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EP.46: A Teacher Suspiciously Popular
"... Hello. This is the first time we're greeting each other privately, right?"
In the awkward counseling room.
Ryu Ji-hye greeted me with a modest gesture.
She smiled shyly while tucking her hair behind her ear.
However, undisguisable curiosity sparkled in her eyes.
I tried to receive her greeting as awkwardly as possible.
Of course, my internal sense of intimacy had already reached almost maximum.
If I showed it, Ji-hye would surely find it suspicious.
"... Haha. I suppose so. Was Min-gyu in the Rose class?"
"Yes, yes. He's in the Rose class."
"... Hmm. I'm in charge of the Sun class so I don't know well. But Min-gyu seems very smart and handsome like his mother. You must never stop smiling just looking at your son. Haha."
It was typical teacher flattery, but Ji-hye seemed to quite like it.
She smiled prettily with an eye-smile.
It had a different charm from the seductive eye-smile I saw in the dream.
"Thank you. Our Min-gyu is quite handsome. I'm worried he'll break some hearts when he's older."
Ji-hye made light jokes to create a warm atmosphere.
She glanced at me cautiously before carefully moving on to the main point.
"Oh, by the way. I'm sorry for coming so suddenly. You must have been surprised that I came even though Min-gyu isn't in your class?"
"Huh? Oh... Well. I was a bit surprised. Honestly, I was nervous thinking I might have done something wrong. Usually parents call because of complaints."
"Huhu. Don't worry. It's not like that. I just had something simple I wanted to ask."
"Phew. I see. I was sweating for nothing. Haha. Then please ask comfortably. What did you want to know?"
At that, Ji-hye shyly blushed and asked while twirling the ends of her hair.
She couldn't even meet my gaze properly, looking just like a girl in love.
"Well... I heard something... That you give separate French lessons outside of regular classes... Is that true?"
"Ah. Is that why you came? Well, that's right. Currently Gyu-tae and Ria from the Sun class are taking lessons. Of course it's not part of the regular curriculum. As you said, it's a separate supplementary class concept."
Ji-hye's eyes sparkled as she came closer at those words.
She stared at me with heated eyes as if she would devour me.
Then she spoke with a desperate voice.
"Maybe... Could parents take those lessons too? It's a bit of a silly request. But I'm very interested in French too. I really want to learn it once."
"What? Uh, um. So... Not Min-gyu. You want to take the lessons yourself?"
I asked her with wide eyes.
I could guess her intentions well enough, but I never thought she'd approach so directly.
Coming to the staff room early in the morning too.
She seemed surprisingly direct when it came to emotions.
Ji-hye smiled awkwardly at my embarrassed reaction.
She cutely scratched her head and prodded again.
"... W-will it not work? I wanted to learn from someone I know if possible. Ah! Of course I don't mean for free. I can compensate you sufficiently. Just teach me comfortably when you have time. The lessons could be short, about an hour?"
"Hmm. That would be fine, but. I'm a bit worried it might look like I'm working two jobs."
"... Come on. It's just tutoring a bit after work, what's wrong with that? If you're really worried, I'll keep it completely secret. You need pocket money besides your salary, right? I'll compensate you better than the industry average. Really."
She subtly stroked the back of my hand.
It was brief but quite meaningful skinship.
When I pulled my hand back in surprise, she smiled as if finding me cute.
"Is it difficult to decide right now?"
"Well. I suppose so. And even if we do it, you must keep it absolutely secret. If rumors spread, it could become a real headache. In the worst case, I could even get fired."
As I cautiously brought it up, pretending to be anxious, she reached out again and gently wrapped her hand around mine.
She stroked the back of my hand softly and nodded as if telling me to trust only her.
"Don't worry. At least it won't leak from my mouth. And I'll compensate you enough for that risk. I'm sure you'll be satisfied too."
I thought she would seduce me with her looks or skinship.
Unexpectedly, she tried to recruit me by offering a bundle of money.
To be honest, I didn't dislike it.
No matter how successful a private kindergarten teacher I was.
It still wasn't enough money to live luxuriously.
I couldn't help but be tempted when she offered money for just an hour lesson.
Perhaps she read my expression.
Ji-hye smiled seductively and held up three fingers.
"300,000 won per lesson. And I can provide dinner too if you want. The location would be my house. The number of lessons is up to you. How about it? Isn't that quite good?"
I couldn't help but gape at the conditions she offered.
Even tutors from top universities have a hard time charging over 50,000 won per hour.
She'd give me 300,000 won each time?
I asked her again in shock.
I had hoped she'd compensate me well, but.
I never imagined she'd offer such an extreme condition.
It went beyond just compensating me.
