It felt so good to wake up past noon. Yuhwa hadn’t gotten a proper night’s rest since the semester had ended the week before. Every day had been filled with non-stop studying as she prepared for her final exams. She had lived in one of the classrooms on campus for three days, using a sleeping bag whenever she took power naps and ordering takeout to sustain herself as she immersed herself in biology and chemistry. She had walked around campus in her pajamas, oblivious to the judging stares from passerby. Her life had solely revolved around her final exams for that week and Jeongmin was amazed to see how focused she could be when she put her mind to it.

He, Donghyun, and Youngmin had joined her study sessions whenever they had time in order to keep her company and do some studying as well. The twins had back-to-back tests and their final exams schedule was the most grueling of all. Although she had pestered Youngmin and his classmates with frivolous questions during their first night of studying, Yuhwa had ceased being a distraction the following day since she was engrossed in learning the material that would be tested in her upcoming tests. Jeongmin had never studied seriously while in the same vicinity as Yuhwa before, so it was a nice surprise to see her silently read notes and disregard everything else in the room. And it made studying for his own final exams much easier since he was able to shut away his feelings when they barely interacted with each other during this time.

Now it was Monday and Yuhwa was lounging in her apartment alone since Jinri was studying for her own final exams in the library. Yuhwa’s last final exam had been on Saturday and she could now enjoy the ample amount of free time she had until she moved out on Wednesday. She had just begun a new anime and was watching the sixth episode when Donghyun messaged her around four in the afternoon.

Kim Donghyun
Didn’t you say that Jeongmin’s finals were today? Or are they tomorrow?

She had a sinking feeling she knew why he was asking, but pushed the thought out of her mind as she quickly typed out a response.

Shim Yuhwa
Today. Why?

Kim Donghyun
He’s still asleep.

Shim Yuhwa
Are you serious?!

Kim Donghyun
Wait, are they over?

Shim Yuhwa
He had one at 2PM! And another one at 4:30PM!

Her heart began racing with fear. This couldn’t happen. Not on Jeongmin’s last day of final exams.

Kim Donghyun
I just remembered now. He said he was going to nap.

Shim Yuhwa
Go wake him up!

Kim Donghyun
I’m not at home. I left fifteen minutes ago to go to the library.

Shim Yuhwa
And he was still home?

Kim Donghyun
Yeah, he was sleeping. I went to his room to say bye, but he was still asleep and I didn’t want to bother him.

Shim Yuhwa
Is it possible that he left for his 2PM final and came back because he finished it already?

She needed to talk to Jeongmin. Right now.

Shim Yuhwa
You went to your 2PM final right?

Lee Jeongmin
No. I woke up too late. For real this time.

Shim Yuhwa
Are you serious?!

Lee Jeongmin
Yeah. At least I can still make my second final.

She couldn’t believe it. Jeongmin had missed one of his final exams.

Donghyun had responded to her earlier message and she looked at it with a heavy heart.

Kim Donghyun
I don’t think so. I was sitting at the dining table until fifteen minutes ago.

Shim Yuhwa
He missed it.

Kim Donghyun
Was it an important one?

Shim Yuhwa
It was the one he was more worried about.

Kim Donghyun
If you told me earlier, I could’ve woke him up.

Shim Yuhwa
He told me that he always wakes up for his important tests. So I didn’t think to check!

Kim Donghyun
Guess there’s next semester.

Shim Yuhwa
Don’t say that! When are you coming home? So I can go over.

Kim Donghyun
Is he still asleep?

Shim Yuhwa
No, he’s awake. He’s getting ready for his physics final right now.

Kim Donghyun
Then why do you need to come here?

Shim Yuhwa
So I can yell at him.

Kim Donghyun
I’m on my way home actually. Forgot my charger. So I’m going to study at home.

Shim Yuhwa
I’ll come over in a few hours. Have fun studying. And yell at him when you see him.

Kim Donghyun
He looks super sad.

As she stared at that last message, Yuhwa didn’t know what to do. She didn’t know how she could console her best friend over his missed final exam. Nothing she could say would make up for such an important test.

Hours passed as she continued watching the anime she had started earlier to distract her from thinking about Jeongmin’s missed final exam. She knew she had said she would yell at him when she went to their apartment later that night, but there was no way she would make him feel even worse about his mistake. Not when it was something of this scale. And Donghyun’s last message had established how devastated Jeongmin already was. She wouldn’t further rub salt into his wounds.

Once the last episode ended, she opened up the front page of Reddit to mindlessly look through the top posts of the day. But a small part of her mind was still fixated on what had happened earlier. Suddenly, she received a message from Jeongmin. She nervously switched tabs from Reddit to Facebook to see what he sent her.

