Hello! It is I, back from being too demotivated and busy to write. I've started writing this close to 5 am here. Yes, I should be asleep, but I've been up studying for midterms :)) Anyway, enough about me, I hope that everyone is doing good! I'm actually excited to get back to this even if there's only a few readers around now. If you're coming back to this, welcome back! If you're new to this story, welcome and I hope you enjoy! :D 

p.s. I've decided to include character names on top when the focus on each character changes throughout the story, hopefully this will make it less messy

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JIMIN

The last few weeks of the semester went by in a rush with final submissions and presentations day after day. Before he knew it, finals week was upon them and the ritual of intense studying had begun. He barely saw anyone other than Jungkook in their room as everyone was busy cramming for their finals. He had only spoken to Ari through occasional daily texts for the past few days as she had gone into do-not-disturb mode. She took grades pretty seriously, which Jimin understood, so he gave her some space and time, but kept sending her reminders to eat enough and not to stress out too much. He was sure she was grateful but he worried she didn't actually listen.

He sat at his desk in his room, studying for his last final of the semester, econ. It was way past midnight and only one chapter remained for him to review before finally going to sleep. He stared down at the notes that Ari had scanned and sent to him in PDF form, his mind a blur of supply and demand equations by the time he finally finished. With a sigh, he laid back in his chair and picked up his phone to message her. 

(2:27 AM) Me: hey babe, are you up?

(2:27 AM) Baby: hey! yeah, still reviewing :( you?

(2:27 AM) Me: I just finished up, I'm gonna sleep now. I just wanted to message you before I did. Don't stay up too late. You'll be fine, ok?

(2:28 AM) Baby: Aw thanks Chim. I'm almost done anyway. Good night :*

(2:28 AM) Me: Good night <3

Jimin changed into his nightclothes, set his alarm, and went to sleep after turning off his lamp. Over in the next room, the other boy was wide awake, lying in bed with his notebook out on his lap over his blanket.

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JUNGKOOK

Jungkook was done reviewing and decided to take his notebook to bed with him just to glaze over it one more time to check that he remembered all the formulas before going to sleep. He remembered Yenna telling him that studying right before sleeping helped commit things to memory and he wanted to make sure these formulas stuck in his head. He had finished over 15 minutes ago and upon finishing decided to text Ari to see if she was done. He had hesitated after sending her the text and decided he needed to have a legitimate reason to text her at this time, so he decided to ask her about an answer. Something not too serious, but still important. She hadn't seen it yet, but he kept opening his phone and going to her chat to see if she had seen it or if she was online yet. All of a sudden, her status went from last seen at 1:25 AM to online and his messages went from delivered to read and he quickly exited the chat, not wanting to seem like he had been waiting all this time, which he had been. He bit his bottom lip in anticipation as he saw that she was typing. Jungkook laid his head back against his headboard, wondering, since when had he become so obsessive about when Ari Kim would text him back and couldn't help but smile at the thought.

(1:10 AM) Me: Hey, are you up?

(1:12 AM) Me: Sorry if I'm bothering you but I just wanted to make sure the answer for question 5 in chapter 7 was -0.434?

(2:29 AM): Ariii: Hey, sorry for the late reply, I've just been so busy with all this material.

(2:30 AM) Ariii: Yesss, the answer is right. Don't forget, the negative sign is important to mention in the answer.

Jungkook hesitated to respond, should he message her back right away? That may show he's been waiting for her to respond. But, if she went offline before he responded, he may not get to talk to her before the morning. He decided to text her back.

(2:29 AM) Me: It's cool dw, thanks! Man, I'm so tired, but I finally just got done. What about you?

(2:30 AM) Ariii: Not done yet :( I still have two chapters to go 

(2:30 AM) Me: How did I finish before you??? I started later!

(2:30 AM) Ariii: Well, I might have decided to remake some of my notes that were too messy :')

(2:30 AM) Me: Ari, do like to torture yourself?

He smiled at the screen and rolled his eyes. How typical of her to assign herself to do more work that she didn't need to do. He wished he could somehow help, but there was nothing he could do.

(2:31 AM) Ariii: Idk tbh ugh

(2:31 AM) Me: Don't stay up too late, though. The exam is at 8 am tomorrow, and it's almost 3 already.

