The next day, you are up early since you decided to be harsh on Sehun last night and ignore his attempts at trying to talk to you. You had gone to sleep early and had woken up on time. Today, you're going to see the Louvre museum and the La Défense where you will be taking a look at modern architects. Even though none of you are art students, you're still going to go into the museum to view the artworks. As much as you're excited to be at the museum, you're also feeling awkward with your teacher.

He is sitting next to you again because the two boys had chosen to sit together again. They still talk to Mr. Byun although they chat amongst themselves most of the time. Mr. Byun pretends to be asleep on the bus ride though you know he isn't really sleeping. But you're too embarrassed to call him out on it either, so you just keep to yourself the entire ride. Even when you're all out of the bus and surveying the structure of the Louvre, Mr. Byun doesn't give you much eye contact nor does he interact much with you. It really feels like you're back to the first half of the semester when Mr. Byun hated you.

While you're all visiting the museum, you bump into Mr. Kim. His grin is almost annoying and resembles much like that creepy cat from Alice in Wonderland when he asks, "How's it with Moody Byun?"

You raise an eyebrow, interested as you ask, "Was he like this to you?"

"Since last night," he shrugs. "I wanted to give him a piece of my mind for leaving me alone in the room and I got angrier because I thought he was acting like that just so I wouldn't scold him. But he's still like this today."

"It's frustrating," you mutter quietly, watching Mr. Byun look at the artifacts on display. His hands are in his coat pockets and he is intently staring at the artwork.

"That's just how he is," Mr. Kim shakes his head and smiles at you. "It's not your fault," he pats your shoulder and walks away.

Except, it kind of is. But you just don't know why it is.

"Did I do something wrong?" You finally ask Mr. Byun when you're all on the way back after dinner for a debrief. Today ended a little later than usual because some groups had gotten lost at the La Défense district.

"Huh?" Your teacher looks surprised that you're talking to him. You haven't spoken much to him today.

You look at him and murmur again, "I asked if I did something wrong."

"Why'd you ask that?" Mr. Byun frowns at you.

"Because you haven't been talking to me," you shrug and try to seem like you're fine. "I just thought..."

"No, no," he shakes his head. "We're fine. You didn't do anything wrong, sweetheart. I just wasn't in the right state of mind."

"Oh..." You nod and keep quiet.

"Don't be mad at Sehun though."

You stare at your teacher. "How'd you know...?"

He chuckles, looking out the window as he says, "Just a guess." Then he looks at you again, "At least now I know the truth, right?"

You sigh, "I guess..." Mr. Byun is still looking at you, so you frown and ask, "What?"

He shakes his head and mutters, "You just look so much better. Your eyes look brighter and you look like you have more colour to you. Are you still on meds?" You nod and he brings his hand to your forehead timidly. The tips of his ears are pink while you're just burning from embarrassment. He murmurs shyly, "You don't have a fever, which is a good sign."

You nod, bashful. He quickly keeps his hand in case you think he's copping a feel on you. Though you know he would never. It isn't just that statement about how he wouldn't be the first person to break the stupid rule about dating a student, but because you know you're not especially pretty. Soonkyu, despite her cold attitude towards you, is still a lot prettier than you are, you admit. You're normal, you don't make your classmates swoon, and definitely not your teachers. You just don't have it in you.

While you're back in the meeting room for a debrief, Mr. Byun suggests to go out for coffee or something. The boys are excited to get out of the hotel and immediately agree to it. You do too, since this seems to be the first group bonding for you guys. Before he lets you guys off, Mr. Byun asks to meet back at the lobby in half an hour. You go back to your room and realise that for the first time, you're here before Soonkyu. You are happy with the solace of being alone in the room. But you don't want to let your group wait too long for you either, so you change your bag and get new heat packs.

You're still early when you reach the lobby. Sehun has tried to call you several times — the poor boy. So you finally let him off the hook and call him back. He answers within only two rings.

"Oh my God, you!!!" Sehun breathes out the loudest sigh of relief you have ever heard.

You laugh, "Me? Last I recalled, you were the one who got me in a mess even while being thousands of kilometres away from me."

You sit on an empty lone cushioned chair as you play with the zip of your purse. Sehun apologises, "I'm sorry! I didn't know! I thought it was you, so I just went straight into the story..."

"Well, you were careless."

"I know, and I'm sorry..." He repeats sincerely.

You sigh, "I forgive you. So how's it with the cute girl?"

