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Choi Chi-Yeol was in a good mood as he made his way towards the apartments above Nation best Bachan. He let himself in through the gate and climbed the stone stairs all the while whistling his favorite tune.
It all makes sense now. Why was it that he and Haeng-Seon crossed paths with each other that often before the tuition deal? It’s not like the neighborhood in which they lived was that small. Coming across each other in the campsite could be counted as purely coincidental. But that Side dish shop could have been owned by someone else. Her daughter could have gotten enrolled in another academy. Haeng-Seon could have called for a taxi when her brother was in lock-up instead of taking his offer to give her a ride albeit reluctantly.
“It’s because we had an encounter in the past,” Chi-Yeol said to himself.
Choi Chi-Yeol would have never come across this realization if Haeng-Seon hadn’t taken him to Su-ja’s Chueotang, formerly known as Seon Cafeteria. It’s like his world came crashing down when he realized who he was standing next to. While Haeng-Seon happily rattled upon the restaurant origins, Chi-Yeol looked at her as if seeing her for the first time. In a way, he was. How come he didn’t make the connection before?! The signs were all there! The familiar taste of the food, the way of talking. Heck even the curse words were the same!
Nam Haeng-Seon was the daughter of that aged cranky woman that used to feed him 12 years ago when he was penniless.
The odds of that happening should have been low, even zero for that matter. Yet it happened anyway.
But Choi Chi-Yeol wasn’t complaining. If anything, he was at peace now. The reason why he was drawn to Haeng-Seon in the first place was because he was close to her mother. There’s no way he was attracted to a married woman.
Choi Chi-Yeol was perfectly alright. There was nothing wrong with his sympathetic nervous system after all. He wasn’t a scum or a lowlife. It was such a huge relief to finally feel normal about himself.
“Evening Mr. Choi!” Hae-e greeted as Chi-Yeol stepped inside and took his shoes off.
The star teacher smiled at his student before returning the nod to Jae-woo who just greeted him.
“Hello Choi Chi-Yeol!”
One person was still missing. Nam Haeng-Seon was nowhere to be seen. In an apartment this small, she wouldn’t be hard to miss.
‘Must be in the bathroom, I suppose’ the star teacher thought.
Choi Chi-Yeol didn’t have to wait long because just then the wooden doors slid open and Nam Haeng-Seon came out.
“Mr. Choi! How have you been?!” Haeng-Seon asked him while putting on a pair of earrings.
Choi Chi-Yeol didn’t answer. He couldn’t answer. Because his mouth fell open in shock.
Nam Haeng-Seon wasn’t wearing her usual clothes which consisted of button down shirts in summary colors and jeans. In fact, it was very far from it.
The side dish shop owner wasn’t looking scruffy for once. She was wearing a mid-length black bodycon dress that had a v-neckline and was held together by spaghetti straps. The hair was set up as well; Nam Haeng-Seon had lightly curled it before styling it in a messy updo, letting out enough strands for the face framing pieces. A makeup that accentuated her best features along with soft jewelry completed her look.
Nam Haeng-Seon looked beyond stunning.
“Where…are you off to?” Choi Chi-Yeol managed to ask, his gaze fixed on Haeng-Seon"s exposed shoulders. Has she always been this pale and dainty?! He wondered vaguely. Jae-woo answered it for him.
“A reunion of ex-players of the national handball team is being held in Itaewon branch of Cleo. Nam Haeng-Seon and Kim Jeong-ju are going there”
“In this getup?!” Choi Chi Yeol asked without thinking.
The smile siphoned off from Haeng-Seon’s face in a blink. Chi-Yeol felt this sudden urge to stick his skinny feet into his big mouth.
He knew that his bluntness was going to get him into trouble someday. Today seems to be the day.
Everyone was staring at the star teacher for an explanation now.
“Why….what’s wrong?!” Nam Haeng-Seon asked worriedly, glancing down at her dress and then Hae-e for a second opinion. The girl only shook her head.
‘Nothing…..you look incredibly beautiful’ Choi Chi-Yeol wanted to say this but instead;
“You might want to wear a jacket…it’s spitzing a little” he lied.
“Oh….okay” Haeng-Seon let out a nervous laugh while Hae-e went inside to get the jacket
“You had me second guessing my choice Mr.Choi”
‘It was supposed to!’ Mr. Choi said inwardly, gaze still fixed on Nam Haeng-Seon’s dress. Damn it really hugged her figure at all the right places.
