"Oi, you must've been up all night, look at those eye bags," Chan comments, taking a seat next to you.
Class didn't start for another hour, but the two of you often met outside of the campus coffee shop on mornings you both had classes.
It started off as Chan's idea, and you knew this was him trying to prevent you from running late. After all, he was always nagging at you for your poor time management skills. To his defense, you really were late to almost everything.
"Thanks," you mutter, tiredly.
Your eyes instantly light up and betray your tone when Chan hands you your order of Americano. The warmth from the paper cup feels comforting in your hands.
"Look who's been studying hard. I'm proud of you."
Taking a sip of the hot beverage, you lean back on the cold bench, relishing the bitter taste. "I wasn't up studying. I just couldn't fall asleep."
"Nightmares again?"
"No. Just...a lot on my mind," you say quietly, unsure if you wanted to bring up last night's events.
You knew that Chan, being the older brother you've never had, would incessantly worry if you were to tell him.
"Is it your family?" he asks after a considerable amount of silence. His voice is a tad soft, as if to tread lightly.
You briefly look to your childhood friend with a sad smile before lowering your gaze at the coffee in your hands.
Sometimes, you seem to forget that someone else understands you and your situation to this extent.
"No...you know they haven't contacted me in a while."
Like, in over 2 years...
"And I don't plan to talk to them. You're more family to me than they'll ever be," you mutter.
Chan presses his lips together with a nod, trying to return the small smile. "Well, I'm all ears if you need to talk," he says, playfully nudging your arm. "And that may be the nicest thing you've said to me," he jokes.
You cringe, suddenly remembering the more recent issue on hand. "Actually..."
Chan looks surprised as you perk up in your seat.
"I lost my study note..."
He nearly chokes on his coffee, knowing how diligently you had worked on it. "...You did not."
You wish it wasn't true, but that book wasn't at the library last night. And the database indicated it had been checked out.
"No, I really did," you wail, shoulders slumping in defeat.
◈ ◈ ◈
Class is dismissed with the professor reminding everyone of the exam tomorrow. Students get up from their seats, chatting excitedly as they steadily flow out of the classroom. But you remain sitting in a state of daze, trying to decide how you're going to spend your day. You've actually studied plenty in the process of creating your note, maybe you should just pray and hope for the best tomorrow?
It's just that failing your first semester of nursing school was not an option for you. The tuition was not cheap, and you were continuously working part time jobs in hopes of graduating without major student loans.
"You left this." A student in class comes up to you, handing you a familiar piece of paper.
It's Seungmin.
Wide eyed, you immediately grab it, scanning the contents of the paper in disbelief. "How did you...?"
Seungmin straightens his back, beaming a proud smile. "After you left our study session yesterday, I checked out that book you were using. And guess what fell out of it?"
You squeal, jumping up from your chair to give your friend the biggest hug.
Forget hoping for the best, you were going to review the hell out of this today!
Seungmin's smile soon fades, and a look of concern replaces his bright expression. "You practically ran out on us yesterday, was everything okay?"
"Uh, yeah. I was late to work so I was in a bit of a hurry."
You scratch the back of your head, shuddering at the thought of what Chan would say if he found out. "Anyway, how about grabbing a quick lunch? My treat," you offer, putting a hand to your chest.
"I'm down, beef stew?"
"Beef stew it is."
◈ ◈ ◈
Your feet feel a lot lighter heading back to your dormitory compared to how heavy they felt going to class this morning. Lunch was quite delicious, and it definitely put you in good mood. Now that your stomach is filled with warm stew, you feel totally motivated and ready to... lie down and take a nap.
Ugh.
The lack of sleep last night probably didn't help, but there's no way you're going to skip reviewing for your exam. You shake your head, scolding yourself. No procrastinating, and definitely no napping.
Just then, your phone vibrates in your coat pocket and you notice a text from Seungmin. You reply back.
┌ ————————12:05pm———————┐
[Seungmin]
Food coma 😴
[You]
Yea no kidding...did we eat too
much?
[Seungmin]
I actually don't think I ate enough
[You]
☠️
└————————————————————┘
You chuckle, slipping your phone back into your pocket as you continue strolling along the sidewalk. The path is almost entirely covered in orange and yellow leaves, and you can smell their musky scent in the air. Fall is quite beautiful, and the foliage is always a sight to see on campus, but you find yourself looking forward to snow this year. Meaning winter break, of course.
"Hey, wait up!"
You stop to look around, unsure if that remark was directed at you.
You notice a boy in a tan sweater and black jeans. He is jogging up to you from across the street, his slightly grown out, black hair bouncing with each step.
"Remember me?" he asks in between breaths, sweeping his long bangs out of his eyes.
You blink, recognizing his face. You immediately think back to last night, trying to pull his name from your memory. "Hyunjin?"
The boy's look of anticipation shows, and he smiles when you get his name right. "I thought it was you. I don't know a lot of people here so I got a little excited," he says with a sheepish grin.
You give him a small smile. "How are you finding things on campus?" you ask, recalling he had mentioned transferring to your school.
"Still getting used to everything. But I definitely got the library down," Hyunjin says with a nod, as if to agree with his own statement. "Did you ever find what you were looking for?"
Oh, he remembers...
"Mm, not exactly, but it's okay." You shrug, not wanting to bore him with the details. "It all worked out actually."
"Well, good. You seemed pretty worried about it last night."
You bite your lip, nodding. I was worried. But not because of that.
"I'm out grabbing some coffee. If you're not doing anything, why don't you join me?"
He's probably just being friendly, but you can't help how your cheeks become a tinge warmer. He seems personable, and the way he can comfortably talk to people he doesn't really know is something you wish you're better at. You press your lips together, remembering how people often described you as being reserved and closed off.
"They have other things too, if you don't like coffee," Hyunjin adds, tilting his head down to catch your eyes again.
"Uh no, coffee sounds good." You inwardly sigh. So much for no procrastinating.
But, you also know what it's like being new in an unfamiliar place without friends. You'll never forget how Seungmin had been friendly enough to first approach you in class at the beginning of the semester—something you'll always be thankful for.
And who knows, maybe afternoon coffee isn't such a bad idea. It just might help fight off the food coma.
◈ ◈ ◈
⊠
◈ ◈ ◈
(Late last night...)
"What the fuck was that earlier? That was not the plan, Hyunjin." The frustrated male slams his cap down on the table. "Do you know how much trouble we'll be in?"
"Calm down, they don't need to know the details."
"But—you had her. Literally, in your hands!"
"Then why didn't you step in? You disappeared on me."
"You approached her without a mask! I wasn't about to let her incriminate you once the job is done!"
Hyunjin scoffs. "You really think she'll figure this all out?"
"Hwang Hyunjin, you're getting a little cocky, don't you think? Why even take the chance, exposing yourself like that?"
"I'm getting bored." The raven haired boy pops a potato chip into his mouth. "These spoiled brats, I doubt they even have the brains to suspect anything. Once their families pay up, they're always free to go back to their carefree lives."
"We just need to do our part, man. What happens after that isn't our concern."
Hyunjin shrugs, popping in another chip. "She's cute. Why not have a little fun? I can be the friendly transfer student who wants to be her friend."
Jisung shoots Hyunjin the most disapproving glare, and the latter grins at the reaction.
"The poor thing, she practically glued herself to me earlier. You gave her quite the scare, you know." Hyunjin feigns a pout before letting out an amused laugh.
"Don't be an ass. And don't complicate things, I mean it."
"Relax, Jisung. We'll get it done. We always do."