"... W-will that be okay? I'd be so grateful and do my best if you compensate me that much. But it seems like quite a burden for you."
Ji-hye grinned at that question.
She waved her finger lightly and answered with a relaxed face.
"Well, it's a bit embarrassing to say this myself. But my parents are quite well-off. They run an investment company in the U.S. Called Jude Investments. You think I became a golf player because of some talent? It's all thanks to my wealthy parents."
In other words, don't worry because money is overflowing.
Come to think of it, I think I've seen it somewhere.
A photo of Ji-hye enjoying a yacht party for a family gathering.
Back then I vaguely thought she was from a rich family.
I never imagined she was an overseas diamond spoon.
Why would a woman like that meet a bastard like Jang Do-cheol?
I had some doubts, but I brushed it off as just another chaebol family's untold story and erased it from my mind.
What's important now wasn't past mistakes.
"... I'll do it. Ma'am. I'll teach you with all my sincerity. Thank you so much for this great opportunity."
300,000 won per session was an amount hard to get even if a native French person came to tutor.
She probably deliberately offered an amount I absolutely couldn't refuse.
I could feel her firm determination to somehow get her hands on me.
"Huhu. I knew you'd accept. It would be hard to find better conditions than this."
"But... Why such good conditions for me? I'm just a kindergarten teacher."
When I asked that, Ji-hye flinched in surprise before laughing exaggeratedly.
She slapped my shoulder and answered coquettishly.
"Come on. You're an excellent teacher. I heard you lived in Canada when you were young. And I trust you. I'm somewhat of a celebrity, so it's a bit burdensome to call just anyone. Even if I spend some money, I want to learn from a skilled and trustworthy teacher."
"Oh wow. You're overvaluing me so much, I don't know what to do. I'll really do my best. Ma'am. Please trust me and leave it to me."
Whatever her true intentions, I had my own sense of professionalism too.
I couldn't half-ass it when she's treating me with such good conditions.
Whether it's the lessons.
Or other services.
I planned to fulfill her requests as much as possible.
At least so that the money she gave me wouldn't be wasted.
As I stood up and bowed my head, she extended her hand for a handshake with satisfaction.
When I grasped her elegantly outstretched hand, her eyes curved like pretty crescent moons.
It really was an attractive eye-smile no matter when I saw it.
And today it was especially attractive.
After finishing that unexpected tutoring contract.
I was back in the staff room doing work.
Teacher Joo sidled up next to me and poked my side.
She looked around cautiously and asked in a very secretive voice.
"Teacher Kang. What did you talk about?"
I deliberately smiled widely and answered nonchalantly.
"Who knows? Parent counseling is confidential."
At that, Teacher Joo raised her eyebrows and bit her lip.
She seemed to be trying to look threatening, but it was just cute.
"Tsk. Are you going to be like this between us? I really won't spread rumors. Can't you just tell me?"
"Oh my. I'm telling you it's content I really can't share. And it's not what you're imagining, Teacher Joo."
"Really? Really really? It didn't seem that way though?"
"Sigh. I'm telling you it's really not like that."
"Tch. Who are you taking for a fool. You can't deceive a woman's eyes. From what I saw, Min-gyu's mother seems to like you. Come to think of it, she's divorced now too. Isn't that why she's showing interest?"
I was secretly impressed by Teacher Joo's sharp intuition.
With Han-gyeoul there were so many signals that you'd be a fool not to notice.
But to catch that subtle atmosphere just from me going to the counseling room once with Ji-hye.
Of course, I wasn't foolish enough to show it.
I shrugged my shoulders and avoided her interrogation.
"Who knows. The counseling wasn't about that content. This is true."
"The content wasn't? Then what about the atmosphere? Exchanging lovey-dovey glances. Secretly enjoying that tension. Wasn't it like that? Hm?"
Teacher Joo smiled mischievously and poked my side repeatedly.
I sighed as if giving up and denied it to the end.
"Sigh. Think whatever you want. I don't know either."
Even with my acting, Teacher Joo didn't leave my side, smiling as if she'd found something.
She didn't forget to tease me either.
"Hehehe. Our Teacher Kang. You're so popular with married women? How do you only seduce such pretty married ladies? Do you have some secret? Maybe you have an unexpectedly fatal charm?"
"Phew. You'll get hurt if you know. Innocent people like you don't need to know such things. I doubt you've even dated properly."
"W-what? I'm so popular! Are you kidding me? I received over 20 confessions just in college!"
"Yes, yes. I'm sure you did. Must be nice being so popular."
She blushed at my counterattack and started pinching my arm furiously.
Fortunately, she didn't pry any further about Ji-hye.
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