#CSAT Books

[ungist]

CSAT Course For UPSC (Ungist)

Introduction

In the realm of civil services examinations in India, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) stands as the most prestigious and challenging examination body. Aspirants dedicate years to preparing for these exams, and at the heart of their journey lies the CSAT, or the Civil Services Aptitude Test. In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into what the CSAT entails and how a dedicated CSAT course for UPSC can be a game-changer for UPSC aspirants.

What is CSAT?

Understanding the Basics

The Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) is a paper conducted by UPSC as part of the Civil Services Examination (CSE). It is the second of the two papers in the preliminary stage, with the first paper being the General Studies (GS) paper. CSAT was introduced in 2011, replacing the old Preliminary Examination pattern.

Format of CSAT

CSAT comprises two papers: Paper-I and Paper-II. While Paper-I is primarily aimed at testing a candidate's knowledge in areas such as history, geography, and economics, Paper-II focuses on aptitude and decision-making skills.

Scoring System

Each paper is of 200 marks, making a total of 400 marks for CSAT. To qualify for the Mains examination, candidates need to score a minimum cut-off in CSAT, as determined by UPSC.

Why is CSAT Important?

Filtering Candidates

The CSAT acts as a filtering mechanism, ensuring that only those with a certain level of analytical and reasoning abilities make it to the Mains. It helps UPSC identify candidates with the potential to excel in the rigorous civil services training.

Aptitude Test

CSAT assesses a candidate's aptitude for various administrative tasks, essential for the role of a civil servant. This includes decision-making, problem-solving, and communication skills.

The Need for a Dedicated CSAT Course

Specialized Training

Mastering CSAT requires a specialized approach. A dedicated CSAT course provides aspirants with expert guidance, study materials, and practice tests tailored to the CSAT syllabus.

Time Management

Time is of the essence in the UPSC exams. A CSAT course teaches candidates efficient time management skills, helping them tackle the paper's numerous questions within the stipulated time.

Mock Tests

CSAT courses often include mock tests that simulate the exam environment. These tests enable candidates to gauge their progress and identify areas that need improvement.

How to Choose the Right CSAT Course

Research

Before enrolling in a CSAT course, aspirants should thoroughly research various options. Look for courses with a proven track record of success and positive reviews from past students.

Experienced Instructors

The quality of instructors is paramount. Ensure that the course is led by experienced faculty with a deep understanding of the CSAT syllabus.

Customized Curriculum

Choose a CSAT course that offers a curriculum tailored to your needs. A one-size-fits-all approach may not be suitable for every aspirant.

Affordable Pricing

Consider your budget while selecting a course. Many CSAT courses offer flexible payment options to accommodate different financial situations.

Conclusion

Mastering the CSAT is a crucial step on the path to becoming a civil servant through UPSC. A dedicated CSAT course can make a significant difference in your preparation, providing you with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in this challenging paper.

FAQs

What is the CSAT exam?

The CSAT, or Civil Services Aptitude Test, is a paper conducted by UPSC as part of the Civil Services Examination to assess candidates' aptitude and decision-making skills.

Why is CSAT important for UPSC aspirants?

CSAT acts as a filtering mechanism and assesses aptitude, ensuring that candidates have the required skills for civil services roles.

What does a CSAT course offer?

A CSAT course provides specialized training, time management skills, and mock tests to help aspirants excel in the CSAT paper.

How can I choose the right CSAT course?

Research, consider experienced instructors, look for customized curriculums, and factor in affordability when selecting a CSAT course.

[insomaniacat]

orv spoilers

tbh I'm so happy there is no explicit romance in orv (minus the brief stuff that happens with jhw and lhs) and because of that I feel like I've been able to appreciate kdj in such a profound way as a character

like sure i like joongdok and yoohankim but to me at least kdj has this level of asexuality to him that I don't usually associate him with anyone that romantically. And their relationships are still as complex and has such a great depth that they are like THE foundest of families and I can return to the kim dokja company at the end of the day as all of them being my comfort characters. you know that saying like 'i love you so much i'd make the world burn for you'? it's meant to be this dramatic line about how much you love someone (romantically), but kdj's company fully encapsulates this in a platonic way that just isn't cringey or anything like that

they are all so platonic but they love each other to such an unconditional way that they ALL decide to relive through all the scenarios again in the hope of finding kim dokja again. and later, they all help to write and spread a story - stories, the thing the reader loves - again, in hopes of bringing kdj back home. they aren't sure if it'll work, but it is through this love they all have that they don't give up and put their hope in this seemingly impossible method

and this is also what makes them fundamentally different from kdj. unlike kim dokja in the apocalypse, they do not have any sort of proof their methods will work. kdj has twsa - the novel he grew up reading, the novel he fantasized living in, the novel that he's spent 13 years following, learning every nook and cranny and probably even planning out his own way to survive the apocalypse from this lengthy novel. he has some sort of assurance his methods will work, with the amount of time hsy put into describing the settings (remember that twsa was not popular and one of the complaints was that tls123 put too much emphasis on the settings that deterred people from reading it, when really, that too was a way to ensure kdj survived the apocalypse later on). he has had time to reassure himself and plan for it, and probably had yjh case test them all

but kdj's company had no assurance - they did not grow up with a book that confirmed their methods of bringing kdj back would work. they did not have any 'third plans', no 'ressurections', no 'restarts', that kdj had in the apocalypse. all they had was their own hope - something kdj didn't have when he was fifteen sitting in that hospital bed after that failed suicide attempt, feeling like the whole world was against him. Until he searched up those three words on his phone. Those three words that were probably 'Ways of Survival'.

And then he found his hope in twsa. he found his hope in yjh, the protagonist made just for him. he found hope in the story that he believed in for the next thirteen years. the story that got him through high school, the CSATs, the military. his hope was in this tangible book that carried him through the apocalypse.

kdj's company had none of that. they only had their hope in kim dokja - the man they survived the scenarios with. they could only put their hope in their memories of surviving with the man that saved them, even though there was no evidence he lived in their world anymore. they had to put their hope in the fact that they remembered he existed, even though they had to acknowledge that they didn't know everything about him.

sing shong touches upon this idea a lot throughout orv - does something really exist if no one knows about it? or, in a more modern saying, did a fallen tree in a forest really fall if no one heard it? what proves the existence of something? what proves that something truly happened? sing shong seems to make it pretty clear that the existence of something can be represented metaphorically like a 'story', and stories need a 'reader', some sort of spectator that witnesses it, for the 'story' to exist.

for kim dokja, his final sacrifice, where he split into infinite little pieces scattered across the universe, was to ensure that everything existed. that open ending, as tragic as it was, was meant to be comforting. that his sacrifice was supposed to be so existences like you and me, are real. no matter how lonely we may feel throughout our lives, a metaphorical 'kim dokja' is looking at our own stories, spectating our own stories, even living our own lives himself.

and what i hate to say sometimes is that kim dokja is not really a character - he is an idea. he is an idea of some being affirming our lives, that it's real, that what we do from day to day, even something as simple as getting up in the mornings and brushing your teeth, or thumbing through a store catalog, matters. and this is why kim dokja sacrificed himself. for all the stories that may have not 'existed' if no one was watching it.

and it's out of love. this tragic, terrible love for the world, that eats away at yourself until you are nothing. but at least you exist.

[dat-town]

abcdlove

Characters: school radio club leader!Taesan & class president!female reader

Setting & genre: high school au, coming of age, first love, fluff, a hint of enemies to lovers but it’s only in the girl’s head

Summary: You convinced yourself that you hated Han Taesan after what he had done in sophomore year but now you have to work together on a senior project and maybe he isn’t that bad. Or maybe just for your heartbeat.

Warnings: stage names are used, OC has negative opinion about Taesan and Leehan in the beginning, mentions of social and parental pressure, the amount of banana milk consumed might not be healthy, hopefully not too ooc even though i wrote it within like 2 weeks after @restlessmaknae started sending me bonedo content

Words: 9.6k

Author’s note: this is the product of the amount of Ann Liang books i binge read recently, the instagram algorithm and @restlessmaknae’s marketing for Zico’s kids. this really pulled me out of my writing slump, so thank you for that! honestly my first impression of Taesan was that he looks like a tsundere, so that’s pretty much how it all started.

i'm pretty sure you guessed it; happy name day @restlessmaknae <3

read Leehan’s companion piece here

You had been following your well-planned route to success for years. You had already taken advanced courses at a prestigious hagwon, a private after-school academy for the subjects you totally needed to ace at CSAT. You also offered tutoring services to underclassmen, volunteered at the local library during summer and carefully chose your extracurriculars to align with the ideal student vision SKY universities had. You only needed to follow through the plan in your senior year too and you would be fine. You would finally make it.

Needless to say Han Taesan wasn’t part of your plans.

Yet, there he was standing right in front of the principal’s office where you were heading in all his 6 feet tall glory, his school uniform’s tie neatly done for once.

“What are you doing here?” You blurted out with no greeting when your steps slowly halted next to him, your jaw set and muscles tense.

Taesan turned his head slowly and looked at you impassively from under his dark fringe before speaking up in his raspy voice that made your classmates swoon whenever they heard him make a radio announcement.

“What does it look like?” He raised a brow as if he was telling you not to ask stupid things.

There could only be two kinds of reasons why somebody was called into the principal’s room: either very good or very bad. You had never gotten into trouble, so you were hoping for something positive but seeing the boy there wasn’t really promising. Not because he was a troublemaker or a bad student. He might not have been a straight A student like yourself but he was the leader of the school radio club and he was also generally liked among his peers as far as you knew. Your wariness was more so because you didn’t want to be associated with him in any way.

“Oh, both of you are already here. Wonderful! Come in, come in,” the office door opened and Principal Im rushed you inside with a welcoming smile.

At least, you could be sure by then that the news wasn't anything too bad.

You took a step to follow the man inside at the same time Taesan moved next to you as well which made you momentarily falter. However the boy merely reached out and put a hand onto the door’s edge to keep it from closing. You had to force yourself not to scoff at the fake gentleman-ish action and instead just duck under his arm to go inside the office.

You just sat down in one of the cushy chairs and smoothed out the lines of your school uniform skirt when you heard the door close and soon enough Taesan took the chair next to you.

“Alright, I won’t even waste your precious time since I know both of you are busy. I called the two of you here because as representatives of the senior classes, I would like the two of you to conduct interviews with your classmates and prepare a pre-recorded radio segment that can be broadcasted on graduation day. It can be about anything you want: what the students’ aspirations are or what they liked the best in high school. I trust you will do a great job,” the principal smiled at you hopefully but you could feel your own polite smile freeze onto your face. This was not how you imagined yourself spending the first term of senior year.

“But…”

“Yes, Y/N?” The principal looked at you expectantly and you could feel Taesan’s dark eyes on you as well which snapped you out of your confused stupor.

“Why the two of us?”

“Of course, you can get others to help too if you want but you have exceptional organizing skills as I heard and Taesan already has experience with our recording system and editing softwares. You two were the first ones we could think of, but of course I can’t force you…”

“It would be an honor, Principal Im,” you hurried to stop him there because there was no way you would have said no to a task like this. Not only because you could hardly say no anyways but also because it would look good on your resume. The only thing that bothered you was having to do it with a boy you could not stand. If you had that much time and you could do so, you would have gladly done it alone without his help but no matter how much you hated it, Principal Im was right: he had the skills to perfect a radio segment.

