Episode 7
“Ah, mackerel…”
Seeing the boneless mackerel on the tray, Jinhyeon muttered bitterly. Today’s kindergarten lunch menu was boneless mackerel. Usually emphasizing over and over that picky eating was bad, Jinhyeon now glared at the fish with an unusually awkward expression.
As she picked at the mackerel with her chopsticks, Jiwoo, one of the students, called out brightly:
“Teacher, you don’t eat fish!”
To be more precise, it wasn’t that she didn’t eat it—it was that she couldn’t. But the children would never take such nuances into account. Jinhyeon, lifting the corners of her trembling mouth into a faint smile, picked up a handful of the fish with her chopsticks.
“No, I like fish.”
Originally, Jin Jinhyeon’s favorite fish had been mackerel, but that had changed as of yesterday. She didn’t even want to look at fish, and mackerel, in particular, was the worst. Trembling, she forced herself to swallow the mackerel, repeating to herself:
This is a workplace. A job. A place that pays you to do things you don’t want to do.
The children, watching her closely, chattered again as they ate. Seeing this, Jinhyeon made a vow: she wouldn’t disturb this peace.
But ironically, that vow was broken a mere thirty minutes later.
Eventually, utterly nauseated, Jinhyeon sat on a bench in the kindergarten backyard, holding a digestive pill in one hand and patting her chest. Staring blankly at her own feet, yesterday’s events came back vividly. A slight pain had arisen when she wiggled her foot.
She hadn’t realized it while running, but now that she was home, her foot’s condition was terrible. There was a punctured wound in the center, as if she’d stepped on something, and she felt bitter as she disinfected it. Pouting her lower lip, Jinhyeon muttered:
“Honestly, you’re no help at all…”
The only consolation was that the misunderstanding had been cleared up. He wouldn’t mistakenly think she liked him anymore. Clutching the bottle of digestive pills tightly, Jinhyeon glanced at the clock and lay down fully on the bench.
Just five minutes, just five more minutes of rest.
There was no real problem; she had left the child with the teacher of the neighboring class. Squinting against the sunlight that pricked at her eyes, Jinhyeon closed them gently. Then it happened—a pitch-black darkness covered her vision.
Expecting rain, she opened her eyes to find Liam looking at her with a bewildered expression. Startled, Jinhyeon quickly sat up, and he gave a faint laugh, asking:
“You’ve got a talent for sneaking around… is sleeping outside your hobby too?”
“What do you mean?”
“You subtly went snooping into my secrets yesterday.”
“No! I only found out because I wanted to know?! I’m someone who wants to turn back time too!”
When she voiced her indignation, Liam nodded disinterestedly and sat at her feet. He was holding a first aid kit. Before she could even figure out what he was planning, her shoes were pulled off by his hand.
“What?! Don’t!”
“You’ve been limping all day. I’ll take a look at the wound.”
“Step back!”
His firm hand grabbed her tiny foot, and despite Jinhyeon struggling, he didn’t budge. Hitting his shoulder with her fists, she shouted desperately:
“My foot… it stinks…!”
Liam casually lifted his head as if it were no big deal. Unfortunately for Jinhyeon, it was a big deal. After running around taking care of the children all day, she couldn’t guarantee her foot didn’t smell. Bowing her head, she shivered with embarrassment.
Watching her closely, Liam brought her instep to near his cheek. Before she could react, he buried his nose against it and murmured:
“No smell.”
“……”
“Only a pleasant scent, so stop worrying.”
He then pulled off her socks as well, looking at the haphazardly applied bandages with disdain.
“You call this treatment?”
“…I did my best.”
“Best of the worst.”
Liam laughed low and began disinfecting skillfully. The sharp pain made Jinhyeon clench her fingers. Glancing at her, he said:
“I’ll be quick. Just a little more patience.”
Looking down at him, she thought for a moment and asked:
“You’re not planning to hide anything from me anymore?”
“Like what?”
“You use Korean fluently.”
Furrowing his brows faintly at her remark, Liam lifted his head and replied:
“There’s no reason to make things uncomfortable for either of us.”
Wrapping a bandage over the wound, he muttered quietly:
“I know you, Jin Jinhyeon, have a phobia of English. No reason to make someone uncomfortable now that it’s out.”
This is insane. Irritated all at once, Jinhyeon clenched her fists tightly and hit his shoulder. Liam, unmoved, looked at her ankle with a nonchalant expression.
“You know to be careful not to get water in it, right?”
“You know how unlucky you are, right?”
“Of course I know.”
His slight smirk was frustratingly handsome, and Jinhyeon’s cheeks flared bright red. Lowering her head, Liam teased:
“Do you turn redder when you see handsome people?”
Leaning his chin on her knees, he laughed. She should push him away, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She felt as if touching him would make her explode.
Clutching her hands tightly, she squeezed her eyes shut, but Liam didn’t stop. He slowly ran his hand down her calf.
“Jinhyeon, you’re completely red.”
This crazy, crazy bastard…!
Jinhyeon’s most hated nickname was “carrot,” a name she had been teased with since childhood for her easily flushed cheeks.
Unable to bear it, she raised her foot to nudge him off her chest. At that moment, there was a sound of movement at the yard entrance.
Not heavily pushed, but Liam, looking toward the sound, fell backward from the nudge. Jinhyeon’s face was burning red. Standing in the backyard was Somi, the homeroom teacher of the neighboring class.
She had come looking for Jinhyeon, who had said she’d step out briefly but hadn’t returned. Seeing the scene, Somi’s expression filled with confusion. Liam sprawled on the ground, Jinhyeon’s face red as fire. Very suspicious.
Holding the yard door, Somi hesitantly asked:
“You two… what are you doing here?”
Before Liam could answer, Jinhyeon quickly interjected. She couldn’t let him speak now, or Somi would find out he knew Korean.
“I got a bit hurt! Liam was helping me!”
“Oh my, teacher, you’re hurt?”
Somi approached quickly, looking at Jinhyeon’s foot. Seizing the moment, Jinhyeon silently mouthed to Liam:
‘Be careful.’
Realizing her warning, Liam subtly nodded. Seeing her foot wrapped in bandages, Somi quietly asked:
“Why is your face so red? Is something wrong?”
Somi was aware of Jinhyeon’s blush, but her face was more flushed than usual—suspiciously so. This time, it was Jinhyeon who stayed silent.
Raising her index finger a few times, she lowered her head. She couldn’t think of an excuse; Liam’s reckless actions had left her speechless.
Frowning, Somi asked Liam in English:
“Do you know what you’re doing?”
Liam returned to his usual indifferent expression, standing up as he replied:
[Yes, I know.]
Perfectly well.
Jinhyeon looked up at him expectantly, but in an instant, she saw the corner of his mouth twist oddly, and a sense of foreboding came over her.
Her intuition proved correct. With a smirk, Liam made his next move:
[Jinhyeon, you like me.]
Jinhyeon’s mouth dropped open, and Somi’s did too. Liam left the yard, continuing:
[You’ve become embarrassed because I helped you a little.]
Only now did Jinhyeon realize that this bastard never repays kindness.
