“Zelo, come get your paper.” The teacher’s voice scared him and he glanced warily at his best friend who was currently dozing off, not even caring. He gulped and walked to the front. Please, at least let him pass. He kept his eyes closed as he outstretched his hand. Nothing came into it. He slowly opened an eye to find the teacher smiling amusedly at him.

            “Choi Junhong, what are you doing?”

            He immediately opened both eyes and straightened. “Ah, I was, you know. Praying.”

            The teacher’s lips twisted wryly. “Kind of late now, isn’t it?” And that was when Zelo’s world plummeted. Instead of a black or blue pen, he clearly saw a of red. Even though he didn’t see the exact score, he knew that he definitely had failed.

            When he got back to his seat, he stuffed the paper into his book bag without bothering to look at it. His entire mood had dissipated. It wasn’t that he didn’t study hard. It was just English was too hard for him to comprehend. His cousins had said that even people who lived in English speaking countries could barely speak the language properly, much less a foreigner like him.

            As he was leaving the classroom, his teacher called him over. “Zelo, I think it’d be best if you saw the comments I put on your paper.” The old man nodded kindly and patted his shoulder. “You’re going to have to keep trying. Don’t give up so easily.”

            Easy for him to say. He wasn’t the one failing all these essays. Zelo sighed and when he got home, took out the wrinkled piece of paper. On the back of the page, the teacher had written another student’s ID, then “Go ask her for help. She’s the best in your class.”

            Zelo saw the name and gulped. He most definitely would not be asking her, thank you very much. It was bad enough that the other time he had attempted to confess to her, he completely blundered and she didn’t even get the message. He scratched his head and groaned. “Ah, why me? Why her?”

            Underneath the note the teacher had written something else. “And I will know if you asked her for help. I expect to see drafts and outlines.”

            Zelo threw the paper at the wall and slid down his chair into a puddle of despair. How could he possibly ask her when she probably saw him as an utter loser? But he knew he had no choice so he decided he was going to coolly do it in person.

            He asked Jongup to find out her locker and went there right after school. He waited, much to the curiosity of the passerby, for a long time. She didn’t show up until a girl whose locker was next to hers turned to him. “She’s not at school today.”

            Zelo nodded slowly. Ah, of course. He bowed politely and hurried down the hallway. How embarrassing. He would have no choice but to wait for the next day. Instead, when he got home there was an e-mail waiting for him.

            “Hey Zelo! I know you were asked to come to me for help. I think that would be a great idea! More time for us to catch up ^^ I haven’t seen you around since the last time when you were talking to me but ran away… Never knew what happened there… But message me with whenever you’re free! I work on the weekend so any day after school or Sunday night?”

            He slumped in his seat. Of course she would have to take the initiative and ask him first. He groaned out loud and quickly typed a response to her with the times he was available and sighed. He was such a loser.

            They first met the very next day. She was waiting by his locker and was grinning as he came into view. “Hey, looks like our roles are reversed today.”

            “Huh?” He looked at her blankly and she smiled again.

            “You were waiting by my locker yesterday. Sorry I was out. I had to go get my passport validated.”

            “Ah,” he nodded dumbly. “Of course, of course. It’s no big deal. I didn’t wait too long.”

            She walked into an empty classroom and took out her book. “Alright, let’s go. I scanned your paper and it looks like most of your problems are concentrated in diction. Your grammar is pretty impeccable. You just need help choosing the right words and syntax. Let’s work on this.”

            And so for the next hour, they did. Zelo tried not to get too distracted, but he found her way of speaking really soothing and it helped him learn. Which was the point right? She helped him whenever he was stuck, and he was grateful for that. They continued to meet for weeks until he managed to score an amazing grade on his paper.

            To thank her, Zelo decided he was going to confess. And that was where the hard part came in. He slaved away at his school desk, thinking, erasing and balling up the paper. He wrote in a hit of inspiration then hit another dead end. Confessions were too hard.

            When he was finally satisfied, he carefully sealed the letter and prayed there wouldn’t be a single mistake in his letter. It would be embarrassing and he’ll be an even bigger loser. He waited for her outside her locker and when she came, he held out the letter.

            “I got a 95 on my essay. This is a thank you note.” He shoved it to her and ran off.

            When he got home, there was a message waiting. “Zelo-ah, it’s go out with me not come out with me ^^ But of course, especially when you did so perfectly, how can I say no?”

this is for ohmygawditsJane

thank you so so much for your amazing support guys~

double update so go check out the previous Dae ^^