Eucalyptus
It was a Saturday morning, and everyone was still drunk on the honeyed bliss of sleeping in. I snuck out of the house without Harin noticing.
It wasn't that I was trying to imitate the late mayor or anything. I'd just used being busy as an excuse yesterday, so I had no choice if I wanted to keep my alibi airtight.
Clomp, clomp...
I'd managed to slip out, but now I was at a loss for how to kill time. A normal person would just make the rounds calling acquaintances, but my social circle had been a complete mess lately.
Eom Chaewon had started treating me like a full-blown stalker. Jinho-hyung wouldn't say a word about the coin listing, and with Aunt, I'd entered a cold war that might last for years to come.
It wasn't that I was getting no messages at all—just that they were all from people who had nothing to do with my "real life." I replied "No" for now.
"Ah-at... What are you doing here?"
"...!?"
I'd been so absorbed in my texts with Eunju that I hadn't paid any attention to the "other Eunju" at all. Wait, when had I casually ended up right in front of Teacher Eunju's house again?
"T-Teacher, good morning. I was, uh... just out for a walk. The morning air felt nice."
"Is that so? You're awfully diligent, aren't you?"
I threw out a half-baked excuse while busily stealing glances at Teacher Eunju's beauty. She was dressed in a white button-up dress, a cute white bag slung over her shoulder, finished off with white sneakers—pure, all-white from head to toe.
At school she usually wore neat pants and a sweater, probably out of a sense of teacherly responsibility. Seeing her like this, though, you could really feel that distinctive spark of someone in her twenties.
"Huh? But aren't you going to school today?"
In that moment I realized this was no time to be intoxicated by her unusual loveliness. Didn't Teacher Eunju normally head to school alone on weekends to work on lesson plans?
Yet her outfit right now, no matter how charitably you looked at it, was pure college-girl-on-an-outing. Teacher Eunju blinked her large eyes and answered.
"I have plans today. I'm meeting some friends from university for a bit."
"Really? Going flower-viewing or something?"
"Maybe...? We're meeting downtown first, but with flowers blooming everywhere, we might end up on a little picnic."
"I see..."
No, you don't see! She couldn't have forgotten what happened two weeks ago, could she?
That ridiculously handsome senior who'd shown up at her door—the kind of guy who made you feel inadequate just looking at him.
"But... when you say friends, do you mean people from the same major?"
"Some from the major, some not. We were study group members together."
"Is that so? Then there must have been seniors in that study group too, right?"
"Of course. Once the guys come back from the military, they end up in the same year as their junior girls."
"..."
How could she drop a fact that lethal without so much as batting an eye? Then again, if someone was willing to show up at her door unannounced, I should have guessed they weren't just casual acquaintances.
That senior had been in the same study group. After graduation they'd gone to different schools, but he was still casting hungry eyes her way.
"Come to think of it, why haven't I seen you at school lately? It's been almost two weeks..."
Teacher Eunju was asking after me—someone who wasn't even in her class—just because she hadn't seen me for a few days. Looking at moments like this, she really was an angel without wings. But that wasn't the point right now.
No matter how I turned it over, I couldn't free myself from the thought that the senior would be at today's gathering. And Teacher Eunju was human too; on a day this fine, she wouldn't want to sit alone at school studying.
A rare holiday, reuniting with friends after so long. What if that senior wormed his way into any opening?
Ah, no! A rough picture was already forming in my head. In brightly lit Yeouido, Teacher Eunju would drift away from the group alone, sipping a can of beer to shake off school fatigue—and that guy would sidle up.
Then he'd pour on every sweet word he had, trying to pry open her softened heart. Innocent Teacher Eunju, not even realizing it was the devil's temptation, would let a single tear roll down and fall into his wicked arms.
"I'm thinking of quitting school."
In that instant, a devil possessed me. At the words "quitting school," Teacher Eunju's eyes bulged as if they might pop out.
"W-What are you talking about right now? You're a third-year—why would you quit school?"