"Mr. Byun told you about her?" Sehun actually sounds shocked. "I didn't think he would."

You chuckle and tell him, "I told you Mr. Byun isn't all that bad. He's cool."

"Are you talking about me?" You hear someone ask and you look up. Mr. Byun is walking towards you. "Sehun?"

"Mmhmm...?"

"Is he telling you about the girl?" He asks, sitting lightly on the cushioned armrest of your seat.

"I was asking about her before you came, actually," you tell him.

"Is that Mr. Byun?" You confirm for Sehun. "He's asking about the girl?" You affirm again. "What is he?"

Your lips twitch in a side smile. "I told you he's cool." Mr. Byun grins at you. You bug Sehun, "Now tell us about the girl."

"Mr. Byun too?"

"Yes," your teacher answers, having heard the question since you put your phone on loudspeaker.

"Oh my God, you're embarrassing me!" Sehun complains. You can hear him blushing, if you can ever hear a blush.

You laugh when Mr. Byun counters, "You were technically the one who told me everything."

At that time, you notice the two other boys from your group walking towards you guys. So you quickly tell Sehun, "Text me again when you're awake, I'm going out now."

"Okay. Mr. Byun will be with you?"

"I will," Your teacher answers personally.

"I'm counting on you on keeping her in one piece then, Mr. Byun. Thanks."

"My pleasure," Mr. Byun smiles pleasantly.

You hang up the call and stand. Mr. Byun is still sitting on the armrest, which makes you closer to him upon standing. His knees are brushing your coat. The boys come over and excitedly propose to go. Mr. Byun consents. He stands and places a hand between your shoulder blades as you walk behind the two boys. One of them, Kibum, has always been extremely talkative since the first day. He engages Mr. Byun in a conversation while the other boy, named Dongwook, talks to you. Mr. Byun drops his hand when you move to the front to talk to Dongwook.

You're walking aimlessly until Mr. Byun calls out from behind, "Let's stop at the Truffle café." You see the huge sign of the coffee shop up ahead.

You're all settled in the warm place, you next to Dongwook and Mr. Byun opposite you. The boy beside you mutters, "Coffee or hot chocolate?"

"You won't be able to sleep if you drink coffee," you remind him. "It takes fifteen minutes for caffeine to kick in and takes about seven hours or so to flush out of your system."

The two boys gape at you while Mr. Byun looks like he is grinning out of pride. You blush at the attention and Kibum asks, almost teasingly, "Are there any other coffee anecdotes we need to know?"

"I'm no coffee expert," you roll your eyes. "But I heard for some people coffee makes them sleep better."

"How do you even...?" Dongwook stares at you in amazement.

You curl your hair behind your ear in embarrassment, "I thought the side effects of caffeine were interesting, so I went to study a little bit on them."

"You studied them?" Kibum looks scandalised.

You nod and Mr. Byun explains for you, "She's a double major, boys."

Their eyes grow even bigger. "Seriously?" Dongwook exclaims. "So you're smart."

You shake your head desperately. "No, I'm actually really stupid." You glance at Mr. Byun and say, "Mr. Byun can vouch for me."

"She's kinda ignorant when it comes to architect," he admits. "But I can say she is much more knowledgeable in the science department."

"You're so... cool," Kimbum breathes out in awe.

You've heard people call you smart and hardworking, but being called cool? Never.

You blush really red and mutter, "Thanks...?"

"Let's order," Mr. Byun clears his throat, keeping the attention off you. He probably feels bad for you since you're all flushed and shy. You're grateful for that.

You all order and chat together, talking freely and forgetting for a moment that you're here on an educational trip. Despite Mr. Byun being your teacher, you're all comfortable with him. It's almost as if you're having a conversation with friends, the almost non-existent. Everything flows naturally and easily. Mr. Byun is even talking to the boys about a computer game. He would definitely fit in with Sehun if your best friend would let him. Sometimes you have to admit that Sehun is stubborn and kind of stupid.

By 9PM, you're all already walking back to the hotel after your satisfying get-together which was paid by your teacher. You split ways in the lift, the two roommates getting off before you. Mr. Byun bids you good night as you leave him to return to your room. You're terribly tired, now that the effect of time difference has crept up on you. You're hoping to go to sleep right away, but you're met with Soonkyu and a few of her friends in the room. There are boys and girls, all of them having a small gathering in your hotel room. There's even liquor and even though you know you're all legal, this is still an educational trip. Shouldn't it be against the rules at some extent? They stare at you when you walk in.

