when the white peeks of sunlight stir aki from her slumber early the next morning, she knows jeongguk won't be in the room across hers. it doesn't stop her from trudging across the hall, though, just to confirm.
there's always that minuscule glimmer of hope that maybe he is still sleeping, maybe he hasn't left yet even though she knows she's being absurd.
when she finds the door to jeongguk's room open and the bed already made, she knows he's gone.
"of course." she mutters to herself. "always. he probably grabbed something to eat too before he left."
its been the norm though, so aki goes about her day. it's monday, meaning she has three classes to teach in the morning before she needs to head off to her own classes at the university. she prays her kids will behave today, because its going to be a long day if she gets a headache before noon.
jeongguk doesn't pass her thoughts when she boards the train and heads towards the local elementary school. you see, he's well hidden.
"teacher!" cries one of her first graders as she makes her way up the steps into the school, offering a wide teethed smile. "good morning!"
"good morning, inseong." aki reaches out to take his hand, holding his tiny one in hers. "did you sleep well?"
"mhm, i did! what about you, teacher?"
aki pauses. maybe knowing jeongguk was sleeping soundly – safely – one room away from her made her sleep a little sounder. "i slept well too. come on, let's head inside for class."
class runs smoothly; it had taken her quite a long time to get the hang of earning the kids' respect, but two years into the job and she has her students active and listening. she doesn't even realize that class is over until the students rush out of the classroom at the sound of the bell, leaving her in the peaceful quiet of the empty classroom.
the ringing of her phone jolts her out of her trance, and aki glances over at the caller ID.
"are you okay?" is the first sentence that tumbles past her lips. when she hears the sounds of soft chuckling on the other end, and aki sighs in relief. "you scared me! why are you calling at this hour? don't you have a ... oh, never mind."
"can't i call you because i want to? i'm calling you because i want to." jeongguk replies. aki can hear the faint sounds of cars whizzing past and kids laughing in the background so loudly she can barely hear his voice.
"jeongguk, are you in a park? i can't really hear you. it's kind of ... loud."
"no. i'm outside your building." he says casually. "there are some kids trying to play with me. what am i supposed to do with them?"
aki face-palms. "what the fuck are you doing here? uh - hold on, i'm coming down right now." she hisses, grabbing a jacket and hurrying out the room. "also, please don't try to play with the kids."
"too late."
at this, aki hangs up on him, lets out the loudest groan, and stumbles down the stairs as fast as her feet can take her. she can't even comprehend the reason why jeongguk is here at her school when he wouldn't even show up for his own classes. god knows how many times she let him copy off her assignments just to keep him form getting fucking expelled.
she spots jeongguk not far near the entrance, dressed head to toe in black, kicking a soccer ball with a couple of her fourth grade boys. jeongguk glances up and catches her eye before throwing his hand up in a wave.
"jeongguk." she mutters behind a plastered grin. her fourth graders are laughing, still passing the ball back and forth. to them, she says, "why aren't you two going home? school is over today."
"we were just having some fun, aki." jeongguk says, bumping her shoulder lightly. when she scowls at him, he finally apologizes. "alright, sorry. you two should go home, your parents are going to worry."
"wow, teacher. your friend is so cool. i didn't know you had such ... cool friends."
"your teacher is the coolest teacher, so make sure to listen to her. if you don't, i won't come back and play with you guys anymore, okay?"
with her fourth graders nodding their heads in compliance to jeongguk, aki shoos them off before they can remark on their relationship anymore. she turns back to jeongguk, arms crossed in her hardest attempt to look angry. the thing is, it's really, really hard to be angry when it comes to jeongguk.
fucking soft spot.
"jeon jeongguk. why are you really here?"
he rubs the back of his neck with his hand. "nothing, really. i made some money today, so i brought over chicken and beer?"
"oh my god. you're gonna make me drink at school now?"
he shrugs, waving the bag of food in her face. "you don't want it? i can always eat it all myself, if thats what you –"
she snatches the bag, clutching it against her chest. "i swear, if i get buzzed before my uni classes later - !"
//
well look ! if it isn't an extremely rare update from kayla
