[ Chapter 8 ]

Chilhyun did roll call and started the class off with a daily sketch. He had laid out the plans for the rest of the year and explained the requirements to his students. A project was to be handed in by the end of the week. He'll assign the topics and he expects the best of everyone. Once he had cleared everything out of the way and got the students working, he realized somebody was missing.

Soohye.

"It was an accident.."

Chilhyun blinked, her soft voice echoing in his head. He quickly looked over to the student who had called Soohye retarded. Sung Minwoo. He strolled up and down the aisle, silently making mental notes of how each student worked.

He stopped at Minwoo's desk and watched.

Minwoo was...

"Minwoo..what are you doin?" Chilhyun asked, raising a brow as he folded his arms in front of his chest.

"Drawing!" Minwoo answered with enthusiam. "Like it?"

Chilhyun cocked his head to one side. "What is it?"

Minwoo held up his work and also tilted his head to one side. He chewed on one end of his lip and thought about the answer. "Wind!"

Chilhyun was skeptical. "Wind?"

"Yeah! You see this?" Minwoo pointed at the marks on the page.

"Those are called stray marks and even a cat that doesn't know how to write could make better marks than those. Start over," Chilhyun commanded. He waited till Minwoo turned to a fresh page and then tapped on the desk. "C'mere."

Minwoo looked up at his teacher, curious. He got up out of his seat and followed Chilhyun out to the hallway. "Sun saeng nim?"

In a very low voice, Chilhyun asked, "What happened yesterday?"

With a bewildered expression, Minwoo nearly shouted, "What happened?" Chilhyun crossed his arms again and stared his student down. "Yesterday when you were running. Soohye later said it was an accident. What happened?"

"Ohhh," Minwoo let out, recalling. "That retard threw something at the director. She did it purposely, it was no accident."

Chilhyun wasn't amused. "She asked for us to not report you. Said you didn't mean it. Care to explain that?"

Minwoo peered at his teacher. He sighed and stood beside Chilhyun. "Can I ask you question?"

Chilhyun remained silent.

"You going out with Lee sun saeng nim?"

Caught off guard, Chilhyun moved away from Minwoo. "Well?"

Minwoo chuckled. "It wasn't me. The retard never made any sense."

"Then why were you running?"

"Sun saeng nim," Minwoo said, rather annoyed. "You're new here and you're an ass already. I was late for class. Wouldn't you run if you were late?"

Chilhyun shot Minwoo a dirty look and dismissed him. "I'm still not convinced."

"Hey," Minwoo whispered.

Chilhyun sighed. "What?"

"That yuja chingoo of yours..she's hot."

Chilhyun ran a hand through his hair and glared at Minwoo. "Get inside."

Minwoo smirked and abided. He returned to his seat with twenty four pairs of eyes following him. Chilhyun soon entered and everybody directed their attention to the work before them. Chilhyun was aware of the sudden diversion, but shrugged it off.

Kids..they'll never grow up.

It was basically quiet throughout the day. His classes went smoothly and he had lunch with Junghwa. They spoke for a while and then went off to class. He was sure there were rumors circulating the school already, but they were rumors...right?

No need to worrry about them. Eventually it'll die off.

For the remainder of the day, Chilhyun stayed in his empty classroom, thinking of what topics he should have his students do. He came up with a few and scribbled them down. It was going to be hard grading them. He wasn't sure if he'll grade it on actual quality or just the effort.

If it was going to be quality, it'll be hard. Not everybody can draw. And even the ones that can draw..who was he to say a work isn't quality?

The thought of grading on effort's edgy. If he based his grades on effort, then the lazy students'll complain and say they did try.

Chilhyun frowned. Being an art teacher wasn't supposed to be hard. He scribbled down a few more key points and threw his pencil down. It was late. He had to get home and sleep. He still had things to review and think over before class tomorrow.

He gathered his things and stuffed them into his bag. He realized it was a little past six and sighed. Never in his life had he ever stayed till six at school. All his life he had hated school. Today's his actual first staying all those tiring hours.

As he picked up his bag and exited his room, he started thinking about his past as a high school student. He had been through so many arguements with his parents and he got sick of them. His parents weren't wealthy, weren't even close to being rich. They were a middle class family of three. Chilhyun grew up as the only child and his father worked at the railroad station while his mother worked at the nearby toy factory in Seoul.

