The Reason? - Yoon Jeonghan

Chapter 44

The images were back online, this time with better explanation. Meaning less outrageous rumours. But, still, Ophely was on the internet again. People recognised her from the concerts now that everyone had settled down after the tour, and had also seen her with the band and more staff other than the main manager. It was clearer now that she really was a part, more or less, of Pledis entertainment and was working with the people surrounding her. However, it didn't make her feel any better to be once again scrutinised for where she came from and her age. And that right before sitting for the Suneung. Where people didn't need a distraction.

Ophely sighed as she took her seat at the office she had been lent for the time being. The room was still empty, she was the first one present. Not that she was surprised as everyone had finished working very late, she had only left home earlier to call her parents and find her previous sleep schedule so that she was well rested for her exams. One week, or less, Ophely forgot. She laid on top of her desk, study books beside her head, and sighed again.

Why was it happening now?

Like, wouldn't it have made more sense for the photos to surface back again when she was picked up after her Suneung? She rubbed her face to wake up, she shouldn't dwell on these things yet, she had to study. But the books were boring, and her attention was pulled back to her phone every few minutes to check if her parents had seen the news and wanted to talk to her. She didn't want them to worry any more than they already had. Her French high school friend had already messaged her, she who checked all of the news regarding her favourite group (Seventeen for those who hadn't guessed already), and then Inyeong had sent a nice supportive message not long ago. She, too, was studying diligently for the national high school test.

But Ophely had no motivation to study, she knew where she lagged, and had many little revision sheets to memorise and think back to them in an instant, but none of them were touched. They sat in neat piles on her desk, everything ready to be used for revising.

She was going to sigh a lot that day, Ophely breathed in deeply as she sat up, told herself a few words of encouragement, turned on some background music to focus on the words she was reading, and then started a mock-exam sheet.

Times passed quietly, not fast nor slow, but tiring nonetheless. The boys had gotten there two or three hours after her, making sure not to disrupt her, Jeonghan dropping off her headset that she had forgotten to bring earlier that day. And with the noise surrounding her blocked, she got to work harder, undisrupted by her coworkers that had come not long after the boys either.

And the last days blended that way before the Suneung. Her parents were going to be leaving soon, but they were still going around Korea to discover the beautiful countryside. Ophely didn't have to worry about them right now. Time passed so seamlessly that Ophely hadn't even been ready for when the time came.

A moment that she had not thought through very much. She knew that it was a very important event for everyone, especially in Seoul. When she had left the building to go where she had been told to go, it was like the city was on standby. Streets were visibly clearer, and police officers available and around. And the atmosphere was filled with stress. Even more so when she arrived at the school, nearly an hour early, and saw the throng of students her age stressing in the halls. She had never seen something like that.

Standing quietly in the waiting space dedicated to the students as officials checked everyone and what they brought inside of the halls one by one, Ophely observed the other students around her, filled with dread and some ready to faint. She was glad that she wasn't very stressed, maybe because she hadn't been at school and study academies that showcased truly what was to come, she didn't know. So she stayed by herself, hiding from the potential cameras and crazy fans that should be more worried about the other students doing well than her masked face in the crowd.