Seri turned to me, surprise visible on her features.

“I think they will.”

It was a surprise that Mr. Dong didn’t use the period to lecture us. Instead, he went over a textbook or at least, he pretended he did.

I did nothing, just stared on empty walls while Seri doodled on her notebook. I felt Mr. Dong’s occasional stares but when I would turn to him, he would look away.

Mr. Dong pushed his chair back and stood up. He went to the windows on the farthest wall from me and pulled the blinds up. He smiled as the seemingly warm but faint sunlight fell on him.

He was…a sight. I regretted that I sat there, on the seat closest to the door. For once, I forgot about my worries and watched him instead.

It was calming to watch the man by the window. My mind took a mental picture of him. It was one I would keep forever. I wondered why the corners of his lips were still visibly curled up. What was so great about it?

Surely I had never met someone like him. And surely there wasn’t someone to listen to me voice out my thoughts about Mr. Dong. I wanted to express my fascination but Seri wasn’t the one to talk to. She would just me. Mino? I could talk to him about anything but whether that would include Mr. Dong, I had no idea. Maybe it would.

Mr. Dong turned away from the window and precisely to me, as though he knew I was watching. His eyebrows were up in worry and his little moment ended sooner than expected. His eyes were questioning; mine were blank as always. I felt lucky that we were caged by the four walls of my brightly lit classroom, guarded by pairs of eyes because I knew he wouldn’t talk to me here. My problems weren’t a thing of the classroom.

I looked away and Mr. Dong’s voice almost surprised me.

“Did you guys do your homework yet?” He asked as he went to the center, his eyes scanned the room. I watched as Kim Jinwoo, a boy who sat in the same row as us, raised his hand.

“I haven’t done it, sir.”

“Be sure it’s done by tomorrow.”

“I don’t know how to go about it.”

“What do you mean?” Mr. Dong’s question raised heads. Even Seri looked up to listen.

“I don’t know anything about love.” Wow, he brought the words right out of my mouth.

“Isn’t he old?” Seri whispered to me.

“Older than us, yes.” I replied but my eyes never left the two.

Mr. Dong smiled but his smile was warm, uncritical unlike how Seri’s words were. What did age have to do with anything?

“Well, you can write that you don’t know. Write about what you think it is. What do you expect it to be? How is it presented in the media? What do you think of your parents’ love? I’m sure you have thoughts like such, no?”

Kim Jinwoo smiled then and nodded.

“He’s working full time, that’s why he’s taking up this class now. I heard he was busy at home, too. His mother is sick, I think, so he takes care of her. He also has a younger sibling. He has it difficult. Of course, he won’t have time for such things.” It was a murmur that came from behind us and Seri looked at me. She heard it, too. Her eyes softened, apologetic for her attitude just now. When she opened , the words I sort of expected didn’t come.

“Are you going to talk to me, yet? “And I knew exactly what she was going at. I simply smiled at her. The answer was no.

When the bell rang, I knew better than to stay at the classroom further. Chairs were just starting to get pushed and I was already out the door.

I wanted to be alone but I didn’t want to be alone with my thoughts, if that made sense. But then again, a lot of things didn’t.

I pushed open the library door and saw only a few seats were empty. I took my favorite seat where laptop users should be. As soon as I plopped down my bag on the table, voices—both mine and Mino’s—talked in my head, over each other.

I stared at the blank wall, wanting to distract myself. My mind was trying to be creative. It traced faces and figures on the wall. It was too crowded in my brain. They were both trying so hard, wanting to be heard. I heard them all, not from their voices but from memory.

Some of the students did their home works, while most of them chatted. Some were even taking pictures. It was n