nurse's office | minsung ✓

38

The day of the bar exam arrived faster than Jisung could have ever prepared for. As Minho drove him to the testing center, the city passed by in a blur—trees, buildings, and people moving on with their normal lives, while his heart thudded in his chest like a drum. The anxiety settled heavily in his stomach, making it hard to think, hard to breathe.

"Deep breaths," Minho said softly from the driver's seat, glancing over at him. "It's just a test. Nothing you haven't prepared for."

Jisung forced himself to inhale slowly, but it felt like a tiny gasp in comparison to the storm inside him. His hands clutched his exam ticket tightly, the corners slightly crumpled from his restless fingers.

Minho pulled into the parking lot, turning off the engine. "You've got this, Sungie," he said, looking at Jisung with a calm, steady gaze. "You've done everything you could. Now it's just time to show it."

Jisung nodded stiffly, his throat dry. His thoughts were spinning again—what if he forgot everything the moment he opened the paper? What if the questions were nothing like what he studied?

"Hey," Minho called gently, tugging him from the spiral. He reached over and squeezed Jisung's hand. "One question at a time, okay? I'll be right here when you're done."

That simple promise was enough to keep Jisung's knees from buckling as he stepped out of the car. With one last, reassuring smile from Minho, Jisung walked into the testing center.

The exam hall was intimidating. Rows and rows of desks lined with nervous faces, every single person carrying the same heavy burden of expectation. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead as Jisung found his seat, his heart still pounding against his ribs.

He sat down, clutching his pen like a lifeline, and tried to calm himself. I've prepared for this, he thought. I know this stuff. It's just another test.

The proctor's voice echoed through the room, announcing the rules and procedures. And then, with a quiet command to begin, the bar exam started.

Jisung stared at the first question. His heart stuttered—he knew this! Relief flooded him for a brief moment as he wrote down his answer with confidence.

But as the minutes ticked by, the questions grew trickier. His brain felt like a battlefield, flipping between bursts of clarity and moments of sheer panic.

One question threw him off completely—a complicated case scenario about constitutional law, one he'd barely touched in his studies. His palms began to sweat as his mind went blank. What the fuck does this even mean?

He could feel the clock ticking, the pressure building. For a second, the walls seemed to close in on him, and he almost couldn't breathe.

Minho said I could do this. He clung to that thought desperately. One question at a time.

Taking a deep breath, Jisung forced himself to move to the next section. He'd come back to the hard ones later.

As time flew by, it became a tug-of-war between moments of success and frustration. His brain felt like it was overheating, but he kept going, grinding through each page. When he felt stuck, he thought of Minho waiting for him—how Minho believed in him when he didn't believe in himself. And somehow, that kept him grounded.

By the time the proctor called for the end, Jisung felt like he had run a marathon. His brain was exhausted, his body stiff from sitting still for hours. He barely remembered walking out of the testing center, everything blurring together.

And then, there he was—Minho, leaning casually against the car, waiting just as he promised.

The moment their eyes met, Jisung's legs wobbled, and he stumbled forward. Minho was there in an instant, catching him before he could collapse entirely.

"You okay?" Minho asked softly, holding him up.

Jisung nodded, his throat too tight to speak. The exhaustion hit him all at once, and without a second thought, he buried his face into Minho's shoulder, inhaling the familiar scent that felt like home.

"It's over," Jisung whispered, his voice cracking. "It's finally over."

Minho smiled, rubbing soothing circles on Jisung's back. "And you did it. I'm proud of you."

Jisung let out a shaky breath, finally allowing himself to relax for the first time in weeks.

The drive home was peaceful. Minho didn't push him to talk—he knew better. They drove in comfortable silence, with Minho occasionally glancing over to check on Jisung, who was half-asleep, his head resting against the window.

When they got home, Minho helped him out of the car and led him inside, right to the couch. Jisung collapsed onto it with a groan, his entire body limp with exhaustion.

"Food?" Minho asked gently, brushing a stray hair from Jisung's forehead.

Jisung only shook his head, eyes already drooping shut.

Minho chuckled softly. "Alright. Rest now, Sungie. We'll celebrate later."

"Come over here." Jisung almost demanded, his sleepy state not allowing him to do almost anything.

"Alright then." Minho immediately went to the couch and slid Jisung into his arms as if Jisung were as light as a feather.

And with that, Jisung drifted off into the first peaceful sleep he'd had in weeks, knowing that whatever the result might be, he had Minho by his side—and that was all that mattered.

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