Chapter 84
Chapter 84
“You’ll be leaving for Seoul again next year, won’t you, ahem...”
So others were mentioning it too. Bom’s shoulders slumped, as if she’d committed a crime. Seok Gwan-su, flustered by Bom’s gloomy reaction, broke out in a cold sweat.
“Oh dear, my apologies. That was me being nosy. I just hoped you’d stay here... Sigh.”
That was a wish Bom harbored more desperately than anyone. Having just confirmed there were no advance openings, her heart felt even more troubled.
“Just three or four more months, and it’ll be time for teachers to transfer. Oh, right, how’s Bom-sik doing?”
“He’s grown even more.”
Bom showed him a photo of Bom-sik she’d taken yesterday on her phone. Unable to vocalize his delight, the Vice Principal merely flared his nostrils.
“Oh my, that little rascal, truly...”
“Um, Vice Principal. Is there no way? The truth is, I really want to stay here...”
“It’s because of him, isn’t it, ahem!”
Seok Gwan-su grunted, tapping his fingers on the desk. Deep in thought, the Vice Principal said to Bom,
“I’ll look into it. Teacher Bom, whether it’s this matter or anything else, don’t suffer alone. Come talk to me anytime. If we put our heads together, won’t we come up with a good solution?”
For the first time, Bom thought that Seok Gwan-su hadn’t become Vice Principal for nothing.
“Thank you, Vice Principal.”
She bowed deeply in greeting. Even if no clear solution emerged, the mere fact that so many people in Shinsu-eup cared about her spread warmth through Bom’s chest.
⋆★⋆
“Starting school again is a complete whirlwind, isn’t it?”
Jae-gyu fanned himself with his gray athletic tee, cooling off his sweat.
Today was Cheoseo, the end of summer and the beginning of autumn, but the midday sun still blazed fiercely. Standing beside Jae-gyu, Bom nodded vaguely, feeling nervous.
“Jae-gyu. Will this really be okay?”
“Ha, my worries are no small matter, right now.”
On the first weekend after school started, the two arrived at one of the vacant lots Jae-gyu owned. The land, leveled and compacted after civil engineering work for a planned public golf course, was perfect for driving practice.
“We’ll drive straight at a safe speed to that flat area over there, then start practicing corners at the oak tree. Right?”
“Yes, I think we can start.”
Bom got into Hin-suni. Hin-suni was the nickname Jae-gyu had given his white Mercedes-Benz. There was no particular reason.
[Because it’s white.]
[...]
Jae-gyu, Hin-suni’s owner, dawdled outside doing something before slowly settling into the passenger seat. Bom, who had been twisting her long hair into a bun, asked,
“What were you doing outside?”
“Ah, I was just taking some deep breaths...”
“What? Don’t joke around.”
“I’m serious... I just prayed to the heavens.”
Driving practice was originally supposed to happen before school started. However, it couldn't happen due to a transfer student issue in Bom's class coinciding with an audit at Jae-gyu's company.
Jae-gyu had strictly warned her not to drive before practice, but Bom watched driving videos at home, tilting her head.
...I think I can do it?
Bom immediately ran a driving simulation and, after much deliberation, concluded that she could manage it on her own. Still, just in case, she asked a neighborhood auntie for some training and drove around the neighborhood once.
As expected, it wasn't difficult.
So, on the first day of school, she confidently drove by herself.
[Alright, I’m a driving king too, aren't I?]
There had been no problems on her commute all week. Nevertheless, Bom decided to receive driving lessons from Jae-gyu.
Her commute route was a short, straight path easy for beginners, but she wanted to challenge herself with complex roads and long-distance driving.
“Why don’t you trust me? I told you, I can practically drive my commute in my sleep now.”
“Is that so? Anyway, I was surprised when you said you drove Hin-suni on the first day of school. Let’s see it then.”
“Buckle up.”
As soon as Jae-gyu meticulously buckled his seatbelt, Bom immediately set off.
“How’s this?”
As she pressed the accelerator, speeding straight ahead, it felt as if all her worries were flying away. Bom casually rolled down the car window.
“Bom...!”
Bom glanced sideways and chuckled. He was clearly startled. The thrill burst forth at Jae-gyu’s wide-eyed expression.
“Pretty good, huh, Jae-gyu?”
Until now, driving back and forth from the neighborhood to school at the speed limit had been frustrating. Jae-gyu’s vacant lot, a golf course site, was wide open with no obstacles, and Bom loved it.
Bom, waiting for praise for her skilled driving, glanced at the now silent Jae-gyu again. Jae-gyu was gripping the handle above the side window.
“The speed is 270 right now!”
“Huh?”
Bom’s eyes darted to the dashboard, and she realized her mistake. Her excitement had led her to press the pedal to the metal.
“We’re all going to die like this!”
Bom quickly reduced her speed. The oak tree, which had been a distant speck, was now right in front of them. As she sharply turned the wheel, rounded the corner, and stopped, Jae-gyu immediately opened the car door and got out.
“Ugh...”
“Are you okay?”
“I... I just found out today that I’m dating a race car driver.”
Jae-gyu, who was dry-heaving from motion sickness, still managed to give Bom a thumbs-up. In the end, the practice took a different turn, shifting to how to drive smoothly.
“Brake in stages, that’s it! This is it!”
With Jae-gyu’s serious guidance, they practiced driving for over three hours.
