Love in the Halls [Lee Donghyuck]

Chapter 83: The Haze Before the End

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The last week of school before exams had a strange, fleeting quality to it. Days bled into each other in a blur of study sessions, group lunches, and moments of laughter. Narae found herself caught between the pressure of the impending exams and the bittersweet realization that the school year was nearly over.

Her routine had subtly shifted, too. Renjun, Jeno, and occasionally Jaemin, had become her main companions for studying during the day. Renjun's calm and steady presence helped keep her grounded, while Jeno's easygoing nature made even the dullest moments bearable. Jaemin, when he showed up, added his playful charm to the mix, filling their time with his lighthearted teasing.

The first few days of the week were filled with endless study sessions in the library. Renjun, naturally, was the most focused, his head often buried in books, while Jeno and Jaemin's attention drifted more often than not. They spent hours in the cramped corners of the library, hunched over textbooks with the soft hum of ceiling fans and the occasional cough or shuffling of papers in the background. The air was always thick with the smell of old books and the low murmur of whispered conversations.

Narae spent most of her time leaning back in her chair, pretending to study, her eyes darting between the pages and her friends. Renjun always seemed so immersed in his work, his brow furrowed in concentration, but there was something comforting about his presence beside her. Jeno, on the other hand, would glance at her every few minutes with a small smile, as if to check if she was still paying attention or if she had dozed off from boredom.

One afternoon, as the sun filtered through the large windows of the cafeteria, the four of them sat together, barely talking as they ate their lunch. The rhythmic chatter of other students and the clinking of utensils filled the room, but it felt distant, muffled by the haze of the week. Narae pushed her food around her plate, occasionally glancing up to find Jeno staring into space, clearly distracted. Renjun sat across from her, scribbling notes in a small notebook, and Jaemin, leaning back in his chair, balanced a pencil on his nose, earning a raised eyebrow from Jeno.

"How are you so calm?" Jeno finally asked, his tone half exasperated, half amused, as he watched Renjun.

Renjun didn't even look up from his notebook. "I'm not. I'm just prepared."

Narae smiled slightly at that, but the words felt like they were slipping through her fingers, as though they wouldn't stick.

By midweek, the air had grown heavier, more restless. The hallways were filled with students exchanging notes, hushed conversations about study plans, and frantic discussions about which teacher had hinted at what during lectures. The atmosphere buzzed with nervous energy, yet Narae couldn't fully engage with it. It was like she was watching everything happen from a distance, almost disconnected from the chaos.

One day after classes, they found themselves lounging under the large oak tree in the courtyard. The leaves rustled gently in the breeze, casting dappled shadows on the grass below. Jeno lay sprawled out on the ground, using his backpack as a makeshift pillow, his arm flung over his face to block out the sun. Renjun sat cross-legged, his back against the tree trunk, eyes closed as if meditating. Narae sat beside him, her legs stretched out in front of her, while Jaemin sat on the edge of the group, absently scrolling through his phone.

It was peaceful, but the looming exams hovered in the back of her mind, never fully allowing her to relax.

"You know," Jeno said, his voice breaking the silence, "it's crazy how fast the year's gone by."

Narae hummed in agreement, though her thoughts were elsewhere. The year had been long and short all at once, each day stretching on endlessly until suddenly they were at the end. The realization felt surreal.

"Are you nervous?" Jaemin asked her, looking up from his phone with a knowing smirk.

Narae shook her head. "No more than usual."

Jaemin nodded, though he didn't seem convinced. "You're always so cool about this stuff."

The week passed in fragments. Moments of clarity followed by stretches of blurry routine. They'd sit together in silence, the sounds of the school around them dulling as their little group formed its own bubble of quiet companionship. The closer the exams got, the less Narae found herself worrying. It wasn't that she didn't care—she did—but the last week of school felt like an epilogue to a story that had already been told.

Thursday came with a sudden rush of reality. As she sat in her usual spot in the classroom, the afternoon sun filtering through the windows, Narae watched Renjun and Jeno in front of her, talking in hushed voices about study schedules. Jaemin sat on her left, his head resting on his folded arms, half-asleep from what had probably been a late-night study session.

Narae leaned back in her chair, her gaze drifting to the window. Outside, the campus was bathed in golden light, the familiar view of trees swaying in the breeze suddenly tinged with the melancholy of things coming to an end.

It felt like the world was moving forward, inching closer to the final bell of the school year, and all Narae could do was watch.

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