It's A Fine Line

12: I Don't Have Inappropriate Fantasies, I Swear

"So, the calculus test is tomorrow," I said taking a bite from my lunch.

"I know. It's looming over my head like a dark cloud before a thunderstorm," he admitted as he swung his legs back and forth. Something I wanted to do but couldn't because the cast was too heavy.

We sat on a cushioned bench as we stared down at the view of the rest of the school. The balcony garden became our spot, of sorts, after I showed it to him the first time.

"Don't be negative. You'll be fine. We can study together if you want."

"No it's fine."

"Ok," I said feeling a little disappointed. The disappointment alarmed me so I tried to shake the feeling off.

"I hate Math. I swear, it's mental torture."

"You're exaggerating."

"I'm not. Knowing how to find a derivative serves no purpose to me."

"How can it serve a purpose when you don't even know how to do it?" I joked.

"Ha ha very funny. But I have no desire to study for this test. Frankly speaking, I just want to pass so Mrs Kang leaves me alone."

Maybe Mrs Kang was right. For now, Jungkook needed to be lured into caring about his grades.
I still hadn't thought of something I could offer as a reward. So I decided to just give the choice to him.

"Jungkook, if you get that sixty percent then whatever you want, I'll give it to you."

He opened his mouth to speak.

"As long as it's not a sexual favour," I quickly added.

"That's not what I was going to say," he mused.
"I didn't realise that type of favour is first thing that comes to mind for you."

"It doesn't. I just thought that's what you might be thinking."

"Being defensive only makes you look guiltier. It's ok if you think 'bad' things around me, I am irrisistable." He smirked.

"I swear, I have absolutely NO inappropriate fantasies," I yelled.

Jungkook laughed uncontrollably at my outburst while I regretted the entire conversation.
He calmed down eventually.

"What are you offering?"

"Anything appropriate."

"How could I possibly refuse something like this?" He said with a mischievous glint in his eyes

I looked at him suspiciously
"What do you want?"

"When the time comes, you'll be the first to know," he said teasingly. I huffed in response, crossing my arms.

"Whatever."

Whatever? Did I just respond with whatever? This boy is rubbing of on me and I don't like it

"I know I asked this before but why do you only expect sixty?"

"I don't expect sixty. I'm just setting a goal for you to achieve. Anyways, the benefits of slow improvement last longer. Radical change can be dangerous because just as quickly as you rise, you can fall too."

He nodded in understanding.

"Mrs Kang says she expects better marks from me. My parents always expect more from me and my friends expect me to be perfect. What are your expectations?"

I was surprised at what Jungkook revealed to me. The boy was under more stress and scrutiny than I thought. I could relate to him but I didn't feel comfortable telling him that. He wasn't telling me his life story he just mentioned this in passing. I had a feeling once I started talking about my own life, I wouldn't be able to stop. I didn't know Jungkook well enough to present my life to him on a silver platter. I didn't even know what we were.
Were we acquaintances, friends or was I still just his tutor who saved his life? The questions troubled me more than I thought it would so I decided to push them away.