Thirty years old and counting. While all my friends had their future planned ahead for the next thirty years, I stuck in this place trying to survive the next thirty minutes. Beads of sweats poured down from my temple as nervous kicked in my system. Who wouldn’t though, when your three-years-of-hardship was be decided by four people whom purpose at the first place was to fail you.

“Miss Park, can you tell us how you come up with this result? I have read your paper,  but  I found your point in page 49 rather odd and messed up with your process.”

I closed my eyes and counted one to five before answered the panelist question. I tried to extend my patience or I would end up throw the pointer in my hand at him. I believed with all my heart that what he said by I-have-read was just quick scanning and didn’t bother register word per word. And here  I was the one who enslaved myself to finish the paper by as perfect as humanly possible. Like with the title of ‘professor’ that decorated his name he could excused his laziness not to read my paper and declared that he was busy.

Hell, even my final was postponed for two weeks because he said he had to attend a conference in London. The conference was true, but the how long it was held was not. Yet  the other panelists could do nothing and suggested me just to follow his request.

Why again I asked him as my panelist?

Oh yeah, because I was an optimist whom idealism was as huge as the mountain. Was. Until I met this sorry-of- who accidentally was the hot shot academics for my research topic.

“Ehm,” I cleared my throat and prepared my battle. And from the other three panelists faces, they knew exactly what was coming. Yep, this wasn’t the first time. This battle also happened three years ago when I presented my proposal to these people. “Please open the next page, Professor Kwon,  have described and elaborated step by step that the theory is rather safer to be used in this research. From that age fifty until sixty nine…”

***

“Why did I want to be an academics again?!” I wailed as putting my head on the table.

“Here your ice lime tea,” I heard my best friend's voice and next I felt a cold surfaced touched my temple. Ah~ so cool.

I smiled at Bommie once her pretty face entering my vision. “You’re an angel!” I beamed at the ice lime tea. My favourite. She knew me so well!!

“Hayi saw you from the other side of the road and told me you look like your cat dead, so as your sidekick, without question I voted for ice lime tea. Your only choice to soothe your foul mood.”

“Yah! Don’t joke about Dadoongi’s death. He’s as healthy as any healthy cat can be.” I protested at her choice of parable.

“You get  what I’m saying,” she waved her hand, dismissed my protest.

I slurped the glass of joy that Bom prepared for me and sighed contently afterward. “Ah~...”

Bom sat on the chair in front of me and stared with curiosity. “How it is? Tell me…”

“You’re looking at the brand new magister at this very moment,”  I told her, smiled happily, for a moment forgetting my sorrow.

“Omo omo omo!!!! Congratulation Darooooooong…!!”She cried on top of her lungs.

I cringed at her booming voice. Good thing her cafe was deserted at the moment or we would draw attention. But drawing attention and Bommie were best friend. She was always about impact and attention and drama. And luckily her customers understood her lunacy. Advance point for her cooking or no one would put up to come here again.

“But why you don’t seem happy?” she asked after she finished with her hysteria.

Hearing her question, my short joy deflated and remembered what happened the prior hour. I slurped my ice lime tea again before unloaded to her. Better she prepared, because I was in the mood for drama.

At the moment the bell above the door chimed, telling that someone was entering the cafe. But I was too fir