On Monday morning, Ting Yi and I arrived in KC and we were in their school field for morning assembly. We were with a few more teachers that I didn’t recognize, I assumed that they were from a different university or from a different class. I turned to my right and looked at Ting Yi. She was busy yawning away and her eyelids were half-open, I asked her, “Didn’t get enough sleep last night?” She nodded her head and replied, “Yeah, I guess. It having to wake up so early, I had to wake up at around 5:30 am and I slept at 11:30 pm last night, so of course I’m tired and I’m sleepy!” She let out another yawn and I said, “Next time maybe you should sleep earlier, it’s our first day here so we shouldn’t feel or look so sleepy, it’ll leave a bad impression on both the teachers and the students. Plus, don’t you have second period with the class today?” Ting Yi sighed and said, “I know, I know… I just need a cup of coffee and I should be fine. It feels like I’m going back to school, like I was a secondary school student all over again.”

Suddenly, the people on our right were moving fast to the left and there were a few pushes here and there as the people on the left were not moving at all. I shook my head and thought, “We are really not that orderly and we are making a fool of ourselves on our first day in front of the whole school. We’re standing next to the stage and in front of the students, what would they think of us?”

Then, Ting Yi was pushed and she almost fell when she tripped. Luckily, I caught her in time with my two arms, however, she had stepped on my foot. Our faces were a few centimeters apart and I saw her face turn red and felt mine burning.

This. Was. So. Embarrassing.

Ting Yi recovered quickly and stood up, adjusting her blouse and fixing her hair. Her face was no longer red and she said, “Sorry, that must have been so awkward.” I adjusted my tie and replied, “No, it’s okay. As long as you didn’t fall…” Indeed, the situation was awkward but Ting Yi broke the silence by moving on to another subject. She said, “Anyways, it’s too bad we can’t spend our first day together during recess or lunch. Remember to call me so we can leave the school together! Will Yi Xing come and pick us up?” I said, “Yes, Yi Xing will come at around 3pm or later to come and pick us up. He finishes his dancing class at around 2pm, so I can just call him if we’re early, but I highly doubt so. Looks like we’re gonna be even busier trying to teach a class and prepare lessons for the class.”

“For 10 whole weeks.” Ting Yi said.

She continued and said, “This is gonna be one long internship…”

//It was going to be my first day teaching, I was quite excited but I was asking myself what tone I should use with the class. Should I be loud? Is it okay to show off my diva self to the class? Was it fine to speak Singlish?? If only Joon Myun was here, he could easily offer me advice on what to do. He always seems so professional, always knowing what to do and he was very calm while I was frantic. Sometimes, I really wonder how he does it, make me calm again when I’m about to throw a huge diva tantrum. He doesn’t even need to hold me back like Yi Fan. His words are just different. For example, Yi Fan uses his words with a tone that is of an older brother, it is strict, firm and maybe it’s because I’m already used to it or maybe it’s because I’m older now and I’ve learnt to control my diva tantrum/temper a bit. But still…

Suddenly, my thoughts were interrupted by the sound of chairs moving, their Maths class was over and it was going to be Literature class next! The teacher, Mrs Lim, was giving me some last minute advice on what to do in class. I was totally ready for this… Right? Okay, my confidence level was slowly going down by the second but I had to try not to look like an idiot in front of the class. As my father used to say, “First impressions count, they count 50% in their overall impression of you.”

I stepped into the class and it was bustling with chatter, like all typical classes. The students soon settled down in their seats and Mrs Lim greeted the class and said, “205, listen up! We have a new intern teacher, I will let her do her own introduction.” She smiled at me and I walked up to the front of the class and said, “Hi 205, I’m Wu Ting Yi, but address me as Ms Wu. I’m under the MOE internship programme and I’ll be with all of you for the next 10 weeks. I’ll also be your drama intern teacher, so I hope we will all get along well. Thank you!” The class clapped and smiled at me, I took it as a confirmation of acceptance and a welcome. Mrs Lim was teaching the class on ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and I was supposed to sit at the side to observe how she conducted the lesson and take notes. I also observed the class and how well they were paying attention. In my opinion, I did like the ‘Romeo and Juliet’ plot and I did like the true love concept but I always hated the sad and tragic ending. I would always imagine my love story like that, with the exception of the tragic ending and the deaths. I didn’t have much interaction with the class but after 1 to 3 weeks, then I will be allowed to actually start teaching to the class. After that, I might teach the class by myself, without the teacher’s assistance!

