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Title: Complex
Series: 공부의 신 / Master of Study
Characters: Kang Seokho, Han Sujeong, Hwang Baekhyeon
Summary: His relationship with Hwang Baekhyeon had been complicated since the very beginning.
---------------------------------
At times he wondered if it was just a coincidence that Ms Han who had been such a caring teacher for the special class students was an English teacher or the fact that Hwang Baekhyeon reminded him so much of his old self back when he was around that age. Are all female English teachers like this, or was it just Ms Han? Looking at the teacher-student relationship between Ms Han and Baekhyeon, he couldn't help thinking about his own relationship with Ms Kim Boksun who never gave up on him even when he used to cause her so much trouble back at school.
"What do you think you're doing? Shouldn't you concentrate on studying?"
"Then why did you decide to quit like that? Did you think that I could still stay in that class after what that guy did to you?"
Seokho turned around as he ushered Hyeonjeong to join the rest of her friends as he stared at two people that remained behind.
Was it really just a show of loyalty that Baekhyeon did what he did for Ms Han? After all, she used to be their homeroom teacher for a long time. But was that it? Or... was Ms Han someone important to Baekhyeon, in the same way, Ms Kim was to him?
Could it be that simple?
Seokho just shook his head as he rushed back to join the special class students back to their class.
×××
"You had some kind of inferiority complex with Baekhyeon, right? Jealous? That must be it."
"Baekhyeon's the coolest kid in our school but no one likes you. You're a loner."
Seokho hastily shook his head as Ms Han's earlier taunts came back to haunt him. What the hell was Ms Han thinking like that about him? Him... being jealous of that kid Baekhyeon? What nonsense was that? And that thing about him not being liked by others, as if she even knew anything much about how he used to be at school. He DID have friends back then, that's not such a big deal.
But the part about Baekhyeon being the coolest kid at this school currently, well, he couldn't actually deny that.
As much as Baekhyeon was so much a troublemaker as himself back when he was around that age, he never really had such big following as that kid did. Seokho let out a shiver as he recalled the way Baekhyeon managed to rally all of the students around him during the school assembly last time. He never did anything of that sort when he was still a kid. In that sense, he had to admit that Ms Han was right.
That Baekhyeon was really the coolest kid at school. Cooler than him.
But really...
Kang Seokho being jealous of Hwang Baekhyeon? That was a very ridiculous notion.
Seokho kept telling himself that as he tried to get himself to fall asleep. And then later he ended up having THAT nightmare...
×××
"Wah... he's got guts! That kid's like a younger version of you, Seokho!"
He snorted at himself when he recalled what his old friends had said about Baekhyeon the other day. Looking at the kid as Baekhyeon picked himself up and did his very best to defy him and score well in his mock exam made him feel very proud of himself.
How did his earlier goal of wanting to foil Wang Bong Corporation's plan to take over the school end up turning into him just trying to help these five kids study hard enough to get qualified to enter a good college? And actually, the more he thought of it... he realised that he didn't just hope to get the kids to excel in their entrance exams just so he could take his revenge on Wang Bong, but he really wished that the kids could achieve success for themselves when they leave school and grow up. He never thought that he'd grown fond of those five kids when he first started this special class.
Especially Baekhyeon. That troublemaking rascal! Perhaps he really did see himself in that kid. While his own circumstances weren't exactly the same as Baekhyeon's, he couldn't help wanting to help the kid in any way possible. The kid's actually quite a bright kid (even more than how he used to be) and he wanted so much for Baekhyeon to ace his studies. Baekhyeon shouldn't end up taking a similar path as he once did, that kid deserved something better than that.
So if he had to instil some kind of a competitive streak to the kid just so that Baekhyeon would be driven enough to prove him wrong for calling the kid a loser, well he had nothing to lose. If he could just get Baekhyeon to ace his entrance exam and get to college, that'll be enough.
×××
Now that he thought of it, it was rare for him to see Baekhyeon cry in front of him. Even when the kid was put in various embarrassing situations, Baekhyeon never let anyone see him cry. The only other time he'd seen Baekhyeon openly broke down, had been that time when the parents caught sight of the kids being punished on the last day during one of their spartan camps...
"Why didn't you call me? What if I never get to see my grandma again? Why didn't you call me, why?"
And back then, his grandmother was around to see the chaos as well...
"Is it because if I gave up on the test, it would mean one less student going to Cheonha?"
Guess he had messed up very badly to make the kid believe that all he cared about was sending them all to Cheonha. So he had no one but himself to be blamed.
He had been living with Baekhyeon and his grandmother for the past few days. He should've paid more attention to the things around him. If only he had noticed Baekhyeon's grandmother's illness much earlier, perhaps things wouldn't have gotten so bad.
People used to tell him that he tend to ignore everything around him once he was focused on something. He should've listened to those people!
"All you can think of is sending us to Cheonha, right? All you want to do is send one more kid there so you can show off, right?"
"You don't care if someone dies and I don't get to see the most important person in my life again!"
