- 5 -

Lunch consisted of my ham sandwich that I had made this morning, and I made my way over to the library. Working there was simple, quiet, and easy. I actually liked it, but you wouldn't think it was a lot of thinking work, but it was.

I walked into the quiet library, hearing the familiar ring of the bell above my head and I walked to the back. I didn't know there Mrs. Choi was, so I figured she was in the back sorting books. I set my bag down, writing down when I got here and began searching for her.

When she walked out of the bathroom she startled me, "Oh hi there Taeng."

I smiled, feeling accepted and warm, "Hi Mrs. Choi, anything you need me to do?"

She rubbed her chin, and she smiled, "Actually, there is. I need you to bring a new box of books I had shipped in today."

I followed her out to the back and saw the box, and I bent to lift it, and hoisted up to my chest. I wasn't going to lie, it was heavy, but I knew I could do it. I just also knew she wouldn't be able to, so I was more than happy to help her.

I set them in the sorting room and saw the cart of books that needed to be saved, and she smiled, "Mind saving these for me? They're non-fiction."

They had a lot of books, and I knew this was going to take me hours, but I didn't protest. There wasn't much to do here, and I didn't mind doing it.

I began putting away the books, glancing at the clock as I went.

11:00....11:30.....12:13.....1:00.

I was putting up my last two books when I heard the bell ring, and I expected to hear Mrs. Choi's voice but I didn't.

I turned, and to my surprise, Mrs. Jung was standing there, browsing the shelf of books.

My heart stopped in my chest, and I realized she was supposed to still be in school. Wasn't she?

Maybe she had an off hour the last hour of school...that was the only logical explanation. I wanted to greet her, I wanted to say something, but I didn't know what.

I scolded myself at the stupidity, and I stuttered, "H-How can I help you?"

She turned, her light brown eyes catching mine and I smiled warmly, trying to hide the fact that I was completely nervous and anxious to hear her voice. She laughed to herself, "I didn't know you worked here."

I shrugged, "I didn't know people actually came to libraries anymore."

She smiled, and I realized I had done that, "Well...I enjoy the free books."

I looked down at the counter, feeling my shyness start to come out, but I noticed her ring on her finger again. Her hand was close to mine, but refused to actually touch. I wanted to touch her, I wanted to see how soft her skin felt.

I decided to bring it up, "I love your ring."

She pulled her hand off of the counter, and gripping it between her pointer and her thumb. She smiled, but there was something off about it, "Yeah...my fiance proposed to me a month ago."

I nodded, feeling a slight sting inside my heart, "When's the big day?"

It may have been a sudden question, and I didn't know her enough to actually have this intimate talk with her, but she didn't refuse to answer. "I'm not sure yet..."

The answer sounded forced, and I noticed how she said "I'm not sure..." meaning, she wasn't sure if she even wanted this. It was a look up, but I wanted to know why, why when I brought up her personal life she became so sad and oppressed.

But I couldn't know.

Because she was my teacher.

Her eyes caught mine again, and I saw curiosity, wonder, and I knew mine held the same. The intimate eye contact we shared instantly...it was weird. It was like we didn't know how to handle each other, because we weren't supposed to do or say anything inappropriate.

But it was hard for me.