Melodies

1

Aelia's POV
Everyone in my life who has ever heard me play has told me that I'm going to excel in my career. They all believed I was destined to go far in life. And I believed them. I believed them for the longest time. That was until I auditioned for the big leagues: Juilliard. Studying there would prove all the people that had faith in me, right. I also believed that if I got in, I'd show them I could do better than they wanted me to be. I wanted to be better. But the day I auditioned ruined it.
I got out of the car that day, my case in my hand. I stared at the vast building in front of me with awe. This was it. Today was the day when my future would be chosen. I closed the car door then waited for my mom to walk around the side of the car. When she came into view, she smiled at me. Walking up to me, she stopped and stared at me. Her eyes began to water, causing her to laugh through the tears that were falling down her cheeks. She grabbed both of my hands and sweetly grinned.
"You're getting so big, sweetheart." She tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.
"I know, mom, but one day I'm going to have to go to college." I laughed, looking into her eyes to comfort her.
"I know..." she sighed, "Let's go before you miss your audition."
We walked inside the place with our arms wrapped around each other. I leaned my head on her shoulder, smiling up at her. My mom was the one who introduced me to music. Her passion was singing but mine is playing. Our family was musically talented, as they say. They said it's a miracle we didn't make it to the big screen, with my dad loving to sing also. When they found out I liked playing instead of singing, they absolutely adored the idea. They supported me through it all and that's exactly why I was taking the chance and auditioning for Juilliard.
When we walked into the building, there was a long line waiting to get in. I sighed. My feet were going to kill me after standing so long in these heels. Looking down at my outfit, I pursed my lips. I was wearing some fancy three inch black heels, a flowy black knee-length dress, and some simple silver jewelry. My brown hair was curled and styled so it was half up- half down with a mini poof in the front. I had put on only light make up that day and applied some light pink lipstick.
Pacing around in the line, I went over what I had to do for my audition. Over and over, I kept telling myself that I was going to do okay, be okay. After a while, I glanced over at my mom to see she's already staring back at me. She nodded her head in front of us and I looked over with wide eyes to see we're already standing next to the door to walk into the theater. A man, who was most likely a crew member, opened the door and looked up at me.
"The next two can enter now. Quiet when you come inside, there's someone currently auditioning." He said.
"I'll wait out on the other side for you, sweetie." My mom walked up to me and hugged me tight, "I believe in you." she whispered with a smile.
I wrapped my arms under her and buried my face in her shirt. She patted my back then slightly pushed me away.
"Go show 'em." She kissed my forehead.
I nodded, picking up my case and rushing inside the door. The crew member who told us to come in, walked up to me and the other person.
"Okay, after Kennedy Lane it should be Aelia Choi then Jihoon Lee." He poked his pen at his clipboard then looked up at us.
We nodded in understanding and the guy walked away. I stepped to side and unlocked my instrument's case. I carefully took out my violin and admired it. Grabbing the bow, I stood up and took a deep breath. I started to jump in place a bit, repeatedly telling myself I got this.
"Hey." A voice whispered.
I brought my attention to the voice and was surprised to see a boy about my age standing there. He was kinda short, only about an inch taller than me and he reminded me of a cute little angelic figure. He had flawless light tan skin, beautiful chocolate brown eyes, and his blonde hair brushed over his forehead a bit. He was wearing a plain black tee with a grey zip up jacket, some ripped light blue jeans, and white and black vans. He was kinda cute but I wasn't going to admit it out loud. Even so, why would he dress so casual to such a huge audition?
"You got this." The boy smiled at me then did the 'fighting' motion.
I stared at him in shock at first because I realized that that boy, who was probably competing against me to get into the school, had just told me good luck as if he truly meant it. I cleared my throat, blushing, then nodded in acknowledgement.
"Aelia Choi. Miss Choi. It's your turn." The judges called from the seats down below in the theater.
Closing my eyes, I gripped tightly onto my violin in my left hand while the bow was on my right. I took a deep breath before I brought the violin up to my chin and started to play. My heels clicked against the hardwood floor of the stage as I walked to the beat of the tune I strummed. I didn't exactly dance to it, more like swayed. Once I got to the center of the stage, I stood in place, opening my eyes, and played with so much passion. To most, it must've looked like I was going to break the strings but I know the limits of my violin. I've been practicing my whole life for this, I even made this song myself for this particular audition.
