Epilogue

"So, how are things going over there?" I heard my cousin's joyful voice through the phone.

"The usual," I replied in a monotone voice, "I'm actually a little busy, you know."

"Oh, I'm sorry to disturb," Jae quickly said, "it's just been so long, you're horrible at staying in touch."

"Yeah I'm sorry," I said, feeling a bit remorseful, "but I've just been really busy."

"Seems like it," Jae then said, "you don't even make an effort to stay in touch with Monique. You just send her those stupid sheet music once in a while. I mean, what's that about?"

"How do you know about that?" I asked quickly, trying to keep my composure. 

"You do know we live next door to each other, right?" Jae said, a bit sarcastically, "and we are quite close."

"Well... it's just... that's how we started out. By communicating through music," I stuttered, "and besides, we do email each other sometimes!"

"Yeah right," Jae said and laughed, "I've seen those emails. Nothing but 'Are you well?' and 'stay warm'. Why spend all that time learning English if you aren't going to use it?"

"What are you, my stalker?" I asked annoyed, "how do you know I've been learning English."

"Our mothers are sisters... You don't think they talk to each other?" Jae said and I internally facepalmed for ever telling my mother about the English lessons, "but why not learn Danish if you're trying to learn another language?"

"That was the plan!" I yelled and got a little surprised from my sudden outburst, "but that language... I mean... is it even a language? There's more exceptions for the rules, than there are rules overall, and pronouncing the words is like speaking with a potato in your mouth." I heard Jae's laughter over the phone and felt slightly embarrassed about my rant. What did he think when he heard I just gave up, he probably had trouble with it as well but he still managed to learn.

"I'm not going to argue with you on this, Danish isn't easy," Jae then said and my heart quickly felt a little lighter again, "English is fine too, Monique is fluent in English, but then why not call her once in a while? Talk to her? I'm sure she feels disappointed to just receive those short, emotionless emails."

"Why... why would she be disappointed..." I stuttered, feeling my heartbeat increase rapidly.

"Come on Yoongi, you and I both know how you two feel about each-"

"I don't know what you're talking about!" I yelled out and interrupted Jae before he could finish his sentence. For a while there was only silence between us until I heard a loud sigh from Jae.

"If you say so," he said, "but just so you know, if you don't man up soon, Monique is gonna move on."

"I don't understand," I said, trying hard to hide my nervousness.

"Well for starters, I heard she has a date the day after tomorrow. She smiled so brightly when she told me about it."

"So... So what?" I stuttered again, "what does that have to do with me?"

"Oh nothing," Jae said, "I'm simply giving information. Anyway I won't disturb you anymore. Bye."

Before I could say another word, Jae hung up on me and I was left alone in my studio with nothing but confusion filling my mind. I stayed in the same spot for several seconds, frozen in the last movement I did, until I finally regained my senses and hit my face to wake me up entirely.

Pull yourself together! I internally scolded myself, there's no time for stupid worries when there's music that needs to be written.

I sat down in front of my piano and tried getting back into the mindset I had been in before Jae called me. Why would he call and interrupt my work like that? Why would he give me all these weird thoughts? No. Why was I even having these thoughts? Why did the words he spoke linger in my mind for so long.

"She's moving on."

The words kept echoing inside my mind until I was slowly going crazy. A high pitched sound formed inside my inner ear and the sound only grew louder and louder until I couldn't focus on anything else. It tore my inside apart. It broke my heart into pieces. I hit me like a brick. 

In the end I felt like all I could do was scream, but no sound came out. And that was it. I reached out and grabbed my phone and in the same second I dialed the number, the sound disappeared.

"Hello?" The voice echoed from the other side.

"Hello, it's Min Yoongi," I said politely but with a shaking voice, "Boss... I'd like to request a few days off."

***

"Please put on your seat belts and stay seated as we'll be landing in Copenhagen soon."

I looked down through the window and saw the large city appear under the sky. Now I only had a 3 hours train ride to look forward to. My body almost couldn't handle anymore. At this moment, 3 hours felt like it would be enough to kill me.

But I couldn't give up now. I had already come this far. 

"Yoongi?" Jae said as he looked at me with a shocked expression, "what are you-"

"Monique!" I just said, still trying to catch my breath after running all the way from the train station, "where is she?"

"Monique? She isn't here, today is her date, didn't I tell you-"

"Crap!" I yelled out after letting go of my luggage which fell to the ground with a loud thud. Was this really how it would end? Because I couldn't get a plane out earlier? Because we got delayed in Amsterdam? Because I couldn't find the way through Copenhagen airport and missed the train?

No.

I looked at Jae with a more determined look than ever and asked with a firm voice:

"Where is she going on her date?"

"Where?" Jae said and I nodded, "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" I yelled out in anger and frustration, "didn't you say you two were close?

"We are but... she didn't tell me where." I was about to bang my head into the nearest wall just before Jae continued and said:

"But I know someone who might know."

I looked Jae directly in the eyes as I took another step forward until I was right in front of him.

"Take me to that person!"

***

"Oh my, oh my, oh my!" The lady in front of me had kept squealing ever since Jae explained who I was and who I was looking for. I was just looked at her with a glare in my eyes, my arms crossed as I impatiently tapped my finger on my arm.