"I don't want to go anymore. If someone doesn't talk me out of it right this second, I might submit the withdrawal form first thing Monday!"
"N-No! Let's not do that—let's talk this through. Maybe you'll change your mind?"
Yesssss!
I knew Teacher Eunju would take the bait without looking back. It pricked my conscience a little, tricking someone so pure, but what choice did I have?
This was all an "adult's" work—to protect her.
I ended up at Seoul Forest with Teacher Eunju. The reason I deliberately avoided nearby cafés or other spots and came here was simple.
No matter how long I dragged out the counseling, she would eventually head to her meeting place. If I couldn't stop her from seeing that guy, better to let her look at flowers to her heart's content here and cool her excitement first.
"Sigh... I think I'm going to be late. I ran into a student all of a sudden and heard something really shocking..."
The whole way here, Teacher Eunju kept calling her friend to apologize that she probably couldn't join them for lunch. I felt a little guilty, but this was all for her sake.
"I'm sorry, Teacher. Because of me you're late for your plans..."
"Ah-at... It's not like that. They're all teachers too, so they seemed to understand completely."
"Then shall we sit over there and talk?"
I pointed to a bench near the pedestrian observation bridge. Teacher Eunju, though, didn't seem to hear me; her mouth had fallen slightly open, captivated by the spectacular cherry blossoms spread all around.
"Wow... The flowers are blooming so much."
"It is spring, after all. Does that mean you haven't gone flower-viewing even once this year, Teacher?"
"Hm? I've seen them here and there while passing by. Last week at school I was studying for the exam—ah-at! Working on lesson plans."
"...?"
It felt like she'd changed what she was about to say—was I imagining it? Come to think of it, the last time we'd bumped into each other in front of the school, she'd been just as flustered.
Whoosh!
The bench was well maintained, but I was a sweet third-generation chaebol with at least fifty percent sugar content. I took off the coat I was wearing and laid it down for her to sit on.
"Y-You don't have to do that..."
"My heaven-sent teacher is counseling me—of course I should do at least this much. The sun's only just come up; the bench might still be cold."
"I-Is that so? Anyway... thank you."
Teacher Eunju accepted my kindness with a soft, bashful smile. We sat side by side, but I had no intention of diving straight into counseling.
"You said you did study groups at university, right? Was that for teacher recruitment exams or something?"
"Exactly! These days the openings are so few that if you don't study ahead of time, half the people end up unemployed after graduation. Ugh... Not that I'm in any position to talk about those people..."
"Why not? Cheonji High is pretty well-known around here, isn't it? The fact that they gave you a homeroom class as a first-year teacher means they trust you a lot, right?"
"Sigh... The truth is... ah-at! No! You are a student, and I am a teacher!"
"Why are you making it so complicated, Teacher? You and I aren't just ordinary acquaintances—you can tell me that much, can't you?"
"That's true, but... n-no! I have secrets too."
"..."
This was the first time Teacher Eunju, who usually pretended to refuse and then spilled everything anyway, had sealed her lips this thoroughly. Pressing further would be rude, so I let it go.
"So why do you want to quit school?"
"Well... in the end, high school is just a stepping stone to university, right? Everyone says otherwise, but given the reality of education in this country, you can't really deny it."
"That's true, but..."
"But when it comes down to it, I'm not sure I even need to go to university. Maybe it's because no one around me talks about college life? What do people even do once they get there?"
My goal was to drag things out so Teacher Eunju would arrive at her meeting as late as possible. If I showed curiosity about university life, she'd have no choice but to unpack the stories she'd stored up.
"Once you get to university? It's still school, so you study. So you can function properly when you go out into society..."
"I know that much, of course. But if that's all it is, isn't it too bleak? In the end I'd just be going to university to have my potential as a laborer judged, right?"
"That's not true! It's more like... it can make the brightest years of your life even fuller. I don't think it's a place where you only study."
Her words landed somewhere near my heart. Especially for someone like me, who'd spent the brightest years of life chopping tuna heads—it was plenty tempting.
"What do you do, then?"
