You sat in the cafeteria with your friends and coworkers, chatting away happily as you ate your meals. Your day classes and evening class was going smoothly, and you found yourself looking for more and more ways to keep the men entertained while you maintained an optimistic attitude for your children during the day.

Today, the hot topic of discussion was Grandparents Day. Each teacher was given the slightly pressuring task of organizing their kids into making a performance that they thought the Korean grandparents would enjoy. Each performance would be put on in front of the school, and at the end of the show, the grandparents would vote on which class was the best. There would be prizes for first, second, and third place.

You fiddled your chopsticks as you looked into your plate of kimchi. You had an idea for a musical performance of some sort, with traditional instruments that would appeal to the older generation. You were elated when the music teacher brought the drums and things to your classroom, but now that you thought about it- you'd never played a traditional instrument a day in your life. .

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The evening class came in, and as everyone found their seats, Himchan went to the back of your classroom as you set up your grammar books and ran a hand over the skin of one of the drums, looking at it thoughtfully.

You saw him staring off into the distance as he petted the drum in appreciation, and you were curious, coming and stepping next to him slowly, "Himchan? You......know how to play one of these?"

Himchan closed his eyes, and when he looked at you, you could tell he was looking right through you-he was in some far-off memory as he said in his low tone,"Yes..........at big events. In front of my family and friends. We dress up. My sister and I used to play, before I-" Himchan quickly shook his head and turned away from you, going to his seat, and you couldn't help but follow him,"...........I am sure you both play well."

Fortunately, Youngjae was there to help, "Hyung is the best!!!!Musical genius in the rhythm!!!!" Everyone laughed as Himchan was playfully slapped on the shoulder by the tech whiz, and it was though the light above your head grew brighter and there were angels singing the "Hallelujah" chorus somewhere nearby.

You quickly came and knelt by Himchan's desk, and he looked at you in surprise as you grabbed one of his calloused hands, "Oh, Himchan, please-I need your help!!!!" You went over to your desk and picked up one of the extra bilingual Korean/English newsletters you sent home with the kids earlier that day, and handed it to him-Zelo stood up and read over HC's shoulder as you started talking fast, "We have a performance in about 2 and a half weeks and I decided on doing a traditional performance but I have NO FREAKING IDEA on how to play this what says to even do a full dance-"

Himchan held up his hands in the universal 'STAAAAAAHP' as Yongguk laughed, and even Jongup smirked as Daehyun leaned back in his chair, smiling, "Hyung........you help teacher, and the kids. Do it!!!!For Kids!!!!"

Zelo pounded on Himchan's desk playfully in a beat, "Do it.Do it.Do it.Do it. DO IT~" Until finally Himchan held up his hands in surrender," Okay. I will help you, show you some things-?!"

You didn't hear the rest as you threw your arms around the man and hugged him tightly, to the point where you felt his heartbeat against your own chest as you screamed in joy, "Ohhhh~Thank you, Himchan-thank you, oppa!!!"

This brought a round of laughter from everyone as Himchan blushed and you let go of him, beaming at the modest man. Recently, in a family dialog in the evening class, you learned that you were a little older than Yongguk, technically making you all the men's noona, but you also knew that Korean men loved being called oppa -it was part of the charm.

"Okay-please come before class in the evening if you have time, and show me a few pointers. I won't let you down!!!" You saluted in a weird way, but everyone continued to laugh at you as you skipped to the front of the class and opened your teacher's binder, "But let's get back to work!!!!Today's lesson: how to order food when dining with your boss!!!"

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And just like any famous montage from an action movie, your dull life went from boring to fantastic within a matter of days. Within 2 weeks, you had a full schedule: 9-4 with the regular kids, drum practice from 6-7 with Himchan, and then 8-9:30 English class with the Matoki. During music class in the day, you would take what you learned the night before and show in to your kids in the morning, carefully repeating the actions and beats that you learned from Himchan.

