Literature was Taehyung's least favorite class for four reasons:

1. He was a little slower at finding and understanding the deeper meaning within the text.

2. His teacher, Ms. Jo, a bespectacled middle-aged woman, overinterpreted everything, confusing him more.

3. To make this even worse, she was going through a nasty divorce and somehow found a way to relate everything to her ex-husband.

4. He had trouble putting his thoughts into words, so many of his essays received poor grades due to a lack of clarity.

"So Addie dies, and Vardaman is given an entire chapter to himself for one line: 'My mother is a fish.' Why do you think he said that?" Mrs. Jo paused, shrugging in an exaggerated manner. "Vardaman talks a lot about fish throughout the novel, and they just butchered a big fish a few chapters back. Just like the fish, Addie has changed because of death and can no longer be defined. So Vardaman is attempting to define himself by relating himself to Addie, who is related to a fish, because that is all he knows..."

Taehyung sighed in exasperation, knowing what was coming next.

"...And just like Vardaman, I too know only one thing: misery. I fell in love with a liar, a cheater, a schemer. I got tangled in his web of deception and got hurt in the end." Her jaw clenched as her grip on the Expo marker became dangerously tight. "Heartless bastard! I wish you would die just like Addie! You're a good-for-nothing, manipulative pig!"

The entire class was awkwardly silent. There were a few whispers behind Taehyung, most of the words uttered being "insane" and "crazy ." Then, Ms. Jo took a deep breath as she clapped her palms together. She now wore an unnervingly serene smile, making many of the students look down at their notes in discomfort. 

"So, now I'd like some of your insights." She blinked as if to accentuate her feigned tranquility. "Hmm... Taehyung! What do you think this reveals about Vardaman's character, and how does it make you feel?"

He swallowed nervously. "I, uh... well, I guess I kind of feel sorry for him..."

"You guess?" Her eyebrow rose dangerously, her words laced subtly with venom. "Why do you pity him?"

He went silent. He could see a mess of thoughts and images that he wanted to turn into spoken words but couldn't figure out how to go about it. His expression darkened as he instantly felt discouraged. At this rate, he felt that nobody would ever truly understand him. Taehyung's nickname, "4D alien," seemed more like a curse than a title of endearment. 

Instead of wallowing in his despair, he decided to shake it off, rubbing the back of his neck in mild embarrassment. "Sorry, I can't really put it into words."

"Not a big deal, Mr. Kim." She reassured him, though he was unsure if she was being genuine. "That's what literature is all about–learning to effectively dictate your own interpretations."

He quietly sighed again, this time in relief. He was fortunate that despite his poor performance, Ms. Jo seemed to like him. Still, he was afraid that she would one day snap at him like she had begun to do to Han Sanghyuk, who was absolutely brilliant in this area of study. He didn't understand why Ms. Jo was so condescending toward the poor boy. If anything, she should have felt proud to have him as a student. Sanghyuk basically saved everyone from impending doom with his ingenious explanations and flawless tact. Ms. Jo was especially hard on him, probably because he was so strong a student.

Sanghyuk raised his hand to speak, and Taehyung knew that hell had come.

"Ah, Mr. Han!" She nodded. "Do you have something to say?"

"Yes." He replied. "I would like to expand upon what Taehyung started to say. I feel like Vardaman is meant to be pitied by the reader. In fact, maybe all of the characters are supposed to be pitied in some way to some extent. Virtually all of their problems and flaws in character stem from each other."

"That's very plausible." Her face fell. "But though I appreciate your input, it is all too clear that you are just out here to save everyone's tails. That is a form of an excuse, making you an enabler to other students who may not be as competent as you are. In turn, you are deceiving your peers by implying that it their incompetence and ignorance is okay. Well let me tell you something: it is not okay. It is never okay. First him, now you–men create a cycle of lies."

Sanghyuk looked at her incredulously, jaw hanging low. His jaw clenched as he threw himself upward from his desk, indicating that he was done with her bullying. He swiftly walked toward the door, ignoring Ms. Jo's barks and screeches to sit back down. 

The entire class sat quietly in a mixture of shock and awe. Lee Hayi, who sat next to Jaeyoung, found herself clapping slowly. Jaeyoung faced her classmate with a look of horror on her usually expressionless face, gesturing subtly to stop. By the time Hayi realized what she was doing, all eyes were now on her, including Ms. Jo's. Her arms were crossed, making Hayi pale. 

