requested: no
scenario: in which the crowned king of violin of south korea meets the crowned queen of piano of south korea with a few twists.
pairing: taeyong x rosé
genre: fluff, a bit of angst
au: university, musician! taeyong and rosé
word count: 6,324 words
status: unedited
a/n: this is set in 2015 :)
this is so bORInG im super sorry to anyone who chooses to read this and taeyong is a year younger in this story
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hi. i'm taeyong and i've been learning the violin ever since i was 3 years old and i've grown to love the instrument dearly. sometimes, it annoys the hell out of me but other times, it makes me feel like the proudest person in the world.
currently, i'm studying in one of south korea's 'sky' universities. the s in 'sky' stands for seoul national university, which is the university i'm in, k stands for korea university and y for yonsei university, the top three most prestigious universities in all of south korea. honestly, i thought i wasn't going to get in to seoul national university.
right now, i'm supposed to be in class. however, the higher ups want me to meet a girl. a pianist, to be exact. i wonder what this has got to do with me...
"taeyong, please come in this room." the head professor of the music department lead me to an empty room that had no one inside, besides a girl with straight long, brown hair and a golden retriever next to the piano, resting its head on its paws like it's taking a nap. she seemed to be waiting for someone or something, no books whatsoever in front of her. she played nothing on the piano, only seemingly staring at it longingly. for what reason, i don't know.
"please meet roseanne park chaeyoung." he guided me to her. "chaeyoung, please meet lee taeyong."
"is he the violinist?" she asked in a small, shy voice as she looked around the room in confusion.
"yes," i saw him give a fond smile to her. he guided her hand to mine, gesturing for me to introduce myself. i quickly shook her hand.
"hi! i'm lee taeyong as professor kwon has already mentioned. i've been playing the violin since i was 3 years old." i sweetly smiled at her.
"hi taeyong! wherever you are, that is..." she mumbled the last part under her breath. "i'm roseanne park chaeyoung as professor kwon has mentioned as well. i'm born in new zealand but i grew up in australia until i was 14. i then moved to south korea due to my parents' jobs. feel free to call me chaeyoung, chaeng, rosé or any nickname you'd like. and i've been learning how to play the piano since i was 3 too."
"chaeyoung, would you like to tell him what's so special about you?" professor kwon gave a knowing smile.
"well, i'm blind." she sighed, smiling sadly. "i've been blind since i turned 12, so roughly for 6 years now. so i've never got to seen seoul in all its beauty before. and that also explains why i have ace, my guide dog."
i could hear my heart breaking. blindness is truly terrible, and so deafness as well as any other 'disability' in the world. it can restrict people from doing the things they love. so i am extremely lucky not to have this, though it's not necessarily a bad thing if you have a disability.
"but!" she clapped her hands excitedly together. "i can play just about any piano piece you ask!"
"really?" my mouth gaped open. this is one talented girl. "that's so cool!"
"it's a lot of hard work," she rested her fingers on some of the piano keys, pressing down lightly as they emitted small sounds. "but i'm super proud that i can play beethoven, mozart, chopin and liszt! i love their music and i've always wanted to play them."
"i hope you don't mind me asking, but could you play something for me?" i asked curiously as professor kwon nodded his head in approval. "it's okay if you don't want to."
"what kind of question is that?" she cutely scrunched her nose. "of course i'd love to! if you have any special pieces or musicians you want me to play, just say so. i don't mind."
"i've been into chopin a lot lately. do you know any short pieces of his?"
"yes! i know etude op 10 no 4." she smiled brightly, getting into position. "i really like that one."
"feel free to play it," i grinned.
she took her position and started playing it, her hands moving over the black and white keys fluidly. my jaw dropped at the sight of her hands moving so quickly and i couldn't hear any flaws in her playing, rendering me speechless as i looked at professor kwon shocked at her talent.
"that was a great warmup," she clapped her hands together.
"that's a warmup?!" i gawked.
"yeah," she turned to me and blinked confusingly.
"how... what..." i murmured under my breath.
"i wanna hear you play taeyong!" she giggled.
"i'd love to, but i currently don't have my prized violin with me." i frowned. "though, i will eventually play for you."
