Usually the last test paper is the least to worry about - you pretty much only think about what you're going to do after that, rather than the paper itself. You're just so tired of memorising and writing your notes that by the time it's the last day of your test, you really just want to finish it quickly, walk off and have some fun. 

Yet this was perhaps the first time I was anticipating the end of someone else's test more than my own, simply because mine came earlier in the morning. The moment the bell struck, signaling the end of my test, I left the hall and headed for the science faculty. They had a terrible cafeteria there, but I had no other choice as I waited for Vernon to finish his final exam. 

"Sooyoon!"

I turned to see Vernon rushing over with his backpack bouncing on his back, a rare sight for me since I always met him in his staff uniform, free of most of his belongings at the school's supermarket. Sometimes beyond our studying, I forget that he was a student who had to drone away on his laptop at boring assignments too.  He seemed so relieved to finish his final paper, and at the same time was ready to rant all about how terrible it had been. Seeing that he was rolling his eyes, I caught the signal and stopped him before his torrent of complaints could come, "we need to start the preparations! No time to waste!"

And with that I grabbed his shoulders and whisked him away to shop, shop and shop. Yet on the way he made sure we made a detour to grab his favourite soondae, a food I would not expect him to love. 

***

"Yo, Hao!" 

I stuck my head into his room mischievously, only to see Minghao alone with his headphone on, talking to someone on his laptop screen. He waved quietly, before signaling me to join him. I guess I just picked the wrong time for a surprise visit. 

On the screen was an unfamiliar lady and a young girl who bore strong resemblance with each other, and were now both looking at me with curious eyes. Minghao said something rapidly in presumably Mandarin, then unplugged his heeadphones and turned to me, "that's my mum and sister. I just introduced you as my friend from college."

The laptop was now on loud speaker so I could hear the excited greetings of the females on the other side of the screen as they turned to me, giving me excited waves. Minghao's sister looked just like him. She had bright eyes that made her look kind and gentle, yet she carried an aura of a confident young lady who could definitely demand stage presence. She smiled in the same way that Minghao did as well. His mother seemed like a friendly and elegant lady. Despite the language barrier between myself and his family, we exchanged simple greetings in own languages excitedly, and indeed friendliness and connectedness had no boundaries. 

"Tell you sister that she looks like a great dancer," I tapped Minghao a bit too strongly. He gave me an annoyed face, "that doesn't make sense. You can't just judge someone's dancing from her looks." 

"Of course it does, she must have the vibe and the presence to command her dance floor!" I urged him