Love-ish~~ | | Hwang Hyunjin

31. We were so busted.

Kari's POV:

Midterm week was a suffocating, miserable blur of caffeine, frantic flashcards, and the deafening silence of the examination hall.

Usually, during exam week, my stress was purely academic. I would sleep for three hours a night, consume enough iced coffee to power a small village, and mentally project laser beams at the back of Hyunjin's head to assert my dominance. But this time, maintaining our fake rivalry took a monumental, exhausting amount of effort.

In the hallways, we bumped shoulders and traded sharp insults loud enough for Chan to tell us to "take it down a notch." During lunch, we argued violently about whose study guide was more comprehensive while the rest of our friends rolled their eyes, blissfully unaware that under the table, our knees were pressed firmly together.

But during the actual exams? Hwang Hyunjin was a complete menace to my concentration.

Right before the Calculus test, as Mr. Han was walking down the rows handing out the thick packets of paper, a crumpled-up yellow sticky note hit my desk. I uncrumpled it carefully beneath my pencil case, expecting a crude drawing or an insult about my intelligence.

Instead, in Hyunjin's frustratingly neat handwriting, it read: Don't stress, Iseul. Even if you fail, you're still my favorite loser. (But seriously, remember to carry the negative sign).

I had to bite the inside of my cheek so hard I tasted copper just to stop myself from smiling like an absolute idiot while taking the hardest test of the year.

When Friday's final bell finally rang, the collective sigh of relief from the Junior class could probably be heard from space. Papers flew into the air in the hallways. We had survived. We didn't have the results yet, but simply being done was enough of a reason to celebrate.

As we all piled out of the front doors, Hyunjin and I put on one last show for the group.

"The answer to the final physics question was obviously 4.2," I declared loudly, glaring at him across the school steps.

"It was 4.2 joules, Yamamoto. You forgot the unit. Tragic, really. I can already taste the number one spot," he sneered back, though his eyes were dancing with amusement.

"I will literally strangle you with my backpack straps," I threatened.

"Alright, that's enough, you two psychos!" Changbin interrupted, stepping between us. "Exams are over! No more math! No more physics! Tonight, we sleepppp!"

And for me, that meant next day was finally Saturday.

~

"So, your parents just suddenly decided to take you out for sushi today?" Ryujin asked suspiciously over FaceTime. Her eyes narrowed on the screen as I dug frantically through my closet.

"Yep," I lied smoothly, holding up a vintage graphic tee and a denim skirt for her inspection. "You know how they are about celebrating the end of exams. Family tradition."

"Uh-huh. And you're applying lip gloss for your parents?" she asked, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow.

I froze, the tube of cherry lip gloss hovering inches from my mouth. "My lips are chapped from exam stress."

"Right. Have fun with the others at the Karaoke, though!" I quickly deflected, hanging up before she could interrogate me further. I let out a massive sigh of relief and finished getting ready. I settled on a black pleated skirt, the oversized graphic tee tucked in, and my favorite heavy combat boots.

When I arrived at the Neon Arcade at exactly 10:55 AM, my stomach was doing nervous flip-flops. We had hung out hundreds of times in groups, and we had spent the last two years hyper-fixating on each other, but this was different. This was our first real date. No textbooks. No fake insults. Just us.