After the first day, Daun and Jihye didn't show up again, and the study group continued with two fewer members. They diligently met every week, Sihyun, who kept up with the day's lessons at the end of each study session, felt proud watching how he cracked problems left and right. His Korean scores hovered around 80, math a bit lower, but he hit his targets. With these grades, at least he wouldn't have to clean the bathrooms.
But the unexpected problem arose elsewhere.
"8 points."
Goneu's score was unimaginably low. Despite trying a one-on-one tutoring session with him later, the dismal score remained. And it was the same on the day before the test.
Thunk.
Sihyun, dropping his pen, glanced down at the test paper he had graded.
8 points.
Goneu's score remained stagnant, no matter how hard Sihyun tried to teach him. Realizing this fact over the past few days, Sihyun finally closed the test paper. His fervor to help Goneu faded away too.
"Cheer up."
Goneu nodded at the brief, simple encouragement. His expression remained stoic. After the exam, Sihyun thought he might not see him around for a while, imagining Goneu cleaning the bathroom.
Cleaning the bathroom on the fifth floor of the dormitory.
A powerful mind suffers when the intellect isn't sharp, as evident in the vast difference between Goneu's two subject scores: math at 100 and Korean at 8. He didn't seem that way, but Baek Goneu was purely inclined towards science subjects.
Maybe he's just good at calculations because he doesn't seem to think much.
"Want to bet on our scores?"
As Haewoon proposed an overly daring idea, Sihyun pondered, questioning why Haewoon enjoyed betting so much, be it at the PC room or now. Watching Haewoon, everyone but Haewoon himself, nodded in agreement. It felt like déjà vu.
"Why are you nodding anyway?"
Seeing Goneu, who would be the probable loser, agreeing to the bet, Sihyun wore a bemused expression. It wasn't like Haewoon would evoke any sympathy, unlike Goneu. It felt more like witnessing a crocodile's tears.
"Your efforts matter for the exams."
But Haewoon's stubbornness only clung to indifference till the end.
***
"Good luck on the test."
As the study session, full of distractions, finally ended and the day of the exam arrived, Sihyun whispered to Haru, seated beside him. Even though he spoke softly, Haru immediately understood.
"Don't make mistakes and just don't clean the bathroom."
The day he accidentally smudged the OMR card was a thunderbolt out of the blue. Sihyun hoped Haru wouldn't accidentally ruin all his hard work. So, offering a small word of encouragement, Sihyun tilted towards Haru, who was about to start the rough draft.
After the papers were distributed, silence pervaded the room. When the bell indicating the end of the exam finally rang, murmurs of distress echoed around. After four consecutive hours of exams, students slumped over their desks. The teacher collecting the OMR cards left, thanking everyone for their hard work. It was at that moment that all the students from Class A crowded around Sihyun's desk.
"....?"
Sihyun blinked in confusion as the sudden crowding overwhelmed him. But Jeong Daun's subsequent words clarified the puzzling situation.
"Wanna check answers, Sihyun?"
"Ahh..."
It dawned on him at that moment. Even if it was just among themselves, had they made a bet? Haewoon and Hamin were arguing over whether the answer to question 3 was 4 or 5. Looking at them, Sihyun, who had advised them to properly read the questions first, looked at the two with a pitiful gaze. Disheartened, he snatched their papers. It didn't take long for their expressions to turn desperate.
"I'll give you the papers to check. Don't blindly trust and assume you got everything right. Haru, I'll check yours."
Sihyun, still surrounded by students, handed over the papers and moved to Haru's seat. As he checked the papers, Haru raised his head.
"Did I do well?"
"Yeah."
"Were they not too difficult?"
"Yeah."
His answers were subtly different. Seeing his lack of confidence, Sihyun decided to check Haru's paper. Except for math, most of his grades were decent.
Except for math.
"You did great except for math."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Math is tough to improve on in a short time, but you did fine in other subjects."
"Even though he barely scraped past with a math score of 20, Yoo Sihyun wasn't worried about being tasked with cleaning the restroom just because he didn't do well in one subject. When someone patted his head in approval, Haru relaxed, letting out a smile.
His eyes crinkled as he smiled, his lips drawing a curve. Sihyun's breath hitched briefly.
"...Why?"
Seeing Sihyun freeze, Haru noticed the confusion in his expression. Sihyun, facing him, replied a beat late that it was nothing.
Although Haru's expression had seemed brighter lately, it was the first time Sihyun had seen him smile since they'd met. Sihyun absentmindedly straightened Haru's hair, feeling a flutter in his heart.