His childhood wasn't great. He was often lonely and being the only child-there wasn't much for him to do. All day he'd sit by the window and wished for something to do. Then his parents decided to have him take piano.

His father taught a little of piano on the side and was proud his son was advancing so quickly. Chilhyun was drilled to practice everyday, any time when he's free. It was something to occupy him, but he wasn't fond of the instrument. His parents constantly lectured his ears off about how lucky he was to even have piano lessons considering their family status and whatnot. He eventually broke the news to them and told them he wanted to do something different. It was in middle school and he was in constant turmoil with himself and his parents.

He gave up and left.

He left home and everything behind to persue his dreams as an artist. All those years and endless hours of work. He hated school, hated doing work...

A sudden jolt on the bus pulled him back to the present. He looked about the crowded bus, surprised he was there. Only moments ago, he was still walking and now the bus was pulling away again. He peered out the window, realizing he was close to his apartment. He waited for the bus to halt and the rear doors to open before stepping off into the fresh air.

Another long day.

He sighed and headed home.

Three hundred sixty five days..everyday's the same.

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[ Chapter 9 ]

Director Yoo strolled back and forth before stopping at the door. He had almost forgotten about the incident with Sung Minwoo. He was filling out a form with a pencil and had made a mistake. He looked for an eraser and spotted one by his lamp.

Sung Minwoo's eraser.

He was instantly reminded of the event that took place the day before yesterday's and threw the eraser down in search of the mischievous student. He searched for Minwoo's schedule and immediately marched to the History department.

There he was. A smirk playing at his lips.

"Chong jang," Ms. Kim greeted, turning to the door.

Everybody looked in the direction of the door and immediately got to their feet. They bowed and greeted the director before bowing again and taking their seats. Everybody waited and watched the director walk back and forth in front of the black board.

"SUNG MINWOO!"

"Ne!" Minwoo shouted, jumping to his feet.

Sniffing a bit, the director looked up at the class. He then directed his eyes towards the kid. He slowly approached the thin boy, thinking of what punishment to enforce upon the student. "May I borrow your eraser?"

Baffled, Minwoo lowered his eyes. "Eraser?"

"Do you have it?" Director Yoo inquired.

Minwoo nodded and reached into his desk for his bag. He dug in, feeling around for the white smooth rubber. Disturbed, he pulled out his bag and dumped all the contents onto his desk. He rummaged through his books and pens for the eraser, surprised to find it gone.

Then he remembered.

He had thrown it at the stupid dummy and it fell over to the lower level.

"I..I don't have it," Minwoo murmured, looking down at his desk.

Director Yoo crossed his arms and remained silent.

Ms. Kim knew better than to interrupt, so she stepped aside and watched. She was lost and curious..but nothing was making sense.

"Well..do you remember where you last left it?" the director questioned.

Minwoo bit down on his lip, contemplating whether to blame it on Soohye again or not. "I-I-I-I-It...It wa-wasn't me.."

The director came closer to Minwoo. "What was it?"

A little louder, Minwoo replied, "It wasn't me, sir."

"Ohhh..." was all escaped from Director Yoo's lips. Calmly he asked, "Well, then..who was it?"

With quivering lips, Minwoo stuttered, "Ch-Ch-Choi S-S-Sooh-hye.."

Without hesitating, the director snatched Minwoo up by the collar and dragged him outside. Ms. Kim gasped, shocked up the sudden action. Fellow students all rushed to the door, murmuring to each other and watched the director throw Minwoo mercilessly at the cement wall, opposite of the room's wall.

"Chong jang!" Minwoo screamed, his back slamming painfully against the cement.

"Lie to me again!" the director shouted. "Lie to me again and more is to come!"

By now, all the students on the second floor were flooding the corridor. They all huddled against each other, wincing as the director slapped Minwoo hard across the face.

Chilhyun tried to push forward to see what the commotion was about, but was pulled back by Junghwa.

"Don't," she said.

"Why? What's going on?"

"The kid must've done something wrong. It's just punishment."

"But..what happened?" Chilhyun asked, jumping to see. He caught a figure sprawled across the floor, the director standing over it. "What is he doing to them?"

Then somebody shoved past him. Chilhyun stopped hopping around as he fell against Junghwa, looking for the person who pushed him. His eyes traced over the crowd and found the person pushing past everybody, getting closer and closer to the front.

