Inspired by and dedicated to M.
I enter the classroom in silence, the students stand up and bow, before sitting again. I call the register with a calm voice, and everyone is present. The lesson seems to be going smoothly, until Baek Mi-cha murmurs to Choe Ahnjong "Maybe I should step on your ugly ass shoes again. Just to be sure they're as dirty as the rest of what you're wearing. Did you forget to do the laundry, cheap mo-ssol?" If she thinks she's talking low enough for me not to hear it, she's wrong. I did hear it, and frankly, I'm tired of Mi-cha's shenanigans.
"Baek, I think you should worry about your own laundry, and think about it before you speak that way to your classmate. I do not tolerate such speech in my class."
She huffs. "I suppose, your office at 2 pm?"
"No. You get a note on the register. Remember, you have another one already. You get a third, and a suspension is waiting for you. It's not going to look good on your school resume."
She looks at me shocked and folds her arms, visibly annoyed. The rest of the class is silent, but everyone is looking at each other in disbelief. Professor Choi not calling a student to his office? But directly writing a note? What next, an earthquake, a locust invasion? Aliens? What's happening all of a sudden?
No one really pays attention to the rest of the lesson, but I go on with it, unfazed. When it ends, I start writing the summary, as usual, when I notice someone standing in front of me, patting their foot on the ground. It's Mi-cha, of course.
"Did you need anything, Baek?"
"My usual chance, professor Choi. I don't understand why I wasn't called in your office."
"Because I don't see the use for it. You already misbehaved yesterday, it's quite clear whatever I say or do won't have an effect on you. So, note it is."
"But Wooyoung was called twice in a row in your office. What is that, special treatment?"
"No. He was new. He needed to... understand. It's a different matter. I'm the professor. I judge case by case. I make the rules, if that wasn't clear enough. This is my class, and I will run it as I see fit. Last I checked, you're still just a student, and I didn't ask for advice on how to do my job. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to finish this summary."
She is fuming and marches out of the class saying "Unbelievable!" to her friends, and starts yapping about what I just told her. My little speech will have consequences, for sure. But I would lie if I said Wooyoung's words didn't shake something in me yesterday. For a dom, I've been pretty passive in this forced deal. Have I looked for loopholes? Of course. Have I thought of ways out? Definitely. But I've always been too scared of losing my job, my status and my crystal clear image of the perfect professor, the young star of the school, to really consider revolting against this deal that puts me in a corner and turned me in the students' puppet, basically.
It's time for a change.
When I'm finished, I walk towards my office and I can see everyone's eyes on me. Word ran fast, it seems. If they think they're giving me a walk of shame, they still haven't understood who I am. I smirk, take my food, go to my office and I put my keys in the door lock, only to find it already open. Wooyoung. I roll my eyes, I just wanted to eat my lunch in peace and do my job. Of course the little brat wouldn't let me. I slowly close the door behind me and say, even before I turn my head to see that he's actually there, "C'mon, say what you want to say and get out of my hair. Today I just want some peace, and you tend to clash with that word quite masterfully."
"I just wanted to congratulate you for finally growing a pair today in class."
"You see, you always have to use that kind of acrid sarcasm when you talk. You could actually be an enjoyable company if you talked like a literate human being."
