Chapter Text
Cherry blossom petals swirled through the air like snowflakes as the pale, pink blossoms that adorned the row of trees formed a dream-like canopy above. Pairs of young lovers dotted the picturesque scene, gazing into each others’ eyes as they smiled and chatted and walked hand in hand.
As for Sigma—he cast a disdainful eye at the lively buzz around him as he leaned against the massive trunk of a tree located in a relatively unoccupied corner. A couple of girls giggled and stared at his face when they walked by, but perhaps sensing his foul mood, none of them tried to approach today. Pity. It would have helped kill some time to see how fast he could make one of them cry.
Impatiently, he checked his phone again. Three minutes past ten… The mysterious person he was waiting for was now officially late. This stranger had some nerve, making Sigma wait when they were the one who’d requested that he show up early. Well, technically, it was Sigma’s uncle who’d impressed upon him that he should be right on time and remain polite—but Sigma decided to blame it on the mystery person anyways. In fact, he’d almost considered not showing up at all, but he couldn’t deny that he’d been curious about what kind of person his uncle had been convinced would be capable of handling his… “little behavioral problems,” as his uncle had once called them.
Though, it seemed like they’d been scared off in the end. How boring.
Sigma checked his phone again. At ten past, he would simply leave, he decided. His reputation as a troublemaker was well-known not just at his current school, but probably all throughout the city. Although his uncle had thrown massive amounts of money at various schools to keep him enrolled, this mystery tutor of his would undoubtedly have heard the rumors about him with just a little asking around. No matter how much his uncle was willing to pay, few people would be willing to risk the danger to their reputation. Sigma had no intention of waiting for someone who would never show up.
Just when he settled back against his tree to wait out the remaining few minutes, though, there was a sudden rustle from the trees. Frowning, he looked up in time to hear a loud crack as a relatively thick branch appeared to snap in two. A shower of petals blinded him momentarily, and there was a dark blur in the air as something fell from the branches above. Instinctively, Sigma reached out to catch it, and what landed in his arms was—
An angel.
No, no, what the hell was that thought? Mentally, Sigma slapped himself, but it was true that the young man who’d fallen into his arms had a cute, almost cherubic face and delicate features. The young man was also cradling a tiny, orange kitten in his arms, the weak little thing shivering in terror. There were scratches on his face and hands and tears on his clothing that indicated that the creature had probably put up quite the struggle, but even while falling, he’d kept it tucked safely in his arms and curled his body around it. His eyes were scrunched shut, probably bracing himself for impact, but after a few moments passed, he cracked one eye open gingerly.
“Oh,” he said, a little sheepishly. “Hello. Thank you for catching me.” When the young man opened his eyes fully, though, a look of astonishment crossed his face. Sigma was used to that. Most Koreans were surprised when they first took in his foreign-looking—and admittedly, very attractive—features. “Huh… You must be Sigma, right?”
This time, it was Sigma’s turn to blink in surprise. “You know me?”
“Well, of course.”
The young man paused, and Sigma waited for him to continue, only realizing belatedly why he’d stopped talking when he cleared his throat and wriggled a little, trying to sit up. Not too enthusiastically, Sigma put him back down onto the ground. The young man dusted himself off with one hand, the other still holding the orange kitten. Once he was satisfied with his appearance, he held out his free hand to Sigma.
“It’s nice to meet you, Sigma,” he said with a warm, dazzling smile. “I’ll be your tutor from now on. My name is Han Yoojin.”
This whole debacle had started roughly two months ago. Well, more precisely, this specific debacle had begun two months ago, although Sigma couldn’t remember a moment of true peace ever existing between him and his uncle.
“Why is it,” his uncle drawled over the phone, “that I’ve been informed that my nephew is in danger of failing half his classes?”
“Why is it,” Sigma mimicked in the same tone, “that my uncle thinks I still need to take high school classes in this damned country when I have advanced degrees from three prestigious overseas universities?”
His uncle sighed. “Because your late parents expressed a wish that you grow up in an environment with peers your age, and as I am your legal guardian, you are subject to my decision to honor that promise until you reach the age of adulthood at nineteen.”
