Saving Grace [discontinued]

{chapter 5} - anxiety

As Sana and I approached our Foreign Affairs classroom, we were surprised to see the rest of our classmates sitting out in the brightly lit hall. Most were on their phones or laptops with earbuds in. Some people were furiously typing or scribbling in notebooks, most likely doing the homework that was assigned last night. I shot a confused look to Sana, who returned an equally confused look. They looked like they'd been here for a long time.

Sana and I were both shaken out of our confused state when our friend, Talia Young, waved us over. We both gave her a side hug and greeted her with a smile. "Tal, what's going on?" I asked with a puzzled and concerned look on my face. Talia huffed and pouted her lips. "Professor Seung-Eun and Professor Dae-Won have been talking for the past 30 minutes," Talia complained. "Why? What are they talking about?" Sana questioned. "Beats me," Talia replied, crossing her arms. I decided to leave Sana and Talia for a moment to look inside the classroom. I cautiously peeked through the small window in the door and squinted to look inside.

In the couple seconds that I was peeking through the window, I was able to catch sight of my two professors, both of which looked very happy today. They were always enthusiastic to teach their students, but they were both emanating so much exhilaration and excitement that I could feel their eagerness from 15 feet away. I quickly retreated from the door when I saw Professor Seung-Eun turn and walk towards the door. I hurried back over to Sana and Talia, who eagerly gestured for me to tell them what I'd seen.

"They're still talking," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "But they both looked really excited for some reason."

"Maybe it has to do with that guy," Talia mumbled, looking deep in thought. "What guy?" Sana questioned.

However, Sana was cut off when Professor Seung-Eun emerged from the classroom, motioning for us to come in. "Joesonghamnida (I'm sorry)," the professor said as she bowed her head towards the students. "Professor Dae-Won and I needed to have a very important meeting before class, and the time just slipped away!" Professor Seung-Eun exclaimed, still looking cheerful as ever. "Please hurry and take your seats, we have a spectacular announcement for you all!"

Talia retrieved her bag that was sitting on the ground and turned to Sana. "I'll text you who that guy is during class." Sana nodded and the three of us made our way into the classroom, bowing respectfully to our professor when we reached the door.

The 25 foreign affairs students in our class quickly took their seats in the classroom, as they had never seen their foreign affairs professor and their Korean language professor so anxious to tell them something.

I set my backpack down and pulled out my school-issued laptop (which had been slightly abused from running earlier that morning). "Please log in quickly to your laptops or take out a piece of paper and writing utensil. Don't worry, you will only be taking some small notes today," Professor Seung-Eun instructed. She looked over to Professor Dae-Won with a knowing look and both of them burst into a series of small giggles. I glanced over at Sana and Talia with a look that said, "What the heck is going on with our professors?" They both shrugged their shoulders and returned their focus to their laptops.

After the professors had both managed to stop themselves from giggling like little kids, the only sounds in the classroom came from the clacking of fingers on keyboards and of paper fluttering out of binders and notebooks. The atmosphere became tense all of a sudden, and suspense lingered in the air. My body didn't acknowledge this change until after I'd opened up a new document on my computer and sat back in my chair. Not knowing what else to do, I looked around at my Foreign Affairs classroom. The light grey walls of the classroom were bare except for a large map of South Korea next to the whiteboard. A gigantic window was the main source of light for the room, and morning light from the early-winter sun was cascading through it. I glanced at Professor Seung-Eun, who was sitting at her desk and then at Professor Dae-Won, who was standing at the lecture podium, staring at his shoes intensely. I returned my focus to my computer when Professor Dae-Won looked up, only to stare off into space.

After another couple minutes of stillness, I couldn't take it anymore. I felt as if the tension in the room was going to choke me, and I coughed in an attempt to remove the feeling.

My coughing seemed to shake my professors out of an anxious trance they'd entered at some point, and Professor Seung-Eun stood up from behind her desk. She beamed at Professor Dae-Won and walked over to join him at her lecture podium. The professor cleared her throat before beginning what would become the most important lecture of my life.

namjoon has black hair and i think imma spontaneously combust