Chapter 10: The Still Young and Shy Her (Part 2) (First Update)

  First update, seeking recommendations and collections!

  By the way, I'll change the update time from now on. The first update will be at this time slot, and the second update will be around 11 pm. This way, I won't have to look for a network to upload during work hours, which sometimes causes delays when I can't find one.

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  Jung Sun-won's departure left the practice room in an awkward silence for a while, without a familiar face by her side, Kim Tae-yeon was like an abandoned chick, huddled with her shoulders and curled up on the sofa, her small body completely buried under the thick cushions, her hand gripping the teacup turned pale from exertion, revealing her fear and confusion.

  An Junhe couldn't help it, fortunately this practice room wouldn't have outsiders coming in, otherwise if someone saw her like this, they would think he was bullying her!

  The girl was too scared to give birth, and even with his interpersonal skills, he didn't know what to say to her at this time to ease the awkward atmosphere. After thinking for a moment, he picked up the wooden guitar leaning against the wall, strummed it casually, and the clear, full sound was like the gentle breeze on a summer day by the river, rustling through the willow branches, making people feel inexplicably comfortable.

  The sudden yet not abrupt sound of the strings caught Kim Tae-yeon's attention. Her eyes, hidden behind black-framed glasses, made it impossible to see her emotions, but from her slightly straightened posture, one could sense a change in her mind.

  This is a child who is very sensitive to music.

  An Junhe thought, holding his guitar and taking out a notebook from his backpack. The cover page was filled with handwritten sheet music, the handwriting was neat, showing how much care the owner had for it. An Junhe flipped through a few pages, finding a piece of music that made him smile warmly as soon as he saw it.

  At this moment, Kim Tae-yeon, who had been quietly paying attention to him, suddenly skipped a beat.

  At 16, she suddenly matured physically or accumulated over the past 15 years, making her seem to have grown up overnight. She had many different views of the world and gradually became clearer about the distinction between men and women. She could no longer play wildly with boys, get angry and fight with them until their faces were bruised and bloody. She began to understand the significance of the opposite sex to herself, learned to restrain her personality, and yearned for a kind of emotion that seemed both distant and close at hand.

  But that was just a fantasy, like other girls of the same age, with romantic notions in their hearts so perfect and yet so strange. The girls gazed at it taking root and sprouting in their hearts, deeper and deeper, yearning to get close and understand, but also having an inexplicable fear, so they could only sneak around, hesitant to advance or retreat - just like a little rabbit that has just left its nest, curious, bewildered, and timid, hiding at the slightest rustle of leaves.

  She was like that too, the boy in front of her holding a guitar, with a gentle smile on his handsome face, as if hiding many stories, attracting her curiosity, wanting to explore the unknown, yet feeling danger lurking around every corner, as if she would be trapped at any moment. Such a strange and intense emotion made her heart beat like a drum in her chest, so reckless that it left her weak and flustered, her hand gripping the teacup tightly, spilling hot tea all over herself, leaving a large embarrassing stain on her dark jeans.

  At that moment, a girl named Taeyeon felt suffocated and her breathing almost stopped.

  "Are you okay?" The gentle voice, along with the handkerchief handed to her face, made Tae-yeon lift up her head. Her round cheeks were flushed red, and above her sparkling eyes, her sparse eyebrows drooped into an "eight" shape due to her inner embarrassment, making that adorable expression cause Ahn Jun-hee to burst out laughing.

  The laughter made the girl even more depressed, her cheeks slightly bulging, silently taking over the tissue paper, even forgetting to say thank you, just burying her head and wiping her pants hard, as if venting her pent-up anger.

  But what she didn't know was that her childish and indignant reaction made An Junhe unable to hold back his smile.

  "Sorry, I wasn't laughing at you." Seeing the girl's head almost bowed to her chest from laughter, An Junhe patted his forehead and explained apologetically: "The way you looked just now reminded me of my little sister when she was young. Every time she got angry with me, she would also frown and not speak, just silently doing her own thing... It's been a long time since I've seen her like that again, I kind of miss it, sorry!"

  She let out a sigh, and now my sister, although much better than the mental state in the same period of the dream, has also become silent and taciturn. Many times, even as her brother, I don't know what she's thinking about every day when she gazes into the distance. I'm always worried, but powerless to do anything.