He used to tell the kids that he didn't care what the kids thought about him by making them undergo such extreme measures just to get them to ace their entrance exams. He told them that they didn't have to acknowledge them as their teacher because he wasn't qualified to be referred as such. But perhaps, he really wished that they did.
Especially Hwang Baekhyeon.
But what's happening now instead? Honestly, as much as he wanted the kids to pass their entrance exams... he never wanted to make them miserable in the process. As much as he denied wanting the kids to acknowledge him, he didn't want to end up being misunderstood so badly like this. Perhaps he wasn't really suited to be a teacher.
Not to Baekhyeon, at least.
Seokho glanced up to see the rest of the kids walking back from outside as he stopped them immediately.
"Where's Baekhyeon?" he started to ask Chandu as Pulip answered his question instead.
"He's still outside..."
"Ms Han was with him," added Bonggu as Seokho heaved a long sigh.
"You guys should head home. It must be tiring for you after having to take the test the whole day."
Hyeonjeong shook her head before glancing towards her three friends. "No, we'll stay and wait here. Even if we went home, I don't think we'll be able to stop worrying about grandma."
"I already called my parents that I'll be here," said Bonggu again as he turned towards Chandu. "I called home too!"
Pulip nodded along as she added, "And we already called the teachers at school that we won't be able to check on our answers tonight."
"Oh... alright," Seokho gasped out as the four kids excused themselves and headed back towards the wards. Once again he was amazed at how close and considerate the kids were with each other.
Just like their homeroom teacher...
×××
He spotted the two of them almost immediately; Ms Han and Baekhyeon were both seated under a gazebo at a small park nearby. Under normal circumstances, he would've easily walk up there and interrupt the two with some nonsensical comments of his own. But right now, he didn't feel like he could even do that.
Ms Han stifled a cry as she held out a hand to wipe away the tears on Baekhyeon's cheeks.
"...it'll be alright. Your grandmother would be alright. Didn't the doctor tell you that the surgery was successful?"
Baekhyeon looked up towards her as he continued to cry softly. "But still... since grandma was very old—Ms Han, what if... what if grandma wouldn't wake up? If grandma dies, I don't know what I should do—!"
Ms Han immediately pull the boy into her embrace as Baekhyeon's muffled cry could still be heard from afar. Seeing such display, Seokho didn't dare to come closer to interrupt those two. He turned around and started walking away.
He messed up. He messed up big time. There's no way that he would ever be forgiven for what he did.
He didn't deserve to stay by Baekhyeon and his grandmother's side anymore.
Series: 공부의 신 / Master of Study
Characters: Kang Seokho, Han Sujeong, Hwang Baekhyeon
Summary: His relationship with Hwang Baekhyeon had been complicated since the very beginning.
---------------------------------
At times he wondered if it was just a coincidence that Ms Han who had been such a caring teacher for the special class students was an English teacher or the fact that Hwang Baekhyeon reminded him so much of his old self back when he was around that age. Are all female English teachers like this, or was it just Ms Han? Looking at the teacher-student relationship between Ms Han and Baekhyeon, he couldn't help thinking about his own relationship with Ms Kim Boksun who never gave up on him even when he used to cause her so much trouble back at school.
"What do you think you're doing? Shouldn't you concentrate on studying?"
"Then why did you decide to quit like that? Did you think that I could still stay in that class after what that guy did to you?"
Seokho turned around as he ushered Hyeonjeong to join the rest of her friends as he stared at two people that remained behind.
Was it really just a show of loyalty that Baekhyeon did what he did for Ms Han? After all, she used to be their homeroom teacher for a long time. But was that it? Or... was Ms Han someone important to Baekhyeon, in the same way, Ms Kim was to him?
Could it be that simple?
Seokho just shook his head as he rushed back to join the special class students back to their class.
×××
"You had some kind of inferiority complex with Baekhyeon, right? Jealous? That must be it."
"Baekhyeon's the coolest kid in our school but no one likes you. You're a loner."
Seokho hastily shook his head as Ms Han's earlier taunts came back to haunt him. What the hell was Ms Han thinking like that about him? Him... being jealous of that kid Baekhyeon? What nonsense was that? And that thing about him not being liked by others, as if she even knew anything much about how he used to be at school. He DID have friends back then, that's not such a big deal.
But the part about Baekhyeon being the coolest kid at this school currently, well, he couldn't actually deny that.
As much as Baekhyeon was so much a troublemaker as himself back when he was around that age, he never really had such big following as that kid did. Seokho let out a shiver as he recalled the way Baekhyeon managed to rally all of the students around him during the school assembly last time. He never did anything of that sort when he was still a kid. In that sense, he had to admit that Ms Han was right.
That Baekhyeon was really the coolest kid at school. Cooler than him.
But really...
Kang Seokho being jealous of Hwang Baekhyeon? That was a very ridiculous notion.
Seokho kept telling himself that as he tried to get himself to fall asleep. And then later he ended up having THAT nightmare...
×××
"Wah... he's got guts! That kid's like a younger version of you, Seokho!"
