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“ Attention all passengers of flight KE017 to [LAX] Los Angeles, California has been delayed. The estimated time of departure is now 18:30. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused……”
Taehyun sighed, together with how some groaned with the announcement from the PA system. As a very punctual and organized person, Taehyun would always arrive at the airport at least four hours prior to the departure time, in fear of being late and missing this thousand-dollar round trip flight.
Flights to the United States were never cheap; and the fact that this flight was booked just merely two weeks before the actual flight, tickets were becoming insanely more expensive than they already were. Although it probably would not dent his bank account, still Taehyun would like to hope that the trip would be nothing but smooth since well, it is indeed expensive.
Certainly, this was not the case right now.
The thing about having flights in the afternoon is that it is prone to delays. It was a universal issue that for some reason cannot be fixed.
Usually, Taehyun would choose an earlier flight to avoid any air traffic caused by flights midday and afternoon. Sadly, his sister, Sakura, booked his flight (mind you, using his own card) without informing him first, so here he is, suffering another four-hour delay in the airport.
Traveling alone while he still has, like, four hours until he is flying to LA, has never been this tedious and it is making him stressed even more. Good thing, his arrival on the other side of the world is a day prior to the wedding— the reason why he had to go to LA was to be a witness to his sister’s wedding (it was not grand, plus their parents are in another country for a very important business trip, meaning he has no choice but to grant his sister’s wish) — so, missing the ceremony would not be a problem for later, unless the airline decides to delay the flight for another day.
Well, he still has several hours to waste, might as well find something fun in this airport. Being alone is not fun , he thinks. His ass is not antisocial. Taehyun loves interacting with people, but it just so happened that he woke up really early for this trip and he ended up with a cranky mood.
🎹🎻
After an hour and a half of just walking and eating and buying random stuff from designer stores, he found a white grand piano on the second floor, just where most people stand by chilling and eating. He was not a professional, per se, but he used to have piano lessons every weekend as a kid, and joined several recitals for him to at least have a talent for this instrument.
Fortunately, no one was using it, and so he took the liberty of inviting himself to seat and brush his fingers through the black and white keys. Taehyun set up his phone at the end part of the keyboard to his left to record himself later while playing.
He pressed his fingers on the white keys to test if the piano was well-tuned, and wow, did it not only sound great, but it was also loud enough to resonate the whole hall. He tested out some basic piano pieces, to which he still remembered by heart. Although he has not been practicing for quite some time now considering he has a business to run, his passion for this hobby has not faded, nor did the chords of the different pieces that he had memorized.
Feeling confident now that he still had it in him to play the piano heartfully, he played with his all-time favorite common classical piano song, Chopin’s Nocturne in E flat major (Op. 9 No. 2.), to give a relaxing vibe to his still nonexistent audience. He cannot find it in himself to end the piece half way, so he continued and continued until he saw people stop by to listen to him play.
People walking started pausing to admire his beautiful playing of the piano. Some were recording and it gave him a boost to continue playing other songs. He started with songs with slow and mild chords, to pounding his fingers to the piano keys in forte, in which he played Interstellar, Rush E, the Game of Thrones, Minute Waltz, and other famous classic and soundtrack songs.
🎹🎻
He was currently playing the Turkish March by Mozart with all his focus when an unfamiliar voice cheekily greeted him in surprise.
“Hi!”
Taehyun slightly jumped from his seat when he saw the young man from his periphery slowly and awkwardly approached him, to which he answered with a small ‘hello.’
Taehyun stopped playing and faced the stranger to fully give him his attention. And oh wow. Wow. He has never seen someone with a face like that. With a face and smile so beautiful and ethereal.
The guy was wearing a plain white turtleneck and a black pants, yet he looked like he was off to walk on a runway. There are so many pretty people that Taehyun had seen on earth, but this is the first time that he got so attracted at first sight. This man could put on some white wings and Taehyun thinks he would pass as an angel. His angel.
“Do you think you would like to, uhm, play something… together?” The young man shyly sttuttered with a bright smile, hands making random gestures. At that moment, he noticed that he was carrying a big, black case on his back. Perhaps, a cello?
Unable to turn down, he responded with a “Sure!” and internally grimaced when his response sounded a bit too excited.
“Well, uhm, do you know The Swan? By Saint-Saens?”
“Yeah, okay. I can play that,” Taehyun responded with a small smile.
