Sunday

Victoria woke up to a mild case of hangover. It wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be, probably because she did drink lots of water before going to bed just like Nichkhun told her to. Victoria was lying in bed recalling the event of last night. She looked at her hand that was wrapped tightly in his and she felt her heart beat faster at the thought of the moment that they shared.

Flashback

When they reached her house last night they were still holding hands tightly and neither one was willing to let go of the other. Nichkhun softly caressing Victoria’s hand with his finger, it took him a while to finally said

“Go on, you better go in now it’s really late…..and drink lots of water before you go to bed ok…it will help with the hangover tomorrow” Nichkhun said tenderly while brushing off strands of hair from her beautiful face.

Victoria was looking at him with a loving smile on her face and said

“Thank you for the ride Khun….and most importantly thank you for showing up tonight” Victoria said looking at him in the eyes to show him how much it meant to her that he came after her tonight

Nichkhun just smiled and caressed her cheek before Victoria finally let herself out of the car and got into her house.

End of flashback

Victoria got up to take a shower and began her day and at around 2 PM she received a text message on her phone

“Victoria-sshi I will be visiting a patient of mine near your school tomorrow. I was hoping that we could meet for lunch after I finish with the examination. I’d really love it if you could come”-Changmin

Victoria unknowingly let out a sigh. She was hoping that the text message was from Nichkhun rather than Changmin. She didn’t feel like going out with him, but she couldn’t find a good enough reason to reject his invitation. Moreover, she also felt sorry for him about the last time so she decided to take him up on his offer.

“Thank you for the invitation Changmin-sshi and yes we could meet tomorrow for lunch”-Victoria

Beep beep and in coming message

“I’m happy to hear that Victoria-sshi. I will pick you up at your school at 1 PM then. I’m looking forward to seeing you”-Changmin

Victoria just put down her phone and didn’t bother to reply to his message. All she could think about right now is Nichkhun. She wondered why he hadn’t call or text her, but being an optimistic girl that she was she told herself that he was probably tired from last night and that she shouldn’t expect too much.

……………………………………………………………….

At Nichkhun’s house

Nichkhun woke up feeling confused and scared. He thought about last night and how good it felt holding her hand in his, feeling the softness of her cheek, the lovely stare that they shared. However, he was also scared that it might not last and that he might be setting himself up for a potential heartbreak again. He looked down at his mobile phone, contemplating whether or not to call Victoria. He wanted to hear her voice, to check and see if she had a good night sleep, to ask about the hangover. However, he still couldn’t bring himself to actually call her. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to be in a relationship, to risk his heart, the heart that was once shattered into a million pieces, the heart that took him 2 years to mend.

……………………………………………………………….

Monday morning

After spending Sunday at home recuperating from Saturday night party, Victoria arrived at school refreshed and ready to work. Victoria was ready to see her students and most importantly Nichkhun again. She was eager to see him since she didn’t receive any calls or messages from him at all yesterday. When she walked into the classroom Nichkhun wasn’t there yet. She didn’t think much of it and began preparing for class to begin. Pretty soon the students started to arrive one by one including Taehyung who was discharged from the hospital yesterday. It was almost 11 o’clock, but Nichkhun still hadn’t show up and Victoria began to feel worried. She didn’t have time to call or text him because the kids were starting to get agitated so Victoria had to focus her attention on keeping the kids in order.

Unknowingly to Victoria Nichkhun had actually arrived at the school already, he was standing outside in the school yard secretly watching Victoria teaching the kids, smiling at them, watching her taking care of them. The smile on her face, the way she looked at those kids with love in her eyes. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. He slowly put his hand on his chest and thought to himself

“I don’t know if I’m ready for this, but I don’t think I can stop my heart from falling in love with her anymore”

He let out a chuckled at his own silliness and started walking into the building to join Victoria in the classroom. When he walked into the classroom Victoria immediately smiled from ear to ear, she just lit up at the sight of him. The sight of her happy face warmed his heart, he wanted to go over to her and hug her tight. Victoria walked over to Nichkhun and said

“I was beginning to worry Khun. I thought something might have happened to you” She said looking a little concerned

“I’m sorry Victoria, I over slept a little bit. I didn’t mean to make you worry, but to see that look on your face when I walked in was worth being scolded for though. You looked absolutely beautiful” Nichkhun said while moving his face closer to hers and staring into her big eyes

Victoria’s face turned completely red at his remarks and she began fidgeting with the hem of her shirt which was absolutely adorable to Nichkhun. Nichkhun grabbed her hand to stop her from poking a hole in her own shirt and hold her hand tight and led her to the front of the class to continue her teaching. Pretty soon it was lunchtime and time for the children to take their after lunch nap. Victoria and Nichkhun gathered all the children and put them to sleep.

