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Ijin Yu was certainly a strange kid. Ms. Yeongsu had been watching him grow more and more agitated over the past twenty minutes the video on mid-eastern cultures had been playing, and it was rather interesting to watch.
Since day one, Ijin had been the poster child of a perfect student—well, in her class anyway (she had heard he was quite a fighter from other teachers, though she just couldn’t see it). He was always on time, did very well on assignments and tests, was polite, though very very quiet. He honestly always just seemed like he was going through the motions to get through the day. This was the first time she was seeing him… express? She smirked when she heard him huff for the fifth time and roll his eyes.
The young teacher watched from the corner of her eye as he leaned over and whispered something into Yeongchan’s ear. The smaller boy’s face contorted into confusion and he looked back at his classmate before whispering back. Ms. Yeongsu tilted her head to listen.
“Whadaya mean don’t write that down? What if it’s on the test?”
“Because it’s wrong.”
“But it’s an educational video, Ijin…”
“It’s an unentertaining piece of fiction, Yeongchan.”
Ms. Yeongsu let out a muffled snort and picked up the remote to pause the video. The class perked up, Ijin along with them. She eyed the silver-hair teen and walked towards him.
“Is my curriculum not entertaining enough for you or not educational enough, Ijin?” She had to force herself not to smile when his eyes bugged and his face erupted into a rose tint. He turned his face towards his desk.
“I apologize for interrupting, ma’am. It won’t happen again.”
Ms. Yeongsu crossed her arms. “It is very unlike you to cause commotion in class, Ijin.”
There was a muffled snicker that spread throughout the room.
“—I am just curious what got you so worked up.”
Ijin cleared his throat and clasped his hands, absentmindedly twiddling his thumbs. “The video has some… incorrect information, that’s all.”
“Incorrect? What do you mean?”
“Several of the villages and mountain passes are incorrectly named. Some plants as well. And there was one region shown that was not even a part of the mid-east.”
“And how are you so sure of this?”
“Because it’s where I grew up.”
The class began to buzz with murmurs spoken behind closed palms. Ms. Yeongsu glanced around the room at the sounds. Even Jaehyeong, Hyeokjin, Yeongchan, Seokju and Yeona Sin seemed shocked to hear that, which surprised Ms. Yeongsu. She was certain they were all friends… wouldn’t they know?
“If this is where you grew up, then perhaps you’d like to enlighten us as to the correct labeling of villages, mountain passes and plants?”
To her surprise, Ijin nodded and stood. She paused for a moment, then rewound the video. After a moment, Ijin put up a hand and said, “this is good”, before heading toward the television screen in the center of the room and began the most detailed description of the mid-eastern regions she had ever heard.
He was a wealth of knowledge. He knew trade routes. He knew the names of towns and cities and villages—little trading outposts on the edges of jungles. The rivers, the mountains, the vast stretches of deserts and swamps. Schools, bridges, local healers and shops. Where to find clean drinking water. The class was mesmerized by his teachings, and she found herself open-mouth staring. When the video ended, Ms. Yeongsu turned off the television with the click of a button.
The class was still. They were all just staring at this tall, thin boy who was growing noticeably uncomfortable with the silence. A student in the back row raised his hand, and Ijin looked at her for a response. She nodded towards the boy in the back and Ijin pointed at him.
“Why did you grow up there if your sister has been going to school with us here for years?”
Ijin paused for a moment, contemplating the question. His brow sinched and his mouth pursed, like he was searching for an appropriate answer. Ms. Yeongsu knew she should redirect the question, as it was clearly making him uncomfortable, but her own curiosity kept her from speaking. After a minute, Ijin answered.
“I… was in a plane crash when I was a child. It killed our parents and I lost all my memories, so I didn’t know that I was from here. That’s why.”
Absolute silence.
“Then how did you get back?” Jaehyeong asked suddenly. Ms. Yeongsu glanced at Ijin, who was focusing on his friend with wide eyes. His mouth opened and closed, and once again, the young teacher could not find her voice to stop it. She needed to know too.
“I was… I was hit by a mortar and it… jogged some memories. I started remembering little things about a year ago. When I remembered my name, some Korean soldiers I was guiding helped me get in touch with my family, and… and they brought me back home.”
“What’s a mortar?” one student asked aloud. It was apparent classroom etiquette was now tossed out the window.
“It’s a small projectile missile used at mid to long range.”
“You got hit by a missile?!”
“Yes.”
The class began to murmur loudly. Ijin shuffled from one foot to the other, then glanced up to see another hand raised on the far left of the classroom. He hesitated, then pointed at the girl.
“Why were you guiding soliders?”
“It’s what I did. I was a guide.”
“Is that why you can fight so well?!” another student screeched.
“I-- did what I had to do to survive.”
At that comment, a switch suddenly went off in Ms. Yeongsu’s head, and she realized she had let things go too far. She stood suddenly and flew to Ijin’s side, putting a hand on the middle of his back, pushing him back towards his desk as she quickly proclaimed, “well thank you so much, Ijin, for that fabulous report on mid-eastern cultures! That was very… informative.”
Ms. Yeongsu tried to keep the pity out of her gaze when she met Ijin’s. He just stared back, a blank slate once again. Around the room, students had hands in the air, and were all speaking at once, trying to pry more information out of their classmate. Ms. Yeongsu returned to the front of the class and hushed them all with a raise of her hand.
She glanced once more at Ijin, who was looking rather relieved to be done with his interrogation. They made eye contact once more, and Ms. Yeongsu smiled warmly.
“Thank you again, Ijin. You would really make a great teacher one day.” She let out a small content sigh when he smiled back, light returning to his eyes. She turned back to the class and glanced around the room to find everyone still staring at their classmate.
“Well!” she began, trying to take back control of her class, “was everyone taking notes?” She palmed her face when she was met with silence and wide-eyed stares.