“Okay, great! Give me a second.” The man exclaimed and went to the side to put the case down and bring his cello out. After retrieving the big violin and the bow, he sat next to Taehyun, his back facing the piano, and positioned the cello between his legs, the back of the body leaning on his left thigh. He tapped Taehyun’s shoulder, a little too happy, saying “Alright, let’s do this!”
Taehyun played the first few notes quite nervously as people started to crowd their little space and record what was about to happen. The not-so- stranger cellist started gliding the bow perpendicular to its strings, and for the second time since this man approached him, he was again wow-ed.
He thanked all gods and deities out there that he did not forget to press record on his phone camera, because holy shit, he sounds so beautiful and heavenly. Not only the crowd was swayed by their little duet, but also Taehyun himself.
He wished he could look back and see how this young man grazed and shook his fingers through the strings. This was something to be kept and cherished, and he knows that he will come back to this video and play it over and over again on the plane tonight.
After playing The Swan, the crowd loudly clapped. he contemplated whether he would ask the latter to play another song before departing ways. He was thinking of what good song to duet, when the cellist stood up and faced Taehyun, while holding his cello on his side.
“Thank you f—”
Taehyun had to cut him off or else he would not have more time with the guy.
“Do you want to, maybe, play another song? Together?” He asked.
The cellist broke a wider smile, “Yes, I would love to! What do you have in mind?”
“Hmm,” Taehyun pretended to think for a while just so it would not seem like he had thought of it already. “Do you like Canon in D?”
The man smiled with satisfaction, “Nice choice of song.” and sat back again next to Taehyun.
He took a deep breath and slightly hovered his fingertips over the piano keys, now feeling a bit more confident. He pressed his slender fingers on the black and white keys, starting a legato play, making a melody that pleasantly enveloped the ears of many — the ears of Taehyun and the cellist beside him.
And when he, the cellist, started producing a deep and vibrant sound from his wooden stringed instrument, oh heavens , did Taehyun’s soul ascend. He closed his eyes, letting his heart feel the music and played the keys blindly. He can feel the vibrations made by the sounds coming from his front and his back, and how it waved and physically boomed around his ears and head.
And it continued like that — endless playing of classic songs by renowned musicians from history— and the next thing they knew, they got lost in time and had been playing together for an hour now.
🎹🎻
“Hey, I never got your name?” Taehyun asked, carefully helping the cellist to return the cello back to its case.
The man smiled. God, he will never get over this beautiful smile . “It’s Beomgyu.”
Wow, a beautiful name suits this beautiful face. He even plays beautifully. Hell, this man is perfect.
“Hi Beomgyu. I’m Taehyun. I hope it’s not too late to say ‘it’s nice to meet you’.” He offered his right hand after Beomgyu successfully wore the cello case on his back without falling backwards due to how heavy it is.
The cellist grabbed his hand and slightly shook it. Wow, he even has smooth and beautiful hands . “Well, it’s my pleasure to meet such a wonderful pianist that’s you.”
Taehyun doesn’t blush. He really doesn’t. He may be thrown with compliments left and right, yet it does not fluster him. So, how come Beomgyu’s simple remark that he has absolutely heard of all the time, makes his face and ears burn?
Think Taehyun. Think .
And even before he could properly think, he’s already speaking, desperate to stall his newly found crush from wherever he is going.
“Uh, I actually have a few more minutes before my boarding starts. Do you, perhaps, drink coffee?” He asked. Please say yes or else I’m going to wallow in pity.
And the universe was not gonna let Taehyun wallow in pity. Not in his 11-hour flight.
“I love coffee. I mean, who doesn’t?”
🎹🎻
Talking to Beomgyu was fun. Taehyun thought it would take him a while for Beomgyu to open up with him, but he was proved wrong by the latter. Ever since they sat down at this small cafe, he has never run out of things to say. And Taehyun, all he did was stare and listen to the other guy ramble about the most random stories and opinions that he could ever think of.
There he knew, Choi Beomgyu, a 25-year old professional cellist and a music teacher in university. He’s older than Taehyun by a year and an all-rounded and multi-talented musician. He is also flying to America for an orchestra held in New York. Too bad, he isn’t flying to the same city as he is, therefore this little cafe date (yes, Taehyun’s considering this as a date even though it is not) might be his last chance to talk to the older.
“Oh! I remember something,” Beomgyu exclaimed, holding his fork upwards in the air. Yep, another story to tell. “You know, I actually tried learning piano when I was four. Emphasis on ‘tried’.”
“Oh no, I don’t think that story will end well.” Taehyun chuckled. Beomgyu seemed to never shut up even if it only brought him embarrassment. All for Taehyun’s entertainment.