After the kids were asleep Nichkhun and Victoria finally had time for themselves. Victoria was sitting at her desk with a bunch of color papers all scattered around and with a scissor in one hand she started cutting color paper into different shapes and sizes.

“What are you doing with those papers?” Nichkhun asked smiling gently at Victoria

“I’m cutting the papers into different shapes for the kids to make a paper mobile together. I think the kids will have so much fun making it and we can use the mobile to decorate our classroom too” Victoria said smiling at the thought of how much fun the kids would have making the paper mobile

“These kids are sure lucky to have you as their teacher Victoria. You not only teach them how to read and write, but you teach them love as well” said Nichkhun

Victoria was touched by his compliment. It wasn’t about the compliment of being a good teacher academically that touched Victoria, but it was the fact that he recognized that she put her heart and soul into teaching them, taking care of them and watching them grow up.

Nichkhun was sitting at the edge of the table watching her work with a tender loving gaze. He reached out and grabbed a loose strand of her hair and tucked it behind her ear and caressed her cheek with a soft touch while Victoria responded to his touch by unconsciously leaning her head towards him

“So what is your plan for today? Are you going to Luna’s after school is over?” asked Nichkhun

“Oh I completely forgot. Changmin is coming to pick me up and we’ll be going out to lunch!” Victoria exclaimed in shock because she had actually forgotten about the appointment with Changmin. She turned to look at Nichkhun with an apologetic expression and said

“I’m sorry Khun. I completely forgot to tell you. I didn’t remember it until just now. He sent me a message asking me out to lunch because he said that he’ll be in the neighborhood today. I really didn’t mean to hide it from you Khun” Victoria said looking sad and apologetic, she didn’t want him to think that she initiated the date

Looking at the uneasiness on her face Nichkhun could feel that she was sorry about it. He didn’t want to make her feel bad or guilty so he cupped her face in his hands and turned her towards him and said

“Hey no need to apologize ok? I’m not mad really. I told you that I won’t be obnoxious anymore remember? Just go and have a good time……well just not as good as when you’re with me” said Nichkhun with a teasing smile

Victoria let out a chuckle at his joke. She was afraid that he would be mad at her for accepting Changmin’s invitation, but his response gave her a sense of relief. 

Unbeknown to both Nichkhun and Victoria, Changmin who had arrived early was standing in the school yard watching to two of them exchange loving stares and intimate touches between each other. Changmin felt his heart dropped at the sight of Victoria looking at Nichkhun with adoration in her eyes. He could feel that these two share a strong bond between them. The way they look into each other’s eyes was enough for Changmin to know that he would have to try harder to get in between the two of them, but he wasn’t sure that he could do it.

While the kids were asleep Victoria had excused herself to go to the restroom leaving Nichkhun alone with the kids in class. While Victoria was gone the school administrator came into the room looking for Victoria, upon seeing that Victoria wasn’t in the room she turned to Nichkhun

“Mr. Nichkhun may I asked where Miss Song is? I have a message for her from Taehyung’s mother” said the school admin

“Oh she went to the restroom; she should be back soon though. What is the message? I’ll be glad to relay it to her” Nichkhun asked

“Taehyung’s mother just called to inform the school that she will be late picking up Taehyung today. It seems that she will be getting off work later than usual and she was wondering if Miss Song would mind looking out for Taehyung a little longer until she can come pick him up” said the school admin

“I’m sure Miss Song wouldn’t mind taking care of Taehyung. Please tell Taehyung’s mother not to worry and that we will take good care of him until she can come and pick him up” Nichkhun said with a kind smile

“Ok. I will tell her that then” said the school admin who bowed a left the room

A little while later Victoria came back to class and continued her work not knowing that Taehyung’s mother will be late to pick him up

It was now time to wake the children up and prepare them to get ready to go home. Victoria carefully wake the children up with the help of Nichkhun. She noticed that when Nichkhun woke Taehyung up from his sleep he whispered something in Taehyung’s ear to which the boy responded with a nod and Nichkhun kindly rubbed the little boy’s head as if to comfort him. It was strange to Victoria to see such gestures between them, but she dismissed the feeling and told herself that Nichkhun was just being kind to the boy who had just woken up from a good sleep.

