(JiHyun’s POV)

9 months later Mr. Bang was still my teacher and I still couldn’t get over him. Oftentimes I had to go to his office because it was difficult for me to focus in class. It was actually harder to focus in close proximity to him but for some reason I made an extra effort when it was just the two of us. I was a lot more comfortable around him now and I knew he was comfortable around me too.

 In class he didn’t pay much attention to me but in his office he asked me about myself, not extremely personal questions, just things you might ask someone that you wanted to be friends with. He looked intimidating but he was actually the sweetest person ever. He volunteered at various organizations for the less fortunate and he aimed to one day open an amazing school for children that normally didn’t have access to an education. It seemed he always ended up doing volunteer work rather than paid jobs. He was actually a very quiet, profound, intelligent person. The things he said sometimes stunned me. I would ask who he was quoting and he would laugh embarrassedly and say he had just thought of it. I hung on to his every word because I learned from him every time we were together.

We had discovered that we both liked the same music and when Mr. Bang told me he actually had CDs of old groups whose merchandise was now hard to acquire I squealed like the little fangirl I truly was. That was the first day that we actually had physical contact. After my fit of fangirling my hair had gotten a bit messed up. Mr. Bang casually fixed my bangs and tucked some loose strands behind my ear. The skin where he had touched felt like it was on fire. I must have been blushing or something and he cleared his throat awkwardly.

After that day though, it became a lot less awkward when he did things like that. I just got used it…it wasn’t like I didn’t want to. His hand would brush mine when he reached for a pencil or calculator on his desk or sometimes he would lean over me to check my work and his arm would brush mine. I guess at first, being the naïve girl I was, I thought he was doing all this by accident then one day when he actually his thumb over my cheek it all became clear. Mr. Bang liked me. I wasn’t being delusional, he actually liked me. But now that I knew I had no idea what to do about it. He was my teacher. If anything ever happened between us and someone found out he would be fired, probably never rehired, and what would become of me? Aish. I didn’t know if I should talk to him about it or just let him continue with his advances…I preferred the latter of course. 

 It was one of the last days of classes before summer holidays would begin and as usual I was in Mr. Bang’s office. We were going over a checklist of topics that would be on the final exam. I asked him about one of topics and instead of leaning over from his side of the desk he got up and came behind me. He had done this before so I wasn’t freaked out but then he leaned down so that his face was almost touching mine.

“This one?” he asked, pointing to one of the items on the list. I nodded because my voice wasn’t working. 

“Well,” he said, turning slightly so that his breath tickled my ear, “I can’t tell you outright if it will be on the exam. It’s your choice to study it or not.”

I swallowed thickly and nodded.

“JiHyun-ah?” He was speaking directly into my ear now and it was causing a tingling in the pit of my stomach.

“Y-yes?” I could barely get the word out.

“I’m going to miss you so much when school is out.”

 I wanted to tell him I would miss him too but my vocal chords just wouldn’t work with him this close.

He tucked my hair behind my ear and softly kissed my cheek. It was just a kiss on the cheek but it felt so much more intimate than that. His lips were soft and they lingered on my cheek longer than any innocent kiss should have but then again there was nothing innocent about our relationship. Not with the way I had seen Mr. Bang watching me sometimes. It wasn’t an innocent look of admiration – he looked at me like he longed for me. When his lips left my cheek I couldn’t help but turn to see his face. His eyes were closed and he looked like he was savouring what he had just done. I couldn’t help but stare at his plump lips. I wanted to kiss him. Before I became even more of a coward I leaned forward but before I could kiss him he opened his eyes. I chickened out and started to back away but he held my face close to his.

“Were you going to kiss me?” He asked.

“Yes,” I whispered.

He smiled and told me to close my eyes.

I did as I was told and felt his soft lips again but this time on my own lips. When he kissed me I knew there was no turning back. Even though our forbidden relationship had been going on for months with our subtle touches here and there it was only now that I felt like our relationship was finalized. I had never kissed anyone before but I couldn’t help but feel that Mr. Bang knew exactly what he was doing. Even before kissing him I would have had difficulty believing he hadn’t had his fair share of women. He tilted his head to the side as his lips continued to move against mine, his hand still holding my face. I was actually starting to feel light-headed, not from lack of oxygen, but just from the sheer intensity of his kiss. I would probably pass out if he tried to put his tongue in my mouth. I whimpered a little when I felt his teeth nibble playfully at my bottom lip and he did it again.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and my heart flew into my throat. In a flash Mr. Bang was at the door, letting in another teacher.

“Yongguk-ah,” the middle-aged teacher said, peering over Mr. Bang’s shoulder, “You know you’re not supposed to have the door closed if you’re seeing a student.”

“Yes, I know. I just didn’t want any interruptions.”

“Well, leave the door ajar next time. I just wanted to tell you I’ll need your help in a bit.”

The teacher looked at me for a couple seconds then left. Mr. Bang looked at me worriedly.

“Your lips…” he said, frowning at them.

“W-what? What’s wrong with them?”

“They’re red and swollen…”

“Do you think he noticed?” I asked.

Mr. Bang sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know, JiHyun-ah.”

“I’m sorry,” I said quietly.

“It’s not your fault, baby…”

My heart skipped when he called me ‘baby’.

“But I tried to kiss you first…” What if that teacher caught on? What if he found out? My eyes started to fill with tears at the thought of getting Mr. Bang into such a conundrum.

“Yah,” he said quietly, coming over to me, “Everything will be fine.”

I could see the worry still in his eyes though.

“Sir?”

He laughed. “I told you to call me oppa a long time ago, JiHyun-ah…but what is it?”

“Is today the last day we’ll be alone together until summer is over?”

His face fell. “Yes, it is.”

“Is there no way we can see each other?”

“Ani, JiHyun-ah, it’s not safe for us to be seen together outside school. Maybe we could phone each other? Or send letters?”

I shook my head, coming to the realization that I would be spending the entire summer without a word from Mr. Bang.

“My parents would see the mail and wonder who you are and sometimes they randomly check my phone…”

“What? Why?”

I shrugged. “They just do. They’re over-protective.”

It was a wonder they hadn’t found out about Mr. Bang.

There was another knock and that same teacher returned with a stack of paper in his hands.

“These are the assignments I need help grading, YongGuk-ah. Are you finished?”

“Oh, yes. We’re done. Is everything clear for the exam?” He asked me.

“Yes. Thank you for helping me.”

“No problem. I’ll see you…in September.”

I nodded and looked to the door. The teacher was standing there, waiting for me to leave. We weren’t going to get to say a proper goodbye with him standing there. I felt like crying out of frustration.

“Oh!” Mr. Bang said suddenly, “Mr. Jung did you bring back my graphing calculator? We’ll need that won’t we?”

“Oh, yes! I’ll get it quickly!” He set down his papers and hustled off.

Mr. Bang quickly pulled me to him in a tight hug.

“JiHyunnie, don’t forget about me ok? Wait for your oppa.”

“I promise.”

He kissed me on my forehead. “I love you, Nam JiHyun.”

“I love you too, Bang YongGuk.”