Waltz for Suzie

In the next few days, nothing seemed out of place. She didn’t see her English teacher at all and she tried to pay attention and concentrate in classes. It was definitely harder to do than to talk. The weekend came like a miracle. Min Jun wanted to play outside so Siwon went with him. Suzy called Mi Rae and they met for a shopping spree. They were all having fun.

“So, I was thinking…” In Yuri’s situation, thinking was a big thing. “What would it be like to try and flirt with Wu seongsaengnim? And get into a secret relationship and be extra careful when you would go on dates. That sounds-“

“We’re not in a movie. I’m sure he wouldn’t get into a relationship with a student” Suzy chuckled and hit Mi Rae playfully.

 “But that doesn’t mean we can’t try” Suzy added quickly. Yuri’s face brightened and she started to share her plans of seduction.

“Firstly, next week on Monday when we have English, I will be late for his class. That’s how I will know if he remembers my name or not” Mi Rae raised an eyebrow and chuckled. She had already been through that faze already.

“Next, you could try and ask him something regarding Shakespeare. He will see that you actually pay attention to him” Suzy continued. Yuri nodded furiously. That was definitely going to happen.

“And the next step is to get him all alone in the classroom. I will stay behind to ask him something and then BAM!” she clapped her hands really loudly. Mi Rae flinched and blinked rapidly. “Next weekend I will be on a date with him”

After that interesting discussion, the girls decided to leave. Suzy went home by herself while Yuri grabbed a taxi. Mi Rae was still waiting for her ride home. She called Siwon 15 minutes ago and he still didn’t arrive.

“This is stupid”

She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a cream shirt. She had nothing to keep her warm and the weather was getting colder. She tried to move around, in hope to keep her body temperature normal. Siwon was running late and even though she hoped he wouldn’t end up like the other bodyguards, she was having second thoughts.

It was getting darker and Mi Rae already gave up. She had been waiting for almost 2 hours and Siwon was nowhere. She didn’t have any battery left and her legs were getting numb. She sighed and started to walk towards the nearest bus stop. She gave every cent she had on food and accessories. She groaned and stomped her foot in frustration.

“What are you doing out at this hour?” She frowned. She wasn’t expecting to see him so soon.

Mi Rae turned to the older man, very slowly. He was dressed casually and quite fashionably for a teacher. One of his eyebrows was quirked up but he didn’t look amused; if so, he looked worried.

“It’s only 7 in the afternoon”

 He continued to stare blankly at her. She blinked a few times and started to walk away from him. He realized she wasn’t going to accept his help no matter what he would say so he just followed her. She didn’t know where to go and nothing looked remotely familiar. At night, things were different. The lights were getting her confused.

“I wouldn’t take that path if I were you” She jumped surprised and glared at him.

She didn’t know that she was followed; again. In spite of what he said, she continued to walk. The man rolled his eyes and grabbed her wrist.

“That’s dangerous. Listen to me and let’s take another route” She shook his arm off but didn’t move.

“From what I know, you just moved here. You don’t know anything about this place or I so please, excuse me” She glared at him over her shoulder and continued on her own. The teacher remained in the same spot, watching her worriedly.

Truthfully, Mi Rae just wanted to get away from him. He was pestering her with his simple presence and she disliked it. However, she was getting scared by her choice. The district she entered was different than hers. She was a Gangnam girl and going into the suburbs of Seoul wasn’t such a good idea. There were a lot of host clubs and love hotels. She noticed how people were staring at her with either disgust or complete ignorance. She wasn’t very perceptive of her surroundings, though. At some point, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her into a different alley. It was hardly illuminated and she couldn’t make up the face of her aggressor. She ended up scared and confused, with a pocket knife hanging dangerously close to her neck.

“What’s a rich girl like you doing here? Don’t you know it’s dangerous?”

Surprisingly, it wasn’t a man but a woman. She looked drunk and tired.

“Pretty girls shouldn’t venture in this part of town. I’ll let you off if you give me a sum of money”

The woman knew exactly what she was doing and, next to a man, she probably had more chances to escape with the money. She was threatening but she wasn’t as dangerous as a man. She was more proper.

“I don’t have any money”

If she had, she wouldn’t have ended up in that situation. However, she did have a few shopping bags which gave up the exact opposite impression.

“Then I will take these” She snatched the bags and ran away.

Mi Rae leaned against the wall, shocked. She just lost everything she bought a few hours prior because she didn’t listen to her senior; she ended up lost and with no accessories. She sighed.

