Melodies

29

Aelia's POV
The past few weeks have been extremely stressful for me. I had that concert with Jihoon (which actually was a big success), I planned Jun's birthday party, and I've applied for something I thought I'd never apply for. I've been working hard for my audition song and had to continuously re-record the video. I haven't told anyone about the audition except for Minhyun and Seongwoo. I tend to tell those two the things that I don't want to tell the boys. It's easier since they're not close with any of them.
Minhyun has been coming over to help me work on my piece, bringing over one or two of his friends once in a while. By now, I've been waiting for the letter to come in the mail for about two and a half weeks. I check it every day but no luck.
The day just starts for me and already I want it to end. I walk to my violin class and enter with a down face. My teacher notices this right away and trots up to me.
"Hello, Aelia."
"Hello." I bow to her.
"You seem sad, dear. What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I applied for a job but I've gotten no response. I can't talk to my friends about it because they don't know I applied. I want to tell them only if I get it, and so far it looks like I'm not going to. I really want it."
"How long has it been?"
"Almost three weeks... I applied before this past concert."
"Only? Some people don't get a response for months sometimes! You'll hear back from them within time. Is it for a violinist position?"
"Y-yes." I blink in surprise.
My violin instructor smiles at me, giggling a bit.
"Then you have no worries. You're a talented musician! The job is basically yours."
"T-thank you." I bow.
"Let me know when you get the acceptance! I'll help you compose a song right away." A smile appears.
"Alright then." I laugh, bowing a bit again.
At lunch, the bell rings but I stay behind in class longer, taking my time. I lick my lips, thinking as I pack my items. I just want to know if I'm accepted or not. It's killing me inside!
"Aelia?"
I look up to see Hansol there.
"Oh. I didn't know you waited for me."
"Are you coming to lunch with us?" He asks.
"No. I think I'm gonna go practice for a bit."
I don't need to tell him what I'm going to practice for because I do this a lot. He nods then waves at me before walking out.
Sighing, I close my eyes for a second. I just need to breathe.
I decide to stay in the practice room to play my violin for the whole lunch. It's the only way I'm able to calm my nerves about this. About five minutes of playing later, a knock sounds at the door. This scares me, making me jump a little with wide eyes as I see who the noise came from. Joshua stands at the door, a little confused as to why I jumped.
"Hey, Aelia." He smiles.
"Oh. Sorry, Joshua. I didn't expect you to come. What're you doing here?" I ask, tilting my head.
"I came to check on you. Jihoon asked me to. I wanted to see if you were okay myself too."
"Oh, yes. I'm okay... Why didn't he come himself?" I raise an eyebrow.
"He thinks you're mad at something and got scared to come." He chuckles.
"And you're not scared of me when I'm mad?" I smirk.
"I can handle you. You don't seem to stay mad at me for long." He smiles.
"You're right. You're too much of an angel." I laugh.
He comes in the room and sits on the piano bench next to where I'm standing.
"Wanna show me what you've been working on? I like seeing you play, especially if you're in a mood, which I can tell you are." He chuckles.
"Alright..."
I lift the violin and place it under my chin. My eyes close and my heart beats faster. Why am I so nervous? I haven't performed this piece for anyone, not even Minhyun who's been coming over, so Joshua is the first.
I get lost in the song as soon as my bow hits the strings again. I love that feeling. The feeling when everything around me disappears and it's just me and my music, my music and me. It's the best feeling in the world and nothing can replace that feeling. Music was always something I could look forward to and it was my savior through all the rough times of my life. That's why it's irreplaceable to me.
Once I finish the song, I open my eyes to look at Joshua. His jaw is dropped to the floor. I look around me to see if I'm the one his jaw is dropped for, a second later realizing I'm in a private unknown practice room so of course nobody else would be in here.
"Aelia! That was amazing! Oh my god I've never seen you so into a song before!"
"Really? I only composed the song a couple of days ago so it's not perfect yet."
"It sounds pretty perfect to me, just saying."
"It was that good?" I blink at him.
"Yes! I can't believe you're not famous yet! You should have your own solo concerts and all that!" He laughs.
"If only." I sigh before placing my violin in my case just as the bell rings.
"Aww, it's time to go already?" He frowns.
"I guess. Time passes quickly when I'm playing." I shrug.
"That's true." He smiles.
"Come on. If I don't get to class on time, Jihoon is gonna freak. I can't believe he was scared to come see if I'm alright." I shake my head in disappointment.
"You are scary sometimes, Aelia. Even to Jihoon, who is also scary." He points out.
"Honestly, I don't think I've ever been scared of Jihoon before." I tap my chin, thinking about it as we walk down the halls.
"What about telling him how you really feel about him?" He raises an eyebrow.
My eyes widen and I stop where I'm at. How I really feel? He doesn't mean...
"I-I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes you do. How come you still won't admit it to yourself?"
"I don't want it to end like my mom. I'm terrified." My voice becomes softer.
"Jihoon is good though. Just think about it, alright?" He squeezes my hand as we approach my classroom.
"I'll see you later, Joshua." I wave to him.
He frowns a little, knowing I'm avoiding the topic. Sighing, he smiles a bit and nods. He waves a little then walks off to his class. As soon as I enter the classroom, I walk to my seat and place my chin in my hand. Do I?
"Hello? Aelia?" Seungcheol waves a hand in front of my face.
"Hmm? Oh sorry." I sigh before looking at the three boys who're staring straight at me.
"Are you okay, Aelia? You seem a little down." Hansol frowns.
"Yeah. I think it's all the stress on me." I groan.
"Do you want to talk about it later?" Jihoon tilts his head at me.
"No," I shake my head, "I think I'm gonna stay home and sleep. I feel drained."
"I didn't do anything to upset you, right? More importantly, the boys didn't do anything to upset you, right?"
"Of course not. I'm just getting behind in studying a little, that's all."
Jihoon frowns at me then nods. Seungcheol and Hansol look at each, a worried expression on their faces, then sit back in their seats. People don't get theirs for months? I'm praying mine comes in sooner.