prompt: College AU
length: 1255 words

Hyungwon smiled to himself when he watched Kihyun bob his head along to the classical music they were both listening to. As they did every Monday afternoon, the two roommates were silently reviewing lectures and doing homework in the basement of the library. There were several small study rooms that students could book for three hours each, so Kihyun and Hyungwon made sure to lock in six hours total on Mondays when neither had club activities or meetings to attend. It helped that most students went to the study rooms located on the upper floors of the library, so it was generally quiet in the basement.

Today, Hyungwon had a geology midterm to make notes for. His textbook, a handful of colored pens, and stacks of lined paper were scattered in front of him as he pored over the pages while neatly writing down important facts and definitions. It was a dry subject to study, especially since he had been forced to take it as a general education requirement, but the material wasn’t too difficult to digest and his color-coded notes were aesthetically pleasing to look at, which made studying significantly more bearable. And since the exam wasn’t until Friday, Hyungwon still had some time to review his notes once he finished writing them.

At the very least, he had Vivaldi, Hayden, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Copland, and several other legendary composers currently blessing his ears with their soothing orchestral melodies as he diligently studied. One thing he loved about studying with Kihyun was that the older male shared his love for classical music, especially in an era where it seemed as if everyone their age loved listening to pop music, hip hop, or EDM. Hyungwon, having studied music performance since he was four years old—mainly piano and violin, although he had dabbled a bit in percussion and clarinet in fourth and fifth grade before deciding to focus on his main two instruments upon entering middle school—never quite understood the buzz around these messy, blaring modern tunes that the rest of the world obsessively raved over. Those songs, with their excessive production and bland lyrics, lacked the emotional nuance that instrumental music conveyed.

It made Hyungwon even more grateful that he had become best friends with Kihyun after meeting him at the National Liszt Competition, where they were both volunteering when they were twelve years old. Although Kihyun hadn’t studied classical music as extensively as Hyungwon had, the shorter male still loved watching and listening to live performances whenever he could. The two boys had quickly bonded over the works of their favorite composers while comparing their repertoires for the upcoming junior-level piano competition season. And since then, they had cheered each other on as they each navigated the trials of high school before eventually making their way to the same university and becoming roommates, now virtually inseparable.

Lightly shaking himself out of his thoughts since he knew they becoming a distraction that he couldn’t afford when there was a midterm exam coming up, the taller male looked back down at his textbook and sighed as he returned to memorizing the geologic time scale of the earth. What a boring subject.

Half an hour later, Hyungwon found his gaze drifting back to his roommate and he smiled in amusement again when Kihyun audibly hummed along to the first movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, which they were currently listening to. The taller male remembered learning the entire concerto for his first major senior-level competition in ninth grade and how he had been granted the honor of playing with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra as his prize for winning in his category. Kihyun had been there to witness that monumental performance, beaming as bright as the sun that shone overhead that summer afternoon.

It was one of his favorite concertos because of that and even now, more than five years later, Hyungwon could still recall the entire thirty-minute piece and play it perfectly on the piano. And it was also nice to share such an important memory with his best friend, especially when they were drowning in schoolwork.

Speaking of schoolwork, Hyungwon noticed that the other male was beginning to fidget in his seat and doodle on margins of his notes, which was a clear sign that he was no longer focused on studying. The taller male paused the music recording and took out his earphones before poking Kihyun’s side to get his attention and asking, “Do you need to take a break?”

Kihyun removed his own earphones as well before he groaned and leaned back in his seat, stretching his arms behind him. “Yeah, for, like, five minutes maybe?” There was a loud crack as the older male then stretched his back, his spine shifting back into proper alignment after he had sat hunched over for so long. “These reaction formulas are killer. You’re lucky you don’t ever have to take organic chemistry. I would pay a massive fortune to get rid of this class from the list of requirements for my major,” he griped while glancing over at Hyungwon’s geology notes, envy painting his sharp facial features.

“You should’ve just stuck with music like I did,” the taller male said with a laugh. “Then you’d only have to worry about these dumb general education classes, and you wouldn’t be so stressed out over,” Hyungwon made a face as he read the chemical reaction written at the top of Kihyun’s notes, “carboxylic acids and carboxylates, whatever those are.”

“Ugh, you’re right.” Kihyun let his face fall onto his open textbook as he let out another groan, this one slightly muffled by the glossy pages pressed against him. “Why did I ever think that majoring in chemical engineering would be a good idea?”

“It’s not too late to switch to piano performance,” the taller male sang while grinning mischievously. “All you have to do is—”

“Attempt to learn an hour-long program, and somehow make myself fit in with skilled musicians who’ve been practicing day and night for their entire lives?” Kihyun wryly cut in. “There’s no way I’d ever be able to do that. You guys are way more talented than I ever could be and while I don’t mind taking piano classes for my electives, I wouldn’t be able to keep up if I were in your major.”

“But you seem so unhappy doing chemical engineering,” Hyungwon pointed out, slightly pouting.

“Eh, it’s not horrible,” the shorter male replied with a lopsided smile. “Once I get organic chemistry out of the way, it’ll get better.”

Hyungwon raised an eyebrow.

A sheepish chuckle then escaped Kihyun’s lips. “Yeah, no, it’s definitely going to get worse when I take applied chemistry next year.” He stared forlornly at his notes before picking up his pencil and saying, “Well, I guess I should get back to studying. These reaction formulas aren’t going to memorize themselves.”

“Just don’t burn yourself out, okay?” Hyungwon cautioned as the two roommates placed their earphones back in. “I have a recital next month that you’re not allowed to miss.”

“When have I ever missed one of your recitals?” Kihyun reminded him with a lighthearted laugh before he resumed reading about various acid-base reactions.

With that, the taller male pressed the play button on his phone to continue the recording of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor. And as orchestral music filled their ears, Hyungwon and Kihyun softly smiled and let their minds float freely amongst the melodic notes.

♈♈♈