“Ah, no problems now. You’re doing great!”
“It really is different, isn’t it? With this, I won’t have any problems now.”
“Then let’s park the car under that tree and rest for a bit. You can drive on the way back too, Bom. The feeling changes quite a bit when it gets dark.”
Finishing the long practice, Jae-gyu urged her to observe the speed limit of 80 km/h in town and 30 km/h near the school. Then, calling it a prize for the recipient, he handed her something strange.
Opening the small, wrapped box, she found a fierce-looking Tattoo Sleeve. Bom put it on, stuck one arm out the window, and took a concept selfie with Jae-gyu. Jae-gyu immediately uploaded it to Lovestagram.
“Thank you, I’ll use it well.”
Bom took off the arm sleeve, folded it neatly, and put it in the glovebox. Wearing it all the time would be too much, but she thought it would be good to take it out and use it in an emergency or when she missed Jae-gyu. Jae-gyu, who had been watching her, gestured with his chin towards a file in the glovebox and asked,
“What’s that? The one in the clear file.”
“Oh, it’s nothing much... You can look if you want.”
Jae-gyu took out the paper tucked into the file and read it. It really was nothing special. Bom, having an even-numbered birth year, was due for a health check-up this year.
The school nurse had given it to her, asking her to get a health check-up individually within the year and submit the results.
“Is this your first time getting one?”
“No. I had one two years ago.”
Jae-gyu was reading it in detail, like he would a contract, something Bom herself had only skimmed.
“What did they say then? About your health, Bom.”
“Nothing else was unusual... but I have uterine fibroids, and they said to get regular follow-up checks.”
“A lump? Isn’t that a serious illness?”
Bom calmed the suddenly stiff Jae-gyu. She reassured him that uterine fibroids were common and she had no particular symptoms from them. Jae-gyu thought deeply, then said with a solemn expression,
“This time, let’s go together.”
“Okay.”
When she readily agreed, Jae-gyu seemed a little surprised. In truth, Jae-gyu’s suggestion was welcome to Bom as well. She’d been worried ever since the last ‘tteok-ryutan’ incident, when she realized Jae-gyu didn’t regularly go to the hospital.
Jae-gyu, barely in his thirties, looked the picture of health. Still, she wanted him to get a full check-up at least once.
“Everyone rushes to get it done in December. Let’s go before then.”
“I don’t know much about it, so I’ll go on whatever day you choose, Bom.”
“Then, sometime around September or October...”
Bom opened her phone’s calendar app and roughly set the date. A weight lifted off her shoulders, as if she’d completed a major task.
“Look outside, Bom. The sun’s already setting.”
Bom checked the time, looking out the darkening car window that Jae-gyu had gestured towards.
“What time did Philip say to come?”
“Let’s see. He said eight o’clock, and it’s six now.”
Gu Philip, an employee at Jae-gyu’s company, had invited them to a late dinner tonight.
His father, who works in livestock, had sent a Hanwoo assortment, and there was so much they couldn’t handle it all, so he’d hastily arranged the gathering. Han-gyeol was also supposed to come there after his tutoring.
“Shouldn’t we go pick up Han-gyeol?”
“Choi Yi-jun has some business nearby, so he’s dropping him off.”
“They snarl at each other when they meet, but they keep in touch well, don’t they?”
The car parked under the oak tree had cooled down considerably. The slightly cooler temperature was pleasant, and she enjoyed this time of light conversation. Bom chuckled softly.
It was somehow amusing that Yi-jun and Jae-gyu, despite constantly bickering, still kept in regular contact.
Yi-jun’s image hadn’t been good from their first meeting, and she’d disliked him even more after the Blind Date. However, after Se-jin’s runaway incident, Yi-jun had called.
He apologized for everything that had happened, and his straightforward words, devoid of excuses, felt sincere, allowing Bom to forgive him. Jae-gyu also acknowledged Yi-jun’s clean attitude to some extent.
“His temper’s awful, but he’s sharp as a knife when it comes to work. And he takes good care of the kids.”
“He seems to. Oh, right, I heard Yi-jun is opening a law office?”
Se-jin and Han-gyeol had helped her clean the classroom after school, and she’d overheard them talking about it then.
“Are you in contact?”
Jae-gyu’s expression as he asked was serious. His face flushed, and his brows furrowed as he asked again.
“Or did he contact you? You even know he’s opened it.”
“Ah... I heard it from Se-jin.”
“I don’t know about other guys, but Yi-jun has a history of harboring ulterior motives, so I’m a bit uneasy.”
“There’s no need for that, really.”
Jae-gyu unbuckled his seatbelt, pressed his lips lightly to Bom’s ear, then pulled back and said,
“Bom, could you turn your face a little closer?”
As soon as she turned her head, Jae-gyu’s lips met Bom’s. Jae-gyu’s tongue entered her mouth and entwined with hers.
“Ah, mm...”
The sticky kiss instantly changed the atmosphere to something sensual. Bom slowly lowered the hand she had placed on Jae-gyu’s shoulder. Fumbling over his thick chest, Bom found Jae-gyu’s hardened Nipple and flicked it.
“Ugh, haa...”
His large body twitched, letting out a long groan. Watching Jae-gyu’s reaction, her own thighs grew wet in response. Bom whispered to the scowling Jae-gyu,
“Jae-gyu... the seat, mmph, could you recline it?”