Before long, the opportunities to joke around dwindle as the flow of students becomes a deluge. Some students even accept the good luck charms Taehyeon hands out.
"I'm so proud of you," Hyejin says before shoving Taehyeon towards another glut of nervous examinees. "You didn't help out at all when we were making these things but thank you so much for taking all the credit now."
Something about her words hints that she isn't proud of him at all. Nonetheless, Taehyeon is a professional. He keeps on handing out the good luck charms and slaps a great big smile on his face. Whilst he is pretending to make Hyejin proud, Taehyeon hopes he can avoid somebody who might buff the shine from his current cheer.
"What's this?" a third year asks. Taehyeon recognises the boy from Minjun's class. This is already too close to Minjun himself.
"It's a lucky charm," Taehyeon says. "It's for your exams."
"Why would you be wishing me luck?"
"A few of us second years made them to support you all."
The third year nods slowly and inspects the good luck charm. "Did you make this one?"
"No. The others made most of these. I'm just helping to hand them out."
The third year glances around and seems to take note of Jeongwon battling her shyness to stretch out her arm to offer lucky charms to third years. He nods and smiles blandly at Taehyeon.
"Interesting. Have you given one of these to Stup… You must have made one for Lee Minjun, right?"
"I didn't make one especially for him."
"Really. I'll take one for him too then."
Taehyeon doesn't know Hyejin's policy on charm distribution. She just gave them each a box without any further instruction. The prospect of someone giving him an escape from actually seeing Minjun today is too much to pass up.
"Go ahead. Oh, and good luck."
The third year student nods before moving on. He seems to favour one leg over the other as he walks uphill. Taehyeon has heard horror stories about dedicated students revising their notes to the point of musculoskeletal problems but the conclusions tend towards clawed hands and back problems. Maybe there is a way to study hard enough to hurt your leg. Or maybe that particular student pre-soiled his trousers so nobody would notice any embarrassing accidents during one of the back to back exams.
Most of the other students pass by quickly, accepting the good luck charms without much thought or acknowledgement. They must be doing their best just to keep all of their knowledge in their heads. Taehyeon hadn't realised just how much he should dread these exams until seeing all the dark under eye circles and the expressions on the spectrum from exhausted to wired. Whilst optimism quietly assures him that he has been doing well enough with his studies so far, he doubts he will escape the same fate for himself next year. He doesn't want to have to retake the exams over and over until he achieves a score attractive enough for his (as yet undecided) dream university. He wants to get it over and done with so that he can move onto the next stage of his life.
Muddled between hope and fear, Taehyeon watches the last of the third years arrive. Hurrying inside for the intensive day of exams must be leaving the late students flustered. Naturally Taehyeon pities them, but he is also determined not to be like them when it is his turn.
With ten minutes to go before the exams are due to begin, chaperones and teachers slated for the next round of invigilating quietly herd away the people who don't need to be at the school. The hush over the retreating crowd is sombre and that sense only deepens with the arrival of a third year who sprints up the hill to the school. Taehyeon definitely can't end up like that kid.
At the bottom of the hill, dispersing takes a while. Everyone is trying to move quietly so they can avoid causing a disruption. Taehyeon doesn't mention the fact that they are well clear of the school so only a third year with super powers should be able to hear anybody out here tripping over each other's feet.
Bada, at the very least, thinks the same way as Taehyeon. "We'll have to leave you here," he says at full volume. Somebody shushes him but after casting his gaze around at eye level, he doesn't pay it any more mind.
"What do you mean? Aren't we all going to hang out? We still need to work out how to get on Minjeong's good side," Hyejin points out. She jostles Jeongwon extra hard but she just trips into a shorter person who is swallowed by the void of the slow-moving crowd.
"Me and Taehyeon have an appointment to get to. A date, if that sounds more urgent and important," Bada says decisively.
"A date? With who?" Taehyeon splutters.
Bada looks at someone over Taehyeon's shoulder and says, "my brother."
