Baekhyun and Yixing were both jealous of Jongdae. Because he was freaking out for a good week during dead week, he had no finals during finals week. That boy could cry, work, and cry for five days about presentations, essays, and chapbooks, but the moment it hit the weekend, that boy zoomed the off campus, onto a bus, and spent most of his weekend, coffee shop hopping with his old friend. And Baekhyun and Yixing were at the receiving end of his snapchats, insta stories, and facebook messages.

They were jealous. Because unlike Jongdae, they were slaving away in their apartments, notes scrawled all over the ground, copious amount of different kinds of caffeine on their dining table. As much as they loved Jongdae, and also had a lot of feelings for him, there was no damn way they could be distracted by his adventures in the big city. Yes, they were jealous, but he deserved the relaxation. After the amount of drama, the problems, and work he put into this quarter, he needed that down time. Besides, Jongdae was the only one who could distract them from all the studying they did.

It made Yixing think back to the time when all three of them would raid the community room, turn on the fireplace, bob to a chill mix and study their asses off for their different exams. While Jongdae would be working on the final edits for his chapbook, Yixing would be doing practice problems and Baekhyun would be memorizing flashcards, and even at 12AM, they would be in that community room, Jongdae brewing tea, until the RA on duty would come down to the room and tell them to quiet down, or wonder why the hell they were still studying down there. But there was no place for them to go other than the community room down there, no 24 hour place to crash, and they shrugged their shoulders before going back to work once again.

But now it was just Baekhyun and him. He didn’t mind because Baekhyun was one of his favorite people, and there was nothing he’d rather do than spend time with him and his pink tinted way of looking at life. Whenever he looked over to Baekhyun who was trying to understand medical concepts again, he knew that Baekhyun would look out for him in any way he could.

“Stop looking, it’s weird,” Baekhyun barked as he threw a crumpled piece of paper at Yixing. With a laugh, Yixing just threw the crumpled piece of paper back at him. Hour upon hour, they would continue to stare down graphite notes, laugh a few times, stare at some Netflix, and complain about how lucky Jongdae would be because he finished all his finals before it even started.

They were both so ing jealous of Jongdae. But it must have been some time after he got back to campus because at two in the morning, he texted the two of them, knowing quite well they were awake, and asked the golden question.

“Do you want to get pho?”

With how both guys were delusional, going insane because of the amount of material tossing around in their head, he knew Baekhyun was going to reply with a “Dear yes God, please, help me now.” And just like that Jongdae was driving over to their place with a tired smile on his face. They jumped into his car, and as Baekhyun and Yixing quarrelled over what kind of music should be playing, Jongdae talked about the best coffee shop he visited in a while, and wanted to share it with everyone else. That was how it always was with the three of them. Someone was always talking while the other two was arguing.

It happened so many times that he didn’t know what to do but laugh it off. It happened when they were looking at attractive people, going to the movies, and even when they were ordering barbecue where Jongdae befriended the server and knew his name. This was just something they were so used to that it was hard for Yixing to think that it was actually possible for the three of them to go through a night without some kind of childish squabbling and R’N’B playing in the background. Though, there was nothing to really be worried about. As Jongdae zoomed through the city, onto the freeway where the lone cars would pass by, Yixing listened to the songs playing, the conversations weaving in and out as the rain splattered against their window shields, and as the hum of Jongdae’s playlist continued throughout the ride, Yixing relaxed in the back. For once this weekend, he felt all the tension in his body loosen, the anxiety of working on his last finals disappeared, and in replacement, there was hope, laughter, and some kind of happiness. For three days straight, the two of them had been studying, studying, studying, until they couldn’t feel their bones anymore.

“Cramming is bad for the brain,” Jongdae reprimanded as he tsked the two of them as they got out of the car. And like any other day at Big Mama’s Pho, there were people still bustling around at three in the morning wanting pho. Shrugging his shoulders, Yixing could only scoff and say, “You’d probably do the same thing if you were us.” With a spin of his heels though, Jongdae wagged his fingers in a way that made the two of them realize their dire mistake.

Jongdae had too many things going on in his life that there was no way that he could cram. Every time Baekhyun said that he was going to finish something the night it was due, Yixing swore that both Jongdae and he felt their hearts sink. How was it actually possible for a person to follow the rules of due tomorrow, do tomorrow? They never understood how Baekhyun did it, but he managed to do it no matter how hard they forced him to do some of it a few days in advance.

“I lined all my finals up before finals so that I could finish before that week started. Yes, it was a train wreck because all my clubs were ending on that same day, but hey, I managed to get it all done, and unlike you losers, I got to experience a weekend away from all the stress of being a college student and it was wonderful. Now stop calling me out, and enjoy this pho that I am buying for you,” he monologued with a teasing grin on his face. As he opened the door, they seated themselves at an available booth.

