Her tough times were disappearing.

“Didn’t you see the exam results?” Da Eun asked, dying to know what Jieun thought of her new position.

The two were sitting on Jieun’s couch, munching on some chips. Jieun invited Da Eun over, claiming they hadn’t had a sleepover together in quite some time. Although what Jieun said was true, Da Eun didn’t want to spend much time with her friend. But Jieun was persistent so Da Eun reluctantly agreed.

“Of course I saw them.”

“Didn’t you see that my position dropped?” Da Eun cautiously asked.

“I heard about it,” Jieun plopped another chip into . “It doesn’t really matter though. I still think you’re cooler than Miyoung.”

Da Eun’s eyes widened and she looked up at Jieun in shock. Her parents had pointed out the fact that she was worthless due to her dropping marks. Her friends had left her for that very reason. Miyoung claimed victory over Da Eun because of her marks. But Jieun was the first one who said they didn’t matter.

Da Eun began to think that maybe she had overreacted. There was no need for her to become depressed due to her marks right away. She was more than the numbers that she used to believe defined her. Da Eun was human and Jieun knew that.

Da Eun jumped on Jieun and gave her a big hug, “Thank you!”

 Jieun laughed, “Thank you for what?”

“For being my friend,” Da Eun smiled as she returned to her seat.

Maybe she didn’t have to join her parents’ business. Just the thought of that made Jieun want to jump up and down. She absolutely loathed what her parents did and she wanted to prove to them that she could make it big without their help. And Jieun reminded her that she could.

“Want some ice cream? Let’s eat it as we watch our favourite dramas all night long,” Jieun suggested.

Da Eun laughed, “That sounds like a great plan.”

The two spent the rest of the night watching dramas and eating snacks. For the first time in weeks, Da Eun smiled and laughed. Jieun didn’t know how Da Eun had been feeling for the past for weeks but didn’t seem to notice any difference in her. The two just had fun as friends do.

It was four in the morning when the two fell asleep in Jieun’s living room. Da Eun was on the couch while Jieun made a temporary bed for herself on the floor. Da Eun had to use the bathroom so she woke up. When she returned to the couch, she was about to sleep but stared at Jieun for a bit.

She smiled, “It’s nice having a friend. It really is.”

○●○●○

“What time do you start work today?” Myungsoo asked Sunggyu.

The two had just woken up. Sunggyu was on his bed looking through his phone while Myungsoo was lazily staring at his bed sheet. The two would sit around like this on many mornings. On weekends, they would spend hours just lying in their beds in the mornings. That was until their grandmother would yell at them from the kitchen.

“I work at the pizza shop from twelve to five. Then there’s a game at six,” Sunggyu sighed. “There’s a long day ahead.”

When Sunggyu saw that the pizza shop near their home was hiring, he immediately went to get the job. He knew he had to pay off the debt quickly and it was quite a big debt too. He had school fees he needed to pay for as well and everything would only pile up if he left it to the end.

“Yea,” Myungsoo agreed. “Good luck, Hyung.”

Sunggyu smiled, “What are you planning on doing today?”

Myungsoo was going to draw with Sun Hi that day. She told him to meet her at this place that she felt was full of inspiration. Myungsoo thought she may be b