He didn't even look at me when he slapped me across my face. 

He didn't even say a word when he pushed me to the floor. 

All he did was hit me, push me down, throw his unfinished soju bottle on me, and toss my chemistry test in the air. 

"You're a lousy son." Was all he managed to mumble out, slurring the words together as he left me on the kitchen floor. 

That was all I thought about as I picked up the glass and bandaged my scratched and bleeding skin. 

 

"You're late." I dragged the stool over to Professor Oh's desk, heaving for air after sprinting down the hallway. 

"S...sorry.." 

"Where were you?" He stared at me as if I was guilty of something, 

"Why do you care?" 

"Because I have a schedule and you're putting a dent in it." I glared. 

"Then why'd you tutor me?"

"Because." When he looked up at me, I really thought he was going to kill me. 

"You begged me, remember?" Damn it, I do remember. Instead of admitting defeat, I raised my eyebrow and smirked at him,  

"Well why don't you know where I was? I thought you knew everything."

"Yeah don't be a smart ."

"Hey. Can't you be fired for swearing?"

"If I'm fired, you'll fail chemistry." Id never seen Professor Oh smile, and I had to believe with all my might the sly grin he was giving me was not ha natural smile. 

But I've been wrong before. 

"Are you finished?" 

We stared at each other, knowing we both had something to lose without the other. I could feel insults tickling my tongue, begging to be spit out, but I held back knowing I couldn't risk an F in chemistry. 

"For now." 

"Okay, we'll go over today's lesson to start with. If you have any questions, make sure to ask me." Professor Oh stood up and began writing things down on the chalkboard. He was different than he was in class.. Still witty and all jerky, but more relaxed somehow and way more casual with his teaching. Usually he'd be giving a lecture, yet during my tutoring, he was going step by step with examples. 

"Are you listening?" 

"Huh?"

"What are you thinking about?" 

"Nothing." I shrunk in my seat, I really had to start paying attention! I never zoned out like that during actual school times.. I must have been tired. 

"You're making strange faces again, do you not understand?"

"Ohh, no.. It's just that, usually you give a lectures.. So I'm just wondering why.." 

"Why what?"

"Why you're not giving me one now.." Feeling extremely embarrassed, I could feel myself blushing. Out of everyone in the whole wide world, he was the last person I wanted to be embarrassed in front of! 

"You can't understand lectures, that's why I'm not giving you one."

"O-oh." 

"The whole point of tutoring is so you can learn. You obviously can't understand when I teach in a lecture style, so I'm doing something that you'd understand." 

"I see." Even though it was semi insulting, it was kind. For the first time in three years, he treated me decently, so I wasn't going to complain about that. I sat quietly,

making sure to pay close attention as he taught- since I didn't want to be there any longer than I had to.

Even though I hated his arrogant guts, Professor Oh was a pretty decent teacher... Putting aside the fact that he was an egoistic bastard. 

"Try and work through as many problems as you can, then let me know when you're finished." 

"Okay." 

As I worked, I'd peak up once in a while at Professor Oh. He looked different up close- more human like. From afar, his hair almost looked fake, it was so blonde, but up close I could see the centimeter of black hair growing from his roots. Suddenly I wondered why his hair was blonde in the first place.. The first conclusion I came to was that he thought it looked cool, so he kept it blonde. But then, I realized Professor Oh wasn't that type of person and that he was probably going gray at his old age so he just went all in to save his image.

Yup. 

That sounded like him.  

It occurred to me that I didn't know how old he was. Professor Oh didn't look older than 30, but he obviously was not a teen. I calculated how many years he would have had to go to college to become a professor, but mid way through my addition, I realized I didn't know his majors either. He had taught three science courses, so naturally I assumed he studied biology and obviously chemistry. I might have hated Professor Oh for being so prissy, but there was no denying that he was extremely intelligent. Maybe he knew he was smarter than everyone, so that's why he was so arrogant- because he knew he could be. 