Hae-e brought the black shawl that had a soft shimmer to it.
“Mum, I think this will look good” and with that the girl wrapped the cloth around her mum’ shoulders.
Before Haeng-Seon could thank her, her phone rang.
“Omo! Jeong is here! I should go!” Haeng-Seon said, slipping on her shoes. She turned towards Choi who was still standing frozen on a spot.
“Mr. Choi, I packed your dinner so don’t worry! Jae-woo would hand it to you once you are done with class. Jae-woo?!” Haeng-Seon looked at her brother for confirmation who vigorously nodded his head.
“Deh dona”
“Okay, I am off!”
“Have Fun!” Hae-e said.
“Goodbye!” Jae-woo uttered.
‘Your shawl is slipping! Hae-e….I thought you were a sensible girl!’ Choi screamed, again inwardly.
This evening wasn’t turning out to be fine at all, Choi Chi-Yeol thought bitterly, making his way towards Hae-e’s room.
While Hae-e did the math questions, Choi Chi-Yeol racked his brains. Why, why did Nam Haeng-Seon dressing bothered him so much?! It has never happened before. So why now?
Haeng-Seon was a free human being therefore she could dress as she pleased. For all he cared, she could dress in rags for that matter.
So what was the problem then?!
‘It’s a dark world out there…who knows what men would be thinking once they see Nam Haeng-seon. She shouldn’t have gone out like that’ Chi-Yeol reasoned with himself while the sound of pen scratching on the paper filled the silence.
‘Ah yes…I am fretting over Miss Nam’s dressing because of predators lurking in every corner. I am concerned for her safety’
‘Is that really the case?!’ a lazy voice spoke in his mind.
‘Who’s that?!’
Chi-Yeol looked around and saw his double standing behind him. He had this smirk on his face which unnerved the star teacher greatly.
The double didn’t answer the question. Instead he repeated his question;
‘Are you sure that’s really the case?!’
‘What do you mean?!” Chi-yeol asked grimly. He didn’t like where this was going.
‘Oh acting gullible are we?! Classic you, Choi Chi-Yeol’ the double reprimanded mockingly.
‘Cut to the point!’ Chi-yeol said irritably. He didn’t like playing games.
‘Oh, oh alright!’ the double pocketed his hands before saying promptly;
‘The reason you are so disconcerted over Miss Nam Haeng-Seon is because if it were up to you, you would have spend the evening with her rather than teaching’
The star teacher eyes’ widened at this exclamation. This was simply preposterous. Before he could refute the claim, his double beat him to it;
‘Let’s just be honest…Haeng-Seon looked really sexy in that dress. Now who wouldn’t want to spend their time with such a beautiful woman?! And that woman…who you get along with so well!’
‘You….’ Chi-yeol stammered.
‘Truth is, you don’t want any of the men staring at her. So long if it’s you…then I suppose it"s fine’
“STOP IT” The sound of pen dropping on the table echoed loudly in the room. It took two seconds for Chi-Yeol to realize where he was.
Hae-e was looking at him with an alarmed expression, not sure what to do. Thankfully Jae-woo didn’t hear the shout. Choi Chi-Yeol didn’t have a valid reason with him at the moment.
“Are you alright Mr.Choi?” Nam Hae-e asked with uncertainty, picking up her pen again.
Embarrassed beyond belief, Chi-yeol pulled the papers towards him “Yes yes…I must have dozed off, I apologize. It’s not like me”
“Ah, on which question were we?” the star teacher scanned the paper before pinpointing the question.
But before Chi-Yeol could began, Hae-e interrupted him;
“We already covered this question, Mr.Choi”
“We did?!”
“Deh”
“I apologize…”
‘Get a FUCKING GRIP CHOI CHI-YEOL!’ The star teacher berated himself internally while scrambling to catch up.
After a not-so-smooth class, Choi Chi-Yeol was sitting in his car which was parked in front of the Han river. The sight of the calm river nor the dinner he was scarfing down did nothing to dispel the uneasiness clouding his mind.
An hour ago, Chi-Yeol was bouncing with merriment over the closure. He was perfectly at peace when he was able to come to the conclusion. In all aspects, it sounded correct. It was clear as day.
But after seeing Nam Haeng-Seon in a black dress, Choi Chi-Yeol’s mind was back to square one.
