Paper Friendship Chapter 7

There were a lot of kids from our school at the study room. The lounge was, literally, a resting space where people studied, ate, or took breaks. Joo Sunhye and I studied there. Honestly, it wasn’t a space where I could focus. Above all, with Joo Sunhye sitting right next to me, I couldn’t focus at all.

Also, since we were always in the lounge, other kids would leave. I felt self-conscious and sorry. I felt like we were disrupting the others’ breaks.

However, there was almost only one person who didn’t care about us at all. It was Choi Juoon. Whether we were there or not, Choi Juoon would drink water or just come over to study. At first, Joo Sunhye saw Choi Juoon and suggested we study together, but Choi Juoon refused. After that, neither Joo Sunhye nor Choi Juoon paid any attention to each other.

When I went home after the study room closed, I would drop Joo Sunhye off at her house and then head toward mine. Because of that, I could no longer walk home with Choi Juoon. Choi Juoon just calmly said he understood. I knew it couldn’t be helped, but at this moment, I felt… a sense of guilt toward Choi Juoon.

I should have studied at home too, but by the time I walked Joo Sunhye home and arrived, the time had always passed midnight. I was truly exhausted and would just collapse and sleep. Joo Sunhye and Choi Juoon didn’t go to their flight attendant academy during the exam period, and so I was with Joo Sunhye throughout the entire exam period.

∞ ∞ ∞

“I’m screwed.”

That was my situation after the first day of midterms ended. Joo Sunhye must have felt the same, as she suggested we stop meeting for the rest of the exams. My grades were in such a state that even studying all weekend wouldn’t be enough.

“It feels like caffeine is going to be flowing through my veins for a while.”

“I knew you’d say that.”

Choi Juoon said sarcastically as he left. Since it was true, I didn’t really have anything to say. Choi Juoon said his exams went okay. While heading to the study room, I was so depressed that I couldn’t say a single word. I’m doomed. My life is in big trouble…. I was seriously worried about my future.

“I’ll show you my summaries.”

“…Really? For real?”

“Yeah.” Choi Juoon said, looking at his phone. I stared at Choi Juoon with my mouth hanging open. I was so grateful that I felt genuinely sorry. Is it okay for me to accept it? Honestly, I wanted to. But is it really okay? I want to. After worrying for a long time, I finally refused.

“…No, it’s okay…. You have your own studying to do….”

“Suit yourself then.”

Choi Juoon answered lightly as he put his phone in his pocket. What is this? Should I stop him? All sorts of thoughts ran through my head. I hadn’t intended on taking it, but after hearing that, I suddenly wanted it so badly. I want it. No, accept the—the—the… let’s accept it. But I still want to. As I was fidgeting and unable to sit still while having those thoughts, Choi Juoon glanced at me and said:

“I’m joking. I’ll show you.”

“…Really? Seriously? Really?”

“You don’t want me to show you?”

Choi Juoon frowned slightly, as if he were annoyed.

“Buy me a meal later.”

“Yeah…. No…. I’m incredibly sorry…. Ah, seriously….”

“If you say you’re sorry one more time, it’s really off the table.”

At that, I clamped my mouth shut. Then I muttered softly:

“…Thank you.”

We walked in silence for a bit, then Choi Juoon said:

“But how far have you studied each subject?”

“You won’t get mad if I tell you, right?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re really not going to get mad?”

“Yeah.”

“You can’t get mad.”

“Ah, I said I won’t.”

“There are some subjects where I don’t even know the exam scope.”

Choi Juoon smacked me on the head. While getting hit, I thought, I should have told him not to hit me. Choi Juoon smacked me a few times and scolded me, asking if I was in my right mind. It didn’t seem right to say, “But you promised not to get mad,” so I just listened quietly.

As soon as we arrived at the study room, Choi Juoon asked to see the test papers from today. I’m not lying; I even got a 9 on one. I got three questions right. It was out of 100, obviously. I showed them to him and, as expected, got scolded again.

