The Perfect Model

Chapter 1: Crisis of Lust

Friday

Jungkook POV

There was only 10 minutes left in my lecture and I was doing my best to stay awake. My professor had one of those monotone voices that could easily make even the most hyper person feel sleepy. Plus it also didn't help that this was my final class before spring break! Everyone in the room was itching to get out, their eyes watching the clock on the wall like hawks. I always sat towards the back of the lecture hall, so I had a clear view of everyone's bored faces.

Some of the other students were busy texting their friends to complain about their professor refusing to let them out of class early. Unlike most other professors in the Language/Arts department, Mr. Cho was incredibly strict. He said that classes were meant to end at their exact time, so being let out early was totally out of the question. He also believed that students should stay in their seats the entire time (which meant no bathroom breaks).

On the first day, Mr. Cho told us that only 15% of us would earn a 4.0 (A), 20% of the class would get a 3.5 (B), 35% would get a 3.0 (C), and the last 30% would receive a 2.5 (D) or lower and would have to retake the class over again.

(A/N: I actually had a professor who broke down the exact percentages like this during the first lecture...🙄 He definitely wanted people to fail)

Considering I was attending this university on a scholarship, I was someone who couldn't afford to fail this class. So I prided myself on studying for long periods of time, attended his office hours each week, and did my best to start early on my projects. But despite all my efforts, I currently had a 3.0 in the class. My only chance to pass with a 4.0 was to get at least a 3.5 on the final exam and a perfect score on the final project that was worth 40% of our grade. I tuned back in to the lecture right as he was about to explain our last assignment.

"Alright class! For your final projects, you will be creating a collage of 15 photographs that will all be centered around one emotion or feeling," Mr. Cho spoke dryly as he began walking up and down the aisles, passing out the project packets out one at a time. Everyone in the lecture hall groaned as they started skimming through the pages.

The packet was about eight pages long and the words were in 10 pt. single-spaced Times New Roman font. And while the directions should be pretty self-explanatory, Mr. Cho was a stickler for precise details. I glanced over the first couple of pages while the gears in my brain began to turn. I had so many ideas already about which exact emotion I could choose and what I could photograph to portray it.

I could choose anger or sadness or-

"Now I know some of you may be already thinking of a particular emotion, but...you will all receive a 3x5 index card with a feeling written on it," Mr. Cho said as he walked back over to his desk to hold up the jar of index cards. "...That's right! I am not letting you choose your own. It will be entirely random," he added with a devious smile as he paced around the front of the class.

Of course...

"You will all pick a card from the jar on your way out and I will write down what you get on this piece of paper so you don't try and switch with someone," the professor stated as he reached over to grab a pencil from his desk organizer.

Right then the bell rang and everyone cheered as they hurriedly packed up their things and made their way to his desk to select their index card. I was in the middle of packing up my notebook when I heard the first person read their emotion.

"Happiness."

"Ah that's a good one, Jeong! Okay next!"

"Despair."