He snorted at himself when he recalled what his old friends had said about Baekhyeon the other day. Looking at the kid as Baekhyeon picked himself up and did his very best to defy him and score well in his mock exam made him feel very proud of himself.
How did his earlier goal of wanting to foil Wang Bong Corporation's plan to take over the school end up turning into him just trying to help these five kids study hard enough to get qualified to enter a good college? And actually, the more he thought of it... he realised that he didn't just hope to get the kids to excel in their entrance exams just so he could take his revenge on Wang Bong, but he really wished that the kids could achieve success for themselves when they leave school and grow up. He never thought that he'd grown fond of those five kids when he first started this special class.
Especially Baekhyeon. That troublemaking rascal! Perhaps he really did see himself in that kid. While his own circumstances weren't exactly the same as Baekhyeon's, he couldn't help wanting to help the kid in any way possible. The kid's actually quite a bright kid (even more than how he used to be) and he wanted so much for Baekhyeon to ace his studies. Baekhyeon shouldn't end up taking a similar path as he once did, that kid deserved something better than that.
So if he had to instil some kind of a competitive streak to the kid just so that Baekhyeon would be driven enough to prove him wrong for calling the kid a loser, well he had nothing to lose. If he could just get Baekhyeon to ace his entrance exam and get to college, that'll be enough.
×××
Now that he thought of it, it was rare for him to see Baekhyeon cry in front of him. Even when the kid was put in various embarrassing situations, Baekhyeon never let anyone see him cry. The only other time he'd seen Baekhyeon openly broke down, had been that time when the parents caught sight of the kids being punished on the last day during one of their spartan camps...
"Why didn't you call me? What if I never get to see my grandma again? Why didn't you call me, why?"
And back then, his grandmother was around to see the chaos as well...
"Is it because if I gave up on the test, it would mean one less student going to Cheonha?"
Guess he had messed up very badly to make the kid believe that all he cared about was sending them all to Cheonha. So he had no one but himself to be blamed.
He had been living with Baekhyeon and his grandmother for the past few days. He should've paid more attention to the things around him. If only he had noticed Baekhyeon's grandmother's illness much earlier, perhaps things wouldn't have gotten so bad.
People used to tell him that he tend to ignore everything around him once he was focused on something. He should've listened to those people!
"All you can think of is sending us to Cheonha, right? All you want to do is send one more kid there so you can show off, right?"
"You don't care if someone dies and I don't get to see the most important person in my life again!"
He used to tell the kids that he didn't care what the kids thought about him by making them undergo such extreme measures just to get them to ace their entrance exams. He told them that they didn't have to acknowledge them as their teacher because he wasn't qualified to be referred as such. But perhaps, he really wished that they did.
Especially Hwang Baekhyeon.
But what's happening now instead? Honestly, as much as he wanted the kids to pass their entrance exams... he never wanted to make them miserable in the process. As much as he denied wanting the kids to acknowledge him, he didn't want to end up being misunderstood so badly like this. Perhaps he wasn't really suited to be a teacher.
Not to Baekhyeon, at least.
Seokho glanced up to see the rest of the kids walking back from outside as he stopped them immediately.
"Where's Baekhyeon?" he started to ask Chandu as Pulip answered his question instead.
"He's still outside..."
"Ms Han was with him," added Bonggu as Seokho heaved a long sigh.
"You guys should head home. It must be tiring for you after having to take the test the whole day."
Hyeonjeong shook her head before glancing towards her three friends. "No, we'll stay and wait here. Even if we went home, I don't think we'll be able to stop worrying about grandma."
"I already called my parents that I'll be here," said Bonggu again as he turned towards Chandu. "I called home too!"
Pulip nodded along as she added, "And we already called the teachers at school that we won't be able to check on our answers tonight."
"Oh... alright," Seokho gasped out as the four kids excused themselves and headed back towards the wards. Once again he was amazed at how close and considerate the kids were with each other.
Just like their homeroom teacher...
×××
He spotted the two of them almost immediately; Ms Han and Baekhyeon were both seated under a gazebo at a small park nearby. Under normal circumstances, he would've easily walk up there and interrupt the two with some nonsensical comments of his own. But right now, he didn't feel like he could even do that.
Ms Han stifled a cry as she held out a hand to wipe away the tears on Baekhyeon's cheeks.
"...it'll be alright. Your grandmother would be alright. Didn't the doctor tell you that the surgery was successful?"
Baekhyeon looked up towards her as he continued to cry softly. "But still... since grandma was very old—Ms Han, what if... what if grandma wouldn't wake up? If grandma dies, I don't know what I should do—!"
Ms Han immediately pull the boy into her embrace as Baekhyeon's muffled cry could still be heard from afar. Seeing such display, Seokho didn't dare to come closer to interrupt those two. He turned around and started walking away.
He messed up. He messed up big time. There's no way that he would ever be forgiven for what he did.
He didn't deserve to stay by Baekhyeon and his grandmother's side anymore.
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