Yixing watched as they ordered as quickly as possible. Jongdae with bun bo hue because he hated pho, and Baekhyun and Yixing ordered the pho with everything because they were two hungry college students.

“But can we slow down on the bucket list? How is it actually possible to be taking something out every week?” Baekhyun asked as he grabbed his chopsticks and spoon from the tray. “Have we even fulfilled other people’s wishes? Like, c’mon Jongdae, you’re supposed to be in charge of this,” he added.

“Okay, the people we ask end up either helping us with another one, or they don’t know and tell us they’ll get back to us so how am I supposed to know?” he asked as he passed the Hoisin sauce to Yixing. (Jongdae was a simple man who liked his simple flavors.)

“You’re right. Jeonghan’s wish was Doojoon’s wish, and so there wasn’t anything for us to do about that. Taewoo still hasn’t gotten back to us, and your neighbor doesn’t have any wishes,” Yixing answered, using his chopsticks to off the Hoisin sauce. The sweet dark sauce melted on his tongue while his eyes glanced back and forth from Baekhyun to Jongdae.

“What about winter break, are we doing anything then?” Baekhyun asked as he stole the Siracha from Jongdae.

“No, this is strictly when we’re in school. I don’t have enough time to plan for you two and my friends back home,” Jongdae answered quickly before thanking the server for putting down the bean sprouts, mint, and lime on the table. “Besides, I’m broke, let me live for a little bit, okay?” he replied dramatically, fanning himself to prove his point.

“Drama queen,” Yixing scoffed. Laughing, Jongdae only shook his head as the server came back with the small bowls of pho, and the bowl of bun bo hue for Jongdae. “Fine, so I guess tonight will be the last night for our adventures for the quarter?” he asked. It was somewhat strange to say it, but it suddenly made sense.

Tonight when all they wanted was a break from studying just like when they were living at the dorms, was going to be the last bucket list item for the year. As weird as it was though, looking back from Jongdae and Baekhyun, they only laughed at his comment.

“For the quarter. Jeez, this is just the beginning, loser,” Baekhyun stated as he squeezed the lime juice into his pho. Mixing it all up before adding mint and bean sprouts, Baekhyun was right. All the items they checked off this quarter was easy. Hell, getting pho at three in the morning was simple. All three just had to be sleep deprived and stressed out, Jongdae, being an angel, would come in and pay for their late night snack. Pho became their energy for the finals they would have to tackle on. “Get the easy stuff done now, and the hard stuff will happen when we least expect it,” Baekhyun added, passing the plate of condiments to Yixing.

It was true. All of this was easy. Nothing about it was as difficult as being in a , or volunteering for something when no one had the time to do it. Things like getting the TA, a sure pick at Yixing, was going to be harder, and getting Chanyeol to be with Sandara was going to be the hardest. “You right, you right,” Yixing replied as he took the bean sprouts into his soup, and quickly added the Hoisin to his pho.

Then the three of them slurped. The warm beef broth filled his stomach, warming everything he needed to revitalize himself before finals. The rice noodles was moving, and the slight hint of sweetness only reassured him that finals were just going to be something to look back on.

“Hey, remember when Yixing failed his test?”

“Apparently failing to him was a B. Shook.”

It rolled into a conversation about looking back on the bucket list items. First, it was Yixing and his meltdown with Taewoo. Jongdae gave him a knowing look while Baekhyun smiled sweetly as he talked. Then it was when Baekhyun talking about what happened at the party once he lost them. Jongdae’s eyes widened in surprise as Bakehyun explained he met Kikwang on Tinder and really wanted to get to meet him while Yixing opened his straw to drink the bubble tea he ordered. Then there was Jongdae talking about the reason why he crossed off shouting from rooftops and his disappearance from his own party.

Story after story, everyone’s different perspective spilled onto the table as they continued to slurp away at their noodles. From time to time, there would be a bright orange stain on Jongdae’s white shirt, or the smell of Siracha in the air when Baekhyun wanted more for his pho, or the occasional eye burning when Yixing forgot to wipe his finger with his napkin. Somehow, night turned to day when they were talking and laughing.

The owners of Big Mama’s probably didn’t like them, but they continued to retell their tales. Yixing retold the tale about meeting Doojoon for the first time while Jongdae burst out in laughter, and Baekhyun pointed out all the flaws he saw in Doojoon. It was one story after another, each one a little different, and even when they finished their noodles, they sat there in amazement of what they accomplished. Not only did they finish one bowl of good soul food, but they also filled their souls up with good times. And he could not wait for another adventure.

“, we have finals.”

“ for you, es.”

Well, after all his finals.