What was it about artists and their twisted ways? Maybe their minds didn’t function as well as ours. Something was always wrong in their minds and it reflected heavily on their art pieces. Like the famous Vincent Van Goh, even Picasso. They were all corrupted in their own way. Their art, thought labelled as perfect is also imperfect.

However…I couldn’t see anything wrong with his. They were all…perfect.

How did I get myself into this position? No...This was not meant to be. My story…it wasn’t meant to go like this. I was meant to be me and only me. But, why? With him, I feel myself, without him, I feel like someone else. A total stranger.

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His words were quiet and smooth. It shook, no stirred something in me. The way he looked at me was not how a student looks at a teacher but of a long lost love. It was wrong to feel this way. I kept telling myself but the thoughts went right over my head. Instead, I found myself drowning in the depth of his gaze, unable to move from my spot. As if his stare had turned me to stone, I stood there hard as rock. Like the way Medusa caught her prey.

Unknown to me, his hand had reached out and grabbed me by the hem of my shirt. The light touch of the fabric moving against my skin woke me up. However, the words couldn’t form; I could only stare back into his chocolate brown eyes.

“Stay…” He repeated again. Changmin’s words were soft and gentle, almost like a dream. If it was a dream, I wished I would never wake up. But this couldn’t be more real. Real as reality could be. My mind was awake but wished to be asleep. What kind of person was I? What kind of teacher was I? A disgrace of a teacher, I thought to myself.

“I-I…” A stutter was all I could manage without me collapsing from the awkwardness.

“Please?” Now he was starting to look his age. Under the heated gaze of me whilst badly injured, he looked like a helpless puppy asking for comfort from his mother. It was sweet. Maybe it was in my nature. I had never found myself to be people with strong motherly instincts but looking at him made me want to hold him close to me and cuddle next to him. God do I feel weird. I felt a little strange and confused. My mind felt as though it was shattering to small pieces.

“F-fine…” There it was again, the unmistakable stuttering. I gave up and sighed.

“You haven’t called your parents yet have you? What’s their number? I’ll call in your place.” Changmin looked a little hesitant but gave me the number, writing it on a small piece of paper since remember the numbers would be too much for me. I grabbed my pyjamas and the paper before heading to the bathroom.

The call was quick and harmless. I had told them Changmin had come down with the flu and collapsed just outside school. I found him and took him home since I didn’t know his address and the receptionist had took they day off so there was no one to access the system (nor would they be bothered to). It would be a journey to take him home so I suggested he stayed with me for a night which his parents were grateful for. I was surprised at how much they trusted me. Changmin’s parents were grateful to hear about their son’s whereabouts. Any later and we might have had a search team out looking for an 18 year old boy. After endless thanking and tears through the phone, Changmin’s parents bid me good night. One the phone they sounded like busy people. Time was not something they could carelessly throw around for them so staying with me rather than having to look after their son would be a lot easier for them. Putting it that way made me feel a little anxious as well as upset.

Deciding to forget about things for a while, I went to bed. Tiredness had already taken over my body. All I could think about was sleep. In record time, I washed up and changed into my sleepwear.

“Chang-“ I had called out to the student as I walked into my room, wondering if he needed me to check his bandages or anything. My words had to be cut short. There, in front of me was a student sleeping soundly. Changmin’s breathing was a little heavy since the pain in his chest made it a lot harder for him to breath. His face was somewhat peaceful and innocent. I laughed quietly as I watch him. My body moved on its own. I took the place on the bed next to Changmin before properly tucking myself in.  I watched him sleep for a bit, brushing his fallen hair away from his face. He hugged the duvet like it was a toy whilst sleeping soundly. Exactly like a child.

“Good night.” I whispered in his ear. I hoped he heard me, not noticing the faint smile that lingered on his lips.  Without another word, I tucked myself next to him, giving into his warmth before drifting into dreamland.

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As much as I hated to admit it, I had never slept so peacefully in my 23 years of living. Maybe it was that extra heat that made me feel safe. Whatever it was, it was something I couldn’t get used to. Or rather, I shouldn’t. It wouldn’t be right.

The morning started out with a simple breakfast of toast, scrambled eggs and bacon with orange juice for the boy and tea for me. Changmin woke up nearing the same time as me. I had just left the bathroom after washing up when he began to fumble around, looking for the missing heat which evidently came from my body. Losing the heat made it more successful in waking him up that an alarm clock would (my morning alarm rang but the boy didn’t budge one bit). I ordered him to take a shower to allow him to get rid of any uncomfortable presence on his body due to his wounds. As he got up to the bathroom, I got ready the bandages, ointment and food.

“Sit.” I said, still working my way around the bacon. Cooking for two people was a hassle. It meant everything took double the time it took for me to normally get ready. I was slightly irritated that my usual routine had been messed up just because of on boy. If I thought my day was bad, it was just about to get worse.

Trying not to drop anything, I put the last of the bacon onto the plates and moved it to the dining table. Not to my realisation, in front of me stood a Changmin with only a towel around his waist and his head. I nearly dropped the plates from shock. Luckily the young student was there to help me hold onto it before it became a disaster.

