The results would be released precisely at ten o’clock.

This information had no importance for most people.

For Yui, it was the beginning of the countdown.

---

She managed to pass the exam.

That part was already done.

Weeks had passed.

Lessons continued.

Life continued.

People laughed.

People learned.

People moved forward.

---

Yet, she knew something remained.

Unsettled.

---

Every morning.

Every night.

Every moment spent alone with thoughts.

---

What if?

---

Two most dangerous words ever uttered by mankind.

---

What if I have passed?

---

What if I failed?

---

Neither question let go of her mind.

---

And now.

She could wait no longer.

---

The girls gathered in an empty classroom.

Not because they had decided beforehand.

Because none of them wanted to be elsewhere.

---

Akari seemed strangely calm.

Quite scary actually.

---

Mina gripped a bottle of water.

With both hands.

As if it had some emotional importance.

---

Rika carried her notebook.

For a change.

But she was not drawing anymore.

---

Aoi sat silently.

Close to the window.

Reading.

At least trying to read.

None of them believed her claim anymore.

---

Kuro stood near the back of the room.

Silent as always.

---

Minami was late.

---

And the second she walked inside.

Yui saw something wrong.

---

Minami seemed nervous.

Actually very nervous.

---

And Yui thought that was impossible.

---

"Are you worried?"

She asked her friend.

---

Minami shook her head.

A little bit too quickly.

---

"Um... Just a little," she admitted.

---

Now the answer made more sense.

---

The clock kept ticking.

---

9:54.

---

9:55.

---

9:56.

---

Time seemed to pass slower with every minute.

---

None of them had any idea what to say.

So they said nothing.

---

The silence was not awkward.

It was heavy.

---

Almost like standing at the edge of a cliff.

Waiting to see what awaits below.

---

9:58.

---

Akari got up.

Sitting down again after a few seconds.

Standing up.

Returning back on the chair.

---

Aoi closed her book.

"...Please choose one."

"I can’t," her friend answered.

---

"This is clear as day," Rika replied without laughing.

---

Even Akari seemed disturbed.

Because today was definitely not a normal day.

---

9:59.

---

The whole room fell into silence.

The clock started ticking louder.

One second.

Second.

Second.

---

They kept waiting.

Not moving a finger.

Not breathing.

Just waiting.

---

And then.

---

10:00.

---

The results were live.

Silence.

All eyes fell on Yui.

She turned towards the laptop.

Suddenly her hands felt heavy.

Heartbeat sounding loudly.

Her throat felt dry.

---

Inhaling, she opened the website.

Nothing special.

Simple.

Common.

And terrifying for her.

---

Her hands hovered over the keyboard.

Not because she forgot her credentials.

But because once she signed in.

Everything would end.

The waiting would stop.

The uncertainty too.

---

Kuro silently approached her.

Close enough to comfort her.

Close enough not to intrude.

---

Yui realized she was doing it.

Slowly typing in her username.

Password.

And clicking enter.

---

The login page was loaded in few seconds.

One second.

Two.

Third.

---

She had to wait.

The loading took forever.

No sound could be heard in the room.

---

And suddenly.

---

The website refreshed.

A new page was opened.

She stopped breathing completely.

Frozen.

So did the rest of the room.

---

They could not see the screen clearly.

Nobody knew.

And yet.

They noticed something changed about her expression.

Not a lot.

Not immediately.

---

But enough to make their hearts stop beating.

---

Silence.

---

A long silence.

An eternity filled with silence.

---

"...Yui?" someone finally whispered.

---

Nobody answered.

---

Akari leaned forward.

"What happened?!"

Silent.

---

Rika seemed ready to collapse.

Aoi tried to hide her uneasiness.

---

Yui lifted her hand from the keyboard.

Rotated the screen around.

Everybody could now see it.

---

One word.

One simple word.

Pass

---

Nobody said anything.

Didn’t even try.

The human mind often needs some time to process things.

---

And now was one of such moments.

---

Akari blinked several times.

"...Pass?"

---

Mina stared at the laptop screen.

"Pass!"

---

Rika stared even harder.

"Pass!"

Aoi readjusted her glasses.

"Pass!"

Minami glanced at the monitor.

