Before Chanyeol could feel the full impact of the harsh insult he had just received on his wardrobe choice, Kyungsoo unceremoniously got up from his seat and announced, “I’m taking my lunch break.”

Heechul’s jaw dropped and sputtered, “B-But, Kyungsoo-ssi...”

“You can start on the algebra one with the red post-its. Yeri had marked them as per urgency, and red means those pages have to be submitted today, and someone from school will be picking them up by 4:30 p.m.,” Kyungsoo told his freakishly tall and flabbergasted tutor flippantly, exiting the door.

Chanyeol stared at the 6 textbooks with several pages of red post-its on them, at a loss for words. Even if the topics on the curriculum were already a no-brainer for him, the task of making sure Kyungsoo-ssi’s answers were accurate would still take him some time.

Heechul looked at Chanyeol apologetically, probably recovering from shock himself by how his boss was treating his new tutor. He only sighed and led Chanyeol to a smaller desk with two chairs in one corner of the office, supposedly dedicated for Kyungsoo’s study sessions. “W-Would you like some refreshments, Chanyeol-ssi? Coffee or tea...?”

Chanyeol bowed diplomatically and then shook his head. “Kamsa-hamnida,” he replied softly, taking his seat as quietly as he could, feeling so small in his 186-cm body.

Heechul helplessly glanced at the younger man a few more seconds before nodding, and leaving the tutor alone to do his work.

Chanyeol flinched at the memory of those biting words directed to him by his new student. Technically, he was Kyungsoo-ssi’s sunbae since he was ahead of him by 4 whole academic years. This was the first time Chanyeol had encountered such blunt disrespect from a hoobae, and completely unwarranted, too...

He gazed down at his clothes in confusion. How was his clothing offensive? He was fully covered—too covered, as a matter of fact—as his coat was even two sizes larger for him.

He heaved a deep breath and decided not to waste too much time. It was such a pity that a lovely face like that could have a tongue full of venom. As instructed, he opened the first section of the algebra textbook marked with red post-its...

... and found the exercises were entirely unanswered.

Chanyeol flipped through the other ten pages and encountered a similar situation.

He was getting that dreadful feeling that the other five textbooks were also blank. He did a quick check... and he was right.

Chanyeol was beginning to have flashbacks of grade school again when his classmates would bully him to do their homework, in exchange of not getting beaten up for the day or ganged up on.

His right hand was shaking as he took a pencil and resolved to just complete all the required pages, anyway.

As intern of Do Laboratories, I am to perform tasks as assigned, he forged on with his internal pep talk. THIS is the EASY part.

He switched his complaints off and concentrated his brain on breezing through 12 pages of rather rudimentary mathematical equations for 35 minutes and then he moved on to the History textbook. That one had about 8 pages of reading text and 3 pages of a multiple choice test and an essay part.

Chanyeol could write an essay, no problem... but the handwriting? Surely, the teachers would notice a difference.

He thought to do that one last, for him to help Kyungsoo-ssi with it for when he returned.

He started working on the English textbook and the Psychology textbook next.  He was probably too occupied that he only started observing that his student was still missing after he wrapped up the Chemistry book.

And it was turning 4 p.m.

Chanyeol scratched his head and got up from sitting after 2 hours, cautiously peeking his head out the door. The only person he could see was Yeri, the receptionist.

He walked over to the young woman and tapped the counter to catch her attention. “Uh, excuse me?”

Yeri blinked up at him, pausing from typing an email. “De?”

“H-Have you seen Do Kyungsoo-ssi?”

“Oh... the boss and Heechul-ssi went out for a working lunch in Itaewon a couple of hours ago,” Yeri said, checking her messages in case the boss and his personal assistant had sent emails or notifications on the company group chat. “Here’s your Gravity ID, by the way.”

Chanyeol halfheartedly took the ID, which said VIP on it and a sticker bearing his name. Funnily, he didn’t feel like a very important guest, being abandoned to do all of Kyungsoo-ssi’s schoolwork like this. “Kamsa-hamnida.”

Yeri bit her lower lip, gazing at Chanyeol with pity. “Um, the school representative will be picking up Kyungsoo-ssi’s books and delivering the new set of modules in 30 minutes. Will everything be ready by then?”

Chanyeol only nodded, giving the receptionist a small, upturned smile, since this wasn’t her fault, and returned to Kyungsoo’s large office to finish the History book as well.

He accomplished everything just in the nick of time when the door opened, revealing Kyungsoo, carrying a coffee cup, with Heechul at his tail.

“Have the approved sketches printed by tomorrow,” Kyungsoo was firing instructions left and right, “and hire the same Art Director from the Spring/Summer campaign.”

Heechul was nodding and jotting all of that in his to-do-list as Kyungsoo resumed his seat and blinked when he became aware of Chanyeol still sitting on the table in the corner. “Oh. You’re still here.”

