Joohyun does know how test-taking seasons can be, and she does know that studying for exams and working on projects during a set timeframe really . After all, she still had to take tests in high school and studied quite some time for her GED; it’s not completely foreign to her. But college is on a whole other level. College midterms just...they’re miserable even for the people watching from the sidelines.

            Of course, it has to be the first semester college senior who is suffering the most right now, but Joohyun feels on edge just being in the same room as Seulgi, who, unluckily, has to complete three papers and take four tests. And while Joohyun had initially worried that the stupid university would eat her girlfriend alive by throwing all that work at her in such a limited amount of time, it turned out that the load was somewhat evenly spread out between the fourth and last weeks of the semester.

            Seulgi claims that that is even worse, however. She shows Joohyun a timeline of due dates for her midterm assignments, and Joohyun sees that there is only slight overlap between any of them, confusing her further. The younger girl shakes her head in exasperation.

            “See? That’s the problem.” She taps on the desk calendar. “I think I’m finally finished with midterms, but there’s another one waiting right there for me. And I’ll complete that only to have to do another one. And another one. And another one.” Seulgi sighs. “They say it’s midterms, but really, ‘midterms’-” she quotes’ “start after the first few weeks of classes and keep going until the week before finals. It’s almost as if all the professors get together and plan their due dates so that students are in a constant cycle of midterm assignments until it’s finals season.”

            “Would you rather have them all at once?” Joohyun asks in genuine curiosity. “There’s no way you would survive if they didn’t spread it all out.”

            Seulgi groans and pulls Joohyun into her lap, looking for a distraction. “I mean, of course I wouldn’t want to take four tests and write three papers all in a week, but there has to be a compromise, right?” She throws up her hands, nearly knocking Joohyun off balance. “Sorry.” She wraps her arms around Joohyun’s waist again. “It’s just that there’s way too many assignments for midterms, like, why do I need to take two midterm tests for a class when I can just take one? And why can’t they set a timeline of three weeks or so, just like with finals?” Seulgi shakes her head in frustration. “The cycle is made for college students to burn out and hate life, and the university knows it. It’s not cool. Not cool at all.”

            Joohyun nods sympathetically, kissing Seulgi’s jaw. She gently massages the younger girl’s s