“So, in other words, because you told me so?” Sigma asked snidely.
“Yes,” his uncle answered in a mild voice. “Because I told you so.”
Sigma scoffed, loudly. “You always act like you’re the pinnacle of reason, but when it comes down to it, aren’t you just a tyrant? What happened to being patient and understanding when raising a kid?”
“I have more interesting things to do than debate the guiding principles of child-rearing with my nephew.” As always, his uncle’s voice was absolutely unbothered, like nothing in the world could faze him. “Either pass your classes or face the consequences.”
“And what consequences are those?” Sigma challenged.
Instead of a response, though, there was a brief pause, and then a sigh. Several moments passed, but still, the expected answer didn’t come. Instead, he heard the low, distant sound of muffled conversation, like two voices speaking quickly just outside the range of the speaker. What the hell? Had his uncle really interrupted a conversation with him just to talk to some random stranger?
“Well?” Sigma pressed. “If you won’t respond, I’ll simply assume that there are no consequences.”
This time, finally, he got a response. “If you don’t pass your classes,” his uncle said slowly, “I’ll be forced to assign you a tutor.”
Was it his imagination, or had his uncle sounded almost… reluctant?
Of course, even as the end of the school term had rolled around, Sigma still hadn’t felt any urge to mend his ways. It wasn’t like his uncle could threaten to pull his living expenses, since he had his own personal streams of income. And it wasn’t like they spent much time around each other, either—he had moved out of his uncle’s mansion several years ago at practically the first chance he’d gotten. The less he saw his uncle’s sickeningly familiar face, the better.
He’d almost expected a disappointed phone call about his grades, but as usual, his uncle didn’t even bother chastising him. All he got was a text that was concise to the point of being insulting:
10:00am, next Saturday, Yeouido Park. Be polite, don’t be late.
Sigma had almost laughed out loud.
So, his uncle had decided to follow through on his threat of assigning him a tutor? Though, rather than a tutor, he must be hoping he’d found some kind of miracle worker, if he was trying to get a few after-school sessions with a stranger to reform Sigma when several districts’ worth of public and private schools had failed at the task.
Whatever. There was only one mind-numbingly dull year of high school left to suffer through, anyways. After that, he would be able to set out on his own and enjoy the taste of freedom, such as—
… Such as what, exactly? There was nothing that freedom could give him that he didn’t already have, except for perhaps the ability to finally escape the tedium of high school. He had no lofty goals, no far-reaching aspirations. In all honesty, more hours with just his own thoughts for company sounded more like a curse than a blessing.
Sigma stared at the single, cold line of text on his phone for a while until the screen of the phone turned off automatically, the dark glass left to reflect only his own blank face. Feeling a sudden wave of disgust, he threw the phone onto his bed and sat down.
Fine, then. He would see just what kind of “miracle worker” had been assigned to his poor, hopeless case. An award-winning psychologist with all kinds of degrees and papers related to “helping” troubled teens, perhaps? Or maybe an old veteran governess, the kind who was famous in wealthy circles for reforming wayward prodigal sons. One thing was for sure, though—it would be an interesting change of pace to see how long it would take them to break.
Sigma had not expected his new tutor to be so young, though. The young man looked older than Sigma, at least, but probably not much older than his early or mid twenties. Sigma had also not expected his new tutor to be so…
Well, he certainly hadn’t expected his new tutor to fall out of a tree in a swirl of cherry blossoms while clutching a tiny kitten, that was for sure.
“Han Yoojin,” Sigma repeated, slowly taking the offered hand. Instead of shaking it, though, he simply clasped it, drinking in the young man’s face.
“That’s seonsaengnim to you,” Han Yoojin scolded. Probably seeing that Sigma showed no intention of proceeding with the greeting, he took it upon himself to give their joined hands a firm shake. When he tried to pull his hand back, though, Sigma kept a tight grip on it, refusing to release him.
“Come on,” Sigma purred, leaning in to close the distance between their faces. Even though his tutor was older, he was at least half a head shorter. “Aren’t we close enough in age? Let’s not put so much distance between us and drop the formalities. What do you think?” He deliberately lowered his voice to the kind of soft murmur that was especially effective at creating an intimate mood.
