Autumn

2. "Strum."

Jiwon was in her room in the castle. She was trying to play a melody with the chords that she had learnt from Gaeul earlier in the day. She kept strumming but it sounded so off. She had not touched anything to make the guitar sound perfectly tuned as when she first got it. It was fine when Gaeul played it. She played another wrong chord and got frustrated. She hit the guitar and let out a loud grunt.

"Jiwon, you can't give up now. Just strum," She told herself.

She kept strumming until she heard a real chord. She was shocked and decided to try strumming another chord. She had done it perfectly out of nowhere. She tried to play a melody but it still sounded bad. She was able to play chords but not full melodies. She then kept strumming until she was able to come up with a catchy melody for her first song.

"Jiwon-ah! It's supper time! Get down here and eat!" Her mother yelled.

"5 minutes!" Jiwon yelled back.

The noise of footsteps could be heard from outside of her bedroom door. Clicking and clacking from her mother's heels were as loud as Yujin and Wonyoung back at the garden playing tag. The part of the castle at Jiwon lives in is a little farther away from the main castle area. She lived in a room up a flight of stairs in a spiral form. She lived in one of the pillars of the castle. It was mostly quiet at that part of the castle that a small pin drop would sound like a brick falling. Her mother opened the door and it let out a loud creak.

"Jiwon-ah, you have to come down for supper now," Her mother said.

"I'm trying to play my guitar," Jiwon said in an angry tone.

"You can practise your guitar playing after supper but make sure to not play it during sleep hours," Her mother said.

"Leave me alone. I need to strum," Jiwon said as she kept strumming.

"Strum? Jiwon, what's happening?" Her mother asked as she got closer to Jiwon who was on the bed.

"If I can't play a perfect melody, I will never be a musician when I grow up," Jiwon replied as she kept strumming.

"Jiwon, there's plenty of time to practise while you're still young. You're only eight. You have many more years to be a great musician. Now, let's go and get ready for supper," Her mother said.

"Fine," Jiwon replied.

They went back to the dining area where the rest of the family were waiting for them.
They sat down at their assigned seats and began eating. Everyone was eating except for Jiwon. She was staring down at the table with her eyebrows squinted. The youngest of the family, Hyunseo, noticed Jiwon not eating.

"Jiwon unnie, you need to eat," Hyunseo said in a bubbly voice.

"No, I'm a terrible musician. If I can't even play a simple melody on a guitar, what's the point of even trying to become a musician? I will have no future at all," Jiwon replied as she hit the dining table.

"Jiwon-ah, I know you will be a great musician. Practice makes perfect. You may not be able to play a simple melody but with more practice, you will soon be writing the song of the century. I believe in you but you have to find time for these practices. You're young enough to have lots of time to become the greatest musician of all," Gaeul said.

Jiwon looked up at Gaeul and had a soft smile on her face. Her cheeks were blushing and her face turned slightly red.

"Thank you, unnie," Jiwon replied as she looked down in embarrassment.

"No problem. I will even help you along the way. For now, let's enjoy supper together as a family," Gaeul said.

Jiwon then grabbed her utensils and started devouring the food on her plate.

"Woah, she is really hungry," Gaeul said.

The other family members at the table laughed.

Right after supper, Jiwon was heading up to her room. She was halfway through the flight of concrete stairs when she heard a voice from the bottom of the pillar.

"Jiwon-ah! Want some help?" Gaeul asked.

"Yes, please!" Jiwon yelled in excitement as she ran up to the room.

Gaeul had to chase after her. Her feet were stomping on each step. A loud thud noise with every stomp. Her heavy breathing was the only other noise that could be heard in that castle pillar. Gaeul made it up the flight of stairs and opened the bedroom door. It creaked opened and Jiwon was already attempting to play a song on her guitar while sitting on her bed. Jiwon hit her guitar with her right hand on every chord that she messed up. Gaeul went up to her and sat next to her on the bed.

"Unnie, I think I was never meant to be a musician. I can't even play a guitar normally. How am I supposed to live as a failure?" Jiwon said as she put her guitar on her lap and covered her face with her hands.

"Hey, not everyone becomes a great musician on their first try. As I said, practice makes perfect. Don't give up now just because you can't play one melody. You have the skills in you to be the greatest musician of all time. Now, let me teach you this one melody that has been stuck in my head for years," Gaeul said.

Jiwon passed the guitar to Gaeul. Gaeul then adjusted her sitting position to play the guitar. Gaeul strummed a melody that had been stuck in her head for the past few years. She may have only been 10 but she had amazing skills. She then closed her eyes and sang alone to her melody. The tune was peaceful and nostalgic. It was able to bring back beautiful memories that may have never even existed. It had calmed Jiwon down. She was stressed out of her mind when she was unable to play the guitar correctly but she then stopped shaking so much and watched as Gaeul delightfully played the guitar. The song was a key part of Gaeul's life and it would forever stay in her memories.

With her eyes closed, she had imagined the first time she heard this song. 5 years ago, Gaeul and her mother wanted to have some bonding time. They were not the energetic kind of people so they decided to bond by just talking beside the tree that stood in the middle of the garden. It was her mother sitting with her in the garden. The leaves were falling gracefully to the ground and the wind hand a cooling breeze. Her mother had a wonderful idea to play Gaeul a song that she had came up with when Gaeul was turning 1 year old. She took the guitar that had laid next to them while they were talking and starting strumming. She then sang along to the melody. Gaeul watched as her mother played the song to her. The lyrics had meant a lot to her and it went in through her ears and into her brain. It was engraved in her brain. Her mother's singing sounded like a siren's singing. It was so enchanting that it could hypnotise a person.

While strumming the melody and singing the lyrics, Gaeul opened her eyes and saw Jiwon smiling at her. Gaeul ended the song with one last strum and she looked at Jiwon with a smile. Jiwon was giving a standing ovation to applaud Gaeul for her amazing performance even though it was just singing and playing a guitar.

"Unnie, that was amazing! I even watched closely to learn how to play that song by myself," Jiwon exclaimed.

Gaeul giggled and put the guitar next to the bed.

"It's just a song that mom played to me when I was five years old. It felt so nostalgic and calming for me to play that. You can continue to learn your own songs by yourself. I need to head to bed. If you need any more help, just ask me," Gaeul said as she walked to the bedroom door to exit.

"Thank you, unnie. Goodnight!" Jiwon said.

"Goodnight, Jiwon," Gaeul replied as she left the bedroom and closed the door.