CEBF Ch 3 part 2

PR by neji

“…Teacher.”

This was a major development. Having sex with WooHyun was all she could think about all day. It was like a terrible sickness without a cure.

If possible, she would have hidden away the memories of what happened last night and only taken them out whenever she wanted a nibble and taste. But it seemed that she had been mistaken.

Even though she had been inexperienced, she had heard a lot of things here and there. Once one slept with someone with a big thing, they would have to live with those memories for the rest of their lives.

Could she call this a blessing? Or was it a curse that would always plague her daily life?

“Teacher!”

“Ah.”

Daon flinched in surprise and stroked her chest to calm herself down. Then she straightened up and glared at her student who had suddenly thrust his face in front of her.

“Didn’t I tell you to stop popping your face in front of me like that?”

“Ah, right. I forgot.”

Jung KyuHyung grinned as he cupped his chin with both hands.

“You’re still young, but how can you be so forgetful?”

“I’m not young. I’m old.”

Her student was an unlucky three-time test-taker who was twenty-one years old. To be frank, ‘unlucky’ wasn’t quite the right term. He came from a very wealthy family who paid her to tutor him in various subjects. His family even fed him medicinal tonics to help him concentrate. However, the problem lied with the fact that he himself did not want to study.

KyuHyung’s parents thought it was a miracle that he was sitting at his desk at all. They praised Daon for her work.

However, because her student showed no progress, she felt a prick at her conscience. Money or conscience? Conscience or money? That was the question.

Of course it was money.

“Teacher, you keep drifting off. What are you thinking about?”

“Mon—…! Ah, nothing. It’s nothing.”

Daon almost let it slip and quickly shut her mouth. If his household had that much money, they should have at least donated to a college campus to sway them into accepting him. Or they could have just sent him off to study abroad. Why were they so insistent on him taking the national exams in Korea?

Daon pondered the purpose of teaching this student and murmured silently to herself.

“KyuHyung.”

“Yes, Teacher?”

“Why do you take private lessons? You don’t plan on studying anyway.”

“Because it’s the only way I can keep seeing you.”

He answered with pride as his eyes gleamed. His white, even teeth flashed between his lips. Daon looked down and laughed awkwardly.

The row of piercings on his ears caught her eye. Was that an ear or a jewelry showcase? As she lowered her eyes even further, she saw a bright tattoo on his arm. If he went around in an illegally refurbished motorcycle, he’d be the perfect main character of a novel.

When KyuHyung saw Daon look him over and click her tongue in disapproval, the edge of his eyes went down, and he looked like he was on the verge of tears.

“Teacher, to you… I must look like I’m up to no good.”

“Huh? No, not that. You look like a good, unemployed man.”

“Even though I look like this, I’m very sensitive inside. I’m so sad.”

Daon awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck when she realized that she’d been found out. She always tried not to let her thoughts be swayed by stereotypes, but there were times when she looked at her students with filters on. Just like now.

‘I shouldn’t be like this.’

Whenever this happened, Daon made more of an effort to treat KyuHyung with kindness. It was to ease her sense of guilt.

“Are you hurt?”

“Yes, very much. I never expected you to look at me with those eyes, Teacher. What did I ever do to…”

“No, I didn’t say anything…”

KyuHyung’s disappointed eyes even began to fill with tears. Daon observed him in bewilderment. Suddenly, remembering that there wasn’t much time left, she quickly spoke in a firm tone.

“Okay, open your book.”

“I didn’t do any of my homework.”

“When did you ever have it done?”

“Why don’t we go out for a refresher and play for today? I’ll buy you something delicious.”

“Spell ‘refresher’.”

“……”

His mouth opened and closed as he tried to say something, but nothing came out. This was the only way to get him to stop talking.

“Open your book.”

“Whoa, the charisma.”

“Give me the definition of ‘charisma’.”

“……”

After telling KyuHyung to read and analyze the English text, she quickly skimmed through it as well.

[The blue whale is known to be the biggest animal on earth. Various lumps are scattered across its large, sleek body, and it looks gray within the waters of the sea. Due to twenty years of whaling, its numbers have dwindled. Therefore, the international community has prohibited the hunting of whales in fear that they will go extinct. However, there has been some good news. We have received reports that blue whales have begun returning to the South Pole. Among netizens, it has become well-known for being the animal with the largest penis.]

‘What did I just read?’

