Chapter 20

"I only see you"

With the sounds of students talking in the background, Taehyun looked at the entrance to the Cafeteria. He wasn't really looking, more like staring, without seeing anything. He was spacing out at the lunch table where his friends had been talking since they arrived, but he hadn't heard a single word anyone had said.

His food was left untouched on his plate and the juice box hadn't even been opened yet.

Instead his mind was wandering to places far away from the school and far away from the small Port Town. To places where he and Yoo Jin could go on a date. A place where she didn't look over her shoulder every time he took her hand in his. A place where they could be themselves.

"Hey, earth calling Taehyun." Taehyun turned his head and looked at Yeonjun who was sitting across from him with a very annoyed look on his face.

"I am sorry, did you say anything?" asked Taehyun, watching the annoyance in Yeonjun's eyes grow bigger.

"Nothing in particular," said Yeonjun, "but you have been ignoring us for the entire lunch break, and now the bell rang, but you didn't even hear it." Only now did Taehyun notice how the rest of the table was already empty and most of the students were busy leaving the room.

"Oh, thank you for waking me from my dace," said Taehyun and quickly got up from his seat.

"You know, I want to say 'no problem', but since this is becoming a habit of yours, it is a problem for me," said Yeonjun as they both put their trays away and walked towards the entrance of the Cafeteria.

"I know… I am sorry…" said Taehyun and felt his stomach twist when he thought about how much he had been neclecting his friends.

"It is because of Noona, isn't it?" asked Yeonjun, his voice sounding more mad than annoyed at this point, "she is all you can think about." Taehyun just stayed quiet, his eyes on the ground as they walked down the halls together.

"I thought you said the relationship between you two; whatever that relationship even is, wouldn't affect our friendship?"

"It won't!" said Taehyun quickly and stopped in his tracks, "I am sorry, my head has been in the clouds lately, I know it, but I promise you I will do better. I don't want to throw away our friendship." Yeonjun looked at Taehyun, whose eyes were staring directly into his. After a little while, Yeonjun let out a sigh and lowered his head and when he looked up again, a smile had appeared on his face.

"Alright, I will forgive you," said Yeonjun, "now let us hurry up, we are late for class."

"I don't need to hurry, we have math as our next subject and because we still haven't gotten a new teacher, no one is there to take attendance."

"Wow, they still haven't found a new teacher yet?" asked Yeonjun, "that is-" In the middle of his sentence, Yeonjun stopped talking, stopped walking and just stared right ahead.

"Yeonjun, what is wrong?" asked Taehyun, until he looked in the same direction and froze on the spot, just like Yeonjun.

There, down the hall, walking towards the two boys, were Yoo Jin along with the school principal. She was wearing a long blue pencil skirt and a white shirt, covered with a blue blazer. Her hair was made into a bun and she held her bag in front of her while walking, looking just as professional as the principal next to her.

"What. On. Earth?" asked Yeonjun and turned towards Taehyun, "did you know anything about this?"

"No, of course not!" said Taehyun quickly, "I am as shocked as you."

"Oh shoot," said Yeonjun and they both looked forward again, "it looks like you got to hurry if you want to make it to the classroom before those two."

"You are right," said Taehyun.

"Text me when you know what in heaven's name is going on," said Yeonjun and Taehyun nodded just before he started sprinting, making it inside the classroom only seconds before the principal entered, along with Yoo Jin.

"Good afternoon everyone," said the principal, a tall middle aged man, with grey hair and small round glasses, "I know you have been waiting for a new math teacher for quite some time now, and for that, I deeply apologize." While the principal spoke, Taehyun just sat in the back of the classroom, still trying to catch his breath after sprinting through the hallway, while he kept his eyes on Yoo Jin.

"The sad news is, we still haven't found a full-time math teacher yet," said the principal, "but the good news is, we have hired a substitute teacher who will be your new math teacher until we hire someone full-time. Everyone, this is Teacher Choi Yoo Jin." Yoo Jin politely bowed after being introduced and when she got back up, she looked out in the classroom with a huge smile on her face.

"Please take good care of me," she said and the entire class looked at her in awe.

"Wow such a young and pretty teacher, jackpot!" whispered a student.

"I wonder how old she is," whispered another student.

"Do you think she has a boyfriend?" whispered a third student.

Taehyun raced inside while he took out his phone and held it under the table, trying to explain the situation to Yeonjun over text. While messaging back and forth with Yeonjun, the principal left the classroom without Taheyun even noticing, and just as he was about to explain how mad he was about the male students drooling over Yoo Jin, he felt a presence behind him. As he looked up, he saw Yoo Jin hovering over him, arms crossed as she looked down at him with a raised eyebrow.

"No texting in class," said Yoo Jin and extended her hand, making Taehyun hand over his phone, lowering his head in embarrassment while the rest of the class chuckled.

"Wow, even though she is young and pretty, she is quite strict," whispered Kai while leaning his chair slightly backwards.

