It was finally time for the long-awaited finals, the last step students took before the end of a semester. After preparing for weeks all the students patiently sat inside the deafeningly silent classrooms. Same as during mid-terms, there were a total of eight subjects all scored from zero to a hundred.

While others diligently worked on achieving the highest possible score to the best of their abilities and with their future in mind, Arthur and Max had different aspirations. Their bet had raised the stakes and invited additional stress, but at the same time helped motivate them to do better. Arthur had to achieve the top score among his classmates while Max had to simply surpass Tjay’s total which heavily depended on how far he was willing to use his cheats.

Luckily, the bet was made around the idea that both could successfully overcome their challenges, seeing as a failure by either would result in devastating consequences. Max would’ve been forced to listen to everyone for a while, something Arthur could end up abusing by inspiring Tjay and the rest to make cruel suggestions without them knowing he couldn’t refuse them. However, Arthur’s punishment was just as undesirable. The idea of crossdressing as a girl and even having to send a picture in the group chat made him imagine all the hardship he’d have to deal with. Not that it was important, but he also had a feeling that he’d look awful in a dress and Max agreed.

When all was said and done, everyone was left without regret as they prepared the best they could, Arthur included. While he wasn’t confident about scoring a hundred in computer science, the rest of the subjects shouldn't be an issue. With a deep breath, a sharp pencil, and a focused mind, Arthur and the rest started their three-day-long quest to conquer the finals.

* * *

“I feel like I’m gonna puke. . .” Don said as he looked a bit pale.

The final day of testing ended and the group agreed to meet up at his place as they wait for the results.

Hunched over, Don rubbed his belly while Max and Nabi sat next to him on the couch. Tjay in the meantime went to open the door to Sophie and Arthur who were arriving together.

“I’m sure you did great,” Nabi reassured him.

His sickness was nothing less than pure anxiety from the results. While Max wanted to tell him not to worry about it since he was bound to score high, he understood that Don’s strict parents were the ones putting the pressure on him in the first place.

“Look! Art and Soph arrived,” Max tried to change the subject, diverting Don’s attention from the results that would still take a while before they were handed out via email.

“Hey guys,” Sophie said as she approached. “What’s up with him?”

Arthur walked over to the table, leaving the snacks they bought on the way before joining up with the rest.

“He’s just nervous,” Nabi explained.

“Dang Dong-Sun!” Sophie yelled out, stealing everyone’s attention. “You and I both know that you’ve achieved far greater feats than passing a mere exam with good grades,” her speech made everyone recall Don’s heroic moment, including Don. “To think that someone who has shown such valiant effort to give a performance of a lifetime in front of the entire drama club while dressed in nothing less than a Hawaiian skirt would suffer from anxiety like this. . . Hold your head held high and embrace that courageous side of yours, my hero!”

“You wore a hula skirt?” Nabi asked.

“You performed in front of the entire drama club?” Max followed up.

“Damn. . . Why was I not invited?” Tjay pondered before crashing next to the three, making Max stand up since there wasn’t much room left.

“Asshole. . .” Max glared at Tjay who didn’t seem to care.

Sophie smirked as Don looked at her in awe as if she just revealed to him the secret to life, but all of that changed when his face suddenly turned red and he stood up panicked.

“I- I. . . Umm. . . I! I thought you weren’t gonna tell them. . .” Don became flustered not expecting the thing he thought was a secret would so casually be told in front of everyone.

“Why would I keep it a secret?” Sophie looked at him puzzled, especially because she wasn’t told to keep quiet about it.

“But. . . I-” Don mumbled until he was finally interrupted by Max who wrapped his arms around Don’s and Sophie’s necks with a brimming smile.

“Alright, my dear theater kids,” he appeared even more carefree than usual. “While I do regret not seeing that, I think the point has gotten across. Until we see the results, let’s not talk about the finals nor even think about them!”

“Easy for you to say. . .” Nabi crossed her arms with one eyebrow raised knowing that Max typically didn’t care.

“You’d eat those words if you knew the truth. . .” he let out a sigh. “But for real, we can’t be stressing over it. We’re here to have fun and the results won’t change. Officially, summer has already started!”

