The next month seemed to fly by for everyone.  Teacher Park got busier and busier with the wedding preparations, and more than once the lesson was moved from the normal morning time slot at the studio, to an early evening period at their apartment.  Teacher Park slowly began adding to Caden's tutoring responsibilities - from leaving her in charge of helping with any class-related problems the members might have outside the lesson time slot in the beginning, to collaborating in the creation of every lession plan and leading the class about half the time by the end.  Caden quickly learned that the boys really did show up at all hours with questions about the lessons - sometimes on days when they hadn't even had class - and that she was truly expected to be available virtually 24/7 (she no longer had to wonder why YG would be willing to provide boarding expenses just for the sake of keeping his staff nearby).

Just as what had happened to Caden's belongings in the weeks before she was to begin her work in Korea, she watched as Teacher Park's belongings slowly disappeared at the same rate as her remaining days of employment.  At Teacher Park's request (having consulted both her fiance and Caden) most of her larger furniture - sofa, tables, even her bed - was left for Caden's continued use, as she would be moving into her fiance's house, which was already furnished, after their wedding.

When Teacher Park's final day rolled around, Caden had secretly gotten word out to the members to throw a small going away party.  When the two women arrived at the classroom on the last morning, the boys had come early and put up decorations.  Teacher Park was completely surprised and Caden ran downstairs where she had hid some party snacks the day before.  Each of the members gave a small gift in honor of her leaving and, to Caden's great delight, they each gave their heartfelt thanks without even being prompted.  Teacher Park seemed very touched by the gesture, and Caden felt that the party had achieved its goal of making her realize how (rightfully) appreciated she was.

Later that evening, just as Teacher Park had done for her on the first day she arrived in Korea, Caden took her and her fiance out to dinner (in the same restaurant even) to mark her final day of teaching and to toast to the new life she was about to start.  In lieu of attending the wedding, Caden offered a small amount of money (the most common Korean wedding gift) in a pretty decorative envelope which featured a pair of ducks with their necks entwined as if hugging (the wedding duck or goose is the traditional symbol of love and fidelity in Korean weddings since ducks and geese are known to mate for life).  She shyly handed it to Teacher Park's fiance, who accepted it graciously.  Teacher Park smiled and, although she insisted Caden needn't have given them anything, she thanked her kindly.

When the meal was over, Teacher Park's fiance left to pick up the car, giving the two women a few minutes to say goodbye.

"I'm so happy for you," Caden said earnestly as they watched Teacher Park's fiance walk outside. "He seems very nice."

"Yes, he is," Teacher Park replied, smiling fondly. "I'm very happy too.  Although, I have to admit - I'm a bit sad to be leaving the boys.  And I'm almost a little more sad to be leaving you - I don't like to play favorites, but, confidentially, as a student you were the most dedicated."

"Plus I had the unfair advantage of also being your favorite roommate," Caden teased.  They both giggled at this.

"Before you go, I just wanted to let you know that I've enjoyed this past month immensely because of you," Caden said quickly, slightly embarrassed by the mushiness of what she was saying, "and it's been a real honor to learn about both Korean, and teaching English from you.  So I got you something..."

"Oh! No, you already gave me something!" Teacher Park insisted as Caden d around in her purse for the gift.

"That was a wedding gift for you and your fiance," Caden said, smiling when she finally grabbed hold of the small box. "This is just for you, as a going away present.  Something to remember me by."  She watched as Teacher Park carefully opened the small package to reveal a delicate gold necklace with a small apple charm.

"I'm not sure if this is a custom in Korea, but where I come from it's tradition to bring your favorite teacher an apple and unlike you, I have no qualms about everyone knowing that you were one of the best teachers I've ever worked with."

"Oh, it's beautiful," Teacher Park said with a mixture of laughter and gratitude.  She gripped Caden's hand tightly,

"It seems a shame that we should only be together for this short time.  Even though it's only been a month, I feel like we've gotten to know each other well and you have become someone who I consider important to me.  It's been a privilege to watch you develope your Korean and to watch you come into your own as a teacher.  I hope we can keep in touch in the future."

"Teacher Park..." Caden began, moved, but the other woman interrupted her.

"Call me Minhae sunbae from now on," she insisted. "From now on you are no longer my student, but my legacy."  Although Caden wasn't Korean, and therefore generally placed far less importance on differences in age and rank, she understood the meaning behind these words.

"Sunbae..." she began, feeling close to tearing up.

