She stripped off her pajamas, tossed them into the laundry basket and stepped into the shower. She the water, reveling in the steady rivulets of warm water running down her face and body. Using homemade shampoo, she lathered and rinsed her hair. It left a fresh, clean scent that she loved. She also loved how her hair became soft. She picked up the homemade oatmeal soap, holding it in both hands, enjoying its rough texture, breathing in its sweet, earthy smell. Smiling widely, she began soaping her body slowly.

After rinsing off, Jiyeon turned off the water and towel dried her hair then wrapped the towel around her. She padded back into her bedroom and hung her damp towel on a hook behind the door before she went to her closet. She selected a pair of knee-length jeans and a light gray T-shirt and quickly slipped into her simple outfit. Standing before the mirror, she slowly brushed her long hair as she studied her reflection.

"You don't need man-made chemicals to make you look beautiful," Jiyeon told her reflection. She nodded, and a slow smile broke over her face. Well, she had never worn makeup; it wasn't her thing. She was grateful for what God had given her. "You're naturally beautiful." She winked at her reflection, and then turned around.

Humming a melody, Jiyeon exited her room. She walked down the hallway, descended the stairs, heading towards the front door. Her front door had been opened, and she could see her student standing outside, casually dressed in a black long-sleeved T-shirt with the sleeves neatly rolled up to below the elbow, black jeans and white sneakers. He was looking up, facing the east.

"What brought him here?" Jiyeon muttered as she walked down the concrete path barefoot towards him. She stopped beside him and stood straight and tall on the concrete path. She cocked her head sideways and looked upward. Her right eye squinted a little against a very bright light. She didn't turn away. Instead, she focused on it and squeezed her eyes to produce tears. At the count of five, she could see a white circle emit rays and gradually turn black. It was absolutely amazing and wonderful to see the black circle emit rays in all the colors of the rainbow. She could also see white and some black particles going in every direction. Her eyes were like microscopes.

A few minutes had passed, and the concrete path was now getting hot. Without taking her eyes off the sun, she took a few side steps and stood on the grass. Looking directly at the sun does make my belief there is an intelligent creator, or what I call God, grow stronger. The sun is the sign of God's greatness and power. Without the sun there is no life, as there's no light equals no life. Jiyeon smiled, all the while admiring God's beautiful creation. Her smile stretched even wider when the wind blew around her, cooling the heat from the sun she felt on her forehead and upper cheeks. Then she shifted her gaze from the sun to her student's broad back. He absolutely didn't notice her presence. He was too busy observing the sun, moving his head very slowly from side to side.

"How long have you been staring at the sun, Jaehyun? Are you not afraid the sun will burn your eyeballs?" she asked in a soft voice. Jaehyun turned to face her, and Jiyeon noticed that his eyes glistened with tears.

"Since your mother told me you were still sleeping," Jaehyun answered, running his index finger across the skin under his eyes. "No, I'm not afraid. The sun is so beautiful, and I cannot take my eyes off it."

"The sun is indeed the most beautiful creation of God," Jiyeon responded and gave him an apologetic smile. "Sorry to have kept you waiting."

Jaehyun nodded with a small smile, then stepped closer. He looked directly into her eyes, his expression turning serious. A rush of nervousness hit her stomach. Lowering her gaze, Jiyeon inhaled deeply in an attempt to relax and then exhaled slowly. Feeling relaxed, she dragged her gaze back up to his face.

"Teacher Park, I've been told 'if you look directly at the sun, you will damage your eyes', but the complete opposite happened, so what are we being told? You know I've been studying the sun by staring directly at it several hours a day and I found out that the actual color of the sun is black. To the untrained eyeballs, the sun appears as a light yellowish color, but if you study like I do, you will eventually see its true color: black," he told her. His voice rose in excitement as he added, "The shape of the sun is like the shape of a full moon: a perfect circle. It's so amazing seeing the black circle emit rainbow rays. I saw a black beam of light coming down from the black circle twice, which somehow reminded me of LED Pinspot emitting a light beam. My favorite time to look directly at the sun is when it is high in the sky and there's no cloud around it. The black circle looks so beautiful with its rays."   

