Thorns of a Lily

Jung Nari was that girl that people usually ignored. She was a quiet girl with hazel eyes that were big and round like a puppy’s. She had double eye-lids and a single dimple on her left cheek. It always seemed present since she smiled all the time. Her pale skin was a contrast to her waist length dark brown hair. Not many people were jealous over her artistic and musical skills because everyone had their own, but some were a bit jealous about her appearance.

Almost everyone at Seoul Performing Arts Academy had an ego as big as the universe. There wasn’t a specific student that was known as the star student. If someone wanted a big name for themselves, they would have to get scouted by a label at the semester showcase, but the students that were scouted were seniors. They graduated right after getting scouted. Nari liked the academy. It was her second home and she would never want to leave. It was the place where she had found her passion for so many different things, but it was also the place where she threw away one of her dreams.

Nari was a girl with three talents. She could effortlessly play the violin and piano. She loved to draw, but that was just a simple hobby that she usually put to the side. She kept to herself, like many of the students at the academy. No one really liked to make friends. Everyone was in a competition with the other. If someone needed help, they would have to ask the teacher or hire an expensive tutor. Students never liked to communicate or help each other, but occasionally the competition between everybody got tiring and people would sometimes befriend each other.

Nari disliked the competition and tense atmosphere that surrounded the academy, and so she always smiled, trying to brighten up the mood of others. Unfortunately, students just snickered at her and thought of her as a dummy. Jung Nari never talked. Some thought she was a mute, and some thought that was just an idiot. Nari knew of the rumors about her that went around the academy, but she cared not of them. She just smiled on and continued to be positive because that was what she was best at.

⚜⚜⚜

It was a Thursday—practice day. Nari worked every day after school, except on Thursdays. She always practiced her violin and piano. She chose to play the violin when she was ten years old because her father was a violinist. Her mother told her to just go with whatever she felt comfortable with, but Nari always wanted to impress father. Her parents were a music oriented family. Her mother sang while her father played the violin for an orchestra. It wasn’t until a terrible accident a few years later that her father quit the violin and began a business making instruments.

Nari held onto the case of her violin close to her chest. It was her treasure that she would cherish forever. Her father had given it to her the day she decided to learn how to play it. She still remembered the day he gave it to her. He was so happy that she wanted to walk in his footsteps. He was a proud father, and she was a happy daughter. Who knew that that could change within a month?

Her footsteps echoed throughout the empty white hallways. The academy was a large and beautiful institution. From the outside, it seemed to be made out of glass, but inside all the walls were white, decorated with paintings of various musicians. Every single day, Nari would walk down these halls and look at each painting. She remembered their names and the order in which they appeared.

Even though the school seemed empty at the moment, it wasn’t. Students occupied almost every practice room in the school. She had a reserved a particular practice room for herself. It was a medium sized room that held a piano and a few boxes with small instruments. All practice rooms were sound proof, so she didn’t have to worry about bothering other students. She was so familiar with the academy that she swore she could navigate it with her eyes closed. It was her last year there. She wanted to cherish every second. For the past four years, she thought that she would have been able to make a friend, but unfortunately, the opportunity never came. Everyone was always so distant from her. The people that were jealous of her appearance, found faults within her, making them feel better because nothing was better to those people than to bring down a fellow schoolmate. To everyone, Jung Nari was a mute. To everyone, Jung Nari was no better than them.

Nari reached the practice room and opened it. She smiled faintly as she scanned the premises of the empty room. She walked in and closed the door with a click. She let out a soft sigh as she walked up to the music stand that stood in the middle of the room. She set the sheets of music that was in her hands onto the stand and began to take out her violin out of its case. Her father had been so distant from her for the past three years. She wanted to make it up to him by exceling at what he loved most. She wanted to be his perfect daughter, doing everything that he had asked of her.

She lifted up the violin and propped it up on her shoulder. She elegantly lifted the bow in her right hand and closed her eyes. Slowly and carefully, she began to play a soft and beautiful ballad. Her father often told her to focus on her emotions while playing. If she cried, then so would her audience. If she was upbeat and happy, her audience would be the same. Right now, she was more on the happy side, but not entirely. She was tired from today’s work and excited to play her violin. To her, the violin produced one of the most amazing sounds ever.

Nari moved her arm back and forth as she played different notes. Her body swayed to the rhythm. She smiled, keeping her eyes closed, opening them only to read a few notes of the music. She had only played this song twice before, but she had almost had it fully memorized. The longer she played, the more immersed she began to get into the music. As she played, past memories played before her eyes. Both sad and happy. She wanted to cry, but she wanted to smile and laugh too. She wanted to scream out in pain, but she also wanted to yell out in pure joy. Her emotions were all over the place as well as her life. This was one of the only moments that she could truly express her feelings.

