Chemistry fucking sucked. It wasn't just that my brain wasn't entirely wired for science, but two plus two made a whole lot more sense than chemical reactions.

Growing up, Dad used to make our own shampoo with cayenne flowers and aloe vera from our garden. It was no exaggeration to say I had the best mane of hair in my class. As life grew busier, we switched to commercial shampoos and thirty years later I felt like my hair hadn't recovered.

Mom's hazy memories from back then weren't enough to help me replicate the formula, and growing the flowers from scratch would take too long. All I could do was find ready made products I could mix and match for the best results, which was why I thought I should learn the ins and outs of cosmetic chemistry.

"Ha, ha," I told myself, leaning back on the chair and stretching the kinks out of my neck and back. My room was dark except for the desk lamp, illuminating all sorts of textbooks I'd borrowed from the library that I didn't understand. I slammed one shut and let my head collapse on it.

That would be an integral part of developing our own brand, right? Knowing exactly what each product contained. Maybe I should leave it to actual experts. It was hard not to feel like a failure already in the face of all I couldn't do but wanted to.

I sat up straight and took several deep breaths. For now, I could mix up known ingredients and test the results with good ol' trial and error, just like I did with Quinta's hydrating cream. A week into using it and she'd called me earlier today to say her skin had never felt softer.

On my notebook, haphazard names of fruits, herbs and plants were written here and there. Jojoba, calendula, tea tree, olives. Honestly, nature had everything we needed and more. It was just faster and more scalable to churn out synthetic ingredients in a lab rather than plant acres upon acres of plants. But the business model I had in mind leaned on supporting agriculture in developing countries and mixing up the raw ingredients ourselves. It should still be profitable while supporting poorer economies.

If only Bryce weren't such a dick about it.

I rubbed my scalp with such fierceness my hair turned into a mop. The real if only here was that I shouldn't have let him stop me. I had wasted years trying to convince him that I could've used on researching and learning. I was only getting started, yet I felt like I'd already fallen behind.

Close to midnight, the ping of my phone getting a message sounded deafening in the quiet room. I jumped in my skin and fumbled with grabbing the device. The incoming text was from Tae Yang.

My eyebrows went up as I opened the app and read, U up?

I typed a response with narrowed eyes. This isn't a booty call, right?

LMAO, he responded right away. No, I just need an impartial opinion.

As no further messages came from him, I texted back, Color me intrigued.

I hadn't been expecting a phone call a moment later and the surprise clouded my judgement, making me miss it wasn't a phone call but a video call. Of course, as soon as it connected and he saw the state I was in, he burst out laughing.

"Shit!" With a yelp, I turned the camera away so I could fix my hair. "Give a girl more warning, will you?"

"Alright, next time," he said, still chuckling.

Meanwhile, I was was hung up on the last two words. Next time.

After I was somewhat presentable, I turned the camera back to me. "What's up?"

Tae Yang's eyes twinkled and I didn't think it was just because the lamp light. I was glad at least his hair was also a mess, as though he'd been running his hands through it for hours.

"Okay so, my roommates are being dicks right now and I'd like someone nicer to listen to a song I'm composing."

"Whoa, okay so much to unpack there," I said, raising a hand in the air so it would appear on the camera frame. "I didn't know you had roommates but why are they being dicks? And also, you compose music?"

He froze for a second and I figured the connection had gone bad, but then he said, "Ah, yeah. I have four roommates. And because it's not my usual style, so instead of listening to the music they keep teasing me about it."

I scrunched up my nose. "That does sound dickish. Alright, I'm game. But just so you know, I know nothing about music."

"That's okay," he said while he mounted the phone somewhere beside him. Now the picture that appeared on screen was Tae Yang sitting by a piano. He cracked his knuckles and stretched his fingers. "All I need is a general impression on whether it sounds decent."

"Okay," I said, watching as he gently rested his fingers on the keys. My heart started pounding, as though I were the one about to perform in front of a near stranger.

When the first notes rang, goosebumps burst all across my skin. The longer strand of hair at the top of Tae Yang's head fell over his forehead, obscuring his eyes as he played.

The melody was like a butterfly flitting across a field of flowers in bloom, the burst of color a stark contrast against a grey sky, fat clouds barely leaking any sun rays. It was a song that made me feel like I was being called out to hope even in the middle of dark times.

I was glad he was concentrated in his craft and couldn't see the tears sneaking out of my eyes. I wiped them quickly with the back of my sweatshirt sleeves. The last few notes were even softer, threatening to really get the waterworks going.

Tae Yang lifted his hands away from the instrument and took a deep breath before facing the camera. "How's that?"

I opened and closed my mouth. Shook my head. Babbled.

Finally, I managed to say, "That was amazing."

