Chapter 64: 1st semester midterm exams(2)

I stared at the exam paper, my mind blank. All the grammar rules I’d meticulously memorized seemed to have vanished. The bell, signaling the start of the exam, jolted me back to reality. I wrote my name on the answer sheet, a thought echoing in my mind.

‘Are we really only taking three exams a day?’ In my past life, Korean high schools crammed four subjects into a single exam day, midterms lasting only two days. This felt… leisurely.

Lost in thought, I received the Japanese exam, the subject Mizuki had been agonizing over all morning. And for me, it was a subject I was learning from scratch, unlike the subjects I’d studied in my past life.

‘But I studied hard!’

I’d analyzed past papers and prepared for every possible question type, focusing on memorizing the grammar rules and verb conjugations, reviewing them one last time before they vanished from my memory.

• What is the imperfective form of this verb?

‘This is similar to the one Mizuki was struggling with earlier…!’

Most of the questions were tricky, requiring careful analysis and understanding of the context, but I worked through them methodically.

And then, the first exam was over. As soon as the answer sheets were collected, a tense silence descended upon the classroom, broken only by the occasional sigh or groan as the teacher left the room.

“Ugh… I’m doomed…” Mizuki’s muffled voice came from behind me. She was slumped over her desk, her shoulders shaking slightly.

I leaned back in my chair, sighing. ‘Well, I… I think I did okay…’

I’d answered most of the questions, but I’d had to guess on a couple. Normally, I’d finish a high school exam in ten or twenty minutes, leaving plenty of time for review. But this time, I’d been working until the very last minute.

‘This is… Takamari Academy level, huh…?’

The exam had been surprisingly difficult. I sighed, echoing the sentiments of my classmates.

“This exam was way too hard…”

“I know, right, Rina-ring? Aya-ring wouldn’t understand the struggles of us mere mortals.”

I glanced back at Mizuki. Anyone listening to her would think she was a terrible student.

“…It was difficult for me too,” Aya said, contradicting Mizuki’s dramatic pronouncements.

But Mizuki, ignoring Aya, continued to complain. “At least the last thing I memorized showed up on the exam. Aya-ring~ Rina-ring~ how did you two do?”

I looked down, unsure of what to say. Honestly, I wasn’t confident. At this rate, I’d be lucky to avoid the bottom of the class, let alone maintain my third-place ranking. I’d had this unfounded confidence that I could be part of the “Trinity,” but the exam had brought me back down to earth.

‘Trinity… I’m just Kurosawa Rina, an ordinary background character…’ I thought, sighing inwardly, when Aya spoke, her voice quiet but reassuring. “You can do better on the next exam.”

Her words of encouragement lifted my spirits. “Aya… you’re the best…!”

“Eww~ get a room, you two~” Mizuki teased from behind us, and Aya replied calmly, “You did well too, Mizuki.”

Mizuki instantly switched gears. “I did! I think I aced it! Praise me!”

“…Mizuki, you’re the best.”

“Aya-ring~ you’re so much nicer to Rina!”

We bickered playfully as we prepared for the next exam: math. ‘This one, I’m confident about.’ Math was my forte, thanks to my past life as a science student preparing for the notoriously difficult Korean college entrance exams. Even a Japanese math exam shouldn’t be too difficult. …With that confident thought, I received the exam paper, and then…

“…?” I stared at the first question, my mind going blank.

• Simplify the following equation.

This should be easy. Apply the multiplication formula, simplify…

‘Wait, why is this getting longer?!’ I reread the question. Wait a minute… this was the level of a final, most difficult question on the Korean college entrance exam, and it was question number one.

‘If this is question one, how difficult are the rest?!’ A chill ran down my spine. This wasn’t normal. Usually, the first few questions were basic concept checks. This was a quagmire of endless calculations.

I took a deep breath and started working, the complexity of the calculations making me question my own sanity.

‘This is Takamari…’ I discreetly glanced at the other exam papers. While the initial questions were manageable, the later ones involved proving and applying formulas I’d never even seen before.

This was too difficult! Was this really a high school midterm?! And then…

I saw Aya calmly solving the problems, her hand moving effortlessly across the page, her expression serene. Well, in the novel, she’d consistently scored near perfect marks. Which meant even she would make mistakes on this exam! ‘Right… it’s supposed to be difficult, to differentiate between the students.’ I watched her, impressed. Even while taking an exam, Aya’s movements were elegant and precise. ‘…I’m jealous. But I can do this too.’

I forced a smile and returned to my own exam. I could solve these problems. Unlike the 45-minute exams in Korea, Japanese exams were 60 minutes long. And even after using every single minute… I still couldn’t solve the last three questions.

‘Did I… fail…?’ I groaned, clutching my head, but seeing the stressed expressions on my classmates’ faces, I realized the difficulty wasn’t just me.

‘Please, curve the grades…!’ I watched the teacher collect the answer sheets, my heart sinking. ‘My brain is fried from that math exam…’ I felt completely drained, too exhausted to even talk to Aya and Mizuki. Mizuki was slumped over her desk, practically in tears, and Aya didn’t look too happy either.

But… there was still one more exam.

World History. It was supposed to be a straightforward memorization-based subject, but… I felt uneasy. Aya’s words from a few days ago echoed in my mind.

“World History… depends on the teacher.”

Those words had been a subtle warning, a premonition of… something…

And then… my premonition came true. As I received the exam paper, my mind went blank.

• On the map related to the following historical event, select the correct location.

• Write the name of the country that most actively interacted with the country mentioned in this ancient document.

• Describe the economic background of the period in which the following event occurred.

‘Aaaaaaaaah—!!’

Mostly concept-based questions, requiring analysis and understanding. No simple memorization questions. It felt like the Korean History analytical questions from the college entrance exam. Questions that required careful deduction and logical reasoning, not just recalling facts.

I inwardly screamed, desperately trying to dredge up any relevant information, any sentence from the textbook, writing everything I could remember.

****

…It’s over,” I mumbled, collapsing back into my chair as soon as the exam ended, my body completely drained.

“I’m a zombie… a zombie… ugh…” I groaned, my head resting on my desk. This had been the most grueling exam of my life. ‘At this rate, I’ll be lucky to avoid the bottom of the class…’

“Rina-ring~ cheer up! The next exam will be better!” Mizuki said, patting my shoulder.

“How did you do, Mizuki?”

“The first one was… okay, math was a disaster, and I just guessed on World History.”

“…Seriously?” I looked at her, raising an eyebrow, but she just grinned.

Aya sighed, giving Mizuki a pointed look. “Mizuki, stop lying.”

“Aw~ Aya-ring is always perfect~ you wouldn’t understand the struggles of us imperfect beings~”

“I’m not perfect! And Rina, Mizuki’s just bluffing.” Seeing Aya puff out her cheeks like that… she looked so cute! The rare sight momentarily dispelled my exhaustion.

Mizuki, however, anyone listening to her would think she was a terrible student.

Aya turned to me, her gaze soft. “Let’s do better on the next exam, Rina.”

“You’re the best, Aya…” I said, pretending to lean against her for support.

Mizuki placed her hands on her hips and grinned. “Hey~ let’s go eat lunch, you two lovebirds~?”

“N-No! I’m just tired!” I protested, waving my hands frantically.

“Really? Then you need to recharge~! Let’s go, let’s go~!” She skipped out of the classroom, and I sighed, looking at Aya. “…Lunch?”

“Okay.”

We stood up, exhaustion clinging to us, but… the exams were over, at least for today! Lunch would revitalize us.