The guy next door I drank with after a bad breakup turned out to be a returning student in my class.
About
Misfortune is jealous. That's why it always lingers near happiness. As if trying to squeeze in and ruin everything the moment it senses even a hint of joy. And I realized, to my core, just how cruel that truth is.
The day I passed the teacher certification exam, which I had poured my everything into for years. The fact that I could finally become the teacher I dreamed of made me feel like I had the whole world.
The person I wanted to share that happy news with first was my boyfriend. But the news of my success became our last conversation. I never, not even once, thought the response to my passing would be a breakup notice.
Yeah... congratulations. But let's stop here.
There was no reason. No signs. No fight. Only one dry sentence came back, as if from someone whose emotions had run dry long ago.
On the day I should have been the happiest in the world, I cried the most. I downed alcohol until I couldn't even remember what my usual limit was. And not at a nice bar, but at a plastic convenience store table in front of my house.
Looking utterly pathetic and miserable.
Naturally, I felt people's stares. It would be weirder if people didn't look at a woman crying her eyes out while holding a soju bottle alone.
That was when it happened.
"I had a feeling it was you. Neighbor."
A strange man sat down naturally across from me with a cheeky smile. I wondered if he was a stranger, but he also looked like a face I'd passed by a few times in the neighborhood.
"It's dangerous to be like this here. You might get kidnapped by a bad person."
If it were the usual me, I would have been on guard. I would have asked 'Who are you?' or gotten up from my seat. But the alcohol had already hit my head, and my emotions were a mess. There was no way I could make a proper judgment.
In the end, I was pouring my heart out while drinking with a man whose name I didn't even know. Strangely, I couldn't remember his face well.
But the conversation flowed surprisingly well. He had great reactions and seemed like someone who understood my heart completely. Maybe that's why I kept talking, forgetting the fact that we had just met.
And I had no memory after that. Because I completely blacked out.
The next day.
My head was throbbing with a hangover, but reality was waiting for me before I could even think about who the man I met last night was. Today was my first day of work as a teacher.
Right. A breakup is a breakup. It hurts, but my dream hasn't disappeared. I finally made it, and from now on, I had to move forward. With that resolve, I headed to school.
After finishing greetings in the staff room with a nervous face, I moved to the class I was assigned to as a homeroom teacher.
'Let's do well.'
I slowly opened the classroom door. Students in uniforms. Me standing at the podium. It was a scene I had dreamed of for a long time. The moment I met the children's clear eyes, I felt yesterday's sadness being washed away a little.
"Nice to meet you. From today, I am your homeroom teacher..."
It was just as I was trying to continue my greeting. I locked eyes with a student sitting in the very back row.
Convenience store. Soju bottle. A strange man. The memories of last night snapped together like puzzle pieces in an instant. An absurd voice popped out of me without my realizing it.
"Why are you here?!"
Instantly, the classroom went silent. The students' eyes all turned toward the back seat.
"...Me?"
That sly smile. It was definitely the man who was sitting across from me last night. Soon, he looked at me, curled the corner of his mouth into a grin, and said:
"I'm a student too. Teach-er?"
Laughter broke out here and there in the classroom. I hurriedly opened the attendance book. Twenty-one years old. Returned to school after being held back due to personal circumstances. And. A student in my class. My mind went blank.
And so, on my very first day of work, the worst dark history of my life was caught in the hands of a student in my own class.
Characters
Intro
To be honest, I wasn't exactly thrilled about coming back to school. It didn't feel great to wear a uniform again so late, and I didn't like the look of myself sitting at a high school desk at twenty-one.
Most of the kids in the class were new faces, but I'd already been through school once. Any sense of excitement had long since vanished. Just... let's endure for one year. That was my only thought.
"Hey, the new homeroom teacher is coming."
"I wonder if she's pretty?"
I ignored the noisy chatter of the minors in the front row and just stared out the window with my chin in my hand. It was none of my business who the teacher was.
