Just another HS fic-Chapter 31
-CHAPTER 31-
Tuesday was quite normal. Almost too normal; is this what a normal day of school feels like?
School was just about to end when the principal’s voice boomed from the intercom, making the whole class jump a little.
“Kim Jaejoong, you are to come to my office after class. I repeat: Kim Jaejoong, you are to come to my office after class” he said and that was it.
People in the class shot me a few glances, but that was it.
After class I went to the principal’s office, expecting him to tell me that I can’t be a tutor or something, but it turned out to be the contrary.
“Right now?!” I exclaimed. It turns out that the tutor has to go to the student’s house to tutor him. If I knew this from the start, I wouldn’t have gotten this job for sure.
“Yes, right now. The student has sent a car to get you. It’s already waiting outside now. Go” he said strictly.
“But who-“
“Go! Don’t make the client wait!” he said, pointing at the door and I just exited. Darn, why did the principal have to be such a money oriented person? I mean, client? Please! It’s just tutoring!
~ ~ ~
I didn’t speak to the driver when I entered the car or during the rest of the ride. Ugh, the car looks very expensive too.
Well, whoever it is, I’ll just tutor that person and go.
Hopefully that person will have some common sense. I crossed my fingers for luck.
After a while, the car stopped in front of a very big and imposing mansion. The mansion is completely white and has big golden cross above the large front door.
The house looks very… strict…and religious.
When I entered the house, the butler told me to wait right there while he’d go get the “young master”. The feeling of being a drama was creeping back.
I looked around the house and saw that religious symbols were very present all around the house. Paintings and sculptures of Jesus and various saints and virgins were here and there in the house. This gave this mansion a very serious feeling, but also a feeling of goodness and holiness. The house has a big central stair case that’s made of white marble and a person who walks on it would probably look like he’s walking to the heavens or something. However, when I looked up at the top of the staircase, there was a very large painting of a very strict looking man. The way his painting stared down at me almost looked like he’s blaming me for a sin that I never committed. That’s kind of scary.
“Oh! Jaejoong-sshi!” somebody said and looked around a little before seeing a tall figure walking towards me. The person had handsome features and a very reserved, but sincere smile. He was also wearing what seems like his pyjamas with little angels on them.
After a few seconds, it hit me.
“Siwon-sshi!” I exclaimed “…Hi!” I said, surprised that it’s somebody that I know.
“Ah, hello!” he said, bowing to me politely despite this being his home. His big, imposing home.
What a humble person.
“You’re the one who needed tutoring?” I asked, surprised.
“Ah, yes… I have a few things that I don’t understand” he told me right away.
“O-oh…” I stuttered.
“Follow me please” he said and gesture me to walk along with him.
His home was very big, but it wasn’t very hard to find your way around. The corridors were straight and rarely split into random directions.
“Siwon-sshi…” I said
“Just call me Siwon” he told me.
“Oh, okay um. I’m wondering… since you obviously have a lot of money, why do you need to hire a school tutor at all? I mean, you could probably hire the best professor of a university of blablabla, you know?” I said.
Siwon chuckled. Did I say something funny? Because if I did, it must be some kind of sophisticated humour.
“To put it simply, it’s because they’re boring. They understand everything, but they fail at getting you interested in the subject that they’re teaching” he explained, smiling. Oh, good point.
Suddenly, Siwon stopped walking so I did too and looked around to see why he stopped. Then, I saw that facing us stood a tall, strict looking man; the same man on the large painting that stared down at me.
“Siwon, how dare you wear those in the presence of a guest!” said the man, his voice booming and scaring me a little. This man must be Siwon’s father.
“Ah, appa! He’s from school too!” Siwon whined in protest.
“It doesn’t matter! Change immediately! And don’t call me “appa”, you’re too old to use such a childish term” Siwon’s father commanded. He then walked pass us after bowing to me apologetically. Wow, lots of principles in the family.
“That was my dad” Siwon said after the person spoken about had left.
“Yeah, I noticed” I said. The whole calling him “appa” thing was quite a giveaway. And what a cold father.
Siwon led me to his room, which is huge. I think that his study table alone is bigger than my bed.
“Just sit here” he said, pulling a chair for me. Which is…gentleman-ish, but kind of weird.
“Uh, thanks…” I said, sitting down. He sat next to me and put a textbook on the table.
“You know the exercise at page eighteen? I don’t get that one” he told me. Wow, that was straight to the point…
He opened his book and I proceeded to explaining the problem to him. After I finished, he got up and stretched.
“All right, thanks!” he said.
Oh, great.
Wait, what-?