"Miss Lee, would you like to go to the office?" Ms. Jo's tone was low and deadly.

"N-no..." Her face flushed a bright red. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for."

Ms. Jo smiled really wide, but her eyes were sinister. "It's not a big deal. I won't send you to the office, nor will I give you a detention..."

Hayi sighed in relief.

"...Because I don't want to see your face."

"Excuse me, Ms. Jo?" Hayi was astounded.

"Get out."

Without a word, Hayi ran out of the classroom, her face becoming wet with tears. Those remaining helplessly glued their eyes downward at their notebooks, afraid to start or witness any more trouble. Taehyung carefully stole a few glances at Jaeyoung, who was visibly pissed. The veins in her hand protruded from beneath her flesh as she tightly gripped her pen and jotted down the rest of the notes on the board. Her jaw was clenched and her brow was furrowed, and it seemed as if she was forcing her lips together to avoid going off on Ms. Jo like she probably wanted to do. He couldn't wait for class to end.

Finally, Taehyung had only one class left before he was free. But that class was chemistry, which was the academic equivalent to "no items, Fox only, Final Destination." Usually, the class consisted of quiet notetaking while his teacher, Mr. Yang, lectured them as if they already knew so much about chemistry already, which they obviously did not. However, today was a lab day, so he could at least talk to his friends while he worked. He felt fortunate to have Jimin, who was also his go-to lab partner when Mr. Yang allowed it.

He sighed as he got up from his desk and headed to the lab area in the back of the room. He strategically chose the table by the window, where Jaeyoung had decided to sit. Jimin followed, placing his pencil and lab directions beside Taehyung's. Perhaps Taehyung would enter the adult world not knowing how to balance a checkbook, but at least he would know how to do acid-base titrations because that was just so useful. Yeah, right, okay. 

"Hey, Jaeyoung," Taehyung asked. "May I use the HCl when you're done?"

She nodded quietly.

He slapped himself mentally. He couldn't even get her to talk, and he wondered why. Did she hate everyone? Was she extremely awkward? What was her deal? Jimin turned to him when she wasn't looking and mouthed a "You tried, bro," making his mental slaps turn into mental punches. 

Again, Taehyung tried to brainstorm reasons why Jaeyoung never spoke. Maybe it wasn't that she didn't want to talk but that she couldn't. Maybe she was mute... Wait, no... Wait, yes... Muteness would explain why no teacher ever called on her. Or maybe he was just overthinking it. He would never know unless she gave him an answer. 

Unfortunately, today was not the day he would get one.

Later that afternoon, Taehyung and Jimin walked home together, as they always did. They lived in the same neighborhood, on opposite ends of the same street. The two first met when Jimin moved into town in elementary school, and they became fast friends. Jimin was initially shy, soft-spoken, and a little insecure. Yet Taehyung, even back then, was as outgoing as ever and showed Jimin that he cared when nobody else was bold enough to do so. 

This was how he wanted to approach Jaeyoung. But whereas Jimin had clearly been looking for a friend, Jaeyoung seemed indifferent. 

"Rough start, eh?" Jimin elbowed his friend.

"Don't remind me." He sulked.

"Relax." Jimin let out a light chuckle. "You still have plenty of time."

"Still, it feels hopeless."

"Remember when I first moved here? I was too afraid to respond to any of your efforts to reach out to me for two weeks. It took another two weeks for me to even feel comfortable speaking to you."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you should use your time by giving her time. Try to make her warm up to you within your six weeks, but also give her that time to reciprocate."

"Oh," Taehyung nodded. "I get it."

The pair turned a corner, entering a neighborhood filled with modestly-sized houses. Nearly every other house had a small tree of some sort planted in the center of its front yard, most frequently a cherry tree. The bulbs of the flowers were still green and the buds of the trees were still small, not quite ready to bloom fully. Jimin veered off, walking across the street toward the beige bungalow with a gray minivan sitting idle in the driveway. 

"See ya, buddy!" Jimin waved as he sauntered to his front door and disappeared.

Taehyung continued to walk farther down the road until he reached his own house, a blue-gray colonial at the head of the cul-de-sac. He heard his dog's excited barking, which was muffled by the door that separated them. 

"Soonshim!" He called, running hurriedly to greet his beloved companion with a rectangular smile on his face. 

The giant white ball of fluff leapt up, her tail wagging side to side. Taehyung ruffled the fur on her head as he closed the door behind him.