Predictably, Han Yoojin blinked, then smiled with affection—a warm, brilliant smile that emphasized the roundness of his cheeks. In the morning sun, tinted with cherry blossom pink, it looked especially gentle, and even his eyes seemed to gleam a little with reflected light. Sigma was about to curve his lips in triumph when—
“No,” Han Yoojin said sternly.
Sigma’s own smile died on his lips. “What?” He asked, almost doubting his ears.
“Sigma-ya, that’s no good,” Han Yoojin repeated, not a trace of hesitation in his voice. “You’re eighteen, aren’t you? I’m seven years older than you, so you should consider me your elder. And in this case, I’m your teacher, so you should address me as such.” In his surprise, Sigma had accidentally let go, and Han Yoojin reached up now with the newly freed hand to pat his head. “I know it may seem silly to you since you’ve always been so independent, and you’ve spent so much time abroad, but treating others with the proper respect is a way of showing your consideration, okay?”
The pat to his head was light and fleeting—gone almost as soon as it happened. The words that accompanied it were nonsense, but… Sigma’s own hand rose to touch his hair where Han Yoojin’s hand had been. Even though it was the same weight, it didn’t feel the same.
“Seven years isn’t that much,” Sigma said unhappily. “I’d rather call you by your name.”
“You can’t,” Han Yoojin said firmly.
Sigma narrowed his eyes. “And if I do anyways, then what?”
“Then…” Han Yoojin lowered his gaze, an exaggerated look of sadness falling over his face. It was obviously fake, but, why did it make him look more like a kicked animal than the literal kitten in his arms? “I’d be very disappointed.”
And who would care about that?
Sigma ground his teeth. “… It’s nice to meet you, seonsaengnim,” he said, in a very, very reluctant voice.
In response, a pleased smile once more graced Han Yoojin’s face, and he patted Sigma’s cheek lightly. It should have been an insulting, even infantilizing gesture, but for some reason, Sigma couldn’t find it in him to feel upset at all.
“Very good,” Han Yoojin praised. “You’re actually a very considerate kid, aren’t you?”
No one had ever said the words “Sigma” and “considerate” together in the same breath before. If he’d heard it from anyone else’s lips, Sigma would have laughed.
“… I’m not a kid,” he grumbled.
Han Yoojin only smiled indulgently at him. “Of course, you’re very mature and understanding,” he assured, in the kind of tone that one would only use to coax a kid. “But, anyways… today is supposed to be our first lesson, but I have to apologize.” He looked down with embarrassment at the kitten in his arms. “I’d meant to be early for our meeting, but then I saw this little guy stuck up there, so I ended up trying to get him down. It doesn’t look like he’s hurt, but he’s probably hungry and scared, and I don’t have anyone close by to hand him off to.”
“What, so you’re just leaving?” Sigma asked with displeasure. “You were the one who made me come out here, and you were the one spouting nonsense about respect, so what kind of attitude is that?”
Han Yoojin looked at him with surprise, though the expression quickly morphed into one of laughter. “Your uncle told me that you were unhappy about getting a tutor, but why does it sound like you were actually looking forward to the lessons?” He teased.
Sigma felt his face grow a little hot, and the corners of his mouth pulled down. “It’s a matter of work ethic,” he said, sticking his chin up. “My uncle must be offering you some damn good money, right? Then act like a professional and earn your pay.”
For some reason, the smile on Han Yoojin’s face softened at that, and he looked off into the distance, his voice taking on a dreamy, faraway cast. “You’re right,” he agreed. “For all of his other faults, your uncle does know how to pay well.” When his eyes drifted back to Sigma again, there was a bit of a mischievous sparkle in them. “How about this? Let’s do today’s lesson at my place instead of yours. For the topic, hmm… ‘how to take care of a kitten’? Of course, if the subject is too easy for our bright, young Sigma, we can reschedule.”
“Hmph.” Sigma crossed his arms. “… I suppose it’s an area I don’t have practical experience in, at least.”
