Thorns of a Lily

Luhan unconsciously walked towards the front doors of the academy. A frown made its way onto his face when he realized where he was standing. He didn’t want to go home yet, but his feet had brought him there. He usually went home two hours after the last class of the day got dismissed.He practiced every moment he got. He practiced so hard to prove that he really loved music. He was a music geek and even had a perfect pitch. But, nobody seemed to recognize his musical abilities, besides his mom and older sister. The two women that he loved most in the world were always on his side. He was happy and thankful for them, but one person in his life made it miserable, his father. Luhan loved his father with all his heart, but his father was against Luhan’s dreams.

When Luhan first mentioned that he wanted to learn how to play the guitar instead of taking tutoring sessions on the business world, his father laughed it off and said that it was a rebellious phrase that he would grow out of. When Luhan wanted to go to Seoul Performing Arts Academy instead of going to a business centered school, his father went ballistic. He was wrong. Luhan never went into a “phase.” Music was part of Luhan’s life ever since the moment he saw his father play the guitar for his mother on their ten year anniversary. Luhan was only five years old, but he still remembered the vibrations that the guitar made whenever his father strummed the guitar strings with his fingers. It fascinated Luhan to no end. He wanted to learn how to play it too.

Luhan sighed and looked at the time displayed on his wrist-watch. There were only a few minutes left until it would be four-thirty in the afternoon. His phone buzzed in his pocket. He jumped at the slight movement and quickly fished out his phone. He watched the light-up screen of his black smart phone for a few seconds, complicating whether he should pick up or not. He bit his lips in hesitation and let out a heavy sigh. He answered the call and mumbled a quiet hello. He didn’t want to ruin the quietness of the hallways.

“Luhan?”

It was his older sister, his only sibling.

“Yes?”

“Are you going to come home early? It’s raining,” she said in a worried tone.

“I see that, Mei.”

Mei, or Meiying, was two years older than Luhan. She was in college, aiming for her doctorate’s degree. She still lived at home because it was cheaper and more comfortable. Meiying was an out-going person, but she hated sharing her living space with people she didn’t know. It wasn’t her fault that her father was a man that was very cautious of everything. Because he had trust issues, Meiying did too. Because he had trust issues, he often had fights with other men in his occupation. Well, Luhan’s father was the CEO of a company that he had started from scratch. He fought his way up to the top, and along the way, he was betrayed multiple times. Luhan understood why his father acted the way he did, but sometimes Luhan didn’t want to accept it.

Mei sighed on the other line. She was an over-protective sister. She cared about his dreams and well-being. Luhan wished that he could do the same, but the pressure that his father put on him was occupying him at the moment. At first, Luhan wondered why Mei couldn’t just take on their father’s company, but then Luhan learned of Mei’s dream to become a doctor. That was such an amazing dream that their father and mother agreed to it. It would make her money and give her status. But, everyone belittled the music industry. And so, Luhan was out of luck.

“Do you want me to pick you up?” she asked.

Luhan smiled and pondered on that question for a while. He felt very peaceful at the moment. Maybe it was because of the current weather. He let out a small and very unnoticeable sigh. He slowly shook his head and responded.

“It’s fine. I want to walk home.”

“But, you’ll get all wet!” Mei exclaimed. “Your guitar will get wet too!”

Luhan smiled in appreciation. He knew that, but he still wanted to walk home in the rain. Didn’t everyone want to walk in the rain at least once?

“It’s okay. I’ll leave my guitar at school tonight.”

“Are you sure?” Mei asked with uncertainty.

“Yeah. I want to enjoy Mother Nature,” Luhan spoke.

Mei scoffed, making Luhan smile.

“Well, if you say so.”

“Thanks, sis.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just be safe and you better not blame me if you get sick.”

“Okay, okay,” Luhan chuckled.

“Bye, Luhan.”

“Bye.”

