off limits ✧ zb1 applyfic

✧ one hundred and eleven

At the very beginning of summer, Haewon had hesitantly walked into the Zhang mansion, invited to a party she felt she had no place in. There, she'd met Hao again, and a thousand feelings had flooded back to her, as they'd embraced in the quiet of a corridor.

Now, as summer neared its end, Haewon once again found herself at a party at the Zhang mansion. Only this time, the party was for her. Her family trailed behind her as she let her eyes wander over the decorated hall, curtains of red velvet draping the windows, which gave a peek at a starry night sky from their elevated point. As Hao had asked, she wore the dress he'd bought her, awkwardly shuffling it around with every step she took. In a way, she did not feel any more at ease here than at that first party — she'd grown unused to luxury. But as long as Hao was there, she knew she would always find her place.

Well, it would have been the case, if she had been able to find Hao in the sea of people. As other guests greeted her, the reluctant star of the show, she craned her neck around, scanning the room over and over in hopes of finding him. Her efforts were vain, but her eyes eventually landed on the next best thing: Yanmei. She stood in a corner of the room, as if she was hiding from someone. Audrey stood next to her, making conversation from the both of them. Haewon hated to interrupt, but she had no choice. She excused herself from her family, leaving Gyuvin to entertain, and made her way towards Yanmei, holding her dress up to avoid stepping on it.

"Yanmei," she called, and the two girls turned their heads to look at her. "Um, good evening, you two."

"There you are," Yanmei said in a playful manner, but her shoulders were visibly tense, "the guest of honor."

Haewon brushed her off with a wave of her hand. "I was looking for Hao."

Neither Yanmei nor Audrey were surprised by the inquiry. After all, when was Haewon not looking for Hao? But as Audrey looked around the room, Yanmei simply snickered, bringing her glass of champagne to her lips.

"Oh, don't worry, he'll arrive in due time," she murmured softly. "You might want to watch the stairs, though."

At first, the sentence sounded like cryptic nonsense to Haewon, until Yanmei punctuated it with a wink. Curiosity tickling at the back of her mind, she thanked the girl and left, making a note to come back to her later. After all, she seemed terribly nervous, even though she hid it well behind her usual charisma. Once she would find Hao, she would worry about her.

The grand staircase spilled into the center of the hall, its steps draped in the same red velvet as the curtains. Haewon stood at its foot, her hands clasped over her stomach. Maybe Hao was running late, dressing up or styling his hair or whatever he was doing. It seemed unusual for him, but she found it amusing to think the occasion might have made him particularly nervous.

When the first notes of a familiar melody resonated against the walls of the hall, Haewon first looked back, searching for a stage. But soon, the music grew louder and louder, and her eyes were drawn back to the stairs.

Hao was at the top, his violin tucked under his chin. Slowly, steadily, he descended the steps, his bow gliding across the strings without pause. Haewon's breath hitched in her throat, and the crowd around her disappeared. It was only her, Hao, and the bright, heavenly chant of his violin.

It took her a second or two to recognize the song. It was the one the two of them had always practiced together as children, him with his violin over his shoulder, her sitting in front of the piano. But it was rearranged. Refined. Reborn. Much like their love, changing and evolving through the years, yet always born from the same seed of insouciance and innocent affection of two children quietly holding hands in the music room.

Haewon placed her hand on her heart, clutching at her dress as she blinked back the hot sting of tears. It wasn't until Hao had descended the entire staircase, that the music came to an end, and the crowd faded back in, roaring with applause. At last, his eyes lifted from his instrument, and met hers, filled with sparkles and glimmers and an undeniable urge to run towards her. She let him put his violin back in its case before she made her way towards him, her heart in her throat and her hands shaking like leaves.