Blooming Prof (Sunghoon x female reader/oc)

2. Intimidation

As prof. Park explained the basics of what we would learn about in botany this year, my eyes were shamelessly all over him – his tall and slender figure, his arms, his pretty hands and his face. I was able to concentrate somehow and took a few notes, but I still couldn’t stop ogling him. His way of lecturing drew you in even if his tone didn’t possess much emotion, and his English was flawless. Even Lizzie kept her mouth shut and focused.

 We started with the foundation of morphology and how to differentiate plants. The professor gave us our first project to complete which was to display the morphology of flowering plants. My lips curled up. I bargained on this module of botany because I knew that we had to display pictures of the plants with botanical identification. My plan was to draw my own plants rather than using a reference from the Internet. Of course it would be more time-consuming, but at least I would make good use of my artistic abilities.

After prof. Park finished the lesson, he leaned back against his desk, “Are there any questions?”

It was dead silent before a hand shot up. I glanced at Lizzie, raising my eyebrows.

“Yes, young lady?”

“Are you single, prof?” My eyes widened. Oh my word, this girl…

I couldn’t tell if he was insulted or not, but he raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, “That’s quite a personal question.”

Before Lizzie could say anything else, another girl spoke, claiming that she also wanted to know. This guy already has the ladies all lined up.

 

A ghosting smirk played on his lips, “Alright. I’m not in a relationship. I’d rather not be asked any more personal questions in the future because it’s unprofessional.”

So, he had the looks but his personality seemed cold and uptight. Maybe it was just easier to win over respect that way? I couldn’t believe that Lizzie had the confidence to ask him something so personal so bluntly.

“You are unbelievable.” I said as I stood from my seat after the bell rang.

“What? I’m just curious.” Lizzie said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“I am too, but you shouldn’t just ask someone that so bluntly. Especially not your professor.” I whispered loudly before walking to the front of the class to get the information papers on the project.

As I took the papers from the professor, my eyes caught the moles on his face and his intense gaze couldn’t go unnoticed either. This man was so attractive from afar but up close was just a different story.

I exited the class and soon enough Lizzie caught up and smirked, “Oh my, did you see the way he looked at you?”

“He didn’t look at me in any way. Stop imagining things, Liz.”

She hooked her arm around mine and pouted, “Awww, come on, Victoria. You can’t deny that he’s hot.”

“That is a problem.” I mumbled softly.

The rest of the week was torture. We were loaded with tons of work and projects. Because of that, Lizzie and I spent most of the weekend doing our assignments. Jason had to design a wedding dress, but it was too easy for him because he had a natural talent for designing.

Monday morning we handed in our morphology project. Before prof. Park started the lesson, he quickly scanned through everyone’s projects. I felt quite proud of myself for digitally drawing the plants. It was a great opportunity for me to be creative.

The professor dismissed the class after the bell went, but his eyes suddenly landed on me, “I want to have a word with you, young lady.”

I swallowed and my heart rate increased. I walked to his desk and held my hands behind me uncomfortably. He waited for all the students to leave before addressing the issue.

“Where is the reference to the plant diagrams? You do know that if you don’t reference your work, it is considered as plagiarism?” He motioned to my project which was now in his hand.

“I have referenced all my written research but not the diagrams because… It is my own artwork.” I said softly.

His one eyebrow raised, “So you didn’t use any reference pictures for the plant diagrams but instead you drew your own diagrams?”

I nodded and my heart only raced even more.

“Why didn’t you use references like all the other students? Do you think you are above everyone else?”

I frowned slightly, “No, of course not.”

Prof. Park’s eyes pierced into mine, “Then why did you do something that wasn’t part of the instructions?”

With a lump in my throat, my eyes darted down to the floor. I can’t say that it’s because I love drawing, right? And here I thought that I had done a good job.

“I don’t even have the proof that you are actually the artist of the diagrams.”

He was right. I should have known that I wouldn’t be able to mix art with biology. I couldn’t reply, because I felt so guilty and discouraged.

The professor let out a soft sigh, “I’ll take your word for it and let it slide only this once. But this must never happen again, understood?”

I finally raised my head and nodded, “I apologise. It won’t happened again, prof.”

As I maintained eye contact to show some respect and politeness, I saw something flicker in his orbs, but before I could figure out what, he spoke.

“You are dismissed.”