He brings his right hand up, covering his mouth as he yawns again before checking his watch; nine fourty-eight in the morning. He couldn't get any sleep even when he tried to, not when the image he saw last night stuck inside his mind. He went straight back to the bridge with two cups of hot tea from a cafe near the river but Joonmyeon wasn't there. Of all the time he should be heading there but didn't, his student wouldn't be at home right now and he was so glad when his hunch was correct as Joonmyeon stepped out from the minimart with his green apron, taking out the trash.

And he should have confronted him right then, handed him the tea and told him who he really is. But he missed that perfect timing and is now wasting his time waiting for it to come back. He sips his drink that has turned lukewarm, eyes fix at the minimart entrance. Maybe Joonmyeon would come out to receive stocks or something.

"Do you still need the bottle, mister?"

He jumps at the little voice coming from his other side and quickly turns to see a little girl is looking up at him, a finger pointing at an empty glass bottle by his feet.

"May I have it?"

Yifan blinks before nodding unsurely. The bottle isn't his so he doesn't have the right to give it away but it is empty and by the sidewalk which would be considered as a trash so there wouldn't be any problem for this little girl to take it, right?

He watches the little girl putting the empty glass bottle in a small wagon behind her where he can see several other empty cans and bottles in it. So she is collecting recyclables to sell. It is still early in the morning but she already collected quite a lot of them. Such a small girl yet so hardworking.

"Thank you, mister." A small smile adorns the petite face before she leaves and Yifan smiles back, only to realise a moment later that it is the same little girl that was scolding his student yesterday.

"Hey, wait." He catches up with her that is a few steps away and crouches down; he knows how demeaning his height is even for some adults, more so to an elementary student like this.

"Are you Joonmyeon's little sister?'

The small girl frowns, eyes looking suspiciously at Yifan. "Who are you, mister? How do you know Joonmyeon oppa? Are you friend with those bullies? I will hit you like last time! Do you think I'm scared?!"

Yifan's mind goes blank; too much information in one time and he doesn't know which one to process first. And the threat is scaring him. "No, no. I am not a bully. In fact," he fishes out his wallet and pulls out his nametag, giving it to the little girl when she holds out her hand towards him, "I am Joonmyeon's teacher."

The girl's eyes squint as she read the wording on the nametag. "...High School. It is Joonmyeon oppa's school. Wu. Yi. Fan." She looks at Yifan and Yifan nods. "So, you are really oppa's teacher?"

Yifan nods again. "I am," he admits as he receives his nametag back. "Are you Joonmyeon's sister?"

"No," she shakes his head and Yifan frowns. "We are friends."

He nods understanding, but can't deny the resemblance he sees on the little girl with his student. "What is your name?"

The girl looks at him in the eyes, smiling softly. "Sophia."

-----

He is being absurd but what can he do. Joonmyeon, his own student, is shooting eye-laser at him from right across the table as he partly taking cover behind Sophia, a pretty little girl, that is sitting beside him, enjoying the ice-cream sundae and unaware of what is going on between him and Joonmyeon.

The little girl is officially his guardian angel. When Joonmyeon saw him talking with Sophia as he was moving empty boxes outside, he almost got punched in the face before Sophia stopped Joonmyeon and asked why doesn't he remember his own teacher. And it was him that reaches Sophia's little hand first to hold when his student never stop side-eyeing him as he knows Joonmyeon wouldn't do anything to make Sophia sad.

"Oppa, do you want some?" Sophia is lifting a spoonful of ice-cream towards Joonmyeon and Joonmyeon just smiles. "I'm fine. You just eat it all."

The little girl turns around to face Yifan with the same spoonful of ice-cream, "Teacher, you should eat too." And he has lower his head, just slightly to receive the offer but the corner of his eyes catch the 'you are unbelievable' look on his student and just shakes his head instead. Joonmyeon is scaring the wits out of him and he can only watch the ice-cream disappear little by little.

"Oh, oppa. Mother said she won't come home tonight."

"Oh, then, what do you want to eat tonight?"

"Hm, curry!"

"Okay."

Yifan watches as Joonmyeon wipes Sophia's mouth with a napkin before their conversation continues again. About what games are they going to play tonight and what storybook they going to read after.

