The Second Bell

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“And you said you wouldn’t get sick,” Youngmin grumbled as he placed a cold towel on Kwangmin’s forehead. The younger answered with a bout of coughing followed by sniffling as he tried to burrow deeper into the mass of blankets surrounding him. “Yah, don’t go back to sleep yet.” Youngmin jabbed his brother’s cheek, eliciting a groan from him. “I put your medicine and a glass of water on your table. Make sure to take the pills when you eat lunch.” Youngmin patted Kwangmin’s nightstand as the latter peeked over the edge of his comforter. “Mom made some soup for you. You just need to heat it up. Don’t run around, rest well, and drink a lot of water. I’ll be back as soon as classes are done.”

“Okay,” Kwangmin mumbled as Youngmin stood up and grabbed his bag. After doing a final check to make sure Kwangmin had everything he needed, Youngmin left the house and began walking to school.

Minwoo was waiting for him at the gates. “You’re finally here. Where’s Kwangmin?”

“He got sick,” Youngmin explained as they walked to class.

Minwoo snorted. “And he said he wouldn’t get sick. We’re starting a new chapter in class today too.”

“It’s not like he pays attention anyway.” Youngmin pulled open the classroom door, holding it to allow his shorter friend to enter first. “When we study for tests, he always uses my notes. There’s nothing in his notebook except his terrible drawings.”

Minwoo snickered, eyes glinting mischievously. “It’s not like your drawings are any better.”

By the time the professor arrived, Youngmin and Minwoo were arguing over something trivial, and neither showed signs of backing down. It wasn’t until they heard the professor calling their names that they stopped and realized that the entire class was staring at them with varying degrees of annoyance and amusement.

“Would you like to include the rest of us in your conversation?” The professor watched them with a piercing gaze. “It seems you two could use an extra opinion.”

Youngmin and Minwoo ducked their heads in embarrassment, muttering apologies to the rest of the class. There was a shuffling sound as people turned their attention to where the professor stood in the front. The room was soon filled with the scratching of pencils on paper as the students focused on writing down important points from the lecture.

Youngmin found himself shifting restlessly in his chair all throughout class. He wasn’t even aware of it until Minwoo jabbed him with a pencil and muttered, “Stop fidgeting.” Youngmin really tried to settle down after that, but hi