“You realize you aren’t contractually obligated to do this, right?”

“Hmm?”

“My parents aren’t writing you a nice cheque with a lot of zeros anymore.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You being there.”

“What is so controversial about me sitting in a room with you?”

“You’re not just sitting in a room with me, you’re sitting at the piano beside me, with a notebook probably open.”

“Kyuhyun, just play the damn song.”

“Ugh, fine.”

Post-secondary life was different for both of them. They had a precarious relationship still sometimes in the student-teacher territory, but on Friday nights, with the parties and the alcohol, it absolutely did not stand. But that wasn’t all that had changed.

His acquaintance circle had somehow expanded. He saw Siwon, Heechul and his boyfriend a whole lot more, and that Chinese giant Zhou Mi was always looming in Kyuhyun’s shadow. Of course Donghae and Eunhyuk were around a lot, as they usually were, making fun of Yesung and his “blinding crush” on Kyuhyun, as they called it. They fully intended that pun.

Despite all those changes, the fact that he and Kyuhyun saw each other more on a daily basis than a weekly, hour long lesson, Yesung somehow found himself sitting beside Kyuhyun at the piano, coaching him for his first big recital. He had offered it, pushing it even; Kyuhyun hadn’t asked, but Yesung saw how uncannily nervous his ex-student was in the past weeks, despite the recital being a little over a month away. Hell, he even refused to attend a party with free booze. Those were warning signs that there was something wrong with Kyuhyun. And Yesung would absolutely find out what was bugging him.

“Start playing.”

“What?”

“Your song for the recital. I want to hear it.”

Kyuhyun raised an eyebrow, “you realise I have an essay for musical history to write, right?”

“Then why did you invite me over?”

That seemed to get him started, “if I remember correctly, which I do, you wanted to hang out, then I told you I had an essay to write, and you said you didn’t care. I kicked out Zhou Mi to write this essay. Do you know how hard it is to get him off my back. Kui Xian, call me if you want supper, you shouldn’t cook, Kui Xian, it would be easier for me to type your essay while you dictate it, let me help you, Kui Xian, call me if you leave the house, you shouldn’t wander the streets alone. Seriously, he’s great and all, and he makes my life a whole lot easier, but sometimes a guy wants some damn space to in peace.”

“Have you considered getting a dog?” That question left Yesung’s mouth despite his best effort. Perhaps Zhou Mi would be less worried about Kyuhyun setting himself on fire or getting lost on campus if he had a cute dog guiding him. Focus! He was supposed to get to the bottom of this issue and he seemed to be on the right path, getting Kyuhyun started on a rant about service dogs wasn’t going to help his case.

“You mean a toy poodle or a service dog?”

“I was thinking more chihuahua with all the yapping you do, but toy poodle is fine I guess,” Yesung snapped back, unimpressed. That was a benefit of not being his teacher. Rudeness was fine. Actually, Kyuhyun much preferred blunt people, he realized, people who announced their intentions. In fact, that comment made him smile. First time he had smiled all day. Yesung waited a minute, trying to find the right words to coax his ex-student into confiding in him without patronizing or offending too much. Kyuhyun was a little sensitive sometimes, and once he felt wronged, it was incredibly difficult to get him in a good mood again. Yesung had to be careful. “I think Zhou Mi has been picking up the same vibes I have,” he said hesitantly, “you seem a little out of it.” Kyuhyun gave him a little shrug, a go ahead of sorts. He continued, “so, like in the good old days, we are going to sit at this piano and talk out, and then I will give you constructive criticism on your performance,” he finished a little more forcefully. There was silence, and silence was never good. Yesung went a bit far, maybe too far. He could see that Kyuhyun was conflicted about the plan he had suggested, probably taken aback, Yesung wasn’t normally this direct, and even if Kyuhyun had kind of agreed to hearing Yesung out, he was probably feeling a little manhandled. Emotionally.