⚜⚜⚜

Walking down the quiet and peaceful halls of Seoul Performing Arts Academy was a young boy, Lu Han. He held tightly onto the guitar strap that was hanging on his shoulder, carrying an acoustic guitar. He was a senior at the academy. Even though he had been attending the academy for four years, no one really seemed to ever remember his name or his talent. Yes, Lu Han carried around a guitar, but no one had ever heard him play it. Luhan was a boy with brown hair and dark brown eyes. He was handsome, but his facial features were hidden behind the thick black framed glasses that he always wore.

He walked passed a body-length mirror and stopped. He took a few steps back to examine his appearance. He was wearing the school uniform that consisted of a dark brown jacket, a white dress shirt, a dark brown tie, and a dark brown dress pants. The girl’s uniform was similar, but they wore bow ties and skirts. He patted down his shirt and pushed his glasses up higher the bridge of his nose. He smiled in content and sighed. He shifted the straps of his guitar so it was a bit higher up his shoulder.

Luhan took in a deep breath and continued walking down the halls. He was looking for a free practice room to use. He usually practiced on the rooftop of the school, but it was raining. He didn’t mind singing in the rain, but he didn’t want to sacrifice his guitar. His sister had bought it for him when he got accepted into the academy. She was so proud of him and she still was. Luhan had pride in his guitar playing, not so much in his singing, but that was because he never did much of it.

He half-skipped and half walked down the halls. He whistled a sweet tune and moved his head side to side. His smile could brighten up an entire room, if people paid attention to him. Luhan was that guy that was happy when the time was right, but there were days when he would be in a dark mood the entire day.

Luhan reached a room that was placed at the end of the hall. He had only used a practice room a few times before. They were nice and cozy, but sometimes he didn’t like them. They were small and enclosed. When he was a freshman, he could only use the small practice rooms on the first floor of the academy. As he got older, he was able to use the bigger rooms on the upper floors, but he hated the obnoxious people that occupied them.

Music was supposed to bring people together. Music was supposed to bring peace and harmony, but at Seoul Academy, it brought brawls, tears, and hatred. But, he never transferred schools. He knew that if he stayed long enough, something exciting would happen to him—a turning point in his life. He had no clue what, but he knew that it would happen during his last year at the academy. Maybe his father would finally agree with his career path, or maybe he would get scouted, but even if it were none of those and something much smaller, he would still gladly wait for it.

Luhan smiled and placed his right hand on the door knob to the room. He looked down as he turned the knob to the side and pushed open the door. Immediately, a beautiful and sorrowful melody filled his ears. His eyes widened as his head snapped up. Before him, stood a girl that he had never seen before, playing the violin oh so passionately. Her long dark down wavy hair cascaded down her back. Some pieces fell from her shoulders as she moved to and fro. Her long eye lashes brushed against her cheeks. Her lips were formed into a small smile.

Luhan stopped in his tracks before letting his mouth open in agape. The girl’s fast and fluid movements intrigued him. She seemed to be in another world. She didn’t even register his entrance. Luhan stood there for seconds, wondering how long he could stay there without her noticing. A small smiled stretched upon his lips. He wanted to stay and watch her, but he knew that the musical piece that she was playing was soon coming to an end, and so he decided that he would have to leave before she opened her eyes again. He inched his way back out of the room, and as quietly as possible, closed the door as slowly as he could.
He waited for a few more seconds before smiling to himself and walking off. He shrugged his shoulders and whistled the melody that the girl was playing, as he walked down the halls once more.

I’ll just practice tomorrow.

Luhan stopped walking when something came across his mind. He was on the fourth floor of the academy, so that meant that the girl that was playing to be in the same grade as him. He wondered why he had never seen her before. Although many people did not know him, he knew a lot. He wasn’t a person that forgot someone’s name, so once some introduced themselves to him, or if he saw someone calling someone else by their name, he would remember it. So, Lu Han wondered why he had never come across the beautiful and talented girl in the three, almost four, years that he had been attending the school. Was she a transfer student? But, it was very rare for the academy to accept transferees.

The thunder roared outside the school walls. Luhan smiled softly and rose his arms, stretching out. The weather was perfect for taking a nap, but for some reason, he just wanted to walk around in silence. The silence of the entire building was somehow comforting. It let him sort out his thoughts that he had pondered on the entire day. But now, instead of worrying about trivial things, his mind was only on one person—the girl with the violin, the girl with the beautiful smile and passion for music. Luhan had never seen someone play so beautifully. Everyone here just wanted to become famous or earn money, but Luhan was here for his love for music, and he knew that the girl was here for the same reason.

I hope we’ll meet again, violin girl.

Notes

This is more of a deep story, so they'll be a lot of description.
This will also be made into a book. So, please do not plagiarize.
Or, I will find you and sue the heck out of you.
<3 Nubci