Common past || Markhyuck

.22.

When I finished my classes, there was over an hour and a half until Minhyung will complete his duties related to some monthly filling in papers for the management and blank spaces in registers. We had a late Wednesday evening, so the school was completely deserted some time ago. There was not even a single soul in the corridors. It was also a time when I finally pulled my socks up enough to go to the music room on the top floor and face my strange fears.

Frank was spending his free time in this small class as usual, scraping something on a piece of paper. He was completely comfortable with the doors wide open and played calmly on the guitar, vibrating single strings, euthymic. I sighed heavily inwardly, feeling Minhyung's watchful look on me whenever I talked to Inaldi in private, though such a scenario was impossible at all. I tapped gently on the frame, not wanting to come over as some sneaking shit.

"May I?" I asked calmly, drawing attention of the man. His shocked eyesight made me realize that he was really deeply immersed in his creative world of art. It looked like he needed few more seconds to be fully capable of having any small talk.

"Oh, Donghyuck!" He raised his voice cheerfully. A genuine, pretty smile blossomed on Frank's lips. "Sure, come in, sit down, make yourself comfortable," he began to speak quickly, shoving papers from the bench he was sitting on. I laughed honestly because his absolute mess and deep chaos looked really piercing.

"Only for a moment," I said quickly that he wouldn't have to destroy the place of his work. In the disorder of artists usually there was some vague logic of arranging all of this, I didn't want to disturb it. In the end, I was entering Frank's atelier - his personal world.

"Have you considered?" He asked with a smile, immediately reasoning my answer out of  facial expression.

"Mhm, I'd like to try," I said timidly, nodding head. "You know, at the beginning to see if I remember anything," warned. I didn't want him to have any expectations about my alleged talent because those suntanned fingers haven't even got close to the piano for something like eternity and my voice haven't practised anything but radio ballads. "It's been a long time," I added after a moment to strengthen these words.

"Sure" he nodded. "I know exactly how it is, so no problem" man shrugged, looking around the class. His eyes stopped for a moment on the piano in the corner of the room. "Do you want to play something now?" He asked with childlike joy, as if he had a wonderful eureka effect.

"No" I laughed in disbelief. Frank's proposal was so sudden that it seemed totally senseless and a bit preposterous. "Next time," I assured him when I noticed that his face was getting long. I didn'tt want to hurt him. However, this was not the right time to try such old passions. "Now I have to choof off," I explained truthfully. I really had to go and I could not spend the whole eternity with a man in a musical cubbyhole now.

"Well, okay. As you wish...," he sighed heavily, perhaps not quite believing in my story. I thought it was the end of the conversation, which is why I nodded gently for goodbye and took a step back.

"Donghyuck?" Frank called me by name before I could escape his sight.

"Yes?" I murmured with interest, believing that we had already determined everything that was possible to determine at this point.

"I miss your smile," he said warmly, stupefying me in all senses of the phrase. I had no idea what to do with such a confession from someone other than Minhyung. "Laugh more often," he asked, combing hair slowly with hand. "You look great in it," he added, not brightening my situation at this moment at all.

I found myself standing in the aisle, looking at Frank with a complete emptiness in my head. Should I say something? Escape? Laugh maybe? Piss off and trash him? Social and love relations was not an area of ​​my interests or high skills. That's why I decided to left some things unsaid. I just nodded slightly to show that I would try to implement his request to my life and walked away from the room with a complete mess in my head.