Jiyeon couldn't stop smiling. Happiness bloomed in her heart. Finally, she met someone, who didn't get fooled by mainstream science that claimed the sun is dangerous: its infrared or ultraviolet radiation damages the eyes, causes blindness and skin cancer.

"You're right. The sun is black. I've studied the sun with my eyes and its effect on my body when I was a university student. I still remember clearly that on my third day of observations I saw the sun emit light beams forming a plus sign—the color of the east-west light beam was a rainbow color, while the color of the north-south light beam was white. I couldn't help but feel blessed to witness a wonderful sight," Jiyeon said, the smile still not leaving her face. She turned her gaze back to the cloudless sky and looked directly at the sun, continuing: "There is the saying: when studying the sun, safety is very important! Write one sun safety rule: never look at the sun directly! I find it absolutely ridiculous that "mainstream scientists" claim the sun is dangerous when they never study it directly with their eyes. My question is how do those scientists know the sun is dangerous, damaging the eyes?"

"They know it because their masters say so."

Jiyeon let out a small laugh at her student's response and switched her gaze to him. He gave her a small, but sweet smile, and she felt her heart beat a bit faster. She took a deep breath. "You are correct. They believe the sun is dangerous because their masters say so," she said in a gentle voice. "Next time if you meet a scientist or science student, who claims 'looking directly at the sun will damage the eyes', don't listen to their so-called 'scientific' explanation, but challenge them to look directly at it with the eyes. Chances are they refuse your challenge, call you names and label you mentally ill. Many people in the scientific community like to label anyone, who disagrees with their dogmatic beliefs mentally ill."  

Well, Jiyeon once read news about an astronomer used a dead pig's eye to demonstrate dangers of looking directly at the sun. It was ridiculous to compare a dead pig's eye with a living human's eyes. Our eyes have a natural protective mechanism that cuts down the overall intensity of light whereby the irises instantly contract to narrow the opening of pupil; they can produce tears that contribute to the correct focus of light rays in the eye. She wouldn't get fooled. She had proven that looking directly at the sun with the bare eyes absolutely not dangerous. She didn't go blind. Instead, her eyesight became sharper and clearer. She also had an amazing experience with the sun's heat. One morning, she woke up with nasal congestion to the point she had to breathe out of . Less than one minute she looked directly at the sun, the heat from the sun relaxed the nasal passages, and she could breathe normally through her nose.

How mainstream scientists and media portray the sun, God's creation like an evil villain, and man-made creations like heroes really pisses me off. It's man-made radiation that's harmful, burning the organs, causing cancer. It's sunscreen that causes skin cancer. It's man-made contact lenses and sunglasses that damage the eyes. Nature is a wonderful healing creation of God. Unfortunately, people choose to worship man-made creations.

"Some of my friends once mocked me to see a psychiatrist because I told them the actual color of the sun is black—the sun is a black circle. Many people told me that staring at the sun was bad," Jaehyun said in a low voice, then a big smile stretched across his face, lighting up his eyes. "It's funny how people who do not know what is right think they know; they fail to know that thinking alone is not knowing. I can't put down in words how happy I am to know that my teacher believes the sun is black and not dangerous, and the belief is based on observations. Science starts with observation, right?"

She gave a small nod. "Never accept any information blindly. Investigate everything. Question everything. In the end, no one can save us but ourselves," Jiyeon told him, patting his shoulder lightly. He met her eyes as they exchanged smiles.

"I honestly don't believe the sun is 93 million miles away," Jaehyun said, his gaze still fixed on her, "because when I look directly at the sun, it looks closer, and I can see its spider-web rays clearly when I move my head from side to side in a very slow motion. Teacher Park, do you believe the sun is 93 million miles away?"