(2:31 AM) Ariii: Yeah, you're right. Okay then, I'm gonna get back to this and then sleep, you should sleep too.

(2:31 AM) Me: Ok, good luck and good night

(2:31 AM) Ariii: You too

(2:31 AM) Me: :p

Jungkook exited the app and locked his phone, slightly upset that their conversation was over. But, he was still excited, he'd be seeing her in the morning and then they'd be working together at Eclix from next week. As he lay down in bed after putting away his things, he heard a light noise through the thin wall that separated his and Jimin's room. Jimin was probably going to bed too. As if this noise snapped him out of his senses, his optimism seemed to fade away as guilt seeped into the hole that it had left. Finally remembering that the girl he spent most of his night thinking about was his best friend's girlfriend, who he had weirdly rejected somewhat already at the beginning of the semester. 

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RENA

Rena woke up to bright sunlight entering her room through her window facing exactly opposite her bed. A natural alarm. Her phone alarm still had 20 minutes until it rang and she groaned at her earlier than necessary start of the day. It was 6:40 AM and her last final was due to begin in an hour and 20 minutes. After five minutes of debating whether she should just get back in bed until her alarm rings, she switched it off as she decided against it. She was glad she had finished up early last night and gone to bed a few minutes after midnight. She maneuvered around her boxes of things that were packed and ready to be moved into her and Ari's new apartment tomorrow when they would get the keys. As she was heading to the toilet, she noticed Ari's bedroom door was still closed and seemed silent. She would have to make sure she's awake once she gets ready. 

At around 7:15 AM, after having gotten showered and dressed, and munching on a croissant she had saved from work, Rena decided she had to check on Ari. She knocked twice and waited. No answer. She knocked again. Once again, she received no response, so she opened the door and walked in on a very much still asleep Ari.

"Ari, wake up, we have 45 minutes to get to class," Rena said as she stepped closer to her friend's bed. She rolled her eyes when the other girl did not stir. 

"Ari!" she said and she shook her friend awake now.

She got a groggy, "Why?" in response as Ari shifted to the other side.

"It's almost 7:20!" 

At this, Ari suddenly shot up. "What?" she asked, her eyes awake and alert additional to the mild build-up of crust around them. As she checked her phone and saw the large numbers showing her that it was 7:19 now, she hurried up out of bed to the toilet, while yelling a word of thanks to Rena. The boxes in Ari's room were not fully packed yet.

Even with Ari's tendency to procrastinate and speed up what she needs to in order to not be late, Rena was impressed. She was dressed and ready with her notes, backpack, and a pack of crackers in her car with Rena in the passenger seat by 7:45 AM, which gave them enough time to reach campus and have 5 minutes to spare before the exam started. Ari furiously flipped through her notes in an attempt to get in some last-minute revision as they walked from the parking to class. Rena had given up on doing that since it just stressed her out more. As they finally made it to class, they were greeted with the sight of a tired Jimin in a hoodie and cap covering his blonde hair, going through his phone, and a Jungkook whose eyes were closed suspiciously too long for it to just be "resting his eyes" and open notes clutched in his hand. On noticing they had arrived, Jimin got up and headed straight for Ari. Long gone were the times he used to greet all of them together with a hello and a smile. Rena decided not to feel too bitter about it since she believed she truly had begun to move on. As if he could read her mind, Jimin next turned to her and said, "All ready for the last final?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Rena joked.

Jungkook had also stirred awake as he heard the noises of them talking. 

"Oh, hey you made it," he said sleepily with his arms up in the air as if celebrating. 

"Well, duh, it's not like we have a choice," responded Ari of course with her signature eye roll and a smile to indicate she was joking. Jungkook was just as dramatic as he returned with the biggest eye roll Rena thinks she had ever seen.

"Let's go, its 8:01 already," said Jimin, holding the door open. 

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ARI

Ari was trying to skim through her notes as she walked from the parking to class with Rena, feeling slightly panicked but apologetic that she wasn't paying much attention to her friend. Frankly, she was beyond stressed since this was the last final exam, she had to pack up all her things by tonight, and she was worried about her internship. So far, she had only worried about getting it and now that she had it, she was scared. This would be her first ever proper work experience and would also give her barely any time to enjoy the summer vacation. The only thing that kept her spirits from falling completely was that at least Jungkook would be there too, so she wouldn't be completely alone.