"well!" professor kwon clapped his hands in excitement. "i guess i can tell you both the purpose of meeting each other."
"there's a purpose...?" she asked innocently, puffing her cheeks up like a chipmunk. that was cute, not gonna lie.
"so there's a competition coming up and we'd like the both of you to join." he started slowly. "you will be competing against lots of other prestigious universities but our main rivals are korea and yonsei university."
"korea and yonsei university... that's challenging." i muttered. "they have really good piano and violin players."
"these aren't your first competitions but they will be the most challenging. if the both of you win, your title will remain as it is: chaeyoung, the queen of piano and taeyong, the king of violin. however, if you lose, you will both your reputations and our reputation will drastically go down as well." he said seriously. "i would like for chaeyoung to enter for the over 18 category for piano and for you, taeyong, to enter for the over 18 violin category. seoul national university would be overjoyed is you both want to join the over 18 piano and violin duet category. the maximum time is 7 minutes and the minimum is 3 minutes and you will be disqualified if you go over or under."
"what ages will be in the over 18 category?" chaeyoung asked. "will there be people who are much older?"
"well, they told us to the age range is 18 to 24." he replied. 18 to 24... that's a six year age gap. and six years is a lot of difference. i turned 19 not too long ago.
"okay," she hummed. "can we choose our own pieces?"
"yes, of course!"
"ah, then i'd like to play franz liszt's grand galop chromatique." she grinned. "i love that piece."
"do you have piece in my mind that you'd like to present to the audience?" he asked me. i gave it a thought and decided that i did indeed have a piece i'd love to present to the audience.
"yes, actually." i smiled. "paganini's god save the king."
"okay. so if you'd like to do a duet, just let me know. i'll sign you guys in and when you decide also tell me the piece." he pat me on the back and hugged chaeyoung like she was his long lost daughter. "both of you are excused for the rest of the day from your classes. feel free to practice since i don't think this room is going to be used for the day. if you do decide today, i'll be in the office."
he waved goodbye and i waved back, her shouting a bye.
"so..." i took a chair and sat near her, hugging my sweater closer. "do you want to do a duet? i don't mind."
"me too," she hummed, quietly. "i personally like schnittke suite im alten stil."
"that's a good piece," i nodded in approval although she couldn't see it. "i can go tell him right now if you want. and on the way back, i can stop by my class to get my stuff."
"okay," she whispered. "i'll practice my solo."
"okay." i stood up and jogged to the office where he was in and immediately saw him talking to a few teachers. taking a deep breath, i walked in and tapped him on the back. "professor?"
"lee taeyong! decided already?" he turned around and smiled.
"yeah. we're gonna do the duet." as soon as the words slipped out of my mouth, his mouth formed an even larger smile. "we'll be doing schnittke's suite im alten stil."
"that's a good piece! good choice," he quickly whipped out his phone and noted it down. "tell chaeyoung the music department says thank you."
"sure will," i bowed politely and quietly walked out, greeting some familiar teachers as i head to the teaching hall my things were in. the lecture was still going on and i silently opened the door, making my way to my things and leaving as soon as i did. making my way to the hall that chaeyoung resided in, i closed the door and sat on the chair near her as i watched her fingers fluidly move across the keys of the grand piano, its music filling up the empty room.
"what a beautiful piece," she sighed as she finished playing, massaging her fingers.
"it is indeed," i agreed. opening my violin bag, i carefully took out the wooden instrument and the bow. gently resting it on my neck, i played paganini's god save the king. while playing i stole glances at her and watched her open her mouth either in awe or shock.
"woah..." the word flew past her lips in a small, quiet murmur. feeling my cheeks heat up, i focused on my playing and the feeling of the strings on my fingers. over the years, the agility of my fingers on the strings have quickened due to never-ending practice that both my parents and teacher have placed on me. which explains the reason why i don't have a ship load of friends. though, i do have friends (contrary to the popular belief that i am a lonely person with 0 friends). i wonder if chaeyoung has any friends. don't get me wrong, i'm not trying to be mean — it's just that some (read: most) people in this uni are assholes to anyone and everyone. and also, i've never seen her until now. how am i supposed to know who she hangs out with?
"woah, cool!" she clapped excitedly, making me blush.