“That’s it? You had one question?” I asked and he nodded innocently as if it was perfectly normal.
“Okay then… what now?” I asked and he shrugged.
“Wanna stay to eat?” he asked and this time I shrugged. Eh, mind as well since coming here would have been useless otherwise.
~ ~ ~
“Ah, really? That’s awful!” Siwon said, looking at me sincerely.
“Well it’s okay, that’s the last time he bothered me anyways. He didn’t really do anything, really.” I said.
Me and Siwon started talking about school as we ate (not before we did our prayers of course) and I just finished telling him about that time Mansu bullied me.
“Ah, I’m so envious of you! You’ve got such nice friends!” Siwon told me. This guys seems sincere and honest in everything he does. Not even the teeniest bit fake.
“Ah, I’m sure you’ve got lots of friends too” I told him. I mean, seriously. He’s rich, tall, handsome, and has a good personality. Minus his extreme religiousness, who wouldn’t want to be friends with him?
“Mmm… not really” he said, chewing on his food. Wow, I guess you never know then.
“Really?! How come?” I asked, surprised at his answer.
“Well… I just can’t be friends with some of them… you know?” he said, uneasy.
“I don’t get it”
“Well you know…some people… they sin…” he said that last part in a whisper, as afraid to say the word “sin”.
Woah… religion isn’t exactly my forte…
“Well… um… that’s too bad I guess…” I said half-heartedly.
There was a moment of silence.
“You and your friends don’t sin, right?” he asked me and the question surprised me. How the hell am I supposed to know? I don’t even know if saying the word hell is sinning!
“I don’t think so…I’m not really sure what your boundaries are when it comes to “sinning”” I told him.
He looked at me carefully for a few seconds, examining me.
“Hm… I don’t think you would” he told me, nodding to himself.
“Oh… if you say so…”
“What? You do?!” he said, probably taking my uncertainty as hesitation.
“I never said that!”
“Then you don’t?”
“Shushhhhh!”
And as I gestured him to stop talking, I noticed that a sly grin made its way on his face. He then puffed in laughter.
Wow, it was all a big joke.
“I’m just joking!” he said, slapping me in a friendly way on my shoulder. Hm, feels much more friendly than the ones Yunho did. Which one is the standard way to do it, I wonder?
“But seriously. It’s not good to sin” he added seriously right after.
…
~ ~ ~
Tuesday was quite normal. Almost too normal; is this what a normal day of school feels like?
School was just about to end when the principal’s voice boomed from the intercom, making the whole class jump a little.
“Kim Jaejoong, you are to come to my office after class. I repeat: Kim Jaejoong, you are to come to my office after class” he said and that was it.
People in the class shot me a few glances, but that was it.
After class I went to the principal’s office, expecting him to tell me that I can’t be a tutor or something, but it turned out to be the contrary.
“Right now?!” I exclaimed. It turns out that the tutor has to go to the student’s house to tutor him. If I knew this from the start, I wouldn’t have gotten this job for sure.
“Yes, right now. The student has sent a car to get you. It’s already waiting outside now. Go” he said strictly.
“But who-“
“Go! Don’t make the client wait!” he said, pointing at the door and I just exited. Darn, why did the principal have to be such a money oriented person? I mean, client? Please! It’s just tutoring!
~ ~ ~
I didn’t speak to the driver when I entered the car or during the rest of the ride. Ugh, the car looks very expensive too.
Well, whoever it is, I’ll just tutor that person and go.
Hopefully that person will have some common sense. I crossed my fingers for luck.
After a while, the car stopped in front of a very big and imposing mansion. The mansion is completely white and has big golden cross above the large front door.
The house looks very… strict…and religious.
When I entered the house, the butler told me to wait right there while he’d go get the “young master”. The feeling of being a drama was creeping back.
I looked around the house and saw that religious symbols were very present all around the house. Paintings and sculptures of Jesus and various saints and virgins were here and there in the house. This gave this mansion a very serious feeling, but also a feeling of goodness and holiness. The house has a big central stair case that’s made of white marble and a person who walks on it would probably look like he’s walking to the heavens or something. However, when I looked up at the top of the staircase, there was a very large painting of a very strict looking man. The way his painting stared down at me almost looked like he’s blaming me for a sin that I never committed. That’s kind of scary.
“Oh! Jaejoong-sshi!” somebody said and looked around a little before seeing a tall figure walking towards me. The person had handsome features and a very reserved, but sincere smile. He was also wearing what seems like his pyjamas with little angels on them.
After a few seconds, it hit me.
“Siwon-sshi!” I exclaimed “…Hi!” I said, surprised that it’s somebody that I know.