She left KyuHyung alone as he struggled with the first word of the paragraph. Daon blinked. She read and reread the text, but all she could see was the last sentence.

The only thing that filled her head was Na WooHyun’s thing. She grew frustrated. Why was something like this written in an educational text? Why…

“Teacher.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“The words are too hard. I can’t read them.”

“That’s why I told you to memorize one hundred English words a day. Read them out one by one. Which ones are giving you a hard time?”

“All of them except for ‘penis’.”

“Peni…!”

Her face flushed. Usually, she’d make him highlight the words he didn’t know, make him look it up, and memorize them. However, she couldn’t do it this time.

KyuHyung chuckled as he watched Daon’s flustered expression. Daon quickly returned to her senses. If she lost to a student, it would be over.

“This text is a bit weird. Let’s look at something else.”

“What’s so weird about it?”

“Its tone is not very consistent, and it uses unnecessary vocabulary. Even if we go through it, I think it will only result in more confusion. Let’s skip it.”

Truly confused, KyuHyung tilted his head. At times like this, she was glad he couldn’t read English. Daon triumphantly straightened her shoulders and flipped the page.

Suddenly, KyuHyung stretched out his arm and lightly tapped the desk. Daon looked up and met his eyes. He smiled at her and spoke up in a low voice.

“Teacher, our next lesson will be on my birthday.”

“Okay, congrats. Do you want to postpone it?”

“Hmm, what should we do?”

If class was postponed, so would her payday. They’d also have to schedule a make-up session, but her schedule was already packed, so it would be very difficult to find a date.

KyuHyung watched as Daon seriously mulled over this problem. He began to snicker.

“I’ll do as you say, Teacher. Should we postpone it? Or should we just have the lesson on my birthday?”

“…But you’re unemployed.”

“Don’t call me ‘unemployed’. Call me ‘college prep student’.”

“Either way, you still have a lot of free time. I’m a freelancer whose time is more valuable than money. Then shouldn’t we both try to find a compromise that works for both of us?”

“What’s the compromise?”

“Just keeping the session as is. It’ll only be three hours long. We can just have our session for those three hours, and then you can go and meet with your friends.”

“Sounds good. Then will you also consider my suggestion?”

“What is it?”

A wicked smile stretched across KyuHyung’s lips. A chill ran down her spine, and she quickly grew tense.

“Play with me on my birthday.”

* * *

For some reason, Daon had the strange feeling that she’d been tricked by KyuHyung. She used the excuse of her packed schedule and managed to convince him to move their study session to a nearby cafe instead of seeing him outside of their session. However, she couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable with the result.

Lost in thought, Daon made her way into the apartment lobby. She was intimidated by the fact that her student was so brazen and daring with his pursuit of her.

Was he being more forward now because the national college entrance exam was right around the corner? She had worked so hard to keep the cliché ‘You’re a student, and I’m your teacher!’ line from leaving her mouth.

Daon stopped walking and looked up at the sky. The sparkling stars in the night sky were an emotional sight. She covered her eyes with her hands and let out a deep sigh.

“Just what kind of diabolical charm do I have to attract guys like that…”

She laughed bitterly at herself and shook her head.

Unfortunately, to Jung KyuHyung, she would only be a teacher he had a crush on and nothing more. Because one’s first love was something that everyone cherished.

“Who told you that rubbish¹?”

She was coming home from teaching an unemployed boy wearing the mask of a college prep student. But speaking of the devil, another unemployed man appeared before her eyes. Daon narrowed her eyes.

“Be honest, Oppa. You think so too, right?”

WooHyun finally lowered his head and met Daon’s eyes. He smirked and began to bark.

“Woof, woof.”

“Are you agreeing with me or not?”

“Woof.”

“That’s enough, jeez.”

“Woof!”

Like an enraged chihuahua, Daon clenched her fists and grit her teeth. WooHyun chuckled and draped his arm around her shoulders.

“Let’s head inside. It’s getting cold.”

“Why don’t you keep barking while you’re at it?”

“It’s not fun anymore.”

“Are you coming to our place again?”

“Then should we go to my place instead?”

His soft whisper tickled something deep inside her chest. His languid smile made her want to press her lips against them and take a lick. Was this… affection resulting from having sex? Daon quickly threw that thought out of her head and drew in a deep breath.

“Did you make plans to meet with Yu JaeOn?”

“Yeah.”

“I thought you said you wouldn’t be able to see Yu JaeOn’s face after sleeping with me.”

