Perhaps, Midterms (2)
Perhaps, Midterms (2)
Time passed by, cruelly fast as always.
Before I knew it, it was the long-awaited day of the midterm exam.
To cut to the chase...
"Fuck... I'm so screwed..."
I spent the night before the exam duoing in the Rift with the upstairs neighbor. Expecting good grades after that would be the mentality of a thief.
Still, as long as I was happy, that's what matters... probably.
I filled in my OMR card faster than anyone else and escaped the lecture hall in first place.
Sure, I left early because I didn't know anything, but who cares? To others, it might have looked like "the carefree confidence of an overwhelming genius."
There are only two types of people who leave the exam hall first: the God who tore the test paper apart, or the sick bastard who gave up on the exam.
And obviously, I'm the latter.
"I'll be different for finals. If I screw up finals too, I'm not a person, I'm a fucking dog."
I engraved that same old resolve firmly once again.
Honestly, I probably managed at least half. If the guessing god descended, maybe a C+... no, with any conscience, I'd get a C. As long as it's not an F. Avoiding a retake is victory in itself.
But I still have one ace up my sleeve, or rather, one trump card left.
That liberal arts replacement assignment: <Sex and Love>.
I submitted my "masterpiece of the century" there, pouring in my soul and spinal fluid.
I have no doubt that when the professor reads my writing, they'll shed tears of emotion and, with trembling hands, bestow an A+.
"Hoo..."
Anyway, the midterms are over.
I leaned against the hallway wall, fiddling with my phone, waiting blankly. Since I don't smoke, I had no reason to go outside, so I just aimlessly watched people pass by.
After a moment, students who had finished their exams poured out in droves.
Among that lifeless, zombie-like crowd, one person was particularly glowing: Park Hyun-woo.
He wasn't alone.
His girlfriends surrounded him like bodyguards, leaving no gaps. And at the end of that line was the class representative, Shin Ga-young.
"Hey, Hyun-woo. How was it?"
When I asked, waving my hand, Hyun-woo scratched his head sheepishly.
"Oh... it was just okay?"
"Yeah?"
Just okay. Either the exam was easy, or he did really well.
Just then, Hyun-woo's girlfriends next to him giggled and tugged at his arm.
"Hyun-woo, what was the answer to that problem earlier?"
"Hey, what's there to say? Hyun-woo probably got them all right~ Our Hyun-woo is so smart!"
...Fucking bullshit. I'll ignore that, and turned my gaze to Shin Ga-young.
"Ga-young, how about you?"
"Oh, me too... just average."
"..."
Yeah, I'm the only one fucked here. "Just okay" and "average" are the sarcastic language of people who study well.
Translation: either an A0 or an A+.
Well, I have no right to talk. I was the one dancing around in the Rift until 1 AM the night before, listening to "Hasegi mid-lane counterpick is science, tsk tsk." I brought this on myself.
"Is that so... everyone worked hard. Since exams are over, what are you guys going to do?"
At my question, Hyun-woo yawned lazily and answered.
"I'm going home to rest. I think I'm tired from staying up all night..."
Then the guards... I mean, girlfriends, sticking to him like glue, chimed in with disappointment.
"Aww~ Let him rest today."
"Then let's all go drink together later! Jin-hyuk, you come too!"
"Right! Exams are over, we need an after-party."
They spoke casually, probably because we're all the same age. I nodded without thinking.
"Oh... oh, yeah. Let's set a date later."
They smiled brightly, helped the tired Hyun-woo as if supporting him, and left.
I watched their receding backs and fell into a daze.
'By the way... what were their names?'
Hyun-woo's girlfriend 1, girlfriend 2, girlfriend 3. That's how they're stored in my head.
I'm not good at remembering people's names, but not even knowing my friend's girlfriends' names? That might be too much.
'Anyway... isn't Hyun-woo originally going in the same direction home as me...'
He used to walk home with me all the time, but lately, going home with him feels awkward.
Sigh... squeezing between them is not right.
Rather than cowering alone in that pink harem and acting like a wallflower, I'd rather sleep on a school bench.
But there was still a presence next to me.
"Ga-young, why aren't you going?"
Come to think of it, class rep Shin Ga-young was lingering around me without leaving.
"Huh? Oh... you're not going?"
"I'm waiting for someone. What about you?"
At my answer, Ga-young's pupils shook as if an earthquake had hit.
"Wh-who?"
"Oh, just a senior I know."
"Senior?"
The moment Ga-young repeated the word, I saw a familiar face shuffling down the hallway in slippers.
"Oh, here they come."
I raised my hand and greeted them happily.
That person walking over there. The one who roamed the Rift with me until dawn yesterday, spewing all kinds of swears and arguments. The owner of the nickname 'I'm Nice'.
Yoon Seo-ah, my upstairs neighbor.
Shuffle, shuffle.
With that gait, she looked exactly like a neighborhood bum uncle.