“The hell is wrong with me?” Choi Chi-Yeol asked himself, now closing the lid of an empty container.
“I should probably go to sleep”
Choi Chi-Yeol felt anything but sleepy. He was feeling too keyed up.
Reaching for the steering wheel, the star teacher paused. A ridiculous thought entered his mind just now.
Choi Chi Yeol then tapped the GPS screen of his car, typing away the restaurant name. If he could speed up, he could reach there in 35 minutes.
Instead of going to his home like he should, the star teacher was racing his car towards the Yongsan-gu district.
Choi Chi Yeol parked his car just a little far away from Cleo. He could still see the facade of it clearly.
Chi-yeol glanced at his wristwatch. It was ten. Surely the dinner should have gotten over by now.
‘Maybe she went elsewhere after dinner?’ That could be the possibility given the entire area was teeming with eateries and bars of various kinds.
When the clock struck at 10:30, Chi-yeol started to get worried.
‘I know reunion dinners tend to take long…but isn’t this too much?!’
After a minute, Chi-yeol got out of his car, wearing his cap. He was just going to make a quick detour into the restaurant. If Haeng-Seon was still there with her friends, then he would go home.
He would be discreet. He would adopt a stealth mode.
However, all of that got tossed out the moment someone spoke behind Choi Chi-Yeol’s back, rather audibly “Boo!”
“Ahhh!!!” Chi-Yeol turned around to see Nam Haeng-Seon laughing merrily.
“I give you a good scare Mr. Choi!” Haeng-Seon exclaimed gleefully.
Choi Chi-yeol stood still, hand over his heart to steady his breathing. As much as he was mad at being startled out of blue like this, he was so relieved to see Haeng-Seon.
“You really ought to stop doing that Nam Haeng-Seon!” Chi-Yeol reprimanded lightly, trying his best to hold his glare.
“But I only did it once!” Haeng-Seon replied.
“Still…you do have the tendency to pop up anywhere”
“Well, it ain’t exactly my fault that we run into each other”
True; she did have a point there.
“Which brings me to a question…what are you doing here Mr.Choi?” Nam Haeng-Seon asked, kohl-rimmed eyes brimming with curiosity.
While he was waiting in his car, the star teacher thought hard when thinking of a reason, should he run into the Bachan owner.
"Pride academy is thinking of opening another branch and they were considering this area” Choi Chi-Yeol lied promptly.
“And they sent you for scouting?” Haeng-seon asked, her gaze becoming suspicious.
‘Shit! Should have gone with meeting up with the friend excuse’ Chi-Yeol thought. But it was too late to backtrack now.
“Why? You don’t think I can scout?” Chi-Yeol asked.
“No…it’s not that. I thought it was the job of an admin” Haeng-seon said.
“Well. They wanted a second opinion, that’s why they sent me as well”
Choi Chi-Yeol was hoping that the woman wouldn’t ask him more questions regarding this.
Thankfully, Nam Haeng-Seon didn’t poke further. For once, her naivety worked in his favor.
“Okay…I will leave you to your scouting then, Mr. Choi. Good night” Haeng-Seon gave a small nod before turning on her heel.
“I can drop you to your home,” Chi-yeol offered.
“But I am not going home,” Nam Haeng-Seon answered.
What did she just said?!!!
“Why not?!” Choi Chi-Yeol asked, before another thought occurred to him.
“You are not thinking of drinking again, are you Nam Haeng-Seon?” Chi-Yeol asked, coming close and looming over Nam Haeng-seon.
Haeng-seon’s eyes widened “Wha…” but the star teacher cut her across.
“Do you realize how dangerous it is to drink at such an hour?! And in an unfamiliar town for that matter. I thought you had more sense, Miss Nam Haeng-seon!”
“Jinja! You are the one to talk!,” Haeng-Seon shot back, craning her neck upwards to look at Mr. Choi. He was standing way too close.
The ex-handball player didn’t like that Mr. Choi was insinuating that she was being irresponsible here.
“What?”
“I can handle my alcohol well unlike you”
Chi-yeol wasn’t going to let this lone comment get to him.
“All the more reason why you shouldn’t drink Ms. Nam. What if I get drunk? You would have to drag me around then”
Nam Haeng-seon looked away, biting her bottom lip before saying timidly “I would have no problem dragging you around. I already know where you live”
“Besides…I wasn’t going to the bar to get drunk," she added.
