

Here was a rich man who for some god's forsaken reason was looking right at him. This was the first affluent person's attention he'd caught since he started working here, even though that was the entire purpose of this exercise.

He needed to catch the eye of someone capable of sponsoring him, hell he needed connections if he wanted to pursue the career of his dreams and not this sorry excuse for a living.

He knew it was a far-fetched hope but he was willing to scratch out the crumbs he was given.

Besides, he was getting paid to practice his favorite instrument. It wasn't entirely an unpleasant endeavor.

Yoongi wondered now if he should smile at the man in case his natural expression was perceived as cold or worse, disinterested.

He needn't have worried.

The man turned back to his colleagues like Yoongi wasn't there.

He stood there in vain for a few more moments until Neem was practically whisper shouting at him to go. Disappointed and disheartened by what appeared to be another dead end, Yoongi's shoulders dropped as he trudged his way back to the staff entryway to leave.

The journey back to his apartment was dismal and punctuated with the frequent sloshing of the puddles of rainwater accumulated on the streets.

Yoongi didn't let himself dwell on any of the very apparent thoughts he could dwell on. He knew it'd only exhaust him further. Besides, what did he think would come out of barely established eye contact that lasted a few moments at best.

When Yoongi swung open the door to his apartment he was greeted by the sight of a passed-out Taehyung, head resting on a pile of textbooks. He lay on the floor in his usual gray hoodie. Yoongi immediately set to work to get him into the bedroom.

Taehyung protested at first but was powerless as Yoongi half carried, half dragged him the short distance to their shared bedroom. He watched, a fond expression settling on his face as his little brother curled back to sleep on the bed.

Yoongi, exhausted and in a state of self-loathing had to force himself to change and get ready to sleep.

Once done, he rolled onto the bed, careful so as not to disturb Taehung.

In the moments before he fell asleep, Yoongi was thinking of two things: the incredible lack of achievement in his life, and the man who'd stared at him.

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