Exam season swung by when students thought they still had time.

Mugging. Something every kid on earth goes through just to get a few more As on their report card.

That goes for Minju. She can never lose out on a single A because studying is all she can do. Other than working her off for the first alphabet, she believes she was nothing.

She didn't think people cared about her if her name doesn't appear on the top of the ranking list.

She was only known as the top scorer, the girl who doesn't socialise, the girl who comes to school to listen to classes.

And there she is, sitting at the front, doing her work when everyone's out playing and having lunch.

"She's not tired?"

"Why does she always study?"

Minju hears some of her classmates at the back talking about her. She'd be lying if she said she didn't mind.

She ignores them, trying to focus just to get greeted by headaches.

Migraines are her best friends. They never leave her alone. The only thing that stuck to her throughout high school.

Reaching into her pencil case, she pulls out a tiny bottle that had pills in them. Pills that weaken those throbs in her head and are easy to find at any pharmacy store.

But this one was extra strong because the normal ones do nothing.

She swallows them whole and sips on her water.





 

Yujin walks up the stairs, turning past the pillar when she bumps into someone.

"Oh? Where are you going? Have you eaten?" She heard the girl ask. Hyewon. They're friends.

Yujin points. "Library. I should start studying." she shows her files.

"You're studying?" Hyewon laughs. "I think it's a little too late, don't you think?"

Yujin's at the bottom of the list. Out of 215 students in the school.

She was in 215th place.

Sometimes she climbs up to 214th place when her grades had a variety. But that rarely happens.

"I'm trying," Yujin said. "I still have time before the real exam. I just need to pass this one, on the dot," she assures.

Hyewon pats her shoulder. "Fighting." she encourages, proud that Yujin was doing something.

Yujin nods before walking to where she intends to go.

Through the glass doors, down the shelves. She finds a seat at the side that had the sun shining nicely on the table.

It was the perfect spot. Charging station at the side, vending machine just a few steps away, and a pillar she could lean on if she falls asleep.

"Time to study," she whispers to herself, taking out her pencil case.

After a while, she did manage to do something. By something, she just read through her textbook.

That's when someone appears beside her.

Yujin adjusts her reading glasses, facing the girl. She looks at her nametag. "Kim Minju," she mumbles. "Your name sounds familiar. Where did I hear it from..."

Minju didn't know what she was saying. All she knew was that the girl was sitting in her usual seat.

She comes here almost every day, at this time, on this exact seat. There was not one day someone was here.

But not today.

"Ah!" Yujin softly exclaims. "First place?" she beams, remembering the name at the top of the list. Her smile drops when Minju just stood there with knitted eyebrows.

"Is there something wrong? Do you need me to do anything?" Yujin didn't know what to do.

Minju shook her head, deciding to give up on that seat for the day. She made a mental note to come earlier before this girl takes the seat again.

Yujin watched her sit a few seats away. She shrugs and goes back to do her work.

An hour or two passed. Yujin was about to fall asleep when the sun softens its rays.

She stretches her arms up, crossing them when she felt chills through her body.

Taking off her AirPods, she hears rattling which made her look. She then saw Minju swallowing some sort of pills. It made her wonder if the girl was sick.

She knows Minju studies a lot based on what other people say. "Is it some kind of vitamin?" Yujin mumbles but didn't think too much about it.

She stood up, wanting to go to the vending machine. She instantly stopped when she saw Minju tilting her head up, holding onto her nose.

"Omo." The moment she saw blood dripping, she panicked. Yujin quickly went to her seat and took a pack of tissues she always keeps in her pencil case.

With a fast reaction, she gives the tissue to Minju. The girl leans her head back with the tissue covering her nose.

Yujin gently held onto the back of the girl's head. "Lean forward," she told Minju.

The girl listened even though it didn't quite make sense to her. Won't the blood keep flowing? She thought, pinching her nose bridge.

Yujin grabs more tissue, putting it into Minju's hand. "You'll be swallowing your blood if you tilt your head back." she sees the girl glancing at her.

"Breathe with your mouth or you'll pass out." Yujin walks toward the vending machine.