“I’m playing the Bergamasque Suite. Debussy’s Clair de Lune and whatnot? I don’t have the sheet music, but knock yourself out if this is how you want to spend your afternoon.” His reply was on an even tone, which could indicate a lack of animosity, but when playing emotional chess with Kyuhyun, it could also mean that he was fuming on the inside.

From what Yesung had heard, Kyuhyun had been ranting on and on about it for a few weeks now, his piece was over fifteen minutes long, and quite complex. Kyuhyun had been quite daring picking this song, even a little arrogant, but Yesung never doubted that his skills and determination would have him perform the song to perfection ont the day of the recital. Held in the Great Hall. With a large audience. Perhaps it was stage fright? Large scale recitals had never been done, and despite Kyuhyun performing for crowds of twenty to fifty people in bars, the Great Hall promised around five hundred people in attendance.

Well, since his early bluntness had paid off, Yesung decided he would bombard Kyuhyun with questions until he found the source of the problem. If he wasn’t angry by now, he probably wouldn’t be after Yesung’s interrogation. He had had a rough week and was most likely too tired to play the silent game with Yesung, as his teacher prided himself for being very persistent.

After approximately five minutes of excellent piano playing, Kyuhyun let out a snarky, “still there?” and kept going, while Yesung diligently wrote down a few tweaks that could be made to improve the song. It was pleasant to the ears, and Kyuhyun delivered a strong finale, worthy of his student and worthy of a music student at university. He then turned to Yesung with a cocked eyebrow.

“Honestly, that was amazing. I think you should improve the dynamics around two minutes, when the song dies down a little bit and then restarting with arpeggios. Also, don’t be afraid to play those notes in the lower octaves. Don’t bang them out, but having them there and at a reasonable volume adds dimensionality to the piece. You ed up that chord around minute twelve, and you memory seems a little shaky towards the end.”

“Fifteen minutes is a bit long, it’s a challenge. But I still have a week and half and I’ve listening to it non-stop, so my memory will be fine. Thanks for the tips, I’ll make sure to correct next time I play.”

Yesung tapped his pen on the piano, “try it now. Just a little, with the low octave notes.”

Kyuhyun sighed, but didn’t snark back. He played the first three minutes which was enough for Yesung to see that his lack of dynamics was solely because he hadn’t really warmed up beforehand.

“That was great Kyuhyun, I’m sure everyone will be amazed by you. Are you excited? Nervous? Couldn’t care less?”

“I would feel better if the recital didn’t count for fifty percent of my mark.”

That was good sign; Kyuhyun was opening up to him with some minor prodding! The cat was in the bag. Almost.“Is that what is stressing you out? The recital, the audience, the marks?”

“No. I mean, it is a little stressful, but not enough to cause this permanent state of whatever this is,” he gestured at himself as he emphasised the this. So he was aware of his mood swings and other tempermental afflictions. “I know I’ve been in a bad mood, don’t worry, I’m  not joining the circus to professionally juggle knives. If I was to pick a circus profession, I’d be the clown riding the tiny pony. Stop worrying about me, I’m just a little distraught and having a bit of a reality crisis or rather, I’m questionning my reason for studying music.”

“I’m sorry but that is something to worry about.”

Kyuhyun sighed again. Sighing was never a good sign. He had toned down his ual humour within the first few weeks of university and had gotten a lot more serious about certain things. This attitude was completely new to Yesung, and it worried him a bit. Worried him a lot, in fact.

“Piano, singing, music, was for fun. Other than the few competitions and recital, it was mainly...well, not exactly a hobby but something constant, always there, and fun. It wasn’t work, it wasn’t mandatory, it was something for me that my parents encouraged me to pursue during my high school life. I didn’t even give it a second thought when I applied for university, it was music because it was so overwhelmingly fun and so concrete in my situation. But now, now I’m having difficulty getting with the program.” He paused and gestured at his desk piled with books and papers, “there are things I don’t agree with, there are songs I don’t want to play or sing, there are a bunch of new factors that are making music more and more like a chore than unadulturated fun. So yeah, I’m a little absent, a little cranky, but it’ll pass.”