"not as cool as your fingers flying across the piano keys." i replied as she blushed at my comment.
"thank you," she hid her face in her hands. "can i call you oppa?"
"are you assuming i'm older than you?" i joked as she waved her hands around in a panic.
"no! i just thought..."
"it's fine. i'm born on july 1 1996." i moved from my seat to sit next to her on the black piano bench.
"then you are older than me," she chuckled. "i'm born on february 11, 1997."
"oh? your birthday is quite near my friend jaehyun's. he's born on february 14, valentine's day and in the same year. and johnny hyung too; he's two years and two days older than you."
"oh, jung jaehyun? i know him. are you one of his 20 friends that he loves to talk about?" she asked curiously and moved her head to the sound of my voice, showing her brown eyes that seemed normal, if not for the fact that i knew she was blind. "though, i've never met johnny."
"oh, you do? he's never mentioned you."
"i don't expect him to. we're just friends; we talk on the occasion. my closest friends are jisoo and lisa from performing arts and jennie from music." oh, so she does have friends.
"that's pretty cool," i smiled to myself. "you're pretty cool. and you can call me oppa."
"okay," she smiled. "can i lean my head on you?"
"sure, i don't mind." her head softly landed on my shoulder, taking my arm and holding it tightly.
"we should probably be practicing," she mumbled, eyes closing.
"well, becoming friends is more important because then on competition day we can showoff our chemistry."
"good point," she agreed.
"why did you start learning piano?"
"i started learning piano because my parents wanted me to. as you probably did, i ended up loving to play it. it helped relieve stress and when i lost my vision, it broke my heart. at that time, i was about grade 6 in piano and i thought i wouldn't be able to play anymore. however, the teacher i had back in australia helped me learn the sounds of notes and there was a teacher that taught me how to read braille with my fingers. though, after becoming blind, i couldn't do cheerleading anymore." she frowned. "i didn't continue in fear that i'd injure someone."
"well, i started playing at 3 also because my parents wanted me to. as the good boy i was, i complied and learnt it for them. i didn't expect to become this good but i guess it's because i also had nothing to do, so i practiced a lot due to my parents and teacher telling me to constantly. the violin is not an easy instrument to play, definitely." i sighed, rubbing my fingers. "sometimes our fingers that are on the strings start to bleed due to the amount of moving we do. it cuts into our flesh if it's too much."
"that's terrible," she frowned. "piano isn't that painful. it's a bunch of black and white keys and the three paddles. nothing painful about that except the way we sit and the way our arms and fingers are placed."
"well, your hands can get tired easily from the tremendous amount of movement. especially if it's long and hard to play."
"like liszt's grand galop chromatique and moonlight sonata 3rd movement?" she perked up. "those are fun to play."
"i will never understand how you manage to find those fun to play." i shook my head. "isn't grand galop chromatique one of the hardest pieces on liszt has ever done?"
"well, flight of the bumblebee is indeed fast paced but it's not long. so is etude op 10 no 4, but they're not impossible if you put your mind to it. therefore, grand galop chromatique isn't all that bad if you take the time to learn it. besides, isn't paganini's save the king impossible to play?"
"no it's not," i pouted. "it's possible! i've been studying it and playing it for 3 years now."
"see? just as your save the king is possible to play, so is grand galop chromatique possible as well." she pointed out.
"i guess you're right," i admitted defeat. "i suppose you can play just about anything if you try really hard."
"that's the spirit!" she lifted her head from my shoulder and smiled dazzlingly. "hmm, correct me if i'm wrong, but it's lunch now and i'm hungry. if i don't eat in less than an hour, i'll become hangry."
"i doubt that'd be intimidating," i stifled a giggle, trying to imagine her babyish face all red with anger. "give me a sec, i need to pack up my violin."
she nodded and let go, leaning down the side of the chair to pet ace, her golden retriever. what a cute good boy.
placing my violin and its bow in its case, i zipped it and left in on top of the piano.
"do you normally have lunch with anyone?" i asked as i took her hand and tugged it lightly.
"usually i'm practicing my piano and eating the food my mom cooked for me since jisoo, lisa's and jennie's class times end when mine start. my sister, alice, has class all the way on the other side of the building. my cousins and siblings' class times also end when mine start. it's bad planning, really." she sighed as she took ace's leash in her small hand and took her brown bag that was placed on the top of the piano. once it rested on her shoulder, her free hand latched onto mine for support.
