Five; 

A few people talked to me at school in the next few days, which had never happened before. I guess they were feeling braver now that we were about to graduate, and maybe motivated by the fact that I seemed to know a celebrity. I had no interest in becoming friends with these people who had stood aside and watched me suffer for four whole years, and turned them away coldly. 

Baekhyun seemed amused by everything. " them," he said loudly, causing a few heads to turn. " everyone in this entire school."

"Yah, there are teachers around," I hissed, pulling at Baekhyun's arm. 

"Yeah, them too!" Baekhyun laughed, looking over his shoulder. 

I buried my face in my hands with a sigh. All I wanted was for Baekhyun to graduate before the teachers get tired of his and kick him out. Just two more weeks, just two more weeks. 


The scores from the college entrance exams were released on Friday night. I had signed up to receive it via text message, and I was a nervous wreck waiting at home. Jongdae had sent me fighting and good luck stickers, but I couldn't bring myself to reply. I called Minseok, and he told me to visit at the hospital. Minseok was working back to back shifts in the emergency room, but he snuck me into the room where the residents look naps and kept their stuff. 

"If anyone comes in, just curl up under the blanket and hide your face," he told me, pointing to one of the hospital beds in the corner. "They'll just think you're another resident. I'll be back during my break."

I hoped that I wouldn't get Minseok in trouble. 

The residents' roomed had five or six beds and a line of lockers. There was a TV in one corner, an older model, and a fridge and microwave. A private bathroom led off one side, complete with showers. I laid down on the bed in the corner and wondered if this was any better than waiting at home. 

Just then, the door opened and I immediately turned away to face the wall, tucking my face into the pillow. I heard someone walk in, and the door closed. 

"Inna, I know you're in here." 

I recognized that soft voice. 

"Lu Han," I sighed in relief, throwing the covers aside. "What are you doing here?"

Lu Han was looking really handsome in his scrubs, even with dark shadows around his eyes from lack of sleep. He pulled two sodas out of the fridge, and started the hot water boiler. "I'm on my break, and Minseok said you were here. Do you want ramen?" Lu Han asked, going into one of the lockers. He pulled out two cups of ramen and set it on the counter before sitting down next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder.

"I'm too nervous to eat," I mumbled, curling into him. Lu Han was bonier than Minseok, but his embrace was still comforting. 

"Inna, you're smarter and more hardworking than anyone I know, including both Minseok and me, and we both got into top schools." Lu Han ran a hand through my hair, massaging my scalp softly. "You studied my old review books, right?"

"Thanks for your help," I said, smiling to myself. Only science was my weaker subject, but Lu Han and Minseok were both strong in the sciences and lent me their old notes and study books. I reached out and absentmindedly pulled at the sleeve of his scrubs. I bunched the sleeve up to his forearm, revealing the name inked on his skin. Kim Minseok. "Lu Han oppa, when are you going to move in?" I asked, poking at the Script. 

Lu Han jerked his arm away and jumped up, heading for the water. I could tell that he was blushing like crazy again and I laughed a little bit. My brother and Lu Han were obviously smitten with each other, and it was fun to tease them once in a while. 

"Maybe next year," Lu Han allowed, busying himself with the ramen so he didn't have to look at me. I knew he was smiling too though.

After eating the ramen, Lu Han tucked himself into one of the beds for fifteen minutes of shut eye before going back to work.

At 8PM, my phone buzzed right on time. I wanted to throw the thing into the hot water boiler so I didn't have to face it, but I just took a deep breath and opened the message with a tap. Several numbers stared back at me. My name, my testing ID, my total score, and then my score breakdown for each category. 

I felt all the air rush out of my lungs and I fell back onto the bed. My limbs felt heavy with relief and my eyes fluttered closed. When Minseok finally got on his break and popped in, I just showed him the message. 

"Yah, Cho Inna, what's this?" he asked, eye going wide. He just stared in shock for another moment before letting out a bellow and enveloping me in a big hug. 

The truth was, I had scored better than in any of my mock exams. I was above all the cut lines for all universities, which means I would get my first pick of schools. I frowned, wondering what I should do. If I picked one of the top three universities, Minseok would have to foot my tuition. If I picked a lesser school, I could definitely get a scholarship. 

Minseok seemed to sense my dilemma. It was something we had talked about briefly in the past. "Inna, you should put down which ever school you want to go to. Don't worry about anything else, just think about what you want."

What I wanted? I wanted to go to the school Joonmyun had gone, and the one Minseok had gone. Back when Minseok was checking out colleges, my parents had still been alive and I was still in middle school. We had all gone together to tour the campuses, and I had fallen in love with one in particular, even then. 

"I'll get a job and work all summer," I whispered, twisting my fingers into Minseok's shirt. "I'll save up and pay for as much of it myself as I can."

Minseok sighed, patting me softly on the back. "Oh, Inna, you don't have to do that. Oppa is here for you, always." He put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me back so he could look at my face. "Where do you really want to go?" 

"Seoul National," I answered in a soft voice. 

The smile that Minseok gave me was proud and full of love as he pulled me back into another hug. I heard a low sniffle, and I wondered if Minseok was fighting back tears. 

"Mom and Dad would be so proud of us," he whispered, voice a little rough. He leaned in and dropped a soft kiss on my forehead. "I'm proud of you too. I'm off all of tomorrow, so we can celebrate properly, okay?" 

On my way home on the bus, I