07:17pm

“Mia, your exam,”

Mia smiled politely as her professor handed her results back, looking over the scantron for her overall score. She sighed at the demeaning red 62% written at the bottom. Her paper contributed to the unfortunately large percentage of students that didn’t pass the exam. Mia sat through the rest of the lecture feeling quite disappointed, expecting more out of herself. Considering she had studied the past few nights, she had hoped to at least get a B or something close, not fail the entire exam. She knew science was her weakest subject and this wasn’t the first test she got a bad grade on, but it was the first one she had completely failed. The walk to her lab afterwards made her feel even worse, remembering that she still had a lab quiz to study for.

“Hey, Mia! What’d you get on the exam?” Johnny, a classmate in her lab group asked as he sat next to her. He was an old high school friend of Mia’s that automatically drifted to her since he knew no one else taking the course. They weren’t exactly close, but had enough mutual friends to be comfortable with one another and talk.

“I don’t want to say exactly but… I basically failed,” she frowned.

“Aw, it’s okay! If it makes you feel better, I only got a C- because of the curve,” he laughed at himself. “What about you, Jungwoo?”

Mia glanced at their other groupmate, Jungwoo, who sat in front of her. He was reading today’s pre-lab, prepping for their experiment of the day. He was always fairly quiet, only speaking when it was about their classwork or laughing every now and then at one of Johnny’s jokes. Mia often wondered about him, feeling like he had more to him that no one knew about but she didn’t want to pry into his personal life.

“Oh, I got an 86%. I just missed some of the multiple choice questions,” he said.

“An 86%?! That means you’re part of the like, four people that got their score curved up to an A, right?” Johnny asked in amazement and Jungwoo nodded, making his two peers look at him in awe.

“I could never,” Mia chuckled. “and I actually tried this time!”

“If you need help, I’m in the STEM Center before class every week,” Jungwoo mentioned.

“I have a break right before class, maybe I could meet up with you? Building 3900?”

“Yeah, 3900, right around the corner.” Jungwoo nodded.

“Sounds good, I’ll see you Thursday then!”

Mia was actually excited, happy to have someone she could study with that could help her get on track. It only took a few weeks into the semester for her to notice that studying alone wasn’t the best thing to do, finding herself constantly distracted by her phone or random Youtube videos instead of working on assignments. She never got any work done on her own, and figured that studying with Jungwoo would be a great way to be productive while socializing. She also realized it would be a way to get to know her classmate better, hoping it would allow her to see how he is outside of lab.

Two days later, Mia walked into the cafeteria to grab breakfast after her morning class as part of her weekly routine. She took her phone out to scroll through her contacts, stopping once she saw the name ‘Jungwoo(Bio)’.

‘Hi! Are you in the STEM center already?’

‘Yeah, I’m in the far left corner by the long tables. I can save you a seat if you want.’

‘That’d be great, thanks :-)’

Mia grabbed her toasted bagel and cream cheese before heading to Building 3900, just across the main science building. She had never actually been inside the building before, never really finding a reason to since she hadn’t taken a science class since high school. She made sure she signed in at the front desk computer before looking around, spotting the tall boy in the back corner like he said.

“Hi Jungwoo,” she greeted him, setting her things down onto the table.

“Oh, hi.” he gave her a small smile, looking up from his textbook. He was in the middle of highlighting a word, labeling it with a definition.

“Wow, you actually bought the textbook? She said it wasn’t required,”

“Yeah, she said that after I already ordered it so I figured I might as well use it. It’s actually pretty helpful,” he said. “Did you need help studying anything specific?”

“Um…” she paused, feeling a bit embarrassed. “I kinda need help with everything, really.”

“That’s okay,” he chuckled. “I’m here to help.”

Mia thanked him as he handed her his notes, showing her what was going to be on the next exam in the current chapter they were learning about. She noticed how neat everything was, from his handwriting to the way he organized all of his papers.

“You’re so organized,”

“Yeah, my roommate gets a little bothered by it sometimes, but it’s just a habit.” he said after she pointed out everything.

“Roommate?”

“I live with my friend Doyoung in the apartments just a few blocks away. My parents are always gone on business trips so I decided moving in somewhere with a friend would be less lonely.”

“Makes sense. Do you work?”

“I do, I work at a pet store not too far from here.”

Mia nodded as she listened, gradually learning more about Jungwoo as the study session went on. They’d go back and forth asking questions as they went through their notes, both of them slowly beginning to open up as time went on. After a while the two noticed the clock said 1PM and began to gather their things, heading to class together. 

This became a weekly schedule for them, Mia always meeting up with Jungwoo to study and hangout. It had gotten to the point where they would even meet up outside of campus, finding time between their schedules to study together at nearby cafes. Jungwoo quickly became someone Mia found comfort in, constantly reassuring her that she was doing great in school and helping her through difficult assignments or quizzes.

“Hey, are you two like… a thing?” Johnny nudged Mia’s arm one day during lab, Jungwoo on the other side of the room collecting samples.

“No, we’re not. Why?”

“I don’t know, you two seem pretty close now. Hanging out before class, studying with each other every week, sharing food. I wouldn’t be surprised if you guys ever got together,” he shrugged, going back to writing in his lab manual. “you guys would be cool as a couple.”

