When I got to school the next day, Sungjin was sitting at our desk, his eyes were downcast. Making my way towards him, I tried for a smile but all I got was a slight upturn of the corner of his mouth. So he was still sulking, I thought. 

"Have you been studying?" Sungjin asked quietly. 

"I did a bit yesterday, why?" I looked at Sungjin's face as a worried expression washed over him. He tilted his head to one side momentarily as if contemplating what I said.

"We have the biology mock exam next week. I thought you'd be studying harder..." he trailed off.

Sungjin had a passive aggressive tone to his voice and I knew it had something to do with the argument the evening before.

"It's just a mock, I'll study from this weekend," I assured myself, looking down at my hands for a while.

He raised an eyebrow in response. "You don't think veterinary schools will look at your mock results?" 

"I didn't plan on it," I mumbled under my breath. Sungjin was beginning to annoy me. 

Suddenly, Minhee the class president came up behind our desk.

I looked up at her, smiling and her face mirrored my image- her eyes darting between Sungjin and I. Although we weren't in the same friendship group, Sungjin and I had known Minhee since elementary school. She was one of those bright girls who didn't seem to have a flaw, nor a negative personality.  She dressed immaculately, played the piano well and had received offers from both Yonsei and Korea University to read English literature. She was tall, graceful and good in nature. This inevitably resulted in many boys throughout middle school to high school falling for her. She took her role as the student president seriously, being elected the second year in a row but she knew how to have fun. A few times a week, she'd come to see the boys play in their practice sessions. Me, Lina and Minhee would sit on the school tables and watch with intent as the boys played their music passionately. It was Minhee who had the final word though, as she commissioned who would perform in the talent shows. It was that time of year again, so we were aware of the question she was about to pose. 

"Sungjin, will you guys be performing in the talent show this year?" Minhee asked brightly.

The dark-haired boy scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "Honestly Minhee...we weren't planning to join this year. We haven't really been practising, you know what with finals and applications coming around."

My eyes darted to Sungjin, what was he saying? Though it was true that the band hadn't practised for quite a while, none of the boys expressed any interest in going to university, in fact, it was only me and Lina who had applied for further study. 

"Oh...the thing is, this year the regional talent show has been sponsored...by CJ entertainment. The prize is a large sum of money and titled Rookie of the year award," Minhee explained carefully, maintaining eye contact with Sungjin. 

I widened my eyes but Sungjin's expression stayed the same. He folded his arms and then unfolded them again. Obviously the experience from a summer ago had left