Lee Jeongmin
Are you still here?

Shim Yuhwa
Yeah. Why?

Lee Jeongmin
Want to chill? I’m done. And I’m making food.

Shim Yuhwa
I’ll be there.

Yuhwa quickly threw on a sweatshirt and grabbed her keys. Her heartbeat accelerated as she worried about her best friend’s current state of mind. Donghyun’s earlier observation frightened her. For the four years she had known Jeongmin, he had never shown any emotions akin to sadness or anger. And though he wasn’t great at expressing happiness either, it was certainly an emotion she knew he was capable of conveying, rare as it was.

She scurried quickly to his apartment, climbing up the stairs two steps at a time. After reaching the top floor in record time, she hesitantly turned the doorknob to his apartment.

Donghyun, who was sitting at the kitchen table, looked up from his laptop. “Hey.”

“Still studying for finals?”

“Yeah, my accounting final is tomorrow and I have economics on Wednesday,” Donghyun answered as he twirled the wire of the right earphone he had taken out of his ear.

“Good luck. I won’t bother you tonight,” Yuhwa said as she walked past him, lightly touching his shoulder, on her way to Jeongmin’s bedroom.

The young male was slouching in his chair, wearing only a gray tank top and basketball shorts. His raven locks were slightly tousled from his habit of running his fingers through his hair several times throughout the day. He was concentrated on his match against a computer player in his modded version of Super Smash Bros. Melee, but noticed her walk in. “I made dinner. The spaghetti is in the kitchen. You can have these cheese sticks too,” Jeongmin said, jutting his chin towards the small metal tray covered in tin foil with six cheese sticks on top.

“Thanks.” Yuhwa grabbed the tray and set it down on Youngmin’s now bare desk. The twins had already moved out and returned home, having finished their final exams the previous Friday. “How was your physics final?” she asked cautiously.

“It was fine,” Jeongmin answered normally. “It was more or less what I expected it to be.”

“That’s good.” There was a long stretch of silence before she finally worked up the courage to ask, “Are you okay?”

Jeongmin paused the match before laughing and saying, “It was all a trick, Yuhwa. Just like last time.” He laughed even harder when she began to hit his shoulders and chest.

“I can’t believe you tricked me again! I hate you!” She stopped punching him once he ceased laughing and she dropped down to sit on the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. “I was so worried!”

The corners of his mouth turned up, because this reaction only reaffirmed how much she cared about him. It made him feel uncharacteristically fuzzy inside. And it further fed the flame of hope that had been ignited the first time he and Donghyun had tricked her.

Jeongmin had woken up and was on his way to the bathroom when Donghyun called out from the living room, “Do you have a midterm today?”

“At noon. Why?” Jeongmin responded as he walked to his apartment mate.

“Yuhwa messaged me to make sure you woke up.” Donghyun pulled up the chat log on his cell phone and turned the screen towards Jeongmin.

Shim Yuhwa
If Jeongmin doesn’t wake up by 11:15AM, can you wake him up? He has a midterm at 12PM.

Kim Donghyun
Too bad for him.

Shim Yuhwa
Please?

Donghyun had left her hanging at that point.

“Nice.” Jeongmin grinned as he high-fived the other male.

Half an hour later, as Jeongmin was finishing breakfast, Donghyun showed him the next set of messages that had recently been exchanged.

Kim Donghyun
He’s still asleep.

Shim Yuhwa
Wake him up! I’m on my way to your apartment.

Kim Donghyun
I already left. Oh well.

Suddenly, Jeongmin’s cell phone rang. “It’s Yuhwa,” he announced, trying to stifle a chuckle. He answered the call, hoping he wouldn’t accidentally laugh out loud.

“Are you still sleeping?! No, wait, that’s a stupid question. Of course you’re not sleeping. Otherwise you wouldn’t have picked up the phone. You have to be awake right now,” she rambled on in panic on the other side of the line.

“Chill out. Donghyun and I pranked you.”

There was silence on the other end.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to miss my midterm.”

“I hate you.”

He chuckled as he asked, “Are you really on your way to our apartment?”

“Yes! I thought you were still asleep! I was going to keep ringing the doorbell until you woke up and got your to class so you could take your midterm!”

Jeongmin’s heart slightly fluttered. No, it wasn’t the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to him. But the caring intent behind the somewhat harsh words led him to begin thinking that maybe Yuhwa cared for him the same way that he did for her. “Don’t worry. I always wake up on time whenever I have important tests.”

“I felt so bad for keeping you up the night before when you were studying! I thought I had been a distraction! And if you missed your midterm—”

Jeongmin cut her off before she could ramble any further. “Do you have that little faith in me?”