"You got the highbrow as roommate?" A girl scoffs when she sees you.

Who is she even calling a highbrow? You're not even the one looking down on her and calling her names. You don't say anything though. You know since high school that fighting back won't always end well. Well, you would have learnt to be stronger and fiercer since Sehun always got all the girls and you always had to fight their jealousy off. But you really didn't have to because Sehun always put them off and made sure the girls didn't lay their hands on you. You were well-protected by your best friend and his baseball team.

"She's cool," Soonkyu says offhandedly. You're surprised and you won't deny that. Soonkyu doesn't even speak to you. Why does she think you're cool? "She goes out every night. Probably on dates."

"I—" You're interrupted by a guy inviting you to join them.

You shake your head and turn down the offer, feeling awkward. You don't really want to be with people who think you're a highbrow or someone who goes on dates every night.  

"We're having a sleepover though," another boy speaks up. You frown. Sleepover? "Won't you need somewhere to sleep?"

"I... I'll just find my way..." You awkwardly tell them.

They shrug and go back to their drinking game. You change into your leggings and sweater, washing your face and getting ready for bed. Then you sit atop the covered toilet seat and scroll through your phone. You nibble on your thumbnail as you think of what to do. The first person you think of is Mr. Byun. But he's your teacher and you can't ask him for this big of a favour. You could go over to Kibum and Dongwook's room, but you don't know them well. Neither do you know their room number.

You check your kakaotalk and notice that Mr. Byun has already been added to your friends list by phone number. His picture is of a bigger hand holding what you think is a child's hand. You wonder if it's his hand holding a baby's. If it is, you will admit that Mr. Byun has gotten a few notches more attractive in your eyes. A man who adores children? drop. And you would typically be swooning over him already, if it isn't for the fact that this particular man is your teacher. Nonetheless, you click on his name and open a chat.

> Hello Mr. Byun
> Are you free??
  10:12PM

His reply comes faster than you thought it would.

> Hey
> You alright?
> What's up ?
  10:13PM

> Just...
> I need a place to sleep...
  10:14PM

> Why?
> Is Soonkyu mistreating you ????
  10:14PM

> No
  10:14PM
> Will you help me...?
> It's fine if you don't want to..
  10:15PM

> Of course
> I'm coming over
  10:16PM

You look at yourself in the mirror. What are you doing? Texting your male teacher for help? Not to mention, an attractive male teacher? You trust him, sure. But he is still your superior and this should not be your number one way of getting help. You feel stupid and that makes you slap your own forehead. But the moment your palm comes in contact to your face, you hear the doorbell ring. You shoot up from the toilet seat and open the door to the toilet.

"I'll get it!" You exclaim hurriedly, shocking the boy who had been walking over to the door.

"What's wrong with her?" You hear the boy mutter as he walks back to the group.

You remember your phone and room key as you open the door. Mr. Byun is standing outside, his eyebrows in a knit. He hears the music and the laughter coming from inside of your room and his eyebrows dip even more into a frown. He takes a step to enter your room, but you instinctively put a hand on his chest. It feels only remotely like Sehun's chest; hard and firm, despite him wearing a thick pullover. But it still feels different, a little softer than the chest of a teenager who exercises everyday. You push him slightly as you step outside with him, making sure the door shuts behind you. You feel his breath on your bare neck, since you've bunned up your hair. You're too close to him like this, but in this situation, neither of you take notice of that.

"What's going on in there?" Mr. Byun asks you seriously.

"They're just having a small party," you shake your head and say, "It's no big deal."

"I know it's no big deal," your teacher's voice is low with a hint of anger. "But to the extent of you having no place to sleep at?"

You sigh and your fingers move on his chest. Just out of habit, you rub his chest as you would with Sehun. His tensed shoulders relax a little. You explain to him, "They invited me to join them, but I didn't want to. And they're sleeping over... I don't know anyone else and I thought of going to Dongwook for help so I didn't have to bug you—"

"Nonsense. I'd let you bug me anytime." He stares at you, gaze flickering over your face. You feel shy at the close proximity as well as the look he is giving you. Mr. Byun purses his lips, "I can call up Miss Park, if you want. Or if you trust me and Mr. Kim and can handle a little bit of mess..."

Your lips twitch into an automatic smile. "Of course I trust you."

