Rhea graduated last year with a degree in fine arts. She got her first real job as a Photography Professor. There's a particular student in one of her classes that has bright blue hair that catches her attention. Taehyung has a sadness in his eyes t...
Rhea held her chest to calm her beating heart. She thought she was about to get caught. Spying on a student would definitely look peculiar.
Suddenly there was a knock on her door and the Dean walked into her classroom. Rhea bowed to him deeply. "Mr. Jung what brings you here?" Mr. Jung strolled around with his hand in his pocket, he seemed to ooze confidence and power. "I came to see how our newest Professor is doing. How are things Ms. Stone?" Mr. Jung asked her, and she smiled slightly.
"Things are going great, actually. I'm really enjoying this position." Mr. Jung smiled and sat on her desk, he made himself comfortable. "I'm glad to hear that. I've heard positive things from your students. I'm glad you're settling in well." Rhea nodded at his words.
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"You seem quite young for a Professor Ms. Stone, how old are you?" Rhea swallowed. "I'm twenty-seven, sir." She answered promptly and Mr. Jung smiled. "Me too, what a coincidence." He grinned. Rhea didn't like the vibe she was getting from the Dean. He looked at her as if he wanted to eat her. His eyes would drink in her body for far too long sometimes.
Standing up, Mr. Jung flashed a brilliant smile. "I'll check on you again, soon." He emphasized the last word and bid her farewell. Rhea watched as he left. Mr. Jung was quite handsome, but something didn't sit right with her about him. Her gut told her not to trust him.
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Jimin had dropped Taehyung off at his house. "See ya tomorrow, Tae. I gotta go drink or something." Jimin said laughing, the smile didn't reach his eyes though. His pride was truly hurt. "Bye Jiminie, don't take it so personally. Not every girl is going to like you." Taehyung tried to console his best friend, but it went in one ear and out the other.
"Well, this is a first for me." Jimin said quietly. Taehyung patted his shoulder. Jimin would bounce back, Tae knew that. Walking to his front door, Taehyung took a deep breath. He was wondering what condition his mother would be in today.
Gathering courage, Taehyung opened the door and the house sat quiet. Eerily quiet. He tiptoed around, trying to see if she was home. It appeared she wasn't. Taehyung's shoulders slumped; he was relieved. Happy he wouldn't have to take care of his own drunk mom today. She must have actually gone to work today.
Taehyung worried so much about her lately. Last time she went on a bender she told him if she missed work one more time she would be fired. He worried about what would happen if that occurred. Tae would have to get a job to pay the bills and attend school full time in between.
"No child should have to take care of their parent." Taehyung said to himself as he walked towards his bedroom. The place he would usually stay. It was the only door inside the house that would lock. It was his safe haven. Inside his room, Taehyung could escape the world.
Turning on his computer, Taehyung sifted through all the photos he took recently. Every single one of them was black and white. Taehyung rarely took photos in color. He thought the beautiful color displayed around the world was a lie. It looked comforting, but in reality, the world was cruel. Black or white, that's what the world was. Good or evil, there was not in between.
Even with a photo of a beautiful tree, if you strip away the hues, it can be viewed differently. The shadows represent doubt and fears. The highlights represent the happiness in life. Taehyung rarely saw the highlights in pictures. Most of his photos were shrouded in shadows.
Scrolling through the hundreds of photos, Taehyung was trying to find a picture to submit for the next assignment in Photography 101. He had to be cautious, he knew that now Ms. Stone wasn't an idiot like he originally assumed. She saw more in one photo than Taehyung even saw himself. She interpreted it preciously how Taehyung wanted it to appear.
If he chose another dark image, she might fuss over it more. He decided to do a self-portrait. "This one won't raise too much suspicion." He murmured to himself. He dragged the file to an email and attached it. Taehyung typed his name and the name of the assignment and then sent off the email.
He leaned up against his chair and looked at the ceiling. Jimin's sad face came to his mind. He would need to check on Jimin soon. He has never been hurt like that; it was surprising. Maybe Ms. Stone was different. Maybe she wasn't just another idiot human being who would wrongly judge Taehyung and who he really was.
The slamming of the front door could be heard. Taehyung rolled his eyes and stood up. He walked calmly to his door and flipped the lock. His mom was home. Drunk or not, he wanted nothing to do with her today.
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