Princeton University 1962

I rolled the stick of chalk between my fingers, looking over the mess of numbers and symbols that were currently swimming in front of my eyes. Much to my chagrin there wasn’t much hope that I would be able to solve this problem in a timely fashion. Had I known that getting a degree in physics would be so damn hard, I would have reconsidered. I walked over to the desk and combed over my notes, hoping to find something that would help me get my answer. Alas, I found nothing.

“This is hopeless,” I groaned, staring at the chalkboard blankly.

“Giving up so soon, Kyungsoo?”

I turned around and rolled my eyes at the source of the voice.

“You wish, Jongin,” I raised an eyebrow, the corners of my lips quirking up into a smile.

You see, Jongin and I have been friends since we were young. The two of us grew up just across the street from each other in a suburb of Seoul. It just so happened that we both ended up at Princeton University. In all honesty, Jongin was a bit of an , but he kept me sane through all of the studying and paper writing, and for that I was extremely grateful.

“What even is this?” Jongin made a face as he looked through my notes.

“It’s called physics, you ,” I grabbed my notes off of the table and held them close to my chest.

It was now Jongin’s turn to roll his eyes.

“And this is why I prefer to spend my time in the chemistry lab than with you,”

“Your kindness astonishes me sometimes,” I sighed as I turned back to the blackboard.

This damned equation was really throwing me through a loop. I was one of the top students in the class, and here I was struggling with a first year equation. Where could I have gone wrong?

“Kyungsoo?” Jongin cleared his throat.

I continued looking at the board, tapping my chin with my index finger, humming in acknowledgement.

“I know that I’m a chemistry major, but I think I found your problem,” Jongin walked over to the board and began to erase parts of my equation. I felt a piece of me die on the inside.

“What the hell are you doing?” I looked at him with a mix of shock and horror.

Jongin just chuckled. This hardly seemed like a good time to laugh. 

“I’m fixing your equation,” he stated simply, picking up a stick of chalk, and writing in the blank spaces. “You’re welcome,”

Jongin backed away from the board, gesturing to the numbers with a grand flourish. I widened my eyes as I looked over the equation. He was right.

“Damn you, Kim Jongin,” I muttered as I continued to look over the board.  How could I have missed such a simple thing?

“As much as I love proving you wrong, I’m not here to talk physics,” Jongin leaned against the desk, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Then what exactly are you doing here?” I put down the piece of chalk that was between my fingers, wiping the dust off on my black trousers, turning to face Jongin.

“I’m here to invite you to a party that James is hosting tonight,” he replied, grimacing when he noticed the white chalk marks on my pants. “That is if you’re willing to take a break from your precious physics,”

“And why would I go?” I raised my eyebrow.

“Because, you need to have some fun,” Jongin emphasized the word some.

I wish that I would have been able to tell him that I had plenty of fun, and that my attendance would not be a necessity at tonight’s party. But unfortunately, Jongin was right. Most, if not all of my nights were spent in this very room, trying to find and prove my theory of everything.  My life was incredibly mundane, but I kind of liked things that way.  I was typically wary of new things, especially when it came to social situations. I’ve never been one of those guys who were able to effortlessly strike up a conversation with anyone.

“You’re right,” I sighed.

I never liked admitting that Jongin was right, but the kid was smart. He always seemed to know everything, and the amount of charm he possessed was seemingly endless.

“Second time today, a new record,” he grinned, pushing himself off of the desk. “So, I’ll meet you at your dorm tonight?”

“Yeah, I guess,” I nodded in defeat. “Now, go annoy someone else,”

I shooed him away with a small smile.

“I’m hurt,” Jongin placed his hand over his heard dramatically.

“Yeah, yeah,” I replied.

“See you later, Kyungsoo,” he said as he left the room.

Now, back to that equation.