smile ✔️

Chapter 1

"Noona, am I doing this right?" the little boy asked.

He was not.

He was a beginner playing Christmas Day Secret's in Volume One of the International books, but he was messing up everywhere.

Frankly, you were more nervous about the party to even think about his horrible piano playing.

Scribbling down notes in his notebook in your not-so-perfect cursive writing, you explained to him how he must move his fingers and play with dynamics.

"Noona, you seem stressed. Are you okay?" the little boy asked.

"I'm doing just fine, play it again with the notes I gave you," you reassured him. Nodding his head, he played more gentle, moving his fingers delicately.

Proud of his efforts, I gave him a sticker and looked at the time.

7:59.

Rushing him out of the room, explaining to his mother what his homework was, we all rushed out the building. Turning the alarm on, you rushed back home, not going over the speed limit.

Arriving at home, you glanced at the clock in the living room.

8:20.

You had ten minutes to get ready before Soyeon would be here. Busting upstairs, you tossed on a red crop top and black jeans that were ripped just at the knees. Tying your straight hair into a tight bun, you started to apply makeup as fast as you could. You finished a natural, yet glamorous, look in a surprising six minutes. Busting on your four-inch heels, you ran down to the living room, without falling, and started to wait for Soyeon to ring the doorbell.

•••

"You're ten minutes late," you growled.

"Sorry Y/N! I couldn't decide what to wear." Soyeon admitted.

"I got ready in less than ten minutes, and you got of work two hours before me, and you couldn't be here by 7:30?" you snapped.

"Yikes! Well- you look really good," Soyeon said.

"Can we go?"

"Are you actually excited?" Soyeon asked.

"No, I just want to get this over with so I can sleep. I'm tired, and tomorrow's my day off," you said opening the passenger door. Soyeon entered the car and started driving to Minnie's house which was half an hour away.

"You're such a buzzkill," Soyeon teased.

"Shut up," you said laughing. You started to scroll through your other friend's Instagrams, and through the explore page. Once bored, you engaged in conversation again with a driving Soyeon.

"Who's even coming?"

"Shuhua, Yuqi, Soojin unnie and Miyeon unnie are coming for sure. I think Minnie unnie invited some other guys she knows, and they invited their friends. An estimated seventy-eighty people are coming," Soyeon rambled.

You and Soyeon arrived at Minnie's house to be greeted by a whole bunch of cars.

"I think it's more," you said, groaning. Once parked, you exited the car and entered Minnie's house.

"Soyeon! Y/N!" Minnie said, rushing towards us as we entered the house.

"Minnie, nice to see you," you said. Walking towards our friends, you awkwardly stood with your best friends as if you were out of place.

"Y/N, you need to loosen up," Yuqi said passing me a glass of wine. Taking the drink, you responded back, "I'm positive my six-year-old piano students are more mature than half the drunk people here."