“The debelopmint of the practice is…”

 “No, it’s ‘development.”

Taeng scrunches his nose in frustration, “Argh. English is too hard…”

 Tiffany softly chuckles, “Come on you can do it. I believe in you.”

The two were once again video chatting, except this time it was Tiffany’s turn to help Taeng in English instead of the usual vice versa but in math. They had been doing this constantly every day but Taeng insisted they do it when it’s night time in Korea because he didn’t want Tiffany to be tired or stay up late. Though Tiffany would be stubborn and persist on doing at night in the states, Taeng wouldn’t budge even if she pouted which was hard for him since he found it adorable and irresistible.

 Taeng sighs and stares at the white paper that was on his desk. His English teacher assigned them to write a paper about what they read in class; however, the teacher instructed the paper to be written in English instead of Korean to better their language skill.

 “The de-bel-”

 “Vel.” Tiffany enunciated; a cheeky smile on her face.

 “V-el.”

Her eyes glow of happiness, “Good! Now again. V-el.”

Taeng tilts his head to the side cutely, “V-el.”

“Now say it together.” “V…el. Vel.”

 Tiffany claps her hands in excitement, “Good job Taeng! Now say the whole world. Development.”

Taeng takes a deep breath and looks Tiffany straight in her eyes. “De….velopment.” His eyes widen, “De-velopment. Development.”

 The brunette girl found herself grinning and clapping, marveling at Taeng’s pronunciation.

 “Perfect! I knew you could do it!” Tiffany exclaimed, her smile making Taeng smile.

 “Wow, you’re the best Tiffany! Best Engrish teacher ever!” Taeng said in English, dorkily smiling as he puts his thumb up to the webcam.

Tiffany chuckles hearing Taeng’s accent, she found it adorable seeing his dorky self being displayed on the screen.

 “Well, you still need a lot of practice. But don’t worry; I’m confident you will perfect English!” She replied while smiling.

 He scratches the back of his neck, “With you as my tutor, I’m sure I can.”

Tiffany couldn’t help but blush and shy her face away from the webcam.

Taeng smiles, “Aigoo. You’re so cute.”

 Tiffany felt her cheeks grow hotter, “Geez…”

He chuckles and tilts his head cutely again, “Sorry…”

The brunette pushes her hair aside and looks back to the camera after calming herself down. “I-It’s okay. Thank you…” She mumbled but managed to smile at the latter.

 Taeng felt his heart skip a beat and butterflies grow in his stomach. He couldn’t tell her straightforwardly how much he loved seeing Tiffany’s smile. It was beautiful and bright that it somehow drew a smile on his face as well.

Tiffany bit her bottom lip as her mind was contemplating whether to ask about Taeng’s wellbeing. It has been 3 weeks since Taeng and Jieun broke up and she couldn’t help but wonder how he is doing. He seemed to be fine during their previous chats but she found herself being curious and wondering if he really is okay or if he’s just masking his true feelings.

“Uhm Taeng?” She softly asked, quickly grabbing the attention of the dorky boy on the screen.

 “Yes? What’s wrong?” He asked worriedly seeing the anxious look on the girl's face.

Tiffany felt a small smile grow on her face at how worried Taeng was for her. It’s one of the many traits she adored.

“Well, uhm…” She stops herself from continuing, unsure of what to say and how to proceed with it.

“What is it? Is there something wrong?” He asked again in the same tone, making the butterflies in Tiffany’s stomach bursts out of their cage.

 “H-How are you doing?” She finally asked, making the boy look at her with wide eyes.

 “What do you mean?”

 “About you and Jieun…”

Taeng’s mouth forms into an “O” shape after understanding what Tiffany was asking, he takes a deep breath and leans back against his chair. Tiffany watches in silence as he takes another breath and runs a hand through his hair.

“I’m fine. She stopped calling me. We talked things out.”

Tiffany’s eyes widen since she didn’t know that two spoke a word to each other.

“Really? How did that go?” She asked curiously.

Taeng shrugs, “Good I guess. We talked and that’s pretty much it.”

 

“Taeng…Can we please talk?”

 “I guess…”

 “I’m sorry…Really I am.”

“I understand…”

“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”

“What else am I supposed to say?”

“See! This is why I cheated on you Taeng! You’re too much of a nice guy! You never set your foot down!”

“I guess I’m not the right guy for you then.”

“Whatever Taeng. Good luck trying to find a girl who won’t cheat on you.”

 

He shakes his head, “It’s whatever now. It’s all in the past and I’ve moved on.”

Tiffany frowned at the sight of Taeng, she could tell something was bothering him and she was determined to get him to tell her.

 “It doesn’t seem like it.” She stated, making his eyes widen in surprise again.

“What do you mean?”

“Come on Taeng. Something’s bothering you.”

“No. Nothing is bothering me. I’m perfectly fine.”

“That’s a lie.”

 Taeng sighs and leans forward against his hair, he chuckles as he marvels at how stubborn and persistent the girl was.

 “Well, I guess there is one thing bothering me…” He confessed, biting his lip in hesitation.

 “You can tell me Taeng, we’re friends right?” Tiffany said softly yet sincerely, showing a gentle smile to him which made his heart skip a beat.

“Y-Yeah…” He stammered, completely distracted by her beautiful smile. He clears his throat and sighs, “I don’t know…Even though Jieun and I broke up and I’m completely over her. I just feel like…I wasn’t good enough for her. That she cheated on me because I wasn’t doing a good job as her boyfriend.”

Tiffany tightens her fists, hearing Taeng talk down on himself made her feel angry at Jieun for not realizing how great of a guy Taeng is.  

“Don’t say that Taeng.” She said softly, “You’re a great guy. She just didn’t realize it.”