Looked again.

To be absolutely sure.

Pass

---

None of them made any move.

They simply had no idea what to do.

Years of pressure.

Years of expectations.

Years of failing.

And suddenly.

One word.

Everything came to an end.

---

The room froze.

And Yui laughed softly.

Almost inaudible.

Then another laugh.

And another one.

Until her laugh broke.

Her shoulders began shaking.

Not from laughter.

Something bigger than that.

---

It was like releasing something after so many years.

Something so big that made her feel like a monster.

Years of carrying everything.

Year of pretending.

Years of acting like failing didn’t matter.

Years of smiling when she just wanted to cry.

Years of hearing:

"Next time,"

Years of saying to herself:

"Next time,"

But there will not be any more next times.

Because this time.

She really did it.

---

A tear ran down her cheek.

Then another.

And another one.

Yui looked away.

Tricking herself she could stop them from falling.

But the trick never worked.

She could not control herself anymore.

And that was okay.

At least for now.

The tears flowed easier.

Not dramatic.

Not exaggerated.

Real.

The kind of tears that appear when somebody is carrying something too long.

When finally this something becomes too heavy.

Nobody laughed.

Nobody joked.

Nobody teased her.

They all knew why it was happening.

This was not sadness.

This was pure relief.

After years of carrying everything.

After years of pressure.

After years of being afraid.

After years of trying to meet the expectations.

The tears started running freely.

Yui covered her face.

Crying.

For the first time in a long while.

Openly.

Honestly.

Without shame.

Without feeling embarrassed.

Nobody laughed.

Nobody made fun of her.

They understood her.

So she kept crying.

Minami approached silently.

And hugged her.

Yui froze.

Then broke.

Her tears started flowing freely.

And became harder because Minami was there.

Minami held her shoulders.

Smiling lightly.

That rare smile teachers rarely show.

Understanding completely the meaning behind it.

"You did it."

Three simple words.

She couldn’t answer.

Could only nod.

Again and again.

To persuade herself it happened.

Believe herself she really passed the exam.

---

And suddenly.

Akari approached awkwardly.

Hesitatingly.

---

"I don’t know how hugs work..."

Everyone expected something like that.

---

Then Mina joined.

Crying instantly.

Which increased crying.

Which resulted in even more tears.

---

Soon followed by Rika.

Collecting emotional references, she claimed.

Nobody trusted her anymore.

Because her eyes seemed suspiciously wet.

Aoi joined quietly.

Without any fuss.

Just to be where she should have been from the beginning.

---

Finally.

The entire group hugging.

All of them.

Years of pressure.

Years of trying.

Years of fear.

Finally over.

Yui laughed between tears.

It felt freer than ever.

Lighthearted.

Like something invisible was finally lifted off of her shoulders.

---

After so many years.

She was not the girl who almost succeeded anymore.

She was not potential.

She was not pressure.

She was not the genius who failed.

She was a future doctor.

And right now.

This future felt real.

And for several minutes nobody could step out of that situation.

Not to create some sort of dramatic atmosphere.

Just because nobody really knew what should be done next.

---

The display still showed the results.

Plain and simple.

Incredibly plain.

---

PASS

---

Only four letters.

---

Years of hard work.

Years of frustration.

Years of doubting oneself.

Years of overcoming everything and rising again.

---

All of that reduced to only four letters.

---

Yui managed to laugh weakly through her tears.

---

"You know..."

---

Her voice cracked.

---

"I kind of hate that."

---

Akari looked confused.

---

"Hate what?"

---

Yui nodded towards the laptop.

---

"That."

---

Everybody looked at the screen.

---

"The result?"

Mina asked. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

---

"Yeah."

---

Yui wiped her tears.

---

"All that years of suffering." she said.

---

She pointed at the screen again.

---

"And then..."

"Just four letters." she added.

---

Silence.

---

But then Rika nodded seriously.

---

"That is terrible storytelling." she stated.

---

That was when the whole room erupted in laughter.

---

Even Yui laughed.

Mostly because everybody else did.

---

The laughter wasn’t loud.

It wasn’t chaotic.

---

It was that kind of laughter which comes after going through something hard.

---

Warm laughter.

