It Gets Better (HaoBin)

-3-

So Gyuvin finds himself hanging around after English the next day, waiting as the classroom empties out. Ricky sends him a thumbs up of good luck before slipping out of the room. Coward. (Adorable coward, to be sure, but still a coward.)

He's not exactly sure how to approach Mr. Sung, because he's shot down their questions every other time so far, but he'll just give it a go, for the sake of vindication.

"What can I do for you?" he asks, smiling as if he knows why he's here. He always just seems to know things. Gyuvin was so relieved when he got him for English instead of Mr. Zhang, who's known for excessive pop quizzes and lengthy monologues about his greatness. Mr. Sung, though—he's patient with him and never makes him feel dumb and he has literally never enjoyed a class before his.

"I just wanted to tell you that I—read Pride and Prejudice like you recommended," he starts. "And I didn't hate it!"

Gyuvin doesn't even particularly like to read, most of the time, but he likes Mr. Sung's recommendations. (And maybe he wants to impress him, a little, but so what? he just needs him to write him a rec letter for college! That's all).

Mr. Sung's smirk widens. "You didn't hate it," he repeats, amused.

"I mean, I liked it! It was great!" Gyuvin amends, a little flustered. "Mr. Darcy was kind of a dick, but I guess sometimes the best people are the most difficult, right?"

Mr. Sung's eyes narrow a bit in suspicion, but his smile remains intact. "Are you getting philosophical on me?"

Gyuvin widens him eyes a bit, which probably takes him closer to "crazed" than "innocent," but at least he tried, even though he knows Mr. Sung can definitely see right through it. "Just making a literary observation, Mr. Sung! Like, sometimes when someone is bickering with you, they're actually flirting. Seems like good life advice, maybe! Have you read Pride and Prejudice recently?"

"Not since college."

"Well," Gyuvin says, "definitely something to think about. Reading, and reflecting, and maybe having some conversations, with people, about romance—in the book, obviously, but maybe also in your life, I don't know, and—"

Mr. Sung looks like he's trying not to laugh, which is a better outcome than his scary face. "Okay, thank you," he says, cutting him off, which is a bit relieving, considering he has absolutely no idea what he's saying. He's not exactly an expert on romance, and he doesn't understand why Mr. Sung and Mr. Zhang can't just get their heads out of their asses and date already. It's annoying.

He's about to thank him and bow out gracefully when Mr. Sung sits back and he can make out a necklace under his shirt with a distinctly circular pendant. If Ricky were here, he'd probably gasp out loud (ugh, he wishes he were here; he's so much better at this mushy stuff). Is that a ring?

Well. This. This changes things.

"This is a game-changer," Gunwook says at lunch. "Is Mr. Sung married? To who?"

"It could be something else," Gyuvin reasons. "Or it could be a wedding ring and he's just been gaslighting us this whole time."

This makes no sense to Gunwook (well, except the gaslighting part. Mr. Sung probably would do that, actually). He has seen Mr. Zhang and Mr. Sung blatantly flirting with his own eyes. One time, Mr. Zhang was helping Gunwook with his record and Mr. Sung had walked by, complimented Mr. Zhang's "work ethic," and smiled with an insane amount of fondness. Like, so much fondness. And Mr. Zhang had rolled his eyes, sure, but fondly.

"I'm going to buy a cookie for brain power," Gyuvin declares, standing up from their table.

"I feel stressed," Ricky sighs as Gyuvin walks away.