been you | mt+ijb ✓

04

"I hate this."

"I know."

"Why do we have to take that test anyway? It's dumb."

"You're right."

Jaebum doesn't know if he should be glad that Mark's agreeing with him or frustrated that he's being extremely nonchalant about it. "Everyone's going to fail. They know that."

"It'll be okay," Mark says, voice muffled by the pillow he's holding to his chest as he sinks lower into Jaebum's bed. "You always do well on these."

"Yeah," Jaebum says, although he doesn't quite believe it. "Yeah."

A beat.

"Come here," Mark sighs, grabbing Jaebum's arm and yanking him onto the bed so that they're sprawled on top of each other. "Listen, you're going to be fine. You always freak out before a test and you always get the highest score in the class. You will be fine, I promise."

Jaebum groans and buries his face in his friend's chest, although at fourteen Mark is still smaller and skinnier than Jaebum. "How can you promise that when you don't know?"

Mark smiles. "I do know," he says, "because you always do well."

It's cheesy and all the explanation he gives, but Jaebum understands, and he's never run on blind faith before, but it's alright because Mark has a tendency to do so for him.

"Let's study, okay?" Jaebum suggests, pulling away to reach for the books on his desk. "I don't do well enough to not study."

"Okay," Mark agrees.

(When they test the next week, Jaebum flies through the questions; he and Mark have studied so thoroughly that he knows the material like the back of his hand.

They get the test back a few days later, and he has an A to proudly show Mark.)