"You build all kinds of relationships, take part in big and small events or projects, and discover potential you never even knew you had..."
"By relationships, do you mean dating? You've done that too, of course, Teacher Eunju?"
"Ah-at... Asking something like that out of nowhere..."
"But teachers sometimes tell students about their first loves and things like that, right? I don't think it's anything to be embarrassed about."
"That's true. Hmm... Of course I've dated one or two guys."
"..."
Whine... I shouldn't have asked. Of course I knew someone like Teacher Eunju couldn't have reached her mid-twenties without dating at least once.
But hearing it directly from her was different, wasn't it? What lucky bastard had gotten to be her boyfriend?
"Were they the kind of people you mentioned before? The ones who become your strength, who you can lean on, who treat any worry of yours like their own?"
"Ugh... I don't think it was like that. Even if you're a university student, you're still young, right? I don't think I had the ability to see a person's true worth."
Teacher Eunju lowered her eyes wistfully, as if she had no good memories of her boyfriends. Well, how many guys must have tried their luck with this pure girl?
She'd probably gone out with the one who seemed best among them, but still hadn't been all that satisfied. Honestly, if it were me, I'd never disappoint Teacher Eunju...
Shake, shake!
What the hell was I thinking? The other person was Kim Eunju—my own daughter's homeroom teacher, no less.
This whole situation shouldn't have existed in the first place. What right did a mere parent have to block the path of someone who finally had a weekend free to catch up with friends?
Sudden guilt washed over me. I felt disgusted with myself for luring her out with a lie. What was I even doing right now?
"E-Eucalyptus, huh?"
My feet burning with guilt, I stood up without thinking and walked toward the flower bed. Teacher Eunju followed and asked,
"Do you know a lot about plants?"
"I don't, but my late older brother was really into them."
"Late... older brother?"
Without realizing it, I sank into old memories and crouched down. Teacher Eunju simply watched me with interest.
"Do you know what a flower crown is?"
"A flower crown... you mean a crown made of flowers, right?"
"My brother taught me how to make them once. The county magistrate had dressed up the riverside really nicely for some achievement project. One day I saw my brother there and went over—he was making a flower crown."
Snap! I casually plucked a eucalyptus leaf. Teacher Eunju's eyes went round and she clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Y-You can't just pick that..."
"You have to prune them sometimes, don't you? I'm basically doing free volunteer work."
"I-Is that so?"
I chose the sturdiest-looking stem among the leaves. After stripping off the small leaves, I bent it into a circle and tied the ends together.
"According to my brother, making the frame out of eucalyptus stems is the easiest. The fibers are incredibly tough. Koalas in Australia are originally super aggressive, but they calm their rage by chewing these eucalyptus leaves, apparently."
"I-I didn't know that. I'm a Korean teacher, not a biology teacher... But if it's a flower crown, don't you have to stick flowers in it too?"
"That's right. My brother gathered a bunch of petals from around him and carefully tied them on one by one."
Snap... snap...
With that, I started ruthlessly breaking off the flowers growing nearby. Teacher Eunju turned even paler and started glancing around nervously.
"P-Picking the flowers too is a bit much, isn't it? There might still be people who haven't seen them yet..."
"I said the exact same thing to my brother. Know what he answered? 'If they weren't going to look until now, they were never going to look for the rest of their lives anyway.'"
"..."
Did I look half-crazy? Teacher Eunju no longer even seemed to think of stopping me.
In the meantime the flower crown was taking shape. Flowers of every color gathered into a decent-looking crown that now rested in my hands.
"Why... was your brother making a flower crown?"
"I didn't know at the time. He didn't even have a girlfriend, so I wondered why he was suddenly playing poet and just went straight home. But that wasn't it. Turns out there was someone he wanted to give it to."
Yu Jiyeon. Looking back, everything was a clue.
My brother, who had nothing, had wanted to give even a small gift like this.
"Teacher? Could you grant me one request?"
"W-What is it?"
"Would you try wearing this flower crown once?"