There are so many things he wants to ask Joonmyeon about but now that he has known Sophia, he wants to know more about this small girl too. What does she meant by her mother won't 'come' home tonight? If she working late at night, she won't 'be' at home tonight, because she will eventually come home. Did she just go somewhere and left Sophia all alone? What about her father? How bad is their financial situation if such a small girl like her would be going around the neighborhood collecting recyclables?

Does this happen often as Joonmyeon seems unsurprised by it?

"Done?" Joonmyeon asks and Sophia nods, before turning to Yifan. "Teacher."

Yifan raises an eyebrow.

"Thank you for the ice-cream." Sophia bows her head towards him and Yifan smiles. "Sure. Next time we can come again."

The little girl's eyes widen in happiness, head nodding eagerly before leaving him and Joonmyeon, saying she still has bottles to collect.

He had wanted to follow her but the way Joonmyeon just watch her leave means Sophia will be fine and he has a chance to talk with Joonmyeon now. "Joon-" He couldn't finish as his student already walk away, leaving him alone at the ice-cream place and he almost tripped his own feet before finally catching up with him. "Joonmyeon, wait. I need to talk to you."

The student stays silent as he keeps his eyes on the road, snatching his arm away when Yifan got hold of it trying to make him stop.

"Okay, we can talk as we walk too." Yifan takes a breather, matching with his student's pace. He glances at Joonmyeon, head sorting out what to say that will most likely trigger him and make him actually talk and answer his questions.

Because he has so many questions too. Why didn't Joonmyeon come and meet him at the teaches' office. Why didn't he go home but sleeps under the bridge instead. Doesn't his parents worry about him. How did he and Sophia meet. How come other minimarts don't have those instant noodles.

"I will come tomorrow too if you don't answer my questions." He gets a glare and a grunt and thinks he is all good now. He looks at Joonmyeon. He can see dark circles around the studen't eyes and small scratches on his pale cheek; the results of his sleeping environment. His gaze falls on the cut on the bottom of the cracked lips and his hand is slapped away, tired eyes glaring red at him.

"Talk with your mouth, not with your hand!"

And Yifan has stopped walking, eyes following Joonmyeon until he disappears inside the minimart. His hand is in the air and he stares at it, mind rewinding what exactly just happened as he doesn't remember doing that.

How he brought his hand up to touch Joonmyeon's bruised lips.

-----

He smiles when he enters the classroom, eyes spotting a student gazing outside the window at the back corner of the room and resumes towards the table, opening his book before writing something on the whiteboard.

He kept his promise not to come the next day as Joonmyeon spoke and he could only watch the student from afar having his lunch alone on the field or walking home after school as he didn't have any class with him in the last two days and didn't want any rumors to spread among the students if he approached Joonmyeon too often.

The bell that ends his class is also ending the school and he stays, instead of returning to the teachers's office, watching his students leaving one by one while keeping an eye on Joonmyeon, that is still hasn't moving or packing his stuff, and he finally approaches him when the classroom is empty, leaving only the two of them.

"Joonmyeon," he starts but the student ignores him like always, standing up and prepares to leave but Yifan can't hold it anymore. He has waited for three days, giving Joonmyeon times so that he won't think that he is a pushover so he can't let this chance go.

"I know about the bridge," he speaks and the student freezes, silence filling the room and Yifan knows it is wrong but he doesn't have any other way. Joonmyeon isn't like any other kid so he can't treat him like one. It was a dirty trick but it is the only thing that can make the student stop ignoring him so that they can have a decent talk.

"I... I just want to talk, please." He comes a foot closer, the student still has his back on him. "I'm your teacher. If you have any problems, you can tell me. We can find the solution together." He takes another step.

"By stalking me? Are you sure you are a teacher?" The student turns and Yifan is met with tired, red eyes glaring at him but he doesn't miss the emptiness behind all those.

"Joonmyeon, I-"

The classroom door slides open and August frowns to find his friend and their teacher in the room. "Mr. Wu? You still haven't gone home?"

He shakes his head, watching the class representative walking and stopping beside Joonmyeon. "I have something to discuss with Joonmyeon." August has his lips pursed as he glances between him and his friend, worry clear on his face.

"I came... to get my books but I... should leave..."

"I have nothing to discuss with him," and August is being pulled away, with Joonmyeon leading him as they exit the classroom and Yifan can only watch, heart tightens at the sight of Joonmyeon leaving him.

And of the tightly held hands.