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Gyeongseok didn’t expect for him to be called after school by his child’s homeroom teacher. It was only the second week of school; just what could Nayeon have possibly done? She was a sweet soul, was she not?
It was her first week of school, he told himself. She just wasn’t used to the new environment, he told himself. He’d stride into the classroom with confidence, talk to the teacher with confidence, and walk out with his kid, yet again with confidence.
But he had no confidence. It didn’t help that his kid’s teacher was the most beautiful woman he’d ever come across in his life.
Gyeongseok bounced his leg as he eyed the numbers on his watch gradually grow, his lip sore from being bitten. Finally, Nayeon’s homeroom teacher called Mr. Park from inside the classroom. He hopped onto his feet and sighed before entering, watching his child turn from facing the teacher’s desk.
“Dad!” The kindergartener yelled, rushing over to her father. He took her in his arms in one fell swoop and twirled her around with a smile, calling her name as she did his. He set her down to greet the teacher, but words piled at his throat. Fragments of words sizzled on his tongue as his eyes widened, gulping down the sudden rush of blood to his face.
Her shoulder-length bob neatly combed swept just over the neckline of her green sweater, bangs hovering just above her eyes subtly lined with eyeliner. Her lips smiled at his appearance, rosy petals shaped like cupid’s bow giving off the scent of summer rain. Gyeongseok could’ve observed every alluring detail of her Aphrodite-esc face all day if he hadn’t been reminded of his social anxiety.
“Ah, hello, Ms. Cho,” he managed to choke out after snapping out of their staring contest. He read the golden nameplate in front of stacks of papers and folders, some being graded sheets and some being kiddish drawings from her students. Her desk was neat yet showed character, especially with two familiar flags poking out of her cup of pens and pencils. Gyeongseok’s heart fluttered at recognizing the pink, blue, and white flag, failing at a battle between control over his lips with a smile.
“Hello, Mr. Park. I’m sorry to make you stay after school, but I need to discuss something with you about Nayeon.” Her gentle hand guided towards his child, who’d been clutching her father’s pant leg.
“Yes, of course—“ Gyeongseok nodded, eyes following her hand then landing upon her gaze, “I wonder since it’s only the first week, after all.” He nervously chuckled, mostly humorless, to lighten the atmosphere. She let one out as well, but her gaze remained stern yet assuring, fierce yet enchanting.
“Well, Nayeon has mentioned your… marital status to me numerous times, it’s all she talks about.” Gyeongseok’s face brightens.
“I— I don’t seem to, uh, understand. It’s not really a kid topic— I don’t talk about this with her…” Mrs. Cho nodded, but she pressed on.
“She has mentioned, ‘My dad is lonely. Can you be my new mom?’ during lessons more often than questions are answered.” Gyeongseok coughed out his nervousness, but it came back twice as quickly. He threw up his hands in defense and shook them with a flustered face.
“I’m— I don’t— I’m not—“ Ms. Cho laughed brightly, different to the one she’d chuckled before. It was airy, carefree— purely because she was amused. Her lips revealed her ivory crowns, the echoes of her chuckle keeping a place in Gyeongseok’s mind.
“It’s alright, Mr. Park. I’m sure you’ll find someone soon.” Gyeongseok gulped down his nerves and nodded with a soft sigh. He opened his mouth to say goodbye, but—
“Dad, but Ms. Cho is really pretty!” Gyeongseok hushed Nayeon by putting a finger over her lips.
“Later, honey,” he whispered nervously, “I’m still talking to your teacher.” Nayeon seemed uneager to help, but she closed her mouth. Gyeongseok sighed and stood back up, facing the beaming woman of beauty in front of him. It was a shame he couldn’t disagree.
“Sorry,” he murmured shyly, “as you may know by now, Nayeon has trouble with saying things at the wrong time…” The homeroom teacher chuckled again, now getting up from her seat with a pen and sticky note. She stood just at his height of six feet, at first shocking the man but settling him once again with the softness of her steps.
“But the things she says are right.” She stood a foot away from Gyeongseok, the sun glaring at his eyes as the golden rays blacked out her silhouette. She looked up from the note and handed it to the father, who curiously took it while watching her black almond nails return hovering over her lower abdomen. He eyed her for a quick moment before reading the swift strokes of ink of the colorful notepad.
Ms. Cho’s number
XX-XXXX
He looked up only to see she approached him, now standing half a foot away. He gulped as he lost himself in her gaze, dark-roast coffee enveloping him full. He clenched his free fist tight then relaxed it, fighting the urge to move it and somehow embarrass himself any more than Nayeon already has.
“To contact me,” Ms. Cho finally said, almost as if she snapped out of a reverie. Gyeongseok did the same, watching words sit in the creases of her lips. “If you have any questions or concerns about your child, of course.” The father nodded shyly again, a timid smile crossing his lips.
“Ah. So. Just for Nayeon.” He eyed his kid before facing her teacher once more, who seemed to have more to say. Her hands clenched her ballpoint pen tightly as she looked off to the side.
“Or just questions in general. If you want to meet me outside of a school setting.” Gyeongseok felt himself burn up as a numbing feeling shocked him head-to-toe. His breathing hitched as he watched her lips form a rosy smile, eyes continuing to observe his nervousness.
“I wish you a safe drive home,” she said in her calming voice unexpectedly, breaking both eye contact and proximity as she made her way back behind her desk. Gyeongseok stood frozen till he shook from his stance, facing the desk with a subtly agape mouth. She sighed through her nose with the same smile.
“Ah, yes,” he muttered as he tucked the note in his jean pocket. He picked up Nayeon and straddled her on his side. He timidly bowed and turned to the door. “Thank you, Ms. Cho—“
“Hyunju,” she interrupted. “Please, call me Hyunju.” He faced the teacher’s desk and nodded with his signature shy smile. “And good luck on finding a new mother for Nayeon. I think it’ll be easier with my help.” She winked with a teasing smile and bowed back, sitting back down to officially dismiss Gyeongseok. To that, he rushed out the door to the parking lot, the sharp air of winter pinching their cheeks.
Gyeongseok let out a heavy sigh as he finally entered the driver’s seat. “Dad, will Ms. Cho be my new mommy?” He turned to face his child buckled safely in her car seat. He dug out the note from his pocket and read the note once more, her name echoing in his mind like her airy laugh. He bit his lip as he thought of her gentle voice and her gazing eyes, her rose petal lips and her the scent of her hair reminiscent of rainfall during a summer afternoon. He rubbed his thumb over the neat yet swift pen strokes and held the orange slip to his chest, feeling his heart patter at a rate unusual to him after all this time.
Gyeongseok turned back to his kid with a soft smile. “I hope, Nayeon.”