“Great! If you don’t have further questions, then good luck!”

“Okay, what about we meet after school to discuss the plans?” You asked immediately once you left the principal office because you had less than 5 minutes until first period and since you didn’t share a class with Taesan, you rarely ran into each other unplanned (thank god) and you would need your color-coded planner from your bag to plan any further than the afternoon.

“I have a radio club thing until 6,” Taesan simply said, not offering any alternatives, so you let out a sigh. Of course. What did you expect?

“And I have academy classes every other day,” you pointed out because he wasn’t the only one busy. “Then I can just email you your parts and we don’t need to–”

“So you can complain later that I’m freeloading off your hard work? No thanks,” the boy interrupted you and your gaze sharpened at him. He leaned casually against the corridor’s wall, a hand reaching up to loosen his tie and tilted his head at you as if to challenge you to protest. “We can make do during lunch hour.”

You opened your mouth, ready to tell him that you had plans already but going over your History notes, when it was just the first week of the term and you were ahead of the course work anyway, wasn’t that necessary even though you hated giving in to his idea.

“Okay, let’s meet outside at the benches then,” you agreed, telling yourself to be the bigger person, and turned your back on the boy before he could see the frustration bubbling up in you.

You and Han Taesan had the kind of history that you didn’t really like to revisit. That’s why your initial reaction was to roll your eyes whenever you heard his voice on the school radio or to puke your guts out when girls gushed about his ‘tsundere charm’. Their words, not yours.

Actually you would have probably not cared about the guy if it wasn’t for your model student campaign which he had ruined. Last year the school had run an event to choose a student representative by voting and every candidate could have a pre-recorded segment on the radio. You had your own carefully recorded and edited audio file with the best convincing speech you could prepare and emailed them the sharing link on time just to hear yourself sing your go-to karaoke song through the radio on the big day. In panic, you ran to the school radio broadcasting station only to find Taesan sitting there by the control panel with headphones over his ears, calmly letting the audio play well past the two minutes mark, seemingly not finding it weird at all that somebody tried to win the campaign with a karaoke rendition of a love song instead of saying a few words. As it turned out, you managed to share your entire recordings folder with the radio team but the club president, instead of playing the file titled campaign_speech_final.mp3, decided that AUD_20230326_192251.mp3 was the right track for your model student image. That week you not only lost that title to the grade’s pretty boy, but you lost your pride as well and it was all Taesan’s fault. Not that he ever thought to apologize or right his wrongdoings. So no, you weren’t looking forward to working with him at all.

He was late.

You had already dotted down six different questions and a rough program outline with your half-finished, now cold rosé pasta lunch menu  on the side by the time Taesan put his tray down on the outdoor table.

“You are late,” you picked at him right away which earned you a rather confused look.

“It’s still lunch hour,” he pointed out and dug into his own kimchi jjigae like he had all the time in the world. His behavior was seriously dancing on your nerves.

“Whatever. Let’s get into it,” you prompted because you didn’t have time to argue about semantics or his attitude. “We should divide the related tasks this week, finalize the questions and gather people for the interviews, then we can start on those next week.”

“What’s the rush? We have months until graduation,” Taesan questioned and while he was right (or because), you had the sudden urge to strangle him right there. You forced yourself to stay calm.

“Well, I don’t like to leave things to the last minute. Closer to graduation, we will be busy with the exams and college applications anyway.”

“As if you don’t already have everything prepared,” he muttered absentmindedly, scooping more kimchi on his spoon, eating without a care.

You pursed your lips, annoyed. You needed to remind yourself again that you had no time nor the energy to argue with him if you wanted to get this discussion done before your upcoming English class.

“Khm… so we can agree on splitting the interviews between us, right? You interview your classmates and I will do mine. We just need a common question sheet,” you said, tapping the end of your pen on the table.

Whether it was the repetitive sound or your words, it managed to get Taesan’s attention. He looked up from his food and leaned forward on his elbows, his dark eyes sharpening their focus on you.

“How would you record the interviews?” He asked, simply yet you had a feeling it was a tricky question.

“On my phone?” You furrowed your brows. Wasn’t it obvious? How else did he expect you to do it?

“That won’t be good. We would have a huge difference in audio quality. So unless you are fine with that, you need proper equipment. I can borrow a portable mic from the radio club, but I’m not trusting you with that.”

“Excuse me?” Your eyes widened in disbelief but Taesan didn’t elaborate on his reason. Ridiculous. He was just looking for faults in your ideas.

You let out a huff of frustration.

“Are you that desperate that we work together?”

“It’s called professionalism, miss class president,” he taunted you, looking completely serious. “I don’t want to broadcast anything under my name that’s just ‘good enough’.”

“Do you now?” You snorted and rolled your eyes. As if it wasn’t him who played your singing for the entire school. Where was his professionalism then? Who was he to lecture you about it? But okay, you could be the bigger person if he was so freaking stubborn. “Fine. We can do the interviews together with your fancy mic. These are the initial questions I thought of.”

You slid your open notebook towards him with questions about what they used to dream of becoming as a kid, what they want to be now, what colleges and majors they considered as well as their most memorable moment at the school and what they would tell their younger selves or their underclassmen. Taesan furrowed his brows as he was reading through the draft, probably dissecting each of your questions like a poor lab rat but eventually didn’t say anything. You raised a brow at him when your eyes met and he just shrugged.

“Sounds good to me,” he said which didn’t really added value but at least he didn’t find something to pick on in everything you did.

The rest of the discussion went easier as it was obvious that he would be the editor and you would organize the interviews. You were already mentally preparing a survey to send out to the students via the group chats you usually used for class president duties to see when they would be free to conduct the interview among the slots you offered. Taesan wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about the hectic and busy scheduling in the upcoming weeks but eventually agreed to get it over with within two months tops. He must have realized too that the earlier you finished with this project, the sooner the two of you could part ways.

You had the first batch of interviews at the end of next week. After ruling out inconvenient locations, you ended up with the obvious option: doing the recordings in the school radio clubroom. You were against it at first because the last time you had been there you faced public humiliation, whispers behind your back for weeks about your singing and messed up campaign, but objectively speaking you knew it was the most reasonable choice, so you bit the bullet.

You arrived ahead of time, of course, but you were quite surprised that Taesan was already there too, setting up who-knows-what on the professional equipment. He looked up when the door opened, the sun hitting the side of his face, giving it a natural warm glow, a stark contrast to the coldness he often radiated. He acknowledged your presence with a nod then went back to his work, so you just put your stuff down next to the round table in the middle of the room and got ready with your nicely printed questionnaire.

For the most part, the interviews went well, the students showed up more or less on time for their own slot, Taesan let you do the talking, merely letting you know when a recording started or ended. It all started going down when the last interviewee for the day didn’t show up. After five minutes passed, you texted Wonyoung asking politely whether she forgot the interview but she didn’t answer. Ten more minutes of awkward silence while Taesan was playing (or texting, you couldn’t tell) on his phone, you tried calling her but with no success. You started getting restless and frustrated.

“She could have at least told us if she wasn’t going to come,” you muttered more to yourself than anything when your next call went to the voicemail as well. It was such a waste of time just waiting.

“Why do you always assume the worst of people? Maybe something happened and she can’t make it. She could be too sick to care about you blowing up her KakaoTalk,” Taesan looked up from his phone and there was something in his eyes that made you feel like you were in the wrong, like you were a sulky child because generally it wasn't like you were always this pessimistic about people, but before you could have argued, Taesan sighed. “You can go. I can interview her if she shows up until 6.”

Well, you could have taken his word and left. Wonyoung was his classmate and he probably didn’t have anything better to do anyways. There was a set list of questions and not much to mess up. But just as he didn’t want you to handle his beloved mic alone, you didn’t want to leave it to him alone. So you just stubbornly held his gaze, trying to come up with a more profound reason when the clubroom’s door opened and Wonyoung stepped inside in the cheerleading squad’s PE clothes.

“Sorry. Practice got delayed. Thanks for waiting for me,” she panted and Taesan sent you a ‘told you so’ look which made you want to commit atrocities. You hated not being right and even more to be reminded of it.

“It’s okay. Catch your breath,” you turned to the girl with a reassuring smile but you were undeniably relieved when you could finally bid goodbye to her and pack up. It was getting late.

However, when you saw that Taesan was still saving the audio files and uploading them to your shared cloud folder, then putting away the recording device and the mic, you stalled around the door, feeling inconsiderate to leave earlier.

“Just go,” the boy muttered gently when he noticed your hesitation and you didn’t need to be told twice.

On your way to the bus stop, you stopped by at your favorite corner convenience store for some banana milk and almost missed your bus but luckily the driver saw you running and stopped.

“Thank you,” you bowed to the middle aged man who just mumbled something about youngsters these days, then tapped your transportation card against the sensor before looking for a place to sit.

Since it was past the rush hour, there were quite a few empty seats but there was one next to a familiar face close to the door. He had put on a hoodie over his uniform and had his head against the window, eyes closed but you would have easily recognized his long ass limbs everywhere. With the taste of your hurt pride still fresh on your tongue you walked past him, sitting down in the very back, only checking on Taesan a few times to see if he managed to wake up in time to get off at his stop.

Even without the interview project, senior year was busy. You felt like your days were piles of classes, homework, mock tests, real tests, tutoring and studying. Sometimes you memorized English vocabulary or dates for History class even during your lunch breaks or on bus rides because that way you could make the most out of your time. Some might have argued that you took it too seriously but if you wanted to get into the top universities of the country, you had to.

No wonder you spent the two hours you had between classes and tutoring on Friday in the library too, working on your Literature essay. It was kind of boring and you had a long week; you justified your frequent yawns and slow blinking. You didn’t even notice when you slipped into a dreamless sleep, not until you woke up with your head over your folded arms on the table.

As you were still in the haze, instead of panicking that you might have missed your tutoring class, you slowly blinked yourself back into consciousness and the first thing you saw was a pair of eyes.

The boy sitting at the table next to yours was looking at you with something akin to the mix of concern and amusement but you were too busy committing the lovely almond shape and chocolate brown shade of his eyes to your memory to be bothered by it.

Then the realization hit you like a truck because it was no other than Han freaking Taesan.

Oh, did he always have such pretty eyes?

Realizing that you were staring, you quickly turned your gaze away, sat up properly and fixed your messy hair while mentally reprimanding yourself for letting your sleepiness take too much control over you.

You hastily checked the time on your watch, sighing in relief that you only napped for about 15 minutes, so you still had time to finish what you were doing. Which was…? Ah, right, your essay.

You cleared your throat as you focused back on your homework, pretending not to be hyper aware of every chair creaking or pen against paper scribbling sound coming from the table on your left.

The next batch of interviews were scheduled a week later and you did everything in your power to avoid Taesan, hoping that he would forget that embarrassing little encounter you had in the library. Not like he was looking for you either but now that you have become more aware of his presence, you suddenly noticed him everywhere. He wasn’t just the subject of your classmates’ talks and an annoying voice from the radio anymore, he was in the canteen, on your regular bus, on the corridor between classes. Really, you wondered if it was your mind’s self-sabotaging doing or you just managed to ignore him previously. Since you tended to be laser focused on what to do, often walking by people you know without recognizing them, it wouldn’t have surprised you that much.

