My Irate Tutor

Jisoo sighed as she dragged her feet towards the school library. It was the third time she's doing this. And she hated every minute of it! 

Oh if only she had a choice, she will never ever, even in her wildest imagination, choose to torture herself with this! As it is... she has no choice. She had no money to pay for the last installment of her school tuition fee, her Dad died a few months ago after battling cancer for two years. Their bank account is drained. Even the insurance money was already used up for their unpaid rents and loans. It was not easy fighting cancer. Chemotherapy, Radiation therapy and Herseptine are very expensive treatments. In the end, her Dad's life was still taken... but she will never regret fighting until the end. Fighting for her Dad's life was the most important thing in the world. Her school, her future... their house... everything only comes second. 

So here she is... walking to her torture chamber because her Accounting Professor told her he'll take care of her unpaid tuition if she does what he asks. 

And nope. If ual favor is running in your mind, you got it wrong. 

Jisoo entered the library and look around. At this time, around eight in the evening, there were only two people left. Where is he?! Is he late again? He's been doing this for the third time! That guy is really so infuriating! Jisoo's last class ended at six. She would normally go to a part time job after. But because of that guy, she had to give up the part time job and wait until eight before they start. 

Jisoo suddenly felt a heavy weight on her shoulder, literally. She turned to see the monster on her side, his hand on her shoulder, his eyes looking heavy and sleepy as usual with that lazy grin on his face.

V... the football Team Captain.

"You're early." He said close to her ear.

Jisoo immediately brushed her ear as if a bee just entered it. V laughed.

"Hey I'm not late today." V said confidently. 

Jisoo's brows furrowed.

"Yeah right, you are so on time. I intentionally came here fifteen minutes late. Oh but look! I still made it here ahead of you." Said Jisoo, not smiling at all.

V smirked.

"Still sarcastic. I thought after three days of us bonding... oh make that three nights, I thought we would have a deeper connection now." Said V putting both his hands on Jisoo's shoulders facing her.

"Yep. We sure have a deeper connection." Said Jisoo. Her hate for this guy sure runs deeper than before now! He got that right. 

"So you see since we are now not merely ordinary schoolmates who knows nothing about each other, we are now buddies!" Said V, smiling widely with his charismatic handsome smile that makes women fall on their knees. 

"Well let's see... buddies go around the school together. Eat together... enjoy each other's company." Said Jisoo. "I will never eat with you. And I absolutely do not enjoy being here with you."

Yup, V's charisma has absolutely no effect on Jisoo.

V's brow raised.

"You're odd." Said V shaking his head. 

Odd? What the-

"Which part made you think I'm odd? That I will never eat with you? Or that I don't enjoy being with you?" Asked Jisoo

V crossed his arms on his chest.

"That you seem to actually mean it." Said V

"What?" Jisoo was confused.

"Hey, I'm the football team captain. I don't like boasting but... people in this school... especially women, would love to hang out with me." Said V, a childish grin on his face.

"And I'm odd because I'm not like everyone else?" Asked Jisoo. 

"You're odd because you don't see how lucky you are." Said V

Jisoo took a deep breath. Does this dude really think he's all that?

"I have to tutor the football team captain who, even though everybody loves him, is failing in his accounting subject. And if he fails this last chance, he will be kicked out of the team. I would have felt lucky if he comes on time and actually listens when I teach him. But No. He sits two seats from me like I have some communicable disease and sleeps! Yes he sleeps instead of actually trying to learn." Said Jisoo. "My tuition fee is dependent on you passing your exam. As it is, I'm 99% sure you're going to fail. I am about to be kicked out of the school. How can you even think I'm lucky to be stuck with you?" 

V was stunned for a minute. He was just looking at Jisoo as if her words were alien to his ears. 

"You know what... just forget it. We're both wasting our time here." Said Jisoo

Jisoo stepped to leave but V caught her arm.

"You really need me to pass the exam, huh?" Asked V

"Don't you?" Asked Jisoo

"Would it make you hate me less if I pass the exam?" Asked V

"Does someone hating you eat inside you? You're not used to not being liked?" Asked Jisoo

"Oh I'm used to that more than you know." V pulled Jisoo closer to him, He lowered his head until their noses were almost touching.

Jisoo's eyes sharpened.

"You don't know anything about me. You only see what's in the surface. The same as I don't know anything about you. And I only see the impatient nerd who is always so angry and irritated at the world." Said V

Jisoo winced at the insult.

"But..." V said. "Since it's like we will both benefit from me passing the exam, then we might as well bear each other's company, right?" 

V took two steps inside the Library.

"Who knows... we might become more than just lunch buddies." Said V giving Jisoo a wink.

---------

With his attention focused on what she's teaching, Mr. Football Captain is actually a fast learner! He could understand the computations well after Jisoo explains the rationale behind them. After a few tries, V was able to solve the succeeding problems on his own. It made Jisoo wonder why he would fail his exams.