"I know you will maintain the position well," the woman continued. "And be sure to take good care of the boys."

"Minhae sunbae!" Caden cried, unable to contain herself.  She launched herself at the other woman, crushing her in a hug.  She just laughed, hugging Caden in return.

"Take care of yourself," Caden said when she finally let go. "Make sure to enjoy your wedding and honeymoon.  You and your husband treat each other well."

"I will," she confirmed, smiling. "Let's catch up with each other once I return.  Be sure to call me often."

"I will," Caden promised.  The woman smiled at this.  Just then, she caught sight of her fiance pulling up in their car.

"I'd better go," she said, squeezing Caden's hands tightly once more.  With that, she turned and began walking toward the door.

"Goodbye Minhae sunbae!" Caden called once more, waving.  Halfway through the door Park Minhae turned.  She smiled, waving back before turning away for the last time and disappearing through the door.

Caden stood there waving until the car had driven away and was completely out of sight.  She stood for a minute more, simply gazing out the door.  Finally she sighed, making her own way out of the restaurant.  She hailed a cab and rode home in silence, with mixed feelings about returning to the apartment where she now lived alone for the first time since she arrived in the country.

*     *     *

Class the following day had once again been scheduled at 8:00am in the classroom.  Caden had arrived about twenty minutes prior to that, casually reading as she waited for the members to appear.  About ten minutes to 8:00, the five of them all arrived as a unit, laughing and joking with one another as they shuffled to their seats, greeting her as they passed.  She smiled in response, closing her book before standing and walking around to the front of the desk.  She seated herself on the edge as she waited for them to get settled, crossing her arms casually across her chest.

"Whoa, it's so strange seeing just you up there without Teacher Park, Caden ssi!" Seungri burst out once they had all quieted down.  Caden grinned.

"It feels pretty strange to be up here by myself without Teacher Park," she joked, "but, alas, you young, impressionable students must continue to learn, therefore I must continue to teach."  They all chuckled at this, waiting for her to continue.

"As my first day as your official tutor, today is mostly going to be a day of announcements," Caden began, smiling. "From what I understand, these next few months will be of upmost importance when it comes to my teaching you, because they seem to be the only time during the whole year when your schedules are flexible enough for me to devote five days a week to teaching you.  This means, for the next four months or so, we're going to be seeing a lot of each other."

"Personally, I don't mind seeing a lot of you," Seungri piped up.  Everyone else groaned loudly at his antics.

"That's very sweet of you," Caden said, sounding sincere before abruptly turning serious. "Go stand in the corner."  There was uproarious laughter from all of the boys, even Seungri, as Caden had made a reference to a running joke that had been going on over the past month.  This was not the first time Seungri had said something ridiculous in front of everyone as a response to Caden and, previously, Teacher Park had taken to jokingly threatening to send him to stand in the corner - a common punishment for speaking out of turn in elementary school.

"As I was saying..." Caden began as they all quieted down once more, "we're all going to be seeing a lot of each other.  For this reason, I'm glad that we've all had the opportunity to get to know each other a little better and become more comfortable with one another in this past month.  At least, I hope that's the case for all of us..."  Unbeknownst to Caden, both Top and Seungri independently shot a glance at Taeyang (who didn't seem to notice their attentions).

"...and I'm sure we'll know even more - probably more than we care to - about each other a few more months from now, but in order to hurry the process ever so slightly, for the next few minutes I want you all to tell me a few slightly personal details about yourselves.  In return, you may ask a few personal questions of me.  And keep it appropriate," she added when Seungri opened his mouth to speak.  G Dragon snorted at this and Daesung just rolled his eyes at the maknae.

"Let's start with something simple like your favorite color, or how many siblings you have," Caden suggested. "Things like that."

"I have a younger sibling," Seungri piped up immediately.

"The rest of us all have older sisters," G Dragon spoke up next. "Except Young bae - he has older brothers."

"Really?" Caden asked in surprise. Then she turned teasing. "So you're all maknaes except the maknae?  No wonder you're in show business."

"What about you?" Top challenged. "What position are you?"

"I'm the oldest," Caden responded matter of factly, smiling out at them. "I have two younger sisters."

"All girls?" Seungri asked, sounding surprised. "I feel sorry for your dad..."

"That's it," Caden said, feigning exasperation, "stand up with your hands above your head until I tell you to stop."

"On the subject of family position - as long as we're asking personal questions - exactly how old are you?" G Dragon inquired before Seungri could attempt a response.  Caden made a face at this.

