Chapter 12

Betray Me Not

It seems like Professor Oh is back to normal the next day.

 

“We’ll be checking the worksheet. If you didn’t do all your work on a separate piece of paper then I’m subtracting 20 points for sloppiness,” she announces the next day. Professor Oh is met with outraged protests.

 

“You never told us that!” Kyungsoo yells.

 

“My work is already neat!” Hwe Ji shrieks.

 

Kai stands up. Everyone goes silent. Professor Oh eyes him warily.

 

“That’s not fair,” Kai says in a quiet voice. “You didn’t tell us that.”

 

“It should already be implied,” Professor Oh replies in a stern voice. “Mr. Kim, sit down. Now.”

 

A second after Kai takes a seat he regrets the decision. Why did I do that? he asks himself furiously. Why am I going all soft on her now? Just because she said a few things last night... and it’s not like she seems affected at all.

 

“I need to get back into it,” Kai mutters under his breath. He turns to his friends, who are grumbling contentiously. “Kris, Kyungsoo, Baek. We need to talk after class.”

 

Baekhyun nods, an excited smile spreading across his face. Kris flashes Kai a thumbs up while Kyungsoo whispers, “All right.”

 

It’s payback time, Professor Oh. And he knows exactly how to hurt her.

 


 

“So what’s the plan?” Kris asks once class is finished.

 

A Cheshire Cat grins appears on Kai’s face. “It’s time for the teacher-student tennis tournament.”

 

Baekhyun claps his hands to his mouth. “No.

 

“That’s harsh,” Kyungsoo gasps.

 

“I am so ready for this,” Kris says, flames blazing in his eyes.

 


 

“Teacher-student tennis tournament?” Hana scratches her head. “What’s this?”

 

“Oh, Hana.” Professor Dae sniffs, wrapping the girl up in a teary hug. “I am so, so sorry I didn’t warn you about this, honey. It’s okay, we’ll get through it together, okay?”

 

“Wait, what? It’s just a tennis tournament,” Hana says slowly. “What’s the deal?”

 

Professor Dae pulls back from the embrace. Her eyes are full of despair, grief, terror.

 

“It’s not so much of a tennis tournament than a death match,” Professor Dae whispers. “The students- they take this opportunity to get revenge against the teachers they hate. The top tennis players in the school compete in this tournament. And the other kids pay the tennis players to knock out teachers they despise.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Suddenly, the door to the teacher’s lounge opens. “Oh, hi, Yura. Hi, Hana.” Professor Kim, a biochemistry professor, strolls into the room. When he sees Professor Dae clutching onto Professor Oh, an aghast expression on her face, he freezes. “Yura, what’s wrong?”

 

Professor Dae staggers over to Professor Kim. He slowly backs away, but Professor Dae claps her hands down on his shoulders in a firm grip.

 

“The teacher-student tennis tournament is 2 weeks from now,” she rasps.

 

Professor Kim’s face blanches. “N-no,” he stutters. “You’re joking. I thought after 6 teachers got sent to the hospital last year they would cancel the tournament-,”

 

“6 professors?” Professor Oh exclaims. “Okay, I don’t understand. All I got is something about the top tennis players in the school... and knocking teachers out?”

 

“This can’t be happening! I don’t want to die just yet!” Professor Kim, a large, burly man standing at 6 feet 2 inches, bursts into tears. Professor Dae leads him to a chair and hands him a glass of water.

 

“It’s alright, Dongwoo. It’s alright,” Professor Dae sniffles. Professor Oh is watching all of this with a shocked expression.

 

“Alright, Hana, come sit down.” Professor Kim pats the seat next to him. Professor Oh cautiously walks over. “Let us explain. So in this tournament, every teacher is assigned to play with a student. Selections are made at random.”

 

“Mhm,” Professor Oh nods.

 

“If a team loses twice, then they’re out of the tournament. I would recommend going that way... it’s the safest option.” Professor Dae shudders. “Then you’ll get hurt less.”

