Chapter 22.
 

Kyungsoo’s muscles were spasming every several seconds or so as he laid on his back, his eyes somewhat glazed as he stared up at the seemingly never ending expanse of blue sky above him. His thighs were aching from being exposed to harsh sunlight and his skin felt dry from the number of times he had been exposed to the salty water he, his colleagues and their students had been kayaking on for most of the day.

It was only day one of the week long list of activities that Minseok had organised for the excursion but Kyungsoo was already feeling like an eighty nine year old man rather than the twenty four year old young adult he was meant to be. It had even surprised him just how unfit he had gotten over the years of non-sports he had found his life slipping into. Back when he was in high school, he had been in an afterschool swimming squad and he had always ridden his bike everywhere too. Those two activities coupled with the fact that Kyungsoo had actually frequented the world beyond the indoors appeared to have made a major difference to his overall fitness.

Now, the consequences of his six or so years being what could only be considered criminally negligent towards his physical health were beginning to show – Kyungsoo had only managed to survive 4 hours of kayaking before he knew he could endure no more: with his arms screaming in protest from paddling, the lower half of his body numb from sitting in his kayak and all of his exposed skin aching from what he felt were at least fifth degree burns from the sun, Kyungsoo had rowed himself back to the edge of the inlet that Minseok had led everyone to earlier that morning.

And that was what had led him to his current state of existence: rather than kayaking as all of the students and supervising teachers were, Kyungsoo was collapsed on his back beneath an unidentifiable coastal tree which, he thought to himself bitterly, was doing little good in providing shade. Throwing an arm over his eyes, Kyungsoo groaned, already imagining the flack he would be receiving from his colleagues – in particular Jongdae, Chanyeol and Yifan. They always enjoyed teasing him, after all.

“I came came back to shore to check on you. You’ve been lying in the same spot for about an hour already. Would you like a drink?”

Kyungsoo twitched in the sand, only to grimace in pain as his muscles cramped. Removing his arm from his face, the dark haired English teacher was greeted by the sight of Joonmyeon, who was looking remarkably composed and dapper despite all the activity going on. The acting headmaster was holding out a white drink bottle, and Kyungsoo blinked back his surprise.

“Oh, I’m alright, I think… just in a slight amount of pain. And are you sure?” Kyungoo motioned weakly at the bottle being presented to him.

“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t.”

Kyungsoo held back another grimace, however, this one wasn’t because of muscle pain – It was because Joonmyeon’s answer was what Kyungsoo could only consider the most typical type of response to get from a member of the Kim family: already in his head, Kyungsoo could see Jongin answering in much the same fashion. The only difference was that Jongin probably wouldn’t have offered to share in the first place.

“Then I will accept most graciously.” Kyungsoo’s voice cracked and he pulled a face, half embarrassed. Joonmyeon’s lips twitched (just like Jongin, Kyungsoo’s brain supplied him) and the dark haired English teacher heaved himself into a sitting position, the sand hindering his movement to a surprising extent. “Thank you.” Kyungsoo said as he accepted the bottle, only to sigh happily as the soothing fresh water washed down his dried throat.

“Can I sit next to you?” Joonmyeon’s voice was soft from above him due to the fact that the older male was still standing, but Kyungsoo still felt his eyes widen slightly before realising he needed to answer.

“O-of course!” Kyungsoo scooted over slightly to give the acting headmaster space in the dappled shade the tree that the English teacher had been lying beneath offered. “T-theres no need to even ask!”

Joonmyeon sunk down beside Kyungsoo, stretching his legs out. For several seconds the smaller male was sure that he wouldn’t be getting a verbal response from the acting headmaster, however, after several quiet seconds, Joonmyeon finally spoke.

“You’re a surprisingly congenial person, Kyungsoo. I probably haven’t left a particularly positive impression from the times we’ve interacted as well as all of the things you’ve probably heard about me during your time working at Malhana, but you’ve always been pleasant none the less. I don’t think I’ve ever thanked you for that.”

Kyungsoo blinked back his bewilderment. Had Joonmyeon just complimented him?! Without even meaning to act Kyungsoo turned his head sharply to look at his senior colleagues face, as if to decipher whether or not Joonmyeon was kidding or not.

However, the acting headmasters face was not turned towards him. Instead, Joonmyeon stared out across the sparkling salt water of the inlet, his eyes seeming focused on the group of students and teachers that seemed like small dark bumps on the otherwise bright and glistening water surface.

“I-it probably developed over time?” Kyungsoo didn’t mean to make his statement a question, but his surprise seemed to render him unable to properly articulate his thoughts.

Joonmyeon hummed, as if deep in thought. His eyes were still focussed on the group of kayaking students and the several teachers that were out on the water, supervising. “Did you live with your parents growing up, Kyungsoo?”

Kyungsoo’s head whirled for a second. Where was Joonmyeon going with this? He found himself answering anyway. “Yes, I did. In a small apartment in one of the newly built high rises. Well, they were new back then. It got pretty rowdy sometimes – I have an older brother and we were always getting into arguments. The small space often caused things to escalate. No matter how angry you were there was no way to escape from the person you were mad at when you lived in a place like that.”

Joonmyeon hummed in response once more. It sounded as if he were considering what he had just head deeply. “I… I grew up in a large house… more like a mansion, really. It was always empty. Always. I barely saw my father, despite living there in the same building together. The only time there were more than two people in the house at the same time was when my tutors came, or when the cleaning and cooking services arrived.”

And then it all made sense to Kyungsoo.

“Ahh…” his response was little more than a choked breath of air escaping his lungs.

“Your apartment growing up...” Joonmyeon seemed to struggle for a moment for find the right words