“WOAH! What are you doing half around the living room!?” I raised my voice as I did my best manoeuvring around my living room whilst trying not to look at the boy. Not shouting was something I did my best not to do. Around my family, normal people on the street or students, shouting had never solved anything.

“I’ll have to take it off later anyway.” Changmin spoke casually. I looked up in shock.

“WHAT?!” Accidentally shouting across the room, I hadn’t realised my face was beat red and my eyes wide open as I stared at Changmin. Just what did he think we were going to do?!

“My wounds.” He smirked. My heart had skipped a beat. The morning had yet to pass and I already felt exhausted.

“Oh, right. Sit down and eat.” I sighed. Breakfast continued like normal. A word wasn’t said between us as we ate our food in silence. The small muffling of the T.V in the background made things a little nicer. However, the silence wasn’t awkward at all. In fact, it felt normal. Like we had always been like this. Occasionally, I would look up to see Changmin’s face. The corner of his lip had a small cut; his body was battered and bruised but surprisingly structured. For a second, our eye met. Quickly, I looked away, covering my embarrassment with a cough. 

“I’ll be going now.” I said, as I finished putting on the last bit of the ointment and bandage onto Changmin’s arm. I could see slight disappointment in his face before it turned back into his normal monotone expression.

“I’ll be going then.” He stood up with me, towering over me.

“No. You’ll be staying here.”

“But-“

“No buts. If your parents saw you like this, I don’t think they’ll trust me as a teacher anymore. I told them you caught the flu. Just in case, call them back up again and tell them you’ll be staying another night. Don’t worry your parents too much.”

“Fine.” I smiled at him and got ready for a new day in school. Only a day had passed and I’ve already picked up a student. Teaching is a piece of cake they said. I could only scoff.

“I’ll be home early so you won’t feel so bored.”

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The day had been like normal. Nothing was out of the ordinary. The students had been well behaved and completed their work without any complaints. Yet his mind couldn’t stop thinking about the injured student at his house. What was Changmin doing? Did he go back to sleep? Is he sitting in the living room watching T.V, waiting for me to come home? Constant worrying made him seem like a worried mother. He sighed, picking up the last of the paint brushes and putting it back in its designated place.

Kyuhyun took less than half the time he normally spent on cleaning before giving it a quick look around to see there was nothing missing or out of place. Nodding his head with satisfaction, he bolted out of the room. Time to go home! He jumped with joy. Just as he locked up the Art room, muffler and side bag in hand, a voice called out his name.

“Cho Seonsaeng-nim!” A female voice shouted down the hallway. Footsteps were heard getting closer to where he was. At that very moment, Kyuhyun knew that person was going to stop him from leaving the soon as he intended to. Anger welled up inside of him. It took everything he had in him to keep his teacher composure.

“Yes?” I turned around to find one of my students running towards me. Her name was Kim Solji. On record, she was known to be a ‘perfect student’. All her grades were at the top and getting her to a good university was a piece of cake. At the rate she was going at, the S.K.Y universities wouldn’t dare reject her. Though she was a perfect student, I could sense something unknown about her. There was more than meets the eye when it came to students like her. Seemingly perfect but broken inside, a little like another Art student I have come to notice. But she was different from Changmin. With her, there was always a negative feeling. I didn’t like being alone with her. It made me afraid.

“Cho Seonsaeng-nim, I wanted to ask you if you could give me a short review on my currently project. Since Kim Seonsaeng-nim left, I want to get your opinion on my style of drawing and help me get better. You know what they say, two eyes are better than one. I already have Kim Seonsaeng-nim’s opinion from before he left so I would like to know yours.” She looked at me with a smile. I returned her smile and unlocked the room I had just locked up. Students who came to their teacher for help could never really be rejected since rarely any of them do. Having the courage to come and talk to your teacher took a lot more than expected. I had always been proud of those students. I was reluctant to stay a second longer but I had no choice. I was a teacher and she was a student who needed my help.

“Please come inside Solji-ssi. Give me all of your current works and written essays. I’ll review them and give you my most honest opinion.” Kyuhyun glanced up at the clock which hung just above the teacher’s desk. 3:21pm, I’ll try and finish before 4pm.

Kyuhyun sighed and looked at his watch. The sun had set, the warmth had disappeared completely. All that was left was an apologetic feeling towards Changmin. He had promised the boy he would come back early but mentoring Solji took longer he wanted and dragged on until 5:30pm. Head down and muffler pulled up, he continued his route him with heavy footsteps. I’ll have to apologise.

“I’m home!” The twisting of the keys made a loud noise that echoed through the building. Familiar, yet unfamiliar, Kyuhyun furrowed his eyes brows.

“Changmin?” He called out the student’s name. No answer.

“Hey, Changmin? Are you ok?” Maybe he was sleeping? Maybe he just didn’t hear him, Kyuhyun thought. He took off his shoes, muffler and coat, putting them on the coat hangers before he stepped into his house. Kyuhyun threw his bag on his sofa and made his way upstairs. The lack of response made the man nervous. He felt his body heat up. Frantic footsteps hurried along the cold flooring.

