New-Du (Part 3)

You Are Not Alone

[Nia's POV]

(Nurse's Office)

I laid back slightly, trying to flush the blush from my face, after receiving a large cup of water and a new cold compress. As refreshing as the water that seeped between my lips and the chilly bundle of ice were, I was still an utter mess. I didn't know when he was coming back, but it was soon. I was on my second cup. What started out as leisurely, quiet sips, gradually became aggressive slurps.

 Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap.

Water seeped down the sides of my mouth, as I tried to chug away my nerves.

"Yah."

A large hand came into my view, snatching the glass away. I choked on the water that managed to escape into my mouth, which then shot out of my nose. Covering my mouth, I coughed audibly.

Cough! Cough!..Cough!

Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Click. Clack.

"Mr. Z! We do not snatch water from patience's hands!"

Cough!...Cough!

"She's drinking because she's nervous. She'll end up flooding her bladder."

Was it that obvious?

I wiped away at my nose with the backside of my hand. I sat up to look at the two. 

"Am I right?", he flat out asked.

I looked away, embarrassed as I mumbled out:  

"Maybe.."

"That still doesn't excuse you, snatching her drink."

She then snatched the glass from his hand, and turned to me, squatting down to my level. 

"You can have as much water as you like. But only Dixie cups. Okay?"

I nodded, as I looked at her. 

"Would you like some more?"

"Yes, please.", I answered shyly, after the uncomfortable confrontation that spiraled.

As she stretched back up to her standing position, she eyed Mr. Z in a snakey manner, before walking over to the kitchenette area.

Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Click. Clack.

He turned to me, after watching her firm exit from the area.

My eyes quickly darted away as I sat there, with one of my hands respectfully folded in my lap, as the other held the pack in place.

"Did I hurt you?"

What?

I looked at him, with a rather confused look.

"E-Eh?"

"I said..."

Placing his hands onto his knees, he leaned down closer. Face to face, we were. His gaze was piercing. I felt like a banana being peeled. I felt so bare.

"Did I hurt you?", he asked once again in a low, growl of a whisper.

I shook my head gently, as my cheeks slowly became light up, once again.

"N-N-N..N-N-No. No, sir. I mean! No, Mr. Z!"

He flashed an effortless grin. 

"Good."

He placed his hand on the top of my head. Outstretching his long fingers through my curly locks, he rubbed away at my scalp, with ease.

Oh my god. Oh my god. OH MY GOD. 

I couldn't comprehend what and why, for he left me like one of Medusa's victims, frozen like stone, as he retreated back to his personal study. 

Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap.

I watched him as he got adjusted to his habitat once again, as if nothing happened. He just laid there reading, like he didn't effortlessly make me red as a rose.. 

Did he just flirt with me?

Click Clack. 

No, eww. That's gross and inappropriate on another level.

Click. Clack. 

Who does that to someone they barely know? Let alone a student.

Click. Clack.

Omo. Omo. Yah. Wait a minute!  Am I being groomed?!

Click. Clack.

"Here you go."

A small porcelain hand holding an even smaller cup of water, blocked out my view of an unbothered Mr. Z. Shocked by its abrupt appearance, I jumped a bit. Closing my eyes, I held onto my chest taking a deep breath. I gave a slight bow before taking it.

"Thank you."

Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Click. Clack. 

She sat back down in her four wheeler. I just could not stop staring at him. I started to sip on my small drink at the same rate that I observed him. The magazine didn't fully cover his body, like the newspaper did. The bottom half of his face was exposed. He had a rather smooth skin and a very fine-lined jaw. His lips were a soft pink. Not like a rose or a peach, but a perfect inbetween. My eyes slowly fell to his neck, where his adam's apple sat. It slowly rose and heavily ploped back down. He quietly gulped. Probably out of hunger. 

GULP!

I automatically gulped in response to his. It was rather loud. The corner of his lip curled up a bit, in response to the sound. He slowly lowered the magazine down, past his eyebrows, stopping below his eyes. Staring deeply at me once again, he put a twist on it by hiking his eyebrow up. My eyes should've popped out by the way my eyelids kept pulling back. I pulled my cup from my mouth, finally snapping out of my daze. Still facing him, I frantically looked around. My lashes fluttered as if I was trying to take flight.

CLANG!

"Where is she?!"

Instantly in reaction, my hand jerked sending the water into my face. The nurse yelped in shock as well. Mr. Z, unruffled by the loud entrance of a familiar, turned toward the door. I sat there frozen in motion, tightly clenching my eyes, as I let the water trickle down, off my face.

"Relax.", he monotonly commanded.

"Excuse me?!"

Clenching her phone to her chest, she shot up out of her seat.

"Mr. Hong! You can't just barge in here like that!", she whined.

Of course.

Cling!

"Omo. Omo. I'm so sorry. I forgot where I am. This isn't an emergency room. I apologize.", he cooed 

Tip! Tap! Tip! Tap! Tip! Tap!

