Chapter 4
Chapter 4
A day after thinking Han-gyeol's Uncle wouldn't possibly show up, it was an unusually clear and bright morning.
The faculty office was bustling. Rice cakes had arrived, sent to welcome and support the newly transferred teacher.
They were from colleagues at her previous school, with a sticker that read, 'Please take good care of our Teacher Kim~♡'.
“Oh, Teacher Kim! We'll enjoy these.”
“There's pumpkin seolgi and white seolgi mixed together, so take whatever you like! Eat them while they're warm, everyone.”
“Bom, you take one too. Here.”
Bom, receiving a warm piece of white seolgi, felt a little awkward.
When Bom had come down from Seoul last year, she hadn't brought anything. Of course, she was an Exchange Teacher for only two years, but naturally, none of her colleagues in Seoul had bothered to prepare anything like this for her. No, far from preparing anything…
[Oh my, her exchange posting is only for two years?]
[If she'd transferred permanently, she could've settled down for life, so why did she do an exchange?]
They just whispered such things. The words were hurtful, but it was fine. Once she went back up to Seoul, she would immediately go on a Blind Date according to her parents' wishes, and she would quit teaching anyway.
‘I should just get to work. It'd be better to make the call outside.’
Bom grabbed her phone from the faculty office and stepped out into the hallway.
In the quiet hallway, Bom clutched a piece of paper and her phone tightly in her hand.
Rustling, Bom unfolded the paper again, her brow furrowing slightly. A sigh escaped her involuntarily.
“Haa…”
Parent-Teacher Consultation Application Form
―Student ID: 20212
―Student Name: Seon Han-gyeol
―Guardian Name: Seon Jae-gyu
―Relationship: Uncle
―Phone Number: 010-xxx-xxxx
―Preferred Consultation Date: Always available ^^
Only two parents from Bom's class had submitted consultation requests, and her worries had become reality.
Seon Han-gyeol.
Choi Se-jin.
[Teacher. My family is going to a Blue House luncheon that day. Can my older brother come instead?]
Se-jin's older brother had agreed to come in her stead, and they were going to contact the school separately. All that remained was to schedule a consultation time with Han-gyeol's Uncle.
[When you're setting a date with Han-gyeol's Uncle, make up as many excuses as possible and say you're unavailable on all those days. Hold out as long as you can until the consultation week is over!]
Teacher Hong, last year's Homeroom Teacher, had given her a few 'tips' earlier. Deliberately avoiding a parent's consultation—it was strange advice. Bom shook her head.
“It's morning, I wonder if he'll pick up…”
She pressed the numbers firmly into her phone. A plain dial tone, without a ringback tune, rang for a long time. Her hands grew sweaty from nervousness.
-Hello?
A low, deep male voice resonated. Bom cleared her throat.
“Hello. Um, I'm Seon Han-gyeol's Homeroom Teacher this year. I'm calling about the parent-teacher consultation request.”
-Oh! Wow, is that so?
His voice rose a tone. He sounded pleased, somehow. It was the same tone and vocal quality as before.
He really hasn't changed at all.
“I called to schedule a consultation. When would be convenient for you?”
-Should I come now?
“Pardon?”
-I just need to start the engine.
“Ah, no.”
Bom's eyes went wide. Startled, she instinctively waved her hands in the air before calmly continuing.
“Is, is Monday alright?”
-Good. Monday.
“Yes, then that day…”
-I have to wait, then.
The voice on the other end dropped a tone again. He sounded displeased, somehow. It was baffling why he was acting like this after saying Monday was fine. Then, a mumbling sound followed.
-Why can't it be now? Haa…
“Pardon? What did you say?”
-Nothing.
She'd heard everything, but he was denying it. Bom, feeling a headache coming on, quickly tried to gauge a suitable time. The best course of action was to set the appointment quickly and hang up.
‘Right, they said there would be shortened classes on Monday.’
On such days, everyone left early, so the school would be empty. It was clearly the optimal time to have Han-gyeol's Uncle visit.
“Hmm, next Monday, classes end at 3:30. It's a shortened class day. So, it should be fine if you visit after that, around 4 PM, would that work for you?”
-Yes. Monday at 4 PM, you say? I'll mark it on my calendar.
“Yes, that's right.”
A gentle breeze wafted in through the hallway window, left wide open because of the pleasant weather. The wind, which had once been so biting, now felt soft against her skin.
While Bom's gaze lingered at the window, an unexpected question came from the man on the other end of the line.
-Excuse me. What do you like?
“Pardon?”
