Stirring The Soul

Chapter 3

Friday evening has already arrived at the end of a hectic school week and you find yourself standing in front of Jungkook's house in the affluent part of Chelsea. You are unfazed by being in these surroundings as you ring the doorbell. Before arriving, you 'googled' Jungkook to prep yourself mentally, and also to find out what 'Noona' meant. You smile as you recollect him referring to you as that. Your research also told you that this fairly good-looking young man is part of quite a famous boy band in South Korea and they seemed to have cracked the US music market, which was an impressive feat, you had to admit.

Your thoughts are interrupted by the door opening and Jungkook standing in front of you, barefoot, clad in a white t-shirt and blue jeans. You're taken aback by this, not just 'fairly good-looking', but actually handsome, young man standing there. You regain your composure and quickly introduce yourself. "Jungkook? Hi, I'm Anna. I hope I'm not late."

"Not at all Noona, you're just on time! Please come in. In case you're wondering why it's quiet, all my house mates have gone out for the night so we won't be disturbed."

You follow him into an immaculately kept hallway through to a back room in the corner of which sits a Grand piano that makes your eyes widen with joy. You are keen to go over and have a play on it like a kid given his favourite toy at Christmas. Your apartment sadly can only accommodate an old upright piano, so seeing this one in front of you makes you so happy. Jungkook leads you to the piano and you try to avoid looking at Jungkook's backside as he does so. His build and athleticism are teasingly shown by his exposed arms and tight jeans. His body is dangerously distracting, so you focus on looking at the beautiful piano instead. You remind yourself that he's your student and nine years younger than you. Get a grip, Anna.

"Shall we get straight to it Noona?" he asks innocently, looking at you with wide eyes.

You cough slightly, "Sure, why don't you play me something so I can assess what you can do."

He sits down on the stool and carefully opens the piano lid, gently placing his hands on the keys. You stand behind him so you can observe his technique and make mental notes. He starts to play Moonlight by Beethoven which immediately stirs your heart since it's one of your all-time favourite pieces. He begins with a confident introduction and after a few minutes, you find yourself closing your eyes, absorbing how beautifully he captures the emotion behind the music. You are so taken with the way he strokes the keys that you are brought back to the days when Mark used to do the same. Jungkook's interpretation of the music is so reminiscent of your lost love that, without warning, your eyes fill with tears. You let the emotions wash over you as he continues to play, but then deftly wipe away your tears once you hear his playing coming to an end. You blink quickly to clear your vision and disguise showing him you just reacted to his playing.

He turns to you and asks, "How was it Noona? Am I any good?"

You look at him for longer than necessary in disbelief. "Jungkook, I'm wondering if you even need extra lessons, your technique and expression are excellent. You held the tempo of the piece really well and you outstandingly showed the emotion of it. I was completely mesmerised."

He blushes at the compliments you give him and you find it hard to believe he's the front liner of a world-famous boy band. His timid nature surprises you. Maybe you were expecting him to be more obnoxious.

"Do you really think so?" He pushes the front of his hair away from his face and continues, "I don't. I listen to some of the other students and they're way better than me. This piece only sounded good because it's my favourite and I practised it a lot. From what Mr Brown has told me about you Noona, I think you can really help me improve."

Within such a short space of time, his humble attitude has left you with a good first impression of him. It's strange because you are rarely impressed by people this quickly or this easily. There is something about Jeon Jungkook that makes you glad to have met him and thrilled at the prospect of being in close proximity to him under these circumstances. Your heart is starting to race and you work hard to push aside this giddy feeling. Turning thirty is playing havoc with my hormones, you tell yourself.

You smile kindly at him, "Jungkook, it would be my absolute pleasure to be your piano tutor. I can't wait to really draw out your full potential. Before we start though, why don't you tell me a bit about yourself and why you want to have these lessons."

"Well, I don't know if you know, but I'm part of a band called BTS. I work hard at my singing and dancing so that I don't let down my hyungs. I mean, the older members who are like my brothers and I look up to them. I really wanted to perfect my piano playing so that I could compose meaningful music for the group in the future."

You enjoy listening to Jungkook speak, there's something soothing and sensual about the way he talks making you get lost in his words. You continue to stare into his eyes when you suddenly realise he's stopped talking. Trying to deflect him from noticing your current lack of professionalism you say, "Please don't mind me saying, but your English is so good. Have you been learning long?"

Sheepishly he replies, "Ahh, actually I had been studying it for ages, but I was too shy to practice in front of people. Then when I found out I was coming to London, I did a crash course with Namjoon hyung."

You assume this is another BTS member. It seems like you will have to research BTS more if you want to understand the world that Jungkook comes from.