“HEY CHANGMIN!” Kyuhyun shouted loudly. His patience was wearing thin. The boy was nowhere to be found.

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A month had passed. The day after Changmin left Kyuhyun’s house, he had a message from the said boy’s parents. Apparently he would take an extended leave. No other message was passed after that. No word was spoken by the other teachers or students. Changmin had come into Kyuhyun’s life exactly the way he came in. Slowly, his worries turned into annoyance. Where was Changmin? Kyuhyun swore he would kill the boy the second their eyes met, that is if they were to ever meet again. The young teacher sighed as the bell rang.

“That’s it for today. Well done to every one of you, you did very well. Continue like this and I’m sure your grades will rise in no time.”

“Thank you Cho Seonsaeng-nim!” The class shouted in unison. Kyuhyun let out a small chuckle. As time went by, the students began to warm up to him. Even the troublesome ones asked from help when regarding their work. Kyuhyun guessed it was because it was close to their mock exams and they needed their mock grades to give them some reassurance on how they were doing. This was their last year in high school; no doubt it was going to be a tough one. They couldn’t afford to waste any more time.

Each student had packed up and gone to their form rooms. My room, as it should be, was free. Silence was what was left. Only the small chirping of the winter robin outside could be heard along the nearing just another winter’s day. I sat at my desk, going through the new essays I set as homework on the artist Jim Dine. Quickly looking through the load, I stumbled across Kim Sojli’s 10 page essay. I sighed with slight annoyance.

“I need to tell her to cut down her essays…” This had not been the first 10 page essay. Thinking back to the previous essays bought a shiver down my spine.

“Let’s start with this one first then!” Mustering up all my energy, I began reading. On around the 3^rd page, the school bell had rang. That meant school had ended and it was time for after school activities to commence. Those not in a club was either asked to go a room to study and finish off their work, or simply leave the premises.

Without me realising, the classroom door opened. I was too focused on Solji's essay, I had completely forgotten about the fact that a student could walk in at any given moment. Their footsteps could not be heard. It wasn't until that person was directly in front of me, did I finally realise.

“Hey.” I knew that voice. It was a voice I longed for. I looked up to see the 6ft boy in front of me, once again covered in bruises but was not as bad as the last.

“Wha-... When-... Where... How...” My sentences could form. There were just too many things I wanted to ask him. What were you doing? When did you come back? Where did you go? How are you? Why did you go? The last question, I did not dare myself to ask. I couldn't. I felt the answer to that question would break me.

“Sorry. Something happened.” Changmin scratched his head and looked at the window for a bit. I felt anger well up inside of me. Of course I did. How could I not?! I'm his teacher and it is my responsibility that all my students attend their classes.

“Your apology is not accepted. I demand the whole story.” I put Solji's essay down and folded my arms. Changmin had the look that said 'What?’ I could tell it was going to be a long story but I had the whole day to give him.

“No buts. You were gone for a month! Don't expect me to accept such a half arsed answer. I won't let you leave until you give me the whole damn story.” Changmin scratched his head again. He did his best to avoid eye contact with me but it was no use. My stare could make a whole army surrender to my feet. A mere 18 year old boy was nothing.

“Fine. But I have a favour to ask you.” I had stuffed everything into my bag, with the help of Changmin, and locked the art room. By this time, I was already approximately 4pm. Side by side, we walked together. The strong winds made the journey all the more harder. I would stuff my face onto my muffler and pull my whole body closer. From the corner of my eye, I could see Changmin shivering slightly. He wore a long black coat and a black and brown checked scarf. His outfit made him look like a young model, not that I'm am jealous of his looks, I was just merely stating. Throughout our journey, we didn't say a word. I didn't know how to feel about that.

‘I'll tell you everything but first, can you help me treat me wounds?' Remembering back to his words got a moment ago, my mind continued to wonder. It didn't occur to me until now to question his wounds. His face had been spared but you could see from up close, the purple bruises just under his collar bone when he ed his coat.

I had told him to wait for me in the nurse's office but he refused to go.

'Why?' I asked him but all he did was look away. I didn't have the strength to push him any further so I suggested going to my house which he agreed to without a second thought.

I opened the door to my house and let Changmin in. We welcomed the warmth with a grateful gasp. In unison, we took off our outdoor wear and shoes at the front step. 

"What do you want to drink?" Changmin thought for a while, thinking what drink would be ideal for this moment.

"I'll have what you're having." Kyuhyun gave the boy a somewhat 'are you serious ' look. He knew about Changmin’s indecisive manner so he didn't particularly question it.

"I'll make some hot chocolate then. You can take a shower to warm yourself up." Changmin nodded and did as he was told.  Under normal circumstances, it would be weird to shower in a teacher's house. They had met each other little over a month ago and during that time, had spent less than a day together. However, for the two of them, it wasn't weird at all. Kyuhyun didn't know why but Changmin knew. Anything and everything, as long as Kyuhyun was involved, Changmin knew. After all, without Kyuhyun, Changmin was only a half. Half of a whole.