"Don't you know that you never ask a woman her age?" she joked.

"Yeah, but that's only with older ladies, right?" Taeyang spoke up.  Caden scrunched up her nose in distaste.

"Okay," she reasoned, "I'm considering telling you... But first you all have to tell me your ages before I decide if I will or not.  What year were you all born in?"

"1987," Top announced.

"1988," Taeyang chimed in.

"1988," G Dragon stated.

"1989," Daesung added.

"1990," Seungri concluded.  Caden stared out at them, considering what she had just heard.

"No... I can't do it," she decided finally.  They all began to protest in earnest.

"No, I can't tell you," she insisted.

"Come on, you said we were supposed to be learning more about each other and growing closer," Seungri pointed out.  Caught, Caden gave him a dirty look.

"You are quite a troublemaker today, aren't you?" she accused.  But she sighed, giving in.

"Alright, how about this," she offered, "I won't tell you my actual age, but I will tell you that I'm not the oldest person in this room."

"Really??" they demanded, looking at each other in disbelief.  They had all been surprised by how young she seemed, but they never would have expected the President to hire a teacher who was actually younger than some of her students.

"Why so surprised?" Caden demanded, pretending to be offended. "Do I really seem that old to you?"

"But just to be clear," she added before they could respond, "I'm not the youngest either.  Got that?  I'm definitely older than you.  Definitely."  She directed that last statement at the maknae, who gave her a look of innocent surprise.

"Why are you only picking on me?" he demanded. "What did I do?"

"Just an extra precaution," she told him pleasantly. "You seem like the type that might forget that sort of thing otherwise."

"I'd have to agree with you there," Top confirmed, causing the other boys to burst out laughing again, leaving Seungri looking sheepish.

"Okay, okay," Caden said chuckling, attempting to quiet them. "I think it's just about time to move on..."

"I just have one more question," Daesung insisted.  Caden hesitated a moment, but conceded.

"Alright - because you haven't asked anything yet," she allowed. "But this is the very last question.  After this we're just going to have to resort to getting to know each other the old fashioned way."  The members chuckled at this.

"Were you a fan of Big Bang before you got this teaching job?" Daesung inquired earnestly.  All of a sudden Caden found that she had the undivided attention of everyone in the room.  Just as when the question had come up during her interview with the President, Caden was a little thrown by the intensity of their interest, but tried not to show it.

"Well..." she began carefully, "I've known about you guys since I was still in college, back in America.  I definitely like all of your music, but I wouldn't say that I'd be the first to know when new songs come out, or keep on top of all the members solo activities... But yes.  I would say I'm your fan."  She punctuated this statement with a cheesy thumb's up.  This seemed to satisfy the group, for they all nodded agreeably at each other when she'd finished.

"Though..." she continued thoughtfully, "I am enough of a fan to know that I share a birthday with one of you.  There, that's the last hint I'll give you about when I was born."

"Which one of us is it?" G Dragon asked curiously.  Caden snorted at this,

"Psht, I'm not telling you!"

They all began to protest until Caden held up her hands to silence them.

"Alright, how about this," she offered, "I'll make it a challenge - if any of you manage to guess my birthday by the time it rolls around, then I will tell you my exact age.  Deal?"

"Deal!" Seungri cried out without bothering to get a consensus from the rest of the group.

"But wait, it's not Jiyong hyung that you share your birthday with, is it?" Daesung queried. "Because his is only a few weeks from now..."

"Fine, but this is your very last hint," Caden insisted. "No, it's not coming up that soon.  Now, I'm afraid I'm going to have to move on-"

"Wait!" Seungri interrupted. "Has your birthday already passed this year?"

"What did I just say about hints??" Caden demanded.

"Oh, come on," he pleaded. "This is practically part of the same question..."  Caden simply rolled her eyes,

"I'll say this - my birthday has not passed since I've been working with you all.  That potentially gives you between now and next June to figure it out.  And now I must insist we move on to scheduling for class or we're going to be here all day."

The boys grudgingly agreed.

"Now," Caden began, "I have several announcements about scheduling changes for the coming months.  Before she left, Teacher Park and I had a meeting with the President about how to best proceed with your lessons.  As you already know, it was decided that I would take over teaching your Japanese lessons as well as your English ones.  Unfortunately, there simply isn't enough time to devote to two lessons, five days a week for all of you.  After much consideration, and consultation from your former Japanese teacher, the President had decided that it will be in everyone's best interest to separate the group to focus on the weaker language of each member.  According to Teacher Park, those of you who need to focus more on your English studies are Seungri, Taeyang, and Top.  Those who need more time with Japanese are G Dragon, Daesung, and Top."