Victoria walked out with the children to send them off and found Changmin standing there waiting for her.

“Hi Victoria-sshi. I hope I’m not too early. I’ve already made an appointment at a Japanese restaurant at 1:30” Changmin said with a lovely smile on his face

“Oh thank you Changmin-sshi and no you’re not too early” Victoria said and turned to look at Nichkhun. She was saying that just to be polite, but in all honesty she didn’t really want to go out with him anymore. Nichkhun seemed to understand her predicament so he gave her an encouraging smile and said

“Go ahead. All the kids have already left except for Taehyung here, but I’m sure his mother will be here shortly. Don’t worry there’re other teachers here too. Just go” said Nichkhun while looking into Victoria’s eyes to ease her uneasiness a bit.

Changmin watched the exchange between Nichkhun and Victoria with a heavy heart. He felt misplaced standing there, like he didn’t belong. It was as if he had just invaded himself into someone else’s home without an invitation. Changmin tried to shake off the feeling and told himself that he was thinking too much and that he should be grateful for the opportunity to be with Victoria alone without Nichkhun tagging along.

Victoria was reluctant to leave, but she couldn’t find any good enough reason to postpone the appointment either. Victoria crouched down and faced Taehyung and said

“Taehyung ahh I have an appointment that I have to keep, will you be able to wait here with Nichkhun ahjusshi?” Victoria asked the boy in a worried voice while holding his little face in her hands

“Yes Miss Song I’ll be alright. I am a big boy now” Taehyung said with a bright smile on his face

Victoria let out a sigh of relieve. She finally got up, turned to Nichkhun and said

“Thank you very much Khun” said Victoria with a weak smile

“Bye, Have fun” said Nichkhun with a gentle smile while waving goodbye to both of them

Victoria got into Changmin’s car and finally slowly being driven away from the school. She turned around to look at Nichkhun and Taehyung who continued to wave goodbye at her until they were out of sight. Victoria let out a sigh which gave Changmin an uneasy feeling.

“Please don’t worry Victoria-sshi, I’m sure Taehyung’s mother will be here to pick him up soon and besides there’re other teachers there as well” Changmin said trying to lift her mood

“Yes Changmin-sshi, I’m sure that she will” Victoria said trying to convince herself that too

Changmin had taken Victoria to a famous and expensive Japanese restaurant where he had already reserved a table overlooking the beautifully crafted Japanese garden. The restaurant was superbly decorated with lavished flower arrangements, Japanese paintings and Samurai’s armor to give an authentic feel. The staffs were well trained and had an impeccable service manner, on a normal circumstances Victoria would greatly enjoy the experience, but today she could hardly care about any of this.

When they get to their seats Changmin proceeded to order lots of dishes including many Japanese delicacies like otoro, chutoro and mutsusaka beef. When the food arrived everything looked extremely delectable and superbly presented, however Victoria could hardly care. She kept fidgeting in her seat and secretly kept glancing at her watch. She tried her best to put on a smile to not come off as impolite to Changmin, but she didn’t enjoy the experience at all. She kept thinking about the image of Nichkhun and Taehyung standing on the school ground waving goodbye at her. Changmin noticed Victoria’s uneasiness too, he knew that she wasn’t enjoying their lunch date one bit. He was trying his best to make the atmosphere as lively and as enjoyable as best he can, he tried to tell her jokes, tried talking about the movies and even tried to talk about fashion to get her mind at ease a little bit.

More than half way through their meal Victoria suddenly received an incoming text message.

“Miss Song, this is Taehuyng’s mother. First of all, thank you very much for taking care of Taehuyng. I am still tied up at work, but I’ll be done in an hour or so. I will give you a call when I’m done at the office to let you know that I’m coming to pick him up. Thank you very much again for all your help”-Taehuyng’s mother

Victoria’s heart just dropped upon receiving the message.

Vic POV

“Taehyung’s mother hasn’t picked him up?”

 “How come I didn’t know that Taehyung’s mother would be late picking him up?”

“Is Taehyung still with Nichkhun?”

“What if something happened to him?”

 “What if someone came to pick him up and Nichkhun thought that it was his mother and let him go?”

“Oh my god! Nichkhun doesn’t even know what Taehyung’s mother look like!!!”