"So, can you help us, Julie?" Jae asked and the lady finally seemed to calm down a bit. She then turned her face and looked at me with a much more serious face than before.

"Of course I can!"

After getting the address from Julie and typing it into google maps, I started walking through the maze like city. With every step I took, my heartbeat increased and as I saw the little dot on the map get closer to the red flag, my steps became faster.

"You have reached your destination"

I anxiously started looking around, trying to find the cafe with the same name as I had written on my phone. My eyes definitely weren't used to the Danish language and I had trouble comparing the letters until finally I found it.

And I found her.

Wearing a long pencil skirt and a light pink shirt, she walked down the street, aiming directly for the designated cafe. Her eyes where shining brightly, reflecting the sun and her smile enlighten the day of every person she saw.

I didn't hesitate for even one more second and ran as quickly as my feet could carry me. Just as she grabbed the handle on the door, I got a hold of her hand and stopped her. She turned around looking startled but then her expression turned into a mixture of surprise and confusion.

"Y...Yoongi?" She stuttered while I still had my hand wrapped around hers, "what... are you doing here?"

"I'm here to... I'm here to..." I began my sentence but lost track of the words I wanted to say, "you... you see... I wanted to apologize to you... and..."

"Why would you apologize to me?" Monique asked, still looking as confused as before.

"Because I... I didn't keep in touch... I didn't make the effort I should have..." I suddenly went quiet again, finding it almost impossible to get the words out I wanted to say. The words I had been practicing all the time on the plane and again on the train.

"You have nothing to apologize for..." Monique said with a more gentle voice, "I would really love to catch up but I have an appointment right now." I looked inside the cafe as Monique pointed at one of the tables. 

A tall and handsome man was sitting with a cup of coffee in his hand. He was wearing a stunning suit and had the perfect posture as he took another sip of his coffee.

"No!" I yelled and Monique looked even more startled, "you can't go!"

"What?" Monique asked, "but I have t-"

I couldn't hold myself back anymore. I couldn't bear to see her slip out of my hands and I wouldn't let her. So instead I cut her off and pulled her closer as I crashed my lips onto her. Her eyes were wide open as our lips met, but after a second, she closed them and leaned into the kiss, just as she had done that night almost a year ago.

The kiss didn't last long and when I released her from my grip, I just stared at the ground, to embarrassed to make eye contact.

"What..." Her stuttering voice made me look up, "what was that for?"

"It was a 'I'm sorry' and 'I love you' kiss..." I muttered as I tilted my head to the side and looked away. I nervously waited for her reply but after a while went by without a word from her, I turned my face and looked at her, only to find her anxiously looking at her watch with worry and confusion written all over her face.

"I'm sorry... I really have to now," she said, "we'll talk later."

"What?" I yelled, "you're still going on the date? Even after I came all this way and told you how I feel? Was I really too late? Did you really give up on me? Just like that?" I looked at her with disappointment but as I finished talking, a new expression appeared on her face. One even more confused than before. Like she didn't believe she heard me correctly.

"Date?" was all she said and I just looked back at her with the same expression.

"Yes, are you still going on the date with that man?" I asked and pointed at the man with Monique's eyes following.

"But... I'm not going on a date?"

An awkward silence suddenly filled the air while both of us just stared at each other, no one able to quite understand what was going on.

"But...-"

"I have a job interview with that man. He's from a record company and is interested in signing a contract with me as a songwriter."

I turned my face and looked at the man who was still sitting by the table. I then looked back at Monique, then back at the man and then back at Monique again.

"But Jae said you had a date. He said... he said you were moving on." I looked at the ground again and when I heard the light hearted laughter from Monique I couldn't hide it anymore. I knew my cheeks would be red as a tomato.

"I clearly told Jae I had a job interview," Monique said in between her laughs.

"What? That sneaky bastard lied to me!" I said in annoyance.

"Seems like it," Monique then said, "maybe he wanted to... you know... speed up the process a little bit. I mean... I might've expressed my frustration about you a few times." 

"I'm sorry..." was all I could bring myself to say, "and I'm sorry for interrupting your important interview. Just go... go quickly before I die of embarrassment." I didn't get any reply but I heard some light footsteps and came to the conclusion that she just left. But then I felt two hands wrap around my neck and her lips were again reunited with mine.

She quickly drew back and looked at me shyly, her cheeks a color mirroring my own. 

"Just so you know," she then said while grabbing the handle of the cafe, "I never gave up on you. Especially after you were the one who taught me to follow my dreams."

"Really The End"

Hello everyone!

I really really hope you enjoyed reading this story. I had so much writing it.

I actually don't know if I have told anyone how this story came to be, but if not, then here goes:

My brother-in-law told me about an experience he had, about a time where the tenant next to him would play the piano and he would be able to hear everything. Eventually they started playing together, even though they were on opposite sides of the wall. 

I found this experience to be incredibly cute and it made me come up with this short story. I remember writing this story in secret. I usually tell my husband and friends when I'm writing something, but this was just something I worked on by myself without anyone knowing, until the day I finished it and showed it to them. I remember how shocked they were, it was quite fun.

Oh well, that's it for now. I hope to see you in one of my other stories. Please let me know what you think in the comments down below.

Love, Annalise~