Sunshine Shower Chapter 84

“…I’m really sorry.”

“Anyway, think about it. I only brought it up because you looked uncomfortable. I think the professor would approve too.”

“…Alright. I’ll think about it.”

Moon Seoyoon answered after a pause. He briefly considered that since they wouldn’t be sharing the same bedroom, just using different rooms, it might not be so bad. He was planning to work part-time over the vacation, so even if they lived together, there wouldn’t be much time for them to actually see each other.

‘When did I ever think this was absolutely not an option?’

He swallowed back a dry chuckle that was trying to escape from between his lips. His heart, which changed so easily, felt trivial.

It was amusing how some feelings could change so effortlessly, while others seemed like they never would. It seemed like the fate of someone wavering in unrequited love was to become this pitiful.

“I didn’t mean for you to feel so sorry.”

Woo Yeonjae gave him a look, as if he’d unknowingly put on a serious expression, and then chuckled. Mischief sparkled in his eyes.

“It’s because I really am sorry.”

Instead, Moon Seoyoon furrowed his brow.

He had forgotten that Woo Yeonjae wasn’t the type to just let go of words said to him. He already felt sorry about that, and thinking about the promise Woo Yeonjae had been waiting for alone made him feel guilty. Perhaps the thought of a dorm room crammed with two adult men and an empty studio apartment flashed through his mind.

“If you’re really sorry, play the piano for me.”

“Suddenly?”

Moon Seoyoon blinked at the unexpected request.

“You used to play every time I came over. Being back at your place reminded me of that. Do you still have it?”

“Yeah, it’s still here… but my fingers are probably stiff.”

“I won’t know even if you mess up.”

After a brief moment of thought, Moon Seoyoon nodded. He was a bit concerned about his father being home, but he didn’t think playing the piano would provoke any objections.

“It probably hasn’t been tuned.”

As he stepped out of the room and opened the door to the piano room, a familiar instrument came into view. It was a piano his father had kept tuned periodically even after his mother had passed away. How it had been maintained since his father remarried was uncertain. It could have been neglected during the two years he’d been away.

Still, the piano was spotless, likely thanks to the housekeeper who regularly cleaned.

Moon Seoyoon first opened the window. The early summer breeze filled the room like sunshine, lightening his mood.

After a brief hesitation, he walked over to the piano, his steps still uncertain, and sat down. He carefully lifted the firmly closed lid, revealing the familiar keys.

Moon Seoyoon bit his lip for no reason and then tentatively pressed a key. The clear sound softly echoed through the quiet space. Though it might have been slightly out of tune, it wasn’t unlistenable.

“What are you going to play?”

Woo Yeonjae asked, leaning against the wide-open window.

“Anything that comes to mind.”

He had to loosen his fingers first. Moon Seoyoon began to press the keys, as if to warm up his hands, habitually recalling the sheet music he’d practiced so much. It had been seven years since he stopped playing the piano, and for two of those years, he hadn’t touched the keys at all. He doubted whether he could play a proper piece.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he placed his left index finger on the black key and his right thumb on a white key, settling his foot on the pedal.

“Don’t laugh if I mess up.”

Feeling nervous after such a long time, he glanced at Woo Yeonjae, half-jokingly warning him. Woo Yeonjae smiled silently, his cheeks lifting as his long eyes crinkled.

“I told you, I won’t even notice if you mess up.”

“You say that, but just pressing the wrong key once makes it sound off.”

Besides, it was a piece that required a lot of technique, so a single mistake would be obvious.

“Ha…”

With a sigh, Moon Seoyoon pushed away the tension. This wasn’t a competition, just playing the piano in front of a friend. There’d be no ridicule, no criticism, no scolding.

As soon as his left hand played the first note, the performance began. His fingers, moving together across the keys, revived a melody he thought he’d long forgotten. Without time to think, his fingers instinctively danced across the keys.

A piece by Liszt gently echoed and gradually settled into the calm atmosphere.

He wasn’t sure why this piece suddenly came to mind. It was one of Liszt’s most well-known pieces, and its languid, quiet melody seemed to perfectly suit a drowsy afternoon.

The slow, soft melody continued as he pressed the cold keys. The piece, part of Liszt’s third nocturne, was an arrangement of a song set to Ferdinand Freiligrath’s poem “Love as Long as You Can.” Liszt had composed it for his second love.

Since he was also in the middle of a forbidden love at that time, it wasn’t hard to guess why he arranged a song about loving as long as one could.

The gentle melody that had been flowing smoothly began to slow down and almost faltered, then quickly regained speed as the right hand joined in with the left. *It was the section where the cadenza appeared.

Liszt and the woman he dedicated the piece to had been in an illicit relationship. Unable to overcome the Catholic Church’s ban on divorce, their relationship ended in failure.

Suddenly, Moon Seoyoon wondered what kind of reaction Woo Yeonjae would have if he told him the story behind this piece. Would he scoff at it as some grand love? Since he already viewed love as nothing more than a biological impulse, this would likely reinforce his belief.

The thought that his feelings might be remembered as nothing more than a failed love, akin to an affair in Woo Yeonjae’s eyes, made his stomach churn. Even though he knew it was an unnecessary projection, it was difficult to control his emotions as they flowed uncontrollably, just like his fingers dancing across the keys.

As the cadenza ended and the melody gradually softened, it returned to the gentle sound that had begun it. The lightly bouncing notes mixed with the slightly heavier tone, and the left hand continued to provide support to the deeper melody produced by the right. The piano seemed to rush toward a climax, only to slow down repeatedly.

The second cadenza appeared. Despite his fear that he would stumble, a surprisingly decent sound emerged. It didn’t take long for the piano to find its peaceful rhythm again, as the slow melody continued.

He hadn’t planned to play the entire five-minute piece, but as he played, his affection for the piano, long dormant, began to surface.

The tempo slowed, and his left hand repeatedly crossed over his right. The harmony grew momentarily heavy, then resumed its gentle flow, as though the sound had almost faltered. It was nearing the end of the piece.

As the pace slowed, he could focus solely on his emotions.

Even though he had chosen the piece without much thought, he realized it was a good choice. He liked being able to play the piano for Woo Yeonjae and, in this way, express his forbidden feelings without revealing them.

Even if his emotions were destined to end in failure, he cherished this fleeting moment.

It wasn’t just that his affection had returned for the piano—it was more like his hidden feelings were being revealed through the instrument.

His left fingers pressed the black keys in succession, while his right thumb struck the white key that anchored the start of the melody. Only a few seconds later did his ring finger press the black key four scales above. He was at the end of the piece.

“…”

It was only after some time had passed that Moon Seoyoon finally lifted his hands from the keys. Perhaps it was the thrill of playing the piano after two years, but he found it difficult to calm the emotions that had surged through him, as if he had been absorbed by the music. He had to steady his breathing to calm his racing heart, fearful that his feelings might slip out.

But he wasn’t worried that Woo Yeonjae would notice. He would think the rapid heartbeat and slightly excited breaths were all because of the piano.

“It feels embarrassing to play after so long.”

His cheeks flushed with heat. Lowering his hands, Moon Seoyoon turned toward Woo Yeonjae, who was standing by the window. The sunlight streaming in made him squint slightly, but it couldn’t hide the smile spreading across his face.

Their eyes met, and Woo Yeonjae, looking down at him at an angle like the sunlight through the window, pressed his cheek between his thumb and forefinger, pulling his lips into a grin.

Despite his loose smile, there was a flicker of something in Woo Yeonjae’s still, unwavering eyes, as if a hidden intensity was just beneath the surface.