Breathing easier laughter.

---

Eventually the room calmed down.

---

Mina quietly passed Yui another pack of tissues.

A new pack.

Since previous packs didn’t stand a chance.

---

Yui took the package.

---

"Thank you." she said.

---

Mina smiled.

---

"I didn’t expect you to cry so much." she admitted.

---

Me too.

And honestly?

Akari added.

---

"I was thinking that you’ll try to make a joke first." she explained.

---

So did I. Yui answered.

---

Yui looked at the floor for a moment.

Silent moment.

---

And then said something surprising.

---

"I was scared."

Silent again.

---

But not uncomfortably.

Simply just attentively.

---

Yui looked at her hands.

---

"You know that everybody knows it." she said with a small laugh.

---

Yeah.

We kinda do.

You weren’t exactly hiding it. Akari confessed.

---

"But..."

She was searching for words.

---

"I don’t think that I understood how scared I really was." she admitted.

---

Silent again.

---

"The first failure hurt me." Yui explained.

---

She sounded very soft.

---

The second failure hurt even more." she said.

---

None of the others interrupted her.

---

Since they understood that this is something Yui rarely shares.

---

"After that..."

Yui said with a bitter smile.

---

"I wasn’t scared of the exam anymore."

Pause.

---

I became scared of myself.

She added the last words.

---

The sentence struck stronger than anybody expected.

Even Kuro looked away for a second.

---

Because they all understood perfectly well.

---

The exam wasn’t the real enemy.

---

The real enemy was the fear.

Fear of turning into someone’s disappointment.

Fear of not being enough.

Fear of just proving everybody right.

---

Minami just listened silently.

---

Her expression became softer.

---

Long time ago she saw how Yui failed.

Not once.

But twice.

---

And each time she wanted to help her.

---

There were some battles which simply had to be fought alone.

---

This was one of them.

---

Now she looked at Yui laughing softly.

Laughing through tears.

And finally understood.

---

That she felt relief.

---

Sincere relief.

The kind that settles in your heart and stays forever.

---

Finally Akari pointed dramatically.

---

Anyway.

---

Everybody knew that trouble will follow soon.

---

"We have a serious problem." she announced.

---

Aoi sighed.

---

"Already?" she asked.

---

Yes.

---

"Doctor Yui sounds cool." Akari declared.

---

Yui raised her eyebrows.

---

"Excuse me?"

Doctor Yui. Akari insisted.

---

It doesn’t work like this.

---

Absolutely works.

---

Doesn’t.

---

Works emotionally.

---

"Not professionally."

After a thirty seconds Yui understood that Mina will join her side of the argument.

---

"I think that it sounds nice." she added.

---

Traitor.

---

Betrayed look from Yui.

---

Soon joined by Rika’s voice.

---

"I’ve already planned a manga." she announced happily.

---

Well, of course she did.

---

"What manga?"

Yui tried asking carefully.

---

Rika opened her notebook.

And proudly showed the title.

---

Title:

Genius Doctor Finally Stops Being Stupid

---

That time the room erupted in laughter again.

---

"You know?"

THAT’S A TERRIBLE TITLE!

Yui shouted loudly.

---

It’s not!

"It is!"

---

"It absolutely isn’t."

Akari admitted quietly.

---

"AKARI!"

Even Aoi smiled.

Which was unusual.

---

The atmosphere kept becoming lighter and lighter.

---

Pressure was falling down.

Slowly.

Gradually.

---

Until eventually Yui noticed one thing.

---

There was no exam hanging above her head.

For the first time in years.

No second chance anymore.

No third.

Nothing unfinished.

---

Life is always hard.

Medical studies aren’t easy.

Hospitals aren’t easy.

Patients aren’t easy.

Life itself isn’t easy either.

---

But this Chapter ended.

Ended completely.

---

Yui looked around.

Looked at her friends.

At Minami.

Kuro.

At everybody who refused to leave her behind.

---

And suddenly she smiled.

Really smiled.

Not mockingly.

Not forcedly.

---

Just her smile.

---

And for the first time in years she felt something new.

Feeling that she will love in the future.

---

Excitement about the future.

Doctor finally realized that the future is great.