“This is such a bad day”

“I told you. This part of the city is dangerous” The teacher appeared out of nowhere. Mi Rae flinched and stared into his eyes. He was genuinely worried for her. In the end, she gave up and started to follow him towards an unknown place.

“Where is this?”

“My apartment building” She raised an eyebrow and backed off. The teacher chuckled bemusedly and shook his head. “You are very paranoid. I’ve never seen someone so scared of anything normal yet so composed when she has a knife at ” Mi Rae shrugged. Her family was living on different rules. 

“I don’t see how coming to your apartment is normal” She mumbled.

He grabbed the keys from his pocket and opened the front door. Even if she was scared, she didn’t show it. She followed her teacher inside the building and patiently waited for the elevator to get them on the right floor. The whole ride with the elevator, Mi Rae tried not to glance at him. That wasn’t his case, though. He was playing with his keys. When the elevator doors opened, he pointed towards the closest door.

“It’s close to the elevator. You can escape easily if something bothers you” She scowled. After he opened the door to his apartment, she walked past him in a hurry.

Surprisingly, the room she entered looked nice and classy. He definitely had a good taste in decorations. He had an open kitchen, connected to the living room. There were only two other doors, which were probably his bedroom and the bathroom.

Suddenly, realization hit Mi Rae. She was in her teacher’s apartment; the teacher everyone loves; the teacher Yuri wants to date. Suddenly, it became even worse than she originally thought. She wasn’t supposed to be there.

“Do you want tea?” She turned her attention on the culprit.

It was his fault that she was there. No, actually, it was Siwon’s fault. He was supposed to get her home but he didn’t appear.

The teacher chuckled under his breath and poured water in a pot. He the stove and put the water to boil. Maybe she didn’t need tea, but he did. He had a few papers to go through.

“You don’t have to be so tense. I’m not going to do anything to you”

“I know” Her response came too fast. The teacher raised an eyebrow and approached her. “It’s not about you”

“Then what it is about?” She wasn’t going to open up her heart in front of a stranger. He might have been her teacher, but he wasn’t anywhere close to her. She rubbed her arms together and sat on the nearest chair. “You have some serious trust issues, don’t you?” She scoffed.

“You have no idea” She mumbled for herself. She didn’t need him to ask more questions. She heard him sigh and decided to inspect the room instead of his face.

After he finished making tea and placed a hot cup of it in front of her, he sat on the opposite side of her.

“If you don’t feel comfortable, call your bodyguard again” She bit her lip and grabbed her phone. Siwon’s number was there, waiting to be called. However, she didn’t. She placed the phone on the table and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“No. They should worry about my safety. It’s been years since it last happened”

“What about your parents?” She scoffed.

“My father’s idea of a family is very different than most” The teacher didn’t understand. Was her father a CEO? Then what about the rest of her family?

“What about your mother?” Her eyes softened and she turned her head to the side.

“She died 2 years ago” That was enough information.

Of course, there were more details. Like, for instant, it was her father’s fault. She had cancer, indeed, but she had chances to get cured. When her father invited her mother to dinner at an expensive restaurant, he didn’t include a gun fight. She died among other innocent victims.

“So you take care of your brother, right?” She nodded. “Then who takes care of you?”

That question had never been asked before. She thought that it didn’t matter, as long as she was growing well. The truth was that, she had no one to talk to about her life. Joon Myeon was the son of her father’s associate. Either way she looked at him, he had 50% chances to leave one day and never come back; or even worse, die.

She didn’t have the chance to respond to that question. Her phone started to ring and vibrate crazily. She looked at the caller ID. It was Joon Myeon.

“Yes?” Her voice was calm. She wasn’t in a hurry. But, Joon Myeon was.

“Are you out of your mind?! Where are you?” His tone was alarming. The noise around him was also very familiar.

“What happened? Where are you?” Joon Myeon took a deep breath and exhaled dramatically.

“Min Jun. Someone tried to kidnap him today. I’m at the hospital. I thought you knew” Mi Rae’s eyes widened and she jumped on her feet. She hurriedly put her shoes on and tried to unlock the door.

“I’ll be right there” The teacher raised an eyebrow and followed her to the door.

“Thanks for your hospitality but something urgent came up. I’m sorry and ashamed to ask that but, can you pay me a taxi ride to the hospital?” The teacher’s eyes widened as well. He nodded his head furiously and grabbed his wallet. He gave her more than enough.