"Hey, wait..." Top piped up. "Why was I the only one who was in there twice?"

"Well..." Caden started gently, "when Teacher Park and Shin sensei were deciding who was competent enough in one language to focus on their weaker one... Well, since Jiyong and Seungri are nearly fluent in English and Japanese respectively, they would focus on their weaker language, and it was decided that Young bae was fluent enough in Japanese and Daesung capable enough in English to switch, but... the teachers couldn't reach a compromise when it came to you.  How should I put this... They couldn't decide... which one you were better at!"

"So what you're basically saying is that they think I'm unteachable," Top concluded dryly.  The other boys, who had all been desperately trying to surpress their laughter during Caden's little speech, completely lost it at this remark.  As they roared, Caden was left floundering for support, but was only met with Top's amused smirk.

"Teacher Park would never say something like that!" Caden insisted, when they began to calm down, sounding genuinely scandalized.

"That's true.  Teacher Park is much too nice to admit something like that," Top reasoned, "but I'm not sure I could say the same for Shin sensei..."  The room exploded into laughter once more.  Caden narrowed her eyes at him, feeling a mixture of amusement and annoyance that be kept besting her, seeming to have a response for everything while she was still trying desperately to stay on subject.  She opened to argue, but Top beat her to it,

"Ah, no, I suppose you're right - they're not the type of people to use the word 'unteachable'...  They just silently came to the conclusion that I'm unlearnable."

"If they thought you were unlearnable, why would they have me try to teach you twice as much?" Caden pointed out.  This gave Top a pause just long enough for her to push on earnestly,

"Besides, I happen to think that no one is unlearnable.  Learning second and third language are easier for some people than others, but that doesn't mean you won't learn it.  You've become my special project in the group.  I'm determined to make progress with you!"

Top's smiled broadened.

"Well, the way you put it, I'm not sure whether to be insulted or flattered to be your 'special project'," he said, once again at his most charming.  This caused a series of snickers and eyerolls from the rest of the boys.  Luckily for Caden, she was much too fed up with his neverending comebacks to be charmed.  She let out a scoff that was somewhere between a groan and a laugh, finally giving up on talking earnestly.

"Well considering it was the President who labeled you as a 'special project', unfortunately I'd have to say it may be leaning toward the first option," she joked, feigning thoughtfulness.  This sent the boys howling once more, leaving Top simply shaking his head with a grin, finally silenced.  Caden grinned victoriously before moving on.

"Now, with you five broken up into these two groups, you will each have different schedules, so pay attention.  From now on, since the morning time slot will shortly cease to fit some of your schedules, instead we will be meeting in the early evenings - around 7 or 8 - right after dinner time, and for most days we'll be holding lessons in my apartment since it will be easier for everyone if we hold them closer to home, since some of you will be having projects that don't involve coming to the studio.  Excluding this coming Monday, when we will all come to the lesson together to review before starting the new schedules, Monday and Wednesday will be Japanese lessons - G Dragon, Daesung, and Top, and Tuesday and Thursday will be English lessons - Seungri, Taeyang, and Top.  Every other Friday you will have off, but on alternating Fridays, everyone will gather in this classroom to quickly review both languages so that you don't lose any of your current fluency.  There will be more schedule changes in a few months time, with winter projects and award shows, but for now this is the one we're going with," she paused, thinking deeply. "That seems to be the most important information I need to share with you for now... Oh!"

She reached down to pick up something that had been resting next to her on the desk.  She held it out for them to see.

"Although this isn't important, I just thought I'd mention that I will be using this as one of my English teaching aids.  It's a daily calendar of random facts.  During every lesson - even the Japanese lessons, since it's always good to keep up with your English - one of you will be assigned to write the 'Fact of the Day' up on the board and read it outloud.  I have a white board in the apartment for that very purpose.  I figure it's kind of a fun way to learn interesting things in a new language.  Some of the fact are a bit technical though, so in those cases we'll just force G Dragon to do it," she teased.

"Why does it have to be me?" he demanded in amusement as the other boys all chuckled.

"Because you come so highly recommended as the number one English speaker by Teacher Park," Caden teased.

"So basically, you're punishing me for being praised by Teacher Park too much?" he inquired jokingly.

