salvation

My eyes sweep through the music room.

Nobody is there.

My fingers slide over the piano keys.

The involuntary pressing of keys creates a lovely melody.

Although it sounds so nice, you can clearly hear a sad undertone.

The piano is my only way to show emotions.

Noticing that the strings are out of tune, I sigh.

Suddenly the door is torn open.

A little boy closes the door behind him and lets himself slide to the floor.

I stop playing and hear light sobs.

Is he crying?

"A-are you okay?"

He raises his head and looks for the voice that had torn him from his thoughts.

Sniffing, he nods.

"In which year are you?", I inquire.

"First year", the crying boy replies.

So he is younger.

"Why are you crying?", I ask carefully.

He shakes his head.

"Do you want to tell me your name? I am Yoongi."

"J-jungkook..."

"I am pleased to meet you. May I call you Kookie?"

He nods, a small smile gracing his face.

"The ground is cold. Why don't you just sit down with me? I could play something on the piano for you."

I point next to me on the stool.

Carefully, he steps closer to the piano.

I try to give him an encouraging smile.

As he approaches, I notice how much the younger one is shaking.

I wonder what happened.

He settles down next to me.

Just as I begin to play, he reaches for my wrist.

I look at him in surprise.

He nibbles his lip while his face takes on a reddish color.

"What's wrong, Kookie?"

"N-nothing... I-I just... Can y-you teach me, h-hyung?"

He wants me to teach him to play the piano?

Now I'm the one who blushes.

"S-sure..."

In the following hour, I teach him as much as possible.

He learns fast.

"Yoongi hyung, how did you learn playing?"

"I taught myself how to do it."

"That's so cool..."

His cuteness makes me smile.

"I'm scared..."

"Why?"

He swallows.

He takes off his uniform jacket and raises his shirt so that some bruises appear.

"Who did that to you?"; I ask in a furious voice.

He starts crying again.

I immediately wrap my arms around the little one.

"It's okay, Kookie... Don't cry..."

I gently stroke his hair.

"I won't let anyone hurt you again!"

"I-I don't thi-ink you ca-an s-stop them, h-hyung", he stutters, crying.

His tears drench my uniform.

I put my hands around his face and turn it around so we can look each other straight in the eye.

His eyes are shining through the tears.

His mouth is slightly open, revealing his cute bunny teeth.

How can you, as a human, look exactly like a little bunny?

I am lost in his soft little face.

"H-hyu-ung? D-do I have so-omething on m-my f-face?"

I see that his cheeks have already taken on a bright red color.

I take a deep breath.

My heart is beating faster.

"Kookie? Can you promise me something?"

He nods as he sniffs.

"Can we stay together from now on?"

His eyes widen.

The next thing I feel are his arms around me.

"Okay!", he agrees.

I smile brightly.

Thank you for choosing this room as a hiding place.