“He has a point,” Arthur finally spoke up for the first time.

Arthur was surprisingly quiet when in a larger group. He spoke only when he had something to say, otherwise he’d sit and listen intently.

“See! Even he agrees with me,” Max chuckled before letting go of Don, his attention purely focused on Sophie. “By the way, why aren’t Ari and Yeona with you?”

“Am I not enough for you?” Sophie teased with a smirk on her face.

“Maybe,” Max chuckled while still holding onto her, the comment making her roll her eyes jokingly.

“They’ll be arriving a bit late since they went home to pick some stuff up. We’re probably gonna have a sleepover at my place.”

“Well, as long as they arrive on time to see the look on your face when you realize that I’ve beaten your score.”

“Ha!” Sophie burst into laughter, elbowing Max and gently pulling away from his grapple. “Like that’d ever happen. . .”

“Didn’t you just say no more talking about finals?” Nabi sighed, but she smiled after glancing towards Don who appeared to have completely calmed down and was even chortling to himself.

“I did, didn’t I?” Max chuckled before winking confidently towards Sophie, indicating that he planned on beating her score.

She chuckled before stepping over towards Arthur and leaning into him with a loving sisterly embrace.

“Hey Nabi,” Tjay called out to her with a lowered voice, avoiding direct eye contact. “How come your boyfriend hasn’t joined us? I figured you’d wanna be together for the results.”

It’s been a while since Tjay mentioned Nabi’s boyfriend, especially to her directly. She knew it was a sore subject to bring up because it was the cause of their fight, so Nabi admired the effort. Smilingly she moved closer to him intending to keep the conversation somewhat private as the others were busy talking among themselves.

“I can’t say I didn’t want to, but I’d rather be with you guys. . .”

“You should invite him over next time,” he finally looked her in the eyes. “The rest are dying to get to know him better, and I do wanna know who’s taking care of you.”

“Since when have you been so protective?” she chuckled, trying to ease the tension with a joke.

“I’ve known you longer than anyone else in my life apart from my parents. . . It’d be ridiculous if I didn’t care for my best friend. I might be insensitive sometimes, but I truly care. Sorry if I made you feel like I didn’t. . .”

His words left her speechless. All she could do was look at him, a cherished person that’s been there all her life. They’ve smiled together, cried together, and got to see each other for who they truly were. She wasn’t sure why there was such a distance created between the two during their first year of high school, but it put a dent in their friendship. He stopped showing up to school, and even when she went to his place to drag him out he refused to listen. They stopped seeing each other as often and he even distanced himself.

When he returned to school regularly, she expected things to return to how they were. However, that wasn’t what happened. The two weren’t hanging out alone and while he was present in her life again, it wasn’t the same.

She significantly toned down her attitude as well, thinking that it might’ve been her fault that he distanced himself, but after the love letter incident, they’ve never been worse off. Recently, their relationship significantly improved again. Just moments ago, she heard him call her his best friend, something he hadn’t said about her in two years and while she didn’t want to admit it, she felt horrible for it.

“I know. . .” she mumbled, looking down while hiding the fact that she was on the verge of crying. “I care about you too. . .”

Sometimes she wished she was at least half as brave as Irene who she observed walking through life with unshakable confidence. She wanted nothing more than to confront Tjay about what had happened for so long, but she was afraid of hearing the truth. Deep down she knew that if he was to say that he was sick of her or didn’t want to be friends with her now that they’ve grown up, she’d feel crushed. After all, she was well aware that her first crush was none other than the school’s infamous bad boy, Jong Tae-Hyun.

“Bring him next time,” Tjay cleared his throat as he spoke with confidence. “If he makes you truly happy, I want to know him too.”

She nodded but was conflicted about what feeling had just taken over. However, their attention was stolen away by the doorbell.

Don went to open the door, finding out that it was Amelia and Irene that had arrived.

Showing them in, Amelia stole everyone’s attention as it was her first time meeting them. While everyone introduced themselves, Sophie patiently waited intending to be the last one. Amelia was excited to meet Max, Iseul’s younger brother, even going as far as teasing him for it. Being finally the only one left, Sophie approached nervously.

