At least two hours before they began preparing for their date, Eunice was in her room, doing her schoolwork.
Jake was in his room, but wasn’t doing anything. Instead, he had his music stand and a music book. He opened the first page of the book and there was the title Salut D’amor.
He let his violin sing in the background of Eunice’s room in acapella. But Eunice felt that the sound of the violin felt lonely.
She connected to the piano keyboard. Once she set it up, she followed along with Jake’s music. She was like a piano accompaniment. But she was so lost in the music, that she actually envisioned herself with Jake performing in front of millions and millions of people.
As they both were about to end the piece, Eunice woke up from her daydream and let her fingers finish the beautiful music that she was listening to.
Her fingers slid off of the keyboard and suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Eunice was startled.
“Room service already?” she asked herself.
But as always, it was not room service. Instead, Sung-hoon stood in front of the doorway as Eunice opened the door.
“So…” said Sung-hoon, “Have you prepared for your date yet?”
“Well…I was actually about to get dressed for it, so…”
Sung-hoon then noticed the piano keyboard on the side of Eunice’s room.
“Were you just performing something for someone?” he asked.
Eunice looked back at the keyboard and back at Sung-hoon.
“How can you notice things when I can’t?”
“I am like right in front of you and your back is facing the room, can I make it any more obvious?”
Eunice crossed her arms.
“To answer your question, I was not performing anything to anyone.”
“So…why were you playing Salut D’amor?”
“Well…” Eunice stuttered, “It was because…Jake was playing it first, and he was playing the violin in acapella, so I wanted to make the music in the background for it.”
Sung-hoon snickered. “Really?”
Eunice was quiet for quite a while.
“Well…I always feel like there needs to be more in something, that’s the point.”
Sung-hoon softly chuckled.
In the evening, Eunice sat up straight from on her bed. She looked deeply at the pink ball gown she laid out before. There was something that she always had thought about.
What if…my parents find out?
She kept worrying constantly. But then, she eventually gave in. At first, she was embarrassed to step out of her room. She was wearing a poofy ball gown with golden bling on the skirt. But sometimes, those were times she also felt confident about herself.
Be brave, Eunice…you can do this. If they stare at you…then let them stare at you. If they talk about you…then let them talk about you. You don’t always have to be insecure about yourself. Speak Yourself…that is all you have to do…
Eunice let her inner thoughts calm her nerves. She then arrived at the address sent by Sung-hoon.
Property of Jae-yun?
“That is the name of this place?” she asked herself.
She felt confused.
As she entered the restaurant…she was overwhelmed with posh dishes, the rich scenery and the lights all aglow.
Shoot!
And then, there came Jake with his mother. And she was just as beautiful as the whole place.
“Eunice,” said Jake, “I would like you to meet my mother. She is the owner of this restaurant and one of the head chefs.”
But even Mrs. Shim felt empathy for Eunice. After all, she did have a strained relationship with her mum and dad.
“Eunice,” she said, “When your mother and father had you…they wanted to put you in daycare already. But I then said that she needed to have postpartum care first, but they didn’t listen and forced you into school already. And then, when I visited you again, I saw a list of all of the schools that they planned on sending you to. I felt so bad for you. And, since my other son planned on going to ISU for college when he was in middle school, I rewrote the college section and put in ISU, so that you and Jake would meet.”
“So…you knew me…ever since my birth, basically?” asked Eunice.
“I’m sorry,” said Mrs. Shim, taking Eunice’s hand, “I wanted to tell you. But even they wouldn’t let me hold you. They would always kick me out whenever I am close to you.”
Eunice then gave a hug to Mrs. Shim.
After having dinner Eunice and Jake took a walk outside the restaurant’s gardens.
“Your mother seems nice,” said Eunice, “It seems you get along with her well.”
“Yeah, I do.” Jake replied.
And then, under a cherry blossom tree, Jake held Eunice close to his chest, where he caressed her head.
“I just want to let you know…that I love you.”
Eunice knew how much Jake wanted to protect her. She remembered Mrs. Shim’s words.
“I…I love you t-to…Jakey.”
The gentleman then pulled Eunice in…and kissed her right on the spot. Mrs. Shim saw how passionate the couple were.
He loves you more than anything in the world…excluding me, she thought.
After the date, Eunice fell in love with Jake quickly. And soon became closer and closer to him. But then, it was while she was coming up to her room, she realized she had forgotten something…
MY NOTEBOOK!, she thought.
And so, she raced to the bike racks, hopped on her bike and immediately rode off to Independence Academy.
The school was still open.
She rushed to Mr. Lee’s classroom, snatched a notebook of hers and ran all the way back to the bike racks and rode to home. But then, a mysterious object was flying towards Eunice.
“What is that?” Eunice asked herself.
She then stopped and then realized that it was a drone, stalking her right in the middle of the night.
She then rode left, but the little drone followed her. She turned around and went right, but then, it still followed her.
She knew she was heading to the route where the ISU was. She took matters into her own hands and snatched the drone from the air.
Luckily, she found the Off button. And then, the drone shut down.
Eunice ran all the way inside the university. She went to the highest floor of the building and threw the drone down all the way. She hid herself behind a wall and heard the faint crash of the drone.
And then, as she was finding a way out, she heard beautiful violin music.
The sound of the violin captivated her attention quickly.
Knowing that it was behind the door she nearly passed by, she peeked through the door, and immediately saw Shim Jake with a violin in his hands.
The music, she thought, Violin and Piano Sonata Number 9. The Kreutzer. First Movement…and he…plays it?
Eunice then sighed. As she watched, she fell more in love with Jake.
But why am I falling for him this fast…I have done absolutely nothing to make myself fall for him.
Suddenly, the door opened wider and Eunice was about to tip over. She immediately donned a kabe-don on the wall next to the door, which made a loud noise from the palm of her hand.
But no one noticed a thing.
Eunice sighed in relief.
And then, she noticed the music emanating from the audience. She could hear how it was closer to her than how it was played from the stage.
Eventually, the piece ended and everyone gave a loud ovation. Eunice knew she had to get out of there.
She then ran out of the auditorium, out the main entrance and rode off from her bike.
Sung-hoon noticed and said to himself, “She really does love him.”