Luhan let his sister hang up first. He smiled. He was simply happy at the moment. He loved the brotherly and sisterly moments he had with Meiying. Not only was Meiying his sister, she was his best friend. Ever since he was a little kid, he was always the odd ball. No one really liked to hang out with him. Luhan always kept to himself and never truly talked. He wasn’t a quiet person, he just didn’t know what to say.

“Well, let’s put you away first,” Luhan sighed and took his guitar off of his back.

He walked back down the halls and turned a few corners, looking for his locker. The lockers at the academy were quite large—due to the instruments that students didn’t want to take home. Luhan quickly found his locker. It was at the very end of one of the halls. The lockers were painted brown, matching the school uniform. They towered at least a foot over Luhan. Luhan put in his combination number and opened his locker. It was rather clean and well-kept. His school books were neatly placed on a built-in shelf at the top of the locker. His books were arranged in the order he had his classes. There were seven in total, but in truth, he had eight classes. One of his classes required him to learn a new song on the guitar every week and play it for a teacher to evaluate. It was his favorite class of the day.

Luhan carefully placed his guitar into his locker before locking it back up. He turned around on his heels and began to walk towards the front doors of the academy. He swayed his arms and took in a deep breath. He listened closely to any noise, but still, the halls were as quiet as ever. His mind went back to the violin girl. He wanted to know what her name was. He knew that she was probably his age, but what slightly confused him was why he had never seen her in any of his classes before. She obviously had talent for string instruments. All students that played string instruments usually had at least one or two classes together.

Maybe she had more than one talent. Well, it wasn’t uncommon to be able to play more than one instrument. Luhan shrugged away his confusions and finally made it to the front doors. He pushed one open, welcoming the wind and rain. He smiled in content and took a few steps forwards. He let the school doors close behind him.

Luhan took in a deep breath and spread out his arms. Rain droplets immediately pelted onto his clothes and skin, soaking him. He smiled in content.

“Wash away my worries.”

⚜⚜⚜

“I’m home,” Luhan announced as he stepped into the white two-story house.

He was soaking wet and didn’t bother to take off his uniform jacket. He kicked off his wet black converse and placed them on the shoe rack, in hopes that they would dry. He took off his black ankle socks and held them in his hands.

“Luhan!” a voice shrieked from the kitchen. “Why didn’t you call me to come pick you up? Did you take a tax—Luhan! You’re all wet!”

Luhan’s mom yelped in horror when she saw the state that Luhan was in. His mother was quite over-protective as well.

“I’m fine, mom,” Luhan mumbled.

His mom scoffed and took the dry wash cloth in her hands and put it on Luhan’s head. She ruffled his hair, trying to get it dry.

“You’re going to get sick. Hurry and go take a warm shower. Dinner will be ready soon.”

Luhan smiled faintly and nodded.

“Is father home?” he asked evenly.

His mom nodded.

“He’s in his study.”

Luhan sighed heavily and stopped his mom from drying his hair.

“I’ll be quick,” he said.

“Okay. You better not get sick,” his mom warned him.

“Mei can take care of me. Practice,” Luhan joked.

His mom scowled at him, making him chuckle and run up the stairs. He left a small trail of the rain that had soaked him. His footsteps were heavy and fast at first, but then he slowed down and his steps turned into inaudible ones. He swallowed hard and held his breath as he reached the top of the stairs. Not even realizing that he was holding his breath, he exhaled shakily. His eyes wandered to a certain white wooden door at the right. He shuffled his feet across the waxed floorboard and walked up towards the door. He bit his lips and stopped a few feet away from the door. He slowly rose his hand, but put it back down just as slow.
Luhan looked at the ground and lowered his head. Suddenly, the door clicked open, making Luhan straighten his back as if his commander was yelling at him. He stiffened up and looked at the man that was walking pass the white door. When their eyes met, Luhan’s heart stopped.

“Good evening, father,” Luhan spoke evenly, but his voice slightly faltered at the end.

