It was unlike of Sanghyuk to even care about several things but he couldn't help but wonder about how it was possible for the teacher to easily lift up a punishment, his punishment, just like that. He was confused for a moment but decided to shrug it off and ignore. It wasn't really big of a deal, anyway, he thought. He seemed a bit more concerned about something else—or rather, someone. "I guess she realized it wasn't worth helping me after all." He murmured. "At least starting tomorrow, I'm free from this stupid errand." He added, with a hint of strain in his voice.



That night, Namjoo went home still seemingly crestfallen and tired from an entire day of cramming. She dropped flat faced on her bed and mumbled incoherent words against the sheets. She stretched her arms and legs before standing up again, and uttered if she could even eat dinner at this rate. She glanced at her phone and saw the message from her teacher. Her eyes widened as she gasped and suddenly—yes, that quick—felt high-spirited. She gave a pat on her own shoulders and spoke, "You're too kind, Kim Namjoo." She chuckled softly.

She hopped to the kitchen to get herself dinner, as she mentioned how she should give herself a reward tonight. Just as she opened the fridge to get yogurt, and loads of other treats, her phone rang. With the thought that it was her teacher, she answered it without looking at the caller ID and saying ‘thank you’ for about five times, or more. The one on the other line laughed. "I know you owe me a lot, but thank you for what?" It was Hayoung, and she sounded like she was with Jaehwan as his chuckles were audible too. The short girl immediately responded with a sorry, and as quick as she apologized did her friend stopped her from doing so. "I told you to stop apologizing for little stuff. So, what happened to you today? You sound enthusiastic, in contrast to how you looked earlier this morning." The tall girl replied, with a sprinkle of sarcasm as always. Jaehwan laughed behind her, again. He mentioned how her ‘thank you's’ were too loud, he heard them even from a few meters away. Namjoo felt embarrassed, and at the same time, curious as to why the couple called her. Hayoung passed her phone to her boyfriend. "Tell her, Jaehwan."

"Sanghyuk told me you didn't come to the school grounds today. Truth be told, I'd ask him if he was worried about you since he doesn't normally ask through sending a text message, but I just told him you're probably busy cramming, which I know is true but uh, yeah. Me and Hayoung were just wondering if you're okay, too?"

Namjoo started giggling for some reason. Her voice resonated across the other line as she responded how cute the couple were for worrying about her—completely disregarding everything Jaehwan said before that because she'd sound too obvious. She told them there was nothing to worry about. She admitted she was a bit down the entire morning, but just as so, she also gets easily uplifted. She smiled as she heard Hayoung audibly sighed of relief, and agreed with her remark. But despite that, they still hope she would tell them if anything is wrong. Namjoo cheerfully responded and told Jaehwan to take care of her friend well instead. Both of them are always worrying too much, she added. "I'll hang up now, you two have fun, okay?"

Just before either could hang up, Hayoung asked if she could come to the amusement park with them. She crossed her fingers, trying her luck to invite her again. She insisted that tickets will be free since it'll be Jaehwan's treat but she apologized, saying she really can't go. "What if it's after exams? You'll go, right? Please!" Hayoung begged. The other line went silent for a mere three seconds and replied to the couple, saying she'd think about it. With that, Hayoung smiled and bid their goodbyes on the line.





Classes began the next day, and finished in just a blink of an eye. They say time flies when you're having fun, but in this case, time flew because the students were desperately distracted. Before their homeroom teacher left the room, she called out to a few students—most of them are those who failed their previous exams, and quizzes—to visit the principal's office for a quick discussion in an hour. Unsurprisingly, Sanghyuk's name was called again and he simply nodded. He stood up and walked out of the room soon after the teacher left. Namjoo glanced at him out of habit, holding on her pencils and review paper as she was fixing her bag. She saw a glimpse of him suddenly fishing out his phone from his pocket, and levelled it up his ear as he seemed to have answered a call. She shrugged, and stood up to leave the room with the rest of the class.



Only days before the exam, other students are starting to tense up. Most of them running around finishing club errands quickly and early, and ending up at the school library for their entire break time. Even Namjoo's been having a hard time looking for a place to study as the library got fully booked during their only free time. She sighed, and sent a message to Hayoung asking her where she was. The other replied immediately saying she's still in class. The petite sort of giggled at her response, but came back to feeling troubled for not being able to find someplace to study. Just then, she pictured a bench just by the school gates. She remembered not a lot of students really get to stay there, and thought no one would scold her since everyone's busy anyway so she tried her luck. She went to the setting, and beamed as she realized no one was around. It was the perfect place for her study; Peaceful and, definitely no distractions. She skipped towards the provided bench, sat down and started opening her books, as well as taking notes. It was what she needed all along.





"Namjoo?" A seemingly familiar voice echoed just minutes later, suddenly intruding Namjoo's serenity. She was almost feeling drowsy at the moment, but felt the need to wake up as she thought she was imagining things. "It is you!" The voice was loud enough to completely alarm the young lass, and she immediately cleared her mind to see whose voice was it. A bright smile greeted her as a lady, few years older than her, grasped on her hand gently. Namjoo was in a daze as her eyes blinked repeatedly at the sight of that someone in front of her.

"M-Mrs. Han...?" It was Sanghyuk's mother. She was in a corporate attire, very much like something a lady would wear if you're working at a business related company. She still looked young, and had glimmering eyes similar to Sanghyuk's that came along with her bright smile. Namjoo stood up and politely gave a bow, greeting her back with a smile but not breaking off of the lady's grip. She apologized for not recognizing her sooner, but the other didn't mind. "I'm actually glad I recognized you first. I probably would have been lost if I didn't took the courage to approach you." She laughed.

Namjoo insisted that they sit, and she couldn't help but ask of her well-being and why she came for a visit so suddenly. She asked if there was any trouble. The older gave another