“Let’s do that, then.” As he spoke, Han Yoojin adjusted his hold on the kitten in his arms. It must have sensed that it was safe because even after the earlier fall, it was curled up quietly in Han Yoojin’s arms, only poking its head out to let out the occasional mewl. As it nuzzled its wet nose against Han Yoojin’s arm, he looked down with concern and let out a worried sigh. “I hope the subway doesn’t upset this little guy too much.”
It was a beautiful Saturday morning in spring while the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. It went without saying that the subways would be packed.
For some reason, Sigma found himself opening his mouth to speak, almost as if hypnotized. “I have a car,” something possessed him to say. “I could drive us all there.”
Immediately, Han Yoojin’s expression brightened. “Would you?” He asked with a bit of embarrassment. ”I’m sorry. You’re supposed to be my student, but I’m already imposing on you so much.”
“It’s fine,” Sigma heard the spirit who’d possessed his body say stiffly. “It’s nothing difficult.”
Despite his bashful apologies and expressions of guilt, Han Yoojin apparently didn’t feel apologetic enough to stop himself from pestering Sigma into stopping at three separate pet stores between Yeouido Park and his apartment. Each time, Sigma half-considered simply driving off on his own, but each time, something stopped him.
It wasn’t really like he had anything more pressing to do, anyways. If he went back home, he’d just be relegated to passing his time with something dull and inconsequential again, like fine-tuning liquid-propulsion engine schematics or analyzing cancer cell gene sequences.
“I’m back!”
Han Yoojin was huffing a little as he jogged back holding an armful of colorful packaging. Because of the difficulty of parking, he’d gone into the store by himself, and Sigma stopped the car now to let him load the trunk. It was a good thing he’d left the house with an empty car, seeing as the trunk was now filled to the brim—with an eclectic assortment of cat toys, treats, food, litter, bedding, and furniture. Looking at the trunk, someone would have thought they were bringing back some rare, expensive cat breed, not some random stray from a tree.
“Thank you. You’ve really saved me,” Han Yoojin repeated again as he climbed into the passenger seat. “If I had to wait for the stores to deliver, who knows how long this little guy would have been uncomfortable? And tonight, I still have to make dinner for Yoohyun-ie, too—”
Screech.
The car came to an abrupt stop, and both of their bodies collided roughly against the backs of their seats.
“Who?” Sigma asked, his voice tight.
At the question, Han Yoojin’s entire face lit up. “Yoohyun-ie, my little brother—he’s the cutest, sweetest kid you’ll ever meet!”
“Huh.” Sigma’s shoulders relaxed a little. “You have a brother?”
“That’s right! He’s smart and thoughtful. He remembers to get me a birthday present every year, and he’s always at the top of his class, you know. He’s so adorable, too, always following me around and saying, ‘hyung, hyung.’”
This brat sounded obnoxious. Sigma hoped that they wouldn’t be crossing paths anytime soon. He detested little kids.
“Actually, he’s the reason why I live in this area,” Han Yoojin continued, oblivious to Sigma’s thoughts. “It’s to make the commute easier, since he goes to Seoul National University—oh, did I tell you? Yoohyun-ie is studying to become a doctor!”
Sigma nearly swerved the car into a stoplight. What? This wasn’t some snot-nosed kid, but a university student?
“How… How old is he?” Sigma ground out.
“Only a little older than you,” Han Yoojin beamed. “He’s just turned twenty. I hope you get a chance to meet him sometime. He’s really polite and considerate, you know. Though, he also has a little bit of trouble relating to his peers sometimes, so maybe you two would get along unexpectedly well?”
… Sigma was already starting to loathe him.
Although Han Yoojin had made a valiant attempt to stack all of the miscellaneous items he’d purchased into one haphazard pile in his arms, Sigma quickly realized that allowing that path of action to continue would only result in the two of them picking items off the ground for the next hour.
Of course, he could have stood back and laughed while it happened. He did consider it, briefly.
In the end, he wasn’t too sure how that train of thought had led to him grabbing the litterbox that was stuffed to the brim with assorted cat items and making his way toward the elevator. Han Yoojin was left with only a bulky bag of cat food and treats to hold, as well as custody of the kitten.
