Chapter : 41
“What is it?”
“Today’s reading passage. According to Plato, what people feel as beautiful could actually be an imperfect reflection.”
The last passage had been about Plato’s idea of true beauty and abstraction. It explained that the more you learn concrete details about something, the less ideally you can perceive it, and that beauty is merely an abstract concept.
Iseol gave an example, saying it was the same with feeling that your first love is beautiful.
“So… can you tell us about your first love, teacher?”
“I told you to study by yourselves, what first love?”
“Ah, but it’s related to the lesson! You said you don’t have a boyfriend now, but surely you had a first love. Was your first love also abstract?”
Iseol chuckled softly, as if to say there was no stopping them.
When teaching English, she tried to give as many examples as possible, turning lessons into stories.
Sometimes, even stories that seemed unrelated helped the students connect with the lesson.
This was especially true for passages like philosophy texts, where multiple interpretations were possible—those stories shone even brighter.
Naturally, Iseol thought of a boy she had liked in high school, and the students immediately noticed.
“Was he abstract?”
Even the students who had been bored thinking about self-study lit up at the words “first love” and listened intently.
“Or did he have concrete traits, like a handsome face, a nice scent, or a pleasant voice?”
Even the class president, whom they trusted, joined in with the questions.
Iseol looked at the students’ bright, eager eyes.
She cleared her throat, keeping her head down so that she wouldn’t meet Itaeshin’s gaze, who was surely watching her.
Then she slowly spoke.
“He was handsome, and his voice was nice. Honestly, much of my memory of him might be glorified. To me, he looked like a prince on a white horse.”
“Kyaa! A prince on a white horse!”
Giggling broke out here and there.
The attention on Iseol sparkled more than ever.
If only they were this focused during class, she thought, sighing inwardly.
“The shock I felt the first time I saw him is still vivid. He was tall, his skin was pale, and he looked as if he had stepped right out of a comic book.”
“Ooh! Handsome!”
“Of course he was.”
“Do you have a photo?”
Iseol shook her head.
“He would pass by my house every morning at the same time. I would leave the house at that time too. Sometimes he’d get ahead, sometimes I would. That’s how we went to school.”
As she spoke, memories she thought she had long forgotten started to return.
“He always listened to music on his earphones, and I was so curious about what he was listening to.”
When the wind blew, his hair would drift gently, and she would have the illusion that the music he was listening to reached her.
The classroom grew so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
“One day, after school, I was walking home when it suddenly started to rain. I didn’t have an umbrella.”
The students swallowed hard.
“I took shelter briefly under a building’s eaves, but it didn’t look like it would stop soon. So I decided to run through the rain, and then—suddenly, it stopped raining.”
“……?”
“When I looked up, a large umbrella was shielding me.”
“Was it him?”
“Wow, like a movie.”
“I feel like I’ve seen a scene like this somewhere before.”
“Please don’t tell me you made it up.”
Iseol smiled gently and continued.
“When I saw him, my heart felt like it stopped.”
Looking unconsciously toward the sky outside, which threatened more rain, Iseol met Taeshin’s gaze at the window.
His expression was unreadable, but his eyes were fixed directly on her.
Perhaps he thought these childish first-love stories were silly.
“As if we had silently agreed, we started walking together. Even in the rain, he smelled nice. Like the scent of trees in a forest, or the smell of wet grass on a rainy day.”
“Kyaa, the smell of wet grass! How romantic.”
“So, what happened? Did you start dating that day?”
“Why would first love be first love if it worked out? It’s called first love because it didn’t.”
“That doesn’t make sense! That’s ancient history!”
The students argued among themselves.
“We walked home together. I don’t even remember how we got there. We walked, and before I knew it, we were home. It felt like time was fast-forwarded. By the time we got home, one of his shoulders was wet from the rain.”
“Oh my. How considerate.”
“He stopped in front of my house. Later I found out he had deliberately taken a detour to pass by my house.”
“Kyaa!”
The students were too young to stop laughing even at leaves rolling on the ground.
“Even a third-rate romance novel wouldn’t be this creative.”
Kim Heerok, listening indifferently, poured cold water on the story.
Even as the students glared at him, he didn’t flinch, but noticing Taeshin’s gaze, he straightened and muttered defensively,
“No, I mean it’s interesting. Go on.”
Although Kim Heerok’s comment dampened the mood, the students begged Iseol to continue.
“The next morning, he was waiting in front of my house. Like we had planned, we went to school together. He even put one side of his earphones in my ear.”
“What music was it?”
“Classical.”
“Wow! Perfect.”
“Teacher, that’s not abstract at all—that’s extremely concrete!”
“Teacher, are you sure that was really your first love? It sounds like a novel!”
“Hey, there’s no way the teacher would lie. Just listen quietly.”
“Please hurry with the next part! Class is almost over.”
The students pointed at the wall clock impatiently.
But the bell rang.
“Curious about the next part?”
“Yes!”
“If you do well on your exams, I’ll come back with Part 2.”
Iseol smiled and packed her materials, and the students groaned.
“That’s not fair! We can’t sleep because we want to know what happened next!”
“Teacher! Why are you doing this to us? What did we do wrong?”
Their protests continued until she left the classroom.
“Just tell us what happened with him!”
“It’s cleaning time now! Please finish the story before you leave!”
“Teacher, come back, please!”
Iseol waved at the students and left, feeling a cold sweat.
She didn’t dare to look back at Taeshin’s expression.
It would be awkward if they asked who her first love was, but at the same time, she doubted they would.
That afternoon, rain poured down.
Director Jang made pancakes.
The savory smell of frying oil filled the health center.
Paired with makgeolli, the thinly fried zucchini pancakes were divine.
“This is really delicious.”
“On a rainy day, nothing beats pancakes. Take some to the house next door.”
Iseol looked down at the thin, golden pancakes, unsure.
Naturally, it was expected that she would deliver them.
But she didn’t want to go.
It was more accurate to say she didn’t want to face Taeshin.
“He might not even like pancakes, or he might already have some.”
“Sharing with your neighbor is the right thing to do. Go on, quickly.”
Reluctantly, Iseol carried the warm pancakes and stood in front of the neighboring house.
She hesitated several times, unsure whether to ring the doorbell.
She had been avoiding him for the past few days.
She wasn’t confident she could control the attraction she felt toward him.
Right. Just give it and come back.
There were things she still wanted to say.
She rang the doorbell, and the gate opened.
Crossing the yard and reaching the front door, Yushin greeted her.
The savory smell of frying oil had also spread into this house.