"Here. Please, take this stew as a token of my- OMONA~!"

Tip! Tap! Tip! Tap! Tip! Tap!

"Clumsy girl~. You hit your head so hard, you don't even know how to drink a cup of water~ Aigoo~."

All of a sudden, a soft, linen scarf covered my face. Gripping gently on it, he dried my face off. He did it in a rather aggressive, yet caring way. Like a mother wiping the snotty nose of their child, after they got done crying. I could feel the clunky shapes of his rings. His bracelets, that dangled from his arms, jingled as he wiped away at my face. Pulling away the cloth from my face, he unveiled my face like a piece of art.

"Thank you.."

RING! DING! DONG!

My eyes flickered, as I tried to evade the white spots in my vision. Finally eradicating the dots, I looked at him. His head glistened with sweat, making him resemble a dewy grape. He must've ran down here as soon as he could. He craddled several small containers of stew, under his arm. Must've been the soup from class. I obviously didn't know who made it. But whoever did, did a really good job. 

"Lay back. Lay back."

He gingerly placed his hand on my shoulder, and guided me back down. Turning to Nurse Yoo, he held out one of the containers. She took his offering with both hands, nodding with a somewhat crabby look. Placing it down on the desk, next to her phone. 

"Let me get you a chair."

Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Click. Clack.

"Are you okay?", I asked observing the state he was in.

Click. Clack. Click. Clack. Click. Clack.

"I should be the one asking you that.", he responded rather animated, bobbing his head.

Click. Clack.

She planted the seat down next to him, with a metallic thud.

"Thank you, Ms. Yoo~", he cooed. 

She responded with an indifferent "Mhm.", as she strutted back to her seat. He got settled in onto the seat, still looking at me concerned. He looked back at me, noticing my bandaged up knee. 

"The knee too? What happened?"

How many times do I have to do this?

"Slip and fall." 

We turned over towards Mr. Z. 

What are you? Saviour or savor? Wait, savor? Eww, no.

He then turned back to me.

"Ah. I see."

I turned back to him, nodding with my response via Mr. Z.

"My visit must be a bit startling and unexpected."

I responded in a mumble, trying to cautiously respond to his sticky statement. "A bit."

"Well, I wanted to stop by and check on my new supermodel~ Talk to you about a few things~..."

The room was sealed off by several awkward seconds of silence.

My casual grasp on my ice pack, turned into a tightening clench. The ice softly cracked under the pressure. I brought my eyes to a close, trying to relax.

Right now?

He leaned forward in his seat and spoke a bit quieter. 

"We need to talk about what happened earlier."

I immediately looked over at the other two occupants, scanning their bodies for any indicator or perked ears.

He shuffled in his seat a bit, realizing my unnerved gaze at them. He got up, and pulled back the privacy curtain. The rattling of the metal rings were pleasing to the ears, for it gave me a sense of security. He pulled his seat up closer to me, and sat back down. Adjusting his glasses, before giving me a fixed look. He began to whisper.

"Did something happen?"

I immediately shook my head.

He sighed, acknowledging the possibility of my uneased behavior.

"Ni-ah. I've heard that you've been having a tough time outside of class. The last place I'd want you to feel uncomfortable is in my class. I want it to be a comfortable escape from everything else during the day. It's still a class, of course. But if there is something that you should tell me, so that situations, like this, can be avoidable in the future, it is best that I am informed now. Whatever is told behind these curtains, stays behind these curtains."

He's rambunctious and careless at times, but he's sincere. He means well.

Exhaling the pressure off my lungs, I held up my vacant hand. He looked at me, waiting for an explanation.

"I have this thing on my hands."

"The gloves?"

I gave a small perched smile in response to his rebuttle. 

"No. It's beneath the gloves."

"Okay. Continue."

"I wear them, so I can hide it."

He slowly nodded, straightning his posture. "I see."

Folding his arms, he looked around. He was thinking about something, obviously. He loudly snapped his fingers.

Snap! 

"Here is what we we'll do about that. On days, we have kitchen labs, I'll let you get a headstart."

"A headstart?"

"Mhm."

"What kind of headstart?"

"I'll let you go to the kitchen before everyone else. So, you'll be able to wash your hands and whatnot. I'll give you a box of disposable gloves."

"I..Really?"

"Of course."

I was rather shocked at his swift analysis and resolution to my problem. It felt a little surreal, to be honest.

"Is there something wrong with the plan?", he asked laying back in his seat.

"No, no. Not at all..It's just that.."

"It's just what?"

"Well, Mr. Hong...Are you sure you don't need me to clarify anything abo-"

"Ms. Lee, you obviously didn't seem that comfortable about the topic. I'm very glad that you opened up, though. It would be wrong for me to pressure and poke at students, on sensitive topics. So, no, you do not need to clarify anything."

Deep breath, in. Deep breath, out. Deep breath, in. Deep breath, out.

My lips quivered as the corners curved upward, making a happy, yet sad looking smile.