"i hope you don't mind eating with my friends then," i grinned as i lead her out, ace following the same speed as me. chaeyoung wasn't very far behind since her hand was still attached to mine. upon arriving into the dining hall, i immediately spotted my friends who were chilling on one of the longer tables. "johnny hyung!"
his head snapped up and looked around for the source of the voice until he saw me. he immediately smiled and rose from his seat to come and greet me.
"taeyong! who's this you've brought with you?" we bro-hugged and once we let go he asked.
"this is roseanne park chaeyoung. i think she can introduce herself though when everyone is there." i guided her to the table and pulled out a chair for her, allowing her to sit down and having enough space for ace to sit next to her. she slid the bag off of her shoulder and took out a container which held her food. the utensils were in a different container, smaller and thinner.
"you can go get your lunch," she softly smiled, taking out some treats for ace. "i'm not going anywhere, don't worry."
i nodded and left to go get whatever they had, taking a fair amount of meat and vegetables and rice on my plate. grabbing a fork and spoon and heading to the counter, i juggled the food and utensils and fished for my wallet. once at the corner, i paid the designated amount and left to go back to the table. the rest of the boys had arrived and took their place at the table.
"taeyong hyung!" winwin rejoiced. "please save me from yuta."
"i'm not even doing anything!" the latter pouted. "not yet at least."
i glared at yuta and he backed down, apologising to winwin for being clingy. taking my seat next to chaeyoung, i gestured for her to introduce herself.
"um," she nervously gulped. "hi. i'm roseanne park chaeyoung."
"i'm yuta!" "i'm haechan!" "i'm johnny as you know." "taeil." "you know me, chae." "winwin." "jungwoo at your service!"
"i'm in the music department and i play the piano. i'm already done with my 8th grade exams so i'm actually qualified to teach." she shyly smiled. "though, i'm blind. that explains the dog."
"you're blind?!" haechan gasped. "yo, you're talented."
"thank you," she bowed her head.
"so how did you meet taeyong?" yuta asked suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows at me. massaging my forehead, i groaned.
"professor kwon wanted us to join the upcoming competition as both soloists and a duet. i'll be playing liszt's grand galop chromatique, though my initial idea was to play la campanella but i realised that the universities we were going against were way too advanced for that so i had to pick the hardest piece at the top of my head." she put a spoonful of food in her mouth and chewed slowly, careful not to choke.
"that is definitely impressive, blind or not." johnny complimented as she thanked him.
"and what will you be playing, hyung?" winwin asked.
"paganini's god save the king," i said nonchalantly.
"dude — that's one of the hardest pieces ever!" taeil's jaw dropped.
"we aim to win at seoul national university, so it's only natural we'll be playing pieces we've been working on for years. and for our duet," i said before anyone could ask. "we will be playing schnittke's suite im alten stil."
"wait a second — aren't you the youngest of the park family?" jungwoo asked abruptly. "there are a lot of rumours about you, you know — since your brothers are the hotshots park chanyeol and park jimin, and your sister alice is at the top of her law class. it's no surprise you're just as talented as them; maybe even more."
"my siblings and i have expertise in different areas so it'd be kinda unfair to compare us, since chanyeol only plays the piano as a stress relief and loves to rap as well as write his own music, not to mention jimin loves to dance. alice has always been alice; she especially loved law since a young age." she seemed like she was thinking about something. "actually, i don't mind playing something after lunch if you guys are free. taeyong and i are free from classes for the rest of the day."
"well, i have no class after lunch." johnny smiled. "it'd be an honour to be able to watch one of the park siblings play something."
a chorus of 'me too's came after johnny's sentence.
"then be quick to finish your food," she laughed as she grabbed another bite of her food, eating her container clean and packing it away neatly in her bag. the boys chomped down on their food as i finished mine, walking near the dustbins to put my dishes in the bins provided for our cutlery. as soon as i walked back, most of them (except for taeil and winwin) rushed to place their things in the bin. chuckling to myself, i shook my head. these kids, i thought to myself.
once they all came back, we headed towards the original room chaeyoung and i resided in. i could feel her hand grip mine a bit tighter than before.
