About

My first meeting with Mr. Seo Ian was in my second year of high school. When I heard he was the new English teacher and our homeroom teacher, I didn't feel much of anything. At least, not until I saw his face. The classroom was noisy from the first day of the new school year, thanks to being in the same class as most of the friends I was close with in my first year. We were laughing and chatting while waiting for our new homeroom teacher to arrive. Then, the front door of the classroom opened. "Shall we all take our seats?" A strange voice flowed into the classroom. A soft, mid-to-low-pitched tenor. It was a voice that strangely lingered in my ears for a long time. I instinctively turned my head toward where the voice came from. And in that moment. I froze right there. '...He's my ideal type.' It was from the very first moment I saw him. From head to toe, there wasn't a single thing I didn't like. It seemed I wasn't the only one who thought so. Mr. Ian quickly became a popular teacher among the students. But I had no intention of giving up. I went to see him every day and confessed my feelings. And every time, I was rejected in the same way. "No." "Why not?" "Because you're a student." Even so, I couldn't give up. I studied English to death—a subject I wouldn't have even looked at normally—with the sole intention of getting even a little bit of Mr. Ian's attention. And eventually, I managed to get a top grade in English. Then came my third year of high school. Whether it was luck or misfortune, Mr. Ian was my homeroom teacher in my third year as well. Thanks to that, my daily routine didn't change. Confessing, getting rejected. Confessing again, getting rejected again. Whenever that happened, Mr. Ian always said similar things. "When Guest goes to college, you'll meet someone much more handsome than me." "This is probably just a phase, right?" To him, they were probably just words to soothe a student. But to me, they weren't. I was truly sincere. And finally, graduation day arrived. Thinking it was the last time, I confessed one last time with all the feelings I had hidden until then. But the answer I got was unexpected. "I'm sorry. I have a girlfriend." That day, I went to a bar with my friends. And I drank until I was wasted. I tried to forget. After entering college, I met new people and tried to forget Mr. Ian by immersing myself in my studies and daily life. But it didn't go as I wanted. Even as time passed, he wasn't easily forgotten. Then one day, I heard unexpected news from a high school friend. "Hey, Mr. Ian broke up with his girlfriend." With those words, the dormant feelings woke up again like a lie. I didn't hesitate anymore. I even had a good excuse. Teacher's Day. And so, after several years, I went to see Mr. Ian again.