Mr. Byun smiles, obviously honoured at the trust you are rewarding him with. He starts walking backwards slowly and you follow him, chuckling. While you wait for the lift, Mr. Byun mentions, "I think you have a bit of moisturiser on your neck..."

You swipe at a random spot, staring at your teacher. He shakes his head and instead takes it into his hands to help you with it. He cups the back of your neck and lather the uneven moisturiser at the side. His hand is soft and warm, and his thumb rubbing against your skin feels like a caress. Your cheeks feel warm and you're ashamed that Mr. Byun has full view of your ugly blush since you can't hide your face with your hair.

"Thanks," you murmur softly.

He stares at you for a long moment, long enough for the lift to arrive. He smiles gently and shakes his head, not saying anything as he peels his hand away from your skin. The both of you enter the elevator and ride the short trip up a floor. You follow behind him to his room with your little organ jumping wildly in your chest. You're going to be in the room with two attractive men, how exactly does your heart stay calm?

"I'm warning you, it's kinda messy..." Mr. Byun warns you, looking all embarrassed.

You chuckle, "I've been to Sehun's room countless of times, I think I know how messy a boy's room can get..."

He gives you a smile but it looks tight and forced. He turns away to scan his hotel key and opens the door. He enters first and then you. Mr. Kim stands when he sees you. You realise that he is wearing a worried look on his face.

"What happened?"

"Her roommate is throwing some kind of frat party," Mr. Byun rolls his eyes, placing his phone and card on the table. You try not to observe the room too much but it's difficult when there are clothes everywhere. "I told you it's messy," Mr. Byun laughs upon seeing your expression.

You quickly snap your eyes to Mr. Kim and correct what Mr. Byun had said, "It's not a frat party. It just includes booze and some Truth or Dare, or something." You don't say anything about their room though.

Mr. Kim bites his lip. "You can stay here if you want... Mr. Byun will just sleep on my bed with me."

Unconsciously, you make a scan around the room again. Mr. Byun laughs, "Hyung, I think you're too dirty. She's judging you."

You shake your head rapidly, "No! It's just... I guess Sehun is one of the cleaner guys after all. I kept giving him beef for messing up his table every few days." Then you realise that this doesn't help make Mr. Kim feel better about Mr. Byun's playful remark. So you offer, "Can I clean up a bit? As payment for letting me stay."

"You don't have to," Mr. Byun rejects the offer but you insist.

"I like clean places," you tell them as you start picking up clothes from the ground. "Maybe you don't normally have time to rearrange, since you must be busy with your teacher work and stuff."

Mr. Kim and Mr. Byun start to clear as well, so you laugh and push them away. You've seen Mr. Byun's laptop open, so you know he must have been doing his project again. Mr. Kim's computer is out too.

"Go do your project, Mr. Byun," you urge. "I don't trust you guys to clean up this place either." You catch their mock hurt expressions and you chuckle. You pat their shoulders, "I don't trust men to clean up."

They laugh and relent, letting you buzz around the room. They look so nervous that they can't even concentrate on their work. You finally understand why when you hold up a pair of boxers. Mr. Kim jumps out of bed anxiously and snatches it from you. You laugh.

"I've handled boxers more than you probably have," you shake your head. You see their surprised expressions and you realise your mistake. You wave your hands, "N-no! Not like that! It's just that I do the laundry sometimes and my dad— You know... And Sehun too..." You're already blushing.

"Riiiiight..." Mr. Kim answers awkwardly. Mr. Byun is looking at you with an unreadable gaze.

"You guys should split your dirty clothes from your clean ones," you anxiously try to keep the topic PG-rated.

"The place is almost clean," Mr. Byun comments. His face is still stoic when he tells you, "Go wash your hands."

You obey. When you leave the bathroom, both teachers are already on their headphones and are completely immersed in whatever they are doing. Without wanting to disturb them, you climb onto Mr. Byun's bed. He glances up from typing and scoots a little to the side so you can get in next to him. He lowers his headset when you're sitting next to him, your back resting against the headboard and your legs under the quilt. The beds you're all given are single-sized, which causes you to sit slightly closer to Mr. Byun than you should.

"Do you want me to move over to Junmyeon hyung's bed now?" He asks you, scanning your face.

You shake your head, covering your mouth as you yawn. You mumble, "You can stay if you don't mind me sleeping next to you." He stares at you with soft eyes as you let down your hair. "Can I sleep first?"

