Chapter 32
Chapter 32
"Are you... being nice to me because...?" The rest of the sentence wouldn't come out. She was afraid that just because they had kissed once, he might think they were now in a relationship.
In the end, she swallowed the question.
‘That can’t happen.’
She had never once considered Jae-gyu as a boyfriend. Even if she had, they were a match that could never be. Her parents would never allow it.
This was especially true when she thought about the blind date partners her mother had handpicked for her.
Her parents only allowed her to meet men who were socially recognized and held prestigious professions. She recalled those men—well-educated, refined, and possessing impeccable manners.
Every single one of them was the polar opposite of Jae-gyu.
"Do you have something to say to me?"
Jae-gyu looked at her with expectant eyes. She didn't want to say this to his face, but she had to make things clear.
"You know, Jae-gyu."
"What is it? Why the hesitation?"
Jae-gyu toyed with the edge of the blanket as he waited for her to speak. After a moment of hesitation, Bom finally spoke up.
"Can we just... consider what happened earlier a light accident?"
His reaction was unexpected. Jae-gyu let out a short, airy chuckle and helped Bom up from the bed, suggesting they go eat.
"Um, Jae-gyu. Your answer..."
The answer came so easily it made her previous hesitation feel embarrassing.
"Of course. Don't you worry about that."
⋆★⋆
"Oh, right, everyone. You were supposed to hand in your reading logs today, right? Class President, could you collect them?"
Han-gyeol, who had been spinning a long pen between his fingers, stopped mid-motion.
"Teacher! You already collected them earlier."
"Oh, right. I did."
At the Class President's words, the teacher’s expression clouded over.
‘Hmm, she’s doing it again...’
Han-gyeol tapped his textbook with the tip of his pen. The teacher was acting strange today.
During morning roll call, she had brought the attendance book for the class next door. While it was a mistake anyone could make when pulling from the rack, that wasn't the problem.
[I’ll take attendance. Gu Ji-min.]
[Huh? Gu Ji-min is in the next class. That’s their attendance book!]
She was so out of it that she didn't even realize she was calling out the wrong names. It got even worse during lunch.
[Whoa, Teacher! Watch out!]
The teacher, who had been walking alone across the field after lunch, failed to avoid a flying soccer ball. Everyone had been screaming since the moment the ball went airborne, but she just stood there blankly. In the end, it hit her right in the head.
‘Something is definitely up.’
And it likely involved his uncle. When his uncle came home last night, he had said something strange.
[Ha, a friend of mine has a junior who’s got a problem. He wants to know the psychology of a woman who suddenly keeps her distance after they were hitting it off. Ah, never mind. Go do your thing.]
His uncle had cut himself off after those suspicious words, and an hour later, he was sprawled out listening to music.
<Playlist for when your heart hurts—Warning: Sad, Instrumental Only>
Seeing his uncle playing that on loop and then seeing the teacher acting broken today, it wasn't hard to figure out that the two were entangled in some issue.
‘It looks like the teacher is putting up a wall against Uncle, but I don’t know why.’
As he was retracing his thoughts, a small voice called out to him.
"Hey, Seon Han-gyeol."
Choi Se-jin, who had become his desk mate starting today due to a seat change, whispered to him.
"Look."
Se-jin gestured toward the corner of her textbook with her eyes. Han-gyeol let out a chuckle as he deciphered the scribbled handwriting that looked like it had been written with eyes closed.
<Why are you staring at the teacher so intensely?!>
With her habit of furrowing her brows and puffing out her cheeks, she looked like an angry hamster. When he didn't answer and just kept laughing, she poked him in the ribs.
Suppressing a smile, Han-gyeol wrote back underneath her note.
<Just because. She seems a bit distracted today.>
<Right? Did something happen with my brother? ㅠㅠ That shouldn't happen... ㅜㅜ>
He already knew from Se-jin that she had gone on a blind date with Lee Jun. He hadn't told his uncle yet, though.
When he provoked her slightly, Se-jin jumped and grabbed her pen quickly.
<Wow~ what are you talking about? lol My brother is someone who’s already fully prepared for marriage, okay?>
He was about to laugh at her predictable reaction when a bone-chilling screech echoed through the classroom.
Screeeeeech—!
"Ack!"
"Wh-what was that!"
"Teacher!"
Complaints erupted from all over. The teacher, who had intended to draw a chart to summarize Mencius's philosophy, had tried to draw a line on the chalkboard using an empty chalk holder.
"I-I'm sorry, everyone. I must have startled you."