"are you nervous?" i asked her quietly, aware that they were behind.
"a bit," she whispered. "what if i mess up?"
"play like how you played the piano with me. be yourself and if you feel overwhelmed, just remember that i'm with you."
"thank you," she gazed at me, brown eyes sparkling. with eyes like hers, it'd be near impossible to tell she was blind. i allowed ace to guide her to the piano, following right behind. the boys didn't crowd around her; they watched from where i was and left her enough space to breathe.
"well, i guess i'll play the piece i was initially going to play before deciding that it'd be below expectations," she took a deep breath before starting the piece. she sat straight, fingers in place. watching her play made my trust in her grow larger, knowing that although my duet partner was blind, she's easily more skilled compared to many others.
once her fingers started flying across the keys, i could head the boys let out quiet gasps of shock.
the way her hands moved across the keys was mesmerising. her slim fingers played every part perfectly without mistake, eyes closed and body slightly swaying. as the end neared, her playing got more aggressive and fingers flew faster and faster. hell, her fingers alone could probably beat the flash.
as her fingers left the keys signifying it was the end, the boys and i clapped. she blushed and thanked us, bowing her head slightly.
"how do you manage to play that?" jungwoo gawked.
"anyone could play this, it just takes practice." she smiled. "and dedication, as well as determination."
"those... are something almost none of us have." taeil snorted. "only taeyong has that."
"well, i think we'd better head off now. let the lovebirds practice," haechan muttered the last part under his breath, though not soft enough for me to miss it. glaring at him as he walked out, we bid the boys bye and i took my violin from its original spot on top of the piano.
"so..." chaeyoung started, fingers grazing the shiny white and black keys. "do you wanna practice the duet?"
"yeah," i nodded. "do you know the piece?"
"i know it fairly well," she shrugged. "i studies it for awhile but i'm not sure if i remember it correctly."
"well, we can ask professor kwon to print out the braille version of the piece so you can re-study it." i pursed my lips. "i know the piece well."
"okay," she nodded.
"well, shall we get started?" i smirked, getting in position. "just play as much as you remember."
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look, i didn't know that time would past that fast and the performance day was already here. yes, we've practiced the duet far more times than i can count but i still feel a bit worried. what if i mess up? what if i blank out? god, i wouldn't be able to live with the embarrassment.
my family was here, some of taeyong's friENDs was here, lots of the professors and their students were there, regardless of how long they've been at the university studying music. jennie, jisoo and lisa were here too. i know all of that because some of them came to greet me and some was because taeyong told me.
taeyong was dressed up in a nice tuxedo, a bow around his collar. his brown hair was combed to form a curtain, according to lisa.
(a/n: close enough)
me? well, i guess i was being rather simple. i had a frilly white dress on with openings on the sleeve. my hair was in curls, earrings in my ears and white rose resting on my ear. i had light makeup on, a light pink blush and some dark eyeshadow. explained by the girls, of course. and my sister alice.
violins went first. i wasn't that interested, but i perked up the moment they called taeyong's name. i didn't know how he looked on the stage, but i bet it was magnificent. i could only imagine his slender fingers moving fluidly along the violin, eyes closed and his breathing in a calm manner. listening to his piece made my heart skip a beat.
sadly, it ended sooner than i'd have liked. they continued to showcase the remaining violinists, which all had great talent but none struck me as much as taeyong's did. though, it's probably favouritism since i do know him better than anyone else in this competition.
"hey," i heard his soft voice greet me.
"hi!" i smiled back, trusting my ears to tell me where he was. "that was amazing!"
"thank you," he held my hand against his heart, and only then i could tell how nervous he had been.
"at least it's over for now," i sighed. "mine is coming up soon."
"i'm sure you'll do phenomenal like always," he chuckled. "though, it's okay if you don't. you're not a machine, you're not expected to always be the best."