Minju checked if she was still bleeding, using the rest of the tissues to clean her nose.

A bottle of water appears in front of her. "Drink this." Yujin opens the cap, places it beside the papers and sits next to the girl.

Minju crumples the bloodstained tissues in her palm but made sure none of it gets onto herself.

She hesitantly retrieves the bottle, sipping on it. Glancing at Yujin's nametag, she draws her gaze up to see the girl looking at her with worried eyes.

"Did you eat?" Yujin asks.

Minju caps the bottle, not knowing how to answer her even though it was a simple question. She nods despite never talking to her before.

"How do you get a nosebleed in an air-conditioned environment?"

"It happens anywhere." Minju was about to continue her work but the girl wasn't leaving.

Yujin hums. "This is not the first time?"

"Do you not get nosebleeds?" Minju asks, picks up her pen and does her work. She multitasks pretty effortlessly.

"Not often. Have you seen the doctor?"

Minju shakes her head. "What for?"

"Because you're clearly not resting enough." Yujin insists. "You have little eyebags, get nosebleeds often, and don't bring a bottle of water around."

"Do you know me?"

"Yes. First place." Yujin shifts in her seat. "You work harder than anyone."

Minju ignores her, but not to the point she shuts her out entirely.

"I'm last place." Yujin proudly said although it's not the best thing. But she embraces it.

She didn't get a response. "I'm Yujin." she introduces, trying to get to know Minju.

"I know." The girl says, honestly wanting this conversation to end. She has things to do.

"Oh? You know me? Have you been watching me?" Yujin lightly pokes Minju's shoulder, earning a weird look.

The girl points at her nametag. "I'm not blind and why would I know you?"

"I don't know. But I know you. First place." Yujin smiles out of nowhere. She looks at the pill bottle. "What's that?"

Minju flips her book.

"Are you hurt?"

"It's for headaches." She answers when Yujin seemed to have way too many questions for her. "Are you just going to keep talking? Don't you need to study?"

"I've been doing that for the past hour and don't plan to do that for the rest of the week." Yujin leans back in the chair. "How long do you study?" she curiously asks.

Minju no longer felt like entertaining her.

Yujin puckered her lips, sulking. "All you really do is study. They weren't wrong." she smacks her lips softly.

She stands up and goes back to her seat, totally clueless about those eyes that drew hurt across them.

Minju let out a tiny sigh. She knew that was how people see her but she doesn't really have a choice.

When she was about to write, she notices a piece of paper sliding towards her.

She looks up to see Yujin smiling. "Can you help me?" she points at the paper. "I've been stuck here for as long as I can remember."

Minju looks at her and back at the paper. It was the first question and this topic was taught in the first year of high school. It's currently the third year.

"Have you tried?"

"Duh. I wouldn't be asking you if I haven't."

Yujin wasn't even someone she knew, yet, the girl treated her like a friend.

"Unless...do you not know how to do it too?!" The taller girl gasps, covering . "The smartest girl in the cohort?!"

Why is she being so dramatic? Minju took the paper, looking at it.

Using her pencil, she quickly solves it. Yujin swore she only blinked once when the girl returned the paper.

"That's all, right?" Minju asks.

Yujin looks at the workings. "You're supposed to teach me."

"You asked if I knew how to do." The girl points at the paper. "I did it."

"Still." Yujin sighs, taking the paper. She didn't understand how the girl's mind worked. "Teach me."

"Will you leave me alone?" Minju requests.

She doesn't want to waste a second of her time here teaching someone who probably wouldn't know what she's saying. "I hate being disturbed."

Yujin sloppily straightens her back, watching the girl completely shutting her out this time.

"Why are you so cold..." she slithers back to her own seat, constantly looking at Minju who is solely focused on her studies.

Yujin scoffs, sulking when she gets nothing in return for helping the girl out earlier.




 

Within the bustling cafeteria sits a group of friends.

Hyewon swallows her food, gesturing at Yujin. "Did you find out who's the tutor your dad hired?"

Her father might've been worried about her grades.

The girl slurps her noodles, shaking her head. With a mouth full, "I'm meeting her today."

"Don't speak with a mouth full." Wonyoung smacks her shoulder.

