In Korea, every once a year, there would be a test that ruled over our whole lives. If we failed, that meant our past eighteen years of education had been pretty much nothing but a giant waste of time. It was a test that would read how the rest of our lives played out.

“What do you mean you didn’t take it?”

But some people just thought they were too above the world to worry about it.

I could feel the stares of the other students on me as I shrunk away.  Everyone should have been worried over their test scores, and yet, here I was screaming over the phone. I must have looked like a total freak.

“My little brother’s sick,” the voice was hushed and cracked over the phone, if it wasn’t for the fact that I’d spent the past several months cramming him for the tests, I would have felt pity for the idiot, “I couldn’t leave him alone to take some stupid test.”

If it weren’t for the eyes on me, I would have screamed some more. “It’s not just some stupid test,” I hissed, stumbling toward the main straight to hail a taxi home, “it determines your whole life! Are you just going to work the register at the convenience store your whole life?”

“Look Youngjae,” a sigh, “I appreciate the thought, but I told you, I’m not going to college.”

I choked. Not going to college? Did he really mean to work the register the rest of his life? I didn’t want that; Daehyun was my best friend – the closest thing to a friend I could find. I knew he deserved more than the ty customers that came to complain at him for things he couldn’t control.

“What do you mean by that?”

Please tell me you’re just kidding.

I didn’t want to see my friend living a ty life over the counter. I wanted to see him, dressed up fancy, in some high, over the top company, getting over paid for everything he didn’t do. At the very least, Daehyun deserved that much.

He sighed again, and the short rustling on the other end, “Sorry Youngjae.” Was he really? There was some coughing on the other end, (I guess he wasn’t kidding about his brother being sick) before Daehyun’s cut in again, “I have to go. I’ll call you after my brother goes to sleep, alright?”