31 Chapter 31 - With All His Heart 3 (2/2)

”Juho Woo.”

The teacher called for Juho. It was the very name Seo Kwang had been waiting for, and he prepared to clap for him.

”Follow me to the staffroom.”

”Yes, sir.”

Seo Kwang was confused. He needed somebody to explain the situation to him. He looked back at Juho, but he was simply smiling awkwardly.

Leaving his confused friend behind, Juho followed the teacher to the staffroom. There were teachers in charge of the first-years. Students who had business with their teachers were allowed to come in freely. There was a laughter. A teacher and students had to be sharing a joke.

It was quite different from where Juho was.

He observed the teacher's desk. There was a attendance book, and fittingly, a math textbook. Next to them was a pile of papers from the essay contest.

”Juho Woo.”

Juho turned his head at the teacher's voice. He saw his familiar face. He was the math teacher who was not into books. For that, Juho felt distant from him both in the past and present.

”Do you have something you want to say to the school?”

”No, sir.”

”Are you struggling with something?”

”No, sir.”

”Are you being bullied?”

”No.”

Although he knew that the teacher already knew the answers to his questions, Juho answered him sincerely - no. From the time Juho walked into the staffroom, the teacher had a dumbfounded look on his face.

At once, Juho set aside his anticipation. He must have gone too far, after all.

”Then what's this about?”

The teacher pulled out a page that Juho was well acquainted with. A crooked circle was surrounding the word 'plaster figure.' It was definitely his, and he answered as he saw it, ”It's my essay.”

”No, that's not what I asked. I'm talking about this. What's this?”

He asked pointing towards the middle of Juho's essay. Again, Juho answered as he saw it, ”That's what I wrote.”

”That's right. You wrote this. Just to make sure, nobody forced you to write this, right?”

”No, I wrote it.”

The teacher nodded. Then he read one of the sentences out loud. Perhaps he was conscious of his surroundings. His voice was just loud enough for Juho to hear.

”A pair of bonobos were having sex. They entwined their bodies for the sake of peace. Gender or numbers were not a priority...skipping over. I always watch them. The moment they reach the climax…”

What he read was the intro. It was the part where a bonobo in a zoo was narrating from the perspective of a plaster figure in front of its cage. In the places the teacher skipped over, there was a description of the intercourse in greater detail. Juho did wonder if he would be able to get away with what he wrote, but he had decided not to change it. He had made a promise with a friend after all.

”Artistic, isn't it?”

”Right. It's a shame that the school couldn't embrace your artistic value.”

He stood straight and asked a serious question. It seemed like he was finally about to get to the point, ”Do you watch a lot of porn?”

”I do enjoy watching 'Animal Kingdom' a lot.”

Bonobo. Primate pongid. Mammal. The protagonist definitely explained Juho's fondness towards the show. The teacher decided to watch the show himself after work.

”You're in the Literature Club, right? Mr. Moon was very satisfied with what you wrote.”

”That's a good news.”

'Good thing I'm not going to have to listen to him grumble,' he thought.

”I did enjoy reading your paper. I can tell that you're a good writer, but you won't get an award. You understand, right? We display winning essays in the hallway. Your paper is not suited for that, unfortunately. For kids your age, your paper does pack a punch both in terms of content and your skills.”

Juho nodded lightly.

During a brief pause, the sound of laughter came from behind him. It was an innocent laughter.

”Think about your grades too. You're an amazing writer, but why is it that your linguistics grade is suffering?”

”I think I did well, at least in my own way.”

”That's not enough.”

Compared to his grades in the past, Juho was doing much better. Yet, it must have not been enough to satisfy his homeroom teacher. Satisfying someone was a difficult task. After briefly asking how Juho was doing, the teacher let him go.

”Pass this out to the kids while you're at it.”

Of course, he didn't send him out empty handed. Juho left the staffroom with a pile of gray leaves of paper, and he let out a faint sigh.

'Now, the only person left is Seo Kwang. I better give him an explanation,' he thought.

<With All His Heart (3)> The End