LISA'S POV
Flying papers in the air and a fist slamming the desk with anger, I had learned on Sunday evening that a certain video of a Seoulite University student had been circulating on social networks. I gritted my teeth when I heard the name of this person because I wasn't really curious about the incident until I received a short text message from Jisoo.
'What is Jennie Kim doing at your place?'
That's how the ultra taboo secret broke out. It took less time than I thought. Before I could react, Chaeng and Jisoo were already waiting for my explanations this morning when I arrived at the teachers' room. With their arms crossed and a disappointed look on their faces, they did not say a single word. Luckily we were the only ones in the room because it was very embarrassing. For the first time in my life, I felt scared and could only gulp.
If I knew I was going to have extra parents when I came to work here, I wouldn't have chosen this university.
"Care to explain?" they sat down and took their seats on the two chairs facing me. Suddenly we each had a role, I was the criminal and they were the officers.
"How did you know it was my place?" like any criminal, the survival instinct was activated and the first thing to look for was to find a way to get out of this shit as quickly as possible before being definitively trapped.
"Come on Lisa, don't play the dumb card! Maybe I should list for you the number of times we've been to your place? Do you also want me to describe every room in your apartment?" Rosé shut me down. I had no way out because she had just taken away all my solutions. I'm somewhat regretting having such clever friends.
"The question is not how we know it's your place, but why one of your students was at your home on a Saturday fornicating in your living room,"
"Chu, that's too precise and please use simpler words," Rosé rolled her eyes at the stupidity of Jisoo. She always tries to use words in a vocabulary she didn't use that I wasn't even sure she understood the meaning of it.
"Yes, I admit I lied to you about giving private lessons at school but at my place. Plus what you see in the video is purely edited," I said in a defensive tone.
"You may be full of knowledge and insight, but you are a bad liar. So you're going to explain this story to us right now because I don't like the way it's going," I was looking at each in turn and none of them seemed ready to drop out of this discussion. Still I couldn't spend the whole day being interrogated like a murderer.
I scratched my head frustratedly, wanting to scream with all my might. If I wasn't a professor, no one would care about my sex life.
"All right. I gave private lessons to Kim at my place during weekends. On Saturday I may have gone off the rails, but we hadn't gone any further," I avoided their eyes because I had just lied again in front of them.
No, I was half lying.
On Saturday, apart from finding my finger in the bottom of her vagina, we didn't go any further. This time, we were saved by her call, her parents wanted her to go home. But of course I had lied about the fact that I had not exceeded that limit. Should I just tell them that my dick accidentally slipped into her after three weeks of class? They'll say it's a scenario straight out of Pornhub.
No, I don't go on Pornhub.
"Do you realize that what you just did is against the morals and values of the institution but especially those of a professor?" Rosé paced around in the room thinking about how she was going to get me out of this mess. I don't even see why they were so worried, they couldn't even see my face! Besides, apart from them and Jennie, no one knew what my apartment looked like.
"So that's what you meant when you said I have my methods to handle them", Jisoo scoffed.
"I fully accept the responsibility and I know that it was totally immature on my part. But if we think about it and are a little realistic, the video will be circulating for a while on the different platforms and after that no one will talk about it anymore. Besides, everyone knows Kim's reputation!" I was coming up with arguments as stupid as the others, but honestly, I didn't have any options.
I was fucking suffocating in this room and I need to give my lesson.
"I clearly think you missed a point in your reasoning. When something is posted on the Internet, it is for life. I'm not saying you have to take full responsibility because Jennie just exposed herself without her understanding the consequences, but you're the professor! You're supposed to teach these things to your students, damn it!"
Rosé got a point. I couldn't say anything, they were both right. If I was lucky when I left this room, the superiors would not call me, the inspection would not open a file and I would not lose this job. I had just made a big mistake in my career.
"I know I'm sorry. But seriously, no one can see me in the video and I don't think Kim would try to get me fired from here,"
"How can you be so sure? You know very well how vicious those students are, they would do anything to get that degree when they don't deserve it. But in this case, you just gave her an opportunity to reach her goal," Jisoo concluded. I've never seen my friends so serious and angry with me. The three of us were always right in what we were doing and as soon as one of us made a mistake, we didn't hesitate to say it truthfully. Our criticisms were never hurtful but they were always constructive.
"On this one, trust me. You may know her reputation, but I can see clearly in her game. I promise to fix the situation and I won't make the mistake again. Thank you for worrying about me," I meant it. I really meant it, they were always concerned as if we were the same family. And I was grateful for it.
