Assignment Bomb – Late March, One Month Before Midterms
Late March, one month before midterms.
During this stretch leading up to them, I was at Na-eun Jeong's house, spending time with her.
But Na-eun was whining nonstop right next to me. She had been at it for a while now.
"Oppa~"
"What's up?"
"Assignments... There are too many assignments..."
She was whining because of all the assignments.
Midterms were always brutal, but the real killer was the season right before them and between midterms and finals—that was when the assignment avalanche hit hardest.
Na-eun was suffering through this assignment bomb season.
"...More than mine?"
"Oh."
Of course, even Na-eun probably didn't have as many as me.
Third year wasn't called the "death year" for nothing. The workload was legit life-threatening.
"...Oppa, sorry."
"For what?"
"I feel bad for whining like this..."
How was I supposed to handle this aegyo golden retriever suddenly getting all self-conscious?
I just lightly stroked her head in response.
Maybe it cheered her up, because she started rubbing her cheek against my shoulder again.
As I soaked in the healing vibes of her cuteness, I asked her casually,
"Na-eun, what assignments do you have?"
"Career exploration plan, movie review essay, memorizing blood vessel names, and..."
It was a massive pile mixing required gen-ed and major classes, but still, most of them felt doable. Nothing that'd force an all-nighter like mine.
"...But apparently, after midterms, the memorization stuff multiplies by like ten."
...Scratch that. Na-eun was joining the all-nighter club post-midterms too.
"At least these seem manageable for now."
"Yeah, I think so too."
She nodded in agreement up to that point.
"Let's knock out these assignments quick."
"Okay! But oppa, what about yours?"
"Read a paper and write a report."
"What paper?"
"Wanna see?"
I handed her the photocopied paper I was holding.
Na-eun glanced at it and immediately handed it back.
"...Sorry."
"Stop apologizing. This is all my karma."
Yeah, my karma for majoring in engineering.
Once I turned in this report, the prof would hit me with follow-ups designed to torture me using it. Plus a grind-your-teeth pile of calc problems.
Just thinking about it made my head throb. No, throb wasn't the word—curses were bubbling up.
How the hell did I end up like this?
Honestly, up until last year, it felt like something I could grit through. This year? Not even that. I was just gonna get pummeled by assignments until the semester ended.
Na-eun, please don't end up with a life like mine. For real.
*
A few minutes after that thought, Na-eun stretched with a big yawn and announced,
"Oppa, I'm done with my assignments...!"
"For real?"
"Yeah, at least for today."
"Good thing."
Yeah, really. Escaping this assignment hell was a win.
"Oppa, hold on a sec?"
Na-eun told me to wait, then pattered out of the room on those cute little feet.
Watching her go sparked some curiosity. Why'd she leave all of a sudden? What reason could Na-eun have to step out?
As I pondered, I heard a door open and close.
She pattered back in, beaming ear to ear.
"Na-eun, what was that about?"
"Hehe~ You'll find out soon!"
Trusting her words, I dove back into study mode.
I was killing time reading the paper and brainstorming report structure when—
-Ding!
A super cheerful sound rang out.
"Ah, it's done! Oppa, hold on?"
Na-eun hopped up again, dashed off with a doot-doot-doot, and returned moments later.
"Ta-da~ Sugar recharge time!"
She'd brought freshly baked cookies.
"You went to bake these?"
"Yup! I totally forgot earlier 'cause I was having so much fun with you... Hehe... I was gonna snack while studying, but..."
Hearing that made Na-eun even more lovable.
She'd baked fresh cookies just thinking of me.
I set my report down and went to her.
"Oppa?"
-Swoosh!
"Thanks~"
I hugged her tight and voiced my gratitude. A giggle bubbled up from Na-eun in my arms.
"What~ You don't have to thank me that much."
"I'm super grateful."
"Heehee, thanks to you too. For appreciating it like this."
The words were a bit funny, but her warm, cute sincerity hit me right in the heart.
After our quick hug, I sat back down and tried one of her piping-hot cookies.
-Crunch!
Insanely crispy. And stupidly sweet.
No wonder fresh-baked cookies are the best.
"Oppa, good, right? Fresh-baked are way better."
"Yeah, they are."
I nodded, munching away as I kept reading the paper.
*
After finishing the paper and outlining the report in my head, I started jotting it down in my notebook when Na-eun asked,
"Oppa, question."
"Shoot."
"Why do you bother handwriting notes? Doesn't everyone just use their phone these days?"
Her question made sense. My classmates and underclassmen in lecture halls had asked the same.
I gave her my personal take.
"Handwriting still beats everything else for actual studying."
"Ooh..."
Na-eun nodded and showed me her notebook.
"Me too."
Hers was packed tight with neat handwriting.
Her pretty script made it go beyond tidy—straight-up artistic.
"This is model student level."
"Hehe! Basics!"
Her proud pose cracked me up.
"Yeah, basics, but an awesome skill."
I stroked her head, praising her, then...
"...Radial artery."
"Huh?"
I quizzed her on one blood vessel from her notes.
Na-eun froze, a question mark practically popping over her head, so I read it straight off her page.
"Radial artery. Gotta restudy, huh?"
Her face flushed red at my tease, and she balled up her fists, lightly punching my arm.
"You surprised me! I panicked! Again! Quiz me again!"
Her adorable reaction had me nodding as I fired off more questions.
Surprisingly, she nailed the rest smoothly. Yeah, she was pretty solid.
* * *
I felt a little embarrassed from Seonwoo Lee oppa's playful teasing, but overall, I was happy.
Hanging out like this, bickering and studying together—it was my dream.
-Crunch!
I watched oppa munch on the cookies I'd baked, scribbling away.
Even the way he ate cookies was so cool.
I never knew I'd fall this hard, but yeah, I really love Seonwoo oppa.
"Oppa."
"Yeah?"
"I love you."
At my sudden confession, oppa smiled and nodded.
"Love you too."
God, I love him so much.
I wanted to cling to his arm and rub my cheek all over that sturdy bicep.
But no—he was in the middle of note-taking.
So instead, I satisfied my greed another way.
I grabbed the cookie he'd set down after eating one and held it to his mouth.
"Oppa, ahh."
"Ahh."
Oppa obediently opened up, took the cookie, and chewed happily.
-Gulp.
As he swallowed and opened again, I fed him another.
-Nom -Munch munch.
Oppa cutely accepting each one was the best.
Seeing this adorable side instead of his usual cool, reliable self—he was my boyfriend, my one and only love.
"Oppa, what about dinner tonight?"
"Dunno, I'll head out by then. Your parents are coming home, right?"
"Yeah, but I wanna eat with you."
"Nah, dinner with family."
His soothing strokes felt nice, but I felt a tiny pang.
"We're gonna be family someday anyway, right?"
Oppa flinched just a bit at that.
His cute reaction made me giggle softly—until he lightly bopped my forehead.
-Bonk!
"Ow!"
As I rubbed it, oppa gently stroked my hair and said,
"We love each other, that's great. But we can't neglect family. Got it?"
His words melted away the petty jealousy, and I was already nodding obediently, like his good little sheep.