Kyungsoo-ssi actually sounded as if he forgot about him.

Chanyeol wasn’t sure how to respond to that, so he just nodded and stacked up all of the books.

Just then, the phone on Kyungsoo’s desk rang and Heechul immediately picked it up. “Ne, Yeri-yah?”

“Kyungsoo-ssi’s teacher is here to pick up his textbooks.”

Yeri’s voice over the phone was clear enough for Chanyeol to hear so he got up to his feet to take the books to the receptionist when Kyungsoo suddenly intercepted him. “I’ll take those, thank you.”

And just like that, Chanyeol was left there with his mouth hanging open as the petite son of the Do Laboratories CEO exited the room once more.

He almost jumped as he received a commiserating pat from Heechul-ssi, but the older man offered no further explanation as they both proceeded to go out of the office as well.

There, they saw Kyungsoo bowing low to an older woman, presumably his teacher from school. “I trust that the required pages were all completed?”

“De,” Kyungsoo answered confidently, without any trace of doubt or misgiving on his guileless face.

“Araseo,” His teacher said, handing him another set of six modules for one more week of lessons. “I hope you perform better in your studies this semester, Kyungsoo-ssi. I know you can do it, because you were such a brilliant student student before.”

“I will try my very best, seonsaengnim,” Kyungsoo replied, sounding quite sincere that it caused Heechul to eye him suspiciously.

Kyungsoo even waved as the teacher proceeded to the lifts, taking the textbooks with her and waving back at him.

Once the elevator doors closed, Kyungsoo gave them to Yeri and told her to mark the required pages following the curriculum.

He was about to return to his office when he passed by Chanyeol staring at him, dumbfounded.

Kyungsoo sighed and reached for his wallet, pulling out 200,000 KRW to hand to him. “Thank you for coming in.”

Chanyeol immediately curved his much bigger hand over Kyungsoo’s, refusing the money. “W-What’s that for?”

“Your payment,” Kyungsoo told him offhand, looking at him incredulously. “Isn’t this why you’re helping me?”

For some unknown reason that he was yet to digest, Chanyeol found himself deeply blushing... but not in a pleasant or favorable way. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Was this... embarrassment?

Humiliation?

Kyungsoo-ssi was presuming that Chanyeol was only here for money.

The taller one lowered his gaze, shoving his clammy hands into his pockets clumsily. He didn’t have to be a genius to understand that this was the last place where he was wanted. “I should go,” he whispered, as he bowed to the Do Laboratories’ CEO’s son and to Heechul-ssi and to Yeri too.

“Chanyeol-ssi...?”

He heard Heechul-ssi call him but he was too red-faced now to turn around. Mercifully, there was one elevator that became available the moment he pressed the down button.

Kyungsoo only blinked when Heechul squeezed his shoulder, with an irritatingly lamentable expression on his secretary’s face.

He only scowled and went back to his office, unconsciously slamming the door as he did.

Why the hell should he feel bad? His new tutor looked like he could use the extra cash, given that shabby, worn out, wool trench coat and that over-sized hoodie. Even his pants didn’t fit right. Was that giant filled with too much pride that accepting a small fee for his services was beneath him?

Was the amount not enough?  Should he have paid him more?

Kyungsoo plopped down on his head chair, fuming. He wanted to be mad at someone, especially remembering that hurt look on his tall tutor’s much too innocent face. He usually wasn’t affected whenever he made people older than him cry—and worse, quit—at their own expense.

It only meant that they didn’t want to stay in the first place.

So why should he be bothered now?

************

Chanyeol entered their family’s mini grocery store an hour later, with his father instantly greeting him with a huge grin while ringing up a customer’s purchases. He could only respond with a half smile, strangely lacking the energy to do a full one, as he proceeded to his room to change clothes.

He knew the drill. His routine after school was to help out in the grocery store by restocking the supplies in the aisles, mopping the floors and manning the cash register if his father was busy with something else. It had been a decade since he was left in the care of his father.

His mother had been sick for most of his childhood, and so had his maternal grandfather, who lived with them. When Chanyeol turned nine, his mother’s and his grandfather’s epilepsy conditions had turned for the worst and father and daughter unfortunately passed away within months of each other.

Money had been tough to come by, so Mr. Park was very thankful that Chanyeol had always been granted full scholarships by the schools he attended. Despite not having luxuries and becoming motherless from a young age, Chanyeol was pretty content growing up. His father was his hero. Mr. Park had raised Chanyeol on his own, no matter how difficult it must have been, especially having a son who didn’t quite fit in anywhere, someone who had to dumb himself down in order to connect with others.

In a way, Chanyeol had always felt that his father was his only friend—his best friend.

And while that might appear to be a sad life for a 19-year-old, Chanyeol believed otherwise. He was ha