 

Professor Oh tilts her head. “Um... why?”

 

“Because before every game, it will be announced who the students are playing against. In that time, students with a grudge against the teacher will pay the tennis students money, so that they can purposely aim for that teacher and hit them with tennis balls.”

 

Professor Oh bursts out into laughter. “That’s it? I don’t think tennis balls would hurt that much-,”

 

“Have you ever been shot by a bullet?!” Professor Kim screams, jumping up. “That’s how it feels! Now imagine being shot by 15 bullets in one day! I broke my arm during the last tournament!”

 

“I still get war flashbacks,” Professor Dae shudders. The sound of the door slamming against the wall causes all 3 professors to turn around. Professor Jeon is panting, holding a crumpled tissue in his left hand.

 

“They posted the teacher-student assignments,” he cries. “I don’t want to do this!”

 

Professor Oh, Professor Dae, and Professor Kim sprint out the door and to the main commons. A large mass of students is crowded around a few sheets of paper posted on the wall.

 

“Excuse me!” Professor Oh calls. Everyone turns to her and immediately parts to form a pathway. Although some of these kids don’t have Professor Oh, they have all heard about how evil and mean she is. Therefore they are all practically terrified of her.

 

Professor Oh’s heels make a definite click-clack! on the terrazzo floor as she approaches the papers. She scans down the sheet, looking for her name, until she finds Professor Oh Hana. Printed next to the name is...

 

“Kim Suho?”

 

The crowd gasps. Suho? Professor Oh's with Suho?

 

“You’re so lucky,” Professor Jeon sighs. “Joonmyeon is such a sweet boy. He’ll at least try to deflect the tennis balls that are being smashed in your face.”

 

“And he’s great at tennis too. Last year he and Professor Ha won.” Professor Dae informs Professor Oh. “It’s a shame Professor Ha broke her leg, though.”

 

“Who did you three get?” Professor Oh asks.

 

Professor Kim grins. “Kim Kai. Boy, am I lucky.” When Professor Oh’s face automatically contorts into a grimace, he adds, “Kai is amazing at tennis! You should see him go. I’m happy that he won't be aiming for me, at least.”

 

“Kai plays tennis?” Professor Oh says, her eyebrows shooting up. “I didn’t know that.”

 

“His whole gang plays tennis,” Professor Dae says. “They’ve been taking lessons at some snooty little country club since they were children. Oh, the life of the rich must be so nice. At least Kai and his friends aren’t rude or snobbish, though. I remember when I had Kai in my class. Such a friendly, intelligent boy...,”

 

Professor Oh zones out as Professor Dae begins to ramble about Kim Kai. Friendly? Isn’t rude or snobbish? Professor Oh isn’t sure they are talking about the same man.

 

Suddenly she feels her phone buzz in her pocket.

 

I'm at your house. Come home. NOW.

It’s Kai.


A/N: Did I explain the student-teacher tournament well? o: I don't want any of you to be confused hehe. AND I PLAY TENNIS SO I PUT THAT IN HUEHUE

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PrincessVivi
Listening to the news about this 10 yr old boy from california who just got his high school diploma :^)

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Zndjcjaj #1
💙💙
_Nora_0607
905 streak #2
Chapter 41: I can't believe I kinda reread this in one go!! My goodness! But it was fun 💁‍♀️
_Nora_0607
905 streak #3
I think I've read this twice with my other account. Very happy to find this and hoping to reread this as soon as possible ^^
-2Mirae-
14 streak #4
Chapter 42: Finished rereading this and I'm already missing this ?
ilahbyouh15
#5
Chapter 41: Always coming back for this story❤️
I think I’ve read this like more than 5 times but I still never get bored rereading it<3
KimHyeJoo #6
Chapter 42: Why i just see this fanfic? Awwww
Theyre so cute
Thank you for the fanfic :))
PuffTedEBear
#7
Chapter 17: What cafe is this? If the chance of Junmyeon is around, count me in!