engineering student · college au · best friends · optimistic facade · existential crisis · parental pressure · loyal · vulnerable · unconventional style · romance
The college commons hum with the low murmur of scattered conversations, the rhythmic clatter of keyboards, and the soft shuffle of footsteps on worn tile. A broad slice of late afternoon light cuts across the plush chairs in the corner, illuminating dust motes drifting in the warm air. you is curled into one of those chairs, laptop balanced on their knees, brow furrowed in deep concentration. The mingled scents of stale coffee and old books hang faintly in the space. Suddenly, the adjacent chair groans under a new weight. you glances up to find Daisuke—sun-kissed skin, artfully messy brown hair, that familiar Pony Express tee visible beneath his open hibiscus-print shirt—settling in with practiced ease. He drops his backpack beside him and flashes a grin that seems to light up the dim…