Kyuhyun stared at his notebook as the teacher rambled on about history. He was listening, but not really. He was listening, but wasn't taking in what the teacher was saying. 

 

His lips moved every once in a while as his mind moved miles per hour, but not a sound escaped. 

 

It wasn't until there was a knock on the door, followed by a moment of silence—blissful silence—that Kyuhyun looked up from his notebook. 

 

The teacher opened the door and allowed the guest in. The person standing before him looked to be a boy the same age as Kyuhyun, 18. But he was dressed similarly to the teacher. 

 

Kyuhyun cocked his head; was he a student? He had no backpack or books, though...

 

“Class, I'd like to introduce a new addition to our class [481]! This is Jungsoo and he will be a tutor for anyone who needs help [349]!” The teacher introduced the guest.

 

“Hello [52]! I'm here to help anyone in any subject [351]. Please don't hesitate to ask for help [342].” The guest, Jungsoo, spoke up, bowing to the class. He had a giant smile plastered on his face and one dimple was on display; Kyuhyun was able to pick up on it after he mind settled. 

 

Kyuhyun looked down to his notebook again, purposely trying not to listen to the next words that were exchanged between the teacher and Jungsoo. 

 

He knew the tutor was there for him. Yes, he would help the class, as well; but he had been called in because of Kyuhyun.

 

There was suddenly a presence right beside Kyuhyun. 

 

“You're going to meet with him now , okay , Kyuhyun [533].” It was his teacher, leaning down to speak to him. 

 

“Mmhmm...” Kyuhyun mumbled as he bent to pick up his backpack and books. 

 

The teacher placed his hand on Kyuhyun's shoulder, gently leading him to the front of the class. Kyuhyun rolled his eyes at the sniggers he received from his classmates—they all thought he was a psycho. 

 

Kyuhyun peeked up at Jungsoo, catching that dimple, before his eyes hit the floor. 

 

“Want to come with me?” Jungsoo said gently, guiding Kyuhyun through the classroom door. 

 

It was a question, but Kyuhyun knew he didn't really have a choice (nor was he paying attention anymore). Jungsoo was just being nice. 

 

“Good riddance [99].” Kyuhyun heard his classmate mutter out just before the door closed behind him. 

 

The pair walked in silence, and Kyuhyun was grateful. Jungsoo led him to a tiny room that was in the library. Inside was a round table and three chairs; on the table were a few books and pens and paper.

 

“Please, sit [106].” Jungsoo said as he gestured towards one of the chairs, a smile still plastered on his face. Kyuhyun obeyed and dropped his backpack to the floor. 

 

“You know why I'm here, right[300]?” Jungsoo asked.

 

Kyuhyun nodded. He had had a meeting with his parents, his teachers and the principle a few days ago. It was about how Kyuhyun was struggling so badly that he was nearly failing all of his classes, with the exception of his math class. It wasn't that Kyuhyun didn't pay attention, or purposely disregard his teachings; there was a reason. However, Kyuhyun's parents didn't have the money to send Kyuhyun to a school that would cater to this 'reason.' 

 

Kyuhyun looked at his fingers, fighting the urge to ignore what his tutor was saying. He knew he needed to do good in these tutor sessions if he wanted his life to get any easier. 

 

“...I know you didn't ask for something like this...here to help you...like to talk first. Is that alright?” Jungsoo was saying. “What do you like to do?”

 

“Uh...Play video games.” Kyuhyun managed to get enough of what the tutor was saying to answer correctly.

 

“Yeah? Which game is your favorite?”

 

“Starcraft.”

 

“Ah, I've heard of that one. Are you good at it?”

 

Kyuhyun nodded.

 

“You should teach me sometime. I'm not good with video games, though.” Jungsoo said as he watched Kyuhyun. The boy's lips were moving ever so slightly every time he spoke. 

 

“What are you doing?” Jungsoo asked gently. He didn't want to sound rude.

 

“Huh?” Kyuhyun looked up at Jungsoo suddenly—he wasn't doing anything...

 

“Your lips move when I talk. Are you repeating what I say?” There was genuine curiosity in Jungsoo's voice that comforted Kyuhyun slightly. He could feel his cheeks beginning to heat up at having been found out so soon. But Jungsoo's tone was so different from the jeers he received from his classmates.

 

“I...umm...” Kyuhyun mumbled.

 

“It's okay.” Jungsoo had been told that Kyuhyun had a condition that made it difficult for him to pay attention; however, nothing was explained fully to him. 

 

“I-I...I count letters.” Kyuhyun said.

 

“Count letters?” 

 

“Yeah...”

 

“What does that mean?” Jungsoo asked, innocent curiosity clear in his voice.

 

“'What does that mean:' 177. Jungsoo: 101. I count letters.”

 

“My name, Jungsoo, is 101? How does that work?”

 

“My mind just adds the letters up.”

 

“So each letter gets a number, and then a word is the sum of all the letters?” 

 

Kyuhyun nodded.

 

Jungsoo seemed genuinely curious as he continued to ask about how Kyuhyun's mind works. “How quickly do you do this?”

 

“'How quickly do you do this...' 272.  That quickly.”

 

“And you can't control it?”

 

Kyuhyun shook his head. “If I don't pay attention, it doesn't happen. But if I'm listening, I can't stop it.”

 

“Does it bother you?”

 

“It's...It's annoying. Even though it's more of a subconscious thing, it still gets to the point where I can't focus on anything else besides the numbers.”

 

“So me speaking to you is bothering you?” Jungsoo asked, cocking his head.

 

Kyuhyun looked to his lap—a clear enough answer to Jungsoo's question.

 

“Does it happen when you read?” 

 

Kyuhyun shook his head, bring his gaze up from his lap. The doctors had been surprised that it didn't bother him when he visualized words. 

 

“No? Then I know how we will get through this.”

 

Kyuhyun looked curiously to Jungsoo as he rummaged around in a bag that had been beside his chair when the two arrived. 

 

Jungsoo pulled out his laptop and opened it on the table. He quickly opened a fresh document and typed something before turning it to face Kyuhyun.

 

"This is how we will talk then. :)"

 

Kyuhyun looked to Jungsoo; he wore the same face as his emoticon. 

 

Kyuhyun smiled and nodded his head. No one had tried something like this for him. Maybe this wouldn't be that bad after all.

 

~

 

An hour and a half into their session, Kyuhyun handed Jungsoo the quiz he had made for Kyuhyun to take after he re-taught the first lesson. 

 

Kyuhyun watched on nervously as Jungsoo went down the page, checking his answers. His eyebrows shot up when Jungsoo made eye contact, that dimple made visible by a large grin. 

 

Jungsoo turned the laptop to himelf and typed something before he turned it back to Kyuhyun.

 

"You got them all right~~!"

 

Kyuhyun grinned, his eyes falling to his lap in shyness. He'd never gotten a 100% on anything, except maybe some math quizzes—he was always good at understanding math equations; numbers made up his mind after all. 

 

Jungsoo took the laptop back, typed, and turned it back to Kyuhyun.

 

"You learn quickly...Why was I called to help you, then?"

 

Kyuhyun looked back to Jungsoo; the smile had lessened significantly, but had not disappeared completely. 

 

Kyuhyun typed back, "I can't pay attention when people talk...No one has ever tried to teach me any other way..."

 

Jungsoo nodded before typing. "I'll keep helping you this way then. If you want me to, that is...”

 

Kyuhyun smiled as he typed out, "I think I would like that :)"