The college entrance exam safely ended. No, whether ‘safely’ is the appropriate expression will be determined by the answer sheet that will soon be released.

Seeing Na Eun’s hand holding the colored pencil trembling slightly, Jae Kyung covered her hand with his own.

“Don’t worry. You worked hard. It’ll be fine.”

As someone who had witnessed how much effort she had put in, Jae Kyung’s encouragement meant even more to Na Eun.

Na Eun gathered her courage again and turned on her phone.

After checking the answer key and predicted grade cutoffs, Na Eun took another deep breath, but eventually slumped face-down on the table due to her heart feeling like it was about to burst.

Seeing her restless state, Jae Kyung patted her head sympathetically and asked.

“Should I do it for you?”

Not having the courage to do it herself, she quietly nodded, and Jae Kyung took her answer sheet and began grading it against the answer key.

Na Eun, who had been waiting quietly with her face buried in her arms, finally felt Jae Kyung gently tapping the top of her head after calmly finishing the grading.

Hesitating, she carefully raised her head and asked with a whimper.

“Did I fail…?”

“Congratulations. You did better than your last mock exam.”

“Really?!”

At those words, Na Eun quickly took the answer sheet from Jae Kyung’s hand and compared the grading results with the predicted grade cutoffs on her phone.

Na Eun’s eyes widened.

She even got a Level 1 in Korean for the first time, and the rest of the subjects were similar to or higher than the grades she had been getting.

“With this, you’ve definitely met the minimum grade requirements.”

Jae Kyung smiled with an impressed look.

“That’s great. Congratulations.”

“I must have been really lucky.”

“It’s not luck, it’s skill. You worked hard for it.”

Hearing her efforts acknowledged by the person closest to her, Na Eun couldn’t help but tear up a little.

Jae Kyung dabbed at her eyes with a nearby tissue.

Na Eun closed her eyes habitually, waiting for him to wipe away the tear marks, then quickly picked up her phone to inform her parents of the grading results.

Her parents, who had been uncomfortable with their daughter’s obsession with studying and the stress it caused beyond their wishes, were overjoyed to hear that their child had achieved the results she wanted.

Na Eun smiled brightly as she heard her father offering to buy her a car as a gift for finishing the college entrance exam, and her mother arguing that it was too extravagant, through the phone.

“They’re happy, aren’t they?”

Jae Kyung asked with a smile as Na Eun hung up the phone.

Na Eun nodded shyly, then carefully asked as something suddenly occurred to her.

“Did you do well?”

“Well, I…”

He showed her his answer sheet with an expression that suggested there was nothing to be concerned about.

Jae Kyung’s grades were similar to or even slightly better than Na Eun’s.

Most of his grades were similar to Na Eun’s, but he had done better in all science subjects.

With a bit of envy and jealousy, she pouted.

“How is it that I can’t win even once?”

As Na Eun, who had never beaten Jae Kyung in mock exams, showed the competitive spirit and disappointment typical of a model student, Jae Kyung laughed.

“You’re always winning against me. Because I like you more.”

“…”

What’s that supposed to mean. You won’t even kiss me.

Na Eun narrowed her eyes, remembering how he had smoothly evaded her honest text message before.

Then she decided to stop obsessing over physical affection.

What’s important is being with the person she likes right now, and Na Eun was just curious, not possessed by the ghost of someone who died from not being kissed.

They would eventually kiss while dating. With that simple thought, she let go of her obsession and said with a slightly apologetic expression.

“Jae Kyung, I promised to have dinner with my parents today, so I think I need to go home now.”

“That’s okay, I expected that.”

You should spend time with your parents on the day of the college entrance exam. Jae Kyung understood kindly and asked.

“Shall we meet on Saturday?”

“Ah… I’m really sorry! I already made plans to meet my friends that day.”

“Those close friends?”

Jae Kyung’s eyes darkened for just a moment, but Na Eun, completely oblivious, nodded.

“Yes. We’re going to an amusement park.”

“…Amusement park.”

Jae Kyung didn’t hide his disappointment.

“I was going to suggest we go there too.”

“Oh, really?”

Seeing Jae Kyung looking a bit upset, Na Eun thought for a moment and then carefully asked.

“Then… do you want to come with us?”

“With those friends?”

Won’t it be uncomfortable? At Jae Kyung’s question, Na Eun shook her head.

“Actually, Seung Joo and Sun Jin are curious about you too. They’ve only heard a lot about you but haven’t really seen you much… If you’re not uncomfortable…”

“I’m okay with it. I feel bad for suddenly joining in though.”

“No, it’s fine! And this is a secret.”

Na Eun looked around as if someone might overhear, then leaned over the cafe table and whispered softly into Jae Kyung’s ear.

“Actually, you come before Seung Joo and Sun Jin for me.”

Hearing those words, a smile spread across Jae Kyung’s face. He tapped Na Eun’s cheek lightly with his finger and said.

“You come first for me too.”

[This is the timeline separator]

“Ta-da!”

“No way.”

“Wow.”

“…”

On the suddenly arrived Saturday afternoon, when Na Eun excitedly pointed with both hands at the shiny car behind her, the reactions of the three people standing nearby were varied.

Seung Joo, who approached the car first, surveyed the seat covers still wrapped in plastic and the gleaming interior through the window, then opened her mouth.

“This is insane. Is this really your car?”

“Yes! Dad gave it to me as a gift.”

“As expected of a chaebol family…”

At Sun Jin’s murmur, Na Eun could only smile sheepishly, finding it difficult to deny this time.

Her father, who tends to be impatient, gifted Na Eun the car on the very day he learned of her good college entrance exam results.