He paused, thinking. "Now..why couldn't I have done that?"

"Done what?" Junghwa asked, looking up at Chilhyun. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh.." Chilhyun looked down sheepishly. "I was thinking aloud. That boy just pushed me and now he's in the front."

Soohye nearly collasped at the director's feet once she found her way to the front. There was so much shoving and pushing, she felt every end of her body tearing into pieces.

Director Yoo raised his hand again, the stick firm in his grasp. He brought it down, ready to strike Minwoo.

"CHONG JANG!" Soohye yelled with all her might. She held up her arms, blocking the blow. She fell back upon the sudden impact, landing on top of Minwoo.

Startled, the director moved his arm back.

A girl was on top of Minwoo. She hauled herself up and brushed her uniform off. "Chong jang!"

The director narrowed his eyes, trying to recall her name. He could do nothing but hiss. "What—"

"Chong jang! It was an accident!" Soohye blurted. She looked down at Minwoo's messy figure and turned back to the headmaster. "Minwoo didn't mean it!"

How interesting, Director Yoo thought. "What are you talking about? I'm punishing him."

"But..he didn't mean to do it!" Soohye cried.

"You don't even know why I'm punishing him. What are you doing here? Go away." The director took Soohye by the arm and threw her aside.

She fell against Kyunghwa and a whole group of other students. "Then why are you punishing him?!"

Silence took over.

Chilhyun looked over to Junghwa who had her hand clasped over her mouth. "What? What happened?"

"What did you say?" Director Yoo demanded.

Soohye stood on her feet and held her head still. She looked down at her feet and asked, "Why are you punishing him? Since you said I dunno why, then tell me why."

Chilhyun heard a loud hiss and many gasps. He looked about him, everybody had their eyes hanging out of their sockets. "What?!"

Junghwa quickly turned away and motioned for Chilhyun to follow. She veered off to her left and whispered, "You are to never..NEVER question the director. Never question his actions nor his decisions. Soohye knew better than to ask. Why is up there anyway?"

Chilhyun tore away from Junghwa and back to the unmoving crowd. He shoved past the students with Junghwa behind him shouting at him.

Soohye was on her knees, cupping Minwoo's face. She got to her feet and faced the director. "It wasn't like that!"

Director Yoo sighed. "Fine then. How'd it happen?"

Soohye felt her heart jump to her throat. She wasn't prepared with an explanation. She quickly recalled to the day of the incident and mumbled the first thing that came to mind. "He..He was returning my eraser."

Straining to hear better, the director moved closer. "What did you say?"

Only a notch louder, Soohye said, "Minwoo was returning my eraser. He tossed it to me and I missed. It flew over the wall and it hit you."

Astounded, the director turned to Minwoo. "Is that true?"

Holding his swollen face, Minwoo could only nod. He'd say anything to get out of the torture. He'd agree with Soohye even if he hated her. He nodded again and again, hoping for the embarrassment to come to an end.

Director Yoo narrowed his eyes at the two and flung the stick aside. He knew the two were lying. But since what the girl said was plausible and he had no reason to go on beating the boy. "GO BACK TO CLASS!"

Soohye bowed as the director stormed off and helped Minwoo to his feet. "Are you okay?"

Numbly, Minwoo could only nod. He rubbed his jaw and leaned on Soohye. "Mi ahn hae.."

In her usual, quiet whisper, "Kwen chana."

Minwoo tipped over and collasped to the floor. Chilhyun grabbed Minwoo's weak frame and held him up. Chilhyun, with the help of Soohye, dragged Minwoo into a classroom nearby and seated the beaten kid on a chair. Junghwa and other teachers ushered students off to class. Soohye waited a moment longer before departing. Chilhyun stole glances at the quiet mute, taking in every inch of her calm features. She had the oddest skin tone.

White. A shade of light olive.

Soohye, well aware of the looks, stood up. She bowed and headed off to class. Now that Minwoo had Ahn sun saeng nim tending him, there shouldn't be a problem. She hung her head as she returned to her seat by the corner. It took the class about five minutes to settle down. Once they did, the teacher resumed to teaching as if nothing had happened.

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[ Chapter 10 ]

The week went by. So did many weeks following that. Chilhyun couldn't make out what was going on with his students. Though it's well established that Lee Kyunghwa's the most persistent and ambitious one in the class. Of a hundred and twenty-two students, her work stood out. It was precise and clean cut.