The comment threw him off.
“Where were you going then?”
A while later, the duo was sitting in a brightly lit area that was furnished with high bar stools and laminated tables that had a hue of hot pink, walls the color of periwinkle blue and a floor with crazy patterns of swirls and waves. Groovy music streamed from the speakers. Timeless quotes were splashed on the walls in shouty funky fonts. The ice-cream parlor was giving the vibe of the raging 80s.
Choi Chi-Yeol peered at the ice-cream cup that was plonked in front of him. It had two scoops of chocolate ice-cream and was topped with wafers and white chocolate chips. It looked mouth-watering.
Meanwhile Nam Haeng-Seon was already digging in her dessert, taking each bite with relish.
Chi-yeol glanced at Haeng-Seon for a moment before looking away. The way Haeng-Seon was licking at the spoon was making his mind go to uncharted waters. The last thing he needed was a nosebleed.
‘Had I always been this perverted?’ the star teacher couldn’t help wondering.
Getting this feeling of being stared at, Chi-yeol looked up. Sure enough, a pair of men were staring at Nam Haeng-Seon whose back was towards them. The shawl had slipped from one side, exposing Haeng-Seon’s shoulder blade.
Choi Chi-Yeol shot his meanest and deadly glare at the men. It worked instantly. The men averted their gaze, their expressions becoming that of shame at being caught like this.
It wasn’t enough. The star teacher wanted to gouge their eyes out as well. He already had a rough idea about what the men were thinking. It made him bristle with rage from inside.
“Your ice-cream is going to melt Mr.Choi” Haeng-Seon suddenly said.
“Huh?”
“Your ice-cream,” Haeng-Seon repeated, pointing her spoon at the ignored cup and mistaking Choi Chi-Yeol’s glare as a look of distaste. “They don’t use artificial flavors. So you can eat without worry”
“I know…”
Silence ensued until after a moment, Choi Chi-Yeol decided to break it. He wanted to address the elephant in the room.
“Surely you must have ordered a dessert in that reunion dinner…unless the restaurant ran out of it” he casually began.
Nam Haeng-Seon didn’t say anything. She continued eating her ice-cream with extra concentration.
‘Did I offended her?’
Just when he thought that Haeng-Seon had purposely ignored his statement, did she answer.
“Aniyo…there was a whole page of desserts in a menu but I didn’t feel like eating there”
The star teacher waited patiently.
“I wanted to get away,” Haeng-Seon finally said.
Despite wearing makeup, Choi Chi-Yeol saw through Haeng-Seon’s face; an underlying sadness was tainting her mien now.
“My ex teammates were discussing the matches. Obviously those matches came up as well which I wasn’t part of. So I felt alienated”
Choi Chi-Yeol was all too familiar with this unwelcome feeling. It made you feel so worthless. Utterly inferior to the point that you wanted the earth to open up and swallow you in its depths where there’s only darkness and void. Endless void.
“Even though I don’t regret giving up handball because of Hae-e and Jae-woo. But sometimes…” the sideshop owner paused for a second before continuing “I wished I hadn’t quit early”
“I yearn for those days when I used to play for the country, for the team…but mostly for myself,” Haeng-Seon confessed quietly.
Well, this was new. Up till now, the star teacher had seen the bright side of Haeng-seon. Much to his annoyance and exasperation, he became exposed to her intrusive nature. More than twice, he had been on the receiving end of her wrath.
And now, he was looking at her vulnerable facet.
As much as it was upsetting to see Haeng-Seon like that, Choi Chi-Yeol felt another feeling seeping its way into his space of already cramped emotions; endearment. Endearment for Nam Haeng-Seon.
Just because she was always radiating positive energy didn’t mean she didn’t have her down days. She was after all a human.
Haeng-seon would have continued walking down the path of dumps if it weren’t for someone cradling her hand. That snapped her out of the trance.
Choi Chi-Yeol was holding her hand. He didn’t stop there. He interlaced his fingers with her, so Haeng-Seon had no choice but to entwine them back. If someone were to look at them, one would think they were a couple.
“You shouldn’t beat yourself up Nam Haeng-Seon” Chi-Yeol said gently.
“Just because you took a right decision doesn’t mean you can’t be sad”
Nam Haeng-Seon raised her eyebrows but said nothing.