  His explanation made Taeyeon, who thought she was being ridiculed, feel a little better, but after hearing Ahn Jun-hee's subsequent sigh, it seemed that he too had been infected with the heavy feeling in there, and his mood was again shrouded in gloom.

  She hesitated for a moment before speaking in a low voice: "Senior's sister..."

  An Junhe forced a smile, "Something happened, it's hard to say for the time being, let's not talk about this. Taeyeon, how long have you been studying vocal music?"

  "...just over a month ago, I used to practice randomly at home..." Taeyeon smiled sheepishly and puckered her lips, "I really like singing."

  As she spoke, she glanced at An Junhe and hesitated curiously, asking: "And what about Senior?"

  "Me?" An Junhe was taken aback, his hands unconsciously plucking the strings of the guqin as he thought for a moment, "It's been a long time, I think. I started learning in elementary school, but it was sporadic and I even gave up for a while. It wasn't until I became a trainee that I really started to study hard, and that was only about a month ago."

  "Oh..."

  Taeyeon nodded, then fell silent again, as if her previous initiative had already exhausted her courage. Her eyes occasionally glanced at the guitar in Ahn Junghyun's arms, where a bright spark was hidden.

  Catching her gaze, An Junhe understood something and smiled warmly: "Can you play the guitar?"

  Taeyeon hastily shook her head.

  "So... what do you want to learn?"

  “……”

  Taeyeon pressed her lips tightly together and didn't answer.

  But such a performance was enough to make Ahn Jun-hee understand her thoughts. He hesitated for a moment, and said with some regret: "It's a pity that you don't live in Seoul, nor are you a trainee, so you can't come here often. Otherwise, I could teach you not only guitar but also piano. Mastering these two instruments will be very helpful to your future."

  Perhaps it was the girl's cuteness, which was very similar to that of his younger sister, that touched the softest spot in his heart, causing him to say something he rarely said to someone still relatively unfamiliar.

  The girl looked up at him, her eyes sparkling, and then fell again, revealing only the side of her face that was not covered by her hair. Her expression could not be seen, nor could her thoughts be guessed.

  An Junhe let out a quiet sigh and placed the sheet music in front of him, changing the subject: "Taeyeon, I'll sing you a song!"

  The moment the words fell, before Taeyeon could respond, the soft strings began to move, first with a low and gentle melody that seemed to carry a hint of heartache. His soft voice turned into a sigh that flowed out with it, just the prelude, but it perfectly expanded the sorrowful atmosphere. And when those self-narrating lyrics came out like whispers, the entire world's sounds seemed to disappear, surrounded by the quietness of loneliness and pain.

  It's raining at midnight, and I'm thinking of you again

  I struggle in the humid depths of memory

  I made up my mind to say

  I can live well without you

  Still can't do it

  ……

  I'm so sorry but I love you are all lies

  Used to be puzzled, now understand

  You also need me

  but－i－love－you

  The me who speaks hurtful words

  Unconsciously lost you

  AhAhAh~

  The tune is very short, only tens of seconds long. In the eyes of a true composer, this isn't even a song. Although lyrics have been added, it can only be considered half-finished.

  But it's just these dozen or so sentences that bring out the essence of a song, and the emotions expressed in the melody and lyrics are no less than those with complete composition. This is An Junhe's favorite segment of music in his dreams, sung by a girl named IU, a cover of "Lies" that is not inferior to the original version, and even more powerful and infectious in its tragic atmosphere.

  When the last note jumped over, the faint tremolo gradually disappeared in this small space. A burst of applause suddenly broke the quiet atmosphere. Ahn Jun-hee and Kim Tae-yeon, who were still immersed in the melody, woke up with a start and quickly turned their heads to look towards the door. There, the door had been opened at some point, and Jeong Seon-won and Gwon Bo-geun stood outside, applauding vigorously.

  "Teacher, Uncle Baogen!" An Junhe put down his guitar and stood up to greet the two of them, using his body to block the tears that were already streaming down his face. Like a little kitten, Kim Tae-yeon handed him a tissue from an angle where the two people outside the door couldn't see.

  The girl silently accepted it, and for some reason, at this moment, although her heart was still aching from the previous melody, another emotion emerged, a feeling that seemed to warm her heart like drinking warm water.