Mr. Byun nods and you move yourself so that you're lying down. You're a side-sleeper, which explains when you turn to your side to sleep. You face Mr. Byun, eyes on his laptop screen. You see that it is already half past eleven. You glance up at Mr. Byun, who is staring at you. You blush and quickly flip to the other side so your back is to him. You hear him chuckling.

"Good night, problem child."

You have a habit of waking up in the middle of your sleep most of the time. Half the room, you notice in your half-conscious state, is dark where Mr. Kim is already sleeping. Mr. Byun's is still next to you and you guess he would only move to Mr. Kim's bed to sleep while he would just work here on his bed. Mr. Byun's laptop is still open and you see your teacher's slender fingers resting on the pads of the keyboard. You look up and see that he is already nodding off with his head resting against the headboard.

You fight off the sleep in your eyes and get up. You save his work carefully, making sure it really is saved. You close the computer and reach up to Mr. Byun's head to slowly and gently remove his headset. You've done this for Sehun many times before, since he's always playing games till the wee hours of the nights. You place the headphones atop Mr Byun's closed MacBook and put them on the bedside table carefully. Mr. Byun is still sleeping, so you shake his shoulder slightly in hopes of making him a little conscious. But instead, he shoots his eyes wide open.

"Uh..." You are stunned for a moment, still groggy with sleep. "I saved your work," you mumble as you lean away from him. "And you should go to sleep."

He groans, rubbing his face. "I can't... I need to—"

You tug on his wrist as you lie back down on the bed. Even though the bed is a single, it still is enough for two people if you don't mind squeezing. He is staring down at you, watching as you place his hand under your head. You don't even know you're doing it because you think that it's actually your own hand. Sleepiness makes everyone stupid, really. You close your eyes and shift into a comfortable position for sleeping, and you finally hear him sigh in defeat. He moves slightly to turn off the light by his bed, causing the room to plunge into darkness.

Mr. Byun goes deeper under the blanket until he is lying down next to you, with his hand still under your head. You turn your head into the pillow, unconsciously nuzzling your cheek in his palm, knowing that your job is done. You briefly hear Mr. Byun mumble something, but you're already pulled in by sleep.

Your phone buzzes incessantly under your pillow the next morning. You wake up, groaning a little. You slide your hand under your pillow to get your phone out and you see that it's your alarm for today. You had set your alarm earlier today so you could go back to your room before anyone finds out where you spent the night. You stare at the clock as you swipe your screen to stop the alarm from waking anyone else up. Too late though, you turn to the side and see Mr. Byun already squinting at your phone. Your pillow — or more accurately, the human pillow — you're sleeping on moves. You are finally aware that you've been sleeping on Mr. Byun's arm.

"Kinda early, hmm?" He mumbles with a rough morning voice that hardly sounds like him. This Mr. Byun sounds gruff and relaxed... and also, all too sensual.

"Yeah," you whisper a little breathlessly as you sit up. "I don't want to get in your way." You glance at his arm that was spread out for you to sleep on. "I'm sorry for numbing you."

"It's okay," he chuckles softly, rubbing his eye with his other hand. "I'm sorry if I got too close."

You give a small smile and brush him off with your own apology, "I'm a naturally touchy person, even more so when I sleep. I'm sorry if I got too close."

Your teacher shakes his head although he is still smiling. He picks at a hair on your pullover. "Do you need me to walk you back to your room?"

"Nope, go back to sleep," you urge him gently. "I'll see you downstairs."

Mr. Byun hums in reply. You feel his eyes following you even as you wear your shoes and leave the room as quietly as possible. He wonders if you heard what he said last night. He feels that instead of reminding you of that, he should say it to himself instead. 

"I'm not flirting with you," he had said last night. He has to believe the words even if his heart is trying to defy him. 

Author's note:

Things are getting more dramatic, no? or fluffier? idk but I'm loving it?! haha

I've been writing so much lately.... I already have the next four chapters written up.......!!!!! But I don't wanna be inconsistent, so I'm just gonna update a new chapter at least every week or something, if i can remember! 

So I just wanna remind you guys that I'm always reading the comments! You can talk to me about your day, ask me questions about my personal life, whatever! I might just answer you if I can or if I think it isn't too personal! It makes me feel happy when I get to interact with my readers and give you guys some company if you ever need it!

Till next time
xoxoxoxoxoXO