Disclaimer: Getting my butt into gear and actually continuing with this mad obsession we all call fanfiction doesn't change the fact that I still don't own Playful Kiss or Baek Seung Jo.

A/N: Well hello again, my lovelies. How about today we just screw all the apologies and get on with the story? That sounds good to me.

Episode 5: Expectations

"Hyung!" I wake with a start. Eun Jo is standing next to my bed. The look on his face tells me that he's been trying to wake me for a while.

"Yeah, Eun Jo. I'm up." His brow furrows, but he slowly walks away to go get ready for school, mumbling the whole way. Seriously, what is with all his mumbling recently? I make a mental note to talk to him later about it. In the meantime, however, I have a test to take. I groan inwardly as I remember the test. Of course I'll do well on it; that's not my concern. My problem is how do I explain my sudden change of heart? I'm barely ready to admit to myself the real reason. She convinced me. She told me that I was stupid and that this wasn't what a person like me did. She called me out, and that took guts. But I can't tell my parents that. I heave myself out of bed to get ready while I mull the issue over.

Standing up and walking to my closet proves to be harder than I expected. My head feels heavy and foggy, and I feel like I can't possibly be breathing around my stuffy nose. Picking each foot up to take another step feels like hauling around blocks of concrete. This should be fun. Maybe my cold today will level the playing field with the other students taking the test. Maybe some of them may actually have a chance at beating me. I pause my shirt selection for a moment and laugh. Beat me? What am I thinking?

I trudge around the room to try to make myself presentable. Eun Jo is ready before me and marches downstairs to wait with the rest of the family. Before I head down, though, there's one last thing I want to do. Walking over to my dresser, I grab the fork I set there last night and sigh a little in relief. Holding the weight in my hand makes me feel a little better, but I can't quite figure out why. It's like it relieves some sort of pressure that had built up in my stomach. Whatever it's doing, it helps. That's all I need to know. Before I can talk myself out of it, I slip the utensil into my backpack right next to my pencils and head downstairs.

As I tromp down the stairs, the anxious faces of everyone but Oh Ki Dong are shining up at me in anticipation. It seems that my parents don't need an explanation on why I changed my mind. Maybe they never believed me in the first place, that I wasn't taking the test. Or maybe Oh Ha Ni told them that I'd be here. Or hell, maybe Eun Jo just told them I was on my way down. Whatever the case, I'm just glad I don't have to explain myself. Before I can get to the bottom of the stairs, though, my cold rears its ugly head again. I cough a few times. Mother freaks out.

"Is it a cold? Did you catch a cold?" She rushes over to the banister and gives me her worried face.

"Maybe," I tell her nonchalantly. I don't really want her to worry over me today. It's not like there's a reason to. Before I can get that out, though, Ha Ni pipes up.

"Me!" she says excitedly. "I have medicine!" She digs in her bag with no encouragement from me. Not that I would stop her. "It should be here," she mumbles as she paws past all her failed exams and doodles. Finally, she pulls out some tablets and hands one to me. "This one is really effective. It's the best."

Eun Jo comes over with a glass in his hand. "Here's some water."

His eagerness is rather endearing and I lean over and ruffle his hair as I take the water from him. "Thank you," I say sweetly. As I swallow the pill, I notice everyone's eyes on me. It's all a little much for a common cold, but their concern is nice. Ha Ni's face in particular looks strained until she knows for certain that the pill is down my throat and working its magic. A thought hits me then. How can I be sure the magic it's working is the right kind?

"But this pill doesn't cause drowsiness, right?" I ask her. Because of course she would be the one dumb enough to give an already sick person sleepy-time medicine before a big test. Mother gasps and turns to Ha Ni to confirm. Her gasp is echoed by one from Oh Ha Ni herself as she fiddles with the packaging to find the warnings. Her face crinkles and slowly cringes as she reads aloud.

"Do not use in case of driving or activities that require concentration." Of course. She really is that dumb. She panics slightly. "Oh! It causes drowsiness!" she practically yells. The next thing I know, she's coming at my face with pinching fingers and a half-crazed expression. "Throw it up! Throw it up!" she yells, pinching my cheeks and trying to stick her finger in my mouth. I startle and jerk away before she has the chance to gag me.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I ask her, slighly freaked out. I compose myself and continue. "Everything you do is like this anyway," I say. She always messes things up. This doesn't seem to be any different.

Mother gives a small nervous laugh to try to break some tension. And being the wonderful mediator and optimist that she is, she says, "It will be alright. You're strong." I barely contain myself from rolling my eyes before I hear a shout from the kitchen.

"Wait!" We all turn to see Oh Ki Dong shuffling into the room carrying two lunches. "You guys have to take your lunches filled with nutritious food." He reaches out and hands one to each of us with a smile. "I've especially made 'Kiss the Exams' lunches." I assume that means food for acing the test. I'm grateful for the concern.

"Thank you," I say sincerely.

"Thanks, Dad," Ha Ni tells him with a smile and a friendly slug on the shoulder.

My father decides to jump in for the first time this morning as he addresses his friend. "Thanks, man. When did you make something like this?"

Mother echoes his amazement as she marvels at his abilities. "Yeah, thank you so much."

Oh Ki Dong smiles graciously and says, "Oh, it was no problem," before turning to me. "You chose well," he tells me. "Good luck!"

"Yes," I say patiently. His caring and the well-intentioned worrying of his daughter and my family are suprisingly taxing. I keep my brave face on, though, to deal with the onslaught of attention, hoping it doesn't last much longer and I can just get this test out of the way. Before that can happen, though, we have to make it out of the house, which at this point seems like just that small accomplishment will take an act of American Congress.

I'm proven wrong, though, for within the next moment, Ha Ni and her father do some odd little handshake that they seem to enjoy, shout "Fighting!" and that seems to be it. We're done. I'm relieved that I'll be out of the house in only a few moments time. Something about the atmosphere around my family just seems tense with all their expectations. I don't doubt my ability to take the test, even in my not only altered, but impaired state, but the weight of their worrying and anxiety seem to press to heavily on me for comfort.

Oh Ha Ni doesn't seem to feel the same pressure, however, because when we step out of the house, her demeanor doesn't seem to change much. She just continues to look at me expectantly. Great. I may get away from my family's expectations, but as long as she's with me, I won't be free of them entirely.

A/N: Okay, so you all were right. It got to a point where I wasn't busy anymore. I was just forgetful. You've waited too long again. But one of you left a review that finally got my butt back in gear. Maybe now I have my muse back and I can actually have something productive to do during the day rather than sit on my butt and wait for someone to call me to go swimming with them. Or sit around and worry about boy problems. So thank you, reviewer who only listed their name as "simmos," without logging in. You were the spark that lit the fire under my butt. And you were right to scold me. Okay, I promise I'll see you all very soon with another update!