230 – EP.10 Rebirth-3
***
Yun Sia, sipping the salty and spicy soup, seemed to have momentarily forgotten the respect she had as her tutor.
During the three minutes she waited after pouring hot water into the cup ramen, her big eyes were endlessly stuck in the ramen lid, so now she doesn’t think there’s any need to pinch herself.
Wow, I am eating well. Eat well. I think I starved for three days.
She was busy playing with her chopsticks and I felt a bit salty as she inhaled her noodles.
Strictly speaking, Yoon Shia is younger than me. She seems to be seeing her younger brother being hit by something outside.
Or, it’s like a new employee who just joined the company finishing his first overtime shift and eating ramen at a 24-hour gimbap restaurant.
Ah, hungry youth….
With that harsh and salty feeling, I took out the kimchi I had put in the refrigerator. This is kimchi in a pack bought at a convenience store.
“Please eat kimchi too.”
When I opened her carton and put it on a plate, the eyes of Yun Sia, who was eating with her face in the plate, sparkled.
“You… Were actually a good kid?”
Yun Sia muttered as if she was moved.
“How do you think you normally see me?”
She asked bluntly, but Yoon Si-ah did not pretend to hear me as she chewed cabbage kimchi.
“You’ll get paid for tutoring, but are you starving?”
I sat down in front of her again and asked.
“That’s because you’re a student and don’t know much. Being a member of society costs a lot of money.”
“A member of society is… A college student who just plays and eats.”
A college student discussing social life in front of me….
In response to my rebuttal, Yoon Sia put down her chopsticks and looked at me, perhaps to appease her hunger.
“Inho, college and high school are worlds apart.”
Don’t look so serious now.
“…….”
“What, what!”
Looking at her with that dumbfounded look on her face, she seems to be feeling a little embarrassed now.
“No, if you’ve finished eating, let’s go to class. I’ll take care of the trash, so please leave it on the table.”
20 Minutes have already passed. It’s okay to skip class like this, but in order to have a solid school life, you also have to study.
And to be honest, studying is a bit fun because I let go of the burden of the college entrance exam.
“You just sighed, right?”
As I climb the stairs, Yoon Shia follows behind me and argues with me.
“No~”
“Is this even a lie?”
Let’s go to class. Teacher.
***
Although she showed a lot of sloppy side, after starting her classes, Yoon Sia returned to her true self and taught her classes with enthusiasm.
I thought she only taught math, but I never thought she would teach everything except math.
“Because there is no time to read the entire passage, the most important thing in reading is to grasp the main points. In this case, the more background knowledge you have, the better.”
She seems to have good teaching skills.
“But since you have no background knowledge….”
It seems like your ability to deal with people is not very good.
The class proceeded in this way.
“Okay, there’s a little time left. Do you have any questions? Are you doing your math homework?”
In response to Yoon Sia’s question, I took out one of her notebooks from the bookshelf and handed it to her.
“Oh… You did it? Okay, it’s not important to guess a lot. If you do your homework consistently like this…”
She stiffens as she scans her notes.
Then slowly look at the contents of the note.
“Huh? Did you get everything right?”
She looked at me with an incredulous look on her face, and I shrugged my shoulders.
I am confident that the image of a student who changed his mind and devoted himself to studying in just two days will look quite cool.
“Did you see the answer sheet?”
Yoon Sia opened her eyes sullenly.
“……”
It seems that original sin does not disappear easily.
It took quite a while to convince her that I had done her homework myself.
***
“You don’t have to take me there.”
10 P.M. I was going down the hill with Yoon Sia.
“It takes a long time to walk. You might end up getting involved with bad kids… I’m scared of kids these days.”
The streets of wealthy villages were well-placed and bright with streetlights, but since there were few people, I thought it would be a bit burdensome to go down alone.
“…What are you going to say?”
I burst out laughing at Yoon Sia’s absurd voice.
Ah, I am that delinquent.
Backed by the chilly wind, Yoon Sia and I continued down the hill.
As we went down the hill, Yoon Sia and I had a trivial conversation.
It was not about math, Korean, or English, but the story of Yoon Sia and me.
It seems like she and I haven’t had any conversation since we started tutoring.
Yoon Sia asked me questions, and I also asked Yoon Shia questions.
When the convenience store came into view, Yoon Shia looked at me with her serious face.
“Inho.”
“Yes?”
“I’m a little surprised that you suddenly became so cooperative. It feels like you became a different person overnight.”
That is correct.
“Yes… Well…”
“I don’t understand my common sense, and there are many parts that I have doubts about… But can I assume that you have changed your mind?”
Her gaze was directed at me without any distortion.
I did not dismiss those straight eyes as a joke, and slowly nodded her head up and down.
“Okay. Thank you.”
As if she liked my answer, Yoon Sia grinned and tapped her shoulder with her palm.
“Thank you.”
“No, thank you very much. For changing the tutoring time and for participating so diligently in class… Everything.”
Looking back, Yoon Sia looked at the moon floating in the sky.
It was a face that was carrying a lot of things.
How do you know? I know this well because I had a face like that when I just joined the company.
“Are you having a hard time?”
I blurted out those words without realizing it.
Yun Sia’s feet stopped.
“Huh?”
Yun Sia pretended not to hear.
“It must be difficult.”
Now that I’ve said it, I decided not to get bitten.
“What’s so hard about me? I’m a college student who plays around and makes good money through tutoring.”
Yoon Shia waved her hand.
“You’re tutoring, you’re going to school, and I don’t know what else it is… But you’re also handling the burden of responsibility from your teachers. It’s a heavy burden for a college student.”
“…….”
Looking at Yoon Si-ah’s face becoming more serious, it seems like the story was too deep.
“Okay! We’re here. I’m going to buy some hot bars and go up.”
I clapped my hands to brighten up her mood, and then Yoon Si-ah followed behind me.
“Yes, I have to walk a little further to get to the bus stop…”
Just as I was about to split, with me heading towards the convenience store and Yoon Shia heading towards the bus stop, I heard someone calling me.
“Inho.”
When I turned my head towards the sound, I saw Shin Jeong-ah looking at me and Yoon Sia alternately.
“Who is the girl next to you?”
Shin Jeong-ah, carrying a heavy black plastic bag, came closer to me and asked.