Status: Awkward

Chapter 2

Their Geometry teacher seems frustrated today. She slammed her books on the table and asked everyone to prepare for an impromptu quiz right after she entered the classroom.

Unfortunately, Byulyi did not study in advance and is worse than clueless. It is still the second day of school, and this teacher is already maltreating her students with things she has not yet discussed.

'I think she is going to be on my not so favorite list.' Byulyi muttered which catches the attention of her seatmate, Jung Hoseok.

Clearly, she is still not in her elements. She wants to go home to her province to see her grandpa, one last time, but feels still guilty at the words she said to him before she left.

...

"Moon!!! Byulyi!!! Miss Moon!!! Byulyi!!!"

With the angry tone of her teacher's voice, she stands up and looks at her directly.

"I have been calling you for the umpteenth time!!! Solve problem number two!!!"

Byulyi can't even explain the sudden shift of her mood from indifference to fright.

'What am I supposed to do? I am still caught up with my emotions.' she said to herself.

She thought she must have acted cool since the teacher just brushed off her inattentiveness for the span of time she called her name in class. Before she comes to the board, she notices Hoseok stamping his pen on his paper. He might have noticed that she has no idea on how to solve the problems written on the board. Her mind afloat, lost in her thoughts. But thanks to Hoseok's help, she had a glimpse of his answer.

'He must have noticed how indisposed I am. How lucky and embarrassing at the same time.'

But in a snap, Byulyi forgets how on Earth she will solve the problem the moment she uncaps the marker. She suddenly has a short-term memory loss dilemma.

In confusion, she stares at the numbers in the white board. They seem like... flying? Maybe because she doesn't know the solution to the answer that she sneakily looked at Hoseok's paper.

While the teacher was walking around the classroom, and some students still on her side trying to solve the problems given to them, Byulyi felt a sharp pain on her calf.

She looks down, sees a ballpen cap and hears someone cough. As she slightly turns her head to take a glimpse at the person who did it, she sees Kim Seokjin casually rolling a tiny, crumpled paper on the floor towards her. He clears his throat and murmurs the word...

"Answer."

Without second thoughts, Byulyi drops her marker on the floor to excuse herself from kneeling down to reach for the paper.

"Moon Byul-yi!!! Are you trying to stop the pen from working because you don't know the answer?"

Byulyi bows down to her direction to apologize after she stood up, then sees Kim Seokjin smirk at the teacher's remarks. Byulyi thinks he is playing with her and that he is trying to embarrass her in front of the class by playing a prank. To her surprise, as she peeks the contents of the paper...it is, indeed, THE SOLUTION. And the anticipation that Seokjin might announce to the class that she is cheating turned to nothing.

Though she realizes that it is a simple equation which she hardly recollects because of her thoughts being clouded by grief.

She takes a quick glance at Kim Seokjin doubting the intention of the help she receives yet she just scribbles the numbers on the board.

And that is how Byulyi avoided the zero mark on that quiz.

The truth is, she feels ashamed getting the right answer with someone else's help while some of her classmate's struggle.