'I—I hate Math.'
Mr. Yan was currently writing a massive equation across the board. The way the chalk clicked and the strange symbols twisted together made it look like a setup for a Sacred Ritual. It sent a wave of goosebumps down my arms. Was I really going to have to feel like this for the entire year?
'I won't go crazy, right?'
Yuna nudged me sneakily from the side and whispered under her breath. Jungkook, noticing the movement, leaned his chair back to get closer, clearly all ears.
"Hey, what about this Saturday for the horror movie night?" Yuna whispered. "We can show Y/n around the city in the morning, too."
It was Wednesday, and as far as I knew, I didn't have any plans. Mom had mentioned meeting up with some of her old school friends, and I was dreading being stuck with a group of gossiping ladies all day. This was the perfect escape.
Jungkook leaned in further, glancing at us before quickly looking back at the board to avoid suspicion. "Horror movie night? Perfect. But Y/n, you'll probably have to cover your ears during the jump scares. You looked like you were ready to scream just from dropping your phone."
"I am perfectly capable of handling jump scares!" I hissed back, feeling a surge of playful pride. "Fine, Saturday it is. Let's see who's actually the scaredy-cat."
I playfully slapped his shoulder. Since Jungkook was balancing his chair on two legs, he almost tipped over, flailing slightly before steadying himself. Yuna and I quickly scrambled to look busy as the teacher finally finished writing and turned around.
"Silence! No talking!" Mr. Yan shouted. He didn't look at us directly, but the vibe was clear—he knew exactly where the noise was coming from.
I started jotting down the solved equations furiously. They were still going completely over my head; even if I had listened, I doubt I would have understood a word. Beside me, Jungkook's hand moved just as fast.
Yuna, however, was just staring at the board. I wondered if she'd gone insane after seeing the solution. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised. Who even uses this stuff in daily life? It's not like I need to find the derivative of my life choices. They say you have to study hard to get a job, but most jobs don't require you to excel in every subject. Just give us the skills we actually need, and we'll master them!
'So much stress,' I sighed.
I looked at Yuna again. Instead of staring blankly at the board, she was now staring intensely at me. Her eyes traveled to my phone and then back to my face with a look of pure shock.
Through some sort of "best friend telepathy," I could practically hear her voice: 'You dropped your phone?! When? Is it okay? My phone is my life—besides family and Daeun, of course. How could you be so careless!'
I gave her a reassuring, knowing smile. And just like that, the morning classes blurred past. We accompanied Mr. Hao, our Chemistry teacher, through a session of illegal potion-making, followed by Mrs. Lu in Biology for a deep dive into alien anatomy.
'Finally... it's lunch time.'
I was ready for some rest. Or, at least, I thought I was.