“This one is very funny. It’s my favorite core memory as a child, to be honest.” He paused for a moment, trying to stop the laughter that’s about to burst from his mouth. “Anyway, being in a family of musicians, it’s like the number one unspoken rule to teach your child the basics . The basic instrument being the piano ; well aside from learning the common CDEFGAB and reading notes from the music sheet. I was four when I started practicing and–”
“Wait. You started at four?” Shock evident from Taehyun’s face since Beomgyu was basically a preschooler. Taehyun did not even enroll in piano lessons till he was seven.
“Yeah, I know it’s too early blah blah. But young me was so ambitious that I had to use a foot stool to reach the seat. Anyways, I remember just playing around the piano keys when my older cousin gave me a tip on how to position my hands properly.”
“Is that the egg one?” Taehyun guessed, followed by sipping on his now half-empty cup of coffee.
“Yes! It’s the egg one!” Beomgyu excitedly confirmed. “You know how it is, right? Imagine as if you’re holding an egg and all. But boy, I don’t think that tip is applicable for four year olds. I did imagine, but I cannot move my fingers well because I’m cautious of the imaginary egg because what if it falls?! And also, how big of an egg should I imagine? I did not know what to do, so I took two eggs from our refrigerator.”
“Oh no, tell me what I’m thinking isn’t going to happen.” He started stifling a laugh, imagining a small Beomgyu holding two eggs in front of a piano.
“I sat on the piano, positioned my hands on the keys, still holding the eggs on my palms. So I thought, now this is how my hands should look! Let me try playing the keys now. Dumb me really forgot I was holding actual eggs and started playing the piano. So yes, I lost my grasp on the poor eggs and they dropped on the carpet.”
Taehyun and Beomgyu are now full-on laughing, small tears escaping from the outer canthus of their eyes.
“Oh my god, on the carpet! Jesus, you should be banned from the piano.”
“Indeed, I was scolded by my mother and got banned from going near the piano. They had to change the carpet because of the rotten smell of the dried egg. My dreams were crushed at that moment. It was the end of the world for me.” The cellist pouted and Taehyun couldn't help but find him cute.
“Poor you.” Taehyun gave a jokingly fake sympathy. In return to his pout, the pianist patted Beomgyu’s head like a puppy. If only he kept his gaze on the latter’s face a little bit longer, he would have found the small blush creeping to the cellist’s cheeks. “But, didn’t you mention earlier that you’re playing piano on the side?”
“Yep. My ban was officially lifted two years after the incident— no, I did not break any more eggs!” Beomgyu exclaimed, seeing the teasing look from Taehyun’s face. “I loved learning the piano, but I guess the cello seduced me better.”
“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is a pre-boarding announcement for flight KE017 to Los Angeles. We are now inviting those passengers with small children, and any passengers requiring special assistance, to begin boarding at this time.
Please have your boarding pass and identification ready. Regular boarding will begin in approximately ten minutes. Thank you for your patience and cooperation. We hope you enjoy your flight with us today.”
Damn. Great timing. Just when he thought of talking a lot more with Beomgyu, the intercom just had to announce that. And that was fast? It was not even that long since he and Beomgyu started hanging out.
With a dismayed look, he faced Beomgyu and informed him about his flight.
“Well, that’s my flight.” He says. He does not know if it was just his eyes or Beomgyu seemed a little, tiny bit down compared to earlier. With a sigh, he quickly finished his drink and gathered his things.
“It’s nice meeting you, Taehyunie. Thank you for the coffee.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Hyung.”
“Actually,” Taehyun turned around to look at Beomgyu one more time. “If you’re okay with it, can I have your number? I’d like to keep in touch with you.”
Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes.
Beomgyu might have heard his mind’s pleas — or might have seen the desperate look on his face. Whatever it is, he thanked the heavens and the universe when the older nodded.
“I don’t see why not.” Beomgyu replied, as he reached his hand to take Taehyun’s cellphone.
🎹🎻
It was only a few hours later on the flight that Taehyun realized how stupid he was. Of course, their local numbers would not work internationally . He wanted to be in touch with Beomgyu as soon as possible — like, from the moment the aircraft lands on the other side of the globe.
But now, he can’t. There isn’t even a wifi connection on the plane he is currently at, so he had to wait for a not-so-few more hours till gets (hopefully) more information from the cellist online.
So for now, all can Taehyun do is sleep, eat, and rewatch the recorded videos of him and Beomgyu playing the piano and the cello together at the airport.