The one-on-one lessons were nothing short of interesting, as well. Himchan may be a force to be reckoned with when the other men were around, but when it was just you two alone, he was a lot softer and kinder than you expected. He showed you how to hold the drum so that the skinhead reverberated at the correct angle, how to alternate between strong and weak rhythms, and your personal favorite-syncopated beats, adding an element of rap to the traditional sounds.

You also learned during this process that Himchan was VERY fond of coffee, so each day you paid him with smiles and Americano drinks, which he accepted in a cute manner.

"Repeat after me, please. Boom-boom-CLAP-ba-boomboomboom-CLAP."

You did as you were told, and he was pleased as you added your own little spin in the end, twirling and catching a drumstick in passing. You struck a pose, "Yeah-wazzup homie, I am down!!Ready to rock, yo-ya naw what I'm sayin?!"

Himchan looked at you trying to be gangster(and failing miserably) and he laughed, dropping his drumsticks and holding his sides as you watched in surprise.

This was the first time you'd heard Himchan laugh and it was more than a chuckle-it was a full on, oh-my-gosh-I-can't-breathe, I'm-gonna-pee-myself sort of laugh. Himchan literally wiped a tear away as you laughed with him.

After a while of laughing hard, wheezing, and gasping for air, the man patted you on the shoulder, "Very good. Impressive. You have made my heart warm." You hugged him again,"Thank you for this~"

To your surprise, this time Himchan shyly returned the hug as you felt warm muscles encircle your waist for a minute in a squeeze before he pulled back, slightly blushing.

The night before the performance was dress rehearsal-you were cutting it close as you ran into your evening class, still wearing the traditional hanbok that you would be wearing the next day. You were excited to feel the light material,bright colors and long skirt around your body, but after 2 hours of spinning, dancing, yelling out instructions to kids and the likes-you were tired.

To top it off, your Korean teachers had to figure out your ethnic hair-even though it was already in braids and didn't need anything extra, they insisted on pinning it back the traditional way, so now you had about 17 bobby pins stabbing your scalp everytime to you took a deep breath to speak. Glancing at the clock, you had a mini heart attack as it cheerfully flashed back 8pm to you, I'm gonna be late!!!! 

The clock read 8:08 as you dashed into your classroom, running all the way from two floors down to try and get to the room on time.

The men were already there,doing various things-Daehyun was eating,Youngjae was playing on his phone, Zelo and Yongguk were writing something down together, Jongup was having a stare-off with Himchan-

-but as soon as you burst through the door, all eyes were on you and jaws dropped as you huffed and adjusted your headpiece frustratedly, "Gosh-this damn thing is cutting off my circulation." 

You froze as you now realized that you were the center of attention, in a room of men-and that you weren't wearing your actual bra because it interfered with the belt support around your waist.

You blushed all the way to your toes as Youngjae stood up slowly and the cookie that Daehyun was eating fell to the floor in his shock, "Ah~I am sorry, guys, I running a little late and I got here as fast as I could but it was hard with this damn skirt and-"

"Noona-sunsengnim, you are beautiful."

You were sure your heart stopped as Yongguk said those words with clear conviction, his cave voice rumbling in the room, and as you looked around slowly, Zelo nodded cheerfully and Youngjae sneakily took a picture of you. You blushed and put some of your braids back, trying not to look shocked as you stuttered,"R-really?"

Himchan was the first to move towards you. Reaching behind you, he carefully began to pull out pins from every which way-you sighed in relief as immediately some tension left your head, and he smiled, "Really. I.....like you in this. You and our culture.....are good...together."

Daehyun picked up his cookie and some pins that had fallen to the floor, "This is.....some kind of,torture weapon?" Everyone laughed as you shook the handful of pins in his face, "No-this is called being a girl."

After class, you invited them all to the performance the next day, "Please come- it will be exciting if even some of you can see my kids in action."

Jongup folded his arms and winked at you, "If I come it won't be for the kids-it will be for you," He spoke in Korean, but although he said it charmingly, you still felt a chill at your back as Zelo not-so-discreetly stepped on Jongup's toe through his boots......

