Ch. 22
Friday morning came quietly.
She'd decided not to think about yesterday. She told herself to move on, just like any normal student would.
After breakfast, she fixed her uniform neatly and slipped on her blazer. Her driver was already waiting by the car, and soon she was on her way to school, the city passing by like a slow-moving film.
By the time Selene entered the classroom, everyone was already buzzing about something. Whispers, giggles, and shuffling papers filled the air. Selene tilted her head, curious, but didn't ask.
Instead, she took her seat quietly and opened her notebook.
When their first teacher arrived, the entire class fell silent. The teacher held a thick stack of forms and smiled.
"Good morning, class," the teacher greeted with a bright smile.
"I'll be distributing your club and organization forms today. These are for the upcoming Intramurals."
The class perked up instantly.
Excited whispers filled the air.
Selene blinked, confused.
Intramurals?
The teacher continued, "For those who are new the Intramurals is our academy's biggest annual event. Each year level competes and showcases talent: sports, dance, theater, singing, music, everything. You may join any club or organization you want. It's your chance to represent our department."
When the forms finally reached her desk, Selene just stared at the paper blankly. Around her, everyone was already filling them out with enthusiasm.
Selene, however, sat still.
In her old life back in Seoul, she never joined anything like this.
While other students were performing or cheering at school events, Yuna was buried in books either in the library or at home, studying, planning her future, chasing success before anyone else could question her worth.
Now, sitting there as Selene Valen, she found herself oddly fascinated by it all.
Should I participate? she thought, staring at the blank form.
Then she groaned softly under her breath.
I promised Selene to give her new memories... but I also want to slack off!
She decided to ignore it for now and just listened to her classmates' chatter.
By lunchtime, the halls were filled with laughter and the smell of food. But instead of heading to the cafeteria. Selene wandered, her feet moving on their own until she stopped in front of a familiar door.
The music room.
She touched the doorknob, and to her surprise, it was unlocked. When she stepped inside, the faint scent of wood polish and old sheet music greeted her. Rows of instruments lined the walls violins, cellos, flutes and in the center stood a grand piano, gleaming softly under the filtered light.
Selene's chest tightened.
For a long moment, she just stood there.
It reminded her of something she'd buried deep, a dream that once belonged to Yuna Seo.
When she was young, she wanted to be a pianist. She used to imagine herself performing under bright lights, her fingers dancing over the keys as the audience listened in awe. But that dream faded when life demanded something else.
Instead, she became a CEO who's sharp, determined and unstoppable. Because she had to prove something. She came from a wealthy family where success was expected.
Her two brothers had already taken over their father's companies. Her sister married into wealth, a perfect alliance.
And Yuna? The youngest, underestimated one.
She was tired of being compared.
So she worked.
She studied.
She built her own empire without asking for help.
And she succeeded.
But in doing so... she lost something.
Selene gave a bitter laugh and sat down at the piano bench.
"Some dream is meant to forget..." she murmured.
Then, without thinking, she pressed a key. A single note echoed through the room, pure and trembling.
She froze— then, slowly, began to play.
The melody that flowed out wasn't rehearsed. It was quiet, melancholic full of things she never said out loud.
The regrets.
Loneliness.
The faint echo of who she once wanted to be.
For the first time in a while, she wasn't Yuna or Selene. She was just... a girl who wanted to play the piano.
She closed her eyes, lost in the music.
What she didn't realize was that someone else was there.
At the far end of the room, half-hidden behind the benches meant for small audiences, a boy stirred.
He had red hair, tousled and messy from sleep, and he blinked slowly at the sound of the piano.
For a second, he thought he was dreaming about the melody was too beautiful, too full of feeling.
So, he didn't move. He didn't even bother to stand up just to know who's playing the piano.
He just listened, quietly, until the final note faded into silence.
Only then did Selene open her eyes and exhale.
She stood, ready to leave completely unaware of the pair of sleepy, amused eyes watching her from across the room.