Once I finished, I lowered the bow down on my side, looking around, completely forgetting I was at an audition for Juilliard. I stood up straight, clearing my throat and met eyes with the judges for the first time, their intimidating eyes stared back at me with expressionless faces.
"Okay, thank you." They said.
I nodded, bowing, then rushed to the other side of the stage. From the opposite wing, I noticed the boy I was standing with was rolling a grand piano onto stage. He looked over at me once the piano was in the center and I smiled.
"Fighting!" I whispered.
He stared at me for a few seconds before returning a toothy grin. The theater was completely quiet until his fingers hit the keys. The sound that came out of the piano was probably the most beautiful thing I've heard in my life. I covered my mouth with my hands in shock, tears almost coming to my eyes. I don't think I had ever heard something that hit me so hard in my life. When he finished, the judges told him thank you and he quickly walked to where I was. He peered up to see me, slowly starting to smile when he realized I was still present.
"That... was amazing!" I whispered to him.
"R-really? I thought you were better than me." He talked softly.
"T-thank you, but your music really was beautiful." I smiled.
He smiled back and for some reason I couldn't tear my eyes away from his, and I didn't want to. We turned around when my mom called my name for us to go home. We faced each other with open mouths when it got quiet again.
"I guess I have to go now... I-I hope you get in." I started backing up to go out the door.
"Well then I hope to see you there." He beamed.
I bit my lip, grinning at my feet before rushing over to my case when my mom called my name again. I carefully placed my violin and bow inside then rushed towards the door. Momentarily, I stopped, turning to look back at the boy. His hands were in his pockets and he was giving me this adorable lip smile. I waved to him once more and he did the same. The third time my mom called me, I ran out the door.
I never did see the boy again. Or that's what I thought.
After a couple months, I found out I was rejected from Juilliard. I was extremely devastated, but it wasn't  because I wasn't going to be better than what people thought I was. I was also upset because if the boy got in, I wouldn't be there to hear him play. But my mother didn't know about him because he was never mentioned in our conversations. She simply thought I was sad since I wouldn't get to go abroad and get somewhere in the Big Apple. She decided to do the next best thing for me and put me in a performing arts university near our house in Seoul. I've been at the school for about a year now. I have a good amount of friends and my classes are alright. I haven't heard of the boy since nor have I thought about him... much...
But as I'm walking through the halls of the university, the corridors are as quiet as the theater was at the auditions. Today, I'm wearing small heels with my uniform-like outfit and my hair is half up half down with the sides in braids. I don't wear makeup anymore so I look kind of different from the last time he saw me. The weird thing is the memory randomly popped up as I stroll the halls to where my friends are at, hugging my books to my chest. Looking ahead of me as the wind picks up, I notice the boy. He looks exactly the same from the last time I saw him and he still is attractive. His gaze catches mine and everything seems to happen in slow motion. As we pass each other, our heads follow the other's, mouths open wide to say something but nothing comes out. Our eyes stay locked and I even turn my body to face him when he ends up passed me. I continue staring at him until someone grabs my arms, making me jump.
"Dear, goodness. Mingyu don't scare me like that." I groan, shrugging his arms off me when I see who it is.
He chuckles.
"Hi, Aelia! I saw you staring at a guy? You know him?"
I look back in the direction of the blonde boy.
"I used to." A deep frown appears on my lips.
"You used to know him?" he raises an eyebrow in confusion, tilting his head to the side.
"Well, sort of. I knew him for one day," I look back at the tall boy, "but he had a huge impact on me."
"What's his name?"
"Lee Jihoon."
"Lee Jihoon? You know Jihoon?"
I whip my head to look at him. What did he just say?
"You're saying you know him too?"
"Yeah, he came to our school last semester. Minghao and I are classmates with him."
"Oh..."
"Why is he so important anyways?" He scoffs.
"Why does it matter to you? You don't need to know everything about me." I grit my teeth as we continue walking to the others.
"Wow, Aelia, just because your mom passed a few months ago doesn't mean you have to change-"
"Shut up! You don't know me, Mingyu. You always say you do, but you really don't." My face comes only inches from his, a dark expression across my face.
I step back, glaring at the boy, before walking away.

Mingyu's POV
I sigh in frustration. She doesn't get it. I've been her best friend basically since we first met. Her mom told me more than she thinks I know about her. Her mom told me to protect her.
Minghao walks up to me just as she walks away then looks at me.
"What happened to Aelia?" He asks, watching her as she stomps away.
We watch as she changes direction from the others to where her violin class is instead. I bite the inside of my cheek and stare at the ground. Minghao looks at me in concern and I shake my head.
"She's just in a mood again. She'll be over it by tomorrow."