Yongguk stepped forward, flicking his lighter,murmuring, "We have........different meetings.....in the morning.But,we.....will try our best........to come."

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It was the day of the big performance, and as you peeked through the heavy red curtains you could see the auditorium seats being filled rapidly by ushers trying to herd the masses in an orderly fashion.

There was excitement and tension in the air-kids were getting light makeup done as they chattered away excitedly to each other, and the teachers were no different:

"My own mother is coming in from out of town to watch this!!"

"What lipstick should I wear? My husband is in the back and I want him to notice me, and no other!!!"

"I heard that Mr. Choi invited the press~what to do, what to do!!!"

You chatted with some of the tech ninjas manning the sound booth, trying to calm your own heartbeat down as you kept looking at the audience from the shadows-you didn't think that the Matoki would show up in conspicuous clothing, but even so Jongup's hair could be seen for miles. You didn't see them anywhere, and your heart had a weird pinch as the stage lights came down, Maybe.....their meeting ran longer than expected?

There were two groups performing a play before your class was supposed to go on. As you got your children to line up quietly in the wings to get on stage, you noticed in the back of the theater the door open and two figures quietly slip in through the back and sitting down in the shadows. They were far enough so that you couldn't see their faces, but no time for that-

-as your music started, you took a deep breath and marched your kids out to perform, you thought of nothing else but your rhythm, the kids, the smiling grandparents, and the music possessing your body....

.................The show ended to tumultuous applause, when every class coming out on stage and getting a standing ovation as everyone stood up and clapepd like seals. Mr Choi came out and made a closing speech as the grandparents voted on their ballots, and you noticed the two shadowy figures from before go through the back door again.

The results would be revealed in the morning-but for now, there were many,MANY  pictures to be taken, cheers to be done as the show was over. Grandparents wanted to meet their grandchild's favorite teacher and cheeks were pinched, your face hurt from smiling so much as you high-fived/hugged every one, and as you returned to your dressing room backstage and the lights-you gasped.

There were the two dark figures from before standing in your room!!!Wearing hoodies with the hoods pulled over their faces completely and dark clothes, they were even more threatening up close and personal. You quickly scanned the room for a weapon, but the closest thing you had to defend yourself was the drumsticks you just happened to be holding still. 

You opened your mouth and took a step back towards the door when the first one quickly stepped forward, "Wait-it's us, sunsengnim."  

Himchan quickly revealed himself as you let out a sigh of relief, and Youngjae revealed himself as well, grinning and holding a very expensive looking video recorder, "Sunsengnim, you were great!!!!I record....for the others, to watch later!!!!You.......definitely first place!!!!"

Himchan smiled as he said apologetically, "We came late......but, we didn't miss......the star, of the show."

The man allowed a small smirk to pass over his face as he stepped closer and tapped against your drumsticks with his fingertips,"You........... remembered everything I showed you............well done,sunsengnim."

You blushed at his praise, and Youngjae quickly got the moment on camera as Himchan fixed your ever-falling hanbok and,with his onyx eyes softening with emotion, touched his forehead to yours briefly.

You conveniently forgot how to breathe as the tip of his nose gently pressed,stopped and passed over yours twice as he smiled at you-

-But then a soft shuttering sound and a bright flash completely brushed the moment away, and you both turned to see a cackling Youngjae. Himchan growled and dropped something as he began to chase the younger man around the room, "Do you want to die?!Yah-get back here!!!!!"

Reaching down, you picked up the piece of paper and realized it was a rough but gorgeous sketch of you and the kids, dancing on stage underneath the lights. The sketch was fresh-there was still a smear of charcoal here and there-but the emotions in the picture brought the image into full color in your mind. You recognized Himchan's signature in the bottom of the page, and you smiled to yourself as Youngjae was finally caught by a tossed pillow from Himchan, "I will have my revenge!!!!"