Hearts Entwined || PpoToz

CHAPTER 36

NO ONE POV

The morning of the exams had arrived, and the atmosphere was thick with nervous anticipation. Seniors huddled in groups, shifting on their feet as they waited for the exam hall doors to open. The tension was palpable as they mentally reviewed everything they’d crammed in the past week.

Seoyeon, Yooyeon, Xinyu, Sohyun, and Nakyoung stood together, their usual banter more subdued today. The teachers had already assigned their seats, and they knew they wouldn’t be able to sit together. The reality of the exams was finally sinking in.

Yooyeon, her face still showing a faint bruise from the day before, gave them all a soft smile. “Do your best today, okay?” Her voice was calm, though it carried the weight of everything that had happened recently.

Nakyoung, always the first to voice her concern, frowned. “Are you sure you’re okay? You still look—”

“I’m fine,” Yooyeon interrupted gently, her smile not faltering. “Really, Nakyoung. Let’s just focus on getting through today.”

Xinyu shot her a skeptical look but didn’t push further. They all knew Yooyeon wouldn’t admit it if something was wrong.

Before anyone could say anything more, a loud voice cut through the tension.

“GOOD LUCK!”

Everyone turned their heads to see Yubin waving at them from across the courtyard, Mayu standing beside her. Yubin grinned widely, completely unbothered by the nervous energy surrounding the group of seniors.

Mayu gave them a thumbs up, trying to act supportive but clearly embarrassed by Yubin’s loudness. “Good luck,” she echoed more softly, but the sincerity in her eyes was clear.

Yubin, ever the boisterous one, shouted again. “YOU GUYS WILL DO GREAT! I KNOW IT!”

Mayu quickly shushed her, tugging at her sleeve with an exasperated look. “Yubin, keep it down…”

The group couldn’t help but laugh. Even with the weight of the exams pressing down on them, Yubin and Mayu’s antics were a welcome distraction.

"Good luck to you two as well," Sohyun called back with a smile.

The teachers began calling the students to enter the exam hall. One by one, the seniors started filing in, their faces turning serious again as the reality of the moment returned.

Sohyun, Xinyu, and Nakyoung were among the first to enter, giving their friends quick nods of encouragement before disappearing inside. The tension was rising again, and soon it was just Seoyeon and Yooyeon left outside.

As Seoyeon moved to step forward, Yooyeon reached out, her hand gently grabbing Seoyeon’s arm. Seoyeon turned, surprised to see the faintest hint of uncertainty in Yooyeon’s eyes.

“Wait,” Yooyeon said, her voice barely above a whisper. “About… you know… how you feel about me.” She hesitated for a moment. “I still don’t—”

Before she could finish, Seoyeon smiled, stepping closer. She reached up and, without warning, kissed Yooyeon gently on the cheek.

Yooyeon froze, her breath catching in her throat.

“Does that answer your question?” Seoyeon teased, her eyes glinting with a playful spark.

Yooyeon’s mouth opened to say something, but nothing came out. She was still too stunned by Seoyeon’s sudden gesture, her mind spinning in a thousand different directions.

Seoyeon, ever the composed one, chuckled softly and gave Yooyeon a light pat on the shoulder. “Come on, we should get inside before the teachers get mad.”

She turned and walked into the exam hall, leaving Yooyeon standing there, rooted to the spot, her hand still gently brushing where Seoyeon’s lips had touched her cheek.

Yooyeon blinked, trying to process what had just happened. Her heart raced, her mind still reeling from the kiss. It wasn’t until Seoyeon’s voice called out to her from the door that she snapped back to reality.

“Yooyeon! Hurry up, or they’ll start without you!”

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Yooyeon quickly followed, but the warmth of Seoyeon’s kiss lingered, distracting her as she stepped into the exam hall.

The exam hall was silent, save for the scratching of pens against paper and the occasional cough or shuffle of a chair. Every senior was hunched over their desks, brows furrowed in concentration. The weight of the final exams pressed heavily on them, and it showed in their tense postures and nervous expressions.

Nakyoung, seated near the back, had her hands clasped tightly together as she scribbled answers. She muttered a silent prayer under her breath, hoping against hope that what she wrote would be enough to pass. “Please, please, let this be right…” she whispered, glancing up at the ceiling for divine intervention.

Xinyu, on the other hand, was furiously scribbling down anything she could remember. She wasn’t entirely sure if her answers were correct, but she figured writing something was better than nothing. Every so often, she’d bite her lip, deep in thought, then jot down another answer with a small, confident nod.

Sohyun, sitting near the front, pressed her fingers to her temple, her head pounding from the stress. She felt the familiar throb of a headache creeping in, but she pushed through, carefully writing out each response. Despite the ache, she managed to focus, knowing she couldn’t afford to lose concentration now.

Seoyeon, seated near the center, was working through the exam with ease, her pencil gliding effortlessly across the paper. She barely seemed fazed, her mind sharp and focused. She had prepared for this, and it showed in the calm, methodical way she moved from question to question, her confidence unwavering.

Yooyeon, however, was not as focused. She sat a few rows behind Seoyeon, her exam paper untouched for the first several minutes. Instead, her gaze was fixed on Seoyeon, watching as she worked with such grace and determination.

She stared at the back of Seoyeon’s head, the way her hand moved fluidly across the page, the slight furrow in her brow as she concentrated. For some reason, Yooyeon couldn’t tear her eyes away. Her mind, which should have been racing with exam answers, was somewhere else entirely.

And then, as she continued to watch Seoyeon, something clicked. It wasn’t just about the exams, the rivalry, or even the kiss. It was something deeper, something that struck her like a lightning bolt in the middle of a quiet room.

Yooyeon’s heart pounded in her chest as the realization settled in, but she quickly forced herself to focus, her fingers gripping her pencil tighter.

Without wasting another second, Yooyeon snapped her attention back to her test, her mind now clear. She began answering her exam questions with newfound urgency, her pen moving swiftly across the page. She wasn’t going to let this moment slip by—not the exam, nor what she had just realized.

But whatever it was, she wasn’t ready to face it just yet.

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Idk how CSAT works so yeah 👍