I had been seeing Teacher Renu more often lately. I had classes about three days a week, so I spent those days with her and doing various activities. Sometimes we would go out to eat at a mall far enough away that no one we knew would see us. We would browse books, play cards, and talk about random things. But what I loved the most was when we were alone in her room.
"Why is Doraemon blue?"
"I think I read somewhere that he cried because a mouse bit his ear, and his tears turned his yellow body blue."
"Where did you read that?"
"From In’s comic book."
“...”
Every time I mentioned another woman, Teacher Renu would change the vibe around us to something scary, like we were in a haunted house. From what I observed, she was a rational person. When she got angry, she acted like an adult, without yelling.
But she was insanely jealous. It's like if she wanted to be the one person most important to me.
Maybe I talk about Intuorn too much...
"Do you want to eat the noodles? The smell has been teasing my nose for a while now."
"Sure."
Sensing her bad mood, I got up and went to the kitchen, unpacking the noodles and putting them in bowls.
"Where do you keep the chopsticks?"
I asked as I rummaged through the drawers. When I opened the built-in cabinet above, I saw several bottles of alcohol, many of them half empty.
"In the lower cabinet."
Teacher Renu, knowing I had seen the bottles, reached over to close the upper cabinet and pulled out the lower drawer, handing me the chopsticks without saying a word. We both fell silent. My mind was more occupied with what I had just discovered.
"Did you drink, Teacher?"
"Sometimes."
But from what I saw, it’s more than just sometimes.
"Only when I’m stressed about work. Don’t worry about it."
"Are you still drinking lately?"
"Not anymore."
The sweet-faced teacher tied her hair up.
"I’m hungry. Let’s eat."
We sat down at the table, just the two of us, and started eating. I was still
curious about the bottles of champagne liquor, but I didn’t say anything. Just as I was about to take a bite, I saw her chopsticks snatch a meatball from my bowl. Huh?
I looked at her, who was eating the meatball from my bowl, even though there was plenty in hers. When I tried to eat one too, she took it again.
"Teacher."
The sweet-faced teacher smiled as she chewed.
"Hmm?"
"If you like meatballs so much, you can have my whole bowl."
I pushed my bowl toward her and propped my chin on my hand,
smiling.
"If you like them so much, you should have ordered meatball soup."
"Are you mad?"
"No, why would I be mad?"
"I took them to annoy you."
"What?"
"I thought if I took meatballs from you, you would get mad."
"Do you want me to get mad?"