"Yup. That's answer is correct." Said Jisoo. 

V shrugged his shoulders.

"No Biggie. It's the least I can do for making you stay this late." Said V

Jisoo's brows narrowed.

"What?" V looked at his watch. "Oh Man! It's already ten! Are you worried about your ride home?"

"What?" 

"You're looking at me like you wanted to dissect me." Said V

Jisoo laughed. She couldn't help it.

"Well dissecting you will be hard, considering you are at least a foot bigger than me." Said Jisoo

It was V's turn look at Jisoo with his brows drawn close.

"What?" Asked Jisoo

V shook his head.

"Nothing." He said.

Jisoo sighed.

"Fine. I'll tell you what was running in my head if you tell me what weirdness ran through yours." Said Jisoo

V smirked.

"What makes you think I'm interested in what runs in your head? For all I know, you're just worried you missed the bus." Said V

Jisoo smiled.

"That definitely means you don't know anything about me." Said Jisoo standing up and closing her books. 

V grabbed her arm. 

"Fine." Said V. "Let's do it."

V stood up facing Jisoo. 

"What were you thinking a while ago?" Asked V

Jisoo pulled her arm away.

"You are smart." Said Jisoo

"You were thinking I was smart when you looked at me like I was an exotic insect you wouldn't want to see?" Asked V

"I was thinking how on earth did you manage to fail your accounting exams when you're actually not stupid." Said Jisoo

V chuckled.

"So... how did you?" Asked Jisoo

V leaned on the table, his face went a bit closer with Jisoo's.

"I only attended the accounting subject twice this semester." Said V  "It always conflicts with the football training."

"Wow... I would have straight out failed you with that kind of class attendance." Said Jisoo

"Hmm... well good thing you're not my professor. But you know, I think you'd be a good professor." Said V

"Huh?"

"I only attended the accounting class twice. But those were two three hour sessions. I did not learn anything there." V smiled. "I only spent less than two hours with you and I seem to have understood so many things."

Jisoo was surprised to hear a compliment.

"You make everything seem so simple and understandable. I think you'd be a good professor." Said V

Wow... she did not know she could actually be an effective Teacher. 

"Well... thanks... I guess." Said Jisoo

V nodded.

"So... your turn." Said Jisoo "What were you thinking a while ago?"

V sighed. V leaned closer to Jisoo until his eyes are just a few inches from hers. 

"I was thinking... how can someone who can smile like an angel be so irritated and angry all the time?" Asked V

Jisoo's eyes widened. Her heart started to beat fast. Did he say... she smiles like an angel? She couldn't have misheard that right?

"I don't think... I don't..." Jisoo was suddenly lost for words

"You don't seem to be used to the compliment." Said V. "You should smile more often. I'm pretty sure many people will notice. You are very pretty when you smile" 

Jisoo gulped. That's a first. It's not often that someone would tell her she's pretty... well not with this seriousness, closeness and... sincerity. Yes, sincerity. There is something genuine and sincere in the way V said those words. Jisoo felt her chest melting.

"Are you... kidding me?" Jisoo tried not to get carried away. "If you wanted to thank me for teaching you, you could've just said Thanks."

V smiled.

"I am definitely going to thank you. But not today yet. What I said about you being pretty..."

V touched Jisoo's furrowed brows with his finger and massaged her brows tenderly to relax them. Jisoo's eyes widened with shock. Her face heated up!

"I was stating a fact. You are beautiful. Takes a man's breath away when you smile." Said V. "You are withholding such a lovely smile from the world by always being angry."

Jisoo shove V's finger.

"I have a lot of responsibilities now that my Dad is gone. My family... we are all still mourning his recent death. My mom's income is small. I need to finish my degree to get a good job. My sister needs financial help in her studies. I took part time jobs which makes me exhausted all the time. But even with all that, I still couldn't pay for my tuition fee. Tell me how can you still smile through all that?" 

Jisoo closed her eyes tight. 

Why did she say all those pathetic words? This guy doesn't know her and doesn't care! Why did she suddenly tell her miserable life story to him? 

Because he said she was beautiful. Because she wants the person who thought she was beautiful to somehow... somehow understand her...

Pathetic!

V straightened.

"That's... I'm sorry I didn't know how complicated everything was." Said V. "I'm sorry for your loss. I am sure losing your Dad is very painful. And all your responsibilities... I guess you have the right to be pissed off at me considering I've slept through our first two tutoring. I... I'm sorry."

Jisoo opened her eyes. A tear fell without her knowing. 

"It's all right..." she said, her voice hoarse. "It isn't your fault. It's just... easier to blame someone when it hurts."

V reached Jisoo's cheek wiping her tear. This time Jisoo did not move his hand away.

"Can you... can you give me a chance to get to know you more?" Asked V.

"Huh?"

"You are... a deep well...