“That isn’t it. I was concerned, okay?” She really wanted to punch him in the face right now. “Hurry up and go to your midterm.”

“I’m going to bike there now.”

“I’ll see you at lunch once you’re done.” As if it were an afterthought, Yuhwa grudgingly added, “Good luck.”

Jeongmin knew that she purposely wished him luck in that tone to let him know that she hadn’t forgiven him for that joke yet. “Thanks. I’ll see you in a bit.”

And from that moment on, he began believing that he actually had a chance with this girl who had gradually begun changing him from a stoic, apathetic boy into a person who was much more extroverted and willing to step out of his comfort zone. She brought out the best in him, because she put her all into believing in him when she should have invested that energy in herself. Jeongmin was extremely grateful that she thought he was worthy of such care and attention. Watching Yuhwa try to discreetly wipe away a few stray tears, his heart ballooned even more with the knowledge that his best friend would worry so much about someone like him.

“When are you moving out?” he asked after exiting out of the game he had been playing, trying to distract her from the prank he and Donghyun had pulled.

“Wednesday afternoon,” she answered as she stood up, having successfully contained her emotions. “Donghyun might help me move out. We haven’t decided yet.”

“Why would he help you?” Jeongmin’s voice carried a note of jealousy, even though he knew nothing would ever happen between the two of them. Both Yuhwa and Donghyun had made it clear on several occasions that they were completely against ever being together, especially since he was now pursuing one of her high school friends. Yuhwa always spoke about the progress Donghyun and Sunyoung were making during the lunch dates with Jeongmin, so he knew very well that Donghyun had no romantic interest in Yuhwa. But seeing his apartment mate always willingly carry Yuhwa’s purse for her or give up his jacket to her on cool Friday nights when the group of friends hung out made Jeongmin wish he weren’t such a coward about his feelings. His image as the one who hated cheesy gestures and romance was blocking him from being the gentleman he could easily be, if he weren’t so afraid of how strange it would seem to their friends.

Yuhwa shrugged as she roamed around his room, looking over his half-packed belongings. “He offered. And he said I needed to stop trying to reject people’s help, especially when boys offer help.”

“He’s right.” Just let me help you. Don’t push me away. I know you said you don’t like depending on others. But I want you to depend on me. I want you to choose me to comfort you, especially when you need it the most.

What a hypocrite. Internally begging her to come to him when he didn’t have the courage to go to her first. He was hopeless.

Yuhwa jolted Jeongmin out of his thoughts when she suddenly asked, “Can you teach me how to tie a tie? I never learned how to.” She poked her head out of his walk-in closet, having strolled in while the young male was deep in thought, and pointed to the necktie attached to his suit that was neatly hung up.

“Sure. I know it sounds weird, but that’s something I actually really like teaching people how to do.”

Yuhwa’s eyes lit up in excitement, causing Jeongmin’s heart to skip a beat. He wanted to always be the reason she was so ecstatic. “Show me how!”

He stood up from his seat and joined her in the closet, carefully tugging the gray and black-striped necktie off of his suit. “I think I have another one somewhere,” Jeongmin said as he poked through his drawers. After a few seconds, he held out a silky purple necktie. “Use this one and mirror my movements,” he directed as they walked out of the closet.

“Yes sir.”

Jeongmin slowly explained the movements involved in the task, patiently pointing out any mistakes she made and giving her tips to make the process easier.

“How is it?” Yuhwa looked at him triumphantly with the tie neatly around her neck.

“Not bad.” He couldn’t praise her outright. It would be too forward of him. He wasn’t ready to make that leap yet.

“Can I practice on you?” Yuhwa asked excitedly, ready to test out her new skill. “I’m probably never going to wear a tie myself and I want to see if I’m capable of tying one on another person.”

“No.”

She pouted while her shoulders slumped in dejection. “Why not? It’ll be fun.”

“No means no, Yuhwa.” In order to tie that around his neck, she would have to get close to him. Too close. The sound of his heart thumping quickly would easily be heard if the distance between them was basically nonexistent. And the distinct lavender smell of her hair would drive him even crazier than he already was if she were to stand facing him like that. It was better that he stop her from overstepping any boundaries in advance. Because Jeongmin was sure that he would break these self-imposed restrictions himself if he ended up not being careful enough.

“Tch, you’re so boring,” Yuhwa muttered as she tossed the tie back to him.

Jeongmin caught the tie easily, letting out a shallow breath of relief, and began folding the rest of his clothes so that he could finish packing. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yuhwa settle into his chair. Time passed in pleasurable silence as she quietly watched him busily organize his belongings.

Both of them wished that this night would last forever.