Jiyeon shook her head. "No, I trust my own eyes and senses—always trust my instincts over any "authority" figure. Instincts never lie and will always guide us in the right direction. By the way, I've also seen the sun emit a black beam of light, which appeared perpendicular to a point on the earth and that inspired me to do a simple experiment to measure the distance between the earth and the sun. Using simple trigonometry, you can get the earth-sun distance. Follow me, I'll explain it to you."

Jaehyun followed suit as Jiyeon walked towards the front door. She led him to the stairs leading up to the second floor. They had gotten halfway up the stairs when she heard her mother call her name. She halted and turned around to find her mother standing at the bottom.

"Come here for a moment." Her mother curled her right index finger twice, gesturing for her to come to her.

Jiyeon looked at her student. Before she could open , he told her, "Go ahead."

She gave him a gentle smile before she stepped towards her mother. Taking Jiyeon by the arm, her mother led her to the sofa in the living room. Her mother sat her down on the sofa, and she stood before her, her arms crossed. Jiyeon could feel anger flowing off her mother.

Jiyeon looked up at her mother. "Mom, what…" Her voice trailed off as her mother grabbed her ear and twisted it. Her face grimaced in pain.

"Did you tell your student to look directly at the sun? What if its infrared radiation burns his eye—"

"No, I didn't," Jiyeon cut her mother off, rubbing her ear. She looked into her mother's eyes and spoke slowly, emphasizing each word, "Mom, let me tell you again. The sun is not dangerous; it won't burn our eyeballs. My student has been studying the sun by looking directly at it since—" Jiyeon paused, squinting her eyes. "I don't know; I haven't asked him yet."

Her mother released a heavy sigh as she plopped down on the sofa next to her with a soft thud. Like most people, her mother had been brainwashed into believing that looking directly at the sun would damage the eyes. Her mother had forbidden her from looking directly at the sun. Hence, Jiyeon had started studying the sun with her eyes when she had lived far away from her mother to study Math at Seoul University. She had tried to convince her mother that looking directly at the sun is not dangerous and that she has been fooled, but in vain.

After a moment of silence, her mother asked in a low voice, "Where are you going to take him?"

Jiyeon glanced at her mother. "Study room."

Her mother nodded and rose to her feet. "I've received a call from Mrs. Kim. She said her son will pick us up at twelve o'clock," she told her. Pointing at Jiyeon's outfits that she was wearing, her mother added in a firm tone, "You need to change. Don't wear those clothes. I've put a dress on your bed."

"A dress?" Jiyeon's voice rose in disbelief. She sprang to her feet and stood erect before her mother. "Mom, I don't want to wear—"

"You're a woman. Women should wear dresses. I'm sure that dress will look nice on you," her mother cut her off.

Jiyeon rolled her eyes. "I can't climb trees, race bike and run around in a dress or skirt. In my dream, I couldn't catch the fishes in a river," she grumbled under her breath, lowering her head. She disliked dresses or skirts. She didn't like wearing them. She didn't like how they looked.   

Baekwoon's voice rang softly in her right ear. "Did you forget annoying teacher could still run, chasing after you despite she wore a skirt? And you were so beautiful in your white dress."

"Don't compare me to your aunt. Don't compare me to anyone. I am my own person. I absolutely hate wearing a dress or skirt. To me personally, I feel really uncomfortable and strange," Jiyeon muttered under her breath. She took her mother's hand in hers and captured her mother's gaze. In a piteous, pleading voice like a child's, she said, "Mom, I truly don't want to wear a dress. Please, don't force me—"

"Remember, you said you will obey—"

"Whatever you ask me to do, except one: see a psychiatrist or psychologist," Jiyeon finished her mother's sentence, letting go her hand.

"Good." Her mother tapped her shoulder before heading towards the kitchen.

