The boy is sitting in the middle of Cafe Benne, agitatedly poring over stacks and stacks of thick textbooks. He is young, only a middle schooler, with chubby cheeks and overgrown black hair. “I’m going to fail,” he moans, desperately flipping through pages. “I don’t know what’s going on, and my test is in 2 days! Mom will definitely pull me off the baseball team-,”

Suddenly, a hand slams down on the table in front of him. The boy looks up in shock.

Two girls are standing in front of his table, confident expressions on their faces. The girl who placed her hand on the table smiles at the boy.

“We noticed you were in a bit of a dilemma,” she says smoothly. “Let me guess: exam in a few days? Not sure what the hell is going on in class? Afraid your parents are going to disown you?”

The boy’s eyes widen. “Whoa, how did you know?”

“We can tell,” the other girl says. She places her hands on her hips. “And we’re here to tell you that we can help. I’m Hwang Mirae, and this is Lee Suyeon. We run the Daegu Tutoring Service, guaranteed to make your grades soar with only a few sessions.”

“The Daegu Tutoring Service has a slew of positive testimonials,” Suyeon says professionally, handing the boy a sleek silver business card. Daegu Tutoring, it reads in bold black letters. “Mirae and I can assure you that we are well-qualified, as we are ranked #2 and #3 in the junior class of Daegu Public High School. So why don’t you give us a try?”

“How much do you cost?” he asks tentatively.

“Usually, we charge $15 an hour.” Mirae peers at the boy. “But you know what? You seem like a nice kid. So we’ll cut you a 20% discount. How’s $12 an hour sound? Should be within your allowance range, hm?”

Angels, the boy thinks dazedly. These girls are angels.