--

“Thanks for letting me borrow the vacuum cleaner.” Yuhwa entered Jeongmin’s apartment, where her best friend was hastily packing up dishes and utensils, with a small portable vacuum cleaner in hand.

“No problem.”

Donghyun walked out of his bedroom, keys swinging around his right pointer finger. “I’m leaving to pick up my car. Need me to do anything else, Jeongmin?”

“I think we’re good.”

“How was your final this morning?” Yuhwa asked cheerfully.

“I’m just glad it’s finally over. Anyway, I’ll see you guys later.” Donghyun waved before stepping outside and closing the door behind him.

“Do you need any help?” Yuhwa leaned against the wall, watching Jeongmin tie up several overflowing garbage bags.

“Can you start moving my stuff out of my bedroom?” The raven-haired male looked up and smiled at her gratefully. After she carried over two boxes filled with miscellaneous belongings, Jeongmin received a phone call from his father. “He’s waiting in the parking lot.”

“What should I bring down first?”

Jeongmin grabbed the handle of his large black suitcase and gestured to the smaller navy blue suitcase. “Grab that and something else if you can.”

They trooped down the three flights of stairs, hands full, and trekked to the parking lot under the hot sun. After greeting Jeongmin’s father and leaving the luggage with him, the two walked back to the apartment while sweating profusely. “Why is it so hot today?” Yuhwa complained as she wiped away the droplets of perspiration from her forehead with her forearm.

“I shouldn’t have worn long pants today,” Jeongmin lamented as he looked down at his dark blue jeans.

Once they returned inside, Yuhwa sped to the bathroom to splash cold water onto her warm face. She returned to the kitchen where Jeongmin was and sighed contentedly. “I feel much better now.”

As they finished clearing out the kitchen, he found six berry Gogurts sitting in the refrigerator. “Want them?”

Yuhwa nodded vigorously and he placed them onto the kitchen counter. “They taste so good,” she remarked happily as she slurped one after the other. “And they’re really cold. Are you sure you don’t want any?”

“I’ll have one.” Jeongmin tore his open and gulped down the cool sweet yogurt.

“How come your dad isn’t helping you move things down?” she asked, noticing that his father hadn’t followed them back to the apartment.

“He never does. His back is pretty weak,” Jeongmin responded as he tossed the empty Gogurt wrapper into the trashcan.

Yuhwa raised an eyebrow as she giggled. “Like yours?”

The young male always complained about his aching back and hated standing up for long periods of time. When their group of friends had gone to an art museum once, Yuhwa and Jeongmin had separated from the main group and gone off on their own to look at the exhibits. After only an hour, he had begun whining about how much his back hurt and that he needed a place to sit immediately or else he would collapse. Since then, she always made fun of him and insisted that his problems originated from his extreme slouching.

“Very funny.”

“Seriously, all you need to do is fix your posture.”

Jeongmin stiffened when he suddenly felt her small hands on his shoulder blades as she lightly used her palms to straighten his back. He questioned in a strangled tone, “What are you doing?”

“Helping you stand straight,” Yuhwa answered matter-of-factly. “Your back won’t hurt as much if you stand properly. And you’ll look much taller and much better if you have good posture. Even though Minwoo is short, he seems tall because of how he carries himself,” she commented as she continued to push his back.

Jeongmin scowled upon hearing her compare him to her childhood best friend. It wasn’t fair. Minwoo would always be first in her heart, even though the two had separated years ago. The tears she shed would always be for Minwoo. Anything he did was an accomplishment worthy of being lauded to the world, whether it was joining a dance crew at his university or double majoring in electrical engineering and computer science or even something as ordinary as playing League of Legends. Everything about him was perfect. And Jeongmin knew he may never live up to the faultless Minwoo in Yuhwa’s eyes, no matter hard he tried.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Jeongmin said curtly as he stepped away from her, causing Yuhwa’s hands to fall to her side. “I need to cool down. It’s way too hot,” he stated before going to the bathroom to immerse his face in the refreshingly chilly water. Once the red glow of his burning cheeks disappeared, he returned to the living room and the two resumed transporting all of his belongings down to the parking lot.

An hour passed when they finally stuck Jeongmin’s backpack and floor lamp, the last of his possessions, into the trunk of his father’s car. “We’re done!” Yuhwa said excitedly as she shut the trunk door.

“Thanks for everything. It would’ve taken me twice as long to move all of this myself.”

“Of course. What kind of best friend would I be if I didn’t help out?” she grinned, pleased to hear Jeongmin’s infrequent words of gratitude. “We’ll hang out soon, right?”

He smiled, thankful to have someone like her in his life. “Of course. Whenever you want to.”

♈♈♈