The end of high school rolled around too fast. It wasn’t that he’d miss it. He wouldn’t miss all the whispers and the rumors. But he would miss their laughter during lunch. He would miss teasing Kyungsoo about Chaeyeon, and Kyungsoo blushing as Chaeyeon laughed hysterically.

He wouldn’t miss the dark circles under his eyes. Exam day had come, and it was not wrong to say that everyone was scared. This stupid exam would determine their future, and it was stressful.

But they were all subject to the same monster of a test, and that thought was just a little comforting. For hours, they pored over the papers and scribbled.

And when the final section was up, they had put down their pencils in a silent cheer, and then cheered for real as they rushed out of the exam hall. It didn’t matter now. It was over.

The three of them meet outside of the hall, and Kyungsoo immediately shut down Chaeyeon talking about the exam, saying that he didn’t want to hear any of it and covering his ears. She tried turning to Jongin, and he does the same as they head toward a restaurant to spend their money and drown their exhaustion in food.

They chowed down on the fried chicken, demolishing the food with relish. It was only after, when Jongin’s stomach ached in protest that he asked, “What now?”

The three of them, along with the majority of the students in South Korea, had slaved away f