Suddenly, Haewoon's lively voice broke the feeling of being disconnected from the world.
"Wow, Geonu!"
Unbelievable!
The surprised voice was more than just lively; it had a hint of mockery. Curious, Sihyun turned toward where the Four Heavenly Kings were, only to see Haewoon embracing Geonu. Geonu, maintaining his cool, blinked as Haewoon cast a spell.
"Hey, Geonu got 30 points!"
It wasn't a fluke!
Sihyun's eyes widened in astonishment. When he asked what subject it was, it turned out to be Korean. When he asked if he'd guessed the answers, he heard a confirmation. Sihyun unconsciously pursed his lips; he could understand Haewoon's feelings.
"...Well done."
"Yeah."
Encouraged, Geonu nodded his head slowly. Haewoon was ecstatic about throwing a party. Geonu getting 30 points was turning the surrounding situation even more chaotic. Checking Geonu's test paper with a serious expression, Sihyun confirmed: it was indeed 30 points.
"Was the test easy?"
"Easy to answer."
"Huh?"
The conversation took a subtle turn. Wondering what he meant, Sihyun looked at him, meeting deeper-set eyes.
"It was easy because I heard your voice."
"What?"
"I heard what you taught me."
Just like mentioning eating salad for breakfast, Geonu spoke nonchalantly. Sihyun blinked at Geonu's steady, even tone. Somehow, his lips seemed to lift slightly. Lost in thought while looking at him, Sihyun noticed Haewoon, who had been all lively, now bustling to pack his bag.
"This isn't right. Geonu got 30 points too. Let's go take a commemorative photo today!"
"Out of the blue?"
Surprised by Haewoon's sudden idea to take a photo, Sihyun looked puzzled. It wasn't a plan to hang out; it was about taking a picture, something unexpected and unplanned. Expressing his bewilderment, Jihye, who was nearby, clapped her hands.
"Oh, and the cherry blossoms are blooming. We might be able to go out after the test and see them together?"
"Great!"
"Not bad."
"If you're going, I'll come too."
"What kind of photo is this?"
Excluding me from the conversation, they continued. Sihyun couldn't understand why they wanted to go out instead of resting after the test. Feeling annoyed, he suddenly felt Haru's presence beside him, gently tapping his shoulder. With a cautious touch, he turned. Haru looked at him with a familiar gaze.
"...Will you go?"
"......"
It was a familiar look.
Like the day they entered the dorms and he mentioned wanting to watch a movie.
Like the day he handed him a sweatshirt when they went shopping.
It was a familiar gaze.
"...I'll go."
Reluctantly agreeing, Haru's expression brightened. A sigh escaped. For some reason, whenever he asked, Sihyun found himself agreeing to Haru's requests.
***
"Smile! One, two, three!"
"......"
Caught off guard, Sihyun blinked under the cherry blossom tree, completely oblivious to the dorms. After the click of the camera, the photographer exclaimed, "Done!" Sihyun neither understood nor wanted to understand why he was dragged into this situation, even having a photographer called for.
"Oh! Sihyun didn't smile!"
Noticing Sihyun's expression in the photo, Haewoon pointed it out, causing Sihyun to furrow his brows. Despite being the one who took the picture, Haewoon criticized it without knowing it was because he didn't smile. Annoyed, he clicked his tongue, but then, belatedly, Haewoon said that even without a smile, Sihyun looked good. The change in attitude was remarkable.
How did it come to this?
Eight classmates from Class A gathered under the cherry blossom tree for a photo. It felt like a cheesy, comic-book-like situation—too cringy to bear.
As he absentmindedly fiddled with his fingers, Hamin and Sihyun locked eyes. There was a sense of mutual understanding in the tired, intense gaze. In an instant, they glanced at each other with a silent understanding.
"It must have been tough."
"And you call that comforting?"
Attempting to console Haewoon, who suddenly became like that, despite being together for years, Hamin shivered. As he listened to a sigh-like breath, Sihyun looked at the eight photos that Haewoon brought.
"I got the pictures!"
You'll get fined if you don't carry them in your wallet!
Despite the stern warning, Sihyun, reluctantly taking out his wallet, looked at the photos with unfamiliar eyes.
As he slowly tucked the photo away, Haewoon cheered with a 'Yeah!' creating a victory V.
For a moment, a thought crossed Sihyun's mind that it wasn't so bad, but it vanished. His eyes lingered on the photo for a long moment.
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