Chapter 174: Gayoon's Story (10)
Chapter 174: Gayoon's Story (10)
Gayoon tried to keep her attention on the board but her eyes were drooping. She had no idea what the teacher was talking about and as much as she tried to keep her concentration, the lack of sleep was getting to her. Jaewan was sitting right behind her and he jabbed her shoulder with a pencil.
The sharpness of the pencil temporarily caused her to jerk awake but soon, she was being engulfed by sleep again. Suddenly, someone threw a paper ball at her. She glanced to her right and saw Minjung snickering at her along with her friends, making faces at Gayoon. The latter was not amused and picked up the paper ball to throw it back when the teacher's voice boomed behind her.
"Looks like Ms. Jeon is enjoying her time too much," the teacher declared. "Her high grades probably made her think that she's way above school work."
Gayoon looked at him guiltily, fidgeting her fingers.
"I'm sorry Mr. Shim!" she apologized. "I-"
"I get it that you have no parents. Ms. Jeon," the teacher taunted her. Mr. Shim was their math teacher and he was a nasty piece of work. The man was notorious for his sharp tongue and had a tendency to make the students feel humiliated. He was particularly harsh on Gayoon for her lackluster math skills and also because of her reputation as a 'cursed' student.
"But sir, I didn't-" Gayoon tried to explain but Shim slammed his hands on the table, scaring her. Gayoon froze, looking down at her feet as Shim went on to sneer at her. Seungjo, who was also in that class, clenched his fists. How dare the teacher talk to his Gayoonie like that?
"Orphans like you are losing their way in the world," he continued. Some of the students were smirking at Gayoon's misery while the rest stayed mum. Only Jaewan looked mortified at a teacher's behavior against a student.
No one noticed that Seungjo had snapped a pencil in two as Shim berated Gayoon.
"Your parents aren't around to teach you morals, so you must be thinking that you can do anything you want!" Shim yelled at her. "But this is my classroom and-"
Jaewan raised his hand and said loudly, "Mr. Park, the germs in this class is bothering me. I must clean the classroom otherwise I won't be able to study!"
Shim gaped at him. "What the hell are you spouting?" he spluttered.
"Yes," Jaewan shrugged. Gayoon motioned at him to stay shut but Jaewan added, "You see, any teacher who would trash talk about his student is a dirty person. Allow me to cleanse this class by kicking you out of this room."
The rest of the students were visibly scared of Jaewan's words. The teacher did not look pleased by him and his face was turning red with anger.
"Detention for you Ahn!" the teacher threatened but Jaewan was not going to let him off the hook.
"Go ahead," he laughed. "I'll just go and tell the headmaster that you were discriminating against a student based on her parental status. As far as I know, the school has an anti-discriminatory policy. And you know very well that my parents are close friends with the headmaster. If I make a complaint against you, then I wonder whom will he listen to? You or me?"
He sat back on his fully sanitized chair, smirking in victory while Gayoon threw him a grateful look. Shim was petrified by his words, unable to retort.
Ahn Jaewan meant his words and he would not hesitate to take action against the teacher. Gayoon was also shocked by his actions but was nonetheless, grateful for the help. But there was no doubt that the teacher would make her life even more miserable by lowering her already abysmal grades in maths.
Shim was about to argue back when the bell rang.
"We'll discuss the rest tomorrow," he grumbled. Before leaving, he shot a dirty gaze at Jaewan who was pretending to read a comic book. As soon as the teacher was gone, Gayoon turned back and hit his arm.
"OW!" he yelled. "What was that for?"
"Why do you keep on messing with the teachers?" she demanded. "The more you clap back at them on my behalf, the more they target me!"
"Well, they're not doing a very good job of being teachers if they're gonna pick on their students like this," Jaewan muttered.
"Let them say whatever they want!" Gayoon exclaimed. "It's just for a few months. After that, I'll graduate and leave this hellhole for the police academy anyway!"
Jaewan pretended to read the comic in his hands but his heart sank at her words. It was true that Gayoon would leave for the police academy and he would go for an idol agency. Both of them were about to go their separate ways and he could not help but feel a little lonely at that thought.
There were very few people who would accept him for his eccentricities and Gayoon was one of them. She was one of the few people he could call a friend and seeing her brought a little bit of joy to his otherwise mundane life.
"Earth to Ahn Jaewan!" Gayoon called at him, snapping her fingers in front of his eyes. He was startled and his attention returned to her.
"What are you thinking?" she asked.
"Nothing," he lied. "I was wondering how annoying you are."
That remark earned him more punches on the arm but he did not mind. As long as he was by her side, nothing else really mattered. All he wanted to do was to make the best of the little time they had left.
.....
Shim was walking up the dark road, pulling up his coat to protect himself from the cold.Winter was setting in and the days were getting shorter. It was only 8 PM in the evening but it looked as if it was midnight. The road was isolated and there was not a single soul in sight as he made his way towards his tiny apartment.
He lived three blocks from the school. Since he had to go home and check the test papers, he was using the shortcut route through the alleys. He kept on glancing back for muggers because there were not CCTV cameras in that area so he was afraid that some criminal might attack him.
The night was setting in quickly and the air was getting colder. Shim hated winter and wished that spring would come soon. The day long classes with bratty kids and winter winds soured his mood.
Suddenly, he heard the shuffling of footsteps behind him and he froze in his steps. Someone was following him! Is it a mugger? He wondered in panic.
"Um...teacher?"
He turned around to find Park Seungjo standing there.
"Park!" he yelled at Seungjo. "What the hell are you doing here? You almost scared me!"
"Teacher, you forgot your glasses in the class," Seungjo said, taking out a pair of spectacles. Shim frowned.
"I have my glasses here," he replied, checking his pockets but to his surprise, his spectacles were not in his pocket. Strange, he thought. I could have sworn I put it in my pocket.
"Alright, have them to me," he said, reaching out for them.
Seungjo came closer to give the glasses to him. Shim was about to pull them from Seungjo's hand but the latter's grip was tight.
"Seungjo, let go," Shim said impatiently. "I have to go home!"
He frowned when Seungjo smirked at him. There was a gleam in his eyes as he studied Shim.
"I'm afraid, you won't be able to go home, sir," Seungjo said in a cryptic way. "Not today. Not ever."
"What do you mean-"
But the rest of his words were shut off by a sharp pain in his abdomen. Shim looked down and to his horror, he saw crimson liquid gushing out of his stomach. A silver knife glittered amidst the blood.
Shim looked up to face the cold eyes of Seungjo, who was smiling like a maniac.
"No one can talk to my Gayoonie like that," Seungjo whispered, pushing the knife deeper into Shim's stomach. Shim staggered backwards and fell on the ground, writhing in agony as he bled out. He tried to scream but Seungjo put a foot on his mouth, muffling any sounds. Seungjo pressed his foot harder on Shim's mouth watching his teacher's life being sucked out.
"You're paying for your sin," Seungjo declared. "Now no one will harm my Gayoonie."
Shim's eyes began to lose consciousness and soon, he stopped struggling and his hands went still. Seungjo coldly glared at the corpse in front of him before turning away to leave.
"Gayoonie will be so pleased when she finds out that her tormentor is gone," he said gleefully. "She will definitely love me back!"
HIs heart was jovial as he pranced all the way home, thinking of his future with his lovely Gayoonie. He would be her husband and she would be his wife. She would be at home, taking care of their babies and be an obedient wife. He would keep his lovely wife away from the world, lock her up in their world. As long as he was there, she did not need to work and only concentrate on him.
Their lives would be happy.