After the Literature class ended, I went to recess by myself and went to the canteen. Finally, I was sitting at the teachers’ area in the canteen. It wasn’t very different from sitting at the students’ area but it felt a little special having the ‘authority’ to sit there. Soon, Ms Tan, aka Jenny, the person who told me to leave her alone, sat just across me. It was extremely silent and I wanted to talk to her but since she CLEARLY told me to leave her alone, I refused to talk to her. She said, “Look, Ting Yi… I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot and perhaps you caught me on my bad day. I’d like to apologize, we should be friends, or at least, acquaintances.” I was quite taken aback and I was pretty happy to hear that she wanted to be friends with me! I said, “Well okay then, you are forgiven! We can talk more often, especially on Mondays, Joon Myun isn’t here so I can’t talk to him.”

She asked, “Oh, why can’t Joon Myun be here?” I replied, “He has a meeting every week at this time so we can’t hang out. It’s a bit sad, but now that I have you around, it wouldn’t be so lonely!” She said, “It seems that you and Joon Myun are quite close, why do you always hang around him and only talk to him? I always see you with him and you didn't really talk to anyone else in the teaching course class. I’m quite curious about that.” I said, “I don’t know, he sat next to me in class and we live near each other, so it would be quite natural to be closer to each other. And the reason I only hang around Joon Myun, is because he’s a good friend and I like him.”

I saw her eyes getting wide and she said, “When you say that you like him, do you mean you like him more than a friend?” I said, “No, no! You’ve got the wrong idea, I only like him as a friend!” She nodded and said, “Are you sure? Because I’m very observant and my observation and judgment skills are never wrong. I’m pretty sure you have even the tiniest crush for him. You two have been spending lots of time together since you two meet.”

“I don’t like him!! I already told you that I don’t like him, okay? So get off my case because I really don’t have any sort of feelings for him! I. Don’t. Love. Joon. Myun.” I gave her my classic death glare and she just walked off. I calmed down again and I leaned back on the chair, I breathed in and out. I realized that I had gotten too angry with Jenny about this. It isn’t like she just stole my lead drama role in a play, it was just a mere question that she asked.

But why did I over-react and why did I get so angry? 

Was I at that stage when I am in total denial of my true feelings like those female leads in dramas and soap operas?

No…

It’s not possible…

I don’t love him…

He’s just a friend…

Right?

//Class had just ended and the Chemistry teacher, Mr Chen, was talking about the laboratory activity that would be held on Wednesday. He asked, “You know where the science lab is, right?” I nodded and said, “Yes.” He said, “Oh good that you know where it is, I was going to point and show you where it is. It’s here!”

And it was the canteen.

I chuckled and said, “No, it’s the canteen, Mr Chen! The science laboratory is on the next block to your left.” He laughed and said, “Ah, Mr Kim. You are really no fun to troll, it’s okay! Now go and have your lunch!” I nodded and said goodbye to him. Mr Chen was a man close to his 50s and he often liked to joke around, even with the students. He was a fun teacher that was loved by the whole class, I really hope I wouldn’t be a drab compared to Mr Chen.

I went to have my lunch and I sat at the teachers’ table. I went to queue up for food and while I was waiting for my turn, I started to reflect on today’s science lesson. I was quite glad that the class was doing chemistry instead of physics. Even though I did do well in all subjects, I didn’t really enjoy physics that much, I found it boring to remember all the formulas and all the laws. There weren’t much hands-on lessons during physics classes. Although Chemistry is alright, I secretly hoped that if I were to be a teacher, I wanted to be a Literature and Drama teacher, just like Ting Yi. But it is, after all, just a hope, my parents would have never allowed it. Plus, I was not confident of teaching Drama to students because I was afraid that I would have limited knowledge on Drama, and thus, I wouldn’t be able to teach the students very effectively. I just stopped and imagined, Ting Yi and I, would be teaching the class, side by side, two best friends teaching Drama and doing what we love.