“I had no idea…” Yesung mumbled. Kyuhyun was experiencing what he called FSED: First Semester Existential Doubt. It could be cure in one of several ways, getting drunk, getting a prescription for anti-depressant or being grumpy and thinking a whole lot for a few weeks. But Yesung had an idea, “move over,” he said, pushing Kyuhyun towards the end of the bench. “Do you remember how to play The Entertainer?”

“I think everyone knows how to play this song, even those who shouldn’t.”

“Don’t be mean,” Yesung gave him a light slap on the shoulder. “Get ready, we’re playing it.”

“Why?” He asked, placing his hands on the piano keys, disagreeing in his words but not his gestures.

“To get over your slump. Come on, we’re starting slow.”

The song was...well he’d played it when he was seven and so did Kyuhyun. It was a piece of cake. Easier than a piece of cake. Kyuhyun wasn’t exactly sure what Yesung was getting at, but he went along with it. He played the first cycle before Yesung joined in, playing a few octaves higher the same repetition of chords on the left hand and the simple melody with the right hand. They both finished the second cycle before Yesung pushed the pace a little faster. Kyuhyun kept up with no problem, but by the fifth cycle, things were getting more intense. Kyuhyun’s face had broken into a small concentrated smile and he had elbowed Yesung three times. But he seemed to be having fun.

Then came around the sixth, seventh, and eighth cycles, and by the ninth cycle was insane. The left hand chords were starting to get jambled but the right hand was still relatively steady. And then all hell broke loose in the fifteenth cycle. Yesung messed up first, not that he’d admit it, but Kyuhyun messed up shortly after. He turned to Yesung with a big smile on his face and slightly out of breath, “that was fun,” he told Yesung.

Yesung was feeling exhilaration. His blood was rushing through his veins and his brain was releasing high levels of dopamine. “You feel this? This is why I study music, this is why you didn’t give a second thought to apply for the program. Yes some of your profs will and some assignments you won’t agree with, but at the end of the day, feeling this makes it all worth it.”

Kyuhyun nodded along with that smile he just couldn’t wipe off his face. “You’re right. Thanks for...this. Making me play possibly the most overplayed song in the history of modern piano and also maybe teaching me a valuable lesson on how to get over my slump,” he said with some degree of seriousness despite the big smile he wore, “you’re a good friend, Yesung, I’m glad…” he mumbled off the last bit of the sentence, so much that Yesung couldn’t understand it. And by the look on his face he wasn’t about to repeat it.

“Welp, I hope you feel better,” Yesung said a bit too loudly, breaking the silence before awkwardness could settle. “And remember you can always have me over to mess around on the piano if you feel a slump coming.”

The look on Kyuhyun’s face was bewildered. Bewilderment at first, then quickly followed by pure and utter glee, “dear me, Yesung, was that an innuendo?”

“What? No? No. You’re twisting my words!”

“Absolutely not,” he said with the most devilish smirk, “I’ll take you up on that offer. We can mess around on the piano to your heart’s desire. I’m all yours,” he even added a wink for effect.

“You’re the worst, Cho Kyuhyun. The actual worst.”

A/N

I was actually planning on updating yesterday, but then I realized that I had forgotten the title of the song I was referencing so I had to change things up and edit some more, so sorry for the delay, I meant to have a timely update, but then again anything is timely compare to how often I've been updating this story in the past.

Anyway, I've been trying to stick to some of the original formating because I'm a er for format and structure. I'm not sure it'll stick in future chapters but I think it works quite nicely so I'll try my best to keep it in. 

Let me know how you've enjoy this chapter, comments always fuel my creative jujus, and I will try for another quick update :)