"Ugh, seriously?!" Taehyung muttered under his breath, his lungs burning as he sprinted down the busy Seoul sidewalk. "Why does Professor Kim always have to start exactly on time?" He narrowly avoided colliding with a street vendor's cart, a string of curses escaping his lips.

Just as his hope of making it on time dwindled, a familiar figure with bright orange hair came into view. "Jimin-ah!" Taehyung called out, his voice slightly breathless.

Jimin turned, his usual cheerful expression replaced with a stern frown. "Kim Taehyung! Look at the time! Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting?" He crossed his arms, tapping his foot impatiently. "Honestly, Tae, you're going to fail Professor Kim's class if you keep this up."

Taehyung finally caught up, bending over to catch his breath. "Mianhae, Jimin-ah, mianhae," he said, his voice still a little shaky. "My alarm didn't go off, and then I spilled coffee all over myself. It was a complete disaster." He looked up at his best friend with pleading eyes. "Please don't be mad?"

Jimin sighed, his rigid posture softening slightly. "I'm not exactly mad, Tae. Just… worried. You know how important this semester is. And you can't keep showing up late." He gave Taehyung a pointed look. "What if I hadn't been here? You would have walked in halfway through the lecture again."

Taehyung straightened up, a sheepish grin spreading across his face. "Well, that's why you're the best, Jiminie! Always looking out for your clumsy Taetae." He nudged Jimin playfully. "Come on, let's just hurry before Professor Kim locks the door."

Jimin rolled his eyes but a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Fine, let's go. But this is the last time I'm waiting for you, you hear me?"

"Ne, ne!" Taehyung chirped, falling into step beside Jimin as they hurried towards the university gates.

The fluorescent lights of the lecture hall hummed overhead, casting a sterile glow on the rows of students diligently taking notes. Professor Kim's voice droned on, explaining the intricacies of partnership agreements in accounting. Taehyung, however, found his eyelids growing heavier with each passing minute. The chaotic rush of the morning and the lingering fatigue had finally caught up to him. His head bobbed slightly, his focus drifting away from the professor's lecture and into a hazy realm of half-dreams.

Beside him, Jimin sat ramrod straight, his pen flying across the pages of his notebook, absorbing every word Professor Kim uttered. He noticed Taehyung's increasingly precarious posture and nudged him gently with his elbow.

Taehyung jolted slightly, blinking rapidly as he tried to refocus on the whiteboard covered in formulas. He managed a weak smile at Jimin before his gaze started to wander again, this time towards the window and the vibrant life happening outside.

A sharper nudge from Jimin made Taehyung groan softly. "Yah! Kim Taehyung! Pay attention!" Jimin hissed under his breath, his eyes darting towards Professor Kim, who thankfully seemed engrossed in his explanation. "You're going to fail this class if you keep sleeping!"

"I'm not sleeping," Taehyung mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "Just… resting my eyes."

Jimin shot him a disbelieving look. "Resting your eyes while your head is practically on the desk? Seriously?" He nudged Taehyung again, a little harder this time. "Come on, Tae. It's not that boring. Partnership accounts can actually be quite…" Jimin trailed off, realizing he wasn't entirely convinced himself. Still, he maintained his stern expression. "Just try to stay awake for the next hour, okay? For me?"

Taehyung sighed dramatically but straightened up in his seat. "Fine, fine," he conceded, picking up his pen with a renewed effort. He stared at the whiteboard, willing the numbers and terms to make sense.

He shook his head slightly, trying to clear his thoughts and focus on the lecture, all while Jimin kept a watchful eye on his perpetually sleepy best friend.

The bell finally shrieked, signaling the end of the accounting lecture. A collective sigh of relief swept through the room as students began packing their bags with hurried enthusiasm. Taehyung stretched languidly, a small groan escaping his lips.

"Finally!" he exclaimed, his energy levels visibly rising now that the ordeal was over. "I swear, Professor Kim's voice has the power to lull anyone into a coma."

Jimin chuckled, carefully stacking his notes. "You wouldn't know, you were halfway there already." He slung his bag over his shoulder. "So, about that partnership homework…"

Taehyung's face fell slightly. "Ugh, don't remind me. That stuff makes my brain hurt."

"Well, it has to get done," Jimin stated firmly. "How about we tackle it together? We can go back to my apartment. it'll be nice and quiet, and we can order some decent food while we work."

Taehyung's face brightened. "Seriously? That sounds way better than trying to decipher balance sheets alone in my tiny dorm room." He grinned at Jimin. "You're a lifesaver, Jiminie!"

"I know," Jimin said with a playful toss of his hair. "That's why you keep me around. Now come on, let's grab some coffee before we head back. I'm going to need it if I have to explain debits and credits to you for the tenth time."

Taehyung chuckled, falling into step beside Jimin. "Hey! I'm not that hopeless. Maybe… just a little directionally challenged when it comes to accounting principles."

As they walked towards the bustling cafeteria, their conversation drifted to weekend plans and the latest campus gossip, the looming homework momentarily forgotten in the pleasant camaraderie of their friendship. The path ahead, however, held unforeseen encounters and a magnetic pull that Taehyung couldn't yet comprehend.

A few hours later, Jimin's cozy apartment was filled with the comfortable silence of focused work, punctuated by the occasional sigh or the scratching of pens. Empty ramen containers sat on the small coffee table, remnants of their study fuel. Jimin was diligently working through a complex problem, his brow furrowed in concentration. Taehyung, on the other hand, was less engaged. His textbook lay open, but his gaze kept drifting towards Jimin's notebook, which was filled with neat calculations and concise explanations.

Jimin, sensing Taehyung's lack of progress, glanced up. He found Taehyung's eyes a little too intently focused on his work. "Taehyung-ah," he said, a hint of amusement in his voice, "are you sure you're understanding this, or are you just admiring my handwriting?"

Taehyung startled slightly, looking up with an innocent expression that didn't quite reach his eyes. "What? No! I'm… just checking my answer against yours to make sure I'm on the right track." He subtly tried to angle Jimin's notebook so he could see it better.

Jimin raised an eyebrow, a playful smirk forming on his lips. "Uh-huh. And how many times have you 'checked' my answer in the last fifteen minutes?"

Taehyung chuckled sheepishly. "Okay, fine. Maybe I'm peeking a little. This partnership stuff is like a foreign language to me!" He leaned back on the couch, feigning exasperation. "It's just so… boring! All those numbers and percentages. My brain just wants to switch off."

"Well, switching off isn't going to get you a passing grade, Tae," Jimin said, though his tone was more teasing than scolding. He pushed his notebook slightly towards Taehyung, but kept his hand protectively over his current problem. "Look, I don't mind helping you understand it, but you actually have to try. Just copying my answers won't help you during the exam."

Taehyung sat up, a slightly more serious look on his face. "I know, I know. You're right. It's just… sometimes it feels like my brain is allergic to numbers." He picked up his own pen, albeit reluctantly. "Okay, explain this part again? The bit about the profit and loss sharing ratio?"

Jimin smiled encouragingly. "Alright, let's go through it step by step. Imagine it like splitting a pizza…" He launched into an explanation, patiently guiding Taehyung through the concepts, occasionally glancing over to make sure his best friend was actually following along this time. The comfortable rhythm of their friendship filled the apartment once more, the challenge of accounting homework momentarily softened by their easy camaraderie.

TBC 💜

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