Amelia could tell right away by Sophie’s posture what she was thinking and who she was, even if she hadn’t seen pictures of her thanks to Irene.

“Hey-” Sophie spoke up shyly, but was taken by surprise as Amelia openly approached and embraced her with a hug.

“You must be Sophie,” she smiled infectiously before breaking away from the hug. “I’ve been dying to meet you.”

“You have?” she was stunned.

“Why does that surprise you so much?” Amelia chuckled, but her carefree attitude helped Sophie feel at ease.

She knew how Amelia was based on what Arthur and Irene told her. However, same as when she met Iseul and Irene for the first time, people she admires before even meeting them, she couldn’t help but feel nervous. Arthur always assumed it was her fear of not being accepted by someone she considered cooler than her.

“I don’t know,” she awkwardly chuckled letting out a sigh, finally snapping out of her dazed state. “Damn, you’re too beautiful. . .”

Amelia couldn’t help but giggle as Sophie’s eyes practically sparkled.

“She’s adorable,” Amelia turned to Irene. “Just the way you described her.”

Irene let out a sigh through a smile before nodding. The two hit it off right away as they paid no attention to anyone else. It got so bad that once Amelia started calling Sophie her little sister and the two planned to go shopping together, even refusing to bring Irene along, that Irene started to show faint jealousy. However, she was unsure who exactly she was jealous of.

Later during the night, Iseul joined everyone. She was angry at first as Max sent her the wrong address. He also forgot that she had never been to his place before. Once the dust finally settled with loads of laughter as everyone watched an older sister bully her helpless younger brother, Amelia and Iseul finally saw each other again. The last time the two talked was when Amelia passed on the student council president position to her, so they had a lot to catch up on.

Yeona and Ari weren’t far behind, joining the party and swarming around Sophie.

It was surprisingly crowded as there were a total of eleven people in Don’s apartment. Everyone chatting and laughing made Arthur think about everything that had happened thus far, both good and bad.

He often complained about being unlucky. Trouble found him even in his new life. But whenever he saw everyone gathered around him, it made him realize just how special the life he got was.

Even though it had been only a few months, he already had so many new experiences. He learned and adapted to a whole new world to an extent. He started attending school, something that he never believed he’d experience. Sophie, his sister that he held dearly, got maliciously bullied which forced him to act out fiercely, still unsure if it would bare consequences. The fight against Tae and getting suspended, awakening at the temple, but most importantly he surrounded himself with friends that together formed a truly wonderful group of people. Yet the only thing that could rival the deeply formed connection between him and Sophie was none other than the woman who was constantly on his mind, Irene. He wasn’t sure if it was fate, but he knew that he couldn’t wait to spend the summer with her.

The results were finally in as everyone’s phone notified them that an email from school arrived. Glancing over the list, Arthur scored at the top of his class and second on the overall second-year chart. However, it was too soon to celebrate as both Irene and he were tied for first place with only seven points lost.

Nabi scored fourth among the second-year students. Don managed to get most of the subjects in the 90s. Yeona and Ari performed similarly with slightly above-average scores. Sophie was exhilarated to learn that she scored top three among the first years, a feat that she deemed impossible but one that was well deserved. And to no one’s surprise, Iseul retained first place with a flawless score which Amelia praised her for, being proud of her successor.

Max refrained from looking at his score as he stared intensely at Tjay who was casually scrolling through the list. Once he finally revealed his score which was shockingly higher than Max expected, nervousness settled in.

Scrolling through his phone, Max prayed that his effort was worth it. With a dramatic pause, he was the last one to reveal his results.

“Yes! Fuck yeah! Eat shit! Muahahaha. . .” he started screaming, laughing, and even jumping around as if possessed. His excitement baffled everyone apart from Arthur who let out a sigh knowing Max succeeded. He couldn’t help but be proud of him, knowing how much effort Max put in to fix his grades. “I did it!”

Once he calmed down, Max had one job left and that was to look if Arthur had succeeded. He was shocked to learn that he did, but at the same time didn’t which gave birth to a conflicting argument.