Still whenever you saw him, he was usually alone if not with juniors from the radio club, so you were a bit taken aback (and you weren’t sure you were hiding it well) when a bunch of his friends from his class were already in the clubroom by the time you got there. The door was left ajar, so you could hear Jungwon’s bubbly laughter and Gyuvin teasing Taesan for ‘working oh so diligently’. They all fell silent when you pushed the door open wider and suddenly their attention was on you. Leehan patted Taesan’s upper back with a grin and muttered something about ‘boss lady is here’ which earned him a glare.

“We will be on our best behavior,” Jungwon saluted with a promise when it turned out they booked the first three slots of the session on purpose, so they could sit through each other’s interviews. While you interviewed people by themselves, since the entire school would hear the edited version anyways, you supposed it couldn’t be a problem if they really did behave. They were friends after all, if they wanted to share them why not?

Them chuckling at some parts of each other’s answers or whisper-shouted hollering about future ambitions was a bit distracting but nothing seriously annoying. You could only hide your laugh with burying your face in your hands when Gyuvin recited a freshmen memory as his most memorable with a prank that ended with the four of them becoming friends. Apparently the day before the first term’s end, right on the edge of the summer holiday, Taesan had brought soap dispenser-shaped water guns into the PE changing rooms, so whenever somebody just tried to wash their hand, they got wet. It shouldn’t have been funny since it was rather childish, but glancing at the always stern and intimidating Taesan and seeing him smile at the memory turned it into something lovely even if it ended with the four of them arguing about whose was the best prank out of all the ones they did over the years.

It was truly one of a kind to see Taesan interact with his friends, people he felt comfortable around. He suddenly became talkative and loud yet warm and gentle when he scolded Gyuvin like an Asian mom for falling asleep at Miss Lee’s class again but promised to send him his notes once he got home.

“What?”

“Nothing,” you shrugged when he caught you red-handed watching him still after he literally pushed his friends out of the door.

Despite witnessing this side of him, if you wanted to be honest, it didn’t quite sit right with you that he was friends with Kim Leehan. The popular boy might not have ever rubbed salt into your wounds by reminding you that he was chosen as the model student representative of the school instead of you who was the grade’s academically best student, the defeat still hurt. You didn’t like to lose in general. So while you knew it was a far-stretched idea, your mind couldn’t stop coming up with scenarios to prove that Taesan sabotaged your campaign speech on purpose to help his friend and it made you irritable and restless during the rest of the interview sessions.

When you were finally alone, it made you blurt out:

“Was it a prank too?”

Taesan froze mid-movement when you spoke up. He was doing the finishing touches, getting ready to leave as it was just the two of you. He slid the headphones, which he used to make sure the recording quality was good, down around his neck.

“What?” He furrowed his brows, visibly confused and you weren’t surprised, he had probably long forgotten how he had humiliated you.

“My model student speech last year,” you said, your nails digging into your palms, bitterness sweeping into your features.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the boy claimed, firm in his standpoint which made you snort.

“Of course, you don’t,” you muttered, then grabbed your bag and walked out of the door before you would say something you would regret.

A part of you thought that Taesan would ignore you the way you ignored him, especially after your callout (or whatever he wanted to call it), so it took you aback when the opposite happened.

As a class president you often had to help the homeroom teacher. It was nothing out of the ordinary when he called you into the teachers’ room and gave you a box of university application help books to hand out in class. It wasn’t really heavy but there was no proper handle on the box, so you had to hold it against your chest and it made it hard to see the stairs in front of your feet as you walked up to the classroom.

Students came and went both ways around you, nobody really paying attention to you struggling not to fall and you let out a little sigh of relief when you reached the first landing of the staircase without tripping. You adjusted your grip on the big brown box and was about to go on when the box crashed into somebody’s chest… or more like, stomach.

“Sorry, I…”

You were about to apologize automatically when you saw Taesan standing in front of you, very clearly on purpose. However, before you could have told him to move out of your way, he did the unthinkable: he easily took the box out of your hands, his knuckles brushing against your open palms as he did so.

“Hey! Give it back!” You reached out for the box again once you snapped out of your stupor but the boy’s hold on it was too strong.

“Stop being so stubborn for once,” he said, his quiet, deep voice washing over you in waves and then you could barely do anything but watch him turn around and walk up the stairs with ease, the box in his hands and his bag thrown over one of his shoulders.

You shuffled after him a bit awkwardly, halfway torn between being grateful because out of all people in the school only him was considerate enough to offer help and being offended and angry because what if he only did so because he pitied you now that he knew that you still held grudges over what happened last year.

That became a smaller worry though as you realized he was heading straight towards your classroom and you didn’t even want to guess the rumors starting if even just one gossipy girl saw him help you. You grew more anxious the closer you got but Taesan’s steps halted right before he got to the door. You almost bumped into his back at the sudden pause.

“Here,” he turned to you with the box that you took gingerly, making sure you didn’t touch this time.

“Thanks,” you mumbled, actually meaning it but you couldn’t tell with Taesan’s low hum and light on his feet disappearance if he believed you or not.

The third week of interviews went without a glitch. You were almost done which also added to your good mood. One less thing to worry about, one less to-do during your already busy weeks.

Taesan stayed behind in the clubroom this time too, hunching over the computer setup with the headphones on like always but for the first time you said bye. Or well your version of it.

“Don’t stay too late,” you told him loud enough, so he could hear you through the headphones but turned on your heels before you could have seen his reaction.

It was a good day, you decided. You got praised by your Literature teacher for your essay on the themes of social class and Confucian values in your recent obligatory read. The interviews went smoothly and the corner CU had a 1+1 promotion for your favorite banana milk. You even caught the bus just in time, getting on the vehicle after two giggling students. It was busier now than usual because lots of students had to stay longer in preparation for the Freshmen Open Day.

Apologies falling from your lips, you made your way through the crowd in the front of the bus and looked for a seat in the back. That’s where you caught sight of Taesan with his bag on the seat next to him and when your eyes met, he pulled his stuff into his lap. You hesitated for a moment but that was pretty much the only place left and it would have been more awkward if you didn’t take it. So you dropped the ignoring act, swung your bag to your front and sat down, drumming with your fingers on your knees. The bus departed from the stop and took a turn, the silence between the two of you becoming louder than the chatter around you.

You unzipped your bag and pulled out the banana milk bottles you just bought and held one out towards Taesan. The boy turned his head towards you, his dark eyes unsure and… was that blush on his cheeks? Your hands touched when he took the bottle from you, sending little tingles over your skin.

“Wanna listen?” He held out one of the earbuds of his wired earphone that he always seemed to have with him. So old-fashioned, so cool.

You felt shy as you looked him in the eye because it was like sharing something intimate. Still, you took the audio device and put it inside your right ear, smiling as the unfamiliar beats of a slower western song played. You pierced through the lid of the banana milk with your straw and hid your smile behind your drink when you saw Taesan do the same.

Maybe you were just warming up to each other after weeks of working together but it gave you the push you needed to ask about what you were listening to and it started a whole monologue about the kind of music Taesan liked and how his father introduced it to him. Honestly, he listened to a lot of bands you heard of but couldn’t really associate songs with and quite a few you hadn’t even heard about. You didn’t mind though, you liked listening to him talk about it, watching him gesture and slur his words when he got excited. It was a lovely side of him.

The bus ride never felt so short.

That one conversation and shared banana milk somehow led to daily song recommendations from the boy. He was always curious about your opinion even if you didn’t like it. Soon enough he could guess pretty accurately if you would like a song or not, so he even created a Spotify playlist just for you that he updated frequently. This turn of events was surely unexpected but not at all bad.

You also got to know that he would have liked to study sound engineering in university and you told him about your own ambitions and why it was so important for you to have near perfect grades and all those achievements. Belatedly you realized that you had never told anybody how much impact it had on you that you were constantly compared to your cousins.

It was a new side of Taesan you got to know, a side he didn’t show to just anybody and you realized it was the same with you. You hated showing weakness in front of others, yet it wasn’t too bad to admit to him that you tended to be judgemental with people because nobody had really been patient with you either before labeling you this or that.

But texting over the phone was one thing, you weren’t sure it would change anything in person. Sure, you had been seen together due to the interview project but that would be over soon. Not to mention you really didn’t want to deal with high school gossip in your last school year. And yet, you couldn’t help but look for Taesan whenever you were in the school canteen or near his clubroom. You caught yourself anticipating the radio announcements just to hear his voice. It was pathetic really, how fast you went from finding it annoying and purposefully ignoring him to waiting to see him.

Your heart did a little somersault when you actually saw him in the library one afternoon and only when you walked closer did you notice that he wasn’t just leaning over his papers but he was sleeping soundly, his pencil still in his hand, his textbook getting wrinkled under his weight. Briefly you wondered whether you should have looked for another place since Taesan must have chosen this corner table far in the back to have some peace but you would have liked to believe that he wouldn’t have minded you joining. After all, he waved to you casually like you were friends when you ran into each other on the corridors earlier that day.

Eventually, you pulled out the chair on the other side of the table and quietly put your study material down. You squinted at the books and printed papers around Taesan recognizing them as advanced Maths exercises on trigonometry. While you were trying to see if it was a sheet you had already done, something else caught your eyes instead. The light reflected on the silver bands around Taesan’s index and ring fingers down to the similar thin, metal bracelet he wore. You had never noticed that he wore accessories but you had never really paid attention to what he was wearing either (except his unmade tie). Or maybe due to the long sleeved uniform you couldn’t even notice it but now that he had his sleeves rolled up and arms outstretched, you couldn’t help but notice how long and elegant fingers he had, unfairly nice for a guy.

Taesan suddenly exhaled sharply which made you act on impulse. You leaned back in your chair and looked down at your randomly opened book just in case he woke up. However, his quiet sleeping noises soon returned to normal, so you deemed it safe to look up. You let out a relieved sigh when you saw his eyes still closed, his eyelashes casting a light shadow over his cheekbones. Dark strands of hair fell softly over his eyes and you weren’t sure what came over you but maybe all those silly romance dramas were right when they thought girls couldn’t stop themselves from brushing a boy’s fringe out of his eyes just once in their life. But just as you reached out, Taesan straightened his back and yawned like a cat, stretching his arms towards the sky. He blinked himself awake slowly but he froze the moment he noticed you right in front of him.

To make the situation less awkward for both of you, you smiled at him as casually as you could (which wasn’t much thanks to your racing heartbeat but still, you tried) and turned to your book, flipping to the correct page you wanted to review. From the corner of your eyes, you saw Taesan fix his clothes and sit up properly before arranging his rumpled papers to continue the Maths exercises. He must have been stuck on a problem though because he kept sighing and going back to the same page in the workbook. After his sixth or so frustrated sound, you couldn’t take it anymore.

“What are you stuck on? Maybe I can help,” you spoke up, closing your own book, so he would see your focus was on him.