The man, whom Luhan called his father, did not look at Luhan a second longer as he immediately turned to his left and walked towards the stairs as if Luhan was a ghost. Luhan let out a breath of despair and fought back tears. His heart beat painfully against his chest. He swallowed the lump that had built in his throat. He clenched his fist and closed his eyes, wanting the burning sensation in them to stop. He took in a shaky breath and heard another click of a door, signaling that someone was coming out of their room. Luhan opened his eyes and turned around. His sister was staring at him in worry.

“Luhan, I told you to let me pick you up. You’re all we—”

Luhan ignored his sister’s worried look and walked right pass her and into his room that was next to hers. Meiying stopped talking when she saw the dejected look in his eyes. She knew that only one person could make him look that way. She wished that she would have walked out of her room sooner. She hated the tension between her little brother and father. She hated how she couldn’t do anything about it. She swore that the tension between them only grew and never eased down. She silently cursed under her breath and sighed. She turned around and looked at her brother’s back that seemed to be darker than usual.

“Luhan,” she whispered in vain. “I’m so sorry.”

It all began when their father had spotted Luhan’s acceptance letter to Seoul Performing Arts Academy. Luhan had kept his auditions for the school a secret. He never told anyone because he didn’t actually think that he would get accepted. But one morning, when their father was getting the mail, the acceptance letter was placed at the top. At first, his father just thought that it was a normal letter, trying to scout Luhan or something, but when Luhan saw the letter in his father’s hands, he panicked. That was when their father ripped the letter. That was when Luhan first yelled at his father. That was when his father first slapped him. That was when his father began to ignore him.

Secrets were never good to keep in the Lu household. But, sometimes secrets were the only way around things. If Luhan had to keep his dream a secret in order to achieve it, he would.

⚜⚜⚜

Luhan walked down the halls of the academy. He was silently happy that he didn’t catch a cold. He never wanted to miss a day of school. He always had perfect attendance. There was a reason for that. He never liked to stay at home. No one was home during the day anyway. His father always stayed at the company and usually came home an hour before Luhan did. It was a way to avoid Luhan if he was hanging out in the living. Luhan’s mother had her own little flower shop business that also closed around the time that Luhan’s father came home. And Meiying, she had classes for half of the day.

No one being home wasn’t the only reason why Luhan was reluctant to stay home. He didn’t like the scary and cold atmosphere. Every time he walked throughout the house, memories of fights and his dad’s hateful words fogged his memory. He couldn’t remember the last time that he felt truly happy in that house. That fact saddened him greatly.

Luhan sighed, keeping his head low. He avoided bumping into his fellow schoolmates, effortlessly slipping through the crowd. He made it to his locker in no time and entered the combination number. He pulled off the lock once he had successfully unlocked it and grabbed onto his guitar. He carefully hung the strap on his shoulder and grabbed his Music Appreciation book. He slowly and quietly close his locker, although he could have slammed it and it would have went unnoticed due to the loud chitter chatter of the students that walked the halls. It was the morning, but students were still as enthusiastic as ever.

They were talking about their upcoming exams and how well they were doing in their classes. No, students at Seoul Performing Arts Academy didn’t socialize like normal people. They were people that wanted to be on the top of everyone. They showed off their musical capabilities and bragged about their “good grades.” Luhan thought it was silly and immature of his schoolmates to try and have a competition with anything that breathed, but he tried to keep his thoughts to himself. He wasn’t really one that liked to stand out.

He turned around and looked at the sea of brown. Although all the students wore the same uniform, some of them added some of their own bling to it, ranging from chains and pins to pocket handkerchiefs and jewels. Luhan smiled faintly and walked into the sea, blending into the bunch.

