“EXCUSE ME?!”someone exclaimed, shocked by my apparition. “You’re…who?”

As I expected, Jong Woon was the one that talked. I turned around with a smile playing on my lips: “As you probably heard, I am the new teacher se-…”

“No, I didn’t hear anything about this!”he cut me off. “I’m afraid this class is suspended. We have to go to the Head Master,”he dismissed the students with a swift movement of his hand. I watched the students preparing to leave the room.

“No one leaves this room!”my voice echoed over their muttered words. “Teacher Kim, if you have anything to tell me, please do it after my classes end. I’ll be more than happy to give you the explanations you need. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a class to hold,”I turned around, thinking just how easy was to win over him this time.

But then I felt his fingers wrapping around my wrist. “You’re coming with me. NOW!”he pulled me after him, dragging me outside the room and towards Head Master’s office. “Head Master Kim! Could you please explain this to me?”he pushed me towards the elder.

“What’s there to explain, teacher Kim?”the old man didn’t even bother to raise his eyes from the papers that were scattered all over his desk.

“What’s a girl doing inside the Royal Academy? And what’s all that about her being the new teacher?”

The Head Master raised his eyes and stared at his son. “That’s a decision that was already taken. And there’s nothing that can be done about this either. So stop acting foolishly and let her hold her classes, understood?”

“But father! She’s a girl!”Jong Woon exclaimed, looking at me with disgust. “And she’s a Cho! Isn’t it enough already that we have her brother bothering us ever single day?! Now we have to stand her around here as a teacher?!”

“Teacher Kim!”his father’s eyes sparkled dangerously.

“No, father! I won’t stay here and accept this! I will do whatever it takes to make sure that no one from the Cho family steps inside the Academy!”Jong Woon’s fists were trembling.

I felt terribly hearing his hateful words. So Jun Hyung was right when he said that this…this…this person hates not only him, but our entire family!

“Here!”I threw to him the red letter that I’ve got from the King. “Read it and then you can say whatever you want about me! But please keep in mind this little thing:never insult my family!”my voice trembled. “Have a good day!”I bowed and left the room. I knew that his eyes watched me leaving, counting my steps as I marched through the garden, trying to keep a calm posture as I walked over towards the class where the students were whispering the latest news: a girl as their new teacher! “Sit!”I ordered as soon as I took my sit in front of the class. “Open the textbook, please,”I tried to sound calm and compose. “Now…recite page 125.”

♃~✵~♃

“I can’t believe him! How dares him treat me like that?!”I hissed as I played around with the apple Jun Hyung brought me.

“Calm down! I thought I told you how he is in reality,”my brother smiled from beside me. “And you knew that you weren’t going to be welcomed by him. So why are you so upset for?”

“I’m going to make him regret his words! Oh, just you wait!”

“By the way, how did you manage to become teacher here?”

“Uncle Yang gave me a red letter.”

“What?!”

I sighed. “He have me a red letter for the Head Master. There was no other way to get inside the Academy…”

“But still! A red letter! Ae Ri, someone really loves you, don’t you think?”

“What do you mean, Jun Hyung?”

“The King’s Red Letter is a secret decree that can not be countered,”he said rolling his eyes. “Head Master Kim must have had a real shock when you handed out the red letter! Way to go, little sister! You hit him right between his eyes!”Jun Hyung laughed, making all the students look at us with a strange expression in their eyes.

“Student Cho, if you don’t behave, I may be forced to give you detention,”I said on a composed tone, watching his reaction.

“Yah…”

“Don’t you ‘yah’ me, Cho Jun Hyung! I’m your teacher now!”

“Yah…”

“YAH!”I snapped, throwing my book towards him and hitting his head. “Oh you…detention is written on your forehead!”

“Now Ae Ri, promise me that you’ll be careful,”his voice sounded serious this time.

“About what?”I played with tassel.

“About him. About everything that surrounds you and will surround you from now on. This place is…I can’t even explain what’s going on here. There are so many teachers that are bad. Even the Head Master himself! Not to mention that Jong Woon guy! So promise me that you’ll keep your eyes wide open and that you’ll leave the academy as soon as you see something suspicious going around,”he rose his pinky finger, remembering me the moment when I made him promise never to tell mother about the broken doll.