Her father immediately went to the store and chose the model that could be delivered the quickest, but when Na Eun’s mother Soo Hyun heard about it, she scolded her father for making such a thoughtless purchase, as if he was ordering the fastest available food rather than buying a car.

In any case, feeling the reward of having obtained her license as soon as she became old enough, Na Eun smiled brightly in front of her friends and Jae Kyung.

“Let’s go on a trip with this today!”

At Na Eun’s confident attitude about driving them to the amusement park, Seung Joo and Sun Jin quickly climbed into the back seats.

It would be strange to refuse when offered a comfortable ride.

Moreover, Jae Kyung also smiled and said, “Then I’ll be in your care,” as he settled into the passenger seat.

“But did you have a license?”

“She studied for that before, remember?”

She’s probably the only one who stayed up all night to get a perfect score on the driver’s license written test.

Na Eun lightly ignored Seung Joo’s criticism and climbed into the driver’s seat.

While fastening his seatbelt, Jae Kyung asked.

“Have you practiced driving a lot? It must have been tough to practice.”

You must have been so busy with college entrance exam studies. Jae Kyung’s question, meant to express admiration, brought a storm.

Na Eun, who was fastening her seatbelt, replied with an excited face.

“Yes. It’s my first time driving since getting my license today!”

“…”

“What?”

Jae Kyung’s eyes widened, and Seung Joo, who had been on her phone in the back seat, looked up.

Sun Jin’s expression became bizarre.

“First time?”

Simultaneously, the car lurched forward abruptly.

Screech! The car swerved as it suddenly braked right after starting.

At the same time, the three people who nearly fell forward before barely returning to their original positions looked at the driver’s seat.

Na Eun, holding the steering wheel, tilted her head.

“Ah, I forgot to release the parking brake!”

“…”

“…”

A few seconds of silence lingered in the car.

Completely oblivious to the three pairs of anxious eyes, Na Eun cheerfully released the parking brake and stepped on the accelerator again.

Screech! The car body shook as it stopped again with another sudden brake, and the poor passengers experienced another unwanted headbanging.

Na Eun smiled brightly again and said.

“Oh right, I need to unfold the side mirrors!”

“…”

“…Damn it.”

Seung Joo, who had been lounging comfortably in the back seat, hurriedly started fastening her seatbelt.

Sun Jin also hugged her bag as a makeshift airbag and lowered her body.

Seeing the terrified looks of the two heroes in the rearview mirror, Na Eun laughed.

“Don’t worry, I got 100 points on both the written and practical tests!”

It’s okay, it’s okay.

Unfortunately, there was no one to tell Na Eun that 100 points on a test doesn’t equate to 100 points on the road, so she remained blissfully unaware.

At the same time, she made eye contact with her boyfriend in the passenger seat, who looked unusually tense, as if to reassure him.

“Jae Kyung, do you trust me?”

At those words, Jae Kyung smiled affectionately.

“Of course I trust you.”

Na Eun failed to notice Jae Kyung quietly checking if his seatbelt was securely fastened.

[This is the timeline separator]

The scariest thing on the road isn’t reckless driving. It’s novice driving.

Moreover, a fearless novice driver is no different from a road menace.

The jerky movements between accelerator and brake causing motion sickness was the least of their worries. They nearly drove into oncoming traffic while making a left turn twice, and almost collided with oncoming cars three times while failing to time a right turn properly.

If Jae Kyung hadn’t grabbed the steering wheel to adjust from the passenger seat, they would have ended up in the hospital instead of the amusement park.

After nearly causing several accidents, Na Eun’s arms moving the steering wheel became timid, perhaps finally feeling some fear. Sun Jin glared at the back of Na Eun’s head, grinding her teeth.

Thump!

“Oh my!”

“…”

Along with Na Eun’s feeble cry, the car once again half-levitated over a speed bump because she failed to slow down.

Unlike Jae Kyung, who seemed to have given up and was entrusting his body to the swaying car like a fragile butterfly, the patience of the two heroes in the back seat had run out.

Suddenly, there was a sound of wind from the back seat.

Seung Joo had opened the window and was shouting outside.

“Help us!”

Her voice was so loud that passing cars slowed down in surprise.

At the same time, Sun Jin reached forward from the back and grabbed Na Eun by the collar.

“Tell me honestly. Are you a spy?”

“Ouch, let go of me!”

“Weren’t you sent from enemy lines to kill us? Huh?!”

“It’s not like that! …But can I make a left turn here?”

“Damn it, you are a spy!”

“Hey, Grandeur over there! Can’t you see me? Huh? Please save me! Stop this crazy car!”

Sun Jin shook Na Eun by the collar, but Na Eun, seemingly used to this, continued to turn the steering wheel even while being grabbed.

From the back, Seung Joo was screaming what seemed to be a mix of provocation and plea for rescue at every passing car through the window.

Jae Kyung, who had been blankly watching this pandemonium, quietly lowered his head. His shoulders began to shake slightly.

“There, there’s a police car! Over here! Here! Help us!”

“Ah, Seung Joo, what are you doing calling the police! They’re chasing us now!”

“Yoon Na Eun, confess quickly! You’re an assassin sent to kill us, aren’t you!”

“I’m telling you I’m not!”

“Ahaha!”

Finally, Jae Kyung couldn’t hold it in anymore and burst out laughing.

However, no one paid attention to Jae Kyung bending over and holding his stomach as he laughed.

The struggle between the two heroes fighting for their lives and the novice driver with lethal driving skills finally came to an end when a police car stopped them with its siren blaring.