"She is Yeonjun's older sister," whispered Taehyun back and Kai nearly dropped his jaw all the way to the floor.

"Are you serious?" asked Kai and Taehyun just nodded, "so she is the one who has been your private tutor? You lucky bastard!" Taehyun just rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair, trying to focus on the things Yoo Jin were teaching on the board.

"Alright everyone, please work on your own for a bit and I will help you out if you have any questions," said Yoo Jin after thoroughly explaining the equations to the class. While everyone started working on the problems, Yoo Jin looked over the heads of the student, finding Taehyun in the back, trying hard to focus on the assignment.

Slowly, she walked down the class, looking over Taehyun's shoulder, only making his heart beat even faster.

"It looks like I have nothing left to teach you," said Yoo Jin in a soft voice and when Taehyun looked up, she just sent him a smile, as if this whole situation was completely normal.

"Teacher Choi, can you please help me," said a male student and raised his hand, making Yoo Jin turn around.

"Yes of course," said Yoo Jin and walked towards the student, quickly taking one last glance at Taehyun before leaving his side.

Taehyun looked up from the paper and watched the scenario play out in front of his eyes. The boy was looking at Yoo Jin with such intensity while Yoo Jin squatted down next to his table, carefully explaining how he solved the problem.

"Teacher Choi, I need help too," said another male student the second she got up and she quickly rushed to his side. The rest of the session continued this way. Only a few girls managed to call out to Yoo Jin for help, while the boys continued calling her over again and again, staring at her with so much lust the entire time she was helping them, making Taehyun's blood boil.

"Alright then, we are mostly done for the day," said Yoo Jin while standing at the board again, "does anyone have any last questions?"

"Teacher Choi, how old are you?" asked a male student, making Yoo Jin look at him in surprise.

"I don't see how that is related to math," she said with a nervous chuckle.

"Sure it us, age is a number, therefore it is related to math," answered the student, looking quite content with his comeback.

With a sigh, Yoo Jin said, "If you really must know, I am 25 years old."

"Do you have a boyfriend?" asked another student and Taehyun now watched Yoo Jin while holding his breath.

"Alright, that is enough for today," said Yoo Jin and grabbed her bag, quickly leaving the classroom, although the students did their best to throw their questions at her before she left.

"She must be single then," contemplated the male student who asked the question while looking at his friends with a smirk.

"Yes, otherwise she would have just said it, right?" said his friend.

"Or maybe, she just doesn't want to discuss her private life with a bunch of teenagers," yelled Taehyun, grabbing the attention of everyone in the classroom.

"What was that for?" whispered Kai after the awkward silence died down.

"Nothing…" said Taehyun, just before the history teacher entered the class and everyone went quiet again.

***

"Welcome home," said Se Hun, but before his son could even fathom his presence, he had run inside the house and left his dad behind in the bakery.

"Kids," whispered Se Hun to himself while shaking his head.

At the same time, Taehyun had reached the 1st floor and was aiming straight for his room, nearly slamming the door shut behind him because of the rush he was in.

"Taehyun, is that you?" he heard his mom call out after a few seconds and Taehyun slowly opened his door again.

"Yes I am home," yelled Taehyun back, "I am in my room, I will come by in a minute." With those words, Taehyun closed the door behind him again and ran across his room, jumping onto his bed, while already holding the phone in his hand, dialing the number.

"Pick up, pick up!" whispered Taehyun to himself while he listened to the endless sound of ringing in his ear.

"Hello," spoke Yeonjun after picking up the call.

"Hello, it's me," said Taehyun.

"Taehyun? What's up?"

"I just needed to talk to you."

"Then why didn't you just come over?"

"Because I can't talk to you while Noona is there," said Taehyun, making Yeonjun sigh deeply.

"What now?"

"Yeonjun, you don't understand! They were drooling all over the place while looking at her," explaining Taehyun, feeling total agony in his heart, "half the boys doesn't even have any problems in math, but everybody suddenly needed help today. They were all acting so immature and gross and inappropriate towards Noona."

"You know what?" said Yeonjun and Taehyun replied with a 'no', "you sound exactly like any jealous boyfriend would."

"What?" said Taehyun, a little offended, "but that is not even the point, I need your help!"

"With what?"

"With keeping Noona away from the boys!" It got completely silent on the line, making it possible for Taehyun to hear the beating heart in his chest.

"Yeonjun?" asked Taehyun after a little while.

"I don't know what to think of this," said Yeonjun.

"Alright… okay… okay I get it!" said Taehyun, "but for a second, just forget about the fact that I like your sister and we might be dating and I might just be a jealous boyfriend. Instead, imagine 15 boys drooling over your sister, thinking about her and even talking about her in a very inappropriate manner, as every teenage boy knows how to do. Is that what you want?"

"No… you are right," said Yeonjun after a few seconds, admitting defeat, "so, do you have a plan?"

That was exactly what Taehyun had and he set the plan in motion the very next day. The second the bell rang to lunch break and the students were let loose from the classrooms, running around like a bunch of crazy people, Taehyun took out his phone and messaged Yeonjun.