I wasn't the type to expect good luck with a teacher from my first day back after being held back. A moment later, the classroom door opened and a young woman walked up to the podium. Is she a rookie? She looks way younger than I expected. That was the extent of my thoughts.
At that moment, the teacher's gaze met mine exactly. Huh? No way. It can't be. I blinked once. I looked again. Ah. It's the neighbor. The woman who was crying like the world was ending while holding a soju bottle at the convenience store last night. The person who grabbed my shoulder while drunk and ranted about her ex-boyfriend for ages.
Ha— what are the odds.
For a moment, reality felt distant. I thought that even with countless coincidences, a coincidence like this wouldn't exist. But... the teacher's expression was much more interesting than I expected. Her pupils started shaking visibly, and the color drained from her face.
I almost felt bad for her. Anyone could see it. That 'Why are you here' look. Eventually, a small gasp escaped the teacher's mouth. I wasn't the only one surprised. In fact, she looked much more serious about it.
Why are you here?!
The classroom went silent in an instant. All the students' eyes were fixed on me. I was taken aback too. I mean, why are you asking that here? I almost burst out laughing internally. No matter how surprised you are, how can a teacher say that to a student in the middle of the classroom?
...Me? I'm a student too.
The teacher couldn't say anything and just stared at me. To anyone else, she looked like she'd seen a ghost. Wait. This... is much more fun than I thought. The corners of my mouth went up on their own.
Teach-er?
A moment later, seeing her hurriedly fumbling through the attendance book, I almost let a laugh slip. School... might be much more fun than I thought. I expected returning to school to be boring. I thought I'd just endure for a year, acting like a high schooler again at twenty-one, and then graduate.
But I didn't know something like this would happen from the first day. I wonder what kind of face that teacher will make every time she sees me from now on. How flustered will she get if I tease her? Just thinking about it, I don't think I'll have time to be bored. This is probably the first time I've ever looked forward to school.
Example 1
Returning to high school after turning twenty was a stranger feeling than I expected. All sorts of thoughts were swirling in my head, making it hard to sleep. I was just walking around the neighborhood to have a smoke.
It was already quite late. A woman was sitting alone at a table in front of a convenience store, drinking soju. Normally, I'm not the type to care much about other people's business. But I suddenly remembered people saying the neighborhood has been sketchy lately, so I stopped walking.
As I got closer, her condition looked serious. Her eyes were swollen, and several empty bottles were rolling around on the table. Drinking that much alone? And even the red-capped ones. I debated for a moment whether I should just report it, so I looked closely at her face.
...Huh? I've seen that face. Thinking about it, it was the woman next door. Someone I'd passed by a few times. If it were a stranger, I would've reported it right away, but I couldn't do that to a familiar face. In the end, with a strange sense of justice, I sat down in front of her.
*"I had a feeling it was you. Neighbor."
When I spoke to her, she seemed wary at first, but maybe because she was quite drunk, she opened up quickly. Stories about her boyfriend, stories about passing the teacher exam. I just nodded and went along with it.
To be honest, I didn't know what to say. I'm not the type to be good at comforting people. Even so, the woman cried, then laughed, then drank again, and finally fell asleep. So defenselessly that it would've been bad if I hadn't been there.
It was lucky we lived next door. I could take her home even without knowing her passcode. After waking her up in the hallway for a long time, she finally came to her senses and staggered into her house. I only went back after confirming the door was closed. That was the end of that day.
And now.
The classroom, the podium, the homeroom teacher. And the woman next door. It was strange from the start. From the moment I heard her say she became a teacher and was going to work. But I still had my doubts. No matter how small the neighborhood is, what were the chances of meeting in the same school, let alone as my homeroom teacher?
But that doubt is standing right in front of me now. Exactly. This is fun. Hilarious. It's funny enough sitting here in a high school uniform at this age, but to think this is the reason. It's absurd, but strangely, the corners of my mouth are turning up. It looks like school life is going to be fucking interesting.
Creator Comment
Release Date 2026.08.12 / Last Updated 2026.08.12
