Kyungsoo stretched back in his seat as the teacher dismissed them for the day. With classes done, he packed his things and nudged Jongdae in front of him, who had his head down on the table.

"Wakey wakey."

"I'm not asleep."

"I know. If you were, Teacher Liu would've had your head already."

"True."

Jongdae heaved his head up, only to toss it back over the chair with a sigh. His eyes darted to Kyungsoo's right before he turned right-side up again and leaned in.

"I just feel like I'm not getting anywhere with my tutee."

"Not getting anywhere how?"

"I did the thing to ask in yes or no questions, but I can't pinpoint what's wrong with my explanations. I can only change how to say stuff if I know which parts are confusing to him. Every time I finish explaining something, sometimes he writes stuff down, but mostly he just stares at the paper like he wants to murder it."

Kyungsoo thought for a moment, trying to remember what his mom taught him. She had told him that tutoring was a bit like nursing in that he had to gain that person's trust first, show them that he cared, and was willing to help scrape the oils off for cleaner cookware.

"Maybe he wants to see that you care so that he can trust you a bit more. Have you tried talking with him first? Like asking him how he is?"

"If he doesn't respond to anything but yes or no questions, then he probably won't answer if I ask."

"Then how about just talking to him while you tutor? Weave in things about class or a topic he might like, or tell a joke. You have lots of those."

"Kim Jongin liking something? Wonder what that could be."

Kyungsoo gave him a look.

"It was an honest question. But yeah, okay. I'll try that next time. He asked me to tutor him on Mondays too, and... I don't know. I want to make it work."

"Wait, he asked you? You heard him speak?"

"Through text."

"Ah."

"Anyways, thanks for the advice and have fun with your gardening. If you grow a peach, sneak me one!"

"Peaches are in February. See you," Kyungsoo laughed, slinging on his backpack and walking out of the classroom.

He felt the bounce in his steps as he walked down the halls to Yuwon's classroom. He spotted her just as she started down the hall and called out to her, dashing up to her side.

"Hey, Kyungsoo. Ready to get your hands dirty?"

"Ready when you are. It's a little bit of harvesting the end of the summer crops and prepping the soil today, and then planting next time."

"Perfect."

They talked about their upcoming assignments and her practice in archery, and Kyungsoo snickered as she shook her books above her head and declared her annoyance with linguistics. A few times, he caught the glares of people passing by or the looks of disgust. He ignored them the best that he could, and only once did he grab Yuwon's face to keep her turned in his direction so that she didn't see someone flipping him off. He more or less protected that person from entering the emergency room and decided that was a thing to be proud of.

As they exited the school, the autumn wind struck him, a little chillier than the previous days. He made a mental note to pull out his mother's scarf so that she wouldn't forget to wear it while going to work. 

They walked up a hill towards the school's greenhouse. Green gates and fencing surrounded a squat building, a storage shed, and the area of a small park full of plots. The gates were already open, and six others and the club sponsor, Mx. Wang, were already hauling supplies out of the shed. Mx. Wang waved as they approached and handed them each a pair of gloves.

"Wouldn't be as fun without you two. You two know what to do."

"Aye aye, captain," Yuwon saluted while Kyungsoo nodded and thanked them.

"Oh, also, you two know that we share this space with the disciplinary committee, and they might swing by later to work on their plot."

"Yes, Mx. Wang."

Setting their stuff away from the dirt, they rolled up their sleeves, pulled on their gloves, and got to work. Yuwon wanted to pull out weeds with the stand-up weed puller, so Kyungsoo went to harvesting the last of the summer crops. With harvesting scissors and a harvest bag, he set to work next to Kim Yerim and guided her cuts when she appeared to be having trouble. Everyone else in the club aside from her and Yuwon had asked why he was in the gardening club with his kind of grades when they first met, and he appreciated that she hadn't. Maybe she didn't care for him or the reason at all, but he was grateful nonetheless. He had nothing against any club member though, and Kyungsoo felt that they got along fine.

When every edible part of the plant had been harvested and every weed had been pulled and thrown into the 'fiery depths of the compost pile,' Kyungsoo felt satisfied. Gardening had always let him relax and turn his energies towards one focus instead of having his thoughts running loose in his mind. The whispers of gossip and the memories of disgusted looks would disappear for a moment, and Kyungsoo could take a breath. Math had the same effect on him, which was why he liked it so much. While gardening followed the seasons, math was all-year round. He did get a little extra when he brought the crops home though.

Kyungsoo waved as people left and finished dividing the harvest into bundles. He had wrapped bundles for every club member and Mx. Wang, and he made sure to set aside plenty of garlic and ginger for Yuwon, since her and her family liked to use them in cooking. His bundle had a little bit of everything with a bit extra basil for his spaghetti. The extras he loaded into Mx. Wang's truck to be taken to food drives. Kyungsoo patted off his gloves, his hands, and started putting the rest of the supplies back inside the shed before washing his hands at the bathroom. He turned around at a tap to his shoulder.

"Do Kyungsoo," Mx. Wang said. "I'm afraid that I must leave early to take my sister to the hospital."

"Oh my god. Is she okay?"

"Hm? Oh, yes. We are visiting someone. She is uninjured. Though, I will make sure to communicate your concern when I meet up with her."

Kyungsoo looked away as he felt a blush creep onto his fa