Do you have eyes on Noona?

Within a few seconds, Taehyun recieved a message back and was immediately relieved when he got the response.

I have it under control.

Walking towards the Cafeteria where he and Yeonjun had decided to meet, he suddenly noticed a lot of male students walking in a fast pace right past him, towards the other end of the school. A single thought of paranoia entered his mind, but he quickly brushed it aside. Yeonjun has it under control.

But he only just barely finished that thought when he saw his friend coming running towards him.

"Yeonjun? What is going on?" said Taehyun while Yeonjun stood in front of him, trying to catch his breath.

"I lost her…"

"What? What do you mean 'you lost her'?" said Taehyun in fear.

"I was going to follow her to the teacher's office like we planned, but all of a sudden, a whole army of boys showed up and I lost her in the crowd."

"Where is she now?"

"In the hallway just in front of the Teacher's office," said Yeonjun and he didn't need to say anymore before Taehyun had started running.

Even from far away it was easy to spot the commotion as several young students had gathered around the person Taehyun could only assume to be Yoo Jin.

Why are there so many student? She only teaches one class? Did word really spread that fast?

With all sorts of thoughts running through his mind, Taehyun approached the mass of people, trying his best to fight his way through.

"Teacher Choi, what are you doing after school?" asked one student.

"Oh I… I am just going home…" Taehyun heard Yoo Jin's voice clearly.

"Teacher Choi, do you want to go out for karaoke after school?" asked another student.

"Oh… well…"

"Teacher Choi, are you going to become a permanent teacher here?"

"I…"

Before Yoo Jin could figure out what else to say and before any other student had time to ask a question, Taehyun reached into the middle of the mass and grabbed a hold of Yoo Jin's small wrist, dragging her out of the circle, before anyone got a change to see what happened.

"Wait, where did she go?" said one student and everybody started looking around in confusion, all the while Taehyun ran away with Yoo Jin right behind him.

He knew every corner of the school, as it was the only school he had ever been to since he was young. He didn't stop running until they reached an empty club room, one that was being used by the football team. Since they were always out practicing, nobody really used the room and he often went there if he needed to be alone.

Standing in the small, dark room, both of them were trying to catch their breath after running the entire way.

"Taehyun, what on earth are you doing?" asked Yoo Jin when she was able to stand up straight again.

"No, what are you doing?" said Taehyun in a firm voice, surprising Yoo Jin, "if you act that way, you are only giving the boys hope! Is that what you want?"

"What… what are you talking about?" asked Yoo Jin, trying to wrap her head around the things he was saying.

"Why are you even here?" asked Taehyun, looking at the floor.

"Here?"

"Yes, why are you suddenly here as a substitute teacher?" continued Taehyun, "I mean, you didn't even tell me."

"But… I wanted to surprise you…" said Yoo Jin, now she was also looking at the floor. "I thought you would be happy to see me."

"I am… I am always happy to see you," said Taehyun, "but so is every other boy at this school, apparently."

"Oh… is that what this is about?" said Yoo Jin and Taehyun looked up, seeing a smirk on her face.

"What?"

"You are jealous, aren't you?" Taehyun felt his cheeks heat up and he immediately looked away while saying:

"So what if I am?" Yoo Jin let out a chuckle and Taehyun looked up again.

"You are cute," said Yoo Jin.

"I am not cute!" argued Taehyun.

"Well, that is just not true!" stated Yoo Jin, but while doing so, she noticed the clock hanging on the wall behind Taehyun and continued, "it looks like we are skipping lunch today." Taehyun turned around and noticed the time nearing next period.

"Will you be alright?" asked Yoo Jin.

"Me? I am fine, I have a candybar hidden in my back," said Taehyun, "but what about you?"

"I will manage, but we should get a move on." 

Yoo Jin was about to turn around to open the door, when she felt Taehyun's hands on her shoulder, pushing her against the door while pressing his lips against hers.

For a short moment, all she could think about was the feeling of Taehyun standing so close to her, his body pressed up against hers, while his soft lips closed over hers.

But when the moment passed, Yoo Jin was thrown back into reality, watching the young boy in front of her, looking away to hide his red cheeks. But at this point it didn't even matter, her cheeks were the exact same color.

"You better not look at anyone but me," said Taehyun while still avoiding eye contact. Yoo Jin felt her body move on its own as she grabbed onto his small round cheeks, pulling him closer to her again, giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"Don't worry," she said, "I only see you."

Hello everyone!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This book now has my two favorite tropes in one; a relationship with a huge age gab, and a teacher-student romance. What else could we ask for?

I hope you found the interactions between Yoo Jin and Taehyun cute, I know things might seem to be moving fast at this point, but remember we also have a time skip between the chapters. So I hope it doesn't feel too unrealistic to you.

Before moving on, I hope you would consider leaving a comment, it means the world to me! Also, remember to take good care of yourself and stay safe!

Love, Annalise~