Jiyeon shook her head as she scratched the back of her neck in frustration. She wanted to scream out her frustration, but instead she took a few nice, deep breaths and let them out very slowly. Feeling calm, she turned and raced back up the stairs. She found her student sitting on the top stair, both elbows comfortably rested on his knees. She extended her hand to him, which he took it with a big smile adorning his face. Her heart went thump-thump, thump-thump. His calloused fingers—rough like sandpaper from playing guitar—felt so warm and solid in hers. Letting out a silent sigh, she helped him stand up. She directed him to the study room and opened the door. She gave him a smile before he entered, and she stepped inside, leaving the door open. She went to the computer on the desk, sat down and turned it on.

"Please, sit down." Jiyeon gestured to an empty chair in front of her desk.

Jaehyun nodded and sat down, facing her. He glanced over his shoulder at a large picture frame hanging on the wall near the door and remarked, "You're radiantly beautiful in your graduation gown."

His hand immediately covered his mouth, and then he ducked his head down. He seemed embarrassed. She smiled inwardly at his reaction.

"Thank you." Jiyeon took a glance at her graduation photo. "But I am beautiful because I have a brain, heart, confidence, determination and goals. And those are beautiful things," she spoke with confidence, her voice unwavering even to the slightest degree.

Jaehyun raised his head and looked at her, but he didn't say anything. The smile never left his face. It was infectious. Jiyeon couldn't help herself; she returned his smile. Once the computer had booted up, she clicked on the image-editing program, and the program logo filled the screen.

"Jaehyun, since when you started studying the sun and what made you study it?" Jiyeon asked as she moved the cursor to File, made a new document.

"I have been studying it since I was fifteen. I was curious why sunflowers turn their heads to face the sun, what they see," Jaehyun answered, sounding innocent.

"Have you figured out why those beautiful flowers turn their faces towards the sun?" Jiyeon responded, her eyes fixed on the screen as she began drawing.

"Because they love getting direct sun exposure to their faces; it's their food. And they also see the sun's spider-web rays," Jaehyun replied in a serious tone.

His last sentence made her want to laugh. Jiyeon had to bite her lip to prevent herself from laughing. Jaehyun heaved a very audible sigh and crossed his arms on the desk.

"You may think how can sunflowers see the sun's spider-web rays when they don't have eyes?" he added in a flat monotone voice. "Sounds ridiculous, right?"

Jiyeon gave him a tiny nod. Once she finished drawing, she put her left elbow on the table and rested her chin on her palm, listening carefully to her student as he continued telling her his experiences of looking directly at the sun.

"Just like I said before I can see the sun's spider-web rays clearly when I move my head from side to side in a very slow motion, keeping my eyes focused on the black circle, squinting my right eye. It's so wonderful, so marvelous; it is really hard to describe in one word. The cooling sensation after looking directly at the sun I feel here—" Jaehyun rubbed his index fingers over his eyelids, and then rubbed the skin under his eyes, adding. "And the skin under my eyes is so fantastic, and it makes my heart feel at ease."

Jiyeon watched his adam's apple move up and down as he gulped. She turned her gaze straight ahead when she heard footsteps. Her mother walked towards her desk, carrying a tray with a fruit bowl contained a bunch of bananas, a jug of orange juice and two glasses. Jaehyun straightened up, smiling politely as her mother put the tray down on the end of the table, set out the fruit bowl in the middle and the glasses in front of them.

"Drink this," her mother said, pouring orange juice into their glasses. She placed the jug next to the fruit bowl and looked at Jaehyun. "Don't be shy—drink it all up."

"Thank you, aunt," Jaehyun bowed his head. Her mother nodded, and he took his glass and drank, looking at Jiyeon.

Jiyeon picked up the glass and smelled it. "This is one hundred percent pure squeezed orange juice, not orange in disguise," she said before draining her favorite drink in one long gulp.

"Teacher Park, what do you mean, 'orange in disguise'?" Jaehyun placed the empty glass on the table.

