Chapter 3 (1/2)

Chapter 3

In the blink of an eye, the sun changed as she was wrestling with the kids who didn’t listen to their teachers at a small tutoring academy.

Jaeha tried and tried, but like a bird slowly sinking into a swamp, she could hardly escape from her miserable and poor life.

After building her career by working hard for a year at the tutoring academy with poor conditions, she moved to another academy—an academy run by a female director in her late fifties.

It was unusual from the words the director with a strict impression uttered during the interview.

“I am a person who values ​​talent as well as personality. Even when new people come in, I want to maintain the current family atmosphere.”

Director Yeo took it as natural that she arrived 30 minutes early and left the office thirty minutes late from the stated working hours. Was that all?

“Of course, you should do 1-2 hours of supplementary classes on weekends during the children’s exam period.”

“Well, then, how is the supplementary class time reflected in my salary?”

“Teacher Yoon. If the grades are good because of the supplementary classes for the kids, isn’t it good for the kids, the teacher, and me as well? At the most, you only have 1-2 hours of classes on the weekends… Even now, I think that I am giving it well for Teacher Yoon’s age and career.”

A 1-2 hour class at most…? Does she have to teach differently for each grade and school?

As the exam period for middle and high school students approached, they had to conduct free supplementary classes for more than eight hours on weekends, as if volunteering. Besides, because she was teaching Korean, Jaeha had to take care of all the writing assignments for the director’s middle school daughter.

Due to the severe exploitation of labor outside of working hours, daily life and work were not separated at all.

In the end, after one semester, she quit the academy and looked for a new academy.

The third academy she found was run by a male director in his late 30s. It was about twice the size of the academy where she first worked, although the salary increased slightly and the working hours decreased slightly.

Since it was a well-established place, so it won’t be run like a fist-fighting place with a family-like atmosphere.

Even thinking that she was lucky to be able to find a better place for a while, Jaeha suffered from the stalking of the director.

She thought it was an illusion at first. However, useless contacts continued, and the director continued to ask for a meeting outside of working hours, saying that he would treat her to a meal.

Even though Jaeha thought it was dangerous, but since he showed restraint in front of other teachers, she let her guard down that it would be all right if she didn’t give him a chance.

It was a mistake.

In mid-October, after middle school and high school students’ midterm exams, a group dinner was held. The grades of the students generally improved, so it was a place for the director to treat Korean beef.

Jaeha tried to refrain from drinking, but she had no choice but to drink a glass a few times because her fellow teachers, including the director, consistently recommended it.

‘It’s been a while since I drank. I don’t think I drank much, but I’m getting drunk quickly…’

Jaeha, thinking that she could not enter the house on her own feet, greeted the director and teachers and got up from the dinner party.

Then, the director followed immediately.

“Teacher Yoon, you seem to be very drunk.”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I can get there quickly by taking the subway.”

“Don’t do that, take a taxi. I will take you.”

Normally, she would have refused like a knife. But now, Jaeha’s condition was not very good. Her head was dizzy, and her legs were like jelly.

After she hesitated for a moment, she nodded her head and the director quickly caught a taxi. In the taxi, she fell asleep without realizing it.

“Teacher Yoon, you have to get off.”

It seemed like someone was saying something, though it didn’t really touch her confused mind.

Someone helped Jaeha to get out of the taxi. Relying on someone else, Jaeha took a few steps while staggering and was moved somewhere and laid down on the blanket. The moment her remaining consciousness was about to be consumed by drowsiness, she felt a cool snake crawling through her skin.

As Jaeha forced her heavy eyelids up, her eyes met the director who was groping her.

“Kyaaaak!”

Jaeha’s scream didn’t last long. Because the director’s large hand quickly kept her mouth shut. The director covered her mouth with one hand and rummaged through his pockets with the other.

He seemed to be looking for something like a handkerchief. The woman he thought would never wake up, came to her senses, and he looked quite bewildered.

If not now, she won’t be able to run away from the man in front of her. Her body was powerless as she could not completely shake off the drunkenness.

However, Jaeha gathered her strength with the determination that she would die or she would collapse.

Her struggling feet luckily hit the director’s crotch.

“Ugh, sh*t!”

The director, who could not overcome the pain, bent over without realizing it and opened a gap.

The jacket and shoes didn’t catch her eye. Jaeha, dressed in disheveled clothes, hurried out of the motel room like a rabbit whose tail was on fire.

The director was quite meticulous. This was an unmanned motel. So, even after she came down to the first-floor lobby, she was not relieved. She then went out into the street with only her socks on.

Dirty and cold floors were no problem since the most important thing was to get out of the motel, no, the director’s view.

‘Where the hell is this place?’

Jaeha, who had been navigating the remote alley, where only the streetlights were sparsely lined, like a crazy woman, felt pain in her feet and stopped. There was a piece of shattered glass in the place where she stepped.

The blood from her wounds began to stain her socks red.

In addition to her feet, did the cold wind that blew across hurt her eyes, too? Her eyes were tingling. Her vision kept getting blurry because of the tears that were soaring.

“You have to come to your senses…”

Biting her lip, she wiped her tears with her sleeve and moved her steps again. Perhaps, the God of misfortune, who had been hovering around her, had flipped for a while, and with the help of a middle-aged couple, she was able to catch a taxi and get home.

Locking the front door, and Jaeha piled up heavy items such as chairs and fire extinguishers in front of the door. She knew it’s meaningless. Still, if she doesn’t do this, it’s difficult to shake the anxiety a little bit.