Perhaps, being in this certain west part of the earth makes the world turn against his side. Maybe, his luck is non-existent in this area.
Aside from their local numbers not working abroad, Beomgyu seemed to be not very well-acquainted with social media and chat applications.
Taehyun has several chat apps installed on his phone—for work purposes and all — yet, everytime he searches for Beomgyu’s contact on the app(s) using his local number, nothing appears to be registered. Not even a single app has connected him to an account with the number Beomgyu has given him.
Perhaps, Beomgyu could have given me the wrong contact number? If that’s the case, then I’m going to be so sad. But he seemed so nice to me when we hung out. Either he just mistakenly inputted the wrong number, or he is not just a socially online person.
With that thought, Taehyun was not giving up. He’d like to think no one at this age has no social media account. Being in the corporate world, he learned that connections are their utmost priority. People his age have to have at least a Facebook, Twitter, or even a LinkedIn account, right?
Wrong .
He was, again, proven wrong by Beomgyu. The evidence being Taehyun laying on his hotel bed for two hours now, scrolling through his phone, googling and manually searching for Choi Beomgyu and other Korean cellists that he may be related to.
Sure, there had been articles that included Choi Beomgyu’s name regarding previous awards and recitals, but that’s it. Not even a personal account under the same mentioned name has been linked to anywhere.
It was devastating enough for Taehyun not to find that one certain musician. He was starting to think that he had been living in his delusions for the past 48 hours, and he is close to convincing himself that this Beomgyu might just be a figment of his imagination. He can’t believe being single and lovelife-less for this long would take a huge toll on him.
But Beomgyu’s pretty face appears on his videos, and Taehyun is pretty sure the older one wasn't just a product of his creative mind, where he had finally gotten a meet-cute experience with someone so attractive as Beomgyu.
His last resort was to post his favorite clip of them on Tiktok— it was when Beomgyu came up to him and shyly asked to play The Swan together. It was such a beautiful spontaneous moment, and Taehyun cannot help but feel like fate brought them together, well, except fate, now, is being a meanie right now that he cannot connect with the latter in any other way than to wait for a week before going home to Seoul and text the actual number given to him.
Now, don’t get Taehyun wrong. Despite being a figure in the corporate world where professionalism is in demand, he still has control over his personal life and hobbies— so posting this Tiktok isn't a big deal, and it certainly is not to gain clout or whatever. He just thought that this moment with Beomgyu is so precious that he has to share it with the world… if the world even sees it, in that matter, and perhaps, lead him to where Beomgyu is online.
It was outright shocking for Taehyun when he was bombarded with notifications early in the morning when he checked his phone.
Oh god , most of his notifications came from that app. The video he posted blew up— even reaching 3.4M views, 503k likes, and 3021 comments overnight. There were not even a thousand likes yet before he decided to call it a day last night, so he decided to check what the comments were talking about.
‘wow this made me cry’
‘omg the way he walked up to you!!’
‘and this, kids, is how i met your father’
‘y’all are married ! can’t fool me’
‘are you both in love now?
—— ‘PLS. they better be holding hands rn!’
———— ‘if they don’t get married in the end then what’s the point!!!’
—————— tyun • creator: i’m trying!!! but i can’t find him online :”) if anyone knows him, pls tag him here!
🎹🎻
The surge of comments from his now viral video made Taehyun overly proud and hopeful. Hopeful for that small possibility of a certain cellist seeing their little moment back at the airport, and somehow make his presence known in the comment section.
But there wasn't a single one. Taehyun had gone through the entire three thousand comment section, yet not a hint of Beomgyu was found. He had gone through them everyday, wherever he was, just in case the latter miraculously popped out of nowhere. Days have passed and the proof of Beomgyu's non-existence on the Internet made Taehyun lead to the conclusion that indeed, Choi Beomgyu just does not use social media.
Despite of his stay in the hotel room and his unhealthy obsession of finding a way on how to contact Beomgyu has been very counterproductive ( Okay, his sister's wedding might be a little memorable to him.. only a little because of the fact that he literally just traveled the other side of the globe to sign as witness to two women be disgustingly in love and kiss, legally ), the wait is now over.
Perhaps, time must have pitied him and decided to be on his side already, because one week has already passed; and that would only mean one thing: flying back to Seoul.
🎹🎻
Taehyun, once again, called dibs on the grand piano at the airport when he saw that no one was using it. He still had two hours before his flight takes off, and what is a better way of killing time than play the piano and pray that the echoing melody would pull Beomgyu to where he is?
