The bell rang.
Everyone looked emotionally destroyed.
Some students were already crying, others were aggressively calculating how badly they failed, Joon-seok was lying face-down on his desk claiming his future was officially over, while Bo-ram kept cursing herself for forgetting "the easiest formulas known to mankind."
Ms. Ga-young began walking around the classroom collecting answer sheets, the sound of papers flipping somehow making everyone even more anxious.
When she reached Soo-ji's desk, she suddenly paused.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
The classroom slowly fell silent again.
Soo-ji felt her soul leaving her body peacefully.
Ms. Ga-young lifted the paper a little.
"Lim Soo-ji."
Soo-ji swallowed.
"Yes, Ms. Ga-young?"
But instead of saying anything else, Ms. Ga-young only smirked before walking out of the classroom.
The second the door closed, the class exploded.
"My life is over!" a boy cried dramatically from the back.
"I guessed every answer after number five," another groaned.
"I'm dropping out," someone whispered with terrifying seriousness.
Joon-seok slowly rose from his seat before collapsing face-first onto his desk again.
"I saw my ancestors during the math section," he mumbled weakly. "They told me to prepare for summer classes."
A few exhausted laughs spread across the room.
Meanwhile, Soo-ji walked back to her seat like a war survivor.
No words.
No thoughts.
Just trauma.
She sat down stiffly, staring blankly at the board like her soul had disconnected from her physical form.
Bo-ram slowly turned toward her.
"Soo-ji?"
"Bo-ram… if I dropped out right now, that wouldn't technically be a bad decision, right?"
"I'm sure it's going to be okay," Bo-ram reassured carefully.
"Come on, Gi-gi," Joon-seok said, trying to cheer her up. "You can't let one test destroy your happiness."
Soo-ji immediately buried her face into the desk.
"I'm finished," she said, her voice muffled with tears.
"Come on, Soo-ji," Bo-ram said, patting her back softly.
"My mother is going to kill me," Soo-ji sobbed dramatically.
"No she's not," Joon-seok replied calmly.
"I studied all night for absolutely nothing! I'm going to fail, repeat the year, become homeless, and start selling tissues on the street!"
"Your imagination is genuinely concerning," Bo-ram muttered.
Meanwhile, by the window seat, Jae-hyuk remained completely silent, flipping through a book like the chaos around him didn't exist.
Soo-ji's voice only got louder.
"This school is evil! Why would anyone normalize weekly assessments?! Are they trying to assassinate students academically?!"
Joon-seok snorted.
"You should lower your voice before Ms. Ga-young comes back."
"I DON'T EVEN CARE ANYMO—"
"Can you shut up?"
The classroom went silent instantly.
Soo-ji froze mid-sentence.
Even her tears disappeared out of shock.
Slowly, everyone turned toward the source of the voice.
Jae-hyuk finally looked up from his book, visibly annoyed.
"You've been screaming for the past ten minutes," he said flatly. "It's disturbing."
The room became painfully quiet.
Even Joon-seok looked stunned.
Soo-ji stared at him in disbelief.
For some reason, she suddenly couldn't speak.
Which was ridiculous because she had at least fifty insults ready in her head.
What did this overpriced human mannequin just say to me?
"It's going to be fine, Soo-ji," Bo-ram whispered, gently patting her shoulder.
But before Soo-ji could recover from the audacity she had just witnessed, the classroom door opened again.
Mr. Hae-in walked in.
And somehow…
She smiled instantly.
Mr. Hae-in looked around the exhausted classroom with confusion.
"Did a zombie apocalypse happen here?" he asked. "Why does everyone look emotionally bankrupt?"
"It was traumatic, Mr. Hae-in," Eun-ji replied dramatically.
"Really?" he laughed softly. "Then what can we do to improve the mood?"
Immediately, the entire class came back to life.
Suggestions started flying everywhere.
Meanwhile, Soo-ji simply sat there staring at him.
What is this…? How does he always make everyone feel better?
Hhhh… he's literally like a puppy.
I want to put him in my pocket.
"You're happy again?" Bo-ram asked suspiciously.
"No," Soo-ji replied immediately. "I'm still suffering."
"Then why are you smiling?"
Soo-ji paused before quietly mumbling to herself.
"I don't even know."
---
Later that evening, Soo-ji escaped to the bookstore to recover emotionally from the disaster society called "Friday tests."
The second she walked in, butterflies filled her stomach for absolutely no reason.
"Samchon!!" she yelled loudly without caring that people were trying to read inside.
Seung-ho dramatically turned around, flipping his hair like he was in a slow-motion drama scene.
"Ji-ji," he replied with equal energy.
Soo-ji burst into laughter before dropping into the seat opposite him.
"What would I do without you?"
"So," he said casually, "how did your test go?"
Her expression died instantly.
The life left her eyes so fast it almost looked rehearsed.
"Am I seriously the only person who didn't know this school has tests every Friday?" she complained.
"It's fine. You'll get used to it," he assured with a smile.
"No, I won't. That school is for smart people. In my old school I was average, but here I'm fighting for survival, no" she paused then "I'm fighting for last place".
He thought for a moment before speaking.
"Then get a tutor."
"A tutor?"
"Someone from your class. Students usually explain things better than teachers."
Soo-ji slowly lifted her head.
"Really?"
"Of course."
A smirk appeared on her face, one that spelt disbelief.
"You really think a tutor can make me smarter?"
"Which is why you find an extremely smart one," he replied while organizing books. "Like that Jae-hyuk guy."
Soo-ji paused.
"You know him too?!"
"Yes," he answered casually. "He comes here almost every weekend."
Realization suddenly hit her.
She shot up dramatically from her seat.
"WAIT."
"He's the guy you met the other day."
"HEY!!! NO WAY!" she yelled in disbelief. "I knew I had seen that sass machine somewhere before! That mean handsome bastard!"
Seung-ho laughed loudly.
"He can be annoying, but when you're desperate for grades, personality stops mattering."
"I am NOT desperate," she scoffed while dusting imaginary dirt off her clothes. "I only came here to say hi. It's my turn to watch Mom's shop tonight."
"That reminds me," he said suddenly, clasping his hands together. "Can you help watch the store next Saturday? I have a date."
"Samchon!"
"Please?"
"Fine," she groaned dramatically.
"Thank you, my favorite person."
"Make sure you return from your date with another favorite person," Soo-ji said sincerely.
He smiled softly.
"Thank you."
"I'm leaving now," she said, waving lazily.
"Make sure you think about what I said!" he called after her.
"I WON'T!" she screamed back without turning around.
He watched her leave before sighing dramatically.
"They grow up so fast," he muttered emotionally while dusting the bookshelf again.