To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.
      ~ Oscar Wilde
&
In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on. 
      ~ Robert Frost

There had been an eerie quiet amongst the group since they heard the song, Ki-Hyun wandered around the park when he saw a head full of soft curls black as night. She sat with her back to him, but for a moment he was sure he had seen perhaps even met her before. He could hear the muffled sound of her murmuring with a tune to it.

With every intention to chase her away and take the bench for himself he saw her writing down strange ‘notations’ and words adjutant to it. He could only fathom that it was her means to writing songs. Just as he was about to sit tell her to scram he was drawn to her violently scratching out three lines. Keeping his silence he took a seat and watched as she re-wrote a new version before destroying it as well and starting all over again. He watched her repeat this almost nine times before she let go of a long sigh and started tapping her pen against the page humming the tune. Eyeing the words he could almost understand why she was so upset, the words just didn’t mesh well with the melody. He quickly averted his eyes finding his own action strange…

Finally she pulled out her phone and Googled something her eyes lit-up and Ki-Hyun could not help but wonder what she would come up with next, but instead to turned her to face him, green eyes staring at him full of… contempt? No, she softened her eyes and smiled warmly.

“Here, record me seeing as you’re so interested in what I’m doing.” Her voice was small, timid even. If on any other day with any other person he would have snapped, his temper always getting the best of him, yet he took her phone without a word and silently agreed to her request.

“Ready?” He asked and with a nod he pressed record.

When the first words echoed he felt the lingering feeling from Min-Ho’s song grow stronger. Why would this girl sound so sad? He wondered as he listened to the song which was more of a prayer… She stopped him after only 20 seconds, but to him it felt more like a minute maybe two.

She watched the short clip and finding the quality of the sound okay enough she typed something and then it post to twitter. All the while he stood beside her regarding her profile name – Nightingale.

“Thanks.” She sad and left without other words

“Wait! What’s the song’s name?” Ki-Hyun asked curious to know.

“It doesn’t have one, and won’t ever have one, I can’t finish it, just like so many others!” She turned just to tell him, she sounded as upset with her lack of ‘talent’ as she looked, those green eyes… He’d never be able to forget it!

When she was finally gone, he quickly pulled out his phone and searched for the account, finding it he, went through all the posts. Sure enough it was all about her ‘broken lyrics’. Incomplete songs upon songs sung without any music. Her voice was angelic, but always with a hint of sorrow.

“What are you listening?” Tae-Won asked when Ki-Hyun returned.

“Want to hear?” He unplugged the earphones and upped the volume allowing for them all to hear the one song that was ‘more’ complete than the others. After listening to so many it was clear that these ‘songs’ could actually be called songs, instead it were words sung rather than spoken; as if to reach out to someone…

~I want to run away to where the blue skies are at
I want to run away and leave everything behind
Instead I’m running into that storm, heart beating fast
I’m drowning beneath the raging waves
Silently holding back my fears from spilling over

When I smile doesn’t mean I’m sunny
When I laugh doesn’t mean that I’m jolly
When you think I’ve got everything,
I’ve got nothing ‘cept for my faith

And I cry out
Here I am,
Alone and Afraid
Keep me safe in your embrace
When I’m tired lift me up
And take me home

When I smile doesn’t mean I’m cheery
When I laugh doesn’t mean that I’m merry
When you think I’ve got everything,
I’ve got nothing ‘cept for you

And I cry out
Here I am,
Alone and Afraid
Keep me safe in your embrace
When I’m tired lift me up
And take me home
Home to where you are~

“Wow…” Jin-Woo grabbed Ki-Hyun’s phone and quickly searched for the artist on his own phone, and pressing ‘follow’.

“She’s got a good voice, but clearly untrained. You’re not one to go searching for these kinds of amateur stuff, heck you didn’t even have Twitter and now you do. How’d you come across her?” Jong-In asked curiously looking up for any other info on this ‘Nightingale’.

“She sat next to me outside in the park.” He said as little as possible, already annoyed with all their questioning looks.

“And you didn’t chase her away?” He ignored them and chose to the details of his encounter with “Nightingale” to himself.