My Professor

concussion

Two weeks had passed. We didn't have many eco lectures that week and the ones that were there, I managed to hide myself. It was all good. Prof. Jang made me understand concepts in fifteen minutes that I could never comprehend in the past three years. However, I still didn't dare to make eye contact with him. I had doubts and a whole lot of them but I thought I'd let them all collect and I could ask him when exams were near so he didn't have the time to scold me. Sometimes, I felt like I was overthinking. Like he probably doesn't even remember that anymore.

I went for my athletics practice as usual. Uncle Jin was at the ground talking to Jiwon. Aww, the way he giggled and smiled when Jiwon ruffled his hair or lightly hit his arm. They always looked pretty cute together.

Uncle Jin's expression immediately changed when I approached him. Remember I talked about teasing him? I could take it too far at times.

"Good afternoon ssim!" I bowed before both of them. Jiwon smiled and Uncle faked a smile.

"...so yeah I'm thinking of making good use of this weekend and going hiking." said Jiwon.

"OH ssim! Samcheon loves hiking too, you know. Appa and him go hiking a lot but now that Appa is busy at the hospital, they haven't gone in a while." I chimed in.

"Oh you do?" Jiwon asked.

"I'm not your samcheon," he said, hitting my back, a little harder than it looked. "Ahh...yes..actually I enjoy hiking too" he said smiling at Jiwon like an idiot.

"That's wonderful! Why don't you come with me? It's my first time, so you could show me around.."

I had worked my charm again. I patted myself on the back as Jiwon left.

"You little-" Uncle turned to me, I darted ahead. If he had gotten ahold of me, I would've been smacked. I really didn't get this man. I set him up and he chases me like crazy. I was quick but I couldn't outrun him on the ground. So I took a sharp turn to the back of the campus, towards the basketball court. I felt like I had lost him so I turned my head for a split second to look behind and there I was again. Down on the concrete floor. I had run into someone. Literally.

This time it was bad. I hit my head on the ground and it felt like a major concussion.

"Are you okay?" a familiar voice inquired. As my blurry vision cleared up, I saw the last thing I hoped to see. Professor Jang. AGAIN.

I sensed hurried footsteps close up on me, "Sunmi-ya! You okay?" Uncle Jin had finally caught on.

************************************************************************

I woke up with a painful throbbing in the back of my head. I was in the infirmary, on the most comfortable bed but my head hurt. I couldn't keep it straight because it hurt right in the centre. I struggled to sit up straight. I felt the bandages where it hurt. Wow! It really was some serious thing.

Uncle Jin marched in. I instantly smiled looking at him.

"Wipe that smile off before I smack you." he instructed. Not how you speak to a person whose head has been bleeding.

I looked down not wanting to see him be angry at me. "Do you have any idea how serious this could be?"

"LEE SUNMI! Look at me when I'm speaking to you." he wasn't usually like this. Watching me bleed had probably scared the shit outta him.

"I'm sorry" I spoke softly.

"I don't want you to injure yourself like this. It's your final year and you're my best athlete."

Has he even once mentioned that I SHOULD BE OKAY BECAUSE I'M HIS NIECE!?

"Don't get yourself hurt doing dumb shit." he continued.

"But you were chasing me.." I said.

"DON'T BLAME IT ON ME! I wouldn't have eaten you! And shouldn't you know WHERE to look when you're running?"

Wow who would even believe that we're blood related.

The nurse asked him to wait outside as she needed to change my dressing. Uncle picked my bag and shoes and left. "I'll drop you home once your done"

Among all the scolding, I hadn't noticed that there was another person in the room. A curtain separated us. I immediately recognized the voice. That voice was all I had been listening to, in eco lectures after all.

He shoved the curtain aside and looked at me. I jerked my head backwards in surprise, hurting the wound against the nurse's nail. Fuck that stings. She held my head and asked me to stay still.

"How do you feel now?" he asked with some concern.

"Dizzy"

"Hmm... so we finally meet" he flashed a thin smile.

The sting, the throb and the spinning world wasn't enough? Now I had to face him in such a state?

"I am sorry" I said without further ado.

He bent down to meet my eyes, "for what?"

"For...bumping into you...lying...swearing...hiding....AND BREAKING YOUR HAND?!" My eyes lay on his left hand that was plastered and the arm was bandaged till the elbow.

Was it because of me? Of course it was! He didn't have it this morning!

"No no no chill..it's alright" he tried to comfort me.

The nurse had finished cleaning me up and tapped my back, gesturing for me to leave.

"It's not!" I said standing up. Bad idea. I swayed and reeled and almost fell back on the bed.

Suwon tried to support me with his right arm. I rested my weight on the foot board and got back up.

"Take it easy," the nurse said, tossing the blood soiled bandages into the bin. "You gotta do everything with extra care for a few weeks."

My first thought was that I'd get at least a week off from college. YAY!!! Oh wait prof. Was still there with an immobile hand that was immobile because of me. UGH

We walked together till Uncle Jin's motorbike. Yes he was a motorbike lover. Despite having a car. Anyway, so he continued to reassure me that his finger would be okay and that I should take a few days off.

"What about your lectures? I was just beginning to get better at eco and now I'll be missing a week worth of classes" I pouted.

"Don't worry..thanks to you, I can't write anything," he waved his plastered hand, "so you can ask your friends to send you a recording of the lectures."

WOW SUNMI! You broke the man's dominant hand!

"..and what if I have doubts?" I don't even know why I asked him that. It's like I wanted to give him a reason for me to attend his classes. I just wanted to be back on that last bench, listening to him explain stuff.

"Hmm" he pondered looking at the sky. "I'll give you my number?"

I extended my phone with the dial pad on, towards him. Did I like him? I shoved that thought out of my throbbing head. Of course I didn't! He was a cute guy and I was just attracted to his face. That's all. That's not real liking. For all I know, he had a shit personality.