In a time long long ago, Joohyun had wished that she could go on cute late night study dates with her significant other, secretly snapping pictures as one dozed off or pressing cold cans of vending machine coffee up against fluffy cheeks. It might have been in middle school that she had such thoughts.

            However, sitting in a brightly lit library with one highly-caffeinated Kang Seulgi, Joohyun wonders if she was just a fool back then. Study dates aren’t fun. Study dates in a library, where one partner is a college student and the other is a working adult trying to blend in by wearing the biggest oversized hoodie she can find and staring mindlessly at pages in a random book she picked off the shelf, are even less fun. Joohyun doesn’t like being alone at home without Seulgi, but she doesn’t think she likes this scenario much better either.

            “Baby, is there a reason you can’t study at home?” Joohyun whispers. She glances around at the deadly quiet students typing away, writing, or reading in the suffocating atmosphere. Not a single person assumed to be a student looks like a member of the living world, and the maternal instinct Joohyun never knew she had comes to surface as she feels the strong urge to hand out free coffee to the poor souls. “It’s so scary in here. Everyone is so serious.”

            Seulgi glances up briefly to look at Joohyun, who is adorably tucked away in Seulgi’s hoodie. She gives the older girl a slight smile before shaking her head.

            “It’s like an unwritten law that during finals period, we all commiserate together in these institutions of pain.” Seulgi peers at something on her paper. “The general vibe may be miserable, but everyone’s focused and it kind of pressures you to work too.”

            At that, Joohyun swivels her eyes around the large area, roaming over the intense expressions of the students. Indeed, nobody is goofing off. It’s almost as if phones don’t exist in this liminal space.

            “Do you have a lot to study for? I thought three of your classes had final papers.”

            Seulgi nods. “Yeah, but I still need to research and type them out, and my music class has a final exam on top of our final project, so I’m kind of stuck here for the time being.” She places a hand on top of Joohyun’s. “You don’t have to stay here if it’s boring. I probably won’t be finished until at least midnight.”