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“Hello, uhm, just a moment please.” You won’t gain anything by being impolite.
Mr. Won-Jae does a slight nod of acknowledgement and turns his head to look through the window. He knows this distorted reality is too bizarre to take it all in one go. What he doesn’t know is that isn’t the reason you’re asking for a second to gather your thoughts.
You start recalling why you care about Mr. Won-Jae. It was during your bleakest days 2 years ago, where every moment stayed the same even if the clock still ticked. He was the only one who noticed you were down in the gutter, struggling to move on. You remember him pulling you outside during one of the classes, put his hand on your shoulder, and gave you his condolences. He was the only one who knew your mom died two days ago. You didn’t tell anyone, not your teachers, your classmates, not anyone who didn’t directly know her. Why he knew at the time escapes you.
Mr. Won-Jae didn’t understand why you were at school the day after her funeral, he told you to go home and mourn your mother. He’ll deal with everything in school for you if you choose to go. You mumbled a response, you can’t remember what you said, you don’t even remember looking particularly sad for him to notice, but you didn’t want to go home. He said he understands and gave you some money for the arcade… Well, not exactly for it, but to spend it to have fun. You didn’t know where else to go, you just wanted to be left alone…
…
The next day you came back to classes like nothing happened. Mr. Won-Jae was concerned, as inexpressive as he is, it was easy to tell when something bothered him. Your blank face wasn’t good enough, he noticed the pain again at the main gate. You two had a chat together on the spot, again, you don’t remember about what, but it was comforting. He wasn’t subtle enough with his words… No, it was the time for him to be direct and he knew it: He asked you if you needed more time, offered to cover for you, and handed you some money once again. You don’t know why, but you said you wanted to stay, to distract yourself with school. It wasn’t true, but you said it anyway. He still gave you the money, despite your protests. And to the arcade you went…
…