"We know Lisa. You're smart and you know what you're doing. But we are just a bit disappointed. I mean we are happy if you find someone, I mean we want you to find a girl since you've been working for years but sometimes, you can't do whatever you want. Next time, be careful and if you can't handle it, tell us,"
"Thank you Chaeng, thank you Chu. I'm sorry again," we were three idiots making a group hug in the middle of the room that if someone came in now, they'd wonder what the fuck they are doing. Indeed, even our colleagues were unaware of our friendship. We always kept our distance from each other for the professional side.
"Go now to your class. Goodluck with the Devil," Jisoo jokingly said but deep down I knew she was really cheer me up. She once got Jennie in her class and she was thankful to not deal with her anymore. As you can see, no one could defeat her personality.
A troublesome case she was.
Surprisingly, the students were particularly calm today when they entered the classroom. Even the big but no brain guys group hadn't made any stupid jokes. Perhaps the students also had a feeling that the professors knew what was going on on on social networks and that they might experience an hour of lessons on the serious consequences. And they were right.
Half a buttock on my desk, I watched them carefully sit in their seats. The person who had circulated the video had a smile on her face, she didn't seem to realize the danger she had put herself in.
"Before we start the lesson, I would like to say a few words on a subject. I'm not targeting anyone, but it's only for information and prevention. You are in a generation where everything has become easier with technology. And unfortunately, you may be less aware of the danger of these little gems. You don't even realize you're changing and becoming more aggressive. Because you are a generation where everything has to be fast. I could spend hours talking about this subject, but I will get to the point," I walked back and forth in front of the classroom that was very quiet.
I analyzed their reactions, especially Kim's, who now had a confused face, "Think before posting anything on social networks. Review the possible consequences, if it puts you or others at risk. The Internet is a fantastic world only when you know how to handle it but don't fall into its traps because it can change your life overnight. So please do not be the victim. Be careful especially when you are the person who has decided to expose yourself because in the end, it is your life that is affected,"
Some of them looked down, they probably felt concerned and were ashamed of their actions deep down. I know what I'm talking about, I mean I'm the same age as them and most of us don't bother to ask ourselves that question. It drives me crazy to hear news every day about teenagers who end their lives because they are harassed on social networks and all this because they are not well informed.
The rest of the lesson went smoothly. The chatter and non-attentive people were back, which reassured me that no one had replaced my students. I think it is a good thing to have been honest with them and it is important that they are aware of their actions. I faced my own mistake and my friends were there to remind my position.
"Miss Kim, I would like to talk to you," her friends gave her a look saying good luck I-wouldn't-want-to-be-you.
She had sat on one of the first seats, dropping her bag on the floor a little too loud, and she avoided looking me straight in the eyes. I observed her movements, her arms crossed in front of her chest, a pure defensive gesture.
"Look at me Kim," she slowly lifted her head and pursed her lips. Perhaps I had finally succeeded in defeating her when I saw her anguish, "If I'm to be mad at you, it's because you've put yourself in danger. I'm not going to give you the same speech I gave earlier, but I hope you'll be more considerate next time. You'll be very lucky if the video doesn't turn against you but I'll do my best to make sure it doesn't," I had every reason in the world to be mad at her but we were both at fault for different reasons. In the end, I was still the professor and my job was to teach them.
"Thank you Professor and I'm sorry," she said in small voice. In other circumstances I would have thought it cute.
"Regarding private tutoring, I think it's better to stop for a while. I also think it's better to work in the library here after school if we start it again," she was about to retort, but seeing my face, she decided not to behave like an immature kid when she wasn't in the best of situations.
"Yes Professor,"
"Good. You're dismissed, your friends are certainly waiting for you,"
"How do you know?"
"I see their shadows on the ground and tell them that if they go on a mission it is not accomplished," I said, nodding towards the door where their silhouettes were seen. I heard them panic saying shit shit shit when I found out they were spying on us.
Jennie could not refrain from laughing at the foolishness of her friends and my comment, "I'm sorry they are just too curious,"
"Don't worry, they must just be worried for you. Anyway, I see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah," she simply smiled and got up with her handbag, "Bye Professor,"
After she closed the door behind her, I left the deepest breath I had held since this morning. I had not had a single second to breathe between the interrogation of my friends and my class. But I was happy to see that my discussion with Kim gone well. After all, maybe she just needed someone to set the record straight.