Yujin swallows. "After school. I'm meeting her at Bloom's cafe. Before that, I have a few hours to prepare." she smiles, already thinking of what to wear.

"It's not a date. Why do you need to prepare? The only thing you need is your brain that you forget to bring almost every single day."

Wonyoung's comment made Yujin frown. "First impressions are a thing."

"Needing a tutor is your first impression." Wonyoung retorts. "Dumb."

"You're not any better."

"I am."

"Stop fighting. She's almost 100 places above you, Ahn Yujin." Hyewon ceased their minor bickering. "But how old is she? She could be an adult. Do you wanna date someone 20 years older than you?" She almost laughed.

"Well." Yujin didn't think of that. "But he did say she was in university."

"Oh, so 3 years older. Not bad." Hyewon said. "She'll have a great time tutoring a kid like you."

"I'm not a kid." Yujin wasn't pleased.

Wonyoung pats her head. "You are."

"Shut up." Yujin flings the girl's hand away.

Her eyes drew past Hyewon, seeing a girl stand up after finishing her food.

"Help me clear this." Yujin gets off the table, shifting her tray to Wonyoung.

"Ya, where are you going?!"

"Disturb someone." Yujin walks off, catching up with Minju who returned her tray.

She taps on the girl's shoulder. "First place," she calls. "Or nosebleed." Yujin smiles playfully.

Minju only gave her a look before walking ahead.

"Rude." Yujin went beside her.

"What do you want?" They exit the cafeteria.

"What club are you in?" Yujin asks, curious.

Minju furrows her eyebrows. "Go find out yourself." she stops at the lockers in the hallway, turning the numbers of the lock.

"You forgot something."

"What?"

"Being nice," Yujin said.

She hears a small scoff. "You're not my mom." Minju takes her books from the locker.

"My mom doesn't tell me to be nice. I'm naturally nice." Yujin follows her.

Minju walked faster than usual but the girl just kept on tagging behind. "Why are you following me?"

Yujin lifts a brow. "I'm not. My class just had to be next to yours." she points up front and walks ahead.

Minju stood there confused, seeing the latter smile at her before entering her class.

"What's wrong with her?" she wonders, shaking her head.




 

Yujin comes out of her bathroom and goes to her bed. "Should I wear something comfortable? Or cool?" she picks up two sets of tops.

A tank top she'd wear under a bomber jacket, or a plain graphic shirt she was going to pair with denim jeans.

"Does she know I'm in high school?" She whispers, eyeing the two fits. "What am I thinking? She'll be teaching me high school ."

She flings the graphic shirt to the side. "I'll just go with this. It's humid out." she takes the tank top and puts it on.

To her, this felt like a blind date. She doesn't know who this tutor was, only the fact that she was in university.

Exactly like a blind date.

And Yujin liked the anticipation.

...

The girl walks along the streets, checking to see whether she was at the right place. She got the tutor's number from her dad.

Weirdly enough, this girl didn't have a profile photo or a status in her bio. Just a small dash. Simple.

She stood in front of a cafe that had Bloom's written largely at the top.

"This should be it." She pushes the door, stepping in.

Immediately, the aroma of coffee beans greeted her. There were people around, mostly students.

She walks up the stairs when there weren't seats below. The tutor told her she'd be here soon. This is the first time I'm early. Yujin surveyed the area.

She sat at the high stools and waited, telling the tutor she has arrived.

Bored, she places her phone on the table. As she looks up, a familiar face grasped her attention.

Their gazes met. Minju quickly avoids her gaze and went to the other side.

Before she could go anywhere, Yujin stops her. "Ya Kim Minju. Why are you avoiding me?"

"What do you want now?" Minju adjusts her sling bag, annoyed. She was carrying workbooks, the bag being a little small.

"I just wanted to say hi. Stop frowning." Yujin reaches her hand to the girl's forehead but Minju pushes it away.

"Then what are you doing here?" she asked.

"Blind date." Yujin happily utters. "Although it's only me who thinks that." she shrugs.

"You?"

"Stuff." Minju ignores her and went to an empty seat.