  An Jun-he didn't know what was going on in the girl's mind, he just quietly looked at Zheng Chun-yuan and Kwon Bo-geun outside the door, guessing how they got together.

  "Junhe, you little scamp..." He slapped a few more loud palms, shaking his head and sighing, with an unmistakable tone of admiration and pride. He walked up to An Junhe, gave him a big hug, rubbed him vigorously, and then asked in a flurry, "Was that last part written by you?"

  An Junhe subtly furrowed his brow, this "Lie", actually he didn't want Guan Baogen or the people in the company to know about it. Of course, it wasn't that he felt bad or guilty about plagiarism, but rather this version of "Lie" only had this one segment. If the company found out, they would make him turn it into a complete song, and as someone who had just started learning composition, he didn't have that ability. Although the original song was complete, he didn't want to bring it out - because if he did, this song which was more suitable for group performances would definitely be taken away by the company.

  I thought it would be no big deal to sing a song for Taeyeon, even if Jung Sunwon heard it, but unexpectedly Kwon Bora came running at this time.

  He sighed silently and nodded: "Yes, what I did before has never been completed."

  "It doesn't matter if it's not finished." Quan Baogen excitedly spun around in place, suddenly clapping his hands and pulling An Junhe, "Come on, follow me to see the president, I'm going to reassign your course schedule, the current pace is too slow!"

  As he spoke, he pulled Ahn Jun-hee and turned to leave. Before going out the door, he saw Jeong Soon-won who was still stunned there, and it seemed like he remembered something, so he said hastily: "Jun-hee, from now on, Teacher Jeong Soon-won will be in charge of teaching you vocal music, Teacher Jeong's teaching ability is very strong...Teacher Jeong, let's put today's lesson aside for now, I'll rearrange Jun-hee's schedule and notify you again. That's it for today."

  Zheng Chunyuan, who was shocked by his words, nodded hastily: "Yes, I know."

  Watching Gwon Bo-geun hurry away with Ahn Jun-ho, Jeong Soon-won was stunned for a while, and suddenly laughed out loud, his frown disappearing from his face.

  No wonder he's happy, although he originally thought highly of An Junhe and even discussed with Teacher Li to take over the task of guiding An Junhe, but that was just based on the company's high expectations for An Junhe, believing he had great potential. This move involves too many gambling elements.

  But now it seems An Jun-hyeok is more than just potential.

  Who doesn't want to teach a student who achieves great things?

  Thinking to himself, he suppressed the excitement in his heart and called out towards the house: "Tae-yeon, let's go!" Since today's lesson was cancelled, there was no need for him to stay here. After all, he wasn't a company employee, just a teacher at one of the company's schools, and according to regulations, he shouldn't linger too long.

  Tae-yeon responded with a murmur but took a long time to come out, and when she saw him, she didn't even lift her head, following behind him silently.

  The girl's unusual behavior, Zheng Chunyuan, who was still immersed in surprise, didn't notice until they left the company. He asked Taeyeon if she wanted her dad to come pick her up and take her home now, or if she should go back to school with him. After calling out to her several times, Taeyeon finally came to, but she still looked dazed. Only then did he start to worry: "Taeyeon, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

  Maybe he is a bit utilitarian, but who isn't struggling for fame and fortune in this society? At least as a teacher, he is still qualified, and he takes great care of Taeyeon, the student he has taken under his wing.

  "No, teacher, I'm fine..."

  The girl spoke with a soft Jeolla-do accent, revealing her hesitation, and Jung Sun-won said in a warm voice, "Tae-yeon, what's wrong? Tell the teacher, is there something difficult?"

  Although they haven't spent much time together, he has a good understanding of this student. The girl is a contradictory figure, on the one hand, she is introverted and lonely, with a taciturn personality that always puts pressure on herself, not knowing how to express her emotions. On the other hand, she is very strong-willed and determined, once she makes up her mind about something, she will work hard to achieve it. Otherwise, she wouldn't have traveled all the way from another province to study music in her free time, despite her family's disapproval of this idea, they are powerless against her persistence.

  Listening to his gentle voice, Taeyeon hesitated for a long time. At some point, she turned around and looked at the small, unassuming building she had just walked out of. Her sparkling eyes suddenly became determined:

  "Teacher... I want to be a trainee!"