En-Magine

1 : Hell Week (Heewon)

🎧 Listen while you read: En-Magine Spotify Playlist (linked in story description) 🎧

⏪ Highlight songs: Devil by the Window, Lucifer, Teeth ⏩

"Dude, we're barely halfway through dead week and I already feel very deceased," Jay groans from his end of the video call. He runs a frustrated hand over his face before combing through his hair and tugging aggravatedly at the roots. His expression is set into his classic 'I'm frustrated' pout where his eyebrows are drawn tightly together his his jaw protrudes slightly from grinding down on his molars.

"Perhaps hopping on this call was a mistake," Heeseung mutters under his breath as he continues to stare at the blank document in front of him. The tiny cursor at the top of the luminescent screen blinks tauntingly. Heeseung has half a mind to realize it's a rather symbolic image of how he currently feels—stalling and waiting for an idea to hit. It'll happen any moment now. He's overly optimistic it will. He can almost feel it.

"What is that supposed to mean?" the younger boy questions, sounding rather offended but Heeseung knows he doesn't care that much. Heeseung's gaze flits over to his phone that's sitting on its stand beside his laptop and he grimaces when he notices Jay staring right at him through the screen, an unamused expression painted on the younger's features.

"Jay, you've been complaining about how much work you have to do for the past 30 minutes, instead of actually doing the work," Jake laughs from somewhere off-screen. "Didn't you literally force Heeseung to FaceTime you so that you can feel productive?"

"Yeah, and it's not working very well. He's not being helpful like I thought he would be. I haven't gotten anything done," Jay shoots back.

"Because all you've been doing is complaining! Heeseung is quietly working on his end. You're just choosing to be distracted. You can't blame this on anyone but yourself."

Heeseung rolls his eyes but cracks a tiny smile as he listens to the two third-year roommates bicker back and forth, momentarily forgetting his own frustrations.

Jay had insisted on calling the older boy tonight because he needed a source of motivation to study instead of binging some mind-numbing series on Netflix. Jake had been the one to suggest calling Heeseung after learning yesterday that Heeseung had an extremely productive start to the most-dreaded week by university students around the world.

It's currently the week before final exams when all professors unanimously decide to drop a hefty serving of project deadlines onto their students' overflowing plates—infamously known as dead week. It's like professors believe the entire universe revolves around them and their class, completely disregarding the fact that most students typically take four to five classes each semester. Heeseung's head is already swimming in dizzying circles trying to juggle his current five classes. He can't even begin to imagine how the students who petitioned to voluntarily take more classes are holding up.

Distantly, he reminds himself to check in on Sunoo. He remembers Jay foretelling Sunoo's ultimate demise earlier this semester when the bright-eyed second-year student giddily announced he would be taking 18 units instead of the normal 15. Poor Sunoo was so excited to get ahead of his general education requirements. Heeseung can only imagine that the younger boy is quite literally drowning in a mountain of papers in his room right now. But luckily for Heeseung, the ever-so-determined go-getter, he's been able to knock out two final papers in under three days and is well on his way to finishing his third report. Well, he was. Until Jay called.