“Ah, hello!” he said, bowing to me politely despite this being his home. His big, imposing home.
What a humble person.
“You’re the one who needed tutoring?” I asked, surprised.
“Ah, yes… I have a few things that I don’t understand” he told me right away.
“O-oh…” I stuttered.
“Follow me please” he said and gesture me to walk along with him.
His home was very big, but it wasn’t very hard to find your way around. The corridors were straight and rarely split into random directions.
“Siwon-sshi…” I said
“Just call me Siwon” he told me.
“Oh, okay um. I’m wondering… since you obviously have a lot of money, why do you need to hire a school tutor at all? I mean, you could probably hire the best professor of a university of blablabla, you know?” I said.
Siwon chuckled. Did I say something funny? Because if I did, it must be some kind of sophisticated humour.
“To put it simply, it’s because they’re boring. They understand everything, but they fail at getting you interested in the subject that they’re teaching” he explained, smiling. Oh, good point.
Suddenly, Siwon stopped walking so I did too and looked around to see why he stopped. Then, I saw that facing us stood a tall, strict looking man; the same man on the large painting that stared down at me.
“Siwon, how dare you wear those in the presence of a guest!” said the man, his voice booming and scaring me a little. This man must be Siwon’s father.
“Ah, appa! He’s from school too!” Siwon whined in protest.
“It doesn’t matter! Change immediately! And don’t call me “appa”, you’re too old to use such a childish term” Siwon’s father commanded. He then walked pass us after bowing to me apologetically. Wow, lots of principles in the family.
“That was my dad” Siwon said after the person spoken about had left.
“Yeah, I noticed” I said. The whole calling him “appa” thing was quite a giveaway. And what a cold father.
Siwon led me to his room, which is huge. I think that his study table alone is bigger than my bed.
“Just sit here” he said, pulling a chair for me. Which is…gentleman-ish, but kind of weird.
“Uh, thanks…” I said, sitting down. He sat next to me and put a textbook on the table.
“You know the exercise at page eighteen? I don’t get that one” he told me. Wow, that was straight to the point…
He opened his book and I proceeded to explaining the problem to him. After I finished, he got up and stretched.
“All right, thanks!” he said.
Oh, great.
Wait, what-?
“That’s it? You had one question?” I asked and he nodded innocently as if it was perfectly normal.
“Okay then… what now?” I asked and he shrugged.
“Wanna stay to eat?” he asked and this time I shrugged. Eh, mind as well since coming here would have been useless otherwise.
~ ~ ~
“Ah, really? That’s awful!” Siwon said, looking at me sincerely.
“Well it’s okay, that’s the last time he bothered me anyways. He didn’t really do anything, really.” I said.
Me and Siwon started talking about school as we ate (not before we did our prayers of course) and I just finished telling him about that time Mansu bullied me.
“Ah, I’m so envious of you! You’ve got such nice friends!” Siwon told me. This guys seems sincere and honest in everything he does. Not even the teeniest bit fake.
“Ah, I’m sure you’ve got lots of friends too” I told him. I mean, seriously. He’s rich, tall, handsome, and has a good personality. Minus his extreme religiousness, who wouldn’t want to be friends with him?
“Mmm… not really” he said, chewing on his food. Wow, I guess you never know then.
“Really?! How come?” I asked, surprised at his answer.
“Well… I just can’t be friends with some of them… you know?” he said, uneasy.
“I don’t get it”
“Well you know…some people… they sin…” he said that last part in a whisper, as afraid to say the word “sin”.
Woah… religion isn’t exactly my forte…
“Well… um… that’s too bad I guess…” I said half-heartedly.
There was a moment of silence.
“You and your friends don’t sin, right?” he asked me and the question surprised me. How the hell am I supposed to know? I don’t even know if saying the word hell is sinning!
“I don’t think so…I’m not really sure what your boundaries are when it comes to “sinning”” I told him.
He looked at me carefully for a few seconds, examining me.
“Hm… I don’t think you would” he told me, nodding to himself.
“Oh… if you say so…”
“What? You do?!” he said, probably taking my uncertainty as hesitation.
“I never said that!”
“Then you don’t?”
“Shushhhhh!”
And as I gestured him to stop talking, I noticed that a sly grin made its way on his face. He then puffed in laughter.
Wow, it was all a big joke.
“I’m just joking!” he said, slapping me in a friendly way on my shoulder. Hm, feels much more friendly than the ones Yunho did. Which one is the standard way to do it, I wonder?
“But seriously. It’s not good to sin” he added seriously right after.
…
~ ~ ~