LA0S | Chapter 36

“What are you up to?”

“Prepping for a tutoring session.”

“Ah, I thought you were on the phone because I heard voices.”

I thought it would be polite not to disturb if it was a phone call. That thought crossed my mind, but I didn’t bother saying it out loud.

“Going well?”

“Just so-so. If you’ve got nothing to say, don’t just hover, go away.”

With my mind already a mess, the last thing I needed was Kim Chayoung lurking around. He glanced over the workbook and textbooks spread out on the desk before speaking up.

“I know some tutoring hacks.”

How would a starving man feel if you offered him a slice of bread? He’d probably cling to your legs, begging. Or what if someone reached out a hand while you were dangling from a cliff? What Kim Chayoung just said felt just like that.

I should tell him to get lost, but the words just wouldn’t come out. Naturally. My livelihood was at stake.

But neither could I easily ask him to spill his secrets. Why did it have to be him, always putting me in these tough spots? And always to my disadvantage.

“Should I leave if I’m disturbing you?”

Kim Chayoung had poked his head in curiously and now he slightly withdrew it.

“Hey. Kim Chayoung.”

I called out to him urgently, and as if he had been waiting, Kim Chayoung popped his head back in. His lips twitched as if he was holding back a laugh.

“I’ll make an exception this time.”

He replied in a voice tinged with amusement and stepped fully into the room.

“Was the subject you’re teaching modern history? What time are your tutoring sessions?”

“Today at 12:30 PM and 5 PM.”

I ran two sessions on Saturdays and one on Sundays, and spent any remaining time according to schedule for supplementary sessions. Today’s 5 PM session was with the student who had called tutoring sessions ‘dead boring.’

Kim Chayoung then left the room only to return dragging a chair with him. He sat down right next to Lee Jinha, close enough for their chair arms to bump into each other.

“Why bring the chair? Thought you were going to share a tip.”

“I need to diagnose before I prescribe, right? First, I need to see how you teach to give you the right tips.”

His argument was indisputable. Lee Jinha sighed heavily and gripped his pencil tighter.

“What’s most important about the Three Kingdoms period? It’s all about who unifies the Korean peninsula, right? Think of it like a game of capturing land. The main goal was to grab as much land around you as possible.”

He underlined the Han River vigorously with his pencil as he spoke. After a while talking about the Three Kingdoms period, he suddenly looked up. Kim Chayoung was watching him, chin propped on his hand. His expression turned into a smile when their eyes met.

“Hey. If you’re going to listen half-heartedly, just leave. Don’t drain my energy for nothing.”

“You’re the one not showing any enthusiasm, you know? I’m being super serious right now. I wasn’t even this focused when I was a student.”

Kim Chayoung responded with a stern look. His insistence made it seem like he wasn’t lying. It didn’t even seem like he was listening. Was it just my imagination or were my cheeks, eyes, and lips tingling?

I bowed my head deeply and just barely finished a chapter.

“The explanation isn’t bad. The examples and metaphors are appropriate. It’s not so much the content of the lesson that’s the issue.”

The issue is what? My gaze involuntarily fixed on his lips. Both the upper and lower lips were plump. Overall, he had a handsome face, but if I had to pick one feature, it would be his lips… Wait, that’s enough. Dazed, Lee Jinha suddenly slapped his own cheek. Slap. The sound of skin hitting skin made Kim Chayoung’s eyes widen.

“What are you doing? Are you crazy?”

“I’m trying not to be crazy. I’m finally coming to my senses.”

It wasn’t particularly painful. Unlike me, Kim Chayoung didn’t seem pleased. He must have disliked being interrupted.

“I’m fine, keep going.”

“You really know how to tick someone off.”

Pot calling the kettle black? His gaze lingered on the reddened cheek. Kim Chayoung ran his fingers through his hair irritably and then spoke up. He seemed fine just a moment ago, now why was he annoyed again?

“The summary notes seem too bland. You did well with the summarizing and pinpointing the key points, but it’s hard for the students to catch what they need for revision.”

“Really?”

“Don’t you know that a well-made PPT can win half the battle in group assignments? People are surprisingly weak when it comes to visual information.”

He rattled off as if he hadn’t been holding back just a moment ago. I had thought about how to make my teaching more understandable but hadn’t considered that I needed to dress up the summary materials.