“Arthur. . .” Max grinned.

“No way. . . I got first place,” Arthur immediately shut him down.

“But you didn’t do better than Irene. . .” he exaggerated his words to the point where he was almost singing like an anime villain.

“I still got first place. . .”

“What’s this about?” Sophie asked as everyone was confused by their conversation.

After spending a few minutes explaining the bet, everyone was shocked to learn that there was a chance that Arthur might end up crossdressing. Being unable to settle on a result, Irene suggested that a group had a vote. While Max was initially against it, knowing that Irene would just side with him, Arthur accepted foolishly thinking it would easily resolve the issue.

That was the first time Arthur felt betrayed as the votes came down to a tie. It ended up being five to five as Arthur didn’t have voting rights.

Max obviously voted in favor, and so did Tjay for the fun of it. Ari, Yeona, and Don were against the idea since they deemed his achievement worthy of first place. Iseul voted no, saying that it was shameful that her younger brother would get such an easier task in comparison, and even if Arthur didn’t get first place, she deemed the only fair competition if they competed against one another. Nabi chuckled and voted in favor, taunting him for managing to beat her. Sophie was the first surprise as she voted in favor, deciding to play a little prank on her brother. Arthur was shocked, but Sophie had that side to her from time to time which made him realize just how dangerous the current predicament was with Irene and Amelia having the final votes. If even one-sided with Sophie it would’ve been a tie, and if both, he’d end up losing the bet.

Initially, he believed that Amelia would vote after Irene, waiting for her sister to vote and possibly even siding with Sophie to gain her favor. He was glad to learn that she wanted to stay on Arthur’s good side and voted no, but that left the next vote all the more heartbreaking as Irene voted in favor. Not only did she vote in favor, which shocked him, but she also tried to convince Amelia to switch over. Regardless of how much she pushed for it, Amelia stuck to her decision.

“Fuck, it's tie. . .” Max mumbled.

"I don't mind making it my win," Arthur commented but the disapproving glances shut down the idea.

“What now?” Irene asked.

Arthur let out a disappointed sigh.

“Let’s do a coin flip. . .” Arthur suggested.

“Bold,” Irene chuckled. “You never win luck-based bets. . .”

“Then since you were the one who stole away my guaranteed victory and had a final say in the matter, care to make a wager as well?” Arthur edged her with a grin.

“What’s the proposal?” she asked intrigued.

“You throw the coin, I make the guess. If I guess correctly, not only will you change your vote and thus break the tie, but you’ll also owe me a favor.”

“And if I win, you’ll accept your defeat and crossdress while owing me a favor?”

“That’s right. . .”

Both were grinning as the idea of betting was quite addictive when the two were involved. Everyone’s attention was on the coin Irene would flip. Each one hoping for the result aligned with their vote.

“Deal,” she said tossing the coin in the air before preparing to catch it.

Arthur’s feeling of betrayal wasn’t going to go unpunished. Irene was right, he never won bets based on luck. However, a coin flip wasn’t about luck but perception. Utilizing his Qi, he focused intently on the coin before marking it. Regardless of how it fell, he would’ve known the exact result. It was cheating, but nobody warned him against it.

With a smile on his face, he looked Irene straight in the eyes as she caught the coin and pressed it against her hand.

“Heads or tails?”

“Heads.”

Revealing the coin to everyone, Irene was shocked to learn that Arthur had won the bet. Without a doubt in her mind, she had that one in the bag. Rightfully so since Arthur would’ve said tails had he not cheated.

“Dammit!” Max yelled out as everyone let out a disappointed sigh, making Arthur wonder what everyone truly wanted.

He couldn’t stop thinking about why everyone was intrigued by the idea of seeing him dress like a girl.

“Well, fair is fair. . . So how about we get a drink now?” Irene asked smilingly as she looked to Arthur for approval.

“I could use a cold one,” he chuckled before heading towards the kitchen.

The party continued throughout the entire night as everyone celebrated the end of the semester and the start of a wonderful summer vacation that awaited them.

Chapter End.

Thank you for reading.

See you next week with the second season!