Bom was flustered by the sudden question. What did he mean, what did she like, out of the blue?
“Um, why are you asking…”
-Do you take health supplements or anything?
“No, what are you suddenly talking about?”
-I'll just bring something myself. Alright?
Han-gyeol's Uncle hung up the phone as he pleased.
…What kind of person is this?
Bom was speechless with bewilderment. 'I just need to start the engine,' he'd said—was this man unemployed?
The thought of having to face that man directly next Monday filled her with sudden dread. She had no idea what he meant by 'bringing something,' and it gave her a headache.
When he had visited last winter and pointed out the yellow coffee mix, he had actually donated a Coffee Bean Machine to the school. It meant he was a man who took responsibility for his words.
In any case, the suddenly acquired Coffee Bean Machine became Vice Principal Seok Gwan-su's most cherished possession. Every morning, he would clean the machine and brew warm coffee. Even for a rural school, it would be problematic if he brought something like that again.
“Nothing unusual will happen, right…?”
Trying to convince herself, Bom gazed at an unnamed flowering tree visible outside the hallway window.
Its pure white petals created a fairytale-like scene.
Another gust of wind swept through, gently curving and scattering the petals into the air.
Spring was beginning.
⋆★⋆
Monday morning, Bom patted her hair dry with a towel and opened her closet.
“Ah…”
She had nothing to wear. Bom rummaged through her drawers for a long time, but in the end, no outfit pleased her.
Come to think of it, it had been well over a year since she'd bought new clothes. She hadn't bought a single item of clothing since coming down here. Normally, she'd just combine suitably matching colors from her tops and bottoms sections.
‘Still, today…’
She felt a little concerned. After all, it was the day a parent was visiting.
She tried to recall what she'd worn for parent consultations last year, but even that memory was faint.
‘This seems to be the prettiest one.’
After much deliberation, she decided on a light purple One-Piece Dress. Styling her hair also took quite some time. Normally, she wore it loosely tied, but today she thought letting it down might be nice, so she fiddled with it until it was quite late.
Today, too, Bom took the bus as usual.
The dark orange village bus had no number. She only found out later that it didn't have a number because there was only one bus route.
Life here, which she'd initially thought she could never adapt to, was now becoming quite familiar. Though, it wasn't a place she'd stay for long…
The scent of roadside juniper trees wafted in through the open window crack in the back seat. For the first time in a while, she felt good.
Bom savored the breeze on her face, organizing the consultation topics in her mind.
⋆★⋆
“Han-gyeol.”
After the homeroom meeting ended and cleaning was done, the classroom was spotless. Bom called out to Han-gyeol, who was still alone, packing his bag.
“Yes, Teacher.”
The reason Han-gyeol was left alone was this: when the homeroom meeting ended, the hallway was chaotic. Bom, stepping out to see what was happening, was surprised.
In the hallway stood a student who looked like a first-year, holding a letter and a shopping bag. She had come to confess to Han-gyeol. His excited friends whistled and made a ruckus.
Bom was astonished by the student's courage. It was the first time Bom had seen such a public confession. Han-gyeol, seemingly accustomed to such things, politely declined without showing any signs of discomfort. After spending a long time comforting the student who was shedding tears over the rejection, Han-gyeol finally returned to the classroom.
Bom, who had remained in the classroom, spoke to Han-gyeol as she watched him casually tuck the letter into his bag. She thought it might be good for him to wait until the parent consultation was over and leave with his uncle.
“You heard your uncle is coming later, right?”
“My uncle's coming?”
Han-gyeol laughed with an amused expression, then zipped up his bag and slung it over his shoulder.
“Yeah, didn't he tell you?”
“Oh, it's today. If he said he's coming, he won't be late.”
“How about waiting until your uncle's consultation is over and going together?”
“No, thank you. I have plans. I'll be going now, Teacher.”
Han-gyeol opened his mouth as if to say something more, then closed it, smiled, and left the classroom.
Left all alone, Bom tapped the desk with her fingertips. With the classroom completely empty, she felt inexplicably uneasy.
[Beauty.]
What on earth was that? He couldn't have said something like that to her face… She must have misheard.
The time to meet Han-gyeol's Uncle was approaching. The more she thought about what had happened in the faculty office that winter, the more nervous she became, and Bom tried to calm her mind.
3:45 PM.
Heavy, swift footsteps echoed in the quiet hallway.
Bom instinctively knew it was Seon Han-gyeol's Uncle.
As expected, the footsteps stopped abruptly at the door. A few seconds later, the classroom's front door burst open.