"Orange in disguise refers to orange juice package, which companies market it as fresh-squeezed. Your teacher doesn't believe it. She refuses to drink orange juice package," her mother explained as she refilled his empty glass. "She said there's an odd smell that makes her dizzy, and she's so sure it's artificial chemical. Right, Sweetie?" She looked at Jiyeon.

"Yes. That's correct." Jiyeon placed the empty glass on the table.

He nodded, his lips twitching with the hint of a smile. She took a banana out of the fruit bowl, peeled it and ate it as she watched her mother refill her empty glass. Then her mother excused herself and walked out of the room.

"Why don't you eat?" Jiyeon questioned. "You don't like bananas?"

"Yes, I don't like them." Jaehyun picked up his glass, emptied it at one gulp and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. After placing the empty glass on the table, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms behind his head, watching her eat her favorite fruit.

Jiyeon felt uncomfortable being watched, but she ignored these discomforts. After she finished eating and drinking to her heart's content, she turned the computer screen towards him, got up and went to stand beside him, facing the screen. Jaehyun leaned forward to take a closer look at the picture Jiyeon had created to explain her simple experiment.

He glanced at her, a bright smile lighting his face. "Teacher Park, I see something like—"

"Sweetie, your other students are here." Her mother's voice came from behind them.

Jaehyun looked over his shoulder, whilst Jiyeon turned to find her mother and three other students standing in the wide door she had left open.

"Please, come in," Jiyeon said, gesturing. Her mother left the room while her students stepped inside.

Jaehyun stood up and turned around. "Taeyong, why did you come here?" he asked, annoyance lacing his voice.

Taeyong shook his head, clucking his tongue as he did so. "And you—" He placed his hand on Jaehyun's shoulder. "Why are you here?"

Ah, I forgot to ask Jaehyun why he came here! Jiyeon tapped her forehead with the palm of her right hand, then smiled as Chaeyeon and her male student with a shaved head, wearing round glasses, who were standing a few steps away from her, bowed their heads politely.

"It's none of your business." Jaehyun shrugged Taeyong's hand off his shoulder.

Taeyong brought his face closer to Jaehyun's, his lips quirking into a teasing smile. "I guess I know why you came here. You once said you like an older—"

"You're so nosy." Jaehyun slammed his forehead into Taeyong's. Taeyong winced, rubbing his forehead with one hand. Jiyeon caught Chaeyeon alternatively looking at Jaehyun and her. She took a deep breath then clapped her hands together. Her students looked at her.

"All right, everyone," Jiyeon began. "Could you please tell me why you came here?"

"Youngest teacher, I came here because I've found—" Taeyong paused, then pointed to the computer screen with his index finger, saying. "Who drew that picture?" He gave Jaehyun a suspicious look.

"What!" Jaehyun snapped.

"You drew that picture, right?" Taeyong raised his voice a little bit. "Black sun?" He clicked his tongue, shaking his head. "The sun goes completely black only during a solar eclipse. Stop telling people the actual color of the sun is black! According to scientists, white is the true color of the sun. I think you really need to see a mental health professional."

Jaehyun's eyes were narrowed on Taeyong, his nostrils flaring. Jiyeon saw Jaehyun's chest rise and fall rapidly. Without saying anything, Jaehyun stepped towards Taeyong and grabbed his wrist, dragging him out of the room. Chaeyeon looked at her, her upper lip twitching before running after them. Jiyeon scratched her head, clenching her jaws and gritting her teeth. She couldn't believe that her simple picture could make her students quarrel.

"Miss Jiyeon, you're the one who created that picture, right?" her male student with a shaved head, named Song Jihoon, asked, pointing to the computer screen.

Jiyeon swallowed, in a deep breath, and gave him a nod. "Yes."

Jihoon fixed his round glasses on the tip of his nose, walked over to the chair and sat down. "Could you—"

"I'll explain later," Jiyeon interrupted, patting his shoulder. "Wait here, I'll be back."

Jihoon nodded. Jiyeon immediately darted out of the room, hurried down the stairs, watching her steps to avoid tripping.