"Yep," Caden replied, smiling broadly. "I guess this is what you get for being the Teacher's Pet."  Everyone burst out laughing at this, as G Dragon just sat there with an amused little half smile playing around his lips - even Caden couldn't help but laugh at her own joke.

"All right, all right," she said finally, still chuckling. "I shouldn't have said that.  Nobody's allowed to start calling him teacher's pet..."

"If it's the way you say it, I don't mind being called 'Teacher's Pet'," G Dragon stated casually.  Caden paused, thrown by this response, her face frozen somewhere between smiling and confusion as his smirk only grew.

After a brief pause, Top spoke up.

"You realize that no one in this room is ever going to let you forget you said that," he announced earnestly.  The room exploded into laughter once again.

"Ah, I don't know how this meeting got so wild," Caden lamented, still unable to stop laughing. "You're all lucky that it's almost the weekend and you didn't acutally have lessons to learn!  That being said, that's really all the information I have for you today.  If you have any questions about the new schedules, you know where to find me.  For now, go enjoy your weekend - we'll resume the actual learning Monday at my apartment. 7:00 pm!  Don't forget!"

With much noise and clambering, the members all began to leave, shouting goodbyes to Caden over their own noisy conversations.  As the other four shuffled lazily to the door, G Dragon approached her, still grinning,

"Great lesson today, teacher.  I enjoyed it very much - I would say it was one of your best!"

Caden gave him a look before rolling her eyes good-naturedly.

"Yeah, I'll bet you did," she said sarcastically.  Then she grinned cheekily, "Although I do agree that it was quite productive - I've been looking for the perfect nickname for you for a while now.  I never expected you to deliver one up so easily, Teacher's Pet."  To her slight disappointment, G Dragon only laughed at this.

"I told you I don't mind what you call me," he said brightly.

"Just thought I'd consult you before making it official," Caden responded jokingly.  She hopped off the front of the desk, reaching across to begin gathering her things.

"So, I just came to ask if you had any plans for the weekend now that you no longer have Teacher Park as a guide," he inquired casually.  She smiled rather forlornly to herself.

"Ah, no, not really," she said good-naturedly, "I was just sort of planning on enjoying having the apartment to myself this weekend.  I always lived alone in Japan, but I got so comfortable with Teacher Park, I have to get used to it again now."  G Dragon grinned.

"I know what you mean," he said amiably. "That's sort of how I felt when we went from sharing one dorm between the five of us to just two of us."  Then he frowned thoughtfully,

"Are you sure you want to spend your weekend at home, though?  If you're worried about not knowing good places to go or things to do, I'd be happy to offer my services as a replacement guide."

Caden paused what she was doing and gave him a sideways smile.

"Did Teacher Park put you up to this before she left?" she questioned.

"Maybe," he responded jokingly.  Caden nudged him playfully with her shoulder.

"You really are Teacher's Pet," she teased.  Then she sighed, "That's really very sweet of you, but I'm actually fine.  I know you probably think that I never get out, and I spend all my time working with you guys or locked up in my apartment with lesson plans, and that I don't know anyone in the city other than my students now that my one friend has left to get married, and that even though I've lived here for a month I've never had a chance to get to know the city, but-"  She broke off, looking rather depressed.

"Um, I never said anything like that, Caden ssi," G Dragon pointed out delicately.  Upon hearing her name, Caden jolted out of her minor slump.  She laughed, mostly at herself.

"It really is nice of you to offer," she repeated, once again with her usual enthusiasm. "I'll probably take you up on that next weekend, if you're free.  But for now I feel like I should do a little exploring on my own.  You know, to make up for all the opportunities I missed this last busy month."  She grinned broadly at him, to which G Dragon could only return the smile.

"It's a deal," he agreed. "In that case, I guess I'll see you on Monday.  I'll be going first.  Goodbye Caden ssi."

"Goodbye," Caden said cheerfully, retrieving her purse. "Have a good weekend!"  With that, G Dragon turned and made his way out the door, with Caden following suit several minutes later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N

So I finally updated!  Woot!  Hahah, sorry for the mushiness in the beginning.  Originally I was going to short of gloss over Teacher Park's leaving a bit more, but I realized that she's actually a very important support character to Caden.  Plus we may or may not be seeing her again.  Wink wink, nudge nudge, say no more, say no more.

Alright, enough with the Monty Python quotes...

Anyway, I hope you're all liking the story.  Again, this chapter particularly amused me. :D  It was fun to write all the boys being silly students together. :P

Next update within a few days.  Remember, comments = karma and subscriptions = love. :P