“It’s fine,” he dismissed your offer so fast that you could tell he didn’t even think about it. You were sure because that was what you tended to do too: claiming you could handle everything on your own. But still, sometimes wasn’t it nice to receive help? Like how he had helped you with that box?

“Okay, then what about explaining it to me?” You changed your strategy because sometimes even that much could help: offering a listening ear. Maybe he could realize the mistake he was making in the equation while telling you about it.

You didn’t even think about it, you just stood up and walked to Taesan’s side of the table, sitting down next to him, leaning closer to see his scratchy handwriting and the calculations he had been doing. You might have blushed when you realized just how close you were but you refused to show it. You took studying seriously after all. So you looked the boy in the eye with a challenge in yours until he gave in.

Four minutes later he found the trigonometric identity he used incorrectly.

After sharing songs through texts and studying together at the library, the next thing that became a routine for the two of you was visiting the corner convenience store whenever you left the school together. When it first happened, Taesan claimed he needed to buy something too but he was looking around in the snack aisle suspiciously long (you missed your usual bus that day), so the next time you told him that you would catch up to him at the bus stop, he didn’t need to come with you. But more often than not, he went along with you anyways and ended up buying candies or chocolate bars. When you told Taesan about your go-to emotional support banana milk reminding you of your childhood, he told you that he wasn’t really into sweet things, so he bought all these snacks for his younger siblings. One time he bought a pack of four cream milk breads just for the freebie Pokémon toy that came with it because his little sister liked that character. It made you coo internally.

It wasn’t always just the two of you though. One day you were going over the English vocabulary with Jihan from your class in the library when Taesan and Jungwon walked in and took the desk next to you, eventually joining the English quiz. Another time Leehan needed to stay after school too because of his model student representative duties (a photoshoot for the Freshmen Open Day brochures apparently and suddenly you weren’t so sulky that you didn’t get the title) and he decided to tag along when he saw Taesan and you head over to the nearby CU.

“Ah, senior year is really hell. Everyone’s so busy we barely have time to hangout after school anymore,” he justified himself while throwing an arm around Taesan’s shoulder. “Jungwon told me you went to the library to study the other day. Since when do you do that? I thought you said being around so many people is distracting.”

You still heard Leehan’s voice as they disappeared into the snack aisle with the purpose of getting jellies and you walked forward to the refrigerated section, trying not to think too much into it. Maybe senior year changed Taesan’s mind, maybe he found the presence of others motivating now. Or maybe he just wanted to spend more time with you. The thought alone made you shy.

You were on schedule with the interviews and soon only the intro and outro as well as your own parts were missing. You wrote a script for the introduction and ending which Taesan improved with his experience of radio shows at school. You argued about whether your version with the ‘high school memories forever staying with you’ sentiment was too cringy or his ‘it’s only the beginning’ version was too vague but this time there was no harshness in your voice, there were no grudges held, it was only friendly banter as you went back and forth with arguments supporting your own ideas.

Eventually you managed to find a common ground, mentioning both the importance of keeping one’s high school memories as a reminder of their formative years and youth as well as being ready for what was coming. It was not even a question that it would be recorded by Taesan because he really had a nice voice and while you tried to stay professional and pay attention to his pronunciation and the flow of the speech rather than him, you failed miserably. Luckily, Taesan had enough radio experience to know exactly what to do. He introduced the segment with ease and charm, captivating the audience (you, for now) and you had to clear your throat to focus when he finished reading.

“We can start the interview with me,” you said, eager to get on with the tasks before Taesan could call you out on your behavior. He must have known your reason for the sudden change of attitude though because he smiled to himself, quiet but obvious about it, as he held the microphone out for you and hit record.

You knew all the questions by heart but still you waited for the boy to ask before you answered.

“When I was young, I wanted to have my own karaoke room. There was one on the basement floor in the building where I used to live and the owner auntie always gave me homemade honey biscuits. She seemed to be so joyful humming songs happily,” you said at the first question, glancing in Taesan’s direction briefly.

He must have been surprised – you were too –, because it wasn’t the model student-like answer everybody was expecting of you like saying your dream had always been to become a doctor or lawyer. Honestly, you had your own answers prepared and memorized ever since the questions for the student interviews were finalized and approved by your teachers. But looking back at it now, you felt embarrassed because even though it was just an interview, it wasn’t graded or judged, yet you had felt obligated to answer according to what other people would think of you. However, in the recent weeks as you got to know Taesan better, you realized that people would judge others without reason, without knowing them, even you. So you shouldn’t have changed your whole personality just so you would fit into this image they had of you. Even if it was about your parents’ or teachers’ expectation or your classmates calling you the teacher’s pet behind your back. You had been okay with the prejudices since high school was just one step in your foolproof plan to lead a successful life, you had been okay without building deep connections with other students because you had known that you would drift away after graduation anyways but only lately you realized that you could have had fun while also working hard. You could be yourself and let people closer. The world wasn’t going to crumble, it wouldn’t ruin your plans. You could be honest, both with yourself and others, because what was the worst thing that could happen? That they would judge you? They are doing it anyway, so it didn't matter.

“And now? Now I’m applying for business majors. I’ m not sure what exactly I would like to do with my life but I will get there. Who knows, maybe one day I will open a karaoke room, too,” you chuckled even though your ambitions were to build a bigger company, something creative and useful. You still had time to figure out the details.

In the beginning of the term you would have felt vulnerable sharing these about yourself in front of Taesan or the entire school because everybody expected you to know what you want to do with your life but now, it felt okay. You actually felt lighter, relieved. Especially because there was nothing akin to judging in Taesan’s eyes as he smiled at you from the other side of the table.

“Please tell us about your most memorable high school memory,” he recited the last question after you went over all the others.

Previously, you would have said it was being chosen as a class president because it was an honor and a proof of hard work but now, your academic achievements didn’t seem that important. What will you really remember when you will be older and think back on high school?

“Honestly, senior year so far has had some unexpected surprises, it’s hard to choose just one but maybe this one. Now,” you and me, just the two of us in the radio club room, being vulnerable yet not being judged. “I like the person I have been becoming ever since this senior interview project started and I think it's going to be a great memory one day.”

Silence embraced you as you finished talking, a bit nervous but without regrets. Taesan pressed a button and the recording stopped, ready to be saved.

“So karaoke room, huh?” He asked and you kicked his shin under the table for that teasing grin on his face.

“Your turn,” you reminded him as you passed the mic and adjusted the headphones around your ears. By then, over so many interviews you were sure Taesan knew what was coming too but just for the show you asked him about his dream job as a child versus now as well as his higher education plans.

“Becoming a musician was my childhood dream. My entire family loves music, many of us play an instrument, so it felt natural,” Taesan said and even though you didn’t know this, it wasn’t hard to imagine given his love for music and all that knowledge about genres and classics. “After I joined the radio club, I realized that I like it a lot despite the fact that here we don’t usually play music. So it would be cool to be a radio DJ on a music show one day but I’m interested in the technology behind it all, that’s why I will study sound engineering.”

You smiled to yourself because you had already known that latter part and it felt nice knowing you had come so far. After a few more answers, you got to the last question about his most memorable moment and Taesan’s feline eyes turned mischievous.

“Hm, a fierce girl yelling my head off during a live school radio radio–”

“Yah, be serious!” You interrupted him when you realized he was talking about what happened last year but your voice was more amused than scolding.

“I am serious,” Taesan claimed but there was a teasing tilt in his mouth. “It’s pretty memorable.”

“So you’re saying I was the only girl interrupting you during a broadcast? Shocking,” you raised a brow at him, a small part of you feeling triumphant about the fact that in a way you were special even if your first actual meeting didn’t have the best circumstances. Thank god that his microphone wasn’t on when you showed up and straight up started questioning him. “Also, just to clarify I wasn't yelling. I just expressed my bewilderment about why you were playing that audio.”

“That was the only one under your name.”

“What?” You blinked, confused at Taesan’s quick response. He sounded like he meant it but you knew that couldn’t have been true, they got access to your entire recording folder accidentally. So if he didn’t see that, it meant he wasn’t the one checking their emails.

“To make sure things are running smoothly, we always have a script about our broadcasts and all the audio files are organized in linear order in a folder for that day. I just played what was prepared for me,” he explained and gosh, you felt so stupid.

All this time you thought he had been the one who chose the wrong file on purpose maybe to help his friend, maybe to just have a good laugh but it made sense that his juniors were more likely the ones doing such preparatory work.

“But still, you could have stopped it instead of just letting it play,” you muttered, trying to justify your reaction.

“Well, at first I thought it was actually a pretty unique tactic and then…” Taesan scratched his nape and looked away, then shrugged as if he just convinced himself to tell you something that might be embarrassing. “To be honest, I just liked your singing.”

At his words you felt the tip of your ears burn and heat spreading all over your cheeks. You were glad that the lighting in the room hid it well.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” You found yourself asking quietly because thinking back you weren’t exactly nice to him.

Taesan gave you a look. Okay, true, you didn’t really give him a chance to explain before antagonizing him. And then it must have been weird to just bring it up.

“Right. Um, sorry,” you mumbled, embarrassed due to your too quick judgment but the boy just shook his head as if he had never been mad at the injustice in the first place. “About your answer though, you have to cut it out.” 

Obviously with 60 people answering 6 questions, not everything would make it into the final cut, it would be more of a montage of answers, a glimpse of the seniors’ lives and you didn’t want to be reminded of that incident in front of the entire school. Not again.

“Nope,” Taesan protested, popping the ‘p’ sound, teasing just to be difficult.

“I’m deleting it,” you warned him but you seriously miscalculated several things: there was no way you could have reached the computer before him and with him standing in front of the monitor and keyboard you didn’t see anything. You tried to get hold of the mouse at the same time as looking over the boy’s shoulder but he made sure that he was always in the way which somehow turned into a one sided (struggle) wrestle match and honestly at that point you weren’t even trying to achieve anything and both of you just laughed at your poor attempts.

“Am I interrupting something?” Spoke up a newcomer you didn’t even notice. Sullyoon, another radio club member from the year, stood by the door visibly surprised to see you or well the current situation you were in: Taesan leaning against the desk in front of the computer and you pretty much plastered over him, trying to reach something behind his back.

“No!” You objected vehemently and took two steps back, stumbling a bit. Taesan reached out to steady you by the forearm and only after he made sure you wouldn’t fall did he turn to the girl from his club.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, I just forgot my buju here,” Sullyoon got over her surprise too and quickly retrieved the prettily decorated journal from one of the shelves. You watched her go and then buried your face in your hands because of embarrassment.

“Emotional support banana milk?” Taesan prompted after he saved the files and turned the computer off.

You smiled at him and followed him out closely. If you were any better off, you would have teased him about his flushed face but instead you just made him race you to the convenience store, so both of you would have an excuse if anyone asked about your red cheeks.

Now that all interviews were done, only the editing was left from the project and while you could have left it all to Taesan since he did the actual editing, you were there keeping him company all through it. First of all, you listened to all the raw material and decided which answers to include from each interviewee in the final cut and then you could help out when he needed a second opinion on the order or cut parts or whether the transition was smooth or not. When he was deep in the concentration mode, you just did homework or studied for upcoming tests. It took three sessions to finish it (you had to force Taesan to get his ass out of school during the second one because he was determined to finish it which past you would have appreciated but not even this project was worth losing proper meal schedule or sleep over it) and when you listened to the final version you were proud of what you had done, together.

