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D-5 to Finals
“It’s the fourth time he’s passed out this week, and it’s Wednesday,” Jaemin huffs. Mark doesn’t reply, shoving his hands into his pocket as he tries to escape the cold weather.
It’s nearing 11pm, and the two are on their way to the library, where Jisung lies fast asleep. They received a call from Hyejoo (Jisung’s classmate), who’d been studying at a table near Jisung’s.
“He’s fallen asleep again,” Hyejoo had complained. The library is closing soon and Mark refuses to receive a phone call from a crying Jisung at 1am saying he’d been kicked out by the librarian and had been sleeping at the bus stop for two hours again.
When they arrive at the library, Hyejoo is shaking Jisung awake. The boy shrugs her off, murmuring something about having no time to sleep. Mark and Jaemin sigh, taking in the mess before their eyes.
“Jisung, let’s go home,” Mark whispers, gently pulling Jisung up. The younger clings to him, eyes still closed as he stumbles out of his seat. Jaemin hastily gathers Jisung’s belongings, muttering about his messy notes under his breath. Shooting Hyejoo an apologetic smile, the trio leaves the library, Jaemin chiding Jisung for passing out so many times this week. Jisung can only nod as he begins to fall asleep, the only force keeping him up being Mark’s arms.
Still, they can’t blame Jisung for falling asleep in the middle of nowhere. Hell Week has been– literal hell for them, and the only place Jisung can escape to is the library. Their dorm is filled with endless screaming and complaints, books and notes strewn everywhere. It certainly isn’t the best place to study, so one cannot be mad at Jisung for sneaking out at 7pm every night to go to the library.
When they return to the dorm, it is quiet. Jeno and Renjun are asleep on the couch, a Chinese drama that Renjun insisted on watching still playing on the TV. Donghyuck and Chenle are glaring at their Physics textbooks together, furiously scribbling notes nonetheless. A Khan Academy video plays on the iPad in front of them, frowns plastered on their face.
“We’re back,” Jaemin announces quietly, placing Jisung’s book bag on the dining table. “Wake Renjun and Jeno up or carry them to bed so they don’t complain about their stiff necks tomorrow morning,” Mark tells Donghyuck, who nods in reply. It’s become a routine, after Jisung had fallen asleep in the library the first time.
Mark can hear Jeno and Renjun’s complaints as he carries Jisung to bed. The younger refuses to let go when Mark places him down, and Mark can only sigh and pry Jisung’s arms off him.
Jaemin enters the room, plopping onto his bed, notes covering so much of his bed that they could easily be mistaken for his sheets. “Go to bed, Jaemin,” he ruffles the boy’s hair, much to Jaemin’s discontent. “Can’t. Have to study for Music Theory.”
Mark nods understandingly, silently heading into his bedroom. As his head hits the cool pillow, he can only think about the properties of the elements in the periodic table. Donghyuck joins him a little later, whining about needing comfort after his brain has been fried from the Principle of Moments and Newton’s stupid Laws. Mark can only hum as he breathes in Donghyuck’s scent, arms wrapping around the younger as they fall asleep.
D-3 to Finals
Five of them are gathered around the dining table (which they rarely use for dining anymore), studying.
It’s the third time Renjun has complained about back pains that night, and Jaemin finally snaps. “Can’t you see that we’re all struggling here? You’re not the only one with back pains, fuc-“ Jeno calmly slaps his hand over Jaemin’s mouth, before the younger can say anything else he’ll regret.
“Don’t swear, Jaem. We’re all stressed, and being rude isn’t going to solve anything,” Jeno whispers, patting Jaemin’s back encouragingly. The younger subsides, glaring at Renjun before continuing to scan his English notes.
Mark arrives home with Jisung– who didn’t fall asleep in the library this time, surprisingly. Mark lifts the plastic bag filled with onigiris, a signal for them to get their dinners. The seven boys have been surviving off food from 7-11 and McDonalds for the past week, much to Mark’s distaste.
“We have to eat healthily, even if we have no time!” he’d said, only to fall prey to Chenle’s claim that they’d eat fruits every day. The fruits had run out in two days, after Donghyuck had stress eaten all the apples while doing a mock physics paper.
Jisung’s plastic bag is filled with bottles of store-bought coffee. It tastes horrible, but no one has the energy to complain as they chug down their nth bottle that day.
“I’m taking a break. My eyes hurt from all these numbers,” Chenle gets up, cracking his back as he does so. “God, I feel like an old man.”
“You are one,” Jisung retorts, settling down on the couch, and Chenle joins him soon after. They put a drama on TV, but they’re barely watching it, Jisung’s head in Chenle’s lap as they both start to nod off.
Jaemin’s on his seventh bottle of trash coffee that day, and his hands are shaking uncontrollably. Jeno eyes him, a little annoyed that the younger had refused to believe that drinking seven bottles of coffee a day is bad for your health. Holding Jaemin’s hand to stop it from shaking, Jeno sighs. “Let’s call it a night, shall we? We can join Ji and Chenle on the couch and watch their drama. We’re all too worked up.”
Jaemin nods, and allows Jeno to lead him to the couch, but not before he pulls Renjun along. So that’s how they end the day, the seven of them piled on top of each other in a rather disorganised manner, slowly drifting off to sleep as Lee Jong Suk plays another prosecutor on the screen.
D-1 to Finals
Sunday evening comes quickly, and the entire college is a mess. Students are running from their dorms to the libraries, knocking on their classmates dorms to ask for extra notes, and some are even passed out in the corridors.
Donghyuck, is one of the students passed out in the corridors. Mark has gone to drag him back to the dorm, earning an aching arm by the time he’s deposited Donghyuck on the couch.
The seven of them look horrible, Jaemin’s eyes threatening to fall out of their sockets any moment, Jeno’s hair looking like it’s about to drop out, and Chenle’s tears dripping onto his paper as he cries out in frustration over one stupid equation. Jisung seems to have given up on everything, lying on the floor as he stares into space.
Renjun’s on his sixteenth bottle of coffee that week, and everyone’s steered clear of him after he threw up the last three times. Their dorm smells horrible, and Mark suspects that at least three of them haven’t showered in the last few days. That’s the beauty of Hell Week, he thinks. The madness and the rush, the horrendous dark circles, the disheveled hair and unwashed dishes.
The sounds of furious typing can be heard from almost every dorm as the students struggle with research and finding additional help on the internet. It’s not going very well, but Jaemin’s stumbled upon a website that goes something like “cheatcodes.org” and the seven of them have been ripping off the free website for the past week.
Hell Week is, after all, Hell.
After Finals
It’s finally over, and the boys are celebrating with ice cream in a run down booth at a parlour near the college campus. “I’m never touching another textbook again,” Jisung whoops, shoving a spoonful of chocolate ice cream into his mouth. Donghyuck wants to tell him that he still has at least three more years to go, but he decides to not burst Jisung’s bubble.
After all, Hell’s over for now. They’ll gladly take the hand of Pure Bliss and Short Term Happiness before they re-enter the dungeons of school once again.