For a brief moment, her eyes met Han-gyeol's. She was clutching her chest, looking just as startled as the students, and apologizing repeatedly. Han-gyeol gave her a reassuring smile.
‘Teacher, stop worrying.’
His uncle wasn't the type to give up easily. Han-gyeol picked up his pen again and scribbled.
Se-jin let out a sharp intake of breath and whipped her head away.
Seeing Se-jin’s face turn bright red made his own heart flutter. Han-gyeol recalled the advice he had given his uncle last night.
[Uncle, about that "friend’s junior." Don't you think the woman might be tired because he’s just flirting without actually confessing? What do you think?]
There was one more thing he had considered saying to his uncle, who had bolted upright at those words, but he had held back. As soon as class ended, Han-gyeol sent his uncle a text.
It would be fine. His uncle would handle the rest from here.
⋆★⋆
When she came down from the classroom, the teachers' office was empty. The silence of the vacant office was heavy, yet it had its own kind of atmosphere.
‘Is it already this late?’
She shut down her computer and tidied her desk. It was a late departure. Bom had been in a daze all day, and it was entirely Seon Jae-gyu’s fault.
Even while walking quietly down the hallway, the memory of their shared breath would rush back, making her face flush.
Even while eating lunch, the sensation of their lips touching would return, making her heart pound. Every time she looked out the window from the office, his intense gaze seemed to flicker before her eyes, drawing out a long sigh.
‘Why do I keep thinking about it...’
Her heart felt ticklish, yet heavy at the same time. She was the one who had suggested they treat it as a light accident. But she hadn't expected him to agree so readily.
‘Was it really nothing to Jae-gyu?’
For starters, the messages that used to come every day had stopped abruptly. Of course, there were no phone calls either. She even began to think that he might not come to see her anymore. She should have felt relieved, but her mind was a mess.
This couldn't go on. She hated herself for constantly worrying about Jae-gyu. She was also angry at herself for making embarrassing mistakes at school because she was so distracted.
Her plan for today was to go home early, watch TV, have a drink, and shake off these useless thoughts.
But then, after the final bell, the Vice-President of the class had come to her for counseling.
This year, the students of Class 2 were approaching her without hesitation, opening up about their inner thoughts.
It was a new experience for her, as she had only done college entrance counseling when she was a homeroom teacher for seniors last year.
Today, the Vice-President’s concern was about a friend they had been close with until middle school, but who had grown distant after going to a different school in town. In the past, she might have dismissed it as a worry that would disappear once they went to college.
But for some reason, this year, she couldn't just ignore these small stories. Moreover, since Bom herself had grown distant from her college friends after moving down here, she listened to the student with genuine sincerity.
By the time they finished talking, her clock-out time had long since passed.
"...It's so late."
After locking up the office and grabbing her bag, Bom felt relieved to see that the sun hadn't completely set yet.
‘It’s starting soon. Will I make it in time?’
Her steps toward the school gate were light. Bom pulled out her phone to check if she could make it home for the live broadcast of Soljjak when she noticed a missed call.
‘What? Lee Jun?’
What could he want? Bom hesitated for a moment before hitting the call button. Lee Jun answered immediately.
—Yes, Teacher Yoon Bom.
"I saw a missed call. I couldn't answer because I was counseling a student."
—Are you still at school then?
"Yes, I just stepped out."
Lee Jun hesitated, as if unsure how to say what he wanted to say.
—The car at the gate. Do you see it?
She pulled the phone away from her ear for a second and looked around. She saw a white Range Rover parked near the front gate. It was Lee Jun’s car, the one she had ridden in before.
"Yes, I see it, but..."
—Then please come over here.
It was a baffling phone call. Bom hung up and started walking toward Lee Jun’s car.
‘Why did he come here?’
During their first meeting, they had raised their voices over the Se-jin matter. During the second, she had fallen fast asleep in front of him. On the third—the day of the sports meet—she had been too frantic to pay him any mind. And the fourth was that disastrous blind date.
Given their history, things were awkward and uncomfortable. It was even more so because of the phone call she had received from home after the blind date.
[The man didn't say it explicitly, but it sounds like he liked you.]
[Mom, the atmosphere wasn't like that at all.]
[Still, if he asks for a second date, you have to meet him. There’s no man like him.]
[There was no follow-up. I'm sorry.]
But surely, this wasn't a request for a second date. No, that couldn't be it. Usually, those things were handled through the matchmaker or happened immediately after the first meeting.
‘Then did he come because of Se-jin?’
As she neared the car, the driver’s side window rolled down.
"Get in."