It could be worse, Haeri thinks to herself as she exits the library. I mean, if that's possible.

She's trying to stay positive, but the big college entrance exam is coming up just around the corner, and Haeri in no way feels prepared to take it in just a matter of weeks. She's been staying at the library late each day, studying until dark because she stays more focused at the library than she does at home. Thankfully, the teachers know that the seniors have their big exam coming up, and don't assign as much homework as they usually might. Still, times are certainly stressful, and Haeri's wholly ready for the year to be over.

The day of the exam, she meets the rest of the seniors outside the gates of the high school bright and early in the morning. Though everything is milling around nervously and chattering excitedly, she is able to find Lina, who is fidgeting obsessively with her pencils.

"Hey. Chill," Haeri murmurs, putting a calming hand on Lina's shoulder. Lina whirls around, eyes wide

"I can't! I'm going to fail this!"

"No, no," Haeri soothes. "You're prepared for this! We all are. This is the only thing we've spent the past few weeks preparing for!"

Lina nods. "I know, I know. But I just can't help thinking, you know? What if I'm that one person that doesn't score well at all? What if..."

"Shush. I have faith in you."

"I don't have faith in myself."

Haeri sighs. "Just think about it like this: four hours from now, we're going to be done no matter what." Lina lets out a squeal of dismay and buries her head in her hands. Haeri ignores her and continues: "So then we'll be done! Even if you did badly, it's going to be over, and we never have to take it again. Okay?"

"Okay," Lina replies, voice barely audible.

"Now," Haeri begins, but then the gates open with a screech as the testing officially opens. It's too late to talk anymore, nor is it encouraged, so the girls squeeze their way into the school. Lina and Haeri are in separate classrooms, so they bid their farewells and good lucks. Haeri has no trouble finding her classroom (it's her old biology class), and once she gets checked in she's all ready to go.

At eight-o'clock sharp, any stragglers or latecomers are shut out of the school, and the test begins.

"Put your pencils down. Testing is now concluded. Do not attempt to go back and change any answers, or your scores may be cancelled. After your test booklet and answer document are collected, you are free to go. Until now, please remain sitting."

And that's it. Haeri's future, decided in four hours of testing.

As she walks out into the busy crowd of students streaming down the hallway and discussing test answers, Haeri feels that she did a pretty decent job. All the extra studying she did really did pay off in some instances, and who knows? Those points may be the difference between getting into her dream school or not.

Most of all, Haeri's just glad that she's finished. She spots Lina outside the school and raises an eyebrow, but gets a shake of the head instead and a mournful expression.

Oh, Lina, Haeri thinks. She's just about to head over when a familiar face catches her attention. Turning away quickly, Haeri makes a swift escape from Sehun, with no choice left but to walk home alone now. On the way home, she sends Lina a text saying sorry for having to leave, though Lina assures her that she doesn't mind.

Once she gets home, Haeri changes and flops down on the bed. She feels stress-free, light-hearted... pretty awesome, actually. Results don't come for another couple weeks so for now she's going to have fun, relax, and just enjoy the rest of her senior year. God knows she's done enough studying to last a lifetime, and she's just about burned out. She'd like to get ice cream, go for a walk, read a good book just for leisure, and get a lot more sleep.

And it's all waiting for me, she thinks happily. After all these terrible, terrible years... I'm finally done with school.