He scoffs, “Yeah that’s what Yul said too… Am I too much of a nice guy? Do girls not like nice guys?”

“Every girl wants a nice guy…” She grows faint, “We just waste our times on jerks because we feel like we’re never going to find the right guy…”

 Taeng grows quiet hearing Tiffany’s confession, after knowing her experiences with her boyfriend he couldn’t help but feel guilty knowing that the girl was going through troubles as well.

 “I’m sorry…” He replied, “You just dealt with a break up too huh? I’m sorry for being selfish…”

Tiffany shakes her head, “It’s nothing to be sorry for Taeng. Jay and I…Our relationship was nothing like yours and Jieun. Besides…I’ve moved on. My feelings for him no longer exist.”

Taeng slowly shakes his head, “Are you sure? You seemed like you really liked him…”

“Did I? Hm…I must have been a good actress then.”

He chuckles, “Funny.”

Tiffany smiles, “But in all seriousness…I did like him. DID being the main word, I’m not going to waste my time sulking on someone who doesn’t deserve it.”

 Taeng smiles hearing the confident words from the brunette girl, it was one of the many traits he liked about her. “I’m glad to hear that, I was about to send you some virtual ice cream and listen to you mope for hours.”

Tiffany laughs, “Hey! I’m not like other girls.”

“I know. That’s what makes you better than the other girls.” He replied sincerely making the younger girl blush.

“S-so, let’s practice another sentence.” Tiffany stuttered, her cheeks still flushed with red.

The dorky boy scratches the back of his head, “Eh? But we’ve been practicing for almost 2 hours now!”

“Just one more sentence! Please?”

Taeng sighs in defeat since he knows he can’t deny the girls’ pout. “Okay fine. But can I request a sentence?”

She nods and tilts her head, “Fine. What do you need help in saying?”

 Taeng charmingly smiles, “You’re beautiful.”

Tiffany felt her heart skip a beat. The look in Taeng’s eyes was hypnotizing; it made her stomach feel like a thousand butterflies were flying around.

 “W-why do you need help in saying that? It’s not that hard to say in English.” She argued, heat rising to her cheeks.

He crosses his arms and pouts, “It’s hard for me. The word ‘beautiful’ is complicated.”

“Why do you want to say that anyways?”

Taeng chuckles and shakes his head, “That’s for me to know and you to never find out.”

“Yah! I’m your tutor; I should have the right to know!”

 “Nooo, please? Just help me.”

Tiffany restlessly sighs; she runs her hand through her hair and sticks her tongue out to him in the process. “Fine okay. Let’s start with the beginning.”

“Okay teacher Hwang!” He replied dorkily, causing the girl to roll her eyes but chuckle.

 “You’re.”

 “You’re.”

 “Okay. Now beau-ti-ful.”

 Taeng takes a deep breath before looking straight into Tiffany’s eyes. “Boo-”

“Beau.”

 “Beooo.”

Tiffany laughs, “Nooo. ‘Beau.’”

“Argh! This is too hard.”

“You were the one who wanted to learn it!”

“And I will learn it!” Taeng holds a fist up in the air, “Hwaiting!”

“Dork,” Tiffany replied, holding in her laughter at the boy’s childish antics.

 “Okay. Boo.”

 “Beau.”

 “B-eau.”

“Good! Now put it together.”

 “B….eau. Beau.”

 She claps her hands in happiness, “Yay! Now finish it out. ‘Tiful.”

“Teafool.”

 “Almost.”

“Beau…tiful.”

The girls’ eyes gleam with delight, she couldn’t be any happier seeing the boy on the screen try his hardest to learn English. Her eyes smile with , Taeng felt his heart melt again seeing the smile he adored on the girl. A smile forms on his lips as he tries to pronounce the word he’s been aching to learn.

“Beautiful.”

 Tiffany’s jaw drops, “Say it again!”

His eyes gleam up like a child realizing he said the word correctly. “Beautiful.” His eyes widen as he looks at the girl, “Beautiful…BEAUTIFUL.”

She shows her thumb up to the screen and smiles, “Yes! Good job Taeng!”

 “Ah! Thank you so much, Tiffany. You are the best.” He replied wholeheartedly, showing the girl his dorky smile.

“Of course! I’m so proud of you.”

Taeng grins, he couldn’t be any more proud of himself. He was also thankful for Tiffany for teaching him; he loved how patient she was with her at the times he was struggling.

“Okay. English lesson is over for today.” Tiffany said with a bright smile.

 “Alright!”

The two started striking up a conversation as they always do when they finish their lessons. It was something that became a usual plan. They both loved talking to each other, even if it was just for a couple of minutes or long hours. Even if they were both busy, they would text or call each other at times they couldn’t video chat. Knowing that both the two teens were not tired of talking to each other puts a smile on both of their faces.

“It’s probably getting late there huh?” Tiffany stated after realizing they had been talking for quite some time.

“Yeah. I should probably head to bed.” Taeng said sadly, wishing he didn’t have to go so soon.

“Same thing tomorrow? Only this time…Could you tutor me in math? My exam is coming up…”

 “Of course. I would love too.”

 The brunette smiles brightly, “Thanks so much Taeng.”

 “You’re welcome. Thank YOU for helping me write my essay.”

“Of course! I hope you get a good grade on it!”

The dorky boy laughs, “I hope so too.” He sends a warm smile, “Good night Tiffany.”

“Good night Taeng.”

“See you tomorrow!” He said in English, making Tiffany chuckle.

 “See you!”

As Tiffany was about to exit the chat room, Taeng quickly catches her attention to stop her.

 “Tiffany?”

 She looks at the screen and into the boy’s eyes. “Yes?”

Taeng clears his throat before smiling at her and looking straight into her eyes.

“You’re beautiful.”