"Your glamorous and sophisticated university brother?" Taehyeon asks. He's alarmed for no reason because nobody breathtakingly handsome is standing behind him
"Your glamourous and sophisticated university what?" Hyejin shouts. Taehyeon concedes that an easily distracted exam-taker might have heard that from all the way up the hill. Getting pulled into Hyejin's telling off really doesn't seem fair at all. The prospect of seeing Bada's brother after this keeps most of his bitterness at bay.
It very quickly becomes apparent that Bada lied about meeting his brother. In fact, Bada literally tells Taehyeon as much when they walk to nowhere in particular.
"I wanted to speak to you. Without anybody else listening in."
Taehyeon does his best not to look disappointed. He is uncertain of his success because all he can feel of his face is the numbness sinking dangerously close to brainfreeze. "Okay."
"It's a bit serious," Bada adds. "It's nothing bad or scary. I can't really talk about it in front of anybody else though."
Curious, Taehyeon supposes this is the sort of conversation which requires vaguely comforting surroundings. They head to a little bakery where they can eat-in. The effects of fresh bread are immediate. Bada has a smile plastered to his face as they sit at a little wooden table beside shelves of baguettes. The simplicity of the warming aroma makes Taehyeon wish he went for something more basic than the cheese-bread monster he had been beguiled by at the till. The hot chocolate doesn't help matters. The cheese and chocolate are going to be a match made in hell when he wants to wash away the cloying insistence of his brunch. He just couldn't say no to a little bit of indulgence on the coldest Thursday ever.
"So," Bada says, very clearly losing his nerve despite the smile frozen onto his lips, "today is the last day that I'll be sad about Siwoo. Oh, you started eating before I could take a picture."
Eyeing the ginormous bite he took out of the cheesy bread roll, Taehyeon knows that no amount of clever angles will hide his impatience. "We can take pictures when we get cake."
"Cake! For breakfast?"
Bada almost sounds like he wasn't already planning on getting cake. Luckily, Taehyeon knows him better than that. They aren't leaving the cosy amber glow of the bakery without stuffing themselves full of impossibly springy doughnuts and overloaded cakes. It is an unspoken rule. The rule is so unspoken that Taehyeon isn't about to point out their very obvious future right now. Bada is talking about something important, after all.
"Are you sure that you're okay? It has only been 2 weeks since he said all that horrible stuff to you."
"I'm sure. I'll give up on Eoleunjeol boys for now. They aren't going to miss hanging out with me. I was always the third or fourth wheel."
A fourth wheel seems pretty important in Taehyeon's opinion. Plenty of vehicles have four wheels. Bada would be an incredibly important wheel for any hypothetical vehicle in Taehyeon's opinion. Seeing Bada look so resigned to that only makes irritation curdle the hot chocolate in Taehyeon's stomach. Whilst trying to word his thoughts in a way which won't sound like he is angry at Bada, he misses his chance to speak.
"If I'm meant to find love, it will be so obvious that there'll be no margin for error. If someone likes me, they would say something first."
"Right."
"What's the matter?" Bada asks. He takes a sip from his steaming mug and raises his eyebrows. "Oh, when I said I'd give up on Eoleunjeol boys I didn't mean that you have to too. How are things going with Woobin?"
When it comes to not having any contact with Eoleunjeol boys, he is thinking more about the fun he had with Pilgyu on Dynasty of Destruction. Woobin. It is a pointless question. They've discussed this to death. "Still no progress."
"You'll get there," Bada offers.
The encouragement is nice but Taehyeon doesn't feel happy about that. It isn't fair that Bada has had to decide he needs to be happy with the way things are turning out for him. Next time, Taehyeon wants to be able to treat Bada for a meal whilst being disappointed that his precious friend will be spending all of his time with a boyfriend. Taehyeon wants to feel disappointed, neglected, and jealous. He doesn't want to see Bada trying so hard to smile when he's admitting something which makes him sad.