Luhan carefully pushed his way pass people when it began to get more crowded. He wondered how it was possible that the academy accepted so many students. Maybe instead of talents, it was the money that the academy was attracted to. But, Luhan didn’t care because he knew that there was also some true talent here, such as the violin girl.
The fluid movements of the girl clouded his mind once again when he spotted her familiar figure at the end of the hall. Even though she was also blended into the sea of students, he still saw her and recognized her. A small smile made its way onto his lips as he quickened his pace towards the girl. She turned to the left, walking around another corner. His eyes slightly widened in alarm. He knew that he didn’t have her in any of his classes. He didn’t know when he would see her again. And so, he wanted to know what her name was right at the moment.

It seemed like years before he reached the end of the halls and turned the same corner that the girl did. He made it just in time to see her walk into a classroom farther down the hall. He smiled. Her classroom was just right next to his. How had he never noticed her before? He walked up to the entrance of the room that she had walked into. He scanned the premises of the room before landing his eyes on the girl. She was sitting right in the middle of the room.

Another fellow schoolmate was about to walk into the classroom, but Luhan stopped him by grabbing onto his arm. It was a boy that was a few inches shorter than Luhan himself. He had black hair, as if he had dyed it, and had it naturally down. His face was small, making him look like a little kid. Luhan wondered if the kid really was a senior or not. Luhan’s eyes went down to the boy’s name tag before he looked back up at his dark brown eyes.

“Your name’s Kyungsoo?” Luhan asked.

Kyungsoo gulped and nodded quickly. He was afraid of Luhan. Well, Luhan was taller than the boy and looked a bit more muscular than him. Luhan concluded that this Kyungsoo kid was often bullied. Luhan let go of the terrified boy to point at the violin girl.

“What’s her name?” Luhan asked.

Kyungsoo followed Luhan’s finger to the said girl. He blinked a few times before registering what Luhan asked him.

“T-The m-mute?” the boy stuttered, obviously still scared.

Luhan’s head tilted to the side like a curious cat.

“Mute?” he asked.

Kyungsoo gulped again.

“Y-Yeah. S-She’s a mute. She’s a senior and her name is Jung Nari. S-She plays the violin and never talks. S-So, she’s a mute,” Kyungsoo forced out every single word that he spoke.

Luhan slightly frowned. A mute? He would have never thought of that. He was hoping that he would be able to hear her talk today, but apparently she couldn’t talk . . . or she wouldn’t.

“Are you sure that she’s a mute?” Luhan asked.

Kyungsoo nodded quickly.

“Y-Yes, I’ve had her in class for the past three years. I’ve never heard her voice before,” Kyungsoo said a bit too quickly.

Luhan sighed and nodded. He gave the girl named Nari once more glance. But, all he could really see was the back of her head. He turned to look at Kyungsoo and patted the boy’s head.

“Thanks, Kyungsoo. See you later,” Luhan smiled brightly before walking into his classroom.

Kyungsoo stood there, unable to move for a few seconds. He let out a breath of relief and secretly smiled. Finally, someone had decided to talk to him and not try to steal his lunch money. Although Luhan kind of frightened him, he was partly thankful for the boy. Even though Luhan only talked to him to get some information from him, Kyungsoo felt happy. He turned around and looked at Nari. He walked up to his desk that was positioned next to hers.

“Good morning, Nari,” he beamed.

Nari was reading a book that she had checked out from the library. She slightly jumped at Kyungsoo’s over joyful voice. She looked at him without making a single noise. He was still smiling at her. His smile radiated warmth and pure joy, making Nari smile as well. She slightly nodded, as to say, “Thank you, and good morning to you too.”

Once Luhan had made it to his seat, he took out his composing book and began to draw a treble clef on the first line of a clean page. All of the pages of the books had blank staffs, enabling him to write music. His happy mood of knowing the existence of the violin girl made him come up with a new tune. He wanted to write it down before he forgot it. He quickly scribbled a few notes before the morning bell rang, signaling that class had begun. He put his pencil in his book to serve as a bookmark and closed it. He pulled out his textbook and faced forwards, looking forward to meeting the violin girl, Jung Nari, once again.

Notes