“What’s happening?” Jungwoo said as he sat back down, placing a beaker onto the table.

“Nothing, just asking Mia why you guys aren’t in love yet,”

“Good question,” Jungwoo laughed before going back to work.

Johnny raised an eyebrow at Mia, making her blush. She had to admit, Jungwoo was a handsome guy. He was tall, had a cute smile, a joyful laugh. She would often catch herself looking up at him during their study sessions, admiring his good looks. It was just an added bonus to his kindness, Mia appreciating how much he’s helped her this entire semester.

“Hey, Jungwoo, can I ask you something?” she said to him as they walked to the student parking lot after class like usual.

“Go ahead,” he said, swinging his keys around his finger.

“Are you free tonight?” she asked, knowing he didn’t have another class and it was his day off of work. She wouldn’t be surprised if he said no considering how tired he must be, but even if it was for just a little bit, she hoped that she could get some kind of quality time with him without having to look at the chemical equation of photosynthesis.

“I am actually, why? Did you need help with anything else this chapter?” he looked at her obliviously.

“No, I was just wondering... if you wanted to hangout? Not study, but go out or something?” she stopped in front of her car, looking up at him for an answer.

“I’m down to hangout, what were you thinking of doing?” he said causing Mia to pause for a bit, slightly panicking because she didn’t expect to get that answer from him.

“Um… I don’t know, to be honest. Do you want to go watch a movie?”

“Sure,”

The two agreed on meeting at Jungwoo’s for a movie night, not wanting to spend money on an actual movie at the theaters. Mia trusted him offering his place to hangout, everything she’s learned about him allowing her to enter his apartment with ease. 

She looked around with curious eyes as she set her stuff down on the couch, in awe at how clean and cozy his home was. The tables were clear, floor clean, shoes lined up neatly near the door. She observed the frames on the wall, seeing pictures of Jungwoo and his roommate together with their friends or family. She figured the two must have a close friend group, every picture including the same amount of people.

“Doyoung’s home but he’s probably napping or watching a drama,” Jungwoo mentioned. They settled on a Studio Ghibli film to watch after grabbing some snacks out of the pantry, sitting on the couch in the living room. Jungwoo sat on one side, Mia on the other. There was a comfortable silence all throughout the movie, both of them only making small comments at their favorite parts. Mia would glance at him every now and then only to see him focused on the movie, fully immersed into the plot. She began to wonder if she was just overthinking, letting Johnny’s words get to her head. She was just another classmate, a simple friend. There wasn’t much else to their relationship, nothing else could happen.

Soon enough the movie was over, the end credits scrolling across the screen. The clock on the wall only read 8:04pm, Mia thinking it was still too early for her to go home.

“Question,” Mia eyed the Nintendo Switch stood in front of the TV. “do you have Mario Kart?”

“Maybe,” Jungwoo grinned and Mia laughed before getting up to grab a controller, ready to beat him in every race.

The two spent the rest of that night playing Mario Kart and other multiplayer games, the room full of playful banter and yells. Mia found herself practically sprawled across the couch while Jungwoo sat on the floor in front of her, both of them concentrated on the bright screen in front of them. It was around 11:30 when she began to doze off, driving her bike off of the Rainbow Road course several times before falling asleep.

Mia woke up the next day in silence, the TV turned off and a Snoopy patterned blanket laid across her. She checked her phone to see that it was only 7:54am, a little earlier than she’d usually wake up.

“Oh, good morning,” Jungwoo turned around in the kitchen to spot her awake, placing a bagel onto a plate. “Cream cheese?”

Mia smiled as she nodded, acknowledging how he remembered a detail from her usual breakfast meal.

“Sorry for falling asleep on your couch, I meant to go home before midnight.”

“It’s okay, I really liked spending time with you,” he said and she blushed, remembering how he would high five or hug her whenever they passed a level in Super Mario Bros. They were small gestures, but considering they were never that physically close before, Mia enjoyed it all.

Mia headed to the bathroom to freshen up, opening the bathroom door to walk back to the kitchen only to bump into a tall figure.

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t think you were still here,” Doyoung apologized, letting her walk ahead of him.

“It’s okay,” she smiled politely before sitting next to Jungwoo at the dining table.

“Doyoung, this is Mia. She’s from my-“

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Your class, you talk about her all the time,” Doyoung waved his hand before heading towards the front door. “I’ll be at Jeno’s if you need me, bye! Nice meeting you Mia!”

Once the door shut Mia’s eyes darted to Jungwoo, whose cheeks turned red. He was looking down at his plate of food shyly, embarrassed at his roommate’s words.

“So, you talk about me?” she teased, taking a bite of her bagel. Jungwoo just laughed, struggling to make eye contact with her.

“I do talk about you, to be honest. I talk a lot about you,” he said. “you’re cute to me.”

Now Mia was the one blushing, taken aback by the sudden confession. She expected Jungwoo to only look at her as a friend, not get ratted out by his roommate that she had just met.

“I think you’re cute too, Jungwoo.”

The two continued to eat their breakfast like that, sharing shy giggles and quick eye contact. They weren’t sure as to how to go on with their mutual crushes on each other, both too scared to make the first move.

“Do you work today?” Mia asked as they washed the dishes together, standing side by side.

“I do, I work 12-8pm,” he nodded.

“I’ll pick you up at 8:30?”