Soojung smoothers the side of her shirt nervously, trying to get rid of the ceases. She needs to look good on her first day; heart is hammering on her chest. Maybe it’s a bad idea to drink coffee this morning without getting much sleep the day before. She is extremely jumpy and she could feel her sweaty palms. Not good at all.

She doesn’t know that the kindergarten is quite big and cursing herself not checking the place the day before. She was busy packing and when she realized, it was late to go to her new workplace.

“Aigoo.” She sighs. Time is running and she is running late. She doesn’t even know where to go.

“Excuse me.” A tap on her shoulder makes her startled. A woman, maybe around her age, is looking at her with a toddler on her side, gripping the back of her jeans tightly as if he is afraid of Soojung.

“Are you lost? Do you need help?” She offers kindly.

Soojung sighs in relief, “Yes, I’m a new teacher here. I was supposed to go to the headmaster’s office but I don’t know the office.”

The woman laughs, eyes crinkling into crescents. She squats down to the toddler, grabbing his arm gently. “Taeoh-ya, this pretty noona is your new teacher. Shall we help her?”

The toddler, Taeoh, scans Soojung from the head to toe, then smiles bloom on his face. “Pretty noona.” He nods excitedly to the woman. “Yes, Umma. Let’s help her.”

The woman lifts him up and balances him on her right hip. “My name is Seulgi, by the way. And this is my son, Taeoh.” She smiles gently.

“My name is Soojung.”

Seulgi helps her to find the headmaster’s office, she is friendly and Taeoh is cute, but Soojung wonders if Seulgi is around her age and Taeoh is 3 years old, she must have Taeoh when she was a teenager.

Soojung knows better of course, not to mention it.

“Here it is, the headmaster’s office.” Seulgi beams at her before knocking the door. “I need to drop Taeoh to his class. Catch up with you later, Soojung-ah.” She pats Soojung’s arm gently before leaving with Taeoh.

Kim Jongdae, the headmaster, ushers her to the teachers’ room after helping her with the administration.

“We hope you like it here, Ms. Jung. Send my regards to Junmyeon hyung when you see him.”

Soojung smiles, maybe her new workplace is not bad. She loves being around children, she loves to teach and the colleagues seem nice.

“Each class has two homeroom teachers.” Jongdae explains, “I teach Korean language with Wendy Son for class A.” Wendy gives her a smile, “She teaches Art and Cooking.”

“And you will be assigned to class B. But since class has just started, I will introduce you to your colleague in class.”

Soojung follows Jongdae silently. She can’t wait to meet the class and hopefully they like it. Class B is located on the corner, even from few metres, she could hear the noises and children laughing and screaming.

“Kyungsoo would be happy to have an assistant. He has been suffering alone for a semester.” Jongdae chuckles and Soojung laughs softly behind him. Jongdae knocks softly at the door, and the door is yanked open by a little boy with mischievous smile. Even from one glance, she knows that this boy would be the troublemaker of the class.

“Manse-yah.” Jongdae pinches his cheeks, but the boy just giggles. “Don’t play with the door. What if you get hurt?” He chides but Manse grins even wider.

Another young boy follows him out of the class; his cheeks are rosy pink and storms into Jongdae’s arm. “Teacher Kim!”

“Minguk-ah, wait a second. I need to talk with Teacher Do.” Jongdae ruffles the boy’s hair. “Manse, go call Teacher Do.”

Manse, without being told twice, storms into the classroom, screaming for Teacher Do. Soojung smiles silently from behind. Her class would be handful.

“What’s up, Jongdae hyung?” A man comes from the classroom, holding two crying girls on each arms, their curly hairs smacking him on the face when they bury their face on the crooks of his neck. His clothes are in disarray and a young boy is tugging his jeans to talk to him.

“I see, you’re busy.” Jongdae chuckles, “But don’t worry, Kyungsoo-yah, Soojung here is going to help you.”

Then when Soojung realizes, that her colleague is the rude man on the flight.

Oh, !

---

Double !

Kyungsoo never wants to curse but at this time, it is all that he wants to do. Especially when Jongdae leaves him alone with the girl whom now he knows named Soojung.

He never wishes to see her again but even if he did, he never wished her to see him like this. He is not at least presentable to meet a woman, with his shirt askew, his sweater wet with tears on the shoulders and a boy tugging his jeans. But it is the nature of his job and he loves it.

“Um, now what should I do, sunbaenim?” Soojung awkwardly asks, eyes not meeting him.

“Can you hold Seojun for a while? And let’s introduce yourself to the class.”

Soojung, without much asking, scoops the boy who has been tugging the end of his jeans into her arms and follows him along.

“Alright, class.” Soojung flinches beside him when she hears his loud voice. But, in his class, if you don’t talk in loud voice, the children won’t hear you. It’s effective since the children quiet down and stop whatever they are doing, listening to him and looking curiously at Soojung.

“This is Teacher Jung and she will be teaching English and help me in this class. Now, everyone, stand up!” The children rushes to their feet, grinning to each other, seemingly excited for the new teacher. “Polite hands.” Kyungsoo smiles proudly as he sees the children place their hand on the chest. He has been teaching them to be polite since the beginning of the year and it seems that the children grasp it well.