But he knew it was impossible.
Beomgyu was in New York, while he’s here in Los Angeles. Hell, he didn’t even know when Beomgyu would go back to Seoul.
It was as if he was in his very own spotlight on stage, Taehyun played the piano with his whole heart, finally remembering again that this was his very first love.
Getting lost in the moment, he didn’t notice another presence coming up to him.
It wasn’t until Taehyun felt a little heavy on his side, something soft touched his cheeks, and a familiar, deep voice that alerted his current state.
“Hey, do you know how to play The Swan?”
Taehyun opened his eyes and looked over to the side where the voice was as his hands abruptly stopped moving over the black and white keys.
And luck he was, the very person that he has been longing for the entire week was now sitting next to him.
His heart beats faster, pupils dilated, and felt like his dopamine levels spiked when he saw how close his and Beomgyu’s faces were. The latter was grinning, and God, his smile was so beautiful that Taehyun couldn't help but forget saying hi to him and just continued shamelessly staring at this wonderful creature.
“I know I’m pretty, but hi?” Beomgyu poked his cheek, where his dimple rested.
Taehyun snapped out of his trance and giggled. He has only met the person twice and he is already a goner.
“Hello. I missed you.”
It was a stupid thing to say, especially when you don’t really know a person that well. They weren’t strangers anymore; but they were not also considered as friends.
But, Beomgyu laughed. And holy hell, he hears the wedding bells. He wants to hear this laugh from this moment onwards.
They reunited and started playing the piano together, not forgetting to record some clips (to be uploaded on his account later). Beomgyu has already checked in his cello since he cannot bring it with him to his seat. Either it would not fit the overhead cabin, or the other passengers would not have any space for their belongings.
Apparently, Beomgyu’s orchestra played in multiple cities for a week and their last stop was in LA. His family decided to stay in the US for another week of vacation, while he goes back to Seoul, probably to go back to his work.
Taehyun thanked the universe because he felt like he was currently their favorite guy. Because what are the odds that they, Taehyun and Beomgyu, have the same flight and their seats are in the same aisle? Except, there was another person between them— Taehyun being in the window seat, and Beomgyu near the aisle. So despite loving the window seat, he wouldn’t pass up the chance of sitting next to Beomgyu and decided to give the seat up in exchange of long hours of flirting with Beomgyu up in the air.
The two spent the entire flight continuing their getting-to-know-each-other talk from last time. It was then when Taehyun learned that Beomgyu really was not fond of using social media, only having Youtube and Netflix installed on his phone for entertainment, while he only had iMessage as his messaging app.
Although it was a long flight, they spent the rest watching Beomgyu’s downloaded movies on his iPad, sharing his earphones with Taehyun.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now approaching Seoul, where the local time is 13:40. At this stage, you should be in your seat with your seatbelt firmly fastened. Personal television screens, footrests and seat tables must….”
To Taehyun’s dismay, they’re already landing. Good to be back, but also not good to be away from this angel beside him. On the brighter side, he can finally now contact Beomgyu (with his permission, of course), and maybe, just maybe, something wonderful can now finally bloom between them, this time without any hindrance.
They landed safely, and waited for their luggages together, before going separate ways. Beomgyu has his cousin to pick him up, while Taehyun left his car at the airport’s parking lot, so he’ll be driving himself.
They bid their goodbyes, and despite promising that they’d contact each other when they reach their own homes, Taehyun still had an unsettling feeling left on his chest.
He had to do something.
“Hey, Beomgyu hyung,” Taehyun called out. Beomgyu stopped on his track and looked back with his eyebrows slightly raised from confusion. “Would you like to go out sometime with me?”
Beomgyu giggled. Oh god, he giggled.
“If the kiss on your cheeks was me not being obvious enough, then yes, I would love to.” Beomgyu half-shouted as he turned around to walk away while waving his hands over his head.
If Beomgyu saw him punch the air excitedly like an idiot, Taehyun didn’t care. He scored a date with the most beautiful man he has ever seen, and nothing could sour his mood— not even having to drive himself alone after a 16-hour flight.
After arriving home, he opened his Tiktok app and uploaded a new video of him and Beomgyu. Fortunately, his video recording was on when Beomgyu approached him while playing the piano. He edited it, and added some clips of them playing together.
tyun uploaded!
tyun [👤 angel313] • 07-31
update: i met the cellist (the loml) again! we’re going on a date real soon <3 @angel313
#piano #pianoduet #theswan #theswanbysaintsaens #fyp