I was soon in front of the queue and bought my food, so I walked back to the table and started eating. Suddenly, Jenny walked towards the teachers’ table and sat next to me. I stared at her for a while, wondering why she would sit next to me when she told Ting Yi and I to leave her alone. She raised her eyebrows and said, “What? I can’t sit here?” I replied, “Oh, of course you can sit here, it’s totally fine!” She said, “I thought I was unwelcomed for a minute there, I’m sorry for my attitude that day, Joon Myun. I hope you can forgive me.” I said, “Of course, apology accepted.” She smiled at me and we kept eating our food in silence until she spoke again.

“Joon Myun, I absolutely hate to be a gossipmonger but I have been quite curious about your relationship between you and Ting Yi. I’ll just stop beating around the bush and get straight to the question. Do you like her, more than a friend?”

I didn’t say anything, I couldn’t really answer her question and it was extremely personal for her to ask such a question when we had just got back on the ‘decent acquaintance’ track. Jenny weirdly reminded me of those ahjumas my mother’s friends that kept asking me about my (non-existent) love life and they would offer me their daughters as potential blind dates. She was a bit too nosy and I didn't like that. So, I thought that I could just handle Jenny like how I handled my mother’s friends back in Seoul. I would calmly and politely decline and deny, and now without my mother around, there wasn’t much pressure on me to make myself not look rude. I said, “Ting Yi and I are just friends and I would kindly appreciate if you would stay out of my personal affairs. We’re not very close to be conversing about this topic. Maybe we can move on to another topic?”

She looked at me and almost frowned, if not for her great control of facial expression. I could tell she was upset by my answer. I remained emotionless as well and stared at her with my death glare, that my father taught me himself. Then, I faked a smile and said, “What do you think about the school’s food, is it any good?” I could have mentally face-palmed myself, it was such a random topic but it was the only relevant thing that came to mind to change topic. She smiled meekly at me and said, “The food is alright, but I have to go now, I have something to do now.” She took her plate of half-eaten food and walked away quickly.

Did I scare her away?

It was the first time since I was in Seoul that I ever had to fake a smile and become the cold person that I could be. It sent chills down my spine, knowing that I could still remember what my parents and tutor had taught me and use them even when they were not around. It’s scary to know what I can become sometimes, I was giving myself the creeps! Is that even possible? I was being so uptight about my relationship with Ting Yi when she asked me about it. I could have easily just told her that I didn’t like Ting Yi like that and only as a friend. I could have been calm about it, why did I have to act so cold and fake to answer her simple question?

It is true that Ting Yi and I are very close and we hang out a lot together. It doesn’t mean that I have a special attraction towards Ting Yi. I don’t feel butterflies in my stomach when I see her, and even though she is special and different from all the other girls in Seoul that I have ever met. It doesn’t mean a thing. Why am I even explaining so much? It’s not like I was covering up a really complicated lie or anything. I don’t need to explain anything, it’s not true. If Jenny thinks I love Ting Yi, that’s her opinion, but it’s not mine! Sigh, my brain hurts, I should really stop thinking about this. I’m clearly over-thinking things and my relationship with Ting Yi, I have other things to focus on!!

… “I don’t love her, right?”

Damn it, Joon Myun… Just stop thinking about her, I can’t possibly fall for Wu Ting Yi! 

A.N: Haha this chapter was quite fun to write, but I don't know why, I think I'm losing views or something. I see that my 1st chapter has the most views and it slowly decreases but I am extremely grateful to those who have sticked around to read this story. As terrible as it is and as terrible as my writing skills might be, thank you for reading!

1. What do you think of their doubts of 'falling in love with one another', is it good or bad? Or would you have preferred that I just directly state that the characters like each other?

2. Ms Tan (aka Jenny) is a double-faced person, don't you think? 

3. And finally... Mr Chen's appearance! Obviously, I was trying to put in Chen's personality into a different character since I can't talk much about EXO [not yet anyways ;) ] Should I have more of Mr Chen in the story? 

And that's it for now, I hope you have liked the chapter in some way! :D Until next time, see you soon! ^^