Victoria suddenly became extremely nervous. Changmin noticed the sudden change in her expression and began to worry and suddenly asked

“What’s wrong Victoria-sshi? Is something happen? You look awful” Changmin asked looking worried

“Changmin-sshi please take me back to the school right now…please I need to find Taehyung immediately….I’m really sorry, but please” Victoria said with tears b in her eyes

“Of course Victoria-sshi, of course” said Changmin still a little confused at what was going on but proceeded to ask for the bill immediately

Meanwhile Victoria quickly dialed Nichkhun’s number hoping and praying that Taehyung was still with him. She waited and waited until the call was transferred to a voice mail service. Victoria became agitated and restless because she couldn’t reach Nichkhun

After the bill was settled Changmin and Victoria quickly got into the car and Changmin quickly left the restaurant headed back to the school. About 10 minutes into the ride Victoria finally received a call from Nichkhun

“Khun! Is Taehyung with you? Please tell me that you have Taehyung with you” Victoria said in her shaking voice

“Yes he’s with me right here. I’m sorry I didn’t realized that my phone was put on silence…Are you ok? You don’t sound too good. Victoria are you ok?” Nichkhun asked in a concerned voice

“Oh thank god he’s with you….I’m on my way back to the school now…I’ll explain everything to you when I get back ok. Thank you Khun” Victoria was able to finally breathe when she found out that Taehyung is ok

20 minutes later Victoria and Changmin had finally reached the school. Upon entering the front gate Victoria could see that Nichkhun and Taehyung were running around in the school yard, laughing and having a good time. Once the car came to a complete stop, Victoria quickly got out of the car and ran towards Taehyung and hugged him tight. She let out a deep sigh and quickly adjusted her expression so that she doesn’t scare the little boy. Taehyung being a little boy that he was just glad to see his teacher again and hugged her back just as tightly.

“Miss Song you’re back!” said the little boy looking at her with a big smile on his face

“Taehyung ahh I’m sorry for leaving you here ok? I’m really sorry” Victoria said looking guilty at the little boy

“It’s ok Miss Song, Nichkhun ahjusshi stayed with me and we had a very good time playing!” Taehyung said enthusiastically

Victoria and smiled at the boy and let go of his little body, Taehyung immediately went back to playing. She turned to face Nichkhun who had a worried look on his face.

“What happened Victoria? You sounded awful when you called? Are you ok?” asked Nichkhun concerned

“Taehyung’s mother texted me to thank me about taking care of Taehyung, but since I didn’t know that she was going to be late picking him up I got worried and scared” Victoria explained what happened to Nichkhun

“I’m sorry Victoria….I’m really sorry….I didn’t mean to make you worry….I just wanted to show you that I mean it when I said I won’t be obnoxious anymore….I just wanted to show you that I’ll keep my promise to you…..I just thought that I could take care of Taehyung while you go out to lunch and since there’re other teachers here as well so I didn’t think much of it…..I’m sorry…..I should have thought this through haven’t I” Nichkhun said looking down at his own hands and being all apologetic towards Victoria

Victoria was touched at what he said. She was touched that he was willing to do this for her, that he actually thought about her before his own wants or needs. Seeing the apologetic look on his face melted her heart. She suddenly wrapped him in her arms and hugged him tight and said

“Thank you Khun….thank you for taking care of Taehyung and I’m sorry too I never should have gone without making sure that Taehyung has been picked up” said Victoria all apologetic and appreciative of Nichkhun at the same time

Nichkhun just hold on to her, feeling relieved that she wasn’t mad at him despite what happened. The two of them were embracing each other completely forgot that Changmin was also standing there witnessing the whole ordeal. It was at that moment that Changmin knew that there was no way he could ever step in between the two of them. The way they looked at each other, the way they hold each other in their arms, it was enough for him to know that he had lost….lost before he even start competing.

When Victoria and Nichkhun finally let go of each other’s embrace, she turned and walked towards Changmin and bowed to him deeply

“I’m really sorry Changmin-sshi….I’m sorry about everything” Victoria said

“No need to apologize Victoria-sshi….You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re just following your heart” Changmin said in a gentle voice, he then turned towards Nichkhun, extended his hand out and said

“You’re a lucky man Nichkhun-sshi….I hope you realized that….take good care of her or I will take her away from you” said Changmin looking into Nichkhun’s eyes and with a warm smile on his face

Nichkhun grabbed Changmin’s hand and shook it and said

“Thank you Changmin-sshi and don’t worry I will take good care of her…..you have my word” Nichkhun smiled at Changmin

“Goodbye Victoria-sshi” said Changmin before he got into his car and drove off

After Changmin had left, Nichkhun and Victoria just walked over hand in hand to the wooden bench under the tree and sat down watching little Taehyung running around having a great time.