"Hey, Jin-hyuk. Did you do well on the exam?"
She stood in front of me and immediately asked about the results.
"No. Of course I got completely screwed. What about you, noona?"
I answered without a second of hesitation. Then this noona let out a snort, a hollow laugh, and answered with her eyes.
'You think? lol'
"Puhahahaha!"
"Hehehehe."
We burst out laughing as soon as we saw each other's faces. The laughter just came out. There's something that connects fucked-up people.
In that friendly(?) atmosphere, only Ga-young stood there awkwardly. Her eyes darted rapidly between me and Yoon Seo-ah.
"Um... Jin-hyuk, who is this...?"
"Oh, she lives upstairs from me. We're close."
I introduced her carelessly.
"Oh, hello..."
Ga-young greeted cautiously. Yoon Seo-ah looked at her blankly, then tilted her head with a nonchalant expression.
"Oh, hey."
After the brief greeting, Yoon Seo-ah stuck her hands in her pockets and turned around.
"Noona, are you going home?"
"No. PC bang."
"PC bang? Why? Your computer at home has good specs."
Leaving a high-spec computer behind to pay money and go to a PC bang? At my question, Yoon Seo-ah stared into the distance and answered calmly.
"I smashed my keyboard."
"..."
Ah.
For a moment, memories of last night flashed by. Around 1 AM. The thunderous bangs and screams that sounded like the ceiling was collapsing.
'Fuck... she slammed the keyboard like a crazy bitch, and she actually destroyed it.'
I asked with a fed-up expression.
"Noona... you really need to tone down your temper. I don't care about me, but what if the neighbors or upstairs people report you?"
"Don't worry. The people next door didn't say anything."
"That's just them tolerating it."
"No."
Yoon Seo-ah wiggled her index finger and answered shamelessly.
"Noise spreads sideways through walls, but vibrations only go downward. Whether I slam the desk or roll on the floor, that impact goes only to the downstairs neighbor. Meaning, it hits you directly."
"..."
"So as long as you put up with it, it's fine. The other households are at peace."
No... this crazy person...
"Am I not a person...?"
"You could have lived upstairs."
Yoon Seo-ah chuckled and started walking.
I let out a deep sigh. Since I'd already royally screwed up the exam anyway, I decided to follow her to clear my head and bum a cup ramen off her.
"Let's go together. I want to play a round of Rel too."
Just as I was about to follow, it happened.
"Uh, um...!"
Ga-young, who had been listening quietly, urgently grabbed my sleeve.
"Huh?"
"Can... can I come too?"
My and Yoon Seo-ah's feet stopped at the same time. We looked at each other with dumbfounded expressions, as if by some agreement, then looked back at Ga-young.
Shin Ga-young at a PC bang. It was as mismatched a combination as eating macarons with fermented soybean paste.
Yoon Seo-ah raised the corner of her mouth, looking interested.
"I don't mind. Do you know any games?"
"Huh? Uh... w-well..."
Ga-young rolled her eyes and hesitated.
'Exactly.'
I was curious too. What would this model student, from head to toe the epitome of a good student, do at a PC bang?
At best, Minesweeper? Or maybe Hancom Typing Practice? Or even... plug in earphones and watch an online lecture?
Ga-young, staring into space, counted on her fingers and answered hesitantly.
"Well... C-Crazy Bubble... and Kart Racer... and..."
"..."
"..."
Me and Yoon Seo-ah both fell silent at the same time.
Crazy Bubble and Kart Racer? How old are those games... For a moment, I thought I'd time-traveled back to an elementary school computer lab in the early 2000s.
'Our vibes don't align at all.'
We exchanged a look.
How could we, who roam the bloody Summoner's Rift, mix with that pure soul who pops water balloons and throws banana peels?
But seeing that hamster-like expression looking up at us with hopeful eyes, I couldn't bring myself to say, "You go study or something."
I scratched the back of my head and swallowed a sigh.
"Just come with us for now. We can think about it when we get there."
"Oh, okay... thanks."
Ga-young's expression brightened immediately. Seizing the moment, I casually dropped a devilish suggestion.
"Or, since you're coming, do you want to learn a game?"
"A game? What game?"
"Rel. These days, if you don't play this, you can't even hold a conversation."
Yoon Seo-ah, who was listening, looked at me as if I were crazy.
I know. I know how inhumane it is to recommend this legendary mental-illness-inducing game—one that makes even normal people start asking about your parents' well-being just by hitting the queue—to this innocent model student.
'This is practically forcing a non-smoker to take up cigarettes.'
But what the hell.
To survive in this harsh, female-dominated society, mental training is essential anyway. As a friend, it might not be bad to expose her to the toxicity early.
"How about it? Want to try?"
Ga-young seemed to think for a moment, then nodded with a determined expression.
"Yeah. I want to learn. If it's something you do, Jin-hyuk... I want to try it too."
Poor thing.
She has no idea she's signing herself into a mental hospital of her own free will.