"Aigoo~ It's okay~ It's okay~"

He patted on my shoulder. 

"Tha-nk you..", I mumbled, trumblingly

"Anything for my students.", he whispered motherly.

"Oh. I almost forgot. I brought some stew from class for you."

Holding it out, I immediately took it. (Not aggressive and whatnot.) It was still warm. 

"Is this the one he made?"

"Ehhhh...that one had to be dumped."

What the heck did he do to the stew?

"Oh, okay."

I looked at the pieces of vegetables and tofu, that jiggled about inside.

"It looks very delicious."

"It is."

He slowly began to go on a tangent. One minute. Two minutes. Three minutes. Four. Four minutes of techniques, and ingredients, and tips, and tricks. The water finally caught up to me, just as Mr. Z predicted. My knees were kissing passionately, as I smiled and nodded through his rambling.

F--, F---, F---. I can't do this anymore.

"It's a real-"

"I NEED TO PEE!"

I didn't mean to be that loud. This is so embarrasing~...

Everything and everyone went silent.

"Oh..? Oh! I'm sorry! I must've been talking your ear off!"

"I-I-I-I didn't m-mean to yell.."

"It's a-okay. I tend to get lost in conversations."

He popped up and quickly pulled back the curtain. I was immediately greeted by the caught-off-guard looks of Nurse Yoo and Mr. Z.

"Ha ha..ha~...", I chuckled awkwardly as I slowly sat up. I plopped the container down on the bed.

Mr. Z turned to Nurse Yoo.

"See. What did I tell you?"

She rolled her eyes, as she shoveled a spoonful of stew in .

Mr. Hong slid the chair up to my dangling feet, and held his hand out.

"Grab my hand."

Doing so, I nervously stepped down, with my legs holding a tight bond. I quickly bowed several times, before speedily walking over to the bathroom.

TipTapTipTapTipTap

Cling!

Clang!

Flick!

Ah. We meet again.

Hurringly, I unsheathed my hands, tossing the gloves and ice pack into the sink. Leaping over to the porcelain thrown, I spun myself around and pulled my skirt down. Sitting down, all I could hear was a classically trained symphony of angels. 

Cling!

Is he back already?

It was being drowned out by the noise chatter of the audience. I couldn't decipher who was talking, due to the loud buzzing of the bathroom fan.

It must be another student with an injury. 

Multiple people were talking at once. Still seated on the toilet, I leaned over. I dipped my head down, trying to see through the bottom crack of the door. They were too far to see. Someone was there. After the soprano finished with a beautiful whistle note, I pulled off toilet paper from the roll, to wipe away my tears. 

FLUSH!

I transfered  the recent throwaways to the side of the sink, before washing my hands. As I scrubbed away at my hands, I examined my face.

I'm less red now. Maybe, because I peed? I should know how the human anatomy works by now. I've read several volumes alrea- Oh my god..It's the size of a jaw breaker.

My eyes couldn't break away from the red orb.

This looks off. Wait a minute.

After, pampering my hands with a paper towel, I dressed my hands. I slowly leaned closer to the mirror, as I brought my finger to it. It moved before I could even touch it. 

WHAT THE F---?!

I launched myself away from the mirror tightly, clasping my hands over my mouth.

Is it ALIVE?!

I immediately looked over at the ice, and put it on the little kicker.

Alright. There we go. Much, much better.

Tip. Tap. Tip. Tap.

Flick!

cling.

Not trying to draw any attention to myself, I kept my head down as I exited the bathroom quietly. There was a lot of noise. Mumbled up chatter. The dragging of chairs and desks.

"Oh, Nia."

It was Jong-in.

Clang!

I turned around to face him.

"Ye-"

I froze, along with the smile on my face. I was greeted by a group of familiar faces, gathered around a cluster of tables. Mr. Z and Nurse Yoo were still in there respective spots.

"I'll be back in a sec." Yeah, with EVERYONE ELSE!

"They kept asking about you. So, I let them tag along. I hope you don't mind."

I was still able to keep my smile intact. Not showing any signs of discomfort whatever. I just blinked and shook my head. 

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BriannaG-2020 #1
Chapter 15: Please continue with this story~ I would hope at least more than one chapter if you can. Nice current and previous chapters even if I am convinced this was all in the main characters head. Anyways, please don't forget about this story~
WordsOfLove
#2
Chapter 3: That Headmaster is a , who would even lie about something like that especially when you can look up the information.
avisdawn #3
Chapter 13: Welcome back again!!! Hi Uhuhuhuhu willkommen zurück!!!!! Sjjdjsbsjshsjsjshxhx
avisdawn #4
Chapter 12: Welcome baaaack ㅠㅠ
Been waiting for this since forever!!!!
Qveen_Kpop #5
Chapter 10: Oh preeeeeetttttttty please update I must know what happened
KUROBARAHIME
#6
Chapter 4: SO NIA'S POWER IS?
exodaily #7
Chapter 3: Thanks for update