WooHyun pressed down on the crown of Daon’s head with his large hand and burst into laughter.

“Are you jealous?”

“Of course not!”

“Should I ignore Yu JaeOn’s calls and texts from now on?”

“No, there’s no need to go that far…”

For Yu JaeOn, the only people he met regularly was Na WooHyun and his girlfriend, SoYoung. If Daon snatched Na WooHyun away, Yu JaeOn would become a loner.

Rather than feeling bad about JaeOn becoming a loner, Daon was more worried that she’d have to fill that empty place in his life. She hated increasing her workload because of Yu JaeOn.

Suddenly, a sweet voice flowed out over Daon’s head.

“I’m coming over because I wanted to see you.”

“……!”

Daon gazed up at WooHyun with dazed eyes. His eyes crinkled into a smile. His handsome face seemed bright against the starry night sky.

* * *

Huddled in the living room, JaeOn, WooHyun, and Daon gulped down their late-night meal. Like always, Daon dumped the clean-up onto the guys and went into the bathroom to enjoy a refreshing shower. When she came back outside, she took in the sight of the living room.

Yu JaeOn was half-lying on the floor with his back against the couch. Na WooHyun was languidly sitting on the sofa like a lion in its den.

Where should she sit? She didn’t have to wonder about this for long.

Daon lightly bit her lips and ran over to WooHyun’s side and sat down. With his eyes still on the TV, WooHyun smirked. Seeing this, Daon couldn’t help but smile as well.

Suddenly, a loud boom rang out from the TV.

Boom! Screech! Kya, ugh, boom, kiyo…!

“Aagh! What was that, fuck! That surprised me. Whoa, fuck…!”

Frightened out of his wits, JaeOn flopped around like a fish out of water.

Lately, he had gotten into zombie TV shows and movies. Anything zombie-related, whether it was in Korean or in other languages he didn’t speak, he watched it all. But he was too afraid to watch it alone, so he always forced WooHyun or Daon to stay by his side when he watched.

Daon looked down and saw how the hair on the crown of his head stood on edge. She clicked her tongue in disdain. Then she quickly stole a glance at WooHyun. She had never seen WooHyun lose his composure like Yu JaeOn.

If WooHyun had gotten startled from the zombies that suddenly popped out, she had planned on tightly holding his hand and stroking it to soothe him. Because she wasn’t afraid of things like zombies.

However, WooHyun merely kept his eyes on the TV with an indifferent expression.

Daon scooched a little closer to WooHyun. She cupped her hands around her lips and whispered in a voice that only he could hear.

“Aren’t you scared?”

WooHyun slowly turned his head and met Daon’s eyes. He stared at her for a while before swallowing, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down.

Daon felt like her throat was closing up and gulped.

The loud noises coming from the speaker seemed so far away now. A gleam flashed in WooHyun’s eyes.

His brows lowered and his mouth began to move silently.

‘I’m scared.’

Just as she thought.

Unlike Yu JaeOn, whose entire body trembled in fear, Na WooHyun kept his emotions bottled up and never let them appear on the outside.

With a knowing look on her face, Daon gave him a kind nod and lowered her eyes to WooHyun’s hand on the sofa. She gazed at the blue veins running along the back. She slowly placed her hand on top of his.

She could feel his warmth through his skin. It was as if the warm afternoon sunlight had reached deep inside her chest and was warming up her heart.

Pfft, a burst of laughter escaped WooHyun’s lips. Daon’s wide eyes observed his face.

‘Hm? What is it?’

WooHyun cleared his throat and quickly adjusted his expression. His long, thick finger began to stroke each one of her fingers before he intertwined their hands together. As she felt him stroke the back of her hand, a shiver ran down her spine.

On the television screen, she saw bloody zombies chase after the humans at an alarmingly fast speed. Although it was a scene that would cause her hands to dampen with sweat, her hands were damp with cold sweat for an entirely different reason.

“Ugh! Uuuh! No, no. You should have locked the door, you idiot!”

With his face buried in the cushion, Yu JaeOn only peeked his eyes out as his entire body flopped around. He was so immersed in the movie that he was acting like he was the only surviving human of the zombie apocalypse.

He had no idea that his friend and his younger sister were playing with each other’s hands behind his back.

Some time passed. Daon was completely focused on WooHyun’s touch on her hand. She recalled how that hand had stroked and squeezed every corner of her body last night, and she felt a twinge in her lower stomach.