“Should we celebrate?” You suggested once the file was sent to the principal and his secretary. You finished it pretty much on schedule and yet, you weren't as relieved as you thought you would be when you had first started it. But still, it was an achievement and you liked to celebrate small wins like this because if you didn't, who else would?

You meant it as in going out to eat something good. For example, in the tent restaurant two streets down the auntie was selling the best tteokbokki you had ever tried. But Taesan had his own idea.

“What about karaoke?”

“Yah! Stop teasing!” You glared at him but you weren't actually mad, it started to turn into a private joke between the two of you.

“I’m not!” The boy insisted and all it took was his almost pout to convince you.

There were karaoke rooms on pretty much every other street in this neighborhood, so it wasn't hard to find one where you booked a room for an hour and bought snacks and drinks at the counter from the girl who looked like a bored university student.

You usually went to sing with a small group of girls from your class, so it was the first time that it was just you and a boy. And not just any boy but Han Taesan. Somehow it felt more special. Sure, he might have already heard you sing and said that he liked it, but you were shy, so you insisted that he would pick a song first. He chose Dean's 21 and totally nailed it, the karaoke machine's high score proving that you weren't just biased when you told him that. You had already liked his speaking voice but when he sang, oh boy! You could have listened to him for hours.

You went with a girl group song you were confident in and it was fun. Song after song you both hyped each other up and the one hour passed by quickly. A part of you wished you could just pay for one more and sing until your voice became hoarse but the rational part knew that you shouldn't have stayed out too late. You still had homework to do and Taesan needed to memorize those English words for tomorrow's test.

It was the same T side of you that went a bit ahead of you and started thinking about the midterms and then how busy you would get once summer ended and the last term rolled around. It was still months away and yet, you wondered if it took that much for you to drift apart or the end of this interview project would be enough. You were a bit scared to know the answer, just how you were scared to answer Jihan's question the other day when she saw you walk to class together with Taesan. Admitting out loud that you liked him would have made it real and it would have made you vulnerable. You weren't sure you were ready to do that but it was certain that you didn't want to lose him.

“Taesan…” You spoke up quietly, swinging your feet back and forth on the bench in the bus stop after you spent the walk from the karaoke room to the stop in silence, lost in thought. The boy turned his head towards you, his fringe getting into his eyes, messy and beautiful. Your heart ached with the certainty only first love could. “Now that the radio segment is ready, will we go back to how we were?” You asked barely in a whisper as if speaking louder would have had its consequences. That was also why you had to rush to clarify. “Because I don’t want that. I… I would miss you too much.”

You didn’t mean to say it like that and it was a scary thing to admit but it was worth all the extra beats of your heart to see Taesan smile, a shy little thing stretching slowly from one side to another, his eyes sparkling under the moonlight and street lamps’ glow.

“Me too,” he said and you reciprocated his smile. There was a short pause, an inhale of the universe waiting, then Taesan called your name and you looked up immediately.

“Hm?”

He looked you in the eyes with those dark oceans of his. Once you associated them with the cold depth of the sea but since then you realized that you were wrong. You knew only a few people who had warmer souls than this boy.

“You are my most memorable high school memory for a reason,” he whispered like it was a secret and a promise at the same time.

It left you speechless a moment too long and the bubble around you burst when the bus pulled up in front of you with a loud screeching sound. Taesan was quick on his feet but instead of getting on the bus right away, he looked back at you and held a hand out for you. You blamed it on not having time to think about it with the bus driver yelling at you impatiently and took it, following the boy onto the vehicle and to your usual place in the back with a smile on your face and a new rhythm in your heart.

Taesan didn't let go of your hand during the entire ride. As you closed your eyes and listened to the music he put on, you hoped he wouldn’t let go for a long time.

[thinkingotherwise]

Be My MC

prev, part 3, next

Written in 3rd POV; With fem! reader; There'll be probably one more part before continuing with the series plot. I decided to divide the part in two, so I can focus and write more about a certain upcoming event.

For the rest of the day, instead of focusing on her lessons, her head was filled with different ideas. Leaving the school, she went to the bus station and while driving to the mall, she was on her phone looking for perfect leverage. Her resolve wavered. Of course, she started doubting others who said Gamin was scary, but was she really that easy to convince that the two students came to her and explained how they perceived him, and that was it? Truthfully, (Y/n) was mainly blinded by the chance to get some feedback on her game, even before it was finished, or more like before the plot she was creating was fully made up.

'Some good conditions to help me escape. Something that would benefit me.' (Y/n) thought to herself, swiping down the lists and websites while reading about bargaining chips and needs that some other teenagers might have. Head low and eyes on the small screen, she walked to the bookstore and toward the English books section.

She looked slightly up to see the second part of the book she had, her hand reached out and grabbed the book at the same time as someone else. Their fingers overlayed and she put her phone down to fully concentrate on what was happening. "Hello". The voice came from beside her and she gasped, her body jolting after immediately recognizing it. "Dammit..." She muttered to herself before her gaze moved to him. Her hand quickly dropped from the book, and she took a step back. "Are you also getting the book? I heard that this one is good to study from." He said, picking up the book and observing it from each side. He held it out for the girl and she took it, carefully watching as he reached for the next copy. She raised her eyebrow realizing he wanted to use it as study material. From what she remembered, he wasn't the smartest, to say it kindly, yet he wanted a book that had CSAT-level exercises.

Her eyebrows drew together in confusion, lips tightening as she asked. "Are you sure you want this book?" After the words left her, she realized the mistake and quickly continued, hoping he wouldn't get too angry at her. "I mean it's kinda complicated, and there are for sure some other books that would match the speed at which you learn and the knowledge you already have." Her hand moved around pointing at other bookshelves below, and his gaze moved with her hand. "Won't it be good enough? I already got the first part, although it was a little confusing." His voice was light as he pondered out loud, looking at her in question. She didn't know how to answer that in a nice way. "I mean, it is a CSAT-level book." She commented with hesitation. "If it confuses you, maybe try something with a lower level. I used this one-" She pointed at a book right next to him "-before moving to this one." A little tap was left on his book. "I got this one." Gamin replied eagerly with a small smile. The girl looked at him, raising an eyebrow in slight disbelief. "Did you understand it? Solved all the exercises."

That was a great question, seeing as the boy's smile fell. (Y/n) took a deep breath and squatted down searching for a specific book. Seeing his reaction, she already knew he didn't solve anything. Well, didn't solve it correctly. It was hard to believe that with all the eagerness to study and all the commitment to have a study group, he was so lacking in knowledge. She wasn't yet aware how truly lacking he was.

When she finally noticed the book she was searching for, the girl took it and straightened up. "Okay, this book is quite easy to understand and has a lot of exercises, so you can try the theory in multiple ways. I used it, like two years ago. What level is your English? B1?" (Y/n) explained, words falling quickly out of her mind as she observed him. He hummed to himself in thought, his hand reaching for the book she held but she didn't let it go. "Uhh.. probably." He muttered and seeing her intent gaze, he nodded repeating more confidently. "Yes." She didn't believe him at all. His puppy eyes stared into her, blinking slowly. She sighed after a while and let go of the book, so he pulled it closer to himself. The girl turned around and walked to the cashier. He followed her step by step.

"I thought you said you don't study." His voice echoed from behind her. "Did you change your mind? Will you be joining us?" The sudden joy in his tone was a little irritating, especially when asking that question. "I'm working on my English because I need it to read coding documentation and because the materials I'm searching for are mostly in the language." She didn't really know why she replied to him but he took it as an invitation to quickly step by her. "And about the study group?" He asked once more, and she side-eyed him while she paid for her book. "I thought about it-" "And? Please, it will be great if you join us."

(Y/n) realized that he didn't know when to stop. It really irritated her, so much so that she forgot about what she thought of him just a few days ago, and how scared she felt. "Fine, fine. I'll join." She said exasperated, throwing her hands out as she turned and made him stop. "Really?" The smile that bloomed on his face made her warm, a little bit too warm. "I'll join your study group, so please stop asking." (Y/n) confirmed before adding. "But-" She stopped to emphasize, "only under the condition that..." That was problematic, she still was searching for the perfect leverage, and her mind ran through all the possibilities until.. yes, that would be perfect. "You help me find a boyfriend." "Boyfriend? Sure, no problem." She widened her eyes at his quick reply. Did he not understand her? "But you really will join us." He stepped closer to her, his bag bumping into hers. She didn't take notice of this as it was now her turn to confirm. "Yes, I will, but you got my condition, right?" He eagerly nodded, thinking it wouldn't be so difficult. Although he spent most of his time in middle school studying, he knew that some of his classmates dated and still got good grades. That was enough of proof that he would help her because it wouldn't disturb her, and she could both date and study with them.

On their way home, they found out they would be taking the same bus, although (Y/n) had to leave a few stops earlier. During the drive, she asked him about what were subjects he needed help with. "All of them." His reply was followed by a thoughtful hum on his side and an open mouth from hers. "O-okay." She replied, having some difficulty grasping the answer. "Wait, so what was your score on entrance exams?" The girl wondered curiously. "25 altogether." His voice was more quiet as he muttered that, a little ashamed of his score. She had to do a double-take looking into his eyes to seek confirmation. Noticing how sad he looked with the score, she breathed out and nodded to herself. Yeah, getting him to do better would be quite the task. At that moment, she understood why he was so eager to study and form his little group.

That night, she actually had trouble falling asleep, and not because of horrible nightmares. She was conflicted by her dreams, maybe it was because she didn't expect Gamin to be so excited about studying, or really just more attractive than half the guys in school. She would be a liar not to admit it, and she was aware of it the moment she saw him in the library. After talking even more with him than she had expected, she realized, and maybe finally just let it fully sink in, that he wasn't all that scary and offensive as the rumours made him be. He was actually a little dumb, kind of clumsy and dense but in a cute kinda way.

Oh God, the night thoughts were slowly getting to her. They really weren't good for her.

[evalevaeva]

rival | yeon sieun

warning : death

Yeon Sieun wasn't just a schoolmate. You wouldn't have considered him a friend or someone you hate. The two of you acknowledged each others existence, knowing that the other person existed simply because of one piece of paper that was pasted on the signboard of Byuksan Middle School's notice board every few months.

"First : Yeon Sieun," That was what the board would read every month from the first year of school, but somehow by the third test of the fourth year, yeon sieun's name was not first.

"Did you hear? Yeon sieun got knocked off first place!" Students began gossiping as yeon sieun stood in front of the noticeboard, face blank, but his eyes showed anger.

To say he was angry would be an understatement. He aas furious, his heart pumped faster and he could hear ringing in his ears as he walked back to his seat, acting as he would on a normal day as the students in the class looked at him, muttering and whispering to each other.

"Congratulations! I can't believe you did so well for the mock exams! You'll definitely ace the exams by CSAT year!" The sound of female students congratulations caught Sieun's attention as he raised his head to look at the window in the corridor.

You were walking with four other female students, a large smile plastered onto your face as you shook your head at your friends' words, shy from their compliments.

