Crushing Midterms with Heart
April's final week, Na-eun dropped me the most ordinary news imaginable.
"Oppa, my midterms start tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? Thursday onward?"
"Yeah."
"Your school's schedule never changes, huh."
It was the utterly predictable announcement that midterms were right around the corner.
The reason I said it "never changes" was simple enough.
Na-eun went to the same high school I did, and back when I was a senior, our midterms ran the exact same way: Thursday and Friday, then Monday and Tuesday—four days total.
From the outside, it made a certain sense. They'd test Thursday through Friday, then give you the weekend to prep for the rest... a schedule that at least considered students' grades.
But from a student's perspective, nothing was more infuriating.
We all wanted to wrap up exams fast and snatch back our freedom ASAP—no one was volunteering to sacrifice their Saturday and Sunday for more cramming.
This held true even for top students. Sure, they'd buckle down over the weekend just like the teachers hoped and boost their scores, but still.
The key point was that Na-eun's midterms were starting...
"You going regular admission?"
"Nah, I'm not even bothering with early admission."
Na-eun had hammered that decision home like it was set in stone.
By now, I knew why. Her grades were just a tad short for early admission, but she crushed regular admission by comparison.
Put bluntly, her early admission scores would barely scrape her into a lower-tier Seoul university.
But regular admission? She could knock on the doors of mid-tier Seoul schools, maybe even challenge the top 10's fifth-place spot.
And the Jinhan University she was gunning for right now? That was exactly fifth on the list—my school.
"Then just treat these exams like a checkpoint on everything you've studied so far."
"Got it. And I won't bother writing out every single step in my workings anymore."
Lately, Na-eun had been breaking her habit of spelling out every equation step by step.
Good habit? Sure. But for the CSAT? Utterly useless. A hindrance, even.
She'd probably picked it up because in regular early admission tests or easier mock exams, jotting down every step didn't eat up much time.
Now that she was feeling the time crunch, she was fixing it—tough work, if you asked me.
But thanks to her hard efforts, she'd made solid progress. Good for her.
Now it just needed to translate into higher scores...
We'd know for sure come the May mock exam, at least. Until then, solving problems was all we could do.
"Na-eun, good work today."
"Thanks, oppa! You too!"
"Wanna skip studying this weekend? You must be wiped."
I figured skipping was the right call.
She had midterms to tackle, and it'd be exhausting. Yeah, skip it.
But Na-eun shook her head firmly and looked me straight in the eye.
"No way, I don't wanna skip. Let's keep studying."
"Won't you be tired? Midterms are gonna wear you out anyway."
"I'm fine, really. I've got sneaky good stamina."
"Didn't seem like it."
"It's gotten better from working out with you...!"
"Running once a week? Come on."
I ruffled her hair roughly, just once.
Her enthusiasm for studying was seriously adorable.
"Fine, then skip the workout and just do a short study session."
"For real?"
"Yeah, for real."
If she wanted to study that badly, her tutor couldn't slack off.
I'd only do this until reenrollment, but still—I was her tutor.
"Alright, good work~ I'm heading out."
"Okay, get home safe!"
I left her behind with a deep bow of her head, stepping out through the front door.
Hoping she'd ace these midterms too.
Even if the grades didn't matter much in the long run, doing well would boost her confidence.
I could say this since it was my school, but for a general high school, we got way too many overachievers.
With its rep for sending kids to top unis, it drew smart students like moths to a flame.
Even middling junior high students who'd studied a bit would struggle to rank high once they got there. Na-eun was a prime example.
So yeah, good scores this time around? Instant confidence boost.
Right? It had to be.
That was the level she needed to hit for Jinhan anyway.
*
Wish granted? Friday evening, Na-eun suddenly called me up.
And without preamble:
"Oppa~! I crushed my exams!"
"Ooh, how much?"
"Top three in class, at least! Everything's over 90!"
Top three in class—minimum 12th in the humanities overall. Solid grade 2 territory, student count-wise.
"Ooooh, nice~"
"All thanks to your awesome tutoring~"
Her smug little tone had me chuckling despite myself.
But I gave her a firm warning anyway.
"Don't get cocky, though. You could still tank the other subjects."
"I'll study even harder~ And~"
"And?"
"I have a wish! Since I did great on the exams, grant it!"
When she came at me so shamelessly, so endearingly, how could I say no?
Grinning, I asked:
"Alright, exam ace gets her wish. What is it?"
No hesitation in her answer.
"Shorten tomorrow's study time and chat with me instead!"
Just chit-chat. Such a simple wish.
I'd half-expected a movie date like last time. Nope.
How much did she love talking, anyway? Unfathomable.
But if that's what she wanted, I'd make it happen.
"Deal. One round of mock exam problems, then wish granted."
"Promise!?"
"Promise."
"Yesss...!"
She was genuinely thrilled—I could see it.
Chatting with me made her that happy? A 23-year-old ex-soldier dude?
Didn't make sense, but whatever—I'd force it to.
Women's hearts gonna woman.
With that in mind, I headed to her place the next day.
Wrapped up studying hard...
"Alright, chit-chat time."
"Yay! But oppa, hold on~!"
Na-eun dashed out of the room.
Exactly one minute later, she returned—and I was a little stunned.
I'd figured she'd bring bread like usual.
But this was...
"...Cake?"
She'd brought cake.
"Hehe~ I made this one too!"
Homemade, no less.
...Honestly, was studying even Na-eun's path? Shouldn't she go pro in baking?
I meant that from the bottom of my heart.
* * *
Usually, Seonwoo oppa and I chat for about two hours. But today we finished studying at noon, so we had at least five hours.
I didn't want to waste a single weird minute of it, so I brainstormed ways to keep him around longer.
And my plan? This cake.
With tasty cake in the mix, wouldn't oppa stick around more?
Nailed it. He was showering me in praise while devouring it.
As he happily munched away, I started asking the questions I'd been dying to.
Up till now, it'd been surface stuff like his daily routine. Time to dig deeper.
"Hey oppa, got a question."
"Shoot. What's up?"
"What kind of... um... person do you like?"
"What do you mean?"
Oppa asked back. Time to pick my words carefully.
Subtle, but on target.
"You know... everyone has a type they like, right? That's what I mean!"
Easier said than done. I'd planned to ask about hairstyles or looks.
But that'd scream "I like you!" way too loud.
I knew it wasn't time for that yet, so I tried skirting around it—and botched the landing.
As I clamped my mouth shut in regret, oppa took a bite of cake and said casually:
"Someone I click with in conversation."
"Someone you click with?"
"Yeah. And hard workers. I think I like that type."
Feeling the vibe, I went for it.
"What about looks?"
Looks—risky, but I was pretty confident in mine.
Two confessions a year, street casting offers... yeah.
So if I dolled up to his taste, he'd fall for sure. I already put tons of effort into my appearance.
"Looks matter that much? As long as there's no instant turn-off, isn't anything fine? Even if someone doesn't look great, if their personality's solid, I'd be cool with it."
Everything but his straight-laced purity.
I hadn't expected this level, but oppa was even kinder and more upright than I'd imagined. The type who didn't judge by appearances. Even okay with "ugly" if the personality shone.
God, he was so cool. Seonwoo oppa was.