“I know it’s not the right comparison but if I were to give up teaching for some unknown important reason…I too would be sad because it’s something I am passionate about”
“There’s nothing wrong in missing your handball days. It was, after all, an integral part of your life” Chi-Yeol said.
Nam Haeng-Seon smiled before uttering ever so softly “Thank you Ssaem”
Choi Chi-Yeol smiled in return, glad to see that he was able to comfort the side dish shop owner. His previous version of him wouldn’t have been able to do that without turning the exchange awkward.
Chi-yeol would have continued to ponder on this if he didn’t happen to glance at Haeng-Seon who was still smiling.
Curious, Chi-Yeol slightly tilted his head “What’s so funny?”
Haeng-seon shook her head “It’s nothing”
She should have known better that Chi-yeol wasn’t going to let go of it that easily.
“Buyah! What is it?!” he lightly tugged at their linked hands.
“You!” Haeng-seon finally answered.
Huh?! Haeng-seon was smiling because of him? But why?!
“Just when I think I have you figured out-you surprise me Ssaem”
“What do you mean?”
“You appear so stiff yet you do have a side that is a softie”
Choi Chi-Yeol couldn’t help but grimace at this. He knows he’s a manner less jerk but he’s trying to change that.
Couldn’t Haeng-seon appreciate that?! Or is she poking fun at his attempts?
Feeling petty all of a sudden, Chi-Yeol let go of Haeng-Seon’s hand. Haeng-Seon noticed it but said nothing. Her grin only widened.
“This has nothing to do with me being a softie. I was doing what any decent human would do if someone was feeling sad. I don’t know what you find funny in it”
“I don"t,” Haeng-Seon replied gaily.
The star teacher only narrowed his eyes in return. It was a good thing that Nam Haeng-Seon was looking pretty tonight. He couldn’t stay angry at her for long.
‘Lucky for her, I guess’
Pushing the empty ice-cream cup away, Haeng-Seon stretched her arms out, linking her fingers together and procuring a series of cracking sounds.
“I need to burn this sugar otherwise I won’t be getting any sleep”
“You can’t play handball in this getup,” Chi-Yeol pointed out at once. The star teacher had no intention of getting his hand injured again. No thank you, he already had his fill.
Haeng-Seon pulled an adorable pout “I wasn’t thinking of playing a sport”
Choi Chi-Yeol looked up, mouth hung open midway due to biting on a wafer.
Where was Nam Haeng-Seon going with this?
The impish smile of the Bachan shop owner clearly meant that whatever plan she had on her mind, it was going to be chaotic as hell.
Choi Chi-Yeol gulped nervously. Lord help him, because he was going to need it.
People were arranging themselves in rows. As the lighting of the room dimmed, Choi Chi-Yeol looked around and found Haeng-Seon standing next to him, tying the shawl around her waist so as to allow her free movement.
“Just mirror my moves and you will be okay” Haeng-Seon answered the unsaid question of Chi-Yeol.
“And there would be no points for this?!” The star teacher couldn’t help asking this as well.
“No! There won’t be! I promise!” And with that, the music started playing.
Choi Chi-Yeol copied Haeng-seon’s moves like his life depended on it. The last thing he wanted was to make a joke out of himself. At least, in the handball game, he was surrounded by familiar people. Right now, except for Haeng-Seon, he was in the midst of an unknown crowd.
If it weren’t for going incognito mode, Choi Chi-Yeol was sure that someone would have recognized him.
After a few minutes, the star teacher started easing up a little. The line dancing, as they called it, wasn’t as complicated as he thought.
‘It’s like a mix of arithmetic and geometric sequence! Move two steps ahead, then one step sideway, then back again. Throw the claps in between’
“Wah Ssaem!” Chi-yeol looked up and saw Haeng-seon gazing at him appreciatively. It made Chi-Yeol secretly pleased.
“You are good at this!”
Something about that compliment made him feel bold. It made him want to show off more.
“Oh yeah?! Then how about this?!”
The side shop owner"s mouth fell open in shock when Chi-Yeol twirled in the spot flawlessly.
She wasn’t the only one surprised. The people surrounding them cheered as well, admiring the star teacher’s dance moves.
The duo along with the people line danced to a number of songs like September, the hustle, men in black, cheap thrills and Y.M.C.A. The last one in particular became a favorite of Choi Chi-Yeol. He sang along to the song all the while forming the letters with his hands. The line dancing continued for like a couple more minutes until the song playing in the background took a turn towards a romantic rhythm.