For the first time in a long time, Sieun felt the feeling of inferiority creeping up his neck like a silent monster. His grip on his pen became tighter as his eyes were glued onto the notebook in front of him, not wanting to think about the result slip on the noticeboard.

"Sieun," You called out his name as you held your tray of food. The boy looked up from his English textbook as he looked at you, his earpieces still in his ears as you exhaled, feeling the awkwardness creeping up your arms.

"Could I sit here? I wanted to talk to you about certain subjects because I'm still not at my best," You asked until you realised that he was ignoring you, eyes glued back onto the text on the book in front of his face as you sighed, turning to walk back to the table with your friends.

That was over a year ago, and by the actual examination, sieun was back on top, with you being in second. That didn't bother you. You weren't aiming for the top, just high enough to get into a good school later on in life.

By the last year of school, the teachers saw that both of you were high academic achievers, which led to their decision to make both of you seatmates.

The air was tense at first. You never knew if you should talk to him or wait for him to start a conversation. You chose the latter, thinking back on your only other encounter with him the previous year.

Over the course of half a year, you were still struggling with Additional Mathematics, and you could never really understand it. You would've asked your classmates but only one other student took Additional Mathematics with you, and that was, lo and behold, Yeon Sieun.

It was break time, and on a usual day, you would've been at the snack bar with your friends deciding what to eat, but today wasn't the case. You had to figure out how to do the hard questions before the exams, and you were still struggling. The teacher was no help, simply telling you to check with Sieun. If you could, you would've.

"The shoelace method."

You lifted your head up from the paper as you turned to see sieun still writing in his notebook, despite you having just heard his voice.

"The shoelace method...?" You questioned him again as he turned to you, his face with his signature cold look, but he was offering help, who were you to reject that?

Sieun adjusted his seat as he moved slightly closer to your table, his chair slanted in your direction.

"I assume you already know the formula?" Sieun asked, not looking at you as his head was tilted slightly, reading the question carefully as he clicked his pen, writing down in blue ink as he explained.

"Take the points in the anti-clockwise direction. The first point chosen must be repeated..." Sieun explained as he wrote down the formula and numbers for the polygon.

You should have been focused, but somehow... having yeon sieun so closd to you made your heart jump. You gulped as you blinked, hard, focusing on the problem at hand.

"You can use the numbers in the motion of a shoelace, x1 with y2, so on and so forth, and eventually, you'll get this answer," Sieun wrote down the final answer as you looked at him, feeling starstruck.

Everyone knew he was smart, but getting to experience his academic ability first-hand made you feel a newfound respect for him. He knew his work, and he made sure he did.

That single event with both of you led to a more comfortable atmosphere as the days passed. Sieun didn't act like you didn't exist, and you could talk to him easily, most of the time.

A simple 'good morning sieun' and a nod back was a more usual occurrence between the both of you and the teachers were more than elated by that.

On that particular day, you didn't seem yourself, even sieun could see it. You didn't speak nor look at anyone in the class as yoj entered, head hanging low as you sat in your seat. You took out your books and placed them on the table, placing your head on them as you closed your eyes, feeling the lack of sleep beginning to seep in.

Your situation at home led to your current state, but you couldn't tell anyone. It's normal academic pressure, it was nothing to worry about ; you chose to believe it. Your grades were beginning to slip, slowly like a snake creeping up with its venom. Your parents weren't happy, a screaming match ensued the moment you arrived home at the start of the week and it was already Friday. You were exhausted. Emotionally and physically, you were done.

"Wake up. The teacher's here," Sieun muttered as he tapped on your shoulder, causing you to flinch as you woke up from your five minutes of sleep.

"I'll be announcing the winner of the additional mathematical olympiad competition that was held recently," The homeroom teacher spoke, but you were to busy beginning to doze off as the teacher's sudden mention of your name caused you to wake up once again.

"Congratulations, this prize is awarded to this student for achieving first place in the additional mathematics olympiad." The teacher announced as you stood up, walking to the teacher to receive the certificate, before plopping down on your seat once again.

"Yeon Sieun, second place," The teacher announced as loud gasps were heard around the room.

You opened your eyes as you saw Sieun at the front of the class, taking the certificate half-heartedly as he gave you the same glare he had given you a year ago, over the mock exam results.

"Now, now, settle down class," the teacher shouted over the muttering and chatter in the class while you were trying to grasp a few more minutes of sleep.

Everyone had gone for their lunch, and it was just you and sieun in the classroom.

"Was it fun?" Sieun suddenly asked, he was seated, facing the board as you turned to him, confused and exhausted.

"What?" You questioned back as sieun turned to you, his eyes glaring at you ad he continued, "Did you just want help because you wanted to surpass me? To get first place?"

You were too tired for this. Everything was becoming a blur in your head.

"Look, if you wanted to win that math olympiad, you could've said so. I didn't even want to take part in it, the teacher in charge signed me up," you muttered as sieun suddenly slammed the desk with his arm, causing it to turn red with each second that passed.

"You're lazy, and all you do is leech off of others. You ask me for help in everything, but can't even do such a basic concept like polygons." Sieun scoffed as you turned to him, eyebrows furrowed at his sudden aggresiveness.

"What is wrong with you? Just because of a stupid math competition, you're attacking me? Watch your mouth yeon sieun," You spat back at him as he turned to face you, his anger reaching its limits.

"You're pathetic," Sieun stated heartlessly as you stood up, grabbing your textbooks, shoving them into your bag, not caring if the covers or pages were bent. You made your way out of the class, walking down the hallway as you made your way to the main office.

"I'm not feeling well. I need to go home," you told the receptionist as she handed you the form to fill out to leave school early.

Sieun's words were echoing in your head as you thought about his harsh words. He was just like everyone around you. Your parents, always telling you to work harder, unsatisfied with everything that you did for your academics.

You walked down the path from the school gate to the bus stop as you quietly wiped away the tears that were threatening to fall. Floodgates were about to be released, but with the many people at the bus stop, that would be embarrassing. Your vision was still blurry from the lack of sleep, but you kept repeating in your head that it was nothing to worry about.

That was until your legs gave out, and the next thing you knew, you were on the floor, your head facing the road as you felt people calling out to you. They sounded mumbled, as if you were underwater. The world seemed to become a whirlpool as you inhaled deeply, before blacking out, the last thing being the sound of the ambulance.

The next week came, and Sieun walked into the classroom, waiting patiently with a box of milk, patiently waiting for you to arrive. He had thought about his actions over the weekend and realised he had lost his cool over something minor, and he had definitely hurt you. He tried to convince himself that he did the right thing, but he couldn't. Remembering how you looked at him, face full of hurt and hands trembling, he couldn't.

The bell rang, and the boy looked up from his notebook to see the seat next to him empty. You didn't arrive. Maybe you were late? He told himself as he placed the milk under your desk for you to see when you arrived.

"I have news to share with all of you," the teacher started as she walked into the classroom with a vase of white flowers, the atmosphere becoming heavy. The teacher was barely ever serious unless something bad happened, and that wasn't a good sign to sieun.

"Our classmate has passed away on Friday. I would like everyone to remember our dear friend as someone who was hard working and could be relied on."

Sieun's ears seemed to ring. A high-pitched ring with a buzzing feeling in his head as he turned to look at his classmates. Only your seat was empty.

"Sieun," the teacher called him as he snapped out of his daze, realising she was standing beside your table.

"I hope you're alright. I know the sudden news shocked you seeing as the both of you were quite close," The teacher said as she placed the flowers on your desk, leaving it as sieun couldn't help but stare at it.

You were gone, and the last thing he called you was 'pathetic'. He was so caught up in his inner turmoil that he was so blind as to not see you suffering right in front of his two very eyes.

Sieun reached out his hand, his hand grazing the clear vase as he thought of when he'd pat your head when you'd sleep in class. He didn't expect that the next time he'd see you, you would be in a casket, with a large potrait of your school photo in front of it.

"You must be yeon sieun." a voice called out as sieun turned to see an old woman in a black hanbok, a chief mourner badge around her arm as sieun nodded.

"You were always spoken highly of. My grandchild would always come home and excitedly tell me about how she talked to you more with each day that passed." the old woman told sieun as he looked to the ground. He felt ashamed, as if he shouldn't have been there. Even in death, you'd still find a way to clench his heart.

Sieun sat at his desk at home, staring at the wall. He felt as if his soul had been removed from his body. He always felt void of emotions, but somehow, he felt like there were too many emotions.

One drop, two drops.

Sieun felt his tears running down uncontrollably, not being able to keep himself together. Sieun never had many friends, but somehow, he always found you sneaking into his heart as someone dear to him, as someone he'd want in his life.

But it was too late. You were no longer a rival, but a friend.

---

MY ASS BRUH I WORKED ON THIS FOR 2 HOURS AND IT TURNE DOUT LIKE SHIT IM SO MAD AT 4:38AM AND ITS JFJFJRWBWJ

also the math part was kind of entertaining to write other than the fact i couldn't write the formula in so pls imagine it

[choih3ra]

Weeeeee I have an announcement to make👀

I won't be here for another year bc I failed getting accepted to Korea's top universities or medical schools this year :/ (all this to get a chance to study art are you fucking kidding me) So my parents are putting me into a boarding facility that's meant for students who's studying another year for CSAT and I'll be gone by Jan 11th.

So I can't use my phone (I'll be assigned a time to call my family with a telephone. Like a prison. 5 mins maximum.), I can't bring my personal ipad or laptop, I have 3 and a half hours of screen time just for my study and I have to set the brightness of the tablet high and put it on the reading table just so they can check if I'm doing smth else. What's the point I'm pretty sure they already blocked wifi for any other things💀

Obviously there’re many other ridiculous rules, like I have to bring my English vocabulary list when I'm going to cafeteria. No Bluetooth earbuds. No rings, necklaces, percings or any kind of accessories. No books, magazines or comics. No pictures of celebrities. No changing background photos of the tablet. No electronics.

Oh but there's something called ✌️Healing Time✌️ (I looked at the photo of it and there were students chatting in the parking lot. THE PARKING LOT.) And lastly here's the photo of their central control&management system🥰

It's a long way from my home, so I might have to check out the psychiatry there. No way I'm gonna get through this without antidepressants.

Anyway this is the end of the announcement! Hope you enjoyed reading about a piece of my future ��✌️ no actually not a piece. just the whole picture. there won't be my personal life other than this so.

+If you want to wish me luck or write some words for me don't hesitate👍

[zerobaseone-zhanghao]

the coffee shop encounter

t/w: fluff, older!reader & younger!bada, adult!reader & student!bada, sugar mommy!reader & sugar baby!bada

a/n: hi everyone! this story is inspired by @bebeyue with her little sugar mommy!bada series, I love it so much so I decided to flip it.

=====================================

It was your usual routine, you had to get out of your crazy company to work. You’re a young CEO, you own a fashion brand which designs matching outfits, you tend to be popular among dance agencies and entertainment agencies. Usually when your company gets hectic, you take your work to the cute and quiet cafe across the street.

You’re well known by the staff as you’ve become a regular at this cafe, you order the same drink everytime. Recently, you’ve noticed a younger girl come in to the cafe everyday, she wears a school uniform and carries her CSAT study books around with her so you immediately think that she’s a high school student who’s sitting the college entrance exam this year making her 18 years old.