We had triangle gimbaps for a simple lunch. Choi Juoon gave me a hard time even while we were eating. It felt like he was saying, Do you even have time to be eating right now? I had eaten so much humble pie that I could have skipped dinner. In the middle of all this, Choi Juoon ate faster than I did, so I kept my eyes glued to my food and chewed diligently.

After brushing our teeth, we went to the lounge to study. Choi Juoon taught me very earnestly. It was my first time learning from Choi Juoon. I could clearly feel how much he had changed since middle school.

I was better at studying back then, though…. I suddenly remembered how Choi Juoon used to play around in middle school, and I smiled slightly. Then, Choi Juoon said with a straight face:

“Are you laughing right now?”

“Sorry.”

I apologized immediately and fixed my eyes on the textbook. Choi Juoon stared at me a bit more without a word. I was genuinely scared. Choi Juoon slowly withdrew his gaze and said:

“Focus.”

I nodded quickly.

We started at two, and it was past ten. We had triangle gimbaps for dinner again. We studied like that until 1:30 AM, then returned home. I passed out the moment my head touched the pillow. Even while going to school in the morning, Choi Juoon kept summarizing the subjects we were taking that day.

As a result, my grades went up a little. Today is Friday, and the next exam is on Monday. So, I had time over the weekend. I waited in front of Choi Juoon’s classroom, and as soon as I saw him, I ran over and hugged him.

“I did great on the exams!! What do you want to eat? I’ll treat you.”

In contrast to my expression, Choi Juoon calmly told me to show him the test papers from today. I handed him the papers from my bag and said:

“Ta-da, I did well.”

Choi Juoon kept scanning my test papers. Since I was in such a great mood, I chattered on and on as we walked to the study room. And when we got close to the study room, I carefully read Choi Juoon’s mood and said:

“…Are you going to teach me today, too?”

“Do you have any conscience?”

“….”

“Do you at least know the exam scope this time?”

Choi Juoon smiled, curling the corners of his mouth. I smiled along with him. Since the atmosphere was good for some reason, I couldn’t bear to say I didn’t know again. Then, after arriving at the study room and getting hit a few times just like yesterday, we started studying together.

∞ ∞ ∞

Finally! The midterms were over. After checking my estimated scores, excluding the test from the first day, they were around my average. Some subjects even went up compared to when I studied alone. I was so grateful to Choi Juoon that I could genuinely see myself calling him hyung for the rest of my life.

I had plans with Joo Sunhye after today, and Choi Juoon had plans with his classmates. Choi Juoon and I headed to the study room to pack up our things. I asked Choi Juoon lightly:

“Did you do well on your exams?”

Choi Juoon nodded while looking at his phone. No matter how well he did, Choi Juoon never said he did well himself, but this time, he really seemed to have done well. I was relieved by the fact that I hadn’t been a burden on Choi Juoon’s grades.

We were the only ones in the study room. It seemed like everyone had gone out to play now that midterms were over.

“Ah, these seniors…. Are they not studying? Huh?”

I said jokingly. Choi Juoon laughed briefly. My appointment was at five, and Choi Juoon’s was at three. And it was one o’clock now. I thought about grabbing lunch with Choi Juoon, but the timing was awkward. So, we just simply packed our things.

After packing, we sat in the lounge to rest for a bit. Now we had to go home with our things. It was a nice day, so I felt sluggish. Choi Juoon was on his phone. I had expressed my gratitude to Choi Juoon here and there, but no matter how much I said it, it wasn’t enough. Really, really, reeeally! I was grateful. I hugged Choi Juoon, who was sitting next to me. Choi Juoon didn’t have much of a reaction.

“Choi Juoon, thank you, thank you hyung, thank you teacher.”

“Pay me back.”

“I’ll pin a carnation on you on Teacher’s Day. Make sure your chest is clear.”

“….”

“I’m doing this much, and you won’t even look at me? Is your phone more important?”

Choi Juoon, still not even looking at me, laughed and gave me the middle finger. I jokingly pursed my lips and aimed for Choi Juoon’s cheek.

“I’m really doing it, I’m really going to do it. Look at me, look at hyung.”