Lost in your lens - Minji x M!Reader

Ch. 3 - Test Day

Professor Kim's announcement hit like a bucket of cold water. "The midterm exam will count for forty percent of your final grade. It will cover all materials from weeks one through six, including the classical literature segments."

The rest of his words faded into background noise as I stared at my notebook, where I'd been doodling instead of taking proper notes. Six weeks of complex literary analysis, all in Korean, all worth nearly half my grade. My stomach turned to lead.

Around me, Korean students were already forming study groups, their casual confidence making my anxiety spike. Someone nudged my arm.

"Want to study together?" Haerin asked quietly. She was in the same literature class, though I usually sat too far away to talk much. "Minji and I were going to review at the library tomorrow."

I nodded, probably too quickly to look cool about it.

---

The library was quieter than usual the next afternoon. Haerin claimed a corner table, methodically arranging her color-coded notes while Minji set up her laptop. I tried not to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of their study materials.

"Start here," Haerin suggested, sliding a notebook toward me. Her handwriting was as precise as her personality. "These are the key themes from the classical texts."

What followed was two hours of the most efficient studying I'd ever done. Haerin had a gift for breaking down complex ideas into digestible pieces, explaining classical Korean literature in ways that actually made sense. She never made me feel stupid for asking questions, just calmly explained things again from a different angle.

Minji mostly focused on her own notes, but occasionally she'd look up and add something helpful, usually with a small smile that made concentrating harder than it should have been.

*Click.*

"Really?" I whispered, glancing at her camera. "While studying?"

"The light was perfect," she whispered back, not looking sorry at all. "Besides, Haerin explaining literature is like watching a master at work."

Haerin's ears turned slightly pink, but she just kept explaining the symbolism in our assigned reading.

---

"No, no, no!" Hyein's voice carried across the entire café two days later. "You're thinking about it all wrong. This isn't just a poem about a mountain - it's a DRAMATIC METAPHOR for UNREQUITED LOVE!"

"Inside voice," Hanni reminded her, but she was grinning.

Studying with Hyein and Hanni was completely different from the library session. Hyein turned every piece of literature into a dramatic performance, complete with character voices. Somehow, her theatrical interpretations made the meanings stick in my head better than any textbook explanation.

"The author isn't just sad," she declared, standing up to gesture expansively. "He's DEVASTATED! DESTROYED! DEMOLISHED!"

"That's... actually helpful," I admitted, finally understanding the emotional weight of the piece we were reviewing. "Though maybe sit down before we get kicked out?"

Hanni pulled her back into her seat. "See? My study groups are never boring."

"Your study groups are chaos," I corrected, but I was smiling too.

"Productive chaos!" Hyein protested. "Quiz me on the next poem. I'll act out ALL the metaphors!"

---

The night before the exam, we all gathered at Danielle's apartment. The smell of brownies filled the air - apparently, she really did stress-bake.