Everyday you watch this girl stress, study and procrastinate. This day began as your usual, you went to the cafe to get some peace and quiet to do your work, you must’ve been there for hours because you heard two girls coming in, laughing with each other.

You peer up to see and it’s that usual high school student who usually looks stressed but looks happy today. Both girls order and sit at the table in front of you with the usual girl sitting so she’s facing you.

As you try to focus on your work, you can hear their giggling, trying to keep as quiet as possible. You smile at their cuteness, this is the first time you’ve seen that girl smile, you think she’s really pretty when she smiles.

You overhear her and her friend discussing college and the entrance exams. “I don’t even know if I want to go to college you know, I want to dance professionally, I don’t need to go to college for that” Bada says unsure of her future.

You just carry on with your day however you have an idea, you want to help this girl, you’ve worked with dance agencies before you know how they go about hiring. A week has gone by and there has been no sight of this girl, you’re about to give up and let her go on with her life (you’re sure she’ll figure it out), she comes into the cafe and orders her usual, sitting a few tables away from you.

She’s still studying for the entrance exams so you assume that she has her heart set on college, however you were about to change her mind.

She’s got her head down, so focused in her books when you walk over to her, you sit across from her, still not gaining the attention of the girl. You see that she’s focused on a particular book so you tap the top of the page causing her to look up to you with a shocked expression. “Umm sorry, can I help you?” she asks politely, “no, but I can help you” she looks confused.

“I overheard you’re conversation with your friend last week about being unsure if you wanted to go to college. Do you still feel that way?” “Yeah I’m still confused” “well let me introduce myself, I’m Y/N and you are?” “Bada” “it’s nice to meet you Bada, you see that building across the street, that’s my company” “YOU’RE company?! But you look so young?!” “how old are you Bada? 18?” “Yeah I’m 18” “I’m 20” “no way, that’s so cool” “I guess, my company works in fashion and I deal with a lot of dance agencies and I can assure you that they take experience over education”.

“An agency would rather take someone who has 4 years of experience, workshops, classes than someone with a degree in dance”, “really?” “Yes, obviously I can’t make your decision for you but I just wanted to give you some advice” “oh and also dance agencies really love someone with global experience on their resume” “but I can’t afford that”.

“That’s where I come in, I make plenty of money to support myself and you, so if you choose to go for global opportunities, I’ll pay for all of it”. “What do you want in return?” Bada asks nervously awaiting the answer “I just want your company, at least one hour a week, I’ll pay you for your company as well, if you go on a trip for global experience then I’ll join you and pay for everything”. “That sounds like a dream honestly”.

You lie a piece of paper in front of her “this is a contract which states the rules of our agreement, since you’re a minor, you can’t sign this alone, so take it home to your parents and talk about it okay? Oh and here’s my business card, it’s got my full name, email and phone number should you or your parents need to get in touch with me okay?” “Yes thank you!”

Bada excitedly goes home to her parents to tell them about this amazing opportunity but will Bada’s parents be accepting of a stranger?

part 2 coming soon!

[aravindhan16]

How to Start Preparing for the IAS Exam from Scratch?

The UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) is one of the most challenging exams in India. With lakhs of aspirants appearing each year, a wellstructured approach is essential for success. If you're wondering how to start preparing for the IAS exam from scratch, this guide will provide you with actionable insights to kickstart your journey effectively.

 Step 1: Understand the Exam Structure

Before diving into preparation, it's crucial to understand the three stages of the IAS exam:

1. Preliminary Examination (Prelims) – Objectivetype questions (General Studies & CSAT)

2. Mains Examination (Mains) – Descriptive papers covering various subjects

3. Personality Test (Interview) – A test of analytical ability, presence of mind, and confidence

Knowing the syllabus and exam pattern helps you create a roadmap for efficient preparation.

 Step 2: Gather the Right Study Materials

Start with the basic study materials that serve as the foundation for UPSC preparation:

 NCERT Books (Class 612) for History, Geography, Economics, and Polity

 Standard Reference Books:

   Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth

   History of Modern India by Bipan Chandra

   Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh

   Environment & Ecology by Shankar IAS

 Daily Newspapers & Magazines: The Hindu, Indian Express, Yojana, Kurukshetra

 Previous Year Question Papers & Mock Tests

 Step 3: Create a Study Plan

Having a wellstructured timetable will ensure consistent progress. Follow these guidelines:

 Allocate specific hours for each subject daily

 Focus on revision and answer writing practice

 Dedicate time for current affairs reading

 Take weekly mock tests to track your progress

If you're looking for professional guidance, consider joining a reputed TNPSC coaching centre in Coimbatore for structured preparation.

 Step 4: Develop Effective NoteMaking Techniques

Making concise notes is essential for revision. Follow these tips:

 Use bullet points and flowcharts for quick reference

 Summarize newspaper articles in a dedicated notebook

 Keep separate notes for static and dynamic topics

 Step 5: Practice Answer Writing

Since the Mains exam is descriptive, writing practice is crucial. Here’s how to improve:

 Start writing answers based on previous year questions

 Follow a structured format: Introduction, Body, Conclusion

 Get your answers evaluated by mentors or peers

A TNPSC coaching centre in Coimbatore can help with personalized feedback and expert guidance.

 Step 6: Stay Consistent & Motivated

IAS preparation is a marathon, not a sprint. Stay motivated with these strategies:

 Follow a disciplined routine

 Join study groups or coaching institutes for peer learning

 Take breaks to avoid burnout

 Stay inspired by reading IAS topper success stories

A TNPSC coaching centre in Coimbatore can provide a supportive environment and mentorship to keep you on track.

 Conclusion

Starting your IAS exam preparation from scratch requires a strategic approach, consistency, and the right resources. By following these steps, you can build a solid foundation for success. If you need expert guidance, consider enrolling in a professional coaching center to streamline your efforts.

Are you ready to take the next step? Start your preparation today and move one step closer to achieving your IAS dreams!

[whalelotofstudy]

2024/9/3

my last mock exam before csat is tomorrow! plus i’m still busy with uni application papers, so i haven’t done much studying. but i still read a lot of books (mostly biology related stuff for school) in august so i’m proud of that!

[amaria-the-soup]

hello, I just wanted to call out someone who sent me an anonymous message about my statement on your post about those immoral fics, and I just hope the person will be able to read this, because first of all, who the fuck do you think you are to tell me whether or not I'm recovered? That's incredibly rude and unnecessary, and I genuinely hope you'll think over your words because dictating my state of mind because of my statement was extremely ignorant?

Second it's not about me (or anyone else) distancing myself from it, as if it were a silly hobby. Pornography is as much addicting as drugs or alcohol. It's not a silly pass time I got burnt out from, it's a serious illness, and you're treating it like some silly little stuff. Third of all, this type of fiction can very much be the reason people start those type of behaviours, so yes consuming this type of media can lead to dangerous outcomes and turn "normal" people into mentally ill (especially as a minor). Your words were literally "well gambling addiction isn't bad, you just couldn't control yourslef lol". Hope this person can reflect on the brain rot they said <3 (I'm really sorry, but I just doubted that if I answered on my page they'd see it bc I don't post, but I really wanted them to see what kind of bullshit they said, sorry if this was bothering you dearie <3)

It’s not a bother at all! I agree with everything you said, and have some things to add in terms of actual studies:

It’s a big problem, and here’s the proof. And it’s not just visual, it is easily in reading too. So to encourage people to make “dark” or “taboo” fictional stories are really just adding to the porn culture and making it harder for people to get out.

It’s a cage, and without any help, it can get out of control easily.

Also, Hon, I just wanted to tell you that even if the asker is anon, they’ll get a notification when you answer them! But I am so honored that you were willing to come for help, and honestly, you’re so fucken’ brave. I hope that all of us can improve ourselves, and hopefully we can overcome our problems.

If you’re suffering from “dark smut” or rather, porn in general, I encourage you to take the steps to overcome it. Here’s some links for everyone, including me.

ALL of us need help, and we are all worthy of redemption. There’s someone out there who loves you, and you deserve to be loved and at your best.

[trulyyoursss]

day 1/100 of systematic study. Need to cover my optional till December no matter what,...it's history btw, the subject is vast but I've to keep revising bit by bit and make a microscopic strategy. For instance, covering ancient history till 10 oct, med till 10 nov, modern till 10 dec and rest would be for revision!!! i also have made a plan to cover main specific subjects complete till December-january. They include, Ethics, Social issues, Disaster management, world history, art and culture and Env and ecology. i know it's a challenge given i have no idea of what are some of their sources till now ..but I guess content collection can never be done 100%...there is always some book or some material that will be left out, so sticking on basics from now. will also try to do 1 essay (GS-ANSWERS) practising csat question and 1 full revision of the weekly C.A. @ the end of the week. It's so so important to fix a day or two solely for revision,...so that the information STAYS. EFFICIENTLY. other than this,....need to focus on a healthy lifestyle, trying to indulge myself in a little bit of exercise, going clg once in a while + being happy and enjoying every bit of this journey. Idk about results tbh, but I KNOW I HAVE TO GIVE IT MY ALL. 🩷🩷🩷🩷 Thankyou if u read till end, (ik u didn't) but putting out random blogs like these just to self reflect...helps a lot!!!! THANKYOUU FOR UR SUPPORT.

[worthyenchanterinquisitor]

Which Coaching is Good for IAS?

Your Guide to Selecting the Best IAS Academy for Success in Civil Services

Image suggestion: Students reading NCERT books, maps, and notes in a classroom.

The Indian Administrative Service (IAS) exam is one of the most sought-after and competitive examinations in the country. Clearing it demands perseverance, a well-thought-out strategy, and above all, proper guidance. With the existence of hundreds of coaching centers across India, selecting the best one proves to be daunting.

If you wish to go ahead with IAS coaching, this blog will assist you in knowing what to seek in a good institute, and where to get the optimal support, especially in Coimbatore.

A highly rated IAS academy in Coimbatore can be a game-changer in your career by providing organized mentorship, mock tests, and personalized guidance.

Why Coaching Matters for IAS Aspirants Though self-study is essential, coaching provides you with an advantage by offering:

A personalized syllabus division

Guidance from expert past toppers or former bureaucrats

Daily answer writing practice and critique

Discussions and study materials on current affairs

Mock interviews and UPSC test simulations

This is the reason most aspirants opt to join a well-known ias academy in Coimbatore, particularly when seeking regular guidance in a dedicated study environment.

What Makes a Coaching Institute "Good" for IAS? Before joining, make sure the coaching center provides:

✅ Key Features to Look For: Experienced Faculty: Subject experts and UPSC pattern familiar teachers.

Updated Materials: NCERT-based notes, monthly current affairs, and model answers.

Answer Writing Training: Daily writing practice and assessment.

Test Series: Prelims and Mains mock tests with detailed analysis.

Interview Guidance: Mock interviews with panel members and feedback sessions.

Image suggestion: Teacher talking to a group of UPSC aspirants.

Institutes that provide these aspects are usually known as top-class ias academy in Coimbatore based on their student result rates and dedicated coaching atmosphere.

✍️ Types of Questions and Exam Structure Knowing the pattern of the exam makes you a better judge of whether a coaching center suits your requirements.