He scratched the bridge of his nose. "Really? Doesn't it sound too, I don't know, fluffy?"

"No, it's beautiful. I don't know how to express it in words but it sounds like something that should be in a movie soundtrack."

He closed the lid over the keys and rested his elbow on it. "Huh, I hadn't thought about that. I was planning on arranging it into a ballad."

"Wow." As I sat there like an idiot, looking at him run his fingers through his hair, I asked, "But why are your roommates teasing you about such a beautiful song?"

He gave a little smile. It made him look like a little boy who'd been caught in an embarrassing situation.

Adorable.

"That's because I'm not really known for composing sensitive music."

I shrugged. "To paraphrase yourself, why let anyone else's expectations of you drag you down?"

"Shit, you're right," he mumbled. "I'm not following my own advice."

I stood up from the chair I'd been camping on for hours and stretched my back before relocating to my bed. Lifting the phone up so it was panned on my face only, I said, "Hey, sometimes we need someone to remind us of what the right path is. You did that for me the other day."

He stopped messing his hair and looked at the camera. "Did I? I didn't know I was that wise."

"You might have been powered by great food and even better company."

"You're right, you're the common denominator here." Tae Yang reached forward to take his phone out of the stand and brought it closer to his face. A lot closer than I'd ever been to in real life, which was why when he bit his lower lip, I felt it all the way down to my toes. "It's kinda scary doing something new, isn't it?"

The question registered a few seconds too late because he was still worrying his lip and it was where my entire attention went. I ran my hand down my face to clear the haze away from my eyes.

"Yes," I said, voice just a tad choked up. "I know exactly what you mean because that's also what I've been up to these days."

"Come to think, maybe I should have started this phone call by asking how you're doing and what you were up to."

I shook my head. "No, you should've started it by asking if I looked decent."

He stretched his lips in an ironic smile. "You look more than decent but anyway, what's your new thing?"

I let the compliment slide. It was better to keep the conversation away from the dangerous territories my mind was wandering to, thanks to that lip bite.

"I actually did follow your advice and have officially started investigating about beauty products, the way I've wanted to do for years." That said, I gave him my brightest Miss Venezuela smile.

"Damn," Tae Yang said. "Congratulations, how does it feel?"

"Terrifying and like I'm never gonna make it." I shifted onto a side and propped up my phone with the pillow. "But, I also wish I'd started earlier."

Tae Yang got up from his seat and walked across a room as dark as mine. For a moment, the entire screen went black but when the image returned, he was also on his bed.

"I've thought the same but I think I wasn't ready." He shrugged and the movement made his phone fall back. I didn't watch the ceiling too long before he appeared on screen again. "I mean, the change has to come from within first, before anyone else accepts it too, right?"

"Your roommates better stop giving you crap and start praising your genius. Don't let their teasing stop you."

For a long moment, he stared at me in silence. I let him assess me if only so I could assess myself. We were who knew how many miles apart, but sharing this conversation while in bed, with our cameras, was a bit beyond the level of friendship I thought we had.

And the worst part was I didn't mind. If he lay beside me in my room, I'd like to comb his hair with my fingers.

"I think I'm going to do something crazy," Tae Yang said, his voice deep and low and just husky enough to make me feel like I was falling out of my bed into an abyss.

Clearing my throat, I asked, "What?"

"I think I'm going to follow my dream too."

Not what I expected him to say, but definitely safer.

"What's your dream?"

He scrunched up his nose. "I'll tell you when I make it."

I barked out a laugh I immediately had to stifle with my hand, in case Mom woke up. "Not fair! I told you what mine was."

"You shared voluntarily." He grinned.

"Sneaky little-"

He interrupted. "Tell you what, as soon as I make it you'll be the very first to know. Not my roommates, but you."

"Hmph." I pretended to toss my hair over my shoulder, though it was spread all over my pillow. "That should be the privilege I earned after surviving near-death with you."

Tae Yang rolled on his back, bringing the phone up at the same time. "And you only want that privilege?"

I choked on my own saliva, which sent him into fits of laughter.

"You perv," he said, as though he weren't the one teasing me.

All I managed to say was, "What the heck?"

"And here I was planning on offering you best friend status in reward for your encouragement," he said in between chuckles.

Best friend my ass.

He was trying to feel me out and damn it, I wanted to let him do that and more. But I knew exactly where that would lead. My heart and Mom's couldn't take it anymore.

After harrumphing, I said, "Best friends don't embarrass their friends."

"Mine do," he said.

Actually, so did mine. Quinta, Dawn and Mom were a fearsome trio when it came to making sure my blood pressure was up.

I sighed. What was I gonna do with this boy?

SONG OF THE DAY: Carly Rae Jepsen - Want You in My Room