"𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞,"
~🌙 ~
More than anything, I wanted to get my head into the right mind frame ready for my exams. With all the chaos of almost being expelled and a whole ass court trial - my life needed to calm the heck down. The only thing I could do to help that was to study.
And that's what I did.
On my own and occasionally with the guys, I studied. For hours. My eyes didn't know sleep, in fact the word sleep was stripped from my vocabulary. I spent every waking moment studying bar a few hours for when Jungwon wanted to eat ice cream. I knew I was overloading myself, but I couldn't stop thinking of the benefit. Passing my exams with flying colours.
The days passed by and sooner or later, it was the date of my first exam.
"Are you nervous?" Heeseung hyung threw an arm around my shoulder.
"Not really," I said with a confident grin. Heeseung laughed, fully knowing that I was more than prepared for this exam.
"I can't believe you asked him that, hyung," Sunghoon joined in, "It's like we haven't seen him in weeks."
"We studied together last night!"
"I mean the fun, energetic Jay. Recently all we had was boring, boring and annoying, Jay," Sunghoon moped and I smacked his arm.
"Kidding!"
I shook my head at their teasing and knew they were only doing so to relax the room. Jake was a nervous wreck though. He studied way more efficiently than me and I knew he was more intelligent, but he hated the exam setting: the quiet, sitting alone on one singular desk. It felt quite controlling and suffocating that it would affect his exam flow.
"If only we could do exams in our classrooms," Jake muttered. His hands held all his equipment, shaking from nerves.
"They would have to create another grade higher than an A just for you, because we all know you'd do well," I replied.
"Of course," Jake smirked, acknowledging his smarts, "The hall won't have air conditioning, right? It might make me nauseous,"
"That's a load of crap and you know it," Sunghoon piped up with a surprised laugh, "You're going in there and doing the exam with all of us."
Sunghoon pushed Jake into the exam queue with much force and Heeseung hyung and I enjoyed seeing Sunghoon struggle. I sighed knowing that it would be me doing this tomorrow and Heeseung the day after. We organised a special rota so that Jake wouldn't find an excuse to leave. We were all set on passing.
Once we arrived in the queue it was silent - the dreaded noise that Jake hated. His face already looked green and we had only been stood here for two minutes.
"Students please take your allocated seats," the invigilator called over the cheap microphone, "No talking is prohibited. If you are caught you will undergo serious punishment including being unable to sit any of your exams."
Following her directions, I took my seat at P12 - the middle of row P. Sunghoon was two seats across from me and he gave me a very discreet nod when I caught his eye. Looking around, I couldn't help but realise how big our entire graduating year was. Of course, we had our small class of 30, but there were multiple of them. There must have been at least 250 students sat in this hall right now.
Familiar faces I could spot from where I was sat: Amy's friends Naeri and Chae, one of the guys who tried to beat us up, Taehyun and Kai, and Eun Hyerin.
Wait. What?
My neck did a full double take and my muscle spasmed from the sudden movement. I groaned and clutch the strained area of my neck. The pain was sharp and sore to touch - it was restraining me from looking for her again. I swivelled my body around to get a better look and it was too good to be true.
A girl sat in the far right corner of the room was hunched over, wearing a hoodie with the hood up. Her hair fell in front, hiding her face. Her head was slightly bowed. I recognised that hoodie anywhere because it was mine. The one I gave her.
"Are you cold?" I asked as Hyerin shivered her way through the open corridor. She shook her head but I could visible see her body riddled with goosebumps.
"Take my hoodie, it's in my bag," I offered. I would have been a gentleman and put it on her, but my arms were glued to my crutches. I almost couldn't walk without them.
"It's fine, Jay. We're almost to the next building anyways," Hyerin shrugged off the idea and tried to walk as if she wasn't cold. Her arms went from being folded to straight down, by her side. She did well to try and hide it, but the bitter expression on her face was too funny not to laugh at. I tried to hold in my laugh, but it came out all at once in one big hideous snort.
"Jay! It's not funny!" Hyerin whined at my laughing.
"I offered you my hoodie for a reason, just take it!" I said again. She pondered for a moment and gave in. Taking my hoodie from my back pack, she put it on and it drowned her. It was a warming sight to see: Hyerin wearing my clothes. My heart felt full as her bittersweet smile turned to one of comfort and satisfaction.
"It's so warm and smells like you," she chimed happily, "you have big arms too!"
She giggled as she flapped the long, baggy sleeves around her. She acted so innocently and it made my smile grow bigger.
"If only you had said yes in the first place," I teased.
"Well I was trying to ignore it until you clowned me like the big bully you are," she stuck her tongue out and I chuckled.
"Would a big bully offer you his hoodie?"
"No, but-,"
"Then clearly I am not the big bully you claim me to be,"
"Fine, but you're still slow,"
"Slow?"
"Yeah, I'll see you in class!" She turned on her heels and ran across the courtyard and into the next building.
"Yah! Wait for me!" I hopped faster trying to catch up but it was obviously no use.
"You're not getting this back by the way!" she called back at me before disappearing down the hall. I shook my head at her, smiling at how cute she acted around me. Even if it was my favourite hoodie, there was no one I would want to have it more than her.
I took another glance and for sure it was her in my hoodie. I could sense it. After spending so much time with her before she left, I could spot her in a crowd of a million. She was different like that. But why? Why was she here? To sit her exams of course, you idiot, but why didn't she say anything.
Thinking about her again brought back all the pain and confusion I went through all that time ago. I had gotten over it well, but I couldn't deny that part of me still needed answers. I couldn't keep my gaze away. I just wanted to see her eyes, because I knew that once I did, I would have my answer. It was her eyes that drew me to her in the first place.
A sharp slam on my desk snapped me out of my daze.
"Mr Park if you do not keep your eyes forward I will have to punish you for communicating in an exam!"
"S-sorry," was all I could mutter as the invigilator walked away.
Stupidly, I looked back again. I couldn't sit here for an hour and a half knowing that Eun Hyerin was finally in the same room as me. I peaked around and waited until the teachers weren't looking my way. I turned my body once more and craned my neck to spot her.
And she wasn't there.
The girl in the hoodie who I stared at for a good five minutes, was now different. She wasn't wearing a hoodie and had no hoodie with her. In fact, she wasn't even wearing a blazer. Her hair was tied up and out of the way. Her eyes were not the ones I fell for.
Did I just imagine Eun Hyerin?
My mind wound itself up in puzzles. After all this time of getting over her, I still managed to fool myself to the point were I was hallucinating her. I was annoyed at myself for getting so worked up. I was so distracted that I missed the whole introductory speech. So much so that not even a second later, the invigilator finally called:
"You may now begin your exam."