On the television screen, the only surviving human barely escaped the group of zombies and entered a dark space.

There was the sound of water dripping from the ceiling. The sound of panting breaths. The various noises in the silence caused tension to build.

Vrrrr. Daon’s phone suddenly vibrated.

“Agh! Wh-What is it?! What is that sound?!”

JaeOn frantically looked around as he searched for the source of the sound.

When he suddenly turned around, Daon quickly pulled her hand out of WooHyun’s grasp and put some distance between them. She wiped her damp hand on her t-shirt and calmly held out her hand to JaeOn.

“…Give me my phone. It’s on the table over there.”

“Yu Daon. Watch your manners.”

JaeOn looked offended as he handed Daon her phone.

It was a little past midnight. Who could possibly be contacting her at this time? Daon looked down at her phone and checked the new message.

[Teacher, what do you think about having my birthday date here ^0^?]

It was KyuHyung. He had sent her a picture of a popular cafe.

Low tables that didn’t reach past one’s thigh and backless chairs. Possibly to pack in as many customers as possible, there wasn’t much space between the tables either. How could they study at a place like this…

“How ridiculous.”

“What is it?”

Although she had murmured softly, WooHyun quickly asked back. When she raised her head, she saw that WooHyun had slightly turned towards her and was silently looking at her.

“Who’s texting you at this time of night?”

“Ah… It’s just my student.”

“Why is your student texting you?”

He was asking her about the location of their ‘date’. Daon swallowed those words down and blinked. There was no need to give him the specific details, so she decided to just gloss over it.

“Just because.”

“Because of what?”

“……”

Why was he so persistent? She gave him a strange look before she turned back to her phone and gave KyuHyung a reply.

[I think you’re misunderstanding something. This isn’t a date. It’s a tutoring session. And this place is no good! Pick a place that’s quiet where we can stay for a long time.]

As if he’d been waiting for Daon’s response, she received a new message right away.

[Should I just reserve the whole place so that they don’t take in any other customers?]

Would you look at that? The daring rascal’s reckless behavior caused a laugh to escape her lips. Just as she was about to send another reply, she felt someone’s stinging gaze at her side. 

“You’re laughing?”

When she heard WooHyun’s low, gloomy voice, a chill ran down her spine. Her head stiffened as if she’d swallowed a lump of ice.

She met his narrowed eyes, and the brief moment felt like an eternity.

‘Why… am I so scared?’

Her heart raced as if she had been caught having an affair. She quickly decided to make an escape for it and stretched out her limbs.

“Ah, I’m tired. I’ll head to bed first.”

JaeOn was so fixated on the TV screen that he didn’t seem to even hear her. Either way, she had said it to WooHyun, so she took a quick glance at his expression and began to walk away.

WooHyun tilted his head with a look of disbelief and watched Daon’s back as she left.

Daon’s footsteps grew faster as she walked through the corridor towards her room. This was because the last thing she’d seen was WooHyun’s face saying, ‘Where do you think you’re going?’

It was the same face he gave her as he climbed on top of her to stop her from escaping last night.

Daon barely managed to grab her doorknob as her heart threatened to burst out of her throat. She could still clearly remember the way he had half-covered her body. The dull pain that came before the intense pleasure as he plunged into her.

She raised her hand to fan her flushed face when…

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Firm, muscular arms wrapped around Daon’s shoulders and pulled her back into an embrace.

“……!”

Bang, her door closed.

She could feel his soft lips on her ear. Chu, chuu, he poured light kisses down to her jaw.

The lights were still off, so the room was dark. WooHyun buried his lips against her neck. The sound of his wet tongue licking along the skin filled the room. His hair tickled her cheek.

“Daon.”

“……”

If anyone heard WooHyun’s voice, they’d think it sounded affectionate. However, Daon knew better.

“Yu Daon.”

WooHyun wanted one thing.

“Can I sleep in your room tonight?”

He wasn’t asking for permission. He was basically telling her what he was going to do. His large hand slipped underneath her t-shirt and softly squeezed Daon’s breast.

“Hnng.”

A moan escaped through her clenched teeth.

“Put me to sleep.”

His sweet, melting voice caused Daon’s body to grow limp. The phone in her hand fell to the ground. 

Was this what the humans felt when they were captured by the zombies’ inescapable grasp?

WooHyun quickly kicked her phone under her bed when she wasn’t looking. When he could no longer see the vibrating phone, WooHyun smirked.