..Nope! I was not going to make excuses for my enemy teacher. He was an . Period. 

 

From up close, his skin was not as perfect as it had seemed. It looked superficial from afar because it was so pale, but from my seat, I could see the tiny stubs of hair where he shaved and the light peach fuzz above his lip. There was a small scar right below his lip, like the one I had, and a scar on the top of his forehead near his hair line. Although he still looked like Snow White, and there wasn't a hint of him ever even having acne, he was human. 

There were scars to prove it. 

I began to try to picture Professor Oh going through pain, or crying whenever he had obtained the scars. 

Secretly, it made me happy. 

They probably hurt. The jerk deserved it though. 

But did people like him even get hurt? Can someone with no emotions cry? 

Of course. 

I mentally rolled my eyes at myself for being so stupid. He was a but he wasn't a robot.. I was really curious about his scars though, but I knew asking would be way out of line. 

"Ahem." Professor Oh cleared his throat, causing me to flinch. I realized I was staring off again and I had to get back on track if I ever wanted to leave the hell hole. I had to leave anyways for work. 

"I circled the ones I didn't get.. And the other ones I somehow managed to get answers out." 

"I'll check those first." Professor Oh stood up and went behind me like he had previously. I didn't understand why he didn't just turn the paper to look at from his seat, and I wished he had. He was too close for comfort, so close I could feel his breath on my neck. 

Professor Oh was breathing on me.. 

I was internally vomiting. Not that his breath was bad, but when the breath of your enemy is on your neck, it's hard to not gag. 

"Okay, so these are correct, but I don't understand why you can't do these ones when it's the same concept." 

"I just don't understand how photosynthesis is related to all the chemical respiration and ." 

"Watch your language." 

"You don't watch yours."

"I'm an adult, you're a kid."  PSHT. 

"Age has nothing to do with maturity. The only thing that separates us is hair color." I smiled. 

"I already told you to stop being a smart ." 

"See, you're sweating right now!"

"I will swear when I want to, and I will also not hesitate to whip you with my belt. Now pay attention." I knew he was joking about whipping me, but I shut up. It wasn't the threat of him whipping me that I was afraid of, it was the image of him taking off his belt. 

Yuck. 

Professor Oh always found ways to get under my skin and make me feel like choking him, but no matter what I said, he seemed unaffected. I couldn't stand his stupid face. 

Professor Oh's hand was suddenly placed on my shoulder and the other reached over the desk to grab a pen. He had large hands, pale like his face with slender fingers. The warmth of his hand radiated into my shoulder, nearing the bruises from when my father grabbed me. 

"Okay. Look, here it-"  

"Ow!" Both of us jumped. Him at my outburst and me at the sudden pain in my shoulder. I jumped so high, I nearly knocked the stool over. 

"What happened?" For a split second, Professor Oh's expression changed from unamused to surprised. Although it quickly went back to solemn, it remained tense, with the slightest concerned look. 

"Nothing, sorry.." He was eyeing my shoulder like a hawk, I knew he had seen the bruises.  

How could he not? 

The unmistakable deep purple color.  

Damn these loose uniforms. 

"Luhan a-"

"Oh ! I have work at 5:00 and I need to leave now." The timing seemed perfect. Although I'd be late for my job, the extra panic let me escape the situation. Grabbing my assignment, I shoved it into my backpack. 

"I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's Saturday." . 

"Monday. Bye." I left him standing where he landed after jumping back, without even looking up at him.

He knew. 

 

I began running work. 

Would he tell someone?  

Would he contact the office?  

Would he ask me about it Monday? 

I couldn't tell him anything and I had no lies to tell either. 

Would he call home? 

Oh crap. 

What if he called home and my father answered? I'd be beaten to a pulp for sure. 

I could hear my father now, 

I was fearing for my life. 

"My well being is in your hands, Professor Oh. Don't it up." I talked to myself as I entered the cafe where I worked, wondering what Professor Oh thought about me now.