“Adding to that, you’ll obviously set goals for memorization. Say, hitting five targets means achieving the goal. There are various ways to do it. While you don’t necessarily have to give out gifts, if you must, something simple would be better. Like decorative stickers for an idol fan girl’s photocard.”

“What’s a ‘poca’? Point card? Pohang café?”

Seeing Kim Chayoung’s expression, as if asking if he was serious, a wave of embarrassment washed over me.

“Photocard. It’s about decorating photos of idols or actors with cute stickers.”

I had known Kim Chayoung for a long time, but he had never seemed as reliable as he did at that moment. Lee Jinha looked at him, almost in a daze.

“That’s all I had to say.”

Kim Chayoung got up from his seat and left the room. I didn’t even have the chance to thank him.

I gathered the SAT textbooks and summary notes and prepared for tutoring. Out of nowhere, Kim Chayoung reappeared, rustling something in his hands. It was a ziplock bag filled with ice.

“I’m fine, though?”

“Your face doesn’t look fine at all. You know mothers are quite concerned about appearances, right?”

Considering they prefer cleanliness. Lee Jinha usually wore his university jacket to lessons, except during the hot summer months. It wasn’t really by choice; it was just what he had to wear, but it seemed the Hanguk University emblem emblazoned on the jacket impressed the parents.

“You’re only making sense today. Awkwardly so.”

“I’m always serious about you.”

At that moment, it hit me. That he had dated me out of pity must have been serious too. My mood plummeted. The uncomfortable feelings I had been trying to ignore surfaced. My left cheek, which I had slapped earlier, suddenly throbbed, so I pressed the ice-filled ziplock against it.

“What time will you be done?”

“It depends on how much overtime I do, but usually before 10 PM.”

I replied, suppressing a prickly feeling. Today, of all days, I didn’t want to be rude to Kim Chayoung over past issues.

“Then let’s meet around 10:30 PM at the mart in front of this place. You saw it the other day, right? King Mart.”

He was referring to that 24-hour mart near the park.

“Why should I?”

“You’re in charge of meals. If you want to keep eating instant ramen and rice, be my guest.”

Living in this house came with the duties of cooking and cleaning. First off, the fridge needed stocking.

“Alright, I’ll see you at King Mart at 10.”

Just before crossing the threshold, I looked back. Kim Chayoung was leaning against the door frame.

The tutoring sessions were a success. Both students were girls and collected idol photocards. As Kim Chayoung had suggested, I used the photocard stickers as a reward for achieving their goals. The reaction was better than expected. Next time, I should make colorful and eye-catching summary books.

After finishing the second tutoring session, I checked the time. It was 8:50 PM. About an hour and ten minutes left until the meeting time. It would take about 40 minutes to walk to the mart from here, so I should start heading there.

The air was truly warm now. Where flowers had fallen, small sprouts appeared, and those sprouts had turned into green leaves.

How long could I keep wearing this university jacket? It was the easiest thing to wear.

As I walked slowly, I soon reached the park in front of the mart. I was 30 minutes early.

Since I was at the park, maybe I should do some stretching. I headed towards the exercise equipment provided for local residents. Suddenly, I remembered Kim Chayoung’s physique from yesterday. His bone structure was probably natural, but the muscles had to be from working out. In high school, Kim Chayoung would play soccer or basketball during lunch or after school, dragging even the reluctant Lee Jinha along.

What kind of exercise was he doing now?

Lee Jinha also worked out at least five times a week. Being sick was not an option; both studies and part-time jobs required physical endurance.

A membership at a costly gym was out of the question; running up the steep neighborhood hills or doing pull-ups on the playground bars was all he managed. Still, he kept at it consistently.

“Hmm.”

Lee Jinha took off his jumper and flexed one arm, touching his forearm with the other hand. Since being forced out of his apartment, he hadn’t even thought about exercising, not to mention he had been sick with a cold. Considering all that, he was doing pretty well.

He set his bag down on the ground and grabbed the pull-up bar with both hands. The bar was low, tailored to children’s height, so he had to bend his knees well past halfway. Using the momentum, he swung his body up, flipping over as if doing a handstand. The world appeared upside down.

Could my life, muddled and messy from poverty, ever turn upside down like this?