Jeax d’eau
Shan finished a few rounds in the arena and then when he felt tired enough and had a feeling he would fall asleep, he simply turned everything off and took the stairs to the fourth floor to make himself even more tired.
Well, even though they called it the fourth floor, the entire Zhu long quarters were from the fiftieth floor up to… Shan thought for a while about it because he wasn't sure. But he knew that they had at least seven floors now. Above them, there were only a few expensive flats, a restaurant and bar, and a roof garden with a viewpoint.
Shan appeared by the end of the corridor from the other side than the elevator entrance was. But it was closer to his room. He went to the left and opened the room. He wasn't used to locking doors. Even though some members used their cards to do it, Shan simply believed no one would go inside and just left.
He entered, not turning on the light because he would only make himself more awake. Screwed another shower because that would wake him up again and just went to bed.
Well. when his sight got used to the darkness of the room, with closed curtains. He saw a weird, dark blob in his bed. But he shook his head. It was his blanket.
But when he came really close, he noticed the blob was a human, with dark hair, sleeping very soundly. It was the guy from before.
San was stunned. He was watching the person in his bed and forgot even to breathe.
"Your bed is comfy." San watched the first ever person, besides his family, of course, to enter his room and jump on his bed.
"Mom… takes care of me." San watched as laughing Woojin sat up and couldn't help but smile. He was so adorable.
"You know what? I'm kinda jealous. My mom wants me to study hard to become a lawyer. But I can't ever remember one poem. How would I be able to remember entire laws?" Woojin went to San's table and traced some of the music sheets he had there, before picking one up and looking at it with admiration in his eyes.
"You can play this?" Woo showed him one of the pieces San has been struggling with the most. Beethoven's Appassionata. He couldn't play it and had problems remembering the right notes. And it was such a lengthy piece, too. Embarrassed, he shook his head but came closer to Woo. San was going through the music sheets Woo was holding before picking up one.
"I can do this one if you want to hear." Woo looked more excited than San.
"I'd love to hear you play." Woo placed the papers back where he got them, while San went to the small piano he had in his room.
"I will need you to turn the sheets. I remember this piece, but it will be… I need it just to be sure," San placed the music sheet on the holder and made a place for Woo on the piano bench. He sat down but looked confused.
"I don't know when. I'm tone deaf and I can't read musical notes. I have no idea how it is done." San laughed and placed his hands on the papers, turning them, and showing them to Woojin.
"I will simply say now. And you will turn it like this. Don't be nervous as I said, I should remember this piece without looking at the notes." San wasn't saying it just to calm Woo down. It was one of his favorite pieces. There were many, but this one… stung something in him.
"Jueaox deua?" Woojin tried to read it in French, but San had to laugh at how off the pronunciation was.
"Jeax d'eau by Ravel, you could translate as Fountains or literally Water Games. It's quick, so you shouldn't be bored." San placed both hands on the keys and took a deep breath. Closed his eyes for a bit and imagined the notes in his head.
He started playing. His hands were quickly moving on the keyboard, his long fingers quickly switching the keys and thankfully remembering all the notes he had to play. He didn't even have to look at the sheets. Nor the keyboard.
When he finished the half of playing just a short version, he looked at stunned Woojin. He was staring at San with his mouth open.
"This was so quick!" he exclaimed and grabbed San's hand, staring at it, examining it before getting up, lying on San's bed, belly down, legs up, hands underneath his chin.
"Please play more. Something… I want to listen to it. It's so beautiful." San's chest felt a stinging sensation. He feared it would feel boring to Woo. Uninteresting. San bit his lip, his mind overflowing with emotions.
Yet, he started playing.
He played lively Mozart's pieces, heavy ones from Beethoven. Some hard from Litzs. In the end, his hands were starting to get tired, so he slowed down and played some ballads from Chopin and Debussy. He never played the entire piece, but always slowly moved from one song seamlessly to the other one. When he finished, Woo was still watching him as a hawk.
"I think I fell in love with you…" Woo said.
Shan ran to the toilet that was adjusted to his room and puked. He was shivering again. This memory was something he tried to bury deep inside.
He was still sitting on the floor of the room when a person came in, messy hair, puffy from sleep. He kneeled down on the floor, caressed Shan's back, while soaking part of the towel in water, then he placed it on Shan's neck.
"What are you doing here?" Shan asked first, after swallowing the disgusting taste in his throat.
"I was told to sleep in the room on the right. Which is this one…" his voice was hoarse, tired. Shan shuddered and just to be sure he turned to face the toilet again.
"I think she meant right from the side of the stairs. This is my room. The one opposite is vacant…" Hyun stood up and bowed.
"I'm sorry. I... slept in your bed… I will immediately go away," he said and disappeared. He peeked in only to ask if Shan was okay, but got whooshed away by Shan's hand.
When Hyun ran to the opposite room, his heart was beating too fast, and he was awake the entire night, remembering the scent and the feel of Shan's bed. Like some creep.
But he wasn't alone, who was awake the entire night. Shan couldn't sleep either, but because of a completely different reason.