"park chaeyoung, you're up next." one of the stage managers called. nodding my head, i stood up and took a few deep breaths, gripping taeyong's hand tightly as he guided me to the piano. before heading up the stairs, he kissed me.
he kissed me on my cheek. i wish it was on my lips.
he gave encouraging words and cheers as i walked up the stairs after my name was called, hearing the crowd cheer for me. they chanted my name and i felt a surge of confidence as i found the piano and sat down, fingers on the keys. smiling to myself, i closed my eyes and allowed myself to drown in the music. maybe this is why taeyong didn't seem so scared.
because he had everyone cheering for him like there was no tomorrow. because he knew that no matter what happened, they'd always be there for him.
the moment my fingers pressed down on the keys and sweet, mellifluous sounds emitted from the grand piano, the crowd quieted and enjoyed the sound of the piano. as i am blind, i'm not able to see the judges reactions. i hope they're good.
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you could say i fell in love with chaeyoung. the way she plays, the amount of love and dedication she has for her piano and how kind she is just reeled me in. i had no say, but my heart did. and it said 'fall in love' and so i did.
i fell in love.
chaeyoung, she's... special you could say. an already graduated grade 8 pianist who's fingers move at lightning speed and somehow gets all the notes correctly despite being blind, despite not being able to see the notes to play. she intrigues me deeply.
now, watching her play is a magical experience for anyone. she could easily pass off as the reincarnation of liszt, chopin, beethoven, mozart and many more. she plays like liszt, displays her emotion like chopin, still manages to play fluently despite having a disability like beethoven and is a prodigy like mozart, able to play almost anything on piano. if that doesn't scream talent, i don't know what does.
i'm gonna be honest. my heart skips a beat whenever i'm with her and my mind goes in a frenzy whenever she lays on me. my cheeks heat up whenever she kisses me on the cheek, sometimes wishing it was my lips. you see, chaeng may not know it, but she's my precious baby even though she's not mine.
licking my dry lips, i watched the tv in the waiting room. she started to play not too long ago, having memorised the whole song from the amount of times i watched her practice. for others, playing without sight might be the most challenging thing they've ever done. for chaeyoung, it's an everyday thing she's adapted to.
i don't know what it feels like to not have my sight but still feel the eyes of the crowd on me but i can tell it's pressuring. but i'm ready to fight anyone who picks on her.
"thank you park chaeyoung from seoul national university!" the host smiled at her as she bowed and walked off, someone helping her off. opening the door for her, she soon came in.
"that was scary," she shivered, taking my hand as i guided her to a seat next to ace. ace rubbed his fluffy head against her legs to assure her that everything was okay, and he was still there.
"you did amazing," i smiled. "already better than everyone."
"aren't you a people pleaser, lee taeyong?" she chuckled.
"can't help it, especially if it's you." i laughed. "we still have our duet, remember?"
"yes," she frowned. "crap."
"same," i frowned too.
"this may not be the best time and place to say this, but i'm gonna do it anyways." i blurted out. why is my mouth like this? "i like you. i've liked you for awhile now and i don't know if you feel the same, but you — you've grown on me. the way you're able to play some pieces that not many are able to play, and yet you still look so majestic and elegant while doing so. from first glance, you look like a normal girl but when you're playing it's like watching a god. you're my heaven on earth, and i like that you're so open to everyone. not many people in our uni are open as they've immersed themselves in studying, yet you're so carefree. how do you do it? how are able to be so... calm and collected in the midst of this chaos we call life?
"every time i see or think about you, my heart jumps out of my chest and i daydream about you. you may not think i'm being genuine, but i have no reason to lie to you. i'm no better than you, but you're far better than me. but all i ask from you is a chance, or is it too far-fetched?"
"it's not far-fetched at all," she softly smiled, tears brimming her eyes. "because i like you too."
"then can i ask that after all this is done, i can take you out for dinner?"
"ask my parents and siblings first," she giggled, leaning in to hug me.
"thank you for giving me a chance," i whispered as i kissed her forehead.
"no, thank you for giving me a chance."
"chaeyoung and taeyong! you're up next!" a stage manager called. i yelled back an 'okay!' and slowly stood up, bringing her up with me. squeezing her hand as we walked out, ace barked encouragingly.
"thank god this is waterproof makeup," she laughed and wiped a few tears away.
