Arranged✔️ | Ji Changmin

3 - Crush

CHOI CHAEWON

it was a busy week - careers week. a special week dedicated to teach my students about the different jobs people work as. on monday, i had done several activities with them, showing the kids videos and letting them share with me their dream jobs. for the rest of the week, i was going to invite someone to come each day to share about their jobs.

day 1

i invited an old friend of mine, sunwoo, who was a footballer to class. the boys' eyes sparkled when they saw sunwoo and the girls squealed at a handsome man in class.

"teacher chaewon, is he really your friend?" alot of the children asked in which i just nodded, smiling brightly at them.

the kids bombarded sunwoo with so many questions about his job and he even let them play with the ball he had brought with him.

"how long did you practice everyday?"

"have you fight against liverpool?"

"how many times can you kick the ball in the air?"

"can i follow you home, hyung?"

sunwoo chuckled at all their questions as he signalled me for help to calm them down. "friends! how about we sit back and let mr kim show us his skills?" i excitedly exclaimed to them and the children yelped out in excitement, giving him some space.

day 2

i invited my brother, who was a solo artist, to class.

"omg! they're so cute!" chanhee tackled them all and the kids returned his excitement with tiny hugs.

"please sing us some songs!" the children smiled up at him.

he sat on the floor together with the children. some clambered onto his lap and the rest shifted closer to him. i rolled my eyes as i shook my head, smiling at the scene. i knew he loved all this attention he was getting from the kids.

day 3

i invited changmin's mother, who was a nurse, to class.

"thank you for coming, mrs ji," i bowed when she arrived. she patted my back and smiled brightly before following me to class.

mrs ji had brought with her some sample equipments from the hospital. she even wore her nurse uniform. the students cooed at the real-life equipments in front of them. i could tell she had so much fun interacting with the kids. they even role played where mrs ji was the patient and she let the children wrap bandages around her arms and legs.

"you should invite changmin," she smiled before leaving.

day 4

it was the last day of career week as i waited patiently in class with the children for the last person to arrive. the children was engrossed with the blocks that they were playing with.

knock! knock!

the door opened and my eyes met with his shy ones.

"hey friends!" changmin waved at them. knowing the kids well, they rushed straight to him to greet him through hugs and smiles - i knew it! he was undeniably tall so the kids only came up to slightly above his knees.

"can you guess what his job is?" i asked the kids, and they all started thinking with their hands on their chins. at the same time, i held up a finger towards yeonjun to keep it a secret.

gathering the kids, we all started to walk out to the large space outside the class where a classic piano sat alone against the wall. changmin took his seat at the piano and the children began exclaiming "music teacher" and "person who plays the piano".

i laughed at the second answer and corrected them, "friends, the person who plays the piano is called a pianist!"

changmin had played them a playful tune which grabbed their attention right away as they giggled. the kids scurried to sit and stood next to him when he motioned for them to come over. their tiny hands ran all over the piano keys creating nonsensical sounds with everyone playing at once. i noticed the wide smile on changmin's face which made his dimple visible. i was thankful that the children liked him and that he enjoyed his time with them.

-

i ended my shift at 5pm that day and i was surprised at the figure waiting by his car outside my centre. some of the children were picked up by their parents at the same time and they began asking me questions like "teacher chaewon, is mr ji your boyfriend?", "are you going on a date?"

i could hear their mischievous giggles as I shook my head, smiling at them before walking towards the man who had waited for me. he straightened himself up and checked his watch. He flashed a charming smile my way before opening the passenger door.

"let's have early dinner?" he grinned.

it had been while since i saw changmin ever since the day we agreed on the marriage. he had on a beige blazer over his white shirt and denim jeans. i stared unknowingly at him as he drove until his gaze shifted to meet mine briefly as he flashed a smile.

"the kids were amazing," he chuckled, starting a conversation.

"they surely liked you a lot. your mum came yesterday and you should have seen how they wrapped her with bandages," i shook my head as i laughed at the memories from the previous day.

"you're a great teacher, chaewon. they are really lucky to have you as their teacher," i saw him gave me a genuine smile before he pulled up in the parking lot of a mall. we ended up in a foodcourt with a variety of food choices. i was not very sure of what was available so i held onto his sleeve as he walked around the stalls. i had to walk twice as fast in order to keep up with his pace. i could hear him chuckle as he glanced down at me, slowing down his steps. we ended up buying rice sets with side dishes from one of the stalls and changmin had insisted to pay for everything. he sat opposite me while he organised the dishes on the table.

"thank you, changmin. i owe you one," i smiled gratefully.

i could see a tint of blush on his face as he returned a smile. for some reason, i felt very comfortable with him. we went from talking about ourselves, to our jobs and to what we expected in our marriage. maybe i am this comfortable because of the dream? because i unconsciously recognised him and is familiar with him eventhough it was just in a dream? and maybe, just maybe, i do like him a little.