Yujin snickers. She's really something.

She decided not to disturb the brunette when she received another text. Her tutor has arrived.

She looks around for anyone coming in but didn't see any. Only a few guys.

She went back to her seat. I'm here but I don't see you. She texts back, looking up.

I'm in the high chairs. Yujin sent the message and saw Minju looking her way.

"You're kidding me." Minju sighs, fingers tightening around her phone.

Exchanging gazes, Yujin realises. "Oh wow. So much for a university student." she clicks her tongue a few times.

Minju stood up, going to her.

"You're the pretty med student my dad was talking about?" Yujin watched her sit opposite her.

"I don't want to be your blind date either." Minju put her stuff on the table.

The girl hums. "You lied to my dad? Why?"

"Can you not ask too much? I'm not your friend. As much as I hate being your tutor, I have to do it." Minju gestures for her to take out her stuff.

Yujin finds her amusing. Minju was someone who does what she was tasked to do no matter what.

"What do you want to drink?" Yujin didn't feel like going straight to math.

Minju zips her pencil case. "Why?"

"Aren't you supposed to get to know your student before doing anything else? How would you know what I'm weak in?"

"Everything." Minju answers.

"Damn." Yujin couldn't deny it. "Fair enough." she nods.

"So, what do you want to drink? I'm not going to stop asking till I get your order."

"You're not a staff here." Minju's remark made Yujin press her lips together.

"Then I'll tell my dad you lied about having a university certificate." She stands up but the girl sat her down.

"Ice americano," Minju said.

"Basic." Yujin hums. "But I like it." she smiles and stands up.

Minju watched the latter leave. She sighs deeply, wondering what she got herself into.

She's doing this for the money. Being in a household where she settles the bills, it's not the easiest.

This job not only lets her revise but makes it easier for her to cover monthly expenses. And she doesn't need to stand for hours at the convenience store.

Tutoring saves time and effort. It only makes sense for her to accept the job. But she didn't think this would happen.

The girl came back, placing the drinks at the side. "Decaf." Yujin gently pushes Minju's drink towards her.

"It helps with headaches." She tapped her own forehead.

"Then what's the point?"

"Taste." The girl confidently says, sipping her latte. "So what are you going to teach me?"

The brunette reveals the papers. "Heavy-weightage questions," she says. "Since the exams are two weeks away, just memorise the steps to these and pass it. There's no way you'll get an A this fast."

"I don't want an A either." Yujin read through the concepts, getting bored.

She said it so easily, Minju just stared at her. She would physically die if she got a B+. She needs a scholarship—a free ride to university.

"Just this?" Yujin looks up. Minju nods, seeing her flip through the papers.

The girl starts trying some questions on her own. Minju did the same so she could have answers if Yujin gets them wrong.

After a while, Yujin asks while writing, "Why are you doing this? Tutoring me."

Minju lifts her pen from the paper. "Money," she answers to the point.

"Money...don't you have parents?"

"I don't rely on them," Minju says, eyes on her workings.

"Why? You're still a student."

"I don't want to be like you."

Yujin got taken aback but smiled. "What about me?" Minju looks up, unintentionally staring at how those big eyes glowed before her.

She didn't want to be like her. She wasn't anything like her.

Yujin had everything. From the day she met her in the library, she knew who the latter was.

Yujin was someone everyone was fond of. She was sociable, carefree, and didn't show any signs of things bringing her down.

Despite being the last in the whole cohort, she was still happy. Unlike Minju who was the first. She never finds joy in being the first when everyone's goal is where she is.

She'll be lying if she was never jealous of how easily Yujin could smile. With every little thing happening, Yujin just kept on smiling even when there wasn't a reason to.

How can someone be this happy? Minju wonders.

"Do you like me?"

Minju frowns when she heard that. "Why would I like you?"

"You're always staring at me," Yujin claims, keeping that little grin at the corner of her lips.

"I don't."

"You do." The girl leans closer.

Minju used the back of her pen and made her sit back down. "Do your work."

"You're not denying." Yujin wanted to make that frown disappear but she didn't quite know how.

"If I keep doing that, you'll just argue with me."