"it's like they knew," i chuckled. the pair before us were just finishing, and we were getting ready to walk up. my violin was in my free hand, as chaeyoung's hand was in my other. before we walked up, i kissed her.
on the lips.
she kissed back and we stayed like that for a brief moment, before being pushed to go onstage. the host introduced us, and we elegantly walked on stage as i stood at my appointed place and she sat on her place at the piano. we looked back at each other one last time and nodded, starting.
we played in sync, almost in our own little world. i didn't dare open my eyes, knowing that it would ruin the magic as our hearts beat in sync and our hands moved together. maybe i was being over-dramatic, but wouldn't you feel the same? i don't care if we don't win first place anymore, it doesn't matter because chaeyoung is my girlfriend and that's all i could ever ask for. the only winner here is me and me only.
though, the magic couldn't last forever. like the saying goes, 'all good things come to an end'. but chaeyoung isn't a good thing, she's the best thing. so i pray with all my soul we don't come to an end, because then i'd have to make a deal with the devil.
my fingers automatically came to a stop at the same time hers did, and we ended together. i looked back at her and smiled, watching as she smiled too. i took her hand and she stood up, bowing together before leaving the stage as the audience clapped. i took my violin with me down the stage and help chaeng get down, careful that she doesn't trip and fall. once we got to the waiting room, we both took a deep breath and laughed.
"that was shockingly fun!" she giggled, hand on her mouth.
"we were in our own little world," i replied, hugging her close.
"do you think we'll win?"
"it doesn't matter because i have you, and that's all that matters. the only winner here is me and me only. though, if we win our individual categories and the duet, it's a bonus." i kissed her lips.
"you're so sweet," she slapped my arm lightly and rubbed her head against my chest. smiling contently, i closed my eyes. a few hours passed as the rest of the contestants finished, and they finally decided to announce the winners. which professor kwon had pushed us out of the room where we were taking a nice nap.
"now, for the third place for piano!" the host smiled, flicking through the cards. "third place goes to... choi heejin of korea university!"
she went up and accepted her award, bowing respectfully at the audience and taking a photo. the host called out second place as heejin walked to the side.
"second place goes to... nam kihyun from yonsei university!" he, too, went up to accept his award and take a photo, before walking to where heejin was.
"and now, for first place..." the drumroll came just in time which made me snort a little. "park chaeyoung from seoul national university!"
the crowd erupted in cheers, and chaeyoung gasped from beside me, shocked.
"r-really?!" she squealed as i helped her up the stage. i guided her to the host to accept her reward, and she took a photo. the three then came together to take a photo. heejin helped her down the stage.
"congratulations my love," i kissed her lips.
"thank you oppa," she shyly smiled.
"man, can you both save your pda for later?" heejin teased.
"no, i gotta show all my love to her now." i grinned. they laughed and congratulated us, wishing me luck.
"and now for the violins. third place goes to... song yoonkyu from yonsei university!" my anxiety was getting higher and higher by every passing second.
"second place goes to... kim hwayoung from korea university!" what if i don't get first place? i know i said i didn't care about the results but i take that back.
"and finally, first place is..." the dramatic drum rolling started again and chaeyoung squeezed my hand in assurance. "LEE TAEYONG FROM SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY!"
the crowd erupted and i sighed a sigh of relief. i did it. chaeyoung did it. now let's see if we did it.
i went up and got my trophy, took two pictures and came back. she congratulated me and kissed me on the cheek, a large smile on her baby face. they announced the top three of the others, snu mostly dominating the first place. but now, it was our turn. the violin and piano duets. my mind blanked as they announced the first two, my anxiousness eating me alive. chaeyoung and i hugged each other in fear, praying we'd get first place. honestly, we're so nervous that we're both shaking and on the verge of a mental breakdown.
"first place goes to... PARK CHAEYOUNG AND LEE TAEYONG OF SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY!" we both squealed in sync, going up the stage together. we searched the crowd for our professors, smiling widely once we saw them staring at us proudly. the crowd chanted our names as we smiled and took photos, bowing respectfully at the audience and the other contestants. we then stared at each other with full love and admiration in mm our eyes, and my hand caressed her face.
"chaeyoung-ah," i leaned in closer. "you're perfect with or without sight."
and we kissed in front of everyone as the cheers got even louder.
"i love you," she whispered. "so, so much."
"i love you too," i smiled against her lips. "more than you could ever know."