Sehun returned to school that Monday with the threat of the algebra exam on his mind. He had spent yesterday studying as best as he could, but it didn't seem to click the way he would have liked it to. But as he thought about it, he was just distracted since Saturday, concluding that his inability to pay attention was the fault of Kim Jongin. Sehun tried his best not to dwell on the thought of him too long, though, as he always got this way when he met an attractive boy. He only forced himself to acknowledge Jongin's straightness and moved on with life.

He ended up arriving to his classroom ten minutes earlier than he usually would have, somehow feeling more anxious than he had felt when he woke up. Nevertheless, Sehun was one to keep on increasing his anxiety, so he spent his remaining time nosed up in his book and notes. He hoped that a last minute miracle would transform him into a genius and make him able to toss out formulas like money; from experience, however, the studying right before a test never helped in the end. Yet Sehun was one to continue his stubborn habits until he got lucky, so today he tried it again.

When it was around the time that most students came to class, Sehun merely tuned out the noise and continued on. He never knew why being a high rank in his class was so important to him, but he wanted it for the feeling of achievement. By the end of next year, he would be finally up and out of this stressful school, hopefully in a good university.

As Sehun's eyes were trained on his textbook, a familiar boy stood in the doorway of his room, scanning his eyes across each desk. When Jongin showed up to school, he had the desire to search through the rooms to find the Sehun that he met earlier. After coming up empty on the first floor and the first few rooms of the second floor, Jongin almost thought that Sehun had lied to him until he found the right room. A happy smile spread across his face once his eyes locked onto the focused boy, and Jongin wove through the rows of desks to reach Sehun.

"Hey! I found you," Jongin said in accomplishment, making Sehun lift his head in surprise.

"Oh, you were looking for me?" Sehun asked, feeling nervous all of the sudden.

"You told me that you were in this school, so I had to come see if it was true. So what are you doing?"

"Trying not to die," Sehun responded without thinking, although he quickly berated himself for being so depressing. He was always fantastic at being smooth and charming when with boys, he acknowledged sarcastically.

Luckily, Jongin wasn't so shaken by the abrupt comment and responded to Sehun in such a friendly way, saying, "Oh yeah, the test. I mean I studied, but maybe not as intensely as you." He playfully ruffled Sehun's hair and leaned forward to place his two hands on the desk.

Sehun shook his head and brushed it back to normal with his hand. "Last quarter, I got ranked 50th out of the hundred students here," he complained. "Is it wrong to want to get something better? Plus, I have to take it first anyways,"

Jongin could only chuckle at the stressed Sehun, finding it hard himself to be so invested in a single exam. "All of that worrying is going to give you gray hair early, and not the pretty shade of gray. Just relax."

The boy only breathed in deeply and furrowed his eyebrows. "How can you be so calm about something like this?" he asked out of curiosity. "Are you ranked 99th or 100th?" he questioned in a joking manner, but Jongin only looked back with twinkling eyes.

"Last time I checked, I was 5th," he said with an aura of confidence.

Sehun's mouth was left open for a few silent seconds before he decided to reply back. "Wow, screw you," he said in a shocked voice, and he slapped Jongin square in the shoulder. Jongin only pretended to be hurt from the slap and laughed again at the entertainment that Sehun was providing for him.

"Well I have the test fifth period, so you can tell me all the details," Jongin smirked, to which Sehun only pouted with sadness. "I'm just joking, you know. I'm sure we'll all do fine." Sehun gave him an incredulous look, and Jongin immediately knew to switch his words. "Okay, I'm sure that you and I will do well. Happy?"

"I'm not happy, but I'll take your encouraging words," Sehun responded, quickly stealing a glance at his textbook.

"Are you always this tense?" Jongin complained, flipping Sehun's textbook shut.

"Only when school is involved."

"Ah, Sehun, you need to take more trips up the stairs to Namsan Tower. I'm sure all of that walking would make your mind more relaxed," Jongin advised. At the thought of having to deal with exhaustion and almost falling down again, Sehun just shivered at the other's suggestion. In fact, he was already prepping his next slap