𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 - 𝘚. 𝘑𝘢𝘦𝘺𝘶𝘯

First Impressions

Jake hopped out of his dad's car, adjusting his backpack and taking a deep breath. His Highschool  stood in front of him, looking exactly the same as when he left almost a year ago for Australia. The nostalgic mix of anticipation and nerves bubbled up in his stomach. Jake caught snippets of conversations as students turned to stare at him, some waving or giving him quick nods. He offered a few polite smiles in return, enjoying the attention but also feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sudden influx of excitement. Pushing through the crowd, he made his way to the field. His friends were already there, lounging on the bleachers and chatting animatedly.

"Oh shit, Jake hyung you're here!" A boy taller than he had remembered him being called out.

"Jakey~ missed us?" Sunghoon's sharp teeth smiled at him.

"My first time seeing you in a year and i already want to knock out your teeth" Jake hung a arm around the Park boy, (maybe in an threatening manner we'll never know) as he greeted the rest.

Jake spent the rest of his morning before classes started catching up with the boys (whatever they hadn't mentioned on the endless facetimes they had over the past year) before making his way to his first class back in korea.

Professed Yang greeted him with a warm smile gesturing him to take his seat.

"Jake, it's nice to have you back"

"Thanks, Mr. Lee," Jake said, taking his seat and feeling the curious stares of his classmates. Despite the buzz surrounding his return, he was more than desperate to go back to the routine he had built up for the past 16 years. He had missed his life in Seoul but the move to Australia helped him refresh - get a grip before coming back.

The school day passed in a blur of classes and catching up with more old friends. Teachers welcomed him back, and classmates greeted him with a lot of energy, clearly eager to hear about his time in Australia. By the time the final bell rang, signaling the end of the day, Jake felt a bit of jet lag creeping in. He cursed at himself once he realised the forgotten Chemistry text book in room 209. So there he was, his feet dragging him through the eerily hallways in the direction of room 209. Just as he retrieved his things, a soft melody drifted through the air. Curious, he attempted to follow the sound, which led him to another room. He read the label next to the door. "Music Club".

Through the partially opened door he was able to spot a girl seated at the piano, her fingers gliding effortlessly over the ivory keys. The afternoon sun poured through the window, casting a warm glow on the mystery girl. Her dark brown hair cascaded around her shoulders, sitting perfectly on her back. She was completely immersed in her music, almost more than Jake was immersed by her beauty.

He was transfixed. The melody was beautiful, haunting even, and the girls expression - so serene, so lost in the music did something to his stomach. Whether it was organ failure or butterflies, he wasn't quite sure but what he was sure about was that he needed a better view of her. So his dumbass naturally shifted just the slightest bit, causing one of his books to slip form his grip, crashing down onto the floor.

She had very obviously noticed, her hands freezing iver the keys. Her had snapped towards the door, eyes wide. Before she could see him, Jake ducked out of sight (mostly so he wouldn't seem like a creep). He cursed under his breath for what seemed like the nth time that day and held his fallen book close to his pounding chest. After debating for a split second, he peeked around the corner, he watched as the mystery girl stepped out of the room, her gaze falling on one of the pencils which he probably dropped. oh i'm so fucked. She picked it up, studying the initials engraved onto the wood. Oh of course i just had to have stupidly, overpriced bougie ass pencils with my initials engraved on it! What a great purchase!

Thankfully, she furrowed her eyebrows in what Jake assumed to be confusion as she glanced around the hallway, making Jake quickly press his back against the wall he was hiding behind. With a shy, flustered look, She quickly shoved the pencil in her pocket and hurriedly to grab her bag and get the fuck out of here.

___

Yeri walked home, her pace quickening as she tried to dispel the embarrassment lingering from the music room incident. Her mind buzzed with questions: who had been watching her? And why had they disappeared so suddenly? Was someone ever watching her?! Was she going insane? Though she might've already known the answer to the last question.

The initials on the pencil, "S.J.", played over and over in her mind, but no clear face came to her.

As she approached her street, the sight of a moving truck outside the house across from hers momentarily distracted her. Boxes and furniture were being unloaded, and movers bustled around, directed by a couple who looked like the new residents.

I should introduce myself later. she thought,making a mental note to greet the new neighbors if she saw them outside. But the thoughts of the moving truck quickly faded as her mind drifted back to the day's events. OH MY GOD I WANT THE EARTH TO SWALLOW ME WHOLE!

When she reached her own house, she noticed how quiet and empty it felt. Her parents weren't home yet, and the stillness of the space only amplified her  thoughts. Yeri dropped her bag by the door, pulling out the pencil and staring at the initials again. The house was cold, the only sound being the faint hum of the A.C she had just turned on. She sighed, placing the pencil on the kitchen counter, trying to push away the day's strange events and focus on her homework. But the image of the initials and the brief flash of movement she had seen in the music room lingered in her mind, something she couldn't solve.

___

Jake, meanwhile, had finally made it home, stepping into the house directly across from Yeri's. The moving truck was parked out front, and the place was still in disarray from the move. His family had just returned to Seoul, and the house was full of half-unpacked boxes and the smell of fresh paint.

He tossed his backpack on the couch and made his way to his room, thoughts of the random girl and the piano flooding back to him. He couldn't believe he'd been so clumsy, but more than that, he couldn't get over how beautiful she had looked, bathed in the afternoon sunlight, her fingers moving so gracefully over the keys.

Jake collapsed onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He pulled out his phone, thinking about texting Sunghoon or one of his other friends to ask about Ms piano player, but instead, he found himself scrolling through social media aimlessly. All he could think about was her — her focused expression, the way her hair fell around her shoulders.

"Why am I so caught up in this? Ew, i'm such a creep the hell." he muttered to himself, tossing his phone aside. The day had been a mess of reunions and what seemed like the same generic greetings, but it was that brief moment in the music room that stood out the most. He rolled over, glancing out the window towards the house across the street, completely unaware that his pianist was doing the same thing just on the other side.

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OK MAYBE I HAVE FINALS. MAYBE I SAID ID BE INACTIVE BUT A LITTLE CHAPTER WONT HURT RUGHT?
(I seriously need to finish my Niki fanfic before anything 😭)