"..."
Teacher Eunju turned red all the way to her ears and just kept swallowing dryly. Fine—I won't claim there's zero selfishness in this.
But I'm not saying this right now just to score points with her.
"Ah, of course if it's too much..."
"N-No! If it's just trying it on..."
Swoosh...
Once permission was given, there was no more need to hesitate. I gently set the flower crown I'd just made onto Teacher Eunju's small, lush, yet adorable head.
"..."
Teacher Eunju averted her gaze out of sheer embarrassment. Probably because she had no idea how she looked right now, she clasped her sweaty hands together and waited for my response.
"Teacher Eunju?"
"Y-Yes?"
"Could you tell me how you feel?"
"A-Asking something like that out of nowhere..."
"Just one or two plain words is fine. You're a Korean teacher, so you must be confident in your vocabulary, right?"
"..."
Teacher Eunju pondered. She looked up at the empty air, then back at me.
She rolled her eyes several times, spinning her brain. For a full ten seconds she did her absolute best to find the most fitting, perfect word.
"Datda..."
"Sorry? What does that mean?"
"It's Middle Korean from the Surangama Sutra. Written with the araea vowel as datda, and in modern terms it means dasom... to love affectionately."
"..."
I see. Looking back now, Yu Jiyeon had been a vain woman. She'd always wanted to escape the boring countryside and live glamorous city life.
The crooked flower crown my brother made wouldn't have floated even a single sailboat on that Pacific Ocean of vanity. But that didn't mean not even a gentle breeze had blown.
I know. Because I've actually been to the real Pacific.
From a drunk Park Changsu, I'd heard the story of Magellan drifting across the endless sea, eating leather straps from the mast and catching rats, drilled into my ears until they were calloused.
An endless ocean. No land in sight. And yet the ship kept advancing little by little.
Just as, without anyone knowing, it had moved Yu Jiyeon's heart and finally made her choose my brother.
So the two of them were datda. They loved each other dasom-ly—that is, affectionately.
"Whew... Teacher? I'll just keep going to school. Thanks for the counseling today, so go meet your friends before it gets too late."
I should let her go. Teacher Eunju was someone who kept secrets no one knew and spent every weekend alone at school working on lesson plans.
From the perspective of a third-generation chaebol like me, she was still standing right in the middle of a youth with a long road ahead. If someone like that wanted to catch up with friends after so long, who was I to get in the way?
"Really!? Why the sudden change of heart?"
"After listening to you, Teacher, I think I decided too hastily. I'm really grateful. You helped me a lot, so you can go now."
What mattered to Teacher Eunju wasn't whether I withdrew or not—it was how thoroughly she'd fulfilled her duty as a teacher. If I put it this way, she'd feel a sense of accomplishment, so she could go play with her friends.
But... it seemed Yu Jiyeon hadn't been the only one whose heart had been moved.
"Ah-at... But do I really need to go right now?"
"Huh? You're late for your plans because of me, aren't you? Shouldn't you head over even now?"
"But they're probably already on their way to lunch. If I go now I'd just be joining midway—the timing would feel awkward..."
"..."
She had a point. Because of me, Teacher Eunju's schedule had been left hanging. Joining them now would only make her feel like an uninvited guest.
So what now? How were we supposed to kill time until those people finished lunch?
"We should eat too."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"You said they're heading to lunch anyway, right? If only you arrive late, you'll have to trail after them on an empty stomach—that'd be exhausting, wouldn't it? So let's just have lunch together."
"That's true, but... n-no! You are a student, and I am a teacher! If the two of us eat together like that..."
"It doesn't matter at all, does it? It's not like we're doing anything wrong—we just got hungry while counseling and grabbed a meal. Who's going to say anything?"
"That's... true?"
When was the last time this person had made a decision on her own? Watching her get swayed back and forth like a weather vane made me a little worried.
Looking at her, she was exactly the type to get used by smooth talkers. In that case, the only solution was for me to become her life partner and protect her forever...
Shake, shake!
Let's just go eat.