180 Days (TeacherxStudent)

Yejun

I instantly tightened my fists and dropped my smile. "If that man was proud of me, he would be here to say bye." She looked down and kept her silence. "Thank you for everything Umma, Jaewon. I'll let you both know when I arrive."

Taking a step back, I bowed and grabbed my luggage. I walked out of my house and headed for the taxi that was parked outside. I put my luggage in the trunk and went into the backseat. "Airport." I mindlessly said as the taxi pulled away.

--

About 20 hours later, I was in New York. I soon made it to my apartment and after three days of staying inside, I decided to go to Manhattan. I was surprised there was a Koreatown. People here looked like me, we all shared the same culture. I was able to freely speak Korean without getting weird stares at me. I spent a couple of hours walking around Manhattan. I visited different places and took lots of pictures.

Suddenly, the realization of my situation hit me. I would be teaching American high school students both Taekwondo and trigonometry in about two months. My English isn't even good. I sat down in Central Park contemplating my life. I'm 26, well, 24 in American age. I'm a fourth degree black belt in Taekwondo. I'm going for my masters in Math Education. I only have somewhere to live because of a person named Master Roman. I gasped and looked at the time. I was supposed to be at the dojang four hours ago!

--

I tapped the elevator and came upon the 1046 gym. I changed into my master Taekwondo uniform and awaited the-- my students. I did a couple of drills to warm myself up and suddenly became nervous. As I waited, the bell rang and students started coming in a minute later. My heart jumped when one specific girl walked in.

Her hair was curly. I've never seen hair so curly before. Her skin reminded me of chocolate, I only wanted to see if she tasted like it. Her smile was so vibrant, and for a moment, I wondered if she was real. I've never seen a woman with her curves before in real life. They were definitely in the right places. Why couldn't Cindy have her features? Her eyes suddenly flashed to mine and I looked away. My heart was wildly throbbing.

What the...?!

More students piled in and I cleared my throat. "Hello everyone, and welcome to Taekwondo class. My name is Master Min, and you all will refer to me as so." The class erupted into murmurs. Did I say something wrong? Did they not understand me? I saw how some of the students distastefully looked at me and had side comments. Had this been in Korea, they would've been disciplined. They're so lucky.

"I see there is a problem. If you have a problem with calling me Master Min, then please see the dean. I believe he will not have a problem with changing your schedules. Taekwondo teaches discipline, integrity and indomitable spirit. If you cannot comply to these, then backtrack on what I said."

Almost everyone looked at me in disbelief. The principal did tell me American students are known for having these reactions. A hand being raised caught my attention. My breath hitched in my throat as her innocent eyes looked up at me. I approached her, careful not to make it obvious of my interest. "Name?" I asked.

She held my eye contact, but seemed to fear me. Is it my facial expression? "L-Len Hunter." she responded. Len Hunter. Her name is so primal, how could she seem feeble? I walked closer and stopped in front of her. Her eyes seemed to widen as I slightly looked down. "Question?"

Len opened her mouth and closed it. Why isn't she saying anything?! I felt myself become annoyed. She shouldn't be afraid of me, we've barely known each other! And then the whole class is staring at us. Now they definitely have a bad first impression of me, all because of this girl. "I... W... W-why... Why do we have to call you Master?" I blankly stared at her. "Continue."