“Next time, as your teacher, I’ll treat you to barbecue as thanks,” Han Yoojin promised, turning the key to his door and letting Sigma in.
Sigma had never understood the point of a barbecue restaurant. They were noisy and smelly, and if he wanted to cook his own meat so badly, he could just do it at home.
“You’ll treat me?” Sigma repeated, raising an eyebrow.
“Of course.” After putting down the bag in his hands, Han Yoojin patted Sigma on the shoulder. “One of the perks of being young—just let your elders handle the bills. In exchange, though, you have to at least try whatever I order, you hear me? Kids these days don’t like gopchang and makchang much, but if you get used to it a little, it’s really tasty! And meat with soju is—” He stopped suddenly and coughed. “Uh, I mean, meat with soda is nice, too.”
Sigma stared at him balefully. “The age of drinking in Europe is lower,” he said sullenly. “And besides, how sheltered do you think I am? I’ve had soju before.”
“Mm, well, even so, that was there, and this is here. And anyways, as an adult, I shouldn’t encourage that kind of thing.” Han Yoojin tried to set the kitten down on the ground, but it only clung to his shirt viciously as if fighting for its life. Finally, after a few more failed attempts, he gave up and let it seat itself on his shoulder as he started unpacking some of the cat supplies. “Come to think of it, the name ‘Sigma’ is foreign, too, isn’t it? Is it Greek?”
Sigma shrugged with disinterest. “My parents liked to travel, apparently.”
Han Yoojin paused. “Oh,” he said with a faint smile. “So did ours.”
As Han Yoojin set up the litterbox, Sigma began walking around the apartment curiously. It was on the smaller side, probably only half the size of his own, even though it was for two instead of one. For the most part, the decorations were cute or nostalgic, with an entire wall dedicated to various awards and trophies and distinctions that this “Han Yoohyun” had received.
After setting up the litterbox, Han Yoojin had moved on to the food and water. Setting two bowls down on the ground, he dispensed a can of wet food into one and filled the other with water. This time, finally, the kitten deigned to leap off of his shoulder and trot toward the bowls before digging its face into the food with vigor.
“Alright,” Han Yoojin said, dusting off his hands. “Now that the little guy is taken care of, let’s talk about your lessons.” Sitting down on the sofa, he patted the spot beside him in invitation.
Sigma eyed the spot warily, but after a few moments of consideration, he eventually did sit down. “What’s there to talk about?”
Han Yoojin turned to him with a smile, but as he opened his mouth to speak, he blinked and paused. “Oh, hang on,” he said, then suddenly leaned forward.
Sigma’s eyes widened a little as Han Yoojin’s face grew closer and closer without warning. All of a sudden, for perhaps the first time in his life, he had no idea what to do. His brain was sending conflicting signals to his limbs, and in the confusion, all he could do was freeze in place and instinctively close his eyes. Behind the darkness of his eyelids, he felt a slight breeze past his ear as the weight of the sofa shifted. Then, the next thing he knew, Han Yoojin’s voice was far away again.
“There,” he said, sounding satisfied. Sigma opened his eyes to see that there was cherry blossom in his hand. “This was in your hair.” He dangled the cherry blossom in front of him, and for some reason, Sigma’s palms stretched out woodenly to receive it.
“Huh,” he heard his own voice say.
“It was cute, though,” Han Yoojin added with a cheeky grin. “You should wear flowers in your hair more often.”
“… I’ll consider it,” he said, as if possessed.
But Han Yoojin seemed to think very little of the exchange, as he immediately jumped onto the next topic. “So, why don’t you tell me about school?” He suggested. “I know that your uncle was concerned about your test scores, but I don’t know much else. Are there subjects you’re struggling with? Or, is there something else that’s troubling you?”
Sigma narrowed his eyes. This was it, then. After hours of detours—which had admittedly been very disarming—this was likely the point that Han Yoojin had been working up to. How much was he being paid to “solve” the problem that was Sigma? At the thought, the corners of Sigma’s mouth curled upwards in cold humor.