Haeng-Seon paused to take a breath. Fanning herself with one hand, she turned around and saw Choi Chi-Yeol stretching his hand out towards her.
“Oh?!” Chi-Yeol in return, tilted his head sideways, silently asking her for a dance.
Haeng-Seon felt her ears getting hot. Pretty much sure, a blush was making its way across her face. Despite feeling that she was going to pass out any minute, Haeng-Seon slipped her palm in Chi-Yeol’s hand.
Chi-Yeol gently brought her forward so as to put his other hand around her waist. Haeng-seon placed her other hand on Chi-Yeol’s shoulder. And just like that, they started to sway to the music.
Haeng-seon was looking at everything except Chi-Yeol. Choi Chi-yeol’s gaze was fixated on Haeng-Seon’s face.
‘I could never get tired of looking at her’
And with that thought, all the invisible strings that were holding Chi-Yeol became loosened. Those strings that were keeping him in place when it came to his feelings towards Nam Haeng-Seon. After knowing the truth about Nam Haeng-Seon’s mother, those strings should have tightened themselves firmly. Choi Chi-Yeol should have become content.
The contrary happened. Guaranteed, it was Haeng-Seon’s chic dressing that messed him up. But didn’t his heart thundered madly when he saw her emerging from the bathroom, freshly showered and dressed in her faded jeans and a pink shirt that had cute kittens printed on it? There was nothing remotely attractive about that look, yet Choi Chi-yeol felt his breath taken away. That was a long time ago.
Besides before visiting the doctor, Chi-Yeol did a number of things, that one way or another concerned Nam Haeng-Seon. He raced back home to dress himself appropriately. As an afterthought, he sprayed himself with cologne, nearly half-emptying the bottle in process. He wanted to look and smell nice for Haeng-Seon. He wanted to create ease for the side dish shop owner and therefore retorted to reducing the rent and installing A/C units in every room of the apartment block. His heart swelled with pride when Haeng-Seon introduced him as a star teacher to a doctor. He was touched by the fact that she remembered his profile so well.
And now, instead of sleeping comfortably in his bed, here he was, slow dancing with Haeng-Seon at mid-night in a novel bar.
All these acts were pointing towards one thing; Choi Chi-Yeol just wanted to be close to Nam Haeng-Seon.
The furrowed brows must have given his face away because Haeng-Seon probed him with a question;
“A Won for your thoughts Ssaem?”
“It"s a penny for your thoughts, not Won for your thoughts” Chi-Yeol corrected.
“Why would I use a penny when our currency is Won?” Haeng-Seon replied, frowning slightly.
“Ah…”
“Anyway…what are you thinking? You seem lost”
“I am thinking a lot of things”
“Well start with one”
‘But from where? The fact that I don’t want this night to end. That I want to keep holding you like this. Or to kiss you so badly until your lipstick smears…’
Because none of these answers were suitable, Choi Chi-Yeol went for another one. Besides, he wanted to say it as well.
“You look really beautiful tonight, Nam Haeng-Seon”
The reaction was instantaneous. Haeng-Seon blushed prettily, the color blooming across her cheeks. She appeared a little out of breath because of it. The ex-handball player purposely looked down to calm herself.
Seeing an embarrassed side of Haeng-seon was always a treat. This shy side was entirely something else. It made Chi-Yeol want to tease her.
“Are you okay Nam Haeng-Seon?” Chi-Yeol asked playfully.
“Deh?”
“Seems like I am not the only one lost here. What are you thinking?”
“Just this that maybe Jae-woo and Hae-e might be right”
“About what?”
“About me looking frumpy all the time. Today everyone complimented me. Even you Ssaem” Haeng-seon pointed out.
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Well no. It felt nice to receive compliments but I think…” Haeng-Seon paused before adding with a chuckle “I should do something about my appearance”
Silence and then;
“Well if it makes you happy then you should go for it…” Choi Chi-Yeol said.
“Though truth be told…you are perfect the way you are, Nam Haeng-seon” With that, Choi Chi-Yeol lightly squeezed her hand for affirmation.
Nam Haeng-seon was at a loss for words. With the way Choi Chi-Yeol treated her in the beginning, so crudely and coldly, Haeng-Seon was sure that their interactions would remain strictly professional. But with time, the walls of distance came down, slowly and gradually. Conversing with him felt nice. It was fun when they played handball and foot volleyball. And even though the drinking accident led to wrong conclusions; it inevitably became a pleasant memory to laugh upon.