IAS Exam Phases: Prelims: Objective questions on General Studies and CSAT

Mains: Nine papers comprising Essay, GS Papers I–IV, and Optional Subjects

Interview: Personality test (275 marks)

Popular Topics Discussed: Indian Polity

Economy

Environment & Ecology

History & Culture

Science & Tech

Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude

Image suggestion: Whiteboard breakdown of IAS syllabus or question paper analysis.

Coaching institutes like a good ias academy in Coimbatore usually structure their classes based on these issues with intelligent coverage plans.

Success Stories from the Real World Several successful IAS officers attribute part of their success to the disciplined process offered by a good coaching center.

"Starting coaching was a relief after so much self-study. Coaching helped me organize, discipline myself, and clear the UPSC Mains with a solid optional strategy." – Sowmya R., IAS Officer (2022 Batch)

In addition to this, coaching centers offer a peer environment, competitive healthy, and a pool of past year's toppers to provide mentorship—facts that influence the majority of people to have a reputed ias academy in Coimbatore as their takeoff.

Final Thoughts: Choose Wisely, Prepare Smartly It is not a cakewalk to be an IAS officer, but with careful planning and proper advice, it definitely becomes possible. Opt for a coaching center which has:

Regular results

Classes taught by experienced personnel

Mock practice and personalized mentorship

A study-conducive and inspiring atmosphere

A well-reputed ias academy in Coimbatore can keep you on track, instill confidence, and eventually achieve your dream of becoming a part of India's most esteemed civil service.

Ready to Begin Your IAS Journey? If you're serious about joining the civil services, don't wait. Approach some coaching institutes around you, take demo classes, compare the faculty, and choose the one that suits your learning style.

Need help comparing IAS academies or preparing a study plan? I’d be happy to assist!

[narulaias]

HAS Coaching in Chandigarh

HAS Coaching in Chandigarh – Why Narula’s IAS Study is the Best Choice for 2025–2026 Aspirants

Preparing for the Himachal Pradesh Administrative Services (HAS) exam is a journey that demands dedication, strategic guidance, and access to top-quality resources. For aspirants aiming to crack the HAS exam in 2025–2026, choosing the right coaching institute can make all the difference. Among the many options available, Narula’s IAS Study has earned a reputation as a leading center for HAS coaching in Chandigarh, offering unmatched mentorship, comprehensive study material, and a result-oriented approach.

In this blog, we’ll explore why Narula’s IAS Study is the top destination for HAS coaching in Chandigarh, what makes their programs effective, and how they help students achieve success in one of the most competitive state-level civil service exams.

Understanding the Importance of HAS Coaching

The HAS exam is conducted by the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (HPPSC) and includes three rigorous stages – Prelims, Mains, and the Interview. Each stage tests a candidate’s knowledge, analytical ability, and personality. The syllabus overlaps to some extent with the UPSC Civil Services Examination, but it has a special focus on Himachal Pradesh-specific topics, which makes targeted coaching essential.

Without professional guidance, many students find it difficult to manage time, prioritize subjects, and stay consistent in their preparation. This is where the role of quality HAS coaching in Chandigarh becomes indispensable. A reliable coaching institute provides not just classroom teaching but a complete ecosystem to nurture future civil servants.

Why Choose Chandigarh for HAS Coaching?

Chandigarh has evolved as a major educational hub in North India, particularly for civil services preparation. It attracts students from Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and even Delhi. The city’s clean environment, student-friendly infrastructure, and availability of top faculties make it an ideal place for focused preparation.

Among the institutes offering HAS coaching in Chandigarh, Narula’s IAS Study stands out due to its proven track record and commitment to student success.

Narula’s IAS Study – The Most Trusted Name for HAS Aspirants

Established with the mission to empower civil services aspirants, Narula’s IAS Study has emerged as one of the most trusted names for HAS coaching in Chandigarh. With experienced faculty, personalized mentorship, and a strategic curriculum, the institute offers a structured path for students aiming to clear the HAS exam in their very first attempt.

1. Experienced Faculty with Subject Expertise

The core strength of Narula’s IAS Study lies in its team of mentors. Each faculty member brings deep knowledge of their subject and experience in coaching civil service aspirants. Whether it’s General Studies, HP-specific subjects, CSAT, or essay writing, students receive expert guidance at every step.

2. Targeted HPPSC Curriculum

Unlike generic UPSC coaching, Narula’s IAS Study offers a curriculum tailored specifically for the HAS exam. Their modules are designed to cover not just NCERTs and standard books but also Himachal Pradesh history, geography, economy, polity, and current affairs – which are crucial for both Prelims and Mains.

3. Updated Study Material (2025–2026)

The institute provides regularly updated study material aligned with the latest HPPSC pattern and syllabus. The material includes comprehensive notes, practice questions, current affairs magazines, and mock tests – helping students stay ahead of the competition.

4. Regular Mock Tests and Performance Analysis

One of the most appreciated features of Narula’s IAS Study is its rigorous testing system. Weekly tests, full-length mock exams, and answer writing sessions prepare students to perform under pressure. Detailed performance analysis helps identify strengths and areas that need improvement.

5. Interview Guidance and Personality Development

Clearing the Mains is only half the battle. The final round – the Interview – demands confidence, awareness, and communication skills. Narula’s IAS Study offers regular personality development sessions, mock interviews with expert panels, and one-on-one feedback to ensure students face the interview board with confidence.

Student Success Stories – Results That Speak

Over the past few years, many students of Narula’s IAS Study have secured top ranks in the HPPSC exams. From cracking HAS to allied services like Naib Tehsildar, BDO, and Excise Inspector, their success stories inspire the next generation of aspirants.

These results are not just numbers – they are proof of the institute’s commitment to excellence and its place as a leading provider of HAS coaching in Chandigarh.

Hostel and Online Support for Outstation Students

Recognizing that many HAS aspirants come from different parts of Himachal Pradesh, Narula’s IAS Study offers hostel assistance and online classes. Their hybrid model ensures that geography is no longer a barrier to quality education.

Whether you choose to attend offline classes in Chandigarh or study remotely, the institute ensures consistent support through recorded lectures, live doubt-solving sessions, and an active online student portal.

Tips from Narula’s IAS Study for HAS 2025–2026 Aspirants

Here are some expert tips shared by the mentors at Narula’s IAS Study for upcoming HAS aspirants:

Know the Syllabus Thoroughly – Keep a printed copy of the HPPSC syllabus and refer to it often.

Follow a Fixed Timetable – Time management is key; make sure your study schedule includes revision and answer writing.

Read Newspapers Daily – Stay updated with both national and Himachal Pradesh current affairs.

Join Test Series Early – Start writing mock tests regularly to improve speed and accuracy.

Don’t Ignore the Interview Stage – Prepare for the personality test right from the beginning.

Enroll Today and Take the First Step Toward Your HAS Dream

If you’re serious about your civil services career and looking for the best HAS coaching in Chandigarh, Narula’s IAS Study should be at the top of your list. Their comprehensive approach, expert faculty, and student-first attitude ensure that you get the best possible preparation for the HAS exam in 2025–2026.

Admissions are open for the new batch. Don’t miss this opportunity to be mentored by the best. Visit the institute, attend a demo class, and experience the difference yourself.

Final Thoughts

The path to becoming a Himachal Pradesh civil servant is challenging, but with the right guidance, success is within reach. In the competitive landscape of HAS coaching in Chandigarh, Narula’s IAS Study offers not just coaching but a clear roadmap to your goal.

Whether you're starting from scratch or seeking to improve your preparation strategy, enrolling in a reputed institute like Narula’s IAS Study can give you the edge needed to crack the exam with confidence.

Start your journey today. Your dream career awaits.

#has coaching in chandigarh #ias coaching in chandigarh

[ayush15]

Audiobooks for Government Exams: A Smart Way to Prepare

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Government exams in India, such as UPSC, SSC, Banking, Railways, State PSC, and Defense exams, require rigorous preparation and a strategic approach. With extensive syllabi covering General Studies, Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning, and Current Affairs, aspirants often struggle to balance their studies with daily life. Audiobooks have become a game-changer, enabling aspirants to learn on the go and improve retention.

Why Choose Audiobooks for Government Exam Preparation?

Learn Anytime, Anywhere – Study while commuting, exercising, or doing daily chores.

Better Retention – Repeated listening helps reinforce concepts.

Saves Time – Allows quick revision without opening books.

Less Eye Strain – Reduces screen dependency.

Multi-Tasking – Utilize idle time efficiently.

Best Audiobooks for Government Exam Preparation

Here is a list of essential books available in audiobook format for government job aspirants:

General Studies & Current Affairs

NCERT Books (Class 6-12) – History, Geography, Polity, Economy, and Science

Provides fundamental concepts essential for all government exams.

Great for UPSC, SSC, and State PSC exams.

Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth

A must-have for UPSC, State PSC, and SSC CGL aspirants.

Covers Constitution, governance, and Indian political system.

Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh

Provides insights into economic concepts, budget, and policies.

Essential for UPSC, RBI, and Banking exams.

History of Modern India by Bipan Chandra

Covers freedom struggle and post-independence history.

Useful for UPSC, SSC CGL, and State PSC exams.

Lucent’s General Knowledge

A comprehensive book covering Static GK and Science.

Important for SSC, Banking, and Railway exams.

Manorama Yearbook

Ideal for Current Affairs and General Knowledge.

Covers national and international events.

Quantitative Aptitude & Reasoning

Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Exams by R.S. Aggarwal

Covers mathematical problem-solving techniques.

Useful for Banking, SSC, and Railway exams.

Fast Track Objective Arithmetic by Rajesh Verma

Provides shortcuts and tricks for quick calculations.

Great for Bank PO, SSC, and Defense exams.

A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning by R.S. Aggarwal

Covers logical reasoning, puzzles, and analytical skills.

Essential for SSC, Banking, and Railway exams.

Analytical Reasoning by M.K. Pandey

Helps in understanding logical thinking and argument-based questions.

Great for UPSC CSAT, Bank PO, and SSC exams.

English Language & Communication

Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis

Improves vocabulary and comprehension skills.

Useful for Banking, SSC, and UPSC aspirants.

Objective General English by S.P. Bakshi

Covers grammar, comprehension, and sentence correction.

Important for SSC CGL, Bank PO, and State PSC exams.

Previous Year Papers & Mock Tests

Arihant’s General Studies & Practice Papers

Includes previous year solved papers for UPSC, SSC, and Banking exams.

Helps in exam pattern analysis.

Kiran’s SSC & Banking Exam Previous Year Papers

Covers quantitative, reasoning, and English practice questions.

Useful for revision and time management.

Where to Find Government Exam Audiobooks?

Aspirants can now access audiobooks for government exams on the Audicate app. Audicate provides high-quality audiobooks covering General Studies, Reasoning, Mathematics, and English, making audio learning a convenient tool for aspirants.

Conclusion

Cracking government exams requires dedication, strategy, and smart learning techniques. Audiobooks offer flexibility, time efficiency, and better retention, making them an excellent supplement to traditional study methods. With Audicate, aspirants can listen, learn, and succeed in their journey toward securing a government job.

Start your government exam preparation with audiobooks today!