“‘Concerned’ is an interesting word to use,” he drawled, resting his elbow on the backrest of the sofa. “Is that how my uncle presented it to you?”
Han Yoojin cleared his throat delicately. “Well… Let’s say it was something like that.”
“What a liar, then,” Sigma scoffed. “That man isn’t capable of being concerned over a single thing other than himself.”
“Hm, I can’t say that he isn’t a real bas—” Han Yoojin coughed. “A real jerk.”
Oh? Sigma raised an eyebrow. This was a new tactic, he had to admit. Something like reverse psychology? “Really?” He asked, resting his chin on his hand. “That’s too bold a statement for most people to be willing to say about the chairman of Seseong.”
“It’s not bold to say things that are objective fact,” Han Yoojin declared.
“How very true.” Sigma’s smile grew wider.
Without warning, he took out his phone, dialing the only entry in his contacts list. The name Sung Hyunje instantly popped up in bold print on his screen. As the mechanical ring of the dial tone sounded, Sigma hit the speaker button.
“I hope that you won’t mind backing up those words, seonsaengnim,” he said lazily. “After all, how can I trust an educator who doesn’t practice what he preaches?”
He’d expected Han Yoojin to flinch and shrink back, but his new tutor merely shot Sigma an exasperated, almost amused look before taking the phone. A few rings later, the call connected.
“Nephew,” came Sung Hyunje’s cool voice. “For your own sake, I hope this call isn’t an admission of wrongdoing.”
“Hey, Chairman-nim,” Han Yoojin reprimanded without hesitation. “Is that any way to speak to the kid you’re raising?”
All of a sudden, the tone of Sung Hyunje’s voice seemed to change completely. “Han Yoojin-gun,” he said cheerfully. “If you were going to come running back in tears, you should have done it in person.”
“The only one here who should be in tears is you,” Han Yoojin said ruthlessly. “Sigma is a perfectly sweet and considerate kid, so how did you fu—how did you mess up taking care of him so badly?”
There was a brief silence from the other end of the phone.
“A perfectly sweet and considerate kid, is it?” Sung Hyunje said with amusement.
“That’s right,” Han Yoojin answered. “He saved me from almost breaking my neck, and he helped me drive the kitten home and buy supplies for it along the way. Oh, and he even helped carry the supplies back, too. Really, that kind of thoughtfulness is—”
“You almost broke your neck?” Sung Hyunje interrupted.
“That’s not the point. I’m saying that, as someone who was put in charge of raising a kid, being a good role model is important, so if you have any complaints about Sigma, you should really look in a mirror and reflect on yourself first. And what about spending time with family? When was the last time you even talked to him properly?”
“He was the one who wanted to move out first,” Sung Hyunje said mildly.
“He’s a smart, growing kid. It’s normal to want to be independent. That doesn’t mean you should cut him off and never speak to him again. No, don’t bring up texts, I’ve seen the way you text him. It would really be more strange if he didn’t loathe your guts. I know you didn’t exactly expect to have a kid suddenly thrust on you, but still, you agreed to the responsibility, so you should have seen it through properly.”
With that, Han Yoojin abruptly disconnected the call and threw the phone at the other end of the sofa. As Sigma stared, he inhaled deeply, then slowly let out the breath and patted his chest a few times.
“Phew,” he said, smiling sheepishly as he picked the phone back up and handed it back to Sigma. “Sorry. I’ve been holding it in for a while, so it feels good to be able to say everything. Still, it’s not good to argue in front of kids, so I shouldn’t have done that…”
“Huh,” Sigma managed to say intelligently.
“Don’t worry, though,” Han Yoojin assured him. “I know just how much of a piece of work your uncle is. It must have been tough for you growing up, right? But from now on, if he bullies you again, just tell me. No matter what, I’ll be on your side.”
Still half-frozen with surprise, Sigma only continued to stare at him. “Really?” He confirmed. “No matter what, you’ll be on my side?”
“That’s right,” Han Yoojin said earnestly.
At the answer, a slow smile spread across Sigma’s face.
“That’s very reassuring,” he said sweetly. “You know, seonsaengnim, I think I’m starting to look forward to this tutoring thing after all.”