And now, Chi-Yeol was complimenting her. An hour ago, he was comforting her. If someone would have told her prior that she would be spending her night like this, Haeng-Seon would have laughed at their faces.
Yet here she was, dancing with the coveted star teacher under a string of fairy lights.
‘He really is an enigma’ Haeng-Seon couldn’t help concluding this.
Realizing that Choi Chi-Yeol was waiting for her response, Haeng-Seon looked up, pressing her hand back.
“At this point, I sound like a parrot…but thank you Ssaem”
“You didn’t have to drive me home, Mr.Choi. I could have called the taxi” Nam Haeng-Seon said sleepily.
“I know you could have. But going home in a taxi at this hour is unreasonable” Choi Chi-Yeol replied.
“You overthink too much Ssaem. Nothing was going to happen”
“And you underthink too much” Chi-Yeol quipped back.
Haeng-seon rolled her eyes at the comeback. She looked at the city racing past them from the window. The streets were nearly deserted except for a few cars. One or two 24/7 shops were open. Chi-Yeol was right but Haeng-Seon wasn’t going to let him know that. His ego was already inflated.
They finally reached their destination. Haeng-Seon unbuckled the seat belt whilst securing her shawl by grasping at it tightly.
Before she could say thank you, Choi Chi-Yeol suddenly said;
“I have now returned your favor”
“Huh? What favor?” Her dazed brain was making it difficult to comprehend stuff.
“When you give me a ride in your scooter because I was running late,” Choi Chi-Yeol reminded her.
At this, Haeng-Seon laughed.
“Oh Ssaem. You did more than a favor”
“What do you mean?”
Haeng-Seon held her hand out, bending her fingers one by one as she reminisced about the night activities.
“You ate ice-cream with me. You kept me company when I was feeling sad. You went dancing with me, even though you were hesitant about it”
“You brought me home safely. So it wasn’t a favor but” Haeng-Seon held her hands apart to indicate the length “it was a list of favors!”
A poker expression adorned Choi Chi-Yeol’s face “A simple thank you would have sufficed you know”
Haeng-seon ignored Chi-Yeol’s comment. Instead she was looking at him keenly.
“What? What is it?” Did he act like a jerk again?! Probably.
“Hmm…if we are talking about returning favors. I suppose I should return you that favor as well which I promised you”
“What did you promise me?”
“The night Hae-e was removed from the All-care program, I messaged you earlier that I made you something special but I never got to give it to you because I was so upset”
Choi Chi-Yeol remembered now.
“I cooked braised chicken that afternoon and worked so hard on it”
For a minute, Choi Chi-Yeol felt this huge urge to sue director Kang and mothers of All-care programs’ students. It was due to their interference that he never got to taste that chicken.
‘I bet you anything that it must have tasted delicious…how can you sleep peacefully at night, director Kang?’ the star teacher thought resentfully.
“Oh well, I suppose it wasn’t written in my fate to eat the braised chicken” Choi Chi-yeol finally said “And it’s not like you can cook it right now”
“No, I can not. But I will make it for you someday. I give you my word” Haeng-Seon said, her eyes getting hazy.
“For now, this favor will have to do”
It happened so fast. Haeng-Seon leaned forward and placed her lips on Choi Chi-Yeol’s cheek, kissing him softly.
Choi Chi-Yeol was petrified. Did Nam Haeng-Seon just kiss him?! And on his cheek too?!
“Good night Ssaem. I really had a great time” And with that, Haeng-seon went inside her apartment, leaving her warmth and perfume trail behind.
The star teacher didn’t immediately drive back home. He sat still in his car for a good ten minutes, trying to sink in what just happened. Choi Chi-Yeol looked at his reflection in the rearview mirror. Sure enough, there were faint marks of lipstick marking his skin.
It wasn’t a mirage. It wasn’t a dream. Nam Haeng-Seon really kissed him!
With that kiss, came a new understanding which finally quelled Choi Chi-Yeol’s mind and heart.
It wouldn’t have mattered if Nam Haeng-Seon was the daughter of Jung Yeong-Sun. One way or another, Choi Chi-Yeol would have been drawn to Nam Haeng-Seon.
For he had already fallen for her.
The end.