TIME AFTER TIME ; jjk

45

Chapter 45

JEON JUNGKOOK

I restlessly hung back in my car while going over my lecture notes for my next Basic Human Genetics class. I checked the time for what felt like the hundredth time; Soohyun should be done with the first part of the exam in a few minutes.

Reading some more, I tamped down the slight pang of regret bubbling up in my chest, assuming that I might have missed out on something that was supposedly my time though it happened beyond my control.

There could have been a bit of jealousy, too, which I let myself bathe in for a while, thinking I was at least entitled to it. Something to own, despite how uncomfortable it made me feel. I decided to keep it to myself as I couldn't talk about it with Soohyun yet. It was a little off center topic given the circumstances. I didn't want to be inconsiderate—to spoil the thing we were having with her own license. It would definitely be the worst timing so I was stalling the conversation. Maybe I could bring it up after this was over. I didn't want her to feel as bad as she already did. I was aware that delays weren't the end of the world, but I couldn’t get over it sooner than I would have wanted to. Soohyun already had enough on her plate and it wasn't going to help by making this thing about myself again.

I waited over the next ten minutes and looked out the car window.

From a distance, I saw Soohyun and Taehyung walking out the glass doors as the other examinees started to file out of the building, sunlight on their faces. The weight of their experience seemed to settle in the air, but a few handled it in disguise.

I waved my hand to catch their attention and Soohyun was the first to spot me. A smile easily weaved across her lips. She gently pulled Taehyung by his arm as they both approached the car.

I wouldn't have had the slightest idea that they just did what they’d been anxious about for weeks from the way they held themselves if I hadn’t been a witness throughout the preparation, but the moment I got a closer view, I saw it seep through the cracks. I focused on Soohyun. On the tension in her shoulders. The genuine fear in her eyes. "Hey," she said.

Taehyung looked tired as well as he immediately took the backseat, his shoulders slumped.

“Hi.” I gave them a smile, expecting a rundown of the examination.

Soohyun walked around to the passenger side and unlocked the door, sinking into the seat and stretching her legs out.

Taehyung leaned forward, reaching over to tap my arm. I looked over my shoulder to glance at him. “Thanks for waiting for us out here. Took a day off work?”

“Sent my students topics to study in advance instead… And congratulations. I know how hard you guys have worked for this.”

The two quickly took the bottles of water I offered without a word before I watched Soohyun down half of it, spacing out the next minute, staring straight ahead while I let her process everything. She didn't move. I just sat there, waiting for her to talk, sharing the silence as it took up space around us. "I’m sure I messed it up," was the first thing she said after a while, her voice weary, looking as if she'd shrunk herself smaller than normal.

“I also fucked it up but it's done so that's definitely something,” Taehyung tried to put her mood up, his tone conciliatory. I knew it was hard to learn how to be like him—to put the positive above everything else—but it was always nice to imagine.

“But it was just the first part…” Soohyun trailed off. “Whatever. I can take the exam again next time, right? I'll put off fellowship for a while.”