It was 'that' day again.

The day where countless of students worry about their current class standing, the status of their grades, and how they did during the previous examinations. Some don't bother to check the huge bulletin board filled with names along with their rankings to avoid feeling the disappointment, while others still proceed to look and don't care about whatever they get as long as they don't have to repeat the semester. It was a normal school setting, really, and this day wasn't as important as the other school events for a certain amount of students. 

Of course, Yoo Jimin was an exception.

For seven consecutive years, Jimin's name has been sitting on the top list out of nine hundred students, and no one has ever made her lose her throne, as what others say. She was the university favorite, and was admired by many; not only the students, but also the teachers. And of course, it was not a surprise that she was also elected as the student body president of the whole college department and has also been in this position since her freshman year.

In terms of greatness when it comes to academics, it's definitely Jimin that gets talked about most of the time, and she has already gotten so comfortable with it; academic validation was what she has always been seeking the most. 

This day was certainly a different one, though. And it was something that Miss Number One had never expected at all. 

Jimin's class in Mechanical Law had just ended, and she was on her way to check the bulletin board. She woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, and she knew that seeing her name on the top would make her feel less miserable, so she decided to check the results earlier than usual. Although, it kind of felt weird as she got closer and closer to the board, because she has never heard anyone congratulate her for being the first once again.

When she was a few inches away from the bulletin board, she squinted her eyes a bit to search for her name. It was a bit difficult since the fonts on the paper were smaller than before, and there were other students in front that were checking the results as well. 

She was about to squish herself in the middle when someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her away from the crowd. Jimin was about to lash out, but her heart immediately calmed down when she realized that it was just her best friend, Aeri. 

“Hey, smarty pants! Is your class done?” 

“Yeah,” Jimin answered, half of her attention still on the bulletin board and the students surrounding it. “I decided to check the board early since I had a bad morning and I thought looking at the results would make me feel a bit better. Let's go check it?” 

Jimin didn't miss the sudden uneasiness in Aeri's face when she spoke about the results. But she just shrugged it off and thought maybe Aeri just found the reason as to why she wanted to see the papers weird.

“Yeah, um, we can do that later when the crowd isn't too big anymore. Let's go grab lunch outside? I've been craving convenient store food since last week!” 

“Sure, but you better accompany me later to check it.” Jimin reminded, but Aeri didn't answer. Instead, she grabbed the girl's hand once again and pulled her completely far away from the bulletin board. The student body president just sighed and let herself get dragged by her best friend towards the convenient store. Luckily, the place was just across the street so they didn't have to walk a lot anymore.

“By the way, it's Engineering Week next week. Will you be participating in the contests?” 

Jimin smiled before sipping on her iced strawberry milk.

“You know, I always do,” she said. “Besides, it's gonna be a really fun event this time around since the whole council prepared so much for it. There are more academic related contests, and the dean also approved our suggestion to give the winners and participants extra points for their final grades.”

“That suggestion sounds like something you'd say.” Aeri commented. “I just know you bribed your fellow council mates to agree with it.” 

Jimin rolled her eyes playfully.

“This will also be a motivation for students to be more active when it comes to participating in extra-corricular activities. I hate to admit, but last year's event was really boring, and the students who joined the contests could be counted in one's fingers.” 

“Okay, whatever, big brain. What are the other fun stuff in the events for next week? I don't want it to be just about studying, studying, and studying.” 

“More food and game booths, of course. I know what your preferences are,” she joked, which made Aeri's smile grow wider.

“That's more like it!”

Once Jimin and Aeri finished having their lunch, they went back to school to prepare for their next classes. They weren't classmates, but they were in the same department with similar schedules, and they also stayed in the same dormitory so it wouldn't be too hard to catch up with each other. 

“You didn't accompany me to the bulletin board,” Jimin uttered, pouting as she held on to the door handle of their classroom. 

“I forgot about it since we talked about so many things earlier.” Aeri stated with an apologetic look. “But I promise I'll accompany you before we head back to the dorm. I'll even treat you to your favorite ice cream shop for working so hard all the time, even if it gets too stressful for you. How's that for compensation?”

“That's a promise then. I'll see you later!” 

When Aeri bid her goodbyes, Jimin walked inside the classroom and went to her respective seat. She always sits in front to be able to understand the lessons more, and it was kind of an advantage to some of her classmates since the professors usually call her first to answer or solve problems. 

“Hi, pres! Did you check the bulletin board yet?” It was her classmate, Yeonjun, and he was still wearing his basketball jersey. Jimin assumed he had just finished training since his forehead was still a bit sweaty. 

“No, I haven't. I didn't have the time to. Anyway, go change to your uniform. This type of clothing is only allowed inside the gym, not inside classrooms,” she reprimanded. 

“You should definitely worry about your ranking more than what I'm wearing right now,” Yeonjun joked. He said it a bit loud, and Jimin wasn't able to miss the laughter of her other classmates that were seated at the back. Her forehead creased, clueless about whatever the guy was talking about. 

“Oh, right. You haven't checked yet,” Yeonjun said, scratching his nape before heading to his seat. “I suggest you not check it anymore. I don't want our dearest student body president and university favorite to feel disheartened.” 

Jimin's throat went dry. Her mind suddenly became cloudy, making her unconsciously run outside the classroom while tightly gripping on her backpack. She rushed towards the bulletin board and quickly searched for her name. 

At that very moment, Jimin felt like someone just threw a bucket of cold water at her. 

“Number.. two?” She said, almost whispering. For some, it may not be a big deal since Jimin still received a really high grade nonetheless. But for people, like her parents, who constantly gave her so much pressure and made her think that she's always supposed to be the first to everything, that would be a difficult topic to deal with.

She stared at the name on top of hers, and it was her first time encountering it. For years of becoming the university's student body president, she has memorized almost all of the names of the students since she was usually the one who addressed class-related concerns. 

Kim Minjeong.

“Just.. who is this girl?” Jimin uttered in a shaky voice as she eyed on the grade that she received. The distance wasn't even far apart, and Jimin just needed three more points to be able to keep the number one spot for herself.

Sighing in dismay, Jimin walked away from the bulletin board and chose to skip the remaining classes she had that afternoon. She was never the type to skip classes, and she hated the idea of her attendance list being ruined. But she wasn't in the right state to study or learn anything, so she just went to her favorite spot inside the campus where no one really goes much— the school garden. 

She sat on one of the benches and stared at the newly bloomed pink roses in front