"I'd rather argue with you than do math." Yujin's statement earned a little sigh.

Minju was on the verge of giving up, but she was someone who'll do something till she sees the end. That means, getting Yujin's grades up.

"Then do you want to do History?" Minju's question made the girl giggle.

"You're funny."

"I'm serious."

"I'm not."

Minju deeply sighs, shoving her face into her hands. Seems like someone is sick of her student.

"Why don't we make a deal?" Yujin sips on her drink, seeing Minju lift her head.

"What?"

"You'll continue being my tutor until we graduate."

"Why...would I do that if you're not even listening now? I'll just have to get your grades up." Minju shakes her head. This is too much obligation for her.

Yujin hums, thinking of something. "Then I'll listen if you agree to tutor me." she leans back, folding her arms.

Minju thought about it. "And see you every weekend? No thanks."

"You're getting paid," Yujin said. "If that's not enough, I can increase it."

"You have the cash to burn?"

"My father's willing to do anything just for me to graduate."

"Why?"

"I don't know." Yujin shrugs. "But I have stuff I wanna do and I really need to graduate. So I see where he's coming from."

If Yujin does what she says, Minju would have enough to quit her other part-time jobs. That would mean she could cover her little brother's tuition.

If she does it longer, and every weekend, life would be so much easier.

"So? Yes or no?" she anticipates the girl's answer.

"Okay...but I have a condition."

Yujin smiles so wide. "What is it?"

"You can't tell anyone about this."

"Why?"

"No reason."

Yujin was confused but didn't think too much of it. "Okay. Then it's a deal." She reaches her hand out for a handshake.

Minju smacks her hand and asks her to finish up those few questions.

Yujin sighs in disappointment, putting her hand down. "You ." she sulks, lazily picking up her pen.


 

Yujin's sitting in class during break time. One of the unusual sights to see since the girl goes everywhere but the classroom.

What was she doing?

Homework that's given by Minju.

"Why does she give me questions that take hours to solve?" she exaggerates, pressing numbers into her calculator.

"Yah Ahn Yujin. You're not going to eat?" Wonyoung took the seat next to her.

Yujin was immersed in the work as the taller girl examines what she was doing. "Math? You're doing math now?"

"I need to finish this. You can go eat with Hyewon." she taps the pen on her forehead, trying to think.

Wonyoung was more than surprised to see her like this. She wonders who made her think she could study.

"Do you want anything? I can get something for you."

Yujin looks at her, beaming adorably. "Ham and cheese sandwich please."

"Okay." Wonyoung pats her head and stands up.

Yujin swears the past few days required using her brain more than she needed for the duration of her life.

"Done." she clicks her pen, putting it down. "Will she be in the library?" she slowly stands up, stretching her back.

Making sure she took everything, she heads towards the library. She assumed Minju was there but stops in her tracks when she looked into the class next door.

Minju was alone in her seat, doing her work quietly.

Yujin inevitably smiles and steps into the class. The brunette didn't realise her presence till Yujin decides to knock on her table.

"I'm done." Yujin showed her the papers.

"What are you doing here?"

The girl places the papers on the table. "I finished everything."

"That fast?" Minju checks. She thought the latter was lying but no. Though she hasn't compared them to the answers.

Yujin drags a chair and sits down next to Minju. "You can check the answers. I did it all by myself." she proudly utters, watching Minju take out stuff from her file.

"And don't worry. I'll still pay you for this. Your time wouldn't be wasted."

Minju didn't know how the girl answered every possible question that was going around in her head.

"If you get everything correct, there's no need for me to teach you." Minju mumbles, flipping through the papers.

She ticks and crosses. There were as many correct answers as there were wrong ones.

"I take back my words." Minju puts her pen down. "I told you to refer to the steps." she points at one of the crucial questions.

"If I do that, I would die in the exams. I have to memorise them first." Yujin took back the papers. "I'll do better."

"You better." Minju sighs. She glances to see those dimples on Yujin's cheeks. The latter had her lips pressed together, arranging the pieces of paper.

Yujin looks up to see the girl staring at her. She widens her eyes. "Blood." she points at Minju.

"Hm?"

Yujin quickly reaches into her pocket, taking out a packet of tissue. She shoves a piece to Minju who plugged it up her nose.

"I'm glad I brought it." Yujin blows out a short breath, settling the tissue packet on the table. "Did you get a nosebleed just by looking at me?" she chuckles but the girl wasn't reacting the way she thought she would.

"You didn't get enough sleep again?"

"Why do you care?" Minju's response made her jaw drop.

Yujin shakes her head in disbelief. Never has she met someone who doesn't appreciate her care. But she understands to an extent.

"I just do." Yujin watched as the girl looks away, adjusting the tissue in her nose.

At the side of her eyes, she saw the same pill bottle in Minju's pencil case. She reaches over, taking it out.

"Why are you taking that?" Minju noticed.

Yujin looks at the pill bottle. They were filled with Aspirin. "I'm confiscating it." she shoves it into her pocket, preventing Minju from taking them back.

"Give it back to me." The girl put her palm out.

Yujin firmly shakes her head. "There are other ways to get rid of headaches," she said and looked at Minju. "Like smiling."

"How do you know it's for headaches?"

"You told me."

Minju rolls her eyes, taking out the tissue.

"You should go see a doctor," Yujin told her. "Every time I see you, you're either bleeding out of your nose or shooting me death glares. There might be a diagnosis for the bleeding but not the stares."

"You should go." Minju lightly nudges her.

"Why?" Yujin wanted to stay a little longer but heard her name being called.

Wonyoung was at the door. "What are you doing in there?" The girl tilts her head.

Yujin glances at Minju who was just in her own world once again with a new piece of tissue in her nose.

"I was just passing by." she stands up, going to Wonyoung. The girl took the bottle of water in her hands and went back in.

Yujin places the bottle on Minju's table. "Make sure to drink enough water." she takes her stuff and goes to the door.

Wonyoung looks at Minju before following her friend out. "You know her?" she asks.

Yujin shook her head. "I was just helping her out."

"What happened?"

"Nothing." Yujin puts her hand out as Wonyoung places the bread in her palm.

As much as the taller girl was confused, she didn't feel the need to ask more. Although it was a little unsettling that Yujin wasn't telling her about it.




 

Yujin leans her head against her palm, looking at Minju who was sitting opposite her. They're in a different cafe since the girl didn't want to go to a crowded place.

They're currently in the midst of another tutoring session and Minju's checking the latter's answers.

"Why do you not want to be seen with me?" Yujin asks.

That was the only conclusion she came to when the girl always acts like a total stranger when there were others around them.

Especially those from their school.

"I never said that." Minju continues marking the paper.

"It feels like that. Are you embarrassed about me? Because I'm in the last place?"

Minju looks up when she said those words. She didn't intend for her to think that way. "Why would you think that?"

Yujin crosses her arms above the table. "We could stay in school when you tutor me but you choose to come all the way out here. If it's not because of that, why else do you push me away when there are schoolmates around?" she genuinely questions.

"We stay in school most of the time. You'd rather I teach you in there?"

Yujin nods. "It'll be easier for you. I know you stay near the school."

"You're stalking me?" Minju knits her eyebrows.

"No. It just so happens I walk the same way and you turn down the other street. And that's where the road ends." Yujin takes a sip of her drink.

Minju got rid of her weird thoughts. "I prefer staying out," she said, going back to grading the papers.

Yujin puckers her lips and looks around. The smell of cakes and freshly brewed coffee, subtle mutters here and there. I guess it's not all bad. She puts her hands into her jacket pockets.

"Ya, you told me you'll get it right this time." Minju lifts the paper, pointing at the exact question. "What's this?"

Yujin squints her eyes. "Did I do the wrong question?"

"You used the wrong formula. The numbers aren't even the same as the ones in the question. Do you close your eyes while solving them?"

"Maybe." Yujin smiles when Minju looked utterly annoyed.

The girl takes in a deep breath. "I'll watch you do it." she gave the paper to Yujin. "We're not leaving until you solve it."

"Does it matter to you if I solve it or not?"

"Yes."

"Okay, then we're not leaving this place." Yujin t