It was already mid July and time seemed to be crawling by. His favorite class was in the middle of drawing something new. He was bored and decided to walk around the classroom again. He stopped by Hyunji's desk. She's always the first person he'd see. She wasn't the best, but she tried. She wasn't the worst either.

He continued on and found Minwoo drawing stick figures. Everyday they'd go through the same routine. Minwoo misbehaves in class, but does outstanding work. Talent's hidden underneath that dark devilish skin. Chilhyun waivered him and agreed to allowing Minwoo work at home. It wasn't like Minwoo don't hand in anything.

The class was doing well overall. Kyunghwa was working on a scenary. A summer scene. Chilhyun stopped at her desk and watched great work in process. She was a detailed artist. That was one skill Chilhyun admired. He never mastered it and still lacks it to this day. He tried, but the idea of having to draw every line and shade..frustrated him. "Good job."

Kyunghwa looked up with a smile. "Kamsa hamnida, sun saeng nim."

Chilhyun returned the smile and looked up. Everybody else was drawing the typical birds and the bees, trees, flowers..

But.

He went on surveying the class. From a distance, he saw a page filled with blue. It was strange. Very, very odd. He started thinking about what could be blue in the summer as he approached the last desk in the aisle by the wall. He looked down and noticed Soohye had her head lower than usual.

He crouched down and his eyes trailed over the drawing.

"It's a blue sun," Soohye explained, not meeting Chilhyun's eyes.

Chilhyun frowned, not understanding. Why a blue sun? He opened his mouth to ask but was cut off with Soohye speaking again.

"The bright yellow sun's hot. Since it's still day, the sun can't be black. So, it's blue. Makes the day cooler."

Chilhyun pursed his lips. It was unheard of, but very creative and original. "May I see it?"

Soohye moved her hand across the page a few more times and reluctantly handed it over. She didn't like having other people looking at her work. Ahn sun saeng nim for one. Especially in class. He'd comment and everybody'd hear. She didn't like it.

Chilhyun reviewed the artwork, amazed. He actually felt the coolness of it. He felt the temperature drop and looked down at the figures under the sun. "Who are they?"

Soohye kept her head down and replied, "A family."

Chilhyun nodded. "Happy one?"

Soohye bobbed her head. It was actually her neighbors. She didn't know who or what else to draw, so she drew them. It was perfect. They were enjoying a day under the cool sun after the long hours of picking leaves and bugs.

Chilhyun smiled. It was the first he had ever since anything so special in a childish way, but with meaning to it. He chuckled. "That's cute. I like how you think. Very good."

Soohye thanked him and returned to work once he slipped her paper back to her. She waited until he walked away to his desk and slowly felt a smile crept upon her face.

She was glowing.

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[ Chapter 11 ]

Kyunghwa pressed the tip of her brush onto the canvas, anger boiling within her.

Choi Soohye. Good?

How could anything that stupid idiot draw be good?!

"Kyungie!" Mrs. Lee called. "Dinner!"

With a snarl, Kyunghwa flung the brush aside. She was pissed over her head and nothing could calm her down. Normally things like that wouldn't bother her, but today..

She flipped.

She threw the door open and followed her mother downstairs to the dining table. Her sister wasn't home again. As usual. It was all over the school that her sister was dating Ahn Chilhyun. She was beginning to suspect her sister too. But she knew better. Junghwa wasn't that easy. Nor is she an airhead.

Kyunghwa plopped down in her seat and tucked her napkin in her collar. Her mother knew she was fired up so no discussion started there. Though she never spent time with her family, she felt her mother knew what she was doing. Her mother never questioned her like her father did. Her mother never yelled or made a fuss about anything.

Her father on the other hand, was more like a woman than her mother. He's always asking this and that. Complaining about this and that, whining, screaming, all those things she considered annoying. He wasn't as patient as her mother and he'd yell at the almost everything.

"Don't eat so fast," her father's deep voice boomed.

Kyunghwa nearly choked on her rice. She blinked furiously and swallowed. He just knew when to pick the time. His moments. He always had to interrupt her while her mind was in the process of molding thoughts together. "I'm hungry."

"That doesn't mean you have to eat like a savage."

Never mind. She gave up. She placed her chopsticks on her bowl and wiped her mouth with her napkin before throwing it down. She pushed the chair back and kicked it back beneath the table. She marched to her room and slammed the door, the effect echoing through the house.

"What the hell's wrong with her?!"

Mrs. Lee sighed. "Couldn't you tell she wasn't happy?"

Her husband snorted. "She's never happy. I should take her to the mountainside and abandon her."

"Maybe it's school. She's trying her very best, you know."

"Must she take it upon us?!" her husband demanded. "We don't take our frustrations out on her!"

"We've gone through much more difficult problems. She's only a child. Besides, Junghwa hasn't been around to help her. Not that it had ever made a difference. But..you must understand being Kyunghwa isn't easy. We want her to be her. But she has pressure. She's the mayor's daughter and has reputations to defend and to keep. It's not easy being a girl and eighteen."

"Why are you always defending her?" Mr. Lee asked abruptly.

"Because she's my daughter and my pride. Remember that. You hurt my daughter, you hurt my pride."

Mr. Lee gaped after his wife as she left the dinner table. Every episode ends like that. His daughter walks off then his wife. He sighed and began to eat again. In a distance, Junghwa's swinging of keys stopped him short.

"Appa!" his eldest daughter greeted. She hurried to him and hugged him.

Mr. Lee smiled. Junghwa was the sweetest. She knew how to please him. While Kyunghwa was the complete opposite. "You're early!"

"Yes," Junghwa replied, placing her materials on the table. "I didn't stay as long. I decided to just go over some old material with the students tomorrow."

Mr. Lee sighed. Of all professions, why teaching? "Hurry and eat your dinner. You better rest up early."

"I'm fine. I still got grades to calculate later on. Where's Oma and Kyungie?"

"They left. Your bratty sister's upset."

Junghwa froze. "Why? What happened?"

"Your mother said it was school. Do you think I'm being harsh?"

Junghwa's eyes faultered as she tried to look away. She didn't want to lie nor tell the truth. "Well..Kyungie is a tad young."

Oh, God. Mr. Lee rested his face in the palms of his hands. "You, too?"

Junghwa was quick to answer. "You do understand it's not easy being mayor. Why should it be any easier on his family?"

Mr. Lee looked up at his daughter. "What?"

"You gotta keep a good name and worry about your reputation. So does the rest of the family. We got the whole country looking after us. The public's the first to jump on anything we do wrong. They're the first to react and we have to walk around on our toes. Day after night, you say to Kyunghwa to study and keep her grades up. Don't you think that's drilled a hole in her brain already? I am only three years older than her. She wasn't too far behind when you drilled my brain. I'm pretty sure she's heard enough. Hasn't she brought home perfect grades every semester?"

Mr. Lee couldn't utter a response.

"Kyunghwa's mature for her age. She doesn't act the average eighteen year old in school. She takes art too seriously and all her studies over the head. I haven't seen anybody as serious about their schoolwork as our Kyungie other than that little mute—"

"Mute?" Mr. Lee cut his daughter off. "There's a mute in your school?"

"She's not exactly mute. She just doesn't talk. People think she's retarded."

"Who is this child? Who are her parents?"

Junghwa frowned. "I don't think I've ever heard of anything about her parents."

Mr. Lee's brows knotted together. "Then how did she enroll at the school?"

"I think she's under the name Park Hojun. If I recall correctly, Hojun dropped out of school months ago. He went to school in another district and couldn't afford it anymore. That's what I heard from other teachers."

"Then...What is she doing under his name? Shouldn't she be registered under her parents' name?!"

"It doesn't matter," Junghwa said, dropping the subject.

"Yes, it does! What is she doing in this school? Is she a bum? Since you said that bum don't have the money to pay—"

"Appa!""Junghwa, this is getting out of hand!"

"Appa! Do you pay for Kyunghwa?!" Junghwa screamed.

Mr. Lee searched for an answer.

"Then leave it at that. Choi Soohye had it worked out with the social school department and they permitted her to attend school. I don't know the details and I won't find out."

"But..they allowed a retard!"

"Appa! For the last time, people think she's a retard. She is not one."

Mr. Lee felt a storm brewing within. He remained silent and nodded. "Just